12. Willow
12
WILLOW
“Mommy,” Jasper whined as he buried his face into one of my pillows.
I reached out and felt his forehead for the twentieth time since he’d come into my bed at five a.m. complaining of a headache. He was hot and uncomfortable, which meant he was sick and I was late. Like late , late. I was normally opening the diner for breakfast, but not now. Not with Jasper running a fever over 101 degrees.
So I called Breia and let her know that I wasn’t going to be able to come in until Zoey, my babysitter, could get here at nine. She told me not to worry, that she had everything under control. I begged her not to tell anyone why I wasn’t in yet. The last thing I needed was Cole’s judgment to return like it had when he’d asked me about Jasper. She promised to keep it to herself and told me not to worry. Which was a joke. I was a mom. All I did was worry.
I didn’t want to know what kind of assumptions Cole was going to make about me not being there on time. Especially on a Sunday, one of our busiest days. I had a sinking suspicion that it wasn’t going to be good. Which was ridiculous because, besides Jasper, the diner was the only thing I cared about in my entire life.
My phone chimed, so I reached out and grabbed it from my nightstand. It was a text from Zoey.
Zoey: At your front door. Can I just come in?
Me: Yes ma’am!
I rolled off my bed and stood, stuffing my phone into my back pocket. “Mommy’s got to go to work, bubba,” I said as I pushed his sweaty curls from his forehead and felt it one last time. “Zoey is here to watch you.”
“Hey, buddy,” Zoey’s soft voice sounded as she quietly stepped into the room.
“Mommy,” Jasper whimpered as he glanced up at me and then over to Zoey.
“I’ll be back, baby. I have to go in.” I planted a kiss on his forehead before grabbing the remote from off the bed and handing it to Zoey. “He’s fine to watch cartoons. I got him to drink some juice earlier, but I’m holding off on food just in case this moves to his stomach.”
Zoey nodded as she took the remote from me. “Makes sense.”
“If he gets too hot, give him some Tylenol and then have him take a cool bath. If it gets over 103, call me.” I slipped my phone from my pocket and held it up. “I’ll drop everything and come.”
“We’ll be fine,” she said as she nodded toward my bedroom door. “Go. I’ve got things covered.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” I blew a kiss to Jasper and then ducked out of my room. After slipping on my shoes and grabbing my purse, I half walked, half jogged out to my car and climbed inside. I made the normally ten-minute drive in half the time.
“I’m here, I’m here,” I called as I hurried into the kitchen and dumped my purse in my small office off the left side of the kitchen. I glanced around my desk to see if anything had been left there for me before movement by the door drew my attention up.
Breia was standing in my doorway with wide eyes.
“What?” I asked, dread filling my chest.
She shook her head. “Nothing, just glad you’re here.”
“Is he here?” I asked, not looking up as I rifled through the stack of invoices that Brody had left me. These could be looked over tomorrow.
“Yep.”
I glanced up at her. “Is it going well?”
She shrugged. “I’m glad you’re here, if that tells you anything.” Her attention moved to the side before she snapped to attention. Her reaction told me everything I needed to know.
Cole had just walked into the kitchen.
“Table ten needs their drinks refreshed when you’re finished doing whatever…” Cole’s voice drifted off as he appeared in the doorway and glanced in at me. His eyebrow went up.
“Table ten. Drinks,” Breia repeated as she stepped around him and disappeared.
“I’m glad you decided to finally join us,” he said as he folded his arms and moved to lean one shoulder against the doorframe.
I took in his light-blue button-down shirt with rolled sleeves and brown slacks complete with dress shoes. Did this guy own anything other than business attire? He definitely stuck out like a sore thumb in this small town.
He shifted his weight, which made me realize that I was staring. I snapped my gaze back up to meet his. He had an amused look on his face, and my cheeks burned from embarrassment.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I had a busy morning.” I pushed away from my desk and headed toward the door. “But the good news is I’m here and ready to work.” I gave him a quick smile and waited for him to move out of the way, but he just stood there, staring down at me.
