Chapter Ten #2
“Damn. I mean, I’d love your help – I could use it. It was only that I didn’t want you to feel like Harvey – or I – had cornered you into it.”
“I don’t. I’ve been hoping that you meant what you said – about when you need an extra pair of hands.”
He relaxed. “Then, if you can spare any time between your shifts next week, I’d love you to come in and help. We have a few jobs lined up and most of them are time-sensitive.
“Troy called on Monday to say that he and Cara couldn’t work out a time to get over here this week.
And there are a couple of jobs that I’ve been waiting for parts to do.
Of course, everything’s come in at once, so it’ll be a busy week.
” He paused. “Not trying to make you feel like you need to be here or anything.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “I guess if anything, I’m trying to make clear that I do need your help if you can spare the time – I’m not just using it as an excuse to see more of you.”
When her hand came up to her heart, he worried for a second, not understanding what her reaction might mean.
He felt a whole lot better when she said, “Oh, wow! It didn’t occur to me that you might … that you’d want to see each other more.”
He nodded happily. “Then you should maybe get used to the idea, because I do.”
“I do, too, Jake.”
He felt bad when he saw the way she snuck a look at her watch.
“That makes me happy, but for now, you need to get going, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to, but I have to get home and then turn around and come back again.”
“You know, since this place is halfway between the restaurant and your apartment, you can come hang out here any time you like – there’s the cot in the back room.”
He laughed when her eyebrows shot up. “I meant that you can take a nap if you need one without having to drive all the way home.”
Her cheeks were pink when she met his gaze, but her smile was huge. “Right, sure you did.”
“I did!” He laughed. “But I like that you were thinking something else.”
He was only joking, but when the pink stains on her cheeks turned red, it hit him that she really had been thinking about what they could use that cot for other than sleeping.
She dropped her gaze, and he got to his feet. When he reached her, he offered his hand and hauled her up to join him. Once they were standing toe-to-toe, he looked down into her eyes.
“Of course I was thinking that too, but I’m in no hurry. We can take our time. I’m not going anywhere.”
He was shocked to see tears shine in her eyes. “But I can if you like,” he added, hoping to make her smile again.
She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. “Sorry, I’m not crying – not really. It’s just … you. You’re … I believe you. When you say you’re not going anywhere, you mean it.”
He nodded solemnly. “I might be boring and steady to some people, but it’s who I am.”
“You’re nothing of the kind – not to me. You are so far from boring that it’s not even funny, and as for steady? To me, steady is the opposite of boring. It’s … something I’ve always wanted but never had.”
Jake’s throat constricted, and he had to swallow as he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers.
He pressed his lips to hers softly and told her, “You have it now. You have me.”
~ ~ ~
Friday night was so busy in the restaurant that Savannah wished she hadn’t switched with Tia.
Instead of hustling to take care of busy tables – including a couple of pretty obnoxious groups – she could have been curled up on the sofa at the apartment watching movies with Tiff.
Or even better, on Jake’s sofa with him … not watching movies.
She sucked in a breath at the memory of the other night. Their makeout session – there was no other word for it – had left her all hot and bothered. And when he’d mentioned the cot in the back at the garage yesterday, all her thoughts had gone racing to what they might get up to there.
She wasn’t the kind of girl who … oh, who was she kidding?
She wasn’t any kind of girl when it came to guys and …
sex. She’d had a few boyfriends, and she wasn’t completely inexperienced, but …
She straightened her shoulders and grabbed the tray of drinks from the bar.
She didn’t need to let her mind go there right now.
She was hopeful that side of things would work out well between Jake and her.
He was so sweet. He’d told her that he wasn’t in a hurry, but the way his body had reacted to her on his sofa the other night had made it clear that he was definitely interested in getting there. She was, too.
She delivered the drinks to her biggest table with a smile, even though those guys didn’t deserve one.
They were the kind who had her running back and forth all night, bitched about little details just to look like they knew what they were talking about, and she already knew they’d be stingy with the tip.
She hadn’t worked here at the restaurant all that long, but she’d come to know their type.
