8. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Beth
W hen I dropped Chase off at daycare Monday morning, he was excited to see his friends again, but sad he couldn’t stay home with me. I felt the same way. While I was happy to go back to work after seven days of trying to keep up with Chase, I felt sad I wouldn’t be with him all day.
I shook my head. The bittersweet paradox of parenthood.
I was lucky Chase’s daycare served a lot of police and firefighter families, so they opened earlier and closed later than most others, since I started at Grannie’s at six am. Two sisters, Shawna and Angela, whose parents had been police officers, and whose husbands were still active duty in the military, ran the daycare. When I interviewed them, they said it was a win-win situation; they served the community while earning extra money.
I had to agree. Plus, it was a bonus for me that Chase liked them, and they never had more than six kids at a time, so each kid felt special.
“I’ll be back around three to pick you up, okay?” I kissed the top of his head as I hugged him goodbye.
“Then I get to practice tee ball with Uncle John, right?”
“Yup, after dinner.”
“Yay.” He clapped his hands while he hopped up and down in place. “Love you, Mommy.”
“Love you too.”
It felt good to be back at work, which I was sure was mostly due to spending the day with Mary and seeing my regular customers again, many of whom I called friends. Most people might not consider working in a coffee shop a rewarding career choice, but it was perfect for me; I had flexible hours, good pay and benefits, a community of friendly regulars, plus my boss was my best friend. If you’d asked me in high school what I wanted to do, I wouldn’t have said manage a coffee shop. I couldn’t have predicted leaving Louisiana either.
But life happens, and here I am. I smiled. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Which wasn’t entirely true, there was one thing I’d change—Phil would be alive and well, helping me raise Chase.
The bell above the door chimed, disrupting my thoughts. I greeted two WPD officers as they strolled in and waved. We chatted while I poured their coffees. Two minutes after the door closed behind them, Mary held out the phone and said, “It’s Angela.”
Angela? Chase’s daycare Angela? Why didn’t she call my cell?
My breath caught in my throat. The only reason she’d call was if something had happened to Chase. Oh God . I willed my legs to move and watched as my trembling hand reached for the receiver. I held me breath as I brought it to my ear.
“Is Chase okay?” I asked, sounding as panicked as I felt.
“He is. He fell and bumped his head and wants to talk to you.”
Thank God. “How bad is it?” I asked, taking the first full breath since hearing Mary say the call was for me.
“Not bad, he didn’t break the skin. The fall scared him more than it hurt him. He won’t stop asking for you.” She paused. “Hang on.”
“Mommy?”
The fear in his voice crushed my heart. “I’m here, what happened?”
“I fell and hit my head.”
“Miss Angela said you didn’t bleed, and you were brave while she checked.” I wanted to distract him from the pain and fear.
“I was,” he said. “I have a big bump on my head.”
He must have touched it because I heard him yelp in pain. “Chase, don’t touch your bump. Okay?”
“Are you coming to get me?”
Trusting Angela and Shawna were more than capable of taking care of Chase and his bump, I told him I couldn’t but would be there right after work. He whined he wanted to go home, but got over it when I reminded him he had tee ball practice with his Uncle John.
After talking to Angela, and being reassured Chase really was okay, I hung up. Mary told me to take my lunch break early so I could pull myself back together. In the break room I saw the reason Angela called me on the work line—my phone was sitting on the table.
After the lunch rush, Doug stopped in for a coffee. I couldn’t help but notice a bruise forming under his left eye. “Are you okay? What happened?” I asked, sounding like a worried mom as I reached out to touch his face. I yanked my hand back. You can’t just touch him .
His grin told me he hadn’t missed the gesture. “I’m okay, dude sucker punched me when I served his papers.” Serving legal papers was one of the many jobs the private investigators at SSI performed.
“Sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say since it wasn’t my place to worry about him. I asked, “Your usual?”
“Please. And an acorn chip cookie.” His grin made my stomach do little loop da loops.
