Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (19 page)

Chapter Five

Nate slid the dollar bills and quarters that were scattered on the counter top together and then pulled them to the edge. When the extra cash was safely in the pocket of his apron, he picked up the now empty coffee cups and dropped them in the bus pan near the kitchen door.

During the busier times he worked side-by-side with the other cook, but at this time of the morning he covered the counter while two waitresses handled the floor.

“Need another refill, Jake?” He asked the last of his early-morning, regular customers.

“
No. Thanks anyway. I need to head out to Dad’s. Kelly and I made some progress convincing Hailey that Dad needs to move into Pioneer, but she’s still resistant.”

“
She doesn’t want you to rent me the property?”

“
I haven’t told her you were interested in it yet. She doesn’t even want to put Dad in a nursing home.”

“
Really?”

“
She just isn’t around enough to see how bad he’s become. His good days are really good.”

“
And the bad days are really bad?”

Jake
’s only response was to nod.

Nate had seen the rapid decline in Bill Lambert
’s health for himself. Just a few weeks ago, he’d come into the diner for lunch. After ordering, he became so disoriented that Nate had to call Jake’s wife to come pick him up. Nate suspected that the younger Lamberts and taken Bills keys that day, because he hadn’t been seen in town alone since.

Nate knew it was unlikely but asked anyway.
“Is she thinking about moving home to care for him?”

Jake drummed his fingers against the counter.
“I wouldn’t think so, but she did suggest it last night.” After a brief pause, he sat up a little straighter. “Don’t worry. Give her a few more days to see the situation for what it is and she’ll know we’re right. Then she’ll go back to New York, and we can move forward with leasing the farm.”

“
She really can’t see how far your dad has slipped away the past few months?”

Jake shook his head.
“She says we’re being unfair. Thinks we’re just trying to stuff him away somewhere.” Jake’s shoulders fell, his chest deflated. “You know, I wish Hailey was right. I hate seeing my father like this. The last thing I want to do is put him in a nursing home. I wouldn’t if I didn’t believe it was our only option.”

“
I know that.”

“
You wouldn’t want to talk to Hailey and tell her I’m right. Would you?”

Good question. Could Nate have a conversation with her and not tumble back into their twisted past? The color must have drained from his face, because Jake laughed.

“I’m kidding.”

Maybe so, but Jake
’s half-hearted request had forced Nate to realize that renting the Lambert farm might translate to having to deal with Hailey. She’d been avoiding him for eight years now. What made him think she would okay the deal he and Jake had hammered out? “I’m very interested in renting the house, but I don’t want to get in the middle of a family fight.”

“
It’s not a fight. Hailey just needs some time to get used to the idea. Dad’s moving into Pioneer right after the first of the year, then we’ll work out the details of our plan.” Jake stood and fished his wallet out of his back pocket.

Nate looked over his shoulder to the street and then glanced back at his watch. It wasn
’t unusual for there to be a lull in business between the early morning crowd and the late morning rush. The week between Christmas and New Year was typically slow, but Nate couldn’t stop worrying.

Ever since they had started negotiating about the house, Nate had been counting every customer and figuring the profit margin on every order.

The columns of numbers he’d been studying way past midnight flashed in his mind again. No matter how he tried to arrange them or cut costs, it still didn’t make fiscal sense to do what his daughter needed him to do. Coming up with rent was going to be hard enough but—eventually—he hoped to buy the farm.

If he wanted the bank to give him a mortgage on the house, it was imperative that he keep the restaurant in the black, something he had successfully done since taking it over two years before, but that was before the business had to support a lease on a farm.

Jake threw a ten-dollar bill on the counter and folded up the newspaper, tucking it under his arm. “We’re good. I don’t need change. You should give the wife a call. My girls would love to have Lori over to play while they’re off school.”

“
Thanks. I’ll do that.” A polite response. Nate believed that Jake meant the offer. He’d always been a good friend and never seemed to be bothered or affected by all the rumors surrounding Nate and his daughter. Lori, however, wouldn’t be comfortable with a play date. The only ones she really communicated with were Anna, him, and the horses.

Regular meetings with her principal, teachers, and counselors had resulted in all of them learning sign language, or at least enough that Lori could communicate with the adults.

The kids were another story. They didn’t know, nor did they want to learn sign language, and Lori’s teachers often reported that she was introverted in class. No, he wouldn’t be putting undue stress on his daughter by forcing a play date, no matter how sincere Jake’s offer was.

Jake turned toward the door but then leaned back against the stool. Nate followed his gaze and saw Hailey approaching. Her hand on her father
’s elbow, she carefully guided him. Apparently Jake didn’t think she could handle the task. He tossed the newspaper to the counter behind him, crossing toward the door. “What in the world does she think she’s doing?”

Nate swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Even with all the effort of helping the elderly man, Hailey looked as striking as he remembered. Her straight, blonde hair brushed her shoulders. A pulled snug sash at the waist of her brown suede jacket accented her tone figure.
“It looks like she’s taking your dad out to breakfast.”

“
If he loses his footing on the sidewalk, she’s not strong enough to keep him from falling. He’s going to get hurt.” As they approached the door, Jake pushed it open and reached out for his father’s other arm. “Be careful, Dad. The sidewalk is slick right here.” He then looked to his sister. “This is a surprise.”