“You know, if you’re not going to take this place seriously, I’m more than willing to buy you out.”
I paused, my entire body heating from anger. I kept my gaze forward as I assessed what I should say. Part of me wanted to go off on this man. Sure, I was late. But what he hadn’t seen were all of the mornings I was here before anyone else and the nights I’d stayed long after everyone had left.
I hated that he was so determined to judge me off this one morning.
“I take this place seriously,” I said as I steeled my nerves and turned to face him head-on.
“Your actions would say otherwise.”
“You don’t know me. You’ve been here a day, and you think you can make an assessment of me?” I glared at him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go out and take care of my diner.” I didn’t wait for him to move. My shoulder bumped his as I pushed past.
I didn’t look back to see if he followed me. Instead, I grabbed an apron from the hook and headed into the dining room, which was in full breakfast swing.
Thankfully, the diner remained full the rest of the morning. After the normal breakfast crowd left, we got the church-goers who were fresh out of church and ready for brunch. Then there was the lunch crowd. There was a small lull after lunch, but I stayed in the dining room with Breia and Patricia to wrap utensils with them.
Hours had passed since our conversation, but I still couldn’t get what Cole had said out of my mind as I sat there, holding a fork, a knife, and a spoon together before wrapping them in a napkin. I sighed, and Breia looked over.
“Everything okay?” she asked as she grabbed a fork from the grey tub in the middle of the table.
I glanced up at her. “Huh?” My mind was swirling, and I was struggling to process my thoughts.
“You’re staring at the silverware and sighing. Everything okay?”
I glanced down at the new set of utensils that I’d gathered. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“Are you sure it has nothing to do with Mr. Asshole?”
“ Shhh ,” I hissed as my gaze instantly snapped over to her.
“Breia,” Patricia warned.
“Breia,” I said at the same time.
She shrugged. “Hey, you’re all thinking it. I’m just the one saying it.”
I glanced toward the kitchen door Cole had walked through earlier. He hadn’t come back, and I was wondering what he was doing. But to find out would mean interacting with him, so I decided to just live in my curiosity. “Still, some thoughts should stay inside.”
“I can have someone look into him,” she said, clearly not interested in changing the subject. “I mean, what kind of guy wears a designer suit to a diner?” She scoffed. “I saw the label on his suit coat.” She let out a low whistle. “It’s not cheap.”
I sat back in my chair and folded my arms as Breia’s words rolled around my mind. Truth was, I’d had the same thought she did. Who was Cole Watkins? And why was he here? Why did he care about some small-town diner?
“Come on, Willow. You gotta let me look into him. I can get all the dirt.” She turned in her chair so she was facing me. She brought up her clasped hands and pouted her lip.
“Breia, no. What if he found out?” I shook my head. This man was going to be my partner. The last thing I needed was for him to discover that I had one of our employees spying on him.
Breia huffed. “I shouldn’t have asked you. I should have just done it,” she said as she returned to rolling the napkin she’d been working on.
“I’m grateful you asked me.” I reached out and patted her hand. “And I appreciate you looking out for me, but I think it’s best to just accept that he’s here and move forward.”
Breia glared at me, but then changed the subject to Mr. Phillips and his choice of clothing that morning. I sat back and continued rolling napkins around silverware as I listened to Breia and Patricia fill the silence with their conversation.
We eventually had to put away what we were doing as the dinner crowd started to filter in. As the tables began to fill up, Cole reappeared, and we spent the rest of the evening waiting tables and clearing them for the next group of people. By the time we flipped the open sign to closed, I was exhausted.
Lack of sleep, plus worry, plus a long workday had me dragging my feet. We all worked together to clean the dining room, and we got finished in record time. I unlocked the front door and said goodnight to Breia and Patricia as they headed to their cars. With the door relocked, I turned and headed through the dining room to my office.
I was sitting at my desk when Brody popped his head in ten minutes later.
“I’m heading out, boss,” Brody said with a quick wave.
“Night, Brody.”
He turned to leave but then paused.
