Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
S porting a giant smile that was mostly genuine—because the tourists at table four were nice, but so stinking extra—Scarlet moved between the diner’s center tables and topped off coffees. The lunch break to-do list she’d been compiling in her head had gone out the window the moment Matt Alvarez had shown up. She knew she needed to swing by the grocery store to pick something up, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what. That’s what the guy did to her brain. Fried it. Completely.
It took everything in her to not cringe. So what if Matt was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome with some growly hotness thrown in? Because seriously, could she be a little more obvious? She’d been practically drooling over the poor guy.
She stilled mid-pour, and the cringe won out. After flashing a smile at her customers and ensuring they didn’t need anything else, she hustled to the beverage station for a fresh coffee pot.
So what if she and Matt had shared a moment a few months back, leaving her crushing hard ever since? Okay, maybe it hadn’t exactly been a moment per se, but rather an interaction. Of sorts.
She frowned. Okay, fine. Maybe it hadn’t even been that.
All Scarlet knew for certain was that the interaction had been the first time she’d gotten the hint that Matt Alvarez even knew she existed. Yes, he’d come into the diner countless times over the last year and she’d waited on him. However, he usually limited his replies to one-word answers. No small talk, no pleasantries. Just right to the point. Which was fine. After all, that growly-hotness thing totally worked in his favor.
But on that particular Saturday a few months back, she’d taken Daisy to the playground and met up with her good friend, Poppy. Unfortunately, Eli—Poppy’s dickweed of an ex—had shown up and started spewing vile shit at them. In the middle of the playground! But within moments of the asshole’s appearance, Matt had swooped in.
All six-plus feet of the man’s muscular goodness had stepped in front of her and put a stop to Eli and his crap. For sure, she’d always been fascinated by Matt. But after that? Scarlet had become the president of the Matt Alvarez fan club.
Was it a little sad? A bit pathetic? Yeah, she could admit that it was. But no one had ever stood up for her before. Besides, her little case of hero worship was harmless. After all, if the curt answers, grunts, and growls of the past few months were any indication, she’d gone back to being a nobody to him.
Which was fine. Truly. The man was way, way, waaay out of her league. But that didn’t stop her from crushing on him. Because he’d stepped in when he hadn’t needed to. That meant something to her. So regardless of whether she was on his radar or not, she’d happily and proudly continue being a card-carrying member of his fan club.
A bell dinged, and she made her way to the pickup window. After double-checking the orders against the ticket, she loaded her tray and strode toward the table with two of her favorite regulars. “Hi, ladies?—”
The loud rumble of engines had her flinching. Her stomach dropped as her attention swung to the diner’s main window. Three gleaming black-and-chrome motorcycles were pulling into parking spaces along the street. Catching sight of the riders, Scarlet let out a breath, and the sudden tension that had held her body captive eased.
All the riders were tricked out in jeans and expensive-looking Harley Davidson gear. Two bikes held couples who looked to be in their sixties. On the third was a similarly aged solo rider with a giant teddy bear riding bitch. She was sure there was a technical term for riding bitch, but that’s all she’d ever heard it called. God knew she’d been that bitch countless times.
“Scarlet, honey?”
She startled but thankfully kept her serving tray level. Heat rushed over her face as she swung her gaze back to the table. “Ohmygod, I’m so sorry, ladies! Here you go, Mrs. Abbot,” she said, donning a wide smile and placing a short stack of blueberry pancakes in front of the woman. “And for you...” She set a bowl of salmon chowder gently down in front of Mrs. Abbot’s partner in crime, Mrs. Yoshida. She nodded to the window. “I’m sorry, ladies. I got distracted by the teddy bear.”
Mrs. Yoshida picked up her spoon and gestured toward the window. “I imagine you’ll be seeing a lot of those fancy motorcycles over the next few weeks.”
Scarlet’s blood chilled, but she managed to keep the smile on her face. “Oh yeah?”