“
I decided to treat Dad to pancakes.”

“
The roads are pretty slippery, what with all the snow we got last night.”

“
We get snow in New York, too. I haven’t forgotten how to drive in it.” She was much shorter than her brother, but Hailey held her chin up and defended her position.

“
Your sister managed the roads just fine.” Bill interrupted them in the same way he probably did when they were toddlers. He then called out to Nate. “Can you bring me and my daughter some coffee, please?”

Something about having her step out of his fantasies and into his diner, made Nate
’s palms start to sweat. Words failed to form, and he nodded.

Bill turned to his son.
“Join us for breakfast?”

“
I just finished up, but I’ll sit down and have some coffee with you. I was actually on my way out to your place.”

After her father sat, Hailey looked around the restaurant, briefly making eye contact with Nate before turning back to her brother.
“I’ll be right back. I left my phone in the car.” She made a hasty exit, slipping on the sidewalk as she turned to go up the street.

“
Let me tell you something,” Bill said after the door closed. “Your sister never stops working. She’s had her head buried in her computer or been on the phone all morning. I was hoping we’d get some peace and quiet while we ate.”

“
We all work hard, Dad. The mill is shut down this week, but normally I work ten hours a day.”

Nate filled three mugs and set them on a tray along with a pitcher of fresh cream. After placing the cups on the table, he ambled over to the large window looking in the direction Hailey had gone in such a rush.

He could see her on her phone in the small sports car. She ran her fingers through her hair and flipped through pages of notes, looking more rattled than he’d ever remembered seeing her.

Life had changed for the both of them since graduation, but hers had stayed on track. Or at least that
’s what he’d picked up from bits and pieces of overheard conversations.

When Nate looked back, he was reminded that precious gifts often came wrapped in tragedy. At least that
’s how it worked out for him. Now, the one person who was blocking his new road to happiness was the same one who had turned his life upside down eight years ago.

So why would he give just about anything to kiss her again? Or at least talk to her and find out why he hadn
’t been worth a goodbye.

“
Nate,” Bill called out. “Can we get another round of coffee?”

“
Of course.”

“
And why don’t you go ahead and order?” Jake said. “Who knows how long Hailey is going to be out on the phone.”

It was fifteen minutes later when Nate was delivering a daily breakfast special to Bill—which ironically did not include pancakes—that Hailey came back into the diner.

“Find your phone?” Jake asked.

Hailey held it up before dropping it to the table.
“I had to deal with an important call.”

She looked up at Nate briefly. When their eyes met, she just as quickly looked away.
“Can I get a bowl of oatmeal, please?”

Nate knew laughing was inappropriate but couldn
’t keep himself from doing it. “I thought you two wanted my world famous pancakes?”

Hailey flipped her attention to her father
’s plate and then back again. “You know what, you’re right. How often do I get the chance to eat pancakes from the Front Porch? Bring that.”

“
Sure thing,” Nate said. “And I’ll warm up your coffee too, just as soon as I get the Perkins’ order.”

Nate moved back to the counter and tried to focus on the couple
’s breakfast requests. Not an easy task given the way his head was swimming.

Just floating with the motion of the waves, as they had done that day at the beach. In reality it might have been a group of friends enjoying their last summer before college. In his mind, it had become a first real date, and the prelude to the following night. That last night he
’d spent any real time with her, or had anything that even resembled a conversation.

While his emotions were twisted into knots, calm, cool, and collected Hailey didn
’t show even a hint of regret or remorse. Did she ever think of him and the one night that still burned in his heart? It didn’t appear so.

****

Hailey hadn’t exactly lied when she said the phone call had been important. It was her landlord inquiring about the late payment on her lease. She’d been hoping to hold him off another week but relented and gave him her credit card number over the phone.

The job prospects would be better after the first of the year. They sure couldn
’t get any worse. Once she had a new job, she could tell her family the whole story about the last couple of months. Until then, she’d keep the pasted smile on her face; let them believe she was still the all-in-control girl they thought she was.

Several people, all with familiar faces, had entered the diner while she
’d been in the car, and she felt a little more at ease.

Being in the same room with Nate stung more than she thought it would. The ache in her heart was as strong as the day she
’d hastily thrown her things into that old Escort and driven toward the city as fast as the beat-up car would take her.

She tried to keep her focus on her family—struggled to follow her brother
’s conversation with her father—but couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering back to Nate. He laughed with his customers and staff and then turned the orders into the kitchen.

A tapping noise snapped her attention back to her brother. He glared at her while he drummed his fingers on the table.
“Am I boring you?”

She shook away the cobwebs.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“
Kelly is going to come sit with Dad this afternoon so we can go over to Pioneer. I want you to take a tour. Maybe that will ease your mind.”

How could Jake be talking like this in front of their father, as if his feelings didn
’t matter and he didn’t have a say? She refused to disrespect their dad and spoke to him instead of her brother. “Do you understand what Jake and Kelly want to do?”

Her dad nodded slightly, avoiding her gaze.
“It’s okay. They think this is for the best.”

“
What do you want?”

“
To not be a burden on any of you.”