“Yup, but I can’t leave without getting you through the morning rush.” He rubbed his hands together. “Where do you want me to start?”
That got him a slightly stronger smile. “I want you to grab a chair and make yourself comfortable.” She was sliding off the bar stool as she spoke. “I’m going to make you a healthy breakfast this morning. You’re going to need it. You’ve got a long drive ahead of you.”
He cocked his head to one side. “And while you’re feeding me who’s going to be feeding the hungry hordes who’ll soon be passing through?”
She shook her head. “Nobody. Beaumont’s is still closed. I just got back. Nobody’s expecting me to open today.” She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “And besides, this is the last chance I’ll get to spoil you. You deserve it.” She jerked her head toward the closest table. “Now, sit.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Yes, ma’am.” Then, just like his boss ordered, he sat.
Twenty minutes later Blake placed a tray laden with breakfast food in front of him – flapjacks, grits, bacon and eggs with black coffee and a tall glass of orange juice. As mouth-watering as it looked he’d never been an eater of big breakfasts and what Blake put in front of him would surely weigh him down. “You’re going to share this with me.” It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact and as he spoke he was pulling out the chair beside him.
“Too much for you?” she gave him a teasing smile. “A hard working man like you needs to eat.”
“Not this much,” he said as he rose to pull out her chair properly. “Have a seat.”
When she did, he walked over to the bar and grabbed a glass. When he got back to the table he poured half of his juice into it. “That’s for you.” He slid it in front of her then sat down. “And you’re going to start this off.” He pushed the flapjacks under her nose. “Now get to eating.”
Ryder was surprised when Blake did a pretty good job of it. She ate almost half of the meal, much to his satisfaction, and when he ate what she’d left behind it was the perfect amount to fill him up without making him feel stuffed.
When they were all done he gathered up the plates, saucers, glasses and cups and headed toward the kitchen. “I’m washing up,” he said over his shoulder, “and then I’ve got work to do.”
“What kind of work?” she called after him but he didn’t stop to answer. She would see, soon enough.
Later, when the dishes were clean Ryder threw off his shirt and headed out to the back yard with Blake in tow. “I made you a vegetable garden,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of good, fertile land here. You’ve got to use it up.”
When they got to the garden plot Blake gave a gasp of surprise. “This is huge,” she said, her look one of admiration. “When did you find the time to do all this work?”
Ryder shrugged. “You were gone. The business was closed. I had a lot of time on my hands.” He didn’t tell her the time he’d spent working in the garden had been therapy for him. It was time he had used to think. “I just want to get this soil tilled before I go. Give them a fighting chance once I go.”
Blake put a hand on her hip. “Are you saying I’m going to kill your precious plants? I may not have a green thumb but I’m no plant killer.”
“That may be,” he said as he bent to pick up the garden fork, “but I’ll feel better if they’re all set before I leave.”
Blake rolled her eyes. “If you want to give yourself all that work, be my guest.” She put a hand up to swipe a tendril of hair from her forehead. “It’s hot out here. I’ll be inside if you need me.” She turned to head back toward the rear porch but then paused and looked back at him. In her eyes was an expression he could not read. “Don’t stay in the sun too long.” That was all she said but the words hung in the air as she stared at him, looking like she wanted to say more. The next instant the spell was broken and she turned and walked away.
It was a full minute before Ryder stopped staring after her retreating back and at the back porch door as it swung closed behind her. Then, with a grunt, he turned his attention back to the task at hand.
Ryder had been digging the earth for less than ten minutes when he heard the sound of a car coming up the stretch of dirt road leading to Beaumont’s. When he looked up it was to see Peggy Thatcher’s champagne-colored Chevy pulling up to the front of the building. It soon disappeared, blocked by the hulking structure of the building, but Ryder knew the instant she got out of her car and entered the front door. The tinkle of the bell was that loud. Sure that Blake would have heard the bell, too, he got back to his digging. The ladies were sure to have lots to talk about. He would be in no danger of being disturbed by those two.
Ryder soon found out that that was where he was wrong. He’d been back at his task for only twelve minutes or so when he heard a cheerful female voice call his name. He looked up in time to see Peggy descending the steps and then she was heading across the yard toward him.
“Howdy.” She was waving her hand at him and there was a wide smile on her face.
“Howdy,” he said back as he let the garden fork fall into the dirt. He was sliding his hands down the sides of his jeans, getting rid of the excess dust, when she came to a halt in front of him. “Well, aren’t you the busy one? Blake told me you made her a vegetable garden.”
“Yes, ma’am. Been working on it for the past week.”
She folded her arms across her bosom and shook her head. “You never cease to amaze me, young man. There’s a lot about you I like, and now this. You’re a man after my own heart.” She released her arms and spread them wide, looking like she was getting ready to wrap them around him.
He raised his eyebrows then gave her a crooked smile. What was the lady going on about now?
“I didn’t know you were a gardener like me. This is wonderful,” she gushed. “Maybe you and I can swap gardening tips.”
He shrugged. “Any time.” He was still curious, though. She hadn’t come out to the backyard to talk gardening, had she?
“Listen,” she said, stepping closer and lowering her voice like she was about to share a secret, “I’m inviting you over to my house this evening. Seven o’clock. Just a gathering of friends. I want you to be there.”