Good Guys Love Dogs (15 page)

“Morning, Colby.

“I see they've
got you on table-setting duty.

“You know what
they say about too many cooks in

the kitchen, he said.

“Especially when
they're all men, she said, smiling.

He laughed. “You
might be right about that.

A dairy farmer, Davis was a nice
man, tall and broad

at the same time. He had dark brown
hair and shy eyes.

His wife left him a year or so ago,
and from what Colby

knew about the situation, he'd been
badly hurt by it. He'd

been asking her out for the past few
months. She'd

turned down his invitations because
she herself had no

intention of getting serious with
anyone, and she sensed

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that he wanted someone to fill the
hole left in his life by

his divorce.

Just as Davis began telling her
about a problem he'd

been having with one of his heifers,
Colby glanced

behind him and caught sight of Ian
in the kitchen with

the other men, a smile on his face.
He wore a white shirt

and tie, apparently having taken off
his suit jacket.

Lena and Luke were standing on the
opposite side of

the counter from him, Lena trying to
explain something

to him. Surprised, she watched as
Lena went around to

stand beside Ian. She picked up an
egg and cracked it on

the side of a measuring cup, showing
him how to break it

without getting any shells in the
mixture, just as Colby

had shown her years ago. Since Lena
recently made a

point of rejecting all advice or
parental guidance from

her, the sight did Colby's heart
good.

Ian picked up one and tried it
himself. Lena reached

for a fork and fished a piece of
shell out of the cup.

Something about watching the two of
them together

touched Colby. The only real male
role models Lena ever

had were her grandfather and Frank.
Seeing her with Ian

brought on familiar feelings of
guilt for the things her

life-style had caused Lena to miss
out on.

Ian looked up just then and caught
her gaze. He

nodded at something Lena said, but
he didn't look away.

Colby's pulse quickened. The look
couldn't have lasted

more than a moment or two, but it
seemed like much

longer. She forced her attention
back to Davis, her voice

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INGLATH COOPER

a little unsteady when she said,
“I'll come out Monday

and take a look at her if you'd
like.

“I'd appreciate
that. Sometime after lunch?

“Sure, she said.
“I haven't said hello to my folks yet,

so I'll see you later.

“Enjoy the
breakfast, Colby, he said, a wistful look

in his eyes.

She joined her parents on the other
side of the room,

where they were chatting with Mabel
Atkins. She kissed

her mother on the cheek and gave her
father and Mabel a

hug.

“You're looking
awfully stylish today, Mabel. Colby

tilted her head at the woman's green
silk dress.

“When you get to
be my age, you start hoping people

notice the dress and not the way you
look in it, Mabel

said with a chuckle. “You're
the one who gets prettier

every time I see you.

“We'd have to
agree with you there, Colby's father

said with a smile.

“Aren't you
supposed to be in the kitchen? she

chastised him.

“Just taking a
little break for as long as I can get away

with it.

She laughed. “That
doesn't surprise me.

“Me, either, her
mother agreed.

“Mabel introduced
us to Mr. McKinley a little

earlier, Colby's father said. “And
she told us how you

saved his life the other day.

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“It was no big
deal, she said, certain that Mabel had

stretched the story into Paul Bunyan
proportions.

“If you call
nearly getting run over by a tractor no big

deal, Mabel objected. “If
a person believed in fate and

that kind of thing, I'd say the two
of you—

Not willing to let Mabel get started
on that particular

tangent, Colby said, “You
know, it looks as if they're

asking us to be seated. We'd better
find us a place before

they're all taken.

Reverend Thomas called for the
group's attention.

Once everyone grew quiet, he said,
“I'd like to thank you

all for coming. Our turnouts for
this event keep getting

better and better. I'd have to say
it probably has

something to do with the cooking
skills of our volunteers

in the kitchen.

The men sent up a round of applause
for themselves,

and everybody laughed.

“I'd like to
introduce two new faces to you this

morning. Reverend Thomas stepped
back and

summoned Ian and Luke forward.
“Ian and Luke

McKinley. They came as guests of
Frank and Phoebe

Walker. We welcome both of you to
Keeling Creek and

to our church. We hope you'll feel
at home here.

“Thank you, Ian
said. Luke merely stood beside him

looking uncomfortable.

All the women sat down while the men
began serving

the food. The women joked
good-naturedly about

whether or not it would be edible,
even though the men

had proved themselves in the past.
The smells were

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INGLATH COOPER

mouth-watering—homemade
biscuits with scrambled

eggs and gravy and freshly brewed
coffee.

Lena joined Colby and her mother at
the far end of

the table. Phoebe and her two boys
sat across from them.

“Would you like
to ask Luke to sit with us? Colby

asked Lena.

Lena shrugged, and looking as if it
didn't matter, said,

“I already did.
He said he'd just hang out in the kitchen.

Colby knew her daughter well enough
to recognize

rejection on her face when she saw
it.

Frank filed past with the gravy,
ladling some over the

biscuits on their plates. “This
will no doubt be the best

item on the menu, he said with a
wink. “I made it

myself.

Phoebe shook her head. “I
might have to argue with

that, since he barely knows the
location of the frying pan

at home.

“Now, now, honey.
We'll just let the ladies judge for

themselves.

