6. Chapter 6
Chapter six
“You do good work, bossman.”
When Abe and Maggie arrived at Rocco’s, Luke was already there, setting up. The restaurant had a generator that kept the walk-in and the freezer running. It also powered half the lights in the kitchen. With the propane stove and the wood-burning pizza oven, they were able to offer their full menu.
Abe and Maggie came through the front door and removed their wet coats. Abe turned his hat around backward and went to talk to Luke in the kitchen.
“I tried Gentry, but the phones were out. Did you get a hold of him this morning?”
“I drove by his house. The kids are pretty freaked out by the storm. He’s going to stay home unless we really need him.”
Even though they were the only restaurant in town able to open, Abe doubted too many people would want to venture out into the storm, even if it meant a hot meal.
“We should be fine.” He watched Maggie set and light candles on the tables. When she turned to look at him, he smiled and gave her a wave.
Luke cocked his head. “What was that?”
“What was what?” He stepped away from Luke and went to the walk-in. When he came out with a five-gallon bucket in each hand, Maggie was right outside the door.
“Oh, whoops. Do you have that?”
He held up a bucket. “Are you offering to help?”
“No. Carry on.”
One of the buckets had potato soup that had been made yesterday. He carried both buckets to the counter next to the stove and set them down. Maggie came up next to him with a large pot.
“Here, let me help.”
Together they filled the pot from the bucket and set it on the stove. Abe glanced at Luke, who was watching them. Abe returned the bucket to the walk-in while Maggie turned on the heat under the pot and stirred the soup.
Abe returned to the stove. “I’ve got this. Go finish setting up the dining room.”
She smiled. “Yes, sir.”
He pointed at her. “Just go.”
Luke walked up to Abe and slapped his arm with the back of his hand.
Abe turned to him. “Dude. What?”
Luke grabbed Abe’s arm and pulled him to the storage area in the back of the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You two are working together, and there was definitely some flirting going on.”
Abe scowled. “You’re crazy.”
“Am I? When is the last time you two did something together?” He tapped his lips with a finger. “Oh yeah. Never.”
Abe pulled a box of candles from the wire rack. “That’s not true, and there was no flirting. Why would I want to flirt with Maggie?”
Luke cocked his head. “Exactly.” He scowled, then shook his head. “Abe, you idiot.”
“What?”
“You slept with her.”
Abe scoffed and took a step back. “No, I didn’t.” He glanced at Maggie, then looked at Luke. “I didn’t.” Luke folded his arms across his chest, and Abe sighed. “Fine. I did.”
“Dammit, Abe.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last night, but just…”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Would you stop? I’m not the villain here. It was one hundred percent consensual. I’m not a complete bastard.”
“I didn’t even know you two were interested.”
“We weren’t. We aren’t. It was just one of those things brought on by a stormy night, a warm fire, and some hard cider.”
“So, one and done?”
“Yes. One and done.”
Luke shoved him. “That makes you a bastard.”
Abe pointed at Luke. “I swear, if you touch me again I’ll kick your ass.” Luke took a step back. “Every decision concerning the situation was mutual. So back the hell off.”
Luke nodded. “Fine.”
“She doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“I won’t say anything.”
“Are we done here, then?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Maggie walked up to them. “What are you guys doing back here?”
Abe handed her the box of candles. “Getting more candles.”
“Oh cool, thanks.” She left then, and Abe turned to Luke. “All good?”
Luke gave him a gruff thumbs-up, and Abe left him to help Maggie.
She smiled at him. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you light candles.”
“Don’t you have food to get ready?”
“I thought I’d help you light these first.”
She glanced at Luke. “Oh my gosh, he knows, doesn’t he?”
“Um…yeah. I didn’t tell him.”
“Right.”
“I swear.” He glanced back at Luke. “He thinks I was…well, that I took advantage of you.”
She put a hand on his arm. “You didn’t. Do you want me to talk to him?”
“No. I can’t say that my reaction would be any different if the situation was reversed.”
Maggie looked at Luke. “He is quite cute. I could totally…”
“Wow.”
“Will everyone find out now?”
“Nah.”
“Hmm.”
The door opened, and a couple with two kids came inside, shaking off water and stomping their feet.
“Come on in, folks.”
The woman removed the children’s coats. “I can’t believe you’re open.”
“Full menu. Sit wherever you want.”
Maggie followed them to a table. “The only thing not working is the soda fountain, but we have a small selection of soft drinks, beer, and iced tea.”
Abe headed to the kitchen to prepare some dough. The fire from the pizza oven warmed the restaurant, and he went to the propane stove to check the potato soup. Another pot was bubbling with pizza sauce. Both filled the room with an interesting mix of bacon, garlic, and seasoned tomato sauce.
Abe tasted the soup, then added some salt and pepper before moving to the dough counter. Luke was setting up the prep station and filling the various topping bins.
Maggie approached the counter opposite Abe. “I need a large vegetarian and a small cheesy breadsticks.”
“I’m on it.”
Maggie smiled. “Thank you!”
She left the counter to greet three more people coming through the door, and Luke came up beside Abe. “All good, my ass.”
The three customers were followed by more, and by noon, they were almost full. But the customers were grateful Rocco’s was open, so they were patient and didn’t complain about the wait.
Abe and Luke worked well together, and with Maggie helping when she could, they managed to stay on top of the orders without too much of a delay.
The rain continued throughout the day, but the lightning and thunder didn’t return. They got bits and pieces of news about the flooding, and so far, it seemed, Maggie’s neighborhood was safe.
They closed at seven, mostly to discourage anyone from driving in the storm after the sun went down. Maggie was sweeping when Abe brought out the mop and bucket. Luke came out of the kitchen.