My laugh, as I turned to pour his coffee, sounded nervous to my ears.
Is Doug flirting with me? Why else would he bring up the joke he’d played on Chase. And be grinning at me with that look in his eyes? Doug had never cracked a joke before. He’d always been nice, polite, friendly but not overly so, and he’d never flirted.
It felt like something had changed between us. I’m not complaining.
“One large black coffee, and an acorn chip cookie coming right up.” It couldn’t hurt to flirt back a little even if I had butterflies in my belly, right? Right.
I might be over forty, but I’m not dead. A strong, sexy, polite alpha male could still turn me on.
Doug scanned the coffee shop when I handed him his coffee. There was no one else here, not even Mary or Amber. At least not at the moment, though one or both would be back soon.
Doug looked me in the eyes and held my gaze, the air between us thick with tension. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Beth, would you consider letting me take you to lunch?”
Did he just ask me out? The butterflies in my stomach danced a happy dance. It wouldn’t be a date-date, but a lunch date still counted as a date. Thank God I flirted back.
“I’d like that.” His grin changed into a full-blown smile causing the lines around his eyes to wrinkle.
He put his steaming cup of coffee down and reached into his pocket. “Here’s my card.” His strong fingers brushed against mine as I reached for it. “Text me your number. I’ll call you later so we can set a date.”
“Okay.” Suddenly I felt shy, which was silly. I’d known him for a year, and while we weren’t friends, we weren’t strangers either.
That was about to change.
Which made me giddy because I’d been crushing on Doug from afar for a while now. I wasn’t usually attracted to redheads, but something about his quiet demeanor and steel blue eyes pulled me in. Maybe suddenly feeling shy wasn’t so silly.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this excited about a date.
“Beth?” Doug’s soft voice cut through my inner ramblings.
“Right, sorry.” Heat flooded my face as I blushed.
“No need to apologize, just wanted to know what time I should call.”
I rushed to answer. “Oh, right, of course, after seven-thirty is good. Thanks.” Chase would be asleep by then. At least he should be .
He grinned. “I have to run, there’s a stack of paperwork calling my name. I’ll call you around eight.”
“Have fun with that.” Really? I chuckled at my stupidity and waved. “I’ll talk to you later.”
The bell above the door hadn’t finished jingling when I heard Mary clear her throat. “Did Doug just ask you out on a date?”
I couldn’t hide my girlish grin. “He did.”
“Good for you.” She came over and gave me a quick hug.
“You’re not going to ask if I said yes?” It was a silly question since she’d heard our conversation.
“Have you seen your face?” Mary laughed. “Even if I hadn’t overheard you, I’d be able to tell by the ear-to-ear smile, the beautiful blush in your cheeks, and the sparkle in your eyes.”
#
It was a little awkward when John stopped by to play tee ball with Chase. I had just agreed to a date with one of his employees, and wasn’t sure what he’d think about it, so I didn’t mention it.
I wasn’t trying to hide it from him, at least that’s what I told myself. Not that it mattered, because Mary would probably tell him later, but I also didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. In all likelihood, we’d have a date or two and he’d decide dating a single mom wasn’t his cup of coffee. Or glass of beer. Or whatever suits him .
Before they started practice, I told John about Chase’s fall earlier so he’d know to be careful.
While John occupied Chase, I took advantage of the free time and read. It was a long book and taking me forever to read; but I was enjoying the story so far. It was a time travel romance, recommended by Meg and Emily, Jamie’s girlfriend. Apparently, they thought the redheaded Scottish hero was swoon-worthy.
That’d make two swoon-worthy redheads in my life. Is Doug Scottish? He could be, with his pale complexion and red hair.
“Mommy, Uncle John said I’m good at tee ball.” Chase announced as soon as he opened the sliding glass patio door.
I slipped my bookmark in place and set my book aside. “I can’t wait to watch you play.”
John stood back and listened, a calm expression on his smiling face, as Chase told me all about their practice. John had raised four athletic children and was used to the energy. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he missed it. Or maybe he was already thinking about what it’d be like to be a grandpa.
