10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Saturday morning, Jack hurried up to the hot dog shop. He needed to write out a sign explaining why he’d be closing half an hour early. Personal reasons.
Anna was already there and behind the counter, prepping the toppings. “Hi.”
“Hey.” He unlocked the front door. “You’re early.”
“I got out of my house on time,” She laughed. “My mom came over and offered to babysit. She brought doughnuts. So, right now she’s the favorite.”
“Food is a good motivator.” He’d made the comment flippantly but regretted it. “I mean…”
“I knew what you meant.” Anna stood in the office doorway. “Henry will be back today, right?”
“I’ll head up to the airport and pick him up at five. I should be able to close maybe half an hour early.” He wrote up the sign. “Unless the plane is late, we’ll have enough time to go back to my place, shower, change and get ready for the dinner.”
“Nice.” She left him and went into the dining room.
He stayed in the office and checked his numbers for the day. He’d be fine for wax papers and foil, but he’d need to place orders for onions and paper boxes. Jack filled out his paperwork for the following week, buying extra of a few things just in case.
“Jack?”
“In here.” Where else would he be? He grabbed the sign and tape, then headed out to the dining room. “What?”
Anna plunked the mail on the counter. “You’ve got a huge envelope here.”
“So? I get all kinds of shit in the mail.”
“It looks like a business letter or something, but it’s not.” She turned the envelope over. “I thought it might be from the Chamber of Commerce, but no.”
“You opened it?” His address had been typed on the front and the piece of mail did look important. He opened it. “Who sent this?”
“I don’t know,” Anna said. “There’s no return address or postage, which is why I thought maybe the Chamber dropped it off.” She peeked around his shoulder as he dumped the contents onto the counter. “That looks like Henry.”
The man in the photos sure did look like Henry…in Chicago. Jack didn’t know much about the Windy City, but he knew the big mirrored sculpture. Who was Henry posing with?
“Did he say he’d send photos in the mail?” Anna asked. “We’ve been so busy, I forgot to ask.”
“He’s texted me a bunch of photos.” Jack withdrew his phone and scrolled through the images. None of them looked a thing like the ones printed on the counter. “See?” He offered up the phone. “It’s not right.”
“What’s he holding?” She laughed. “Is that a picture of you? Dorks.”
“He’d said he’d put me in the picture so it was like I was there with him.” He and Henry might be dorks, but he didn’t care.
“It looks like him here, but not really.” Anna left Jack at the register. “Do you think he sent these?”
“No.” Jack shook his head. He was wasting precious prep time by worrying about photos, but he couldn’t look away. Something was wrong with the images. “His hair is longer here.”
Anna placed the chili in the warmer and turned it on. “It is. He can’t grow hair that long that fast.”
“No and he almost looks pudgy.” Jack scrubbed his hand across his mouth. His Henry wasn’t fat now or then, but he seemed a little more filled out. Henry looked younger in the images, too. Who would be so underhanded as to send these? “Think Charlie would do this?”
“What? Why?” Anna filled the cheese bin. “Charlie seems like a jerk, but why would he do this? There’s no payoff. It’s just mean. He’s not mean.”
“No.” He shoved the photos into the envelope. “I don’t know who sent these, but if I stand here worrying about them, I’ll just give myself an ulcer. I can’t do anything about these, but I can say something when Henry comes back.”
“True.” Anna hugged him. “I’ll bet it’s nothing.”
“Right.” He wished he believed her. Still, he had to get work done. He threw himself into prepping for the day and tamped down his irritation. He needed to focus. The hot dogs wouldn’t cook themselves. Once the first customer arrived, business boomed.
“Gonna be a good day,” Anna said. “Real good.”
“That’s what I want to hear.” Jack filled orders at a furious pace.
Whenever he thought he’d get a break, a new group of customers filtered in.
At three, he placed the sign in the window.
Good thing he’d planned on closing early.
He’d run out of chili again. He was low on buns and slaw, too and now running late.
Besides, he couldn’t wait until he saw Henry.
Anna rounded the counter, then stopped short. “Shit.”
“What?” When Jack looked up, Ray strolled into the restaurant. Fuck. “Ray.”
“I’ll be back here.” Anna stayed behind the grill and out of the way.
Ray sashayed up to Jack. “You seem happy.”
“Why not? It’s Saturday, business is good, the sun is shining and I’m closing.” Jack wiped his hands. “You’re here. Why?”
“See? Now the day is the best it can be,” Ray said. “It’s perfect.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” He tossed the rag onto the closest table. “What’s wrong? You only come here when you have a problem. I’m not about to lift your spirits or blow you because you’re feeling poorly about yourself.”
“You wound me.” Ray clutched his chest. “You misunderstand, too.”
“No, I don’t.” Jack folded his arms. “I’m busy, so if you’re here to gloat or whatever, save it for another sucker.”