“There’s a well-known motorcycle group that does charity work...” Mrs. Abbot’s nose scrunched. “They’re not like that television show.”
Mrs. Yoshida scoffed. “Please. Like you and I didn’t watch Sons of Anarchy together every week and wish we were thirty years younger.” She winked at Scarlet. “But it’s true. That group is mostly retirees from the Seattle and Tacoma areas.”
“They raise money for local children’s hospitals, veterans homes, wounded service members... that kind of thing,” Mrs. Abbot added.
Relief settled Scarlet’s twisting stomach. “Oh, well, that’s really nice.” And the complete polar opposite of her experience with motorcycle clubs.
Mrs. Abbot nodded. “June at Comfort Food heard from Bonnie, who obviously must have heard from her husband?—”
“The mayor ,” Mrs. Yoshida interjected with a playful eye roll. Because yes, Mrs. Bonnie Green often referred to her husband by his title.
“—that the group is having a monthlong retreat at the Pacific View Resort. Each week has a different theme, so there’ll be members in and out all month.”
Scarlet grinned. There was something sweet about seeing the island’s gossip train in action. “I’m not gonna lie, ladies, retirement sounds like a fun gig. Thank you for the heads-up about the retreat.” She appreciated it more than these two would ever know.
The pickup window bell dinged again, and she gave the women a nod. “That’s my cue. Enjoy your meals and let me know if there’s anything at all that I can get you, okay?”
The next few minutes were a blur of running food, refilling drinks, and taking orders. With her tray loaded with more amazing food that had her stomach grumbling, she made her way back to Cade and Matt’s table. Nerves had her heart beating double time.
Be cool, Scarlet. Do not fawn over the man. Just. Act. Normal.
“Here you guys are. Bacon double cheeseburger with cheddar, and a side salad with balsamic.” She set Cade’s plate in front of him, then grabbed Matt’s. “And the fried chicken platter with fries and extra slaw.” She placed a few additional napkins on their table. “Can I get you guys refills on your drinks?”
Matt gave a single shake of his head.
“I’m good, Scar. Thanks,” Cade said. “Oh, hey, how’s Daisy doing? I know for a fact that Rocco is missing her like crazy.”
Scarlet’s heart warmed and all her nerves evaporated at the mention of her daughter. Her sweet four-year-old attended a home-based day care run by Cade’s sister-in-law, Rebecca de la Rosa. Rocco, Cade’s three-year-old nephew, obviously also attended and he and Daisy were BFFs. Which was probably the cutest thing ever since Daisy was so stinking shy. However, Rebecca and her family were living over in Seattle this month, visiting with their extended family.
“Well,” Scarlet began, “I can safely say the feeling is one thousand percent mutual. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Daisy likes Miss Katie and Miss Flora?—”
“They’re two teachers from the elementary school who’re filling in while Rebecca, Dante, and the kids are out of town,” Cade clarified for Matt.
“Yeah, they’re great. But...” Scarlet winced. “They’re not Rebecca. And they’re definitely not Rocco, so my sweet girl has been a bit blue. But she and Rocco had a video call yesterday, which was absolutely hilarious.” The way the kids’ faces had lit up upon seeing each other had been too precious for words.
Cade chuckled. “I’ll bet. It would’ve been fun to be a fly on the wall for that.”
“Oh, it was pretty comical.” She grinned, then patted the table. “I’ll let you guys eat. If there’s anything else I can get you two, just let me...” She trailed off as she noticed Martha hustling her way. Her heartbeat tripped at the worry etched on the older woman’s face.
“Scarlet, honey,” Martha said, her usually loud, boisterous voice hushed. “You need to get over to Rebecca’s. Flora just called and said that little Daisy got into an accident.”
Scarlet gasped, and her breath locked in her throat. Her chest clenched painfully tight.