When it was time for John to leave, I thanked him as I hugged him goodbye. Then I herded my little ball of energy into the bathtub. It was never an easy task, getting a boy to take a bath, but tonight was extra hard because he was super charged after an hour of playing with one of his favorite people.
I tucked Chase into bed and read him his favorite bedtime story. Then, after cleaning up the mess in the bathroom, I checked to see how I looked in the mirror. Which was silly because I’d be talking to Doug on the phone. I shrugged; it’s for me, not for him. Looking good helped me feel good about myself so I brushed out my hair and put on some lip gloss.
My phone rang promptly at eight. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from someone who served in the military and worked for John Sheppard. John ran a tight ship; tardiness was not acceptable without a good excuse, like death or dismemberment. I was sure there were a few other excuses he’d deem acceptable, but I didn’t think anyone had ever tested the theory.
Answer your phone.
“Hello.” Did my voice just squeak?
“Hi Beth, it’s Doug. Is it a bad time?”
“No, Chase is asleep, so I’m free.”
“Good. Did he have fun with John?”
It was sweet of him to ask. “He did. He was a bundle of raw energy afterwards, but John must’ve worn him out because he fell asleep two pages into his favorite bedtime story.” I laughed and so did Doug, causing my heart to do a little leap in my chest.
We talked for a few minutes, sharing pleasantries, before setting our date for Saturday. I had to work the morning shift, so I’d already arranged for Chase to be at daycare and would call tomorrow to ask them if he could stay for a few extra hours. They were usually flexible, if they didn’t have plans.
“I should probably warn you; Mary overheard you ask me out.”
“So, John will know by the end of the night.” He finished for me. He didn’t sound upset, but then I’d never heard him sound upset so I didn’t have a point of reference.
“Yeah, they don’t keep secrets from each other. But it’s not a bad thing. Mary approves.” I didn’t see a reason to tell him she was giddy we were finally going on a date. Mary was the only person who knew about my crush on Doug. Though Meg and Emily suspected. Which means Jack and Jamie do too .
“Should I expect the dad-talk from John?” I could hear the humor in his voice. Thank God he wasn’t worried. John could be intimidating when he wanted to be, and I didn’t want Doug worrying about his job.
“You might get a variation of it, but don’t worry, it’s not like he’ll be waiting on the porch with a shotgun if you bring me home late.”
“Well, I wasn’t worried before you said that. Now I’m wondering if I should wear my vest.”
His deep laugh did weird things to my body, stirring up a physical reaction I hadn’t had in years. Since Phil . I felt a brief flash of guilt before reminding myself it was okay . Phil would want me to find someone who made me happy.
We talked for a few more minutes before he asked, “Do you have a favorite lunch place? Or do you want me to pick?” Usually I’d want the man to take the lead on a first date, but this was lunch and finding a good lunch place was harder than finding a quality restaurant for dinner.
“I don’t have a favorite place, but I know of a great little cafe that serves breakfast all day. If you don’t mind breakfast for lunch.” It might sound weird, but the restaurant only opened for the breakfast and lunch crowd, and their menu was mostly breakfast items. “The weekly specials are different dishes from around the world.” They offered a limited selection of deli sandwiches for the lunch crowd, but most people went for their breakfasts.
“Breakfast is good any time of day. What’s the name?”
“The Breakfast Joint.” I deadpanned. Doug laughed. I couldn’t blame him, the name was simple and on point, but didn’t do it justice.
“If I pick you up at one, does that give you enough time to get ready?”
“It does.” It gave me more than enough time, since I got off work at twelve. I didn’t usually work Saturdays but had offered to fill in for our part-time shift leader who needed the morning off.
“Great. I’ll pick you up at one. Good night, Beth.”
“Good night, Doug.” I hesitated before hanging up, then giggled like a schoolgirl because what forty-one-year-old woman does that?
One who has been lonely for far too long.