“Gloat? Me?” Ray squared his shoulders. “Did you get my present?”
He narrowed his eyes and said nothing. Present? The photos? Only Ray would be that big of an ass.
“I sent you a gift.” Ray toyed with his thick gold watch. “Or did she keep it from you?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Anna said. “I’m innocent.”
“Hardly,” Ray snapped.
“Enough.” Jack rested his hands on his hips. “What gift?” He wanted this asshole to admit what he’d done.
“The photos. Your Romeo isn’t faithful.” Ray pulled his phone out. “I looked him up. He posted photos of his trip and he’s not alone.”
Jesus. Jack tamped down his frustration. “I see.”
“You should.” Ray pointed to a photo. “He’s with another guy.”
Jack looked at the image. Sure enough, Henry had posed with someone. The pose was rather platonic. The guy had a wedding ring and didn’t strike Jack as Henry’s type. Henry and mystery man stood in front of a gallery. “It’s for his job.” Probably to go along with the article.
“And this one?” Ray brought up another image. “He calls this guy his boyfriend.”
“He does.” And now that he looked closer at the picture, he recognized the man—Henry’s ex-boyfriend, Carter. “So?”
“You’re not mad? He’s stepping out,” Ray said. “Why are you okay with this?”
“I’m not okay with it, but I don’t have to be,” Jack said. “Want to know why? Because that picture is old. He posted that four years ago. If you paid attention, you’d see the date.”
“Jack.” Ray recoiled. “Stop.”
“Why don’t you stop?” Jack directed Ray to the door. “I don’t know what your play is here, but it’s not working.”
“I want you to ditch the old guy and come to San Francisco with me. We belong together,” Ray said. “You belong there.”
“I’m good.” Jack steered him closer to the door. “I don’t want to leave my business.”
“Jack. Be reasonable,” Ray said. “You’re not.”
His irritation hit its zenith. He’d never stood up to Ray before and it was high time he did.
“Listen up. I’m only saying this once. I like Cedarwood.
It’s my home. I like my shop because it’s mine.
I built this business up all on my own and I don’t want to give it up.
I’m not going to San Francisco or anywhere else. Got it?”
“Jack.” Ray pouted. “That’s not fair.”
“Probably not, but your little trick was dirty. You lied and thought you’d get your way,” Jack said.
“I’m not listening to you any longer. You’re nothing to me.
” He stepped into Ray’s personal space. “If you ever set foot in my shop or bring up Henry again, I will call the police. Do not come back. Understand? You’re not welcome here. ”
“You used to love me,” Ray said. “You did.”
“And I grew up.” He opened the door. “Ray, get out. You’ve got a boyfriend—I think. He deserves better than you hanging around here.”
“You can’t blame a guy for trying,” Ray said. “We were good once.”
“We were and that moment is gone.” Jack checked his watch. If he goofed off much longer, he’d be late to pick Henry up. He spotted Deputy Jordan Hargrove ambling up the sidewalk. Good. He’d get help in Jordan. “Deputy?”
“Is there a problem here?” Jordan waved. “Jack.”
“There is,” Jack said. “This gentleman is loitering on my property and I’m closed.”
“I see.” Jordan swept his gaze over Ray. “Seems to me you should be moving on.”
Ray struggled and flexed his hand. “It’s really over?”
“Yes.” Jack wished Ray would get the damn hint.
“You love Henry?” Ray asked. “Do you?”
The muscle in Jordan’s jaw twitched. “Sir.”
“Say it and I’ll go. If you can’t, then I won’t leave because I’ll know you still care,” Ray said. “You don’t want to let me go.”
“I love Henry,” Jack said. “With all my heart. Only him.” If he wanted to be with Henry, he had to trust him and he believed Henry loved him, too. Besides, Henry probably had no idea what Ray had done.
“Then I’ll go.” Ray shrugged away from Jack. “Thank you, Deputy.” He adjusted his sport coat. “Goodbye, Jack.” He walked away, leaving Jordan and Jack alone.
“’Bye, Ray.” A Chapter in his life seemed to be closing. He didn’t mind, despite the change feeling a bit odd.
Jordan placed himself between Jack and Ray’s retreating form. “Thank you, Sir.” He turned to Jack. “I’ll keep an extra eye on your shop in case he comes back. See you tonight?”
“Should see you. I’m going to pick Henry up at the airport in a bit.” He checked his watch. “Shit. I need to go.”
“Then go.” Jordan followed Ray down the sidewalk.
Jack ducked back into the restaurant. “I need to get moving.”
“We’re good. I got the grill and counter squared while you talked to Ray.
Go. We’ll lock up, you can count the take when you get home, then you can have a great night with Henry.
” She pulled the shades for the evening and checked the door.
“You’d better tell Henry you love him. He needs to hear it. ”