“What’s up?” I asked, pulling my gaze from my computer screen and glancing up.
“I’m not sure if I should say something…”
I frowned. “About what?”
He glanced back at the kitchen and then returned his gaze to me. “Cole is cooking something on the stove. He told me to just leave it and that he’d clean up after.”
That was strange. “Has he done this before?”
Brody shook his head. “It looks like soup. Pretty harmless. I just thought you should be aware.”
I pushed my chair away from my desk and stood. “Thanks for letting me know,” I said.
He nodded before he waved once more and headed to the back door. The only people left at the diner now were Cole and I.
Brody’s words sparked my curiosity as to what Cole was doing.
When I got to my doorway, I peeked out into the kitchen, wondering where that man was. If he was stealing from the restaurant, surely that wouldn’t look good to a judge if I decided to take Cole to court over that contract, right? Maybe this was my Hail Mary to get Cole out of my life for good.
I made my way over to the stove, where a pot was simmering over a lit burner. I studied it, wondering if I should lift the lid or not. If Cole was stealing from the restaurant, I had a right to know. But what if it was completely innocent? What if there was just caked-on food inside of the pot, and he was boiling water to loosen it?
Was I really so untrusting of this man that I needed to inspect every little thing he was doing?
I shook my head and turned to grab an oven mitt that was hanging on the wall. Yes. I needed to see firsthand what he was doing in my kitchen.
As soon as I removed the lid, the smell of chicken broth and vegetables wafted up with the steam. I’d never known that such a simplistic dish could smell this good. I closed my eyes and inhaled again, allowing the scent to wash over me.
It smelled so good it was like I was tasting it.
“What are you doing?”
I yelped and whipped my eyes open. I almost lost control of the lid, but I managed to keep myself from dropping it. I turned to see Cole standing there with a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. His eyebrow was quirked as he studied me.
I willed Business Willow to enter the chat. I planted both of my feet and narrowed my eyes. “What are you making?” I demanded.
“I figured you’d know since you were getting a facial from the steam.”
Embarrassed, I brought my wrist to my forehead and dabbed at the condensation that had accumulated there. Partly from the heat of the stove and partly from the heat of his glare.
“Why are you making chicken noodle soup?” I asked as I returned the lid to the pot. “The diner is closed.” I narrowed my eyes. “These better not be the diner’s ingredients.”
He sighed as he clicked the dustpan onto the broom. “They aren’t the diner’s ingredients. I’m not that dumb.” He turned and headed toward the back, where we kept all the cleaning supplies.
He’d only answered one of my questions, and I wasn’t going to let him off easy. “But why are you making it? Is it for you?” I asked as I followed after him.
He just glanced at me from over his shoulder but didn’t stop what he was doing or answer me.
“The diner is closed. Are you getting a head start on tomorrow?” That didn’t seem right. After all, if Cole was cooking something for the diner, wouldn’t Brody have known?
Cole was standing in front of the hooks that held all sorts of cleaning devices. He adjusted his grip on the broom handle so he could slide the end onto a hook. Then he dropped his hand and finally met my gaze before he headed back into the kitchen.
“Cole, if we’re going to work together, we need to be honest with each other. You can’t just do things here and not tell me. That’s not how partnerships work.” I followed behind him as he made his way back to the stove.
He removed the lid, grabbed a ladle, and started stirring the soup. Then he tapped the handle of the ladle against the rim of the pot and set it back down.
“I was hoping to make this as a peace offering,” he said as he folded his arms and leaned against the counter next to the stove. He was facing me now, his gaze dark and piercing as his focus remained on me.
“A peace offering?” I asked, my brain desperate to figure out what he was talking about.
He sighed and glanced to the side before he turned his attention back to me. “I messed up. I shouldn’t have made assumptions this morning. What I said to you…” His voice drifted off as he studied me for a moment longer and then dropped his gaze. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Was Cole Watkins apologizing to me? This was strange. Harold had never apologized to me. Ever. Everything bad that went on between us was my fault.
I was so confused. Why did he care enough to apologize?