Sometimes, she longed to go back to the diner over in Hidden Valley.
She’d worked there for years, and even though she’d wanted to move over the hill to Summer Lake and make a change, she missed it.
Alan, who owned the place, basically left her to run it whenever she was working, and that had been fine by her.
After she delivered desserts to a sweet older couple who she’d seated by the window, Taryn caught her arm when she made it back to the bar.
“Take your break, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, I’ll wait a bit. Those guys are demanding – I don’t want Carly to have to face them.”
“I said, take your break.” Taryn’s wink softened her words. “Carly can cover your other tables. I’ll deal with those guys.”
That made Savannah smile. “Well, in that case …”
Taryn chuckled. “Carly’s training, and I love that you didn’t want her to have to face them, but she needs to learn. So, I’ll use this as a teaching moment. She can shadow me and see how we deal with guys like that in here.”
“Now I don’t want to take my break because I want to stick around to see.”
“As if you need lessons – you can handle them just as well as I can. Probably better if we’re honest. You won’t let them give you any crap, but they’ll still want to come back after you finish with them.
Me?” She chuckled. “I doubt we’ll see them again after I’m done with them.
But wherever they dine next, they’ll think a bit more before they go giving the staff any crap.
Now go sit down in the back, and get something to eat. ”
As Savannah left the dining room, Taryn’s husband, Dalton, gave her a knowing smile. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I was handling them.”
She liked Dalton; he was like Taryn – he seemed intimidating, but he was fair. He looked out for the staff, and he liked to laugh, even if he did look scary at first.
He nodded. “She knows that, but she didn’t think you should have to.” He cracked a smile. “And I’m glad she took over – if she gets to give those assholes some crap, she’s less likely to give me any.”
Savannah laughed. She hadn’t known how to take him at first, but she’d learned that while his and Taryn’s relationship might look adversarial from the outside, they loved each other to pieces, and sparring for them was like flirting for anyone else.
“In that case, I’m glad it worked out,” she told him.
“Yeah, but don’t let me hold you up – take your break.”
She went to her locker in the break room and took her phone out. Back when she was working at the diner, she never checked her phone during a shift – because no one called her.
It wasn’t all that long ago, but so much had changed in the last year.
Of course, she’d always been close with Harvey.
But Sadie coming home had set a whole chain of events in motion.
Sadie had met Dom – which meant Savannah had met Jake.
Josh had moved back here. And even though Savannah had moved away for a few months, it felt like when she came home, she had family around.
Add to that, moving into the apartment and sharing with Tiff had given her life a whole new dimension – and she loved it.
She loved seeing messages from Sadie, asking if she wanted to have lunch on Sunday.
Tiffany, telling her that she was going to bed early and not to think she was out or sick when she got home and saw no sign of her – she was just pooped after a busy week in the salon and wanted to be well rested for tomorrow night.
She’d answer Sadie tomorrow, and she’d see Tiff in the morning. She smiled when she saw a message from Josh.
Josh: Just checking in. Feels weird that we haven’t talked since you started seeing Jake. Wanted to let you know that I’m still here for you. Not that you need me – he’s a good guy. But you still have your friend, too.
Savannah: Aw, thanks Josh. Miss you too. Are you going tomorrow night? If you are, I’ll see you then. If not, let’s go for coffee or something one day next week.
She didn’t expect a reply, but he came right back.
Josh: Let’s do both?
Savannah: Deal. See you tomorrow night.
She put her phone back in her bag but then took it out again when it beeped. Her heart sank when she saw the name on the display – it wasn’t Josh.
Rick: I’m back in town. I’ll see you soon.
She blew out a big sigh. She’d known that it was coming, even though she’d hoped that he might just leave her alone.
Maybe she could talk to Colt – he was one of the sheriff’s deputies.
Maybe he could have a word – warn Rick. But then, Rick wasn’t doing anything illegal.
Or maybe he was – the kind of threats he’d made the last time she’d seen him should be illegal if they weren’t.
She put the phone back, closed her locker, and sank down into one of the chairs. She still had a little while before she had to go back out there. No way was she going to let him throw her off her game.