“If you guys got this, I’m going to go. I want to check on Mom and Dad.”
“Drive safe, brother.”
“You too. Gentry should be in tomorrow no matter what the weather is doing. But I’ll check in if the phones aren’t up yet.”
“Thanks, Luke.”
Maggie waved. “See you.”
He gave her a nod, then pulled open the front door, letting in a gust of wind and a spray of rain. Abe went over the wet area with the mop, then cleaned the rest of the floor.
Maggie sat in a booth and watched him. “You do good work, bossman.”
“I think I was a janitor in another life.” He finished the floor and put the mop away. After taking two beers from the walk-in, he brought them to the table and handed one to Maggie. “You earned this.”
She held up the bottle. “To rainy days, no power, and grateful customers.”
Abe took a drink. “Did you get enough to eat today? Probably not much to eat at my place.”
“Yes. I think I’ll be fine.”
“If you’d rather not stay with me tonight, I’m sure you could stay in Justin’s old house.”
“I’m fine staying with you unless you want to be alone.”
“I don’t. Sorry, I’m not trying to make this awkward.”
“Too late.” Maggie slid out of the booth. “I think I’ll take a cookie with me.”
“Grab me one, too. Oatmeal raisin. I can pretend it’s healthy for me.”
After finishing their beers and making sure the oven fire was out, Abe and Maggie left the restaurant. The rain was still falling hard, with no letup in sight. They ran to the truck under an umbrella, then drove back to Abe’s house.
Donovan greeted them at the door with a whine. Maggie picked him up. “My poor baby.” She nuzzled him, then looked at Abe. “I need to take him out to potty.”
“Do you want me to take him?”
“No. He probably won’t be too happy about going out and getting wet again.”
She went back outside with the dog, and Abe took off his coat and removed his boots.
He went to the kitchen to check whether the food in his freezer was still frozen.
There wasn’t much in there, but what was there was starting to thaw.
He picked up a package of all-natural fruit Popsicles and set it on the counter.
“What do you have there?”
Abe was startled as his heart rate jumped at the sound of her voice. “Shit. You scared me.”
“Sorry.” She took his arm. “Are those Popsicles?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s so cute.”
He stepped away from her. “They’re basically frozen fruit. So not really Popsicles, per se.”
She picked up the box, which had the word Popsicle in big letters. “Hmm. They seem to have mislabeled this box.”
He took the box from her. “They’re beginning to thaw.”
“It’d be a shame to waste the delicious frozen fruit bars.”
“Shut up or I won’t share them with you.” She moved up next to him again, and he stepped back, then opened the cupboard and took out two mugs. “We should put them in these.” He opened the box. “Strawberry or pineapple?”
“Strawberry.”
Abe opened a strawberry one and dropped it into a mug. Then he did the same with the pineapple one. There was another strawberry bar left.
“Do you want a second one?”
“No, one will be enough.”
Abe added the Popsicle to his mug, then handed Maggie a spoon. “All set.” He pulled the spoon back before she could take it. “Unless you have any more comments about Popsicles.”
“It’s frozen fruit. Anyone can see that.”
He handed her the spoon, then they went to the living room, and Abe lit the lantern. He set his mug next to it and went to the woodstove to start a fire. When he returned to the couch, he sat down, leaving a whole cushion between himself and Maggie. She glanced at him, but didn’t say anything.
She ate a bite of her frozen dessert. “Do you have any cards?”
“Yeah.”
“We should play a card game.”
“Not really a card game guy, unless you’re talking about poker.”
“I’ve never played poker.”
Abe set his unfinished frozen fruit bars down on the trunk. “I’m going to go work out a little before bed.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“You can have the bedroom tonight. I’ll sleep out here on the couch.” He stood. He knew he was being rude, but he didn’t like how she made him feel. If they spent time together having fun, he knew they’d end up sleeping together again. That wouldn’t be good.
“I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“Take the bed.”
“Okay.”
“I’m ah…” He picked up two candles. “I’ll leave the lantern for you.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Make yourself at home.” Just leave the room already. Geez. He gave her a nod, then headed down the hallway to the spare room. So damn stupid. He blew out a breath, then mumbled, “It’ll be better tomorrow.”
Abe spent thirty minutes rowing, then moved to the treadmill. He selected a challenging course that simulated variable terrain for five miles. Two miles in, he took off his shirt and tossed it aside. Around the three-mile mark, Maggie appeared in the doorway.
He glanced at her, then slowly decreased his speed until he came to a stop. He picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his face. “Hey.”
“Hi. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s okay. Are you alright? Do you need something?”
“I feel like you’re trying to avoid me.”
“Nah.”
“Abe.”
“Well, maybe a little.” He picked up his shirt and put it on. “I’m ah…sorry. I don’t know what I am.” He sat on the end of the weight bench. “So, yeah.”
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable in your own home.”
“I’m not. I just needed to clear my head. Kind of like Zeus blowing off steam.”
“But we’re okay?”
“Yes. We’re perfect.”
“Perfect?”
“Almost perfect with a dash of awkward and a pinch of…”
“Regret?”
“No.” He stood. “No regrets. Slightly confused. But I’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. Should we talk it out?”
“No. Everything started last night with us talking. So, I’m going to go with brooding avoidance.”
Maggie smiled. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it.”
She left the room, and Abe sighed. “Dammit.” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Quit being a wimp.” He left the room and went to the living room. Maggie was on the couch trying to read by the lantern light.
“I’m going to go shower, then I’m going to teach you how to play poker.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Brooding isn’t really working for me.”
“Poker sounds fun, but a shower? The water will be ice cold.”
He smiled. “A very quick shower.”