“I overheard some ladies at lunch talking about how Jasper was sick. They were praising you for coming in but also sympathizing with you having to leave your sick son at home.” He brought his gaze back up to mine. “I realized I’d been an asshole.”
My brain was slowly putting the pieces together. “So you’re making me chicken noodle soup?”
“It’s the least I can do.” He nodded toward the pot. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe. She always made it when I didn’t feel good. I thought…” His voice drifted off as he dropped his arms and shoved his hands into his front pockets. “I hope that’s okay.”
I didn’t know how to process this, much less how to determine if it was okay or not. This was strange. So strange.
“I can throw it away if you want.” He held up his hands. “It’s all my own ingredients, I promise. I went to Godwin’s on my lunch break and bought all the supplies. This won’t affect the diner at all.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t want you to throw it away. I’m just…confused.” I peeked over at the pot. “No one has ever done something this nice for me before.”
He scoffed. “I’m just correcting a mistake.”
“Most people don’t correct their mistakes.” I knew that firsthand. Harold lived for himself. I was never part of his plans. If Jasper was sick, Harold continued on like nothing had happened. It was always up to me to take care of things so Harold’s schedule wasn’t affected.
Cole was studying me when I raised my gaze to meet his. “Maybe you need to change the people in your life.”
I nodded. “Probably.” If only he knew. But that was a part of my history I wasn’t willing to share with him quite yet. I still didn’t know much about this man other than his inability to wear small-town clothes and how quick he was to admit that he was wrong and to make amends.
Silence fell around us as we stood there, studying each other. I wasn’t sure if he was going to speak or if he was waiting for me to say something. Finally he dropped his gaze and turned to face the stove once more.
“It’s finished. I bought a container to put it in.” He reached over and grabbed a large plastic tub from a Godwin’s Grocery bag. “If you want to get your stuff, I can meet you at your car with the soup.” He picked up the ladle and then nodded toward my office door.
“Um, yeah,” I said as I took a few steps and then turned back around. “But I need to close up.”
He waved away my comment. “I can do that. You should get back to Jasper.” He stuck the ladle into the soup and then started transferring it to the container.
“Oh, okay,” I said. Truth was, I was anxious to see my son. Zoey had kept me up-to-date on how he was doing throughout the day, but I was ready to snuggle with him in my bed and to see for myself that everything was okay.
I headed back into my office, where I powered down my computer. Once I organized my desk, I grabbed my purse and pulled the strap up onto my shoulder. I flicked off the lights and headed out into the kitchen. Cole was gone, so I did a quick once-over as I walked past just to make sure everything was in place as I made my way to the back door.
Cole was waiting by my passenger door when I got out to the parking lot. Condensation had formed on the inside of the tub as Cole gingerly held it in his hands.
“Let me get the door,” I said as I quickened my pace. As soon as I got to the door, I pulled on the handle and then stepped out of the way.
Cole set the tub down on the passenger seat and then wrapped the seatbelt around it so it would stay put should I have to suddenly break. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there, watching him. As soon as he straightened, I stepped back to give him room.
He shut the door and met my gaze. “You should be good. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
He held my gaze for a moment before he extended his hand. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
For what felt like the millionth time tonight, I was startled by Cole. I’d gone from despising him this morning, to thinking nice things about him this evening. I wanted to get a better understanding of who Cole Watkins was, but he was confusing me at every turn.
“Um, okay,” I said as I glanced up at him once more before I started walking toward the other side of my car.
“Do me a favor,” he said once I stopped in front of the driver’s door.
He leaned forward and pulled on my door handle. I moved to stand in between the door and the seat before I turned to face him. “Okay,” I said, unsure of what he was going to say.
“If Jasper is sick tomorrow, don’t come in. Stay home.” He was holding onto the top of the door. His gaze was focused on his hands until he slowly brought it up to meet mine.
“Okay,” I repeated, nodding to make sure he knew I’d heard him.
“Okay,” he responded.