Behind Frank appeared Ian with a big
blue bowl in

his hands, the image somehow
incongruous. He gave her

a sheepish smile. “They
put me in charge of the grits, and

since I didn't even know what they
were until twenty

minutes ago, I'm not making any
promises on how they

turned out.

“I'll take my
chances, Colby said with a half smile,

uncomfortable, because her mother
and Phoebe were

taking in every word of the
conversation.

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He put some on her plate. “If
it hadn't been for

Lena, they probably would have
thrown me out of the

kitchen.

Lena smiled up at him, looking for
the moment like

her playful, lighthearted daughter
of old, and Colby

wondered if Ian had that effect on
all the women who

crossed paths with him.

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24

he next day, Colby ran errands on
her lunch hour,

Ton her way out of Tinker's Drug
when she looked

up to find Ian coming in.

“Hi. He reached
out to right a box of tissues

threatening to slip out of one of
her bags.

“Hi, she said,
her heart suddenly beating too fast.

“Here, let me
help you with that.

“Oh, no, that's
okay. I've got them. Real y.

He ignored her protests and took the
bags from her.

“Where are you
parked?

“Around the
corner. But you don't have to—

“That's the least
I can do for someone who not only

saved my life, but ate my grits
without any obvious il

effects. Smiling, Colby fol owed
him, running a hand across

her hair and wishing she'd thought
to put on some lipstick.

At the truck, she unlocked the door,
and he stuck the

bags inside before turning to her
and saying, “How about

letting me treat you to some lunch?
I still haven't paid you

back for saving my life.

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She should have said no. Any number
of excuses would

have been plausible enough to send
her on her way. But

she did have a little time before
her next appointment.

Reluctant as she was to admit it,
lunch with Ian McKinley

sounded appealing. “Al
right, I'll take you up on it.

Tinker's Drug and Soda Fountain had
been around for

fifty years or more, unchanged to
speak of during that time.

It was busy now at lunch hour.
Inside the front door, they

were greeted by the smel of grill
food, French fries and

onion rings. They made their way
down an aisle of soaps

and toothbrushes to the snack bar at
the back of the store.

A row of booths lined one wal . The
seats were red vinyl and

squeaky-clean. A white Formica
counter with red-topped

bar stools offered a view of the
gril .

This was one of Colby's favorite
places in Keeling Creek.

Growing up, she'd come here with her
dad every Saturday

morning for a Coke float and a
little spot of time that had

been their own.

“Booth or
counter? Ian asked.

“Counter, she
said, thinking the booth sounded more

intimate. Sitting there in full view
would be less private, like

they'd just run into each other.
Which they had.

“Counter, it is.
He waited for her to take a stool and

then sat down beside her.

Thomas Tinker approached them with a
smile and a

menu. He ran the place with the same
pride his father had

taught him to have in the family
establishment. “Hey,

Colby. How're things out at the
clinic?

“Busy, she said.

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INGLATH COOPER

“I believe it.
Your waiting room stays busier than Doc

Smiley's office. Who's your friend?

“This is Ian
McKinley. Ian, Thomas Tinker.

The two men exchanged small talk,
with Ian explaining

that he'd recently moved to town.
Thomas's welcome

sounded sincere.

“I can't get used
to the friendliness, Ian said when

Thomas left them with their drinks.
“I guess the city's

made me a cynic, but I keep
expecting to find out they're

putting me on or something.

Colby smiled, fiddling with the edge
of her menu.

“Things are
pretty different here.

Thomas came back for their order.
Ian ordered a

burger, the house specialty.

“I'll have my
usual, Thomas.

The older man shook his head.
“Lettuce, tomato and

cheese on a bun, coming right up.

“Vegetarian? Ian
asked when Thomas headed for the

kitchen.

Colby nodded. “Yep.

“Never eaten
meat?

“When I was a
kid, my mom didn't consider the table

complete without a roast or a baked
chicken. I made up my

mind about al that after I left
home.

Ian appeared to think about that for
a moment, then

said, “Mr.
Tinker?

Thomas turned from his stance at the
gril . “It's

Thomas. What can I get you?

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“Cancel that
burger. I'd like to try one of those veggie

things she's having.

Thomas shook his head again.
“She's getting to you,

huh?

“My doctor has
been after me to make a few changes

in my diet. No time like the present
to start.

Surprised, Colby said, “I
hope you didn't do that

because—

“A veggie
sandwich sounds good.

Casual and easy, the declaration
pleased her. Too much

so. Most of the men she knew thought
vegetables were for

sissies. “So,
you're planning to fix up Oak Hill?

Ian nodded. “I'd
like to do most of the work myself, so

it may take a while.

“I actual y had a
notebook of plans, things I wanted to

do to the place if I ever bought it,
she said on impulse,

and then, feeling sil y, added,
“My dad and I used to drive

by there about once a week when I
was growing up. I

always made him stop so I could look
at it. It sat empty

then. I thought it looked lonely.
Like it needed a family. And

it has one now.

“I feel bad for
messing up your plans, Ian said.

She waved his apology away. “First
come, first serve.

“If it helps any,
I don't know how long I'll hold on to

it. I can't say anything definite,
but there's a good

possibility I'l be wil ing to sel it
at some point down the

road.

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INGLATH COOPER

“Real y? I mean,
I guess that would make sense. When

you move back to New York, you'l
hardly have any reason

to keep a big house like that.

“No, probably
not, he said. “I'l certainly give you