“Flora said Doc Buchanan was on his way over, but they called for an ambulance as well?—”
Martha could have said more, but Scarlet didn’t stick around to find out. Her baby was hurt. That’s what screamed in her brain. She needed to see Daisy, be with her, hold her...
Heart thudding loud in her ears, she dashed to the diner’s back office and grabbed her purse from her locker. She flew out the back door and sprinted the two blocks to her apartment. They lived above Hudson Island Antiques, and her ancient white Corolla was parked in the alley behind the building.
Digging into her purse, Scarlet ran through the alley’s opening, straight to her car. Her hands trembled as she yanked out her keys. Panic threatened to consume her, and a sob stuck in her throat when the key chain dropped with a clatter to the ground. Bending to retrieve them, she yelped when a hand touched her back. She shot up and spun on wobbly legs.
“Scarlet,” Cade said, taking a step back, hands raised in the classic I’m-not-going-to-hurt-you gesture. “Everything’s gonna be okay. Let us drive you to Rebecca’s.”
Her chest heaved with ragged breaths as her gaze shot to the hulking man standing behind Cade. He’d spoken, but she hadn’t heard a word. “I’m sorry, what?”
“We’ve got you, Scarlet,” Matt said. His deep, raspy voice was calm and soothing, and it chipped away at the fear crawling up her spine. “You’re upset, and you shouldn’t be driving. We’ve got you.”
Before she could make heads or tails of what was going on, Matt steered her toward the Corolla’s passenger door and opened it for her. Taking the keys from her hand, he helped her get seated and secured her seat belt. She could only stare mutely as he gently closed her door and rounded the hood.
At the driver’s door, he adjusted the seat all the way back before climbing in. “Deep breaths,” Matt said, starting the car and pulling out of the alley. “We’ll be there before you know it.”
“Hang in there, Scar,” Cade said from behind her, squeezing her shoulder.
She flinched. She hadn’t realized Cade was in the car with them. Tears prickled the backs of her eyes, and she pressed her clasped hands to her lips. “Please, Matt,” she whispered. “Please hurry.”
Images of her sweet girl flooded her mind.
Daisy this morning, strapping on her shoes. Her bright-blue eyes sparkling with joy. She’d been so stinking proud of herself for doing it all on her own. Like a big girl. Never mind her pink light-up sneakers were on the wrong feet.
Daisy last night, requesting another bedtime story, but not for her. No, the extra story had been for her beloved Mr. Slothy because “he likes your voice, Mama.”
“Scarlet, we’re here.”
Matt’s deep timbre had her eyes flying open. Rebecca’s house stood ahead of them, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe. She recognized the two EMTs coming out the front door; Colton and Nora were regulars at the diner.
They didn’t look panicked. They didn’t look harried. Instead, they were casually walking down the front steps. That had to be positive, right?
Her door opened, and she startled. Glancing up, she found Matt holding his hand out to her, a calm expression on his face. Good god, how long had she been sitting there? She grabbed his hand and scrambled out of the car.
“Nora! Colton!” she called out, meeting the duo at the base of the steps, Matt and Cade at her back.
“Hey, Scarlet.” Nora’s reassuring smile did nothing to soothe her galloping heart. “Daisy will be fine.”
Colton nodded. “Doc’s with her now. There’s a chance she fractured her forearm.”
Scarlet gasped, and her stomach lurched.
“But we don’t know for sure,” Colton continued, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “You’ll want to go to Doc’s for an X-ray.”
“I know this sucks, hon,” Nora said, “but Daisy was in good spirits when we left. Doc and Flora were able to calm her down. They’re in the kitchen with her.”
Despite the tears threatening to choke her, she managed to thank them for their help. With sympathetic nods, Nora and Colton said their goodbyes.
Scarlet took a moment to gather her courage. Staring at the closed front door, she sucked in a couple of deep breaths. Her hands were still trembling, but there was nothing to be done about that. You can do this. You have to be strong. For Daisy.
Another loud exhale, and then she squared her shoulders, pasted a smile on her face, and went inside.