Realizing that I couldn’t just stand there, staring at him, I dropped down onto the driver’s seat and shifted to the side so I could secure my seatbelt. I felt Cole’s gaze on me as I got situated, and then, slowly, he shut my door.
Now alone, I blew out my breath, my mind swirling with what had just happened. This man, this stranger , had treated me better than Harold ever had—and I had birthed Harold’s son. Was this what it was like for other women in their marriages? Was this what a good man was like?
I blinked a few times, hating that my heart ached for this kind of partnership. For the first time in years, I didn’t have to worry about what was for dinner. I wasn’t going to have to go home after a long day and cook. This stranger had cooked a meal for me and Jasper. A meal that made sense.
He’d stunned me to silence.
I shook my head as I slipped the key into the ignition and started the engine. I drove home carefully, so as not to spill the soup. I pulled into my spot at the back of the house and turned off my car. Then I opened my door and hurried to the passenger side, where I gingerly removed the soup.
I had to use my foot to slam the door behind me. Then I carefully made my way up the back porch steps and set the tub down so I could open the back door. I could hear Jasper’s show playing on the living room TV when I walked through the mudroom and into the kitchen.
Zoey was sitting at the bar with her laptop open, her elbow resting on the countertop so her hand could create a platform for her head. Her tired gaze flicked over to me, and for a moment she looked confused until recognition passed over her face and she sat up.
“You’re back!” she said as she moved to shut her laptop and then slip off the barstool.
“Yeah, sorry.”
“I thought you were going to be another few hours,” she said as she rounded the counter to join me in the kitchen.
“Not tonight. Cole said he’d close up.”
Zoey frowned. “Cole?”
“I haven’t told you about him?” I asked as I set the soup down on the counter and turned to face her.
She shook her head.
“Let me say hi to Jasper. Can you dish up some of this soup for him? I think there are oyster crackers in the cupboard. When I get back, we can eat, and I’ll dish.”
She nodded and moved to open a cupboard while I hurried out to the living room to find Jasper lying on the couch. He squirmed when I kissed his cheek because I was “in his way” which I took as a good sign.
I tousled his hair and told him I’d have some soup out for him in a minute, but he didn’t respond. His gaze remained glued to the screen in front of him. Just as I turned to head back into the kitchen, my phone chimed. I slipped it out of my back pocket as I walked to see that it had been a text from Uncle Doug.
Doug: Heading out of town to do some more fishing in Montana. Probably won’t be back until next month. Keep that boy alive and my diner open.
I chuckled as I sent him a thumbs-up emoji followed by a few fish emojis, and he hearted the text.
Zoey was waiting for me at the kitchen table with two bowls of soup. She waved me over, and as soon as I joined her, she demanded that I spill the tea. So I told her all about Cole and what he’d said. The contract my uncle had signed, and the fact that his lawyer had authenticated it. I told her about how he’d brushed me off when I asked him his plan for the diner, telling me to keep our relationship professional, only for him to turn around and make me soup when he heard Jasper was sick.
Once everything was out in the open, I brought my bowl closer to me so I could take a bite. A small moan slipped from my lips as the broth touched my tongue. The flavor was so amazing for something so simple.
“So let me get this straight. He just shows up with a letter ,” Zoey said, putting air quotes around the word, “and you just believed him?” Her gaze slipped down to the soup. “Then he tells you he wants to buy you out. Then he makes you soup and tells you not to come in tomorrow?” She slowly pushed the bowl of soup away from her. “I smell a coup.”
My gaze dropped to my bowl of soup as her words floated around my mind. “You think he’s trying to get on my good side just to push me out?”
When Zoey didn’t respond right away, I glanced up to see her shrug. “Do you think it’s possible?”
I drummed the table as I thought. Truth was, I didn’t know this man. Anything was possible. “Oh my gosh, he’s a slimeball.”
Zoey brought her foot up to rest on her seat as she tipped her head back and dropped some of the oyster crackers into her mouth. “I agree.”
I glanced over at her. “What do I do?”
A smile emerged on Zoey’s lips as she leaned in. “We don’t let him win.”