Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
“ I hate that you’re going to be stuck in town all day,” Autumn said as she and Summer got into Autumn’s car.
“Don’t worry about me,” Summer told her twin.
“I plan to get a ton of writing done today. First, though, I’m going to stop and have breakfast at the diner.
Then I’ll walk over to Coffee Hour. I wrote a lot of my first novel in coffeehouses in New York.
There’s just something soothing about sitting in one.
It’s usually quiet. People leave you alone. I think I’ll get a lot done today.”
She looked out the window. “This development is really coming up. You and Eli are going to be having all kinds of neighbors soon.”
“We’re lucky that we’re on a cul-de-sac, so we don’t get through traffic. The house was already built by the time Eli got the job offer from Hogan Health. It’s actually part of his compensation package. We were allowed to decorate however we chose, but Hogan Health pays the mortgage on it.”
Autumn talked a little about a new nurse she had just hired for the cardiac unit, and Summer could tell how much her sister was enjoying her new position as Director of Nursing for Triple H.
They reached the town square, and Autumn pulled into a parking spot opposite Dizzy’s Diner.
Summer turned and said, “I won’t be able to write the entire time you’re at work. I’ll probably take a couple of breaks. Walk around the square and visit some of the new shops. A lot has changed since we went away to college.”
“If you need me to run you home, just call.”
“I may wind up walking over to the library,” she said. “It’s only about a mile or so from here. I do some of my best thinking when I’m walking. Text me when you’re leaving work, and I’ll let you know where I am, so you’ll know where to pick me up.”
She hadn’t mentioned her coffee date to Autumn. Summer had no idea how long she and Chance would talk. As laconic as he could be at times, it might be over in ten minutes. She didn’t know if she’d hang around Coffee Hour after Chance left or head to the library. She would play things by ear.
And try hard not to get her hopes up when it came to a certain cowboy.
Autum grinned. “You sure you want to be writing sexy scenes with Mom in view?”
“Surely, I could find somewhere out of her line of sight,” Summer said, chuckling. “And I promise that I’m going to look at cars soon. I can’t depend upon you or Eli for rides all the time. Have a good day. See you tonight.”
Summer climbed from the vehicle and lifted her backpack, tossing it over one shoulder. She waved as Autumn drove off and then crossed the street, entering the diner.
Dizzy himself greeted her with a huge hug.
“Summer Sutherland, it’s about time you came home. Your two siblings figured out Hawthorne is the place to be. I’m glad you’ve joined them. I know your folks are thrilled to have all their ducklings back.”
“It’s good to see you, Dizzy. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed your biscuits and gravy.”
Dizzy grabbed a menu and said, “Then let’s get you a plate of them and whatever else you’d like. Booth or table?”
“Booth,” she told him, following the diner owner to a row of booths next to the windows looking out on the square. She set her backpack on the cushion and slid in beside it as he placed a menu on the table.
Knowing she would drink a couple of cups of coffee while writing today at the coffeehouse, she said, “I’d like a tall glass of ice water, please.”
She handed him the menu. “I don’t need to look at this unless you’ve changed it up.”
He laughed. “Why would I change it when everything’s just the way folks like?”
“Then I’ll take a number two. Eggs over easy. Bacon crisp. And some of your glorious hash browns.”
“Be right back, Summer,” Dizzy said.
She had decided that she would most likely eat a big breakfast each day.
That way, she could work through lunch, maybe snacking on a yogurt and a handful of almonds.
She was eager to begin work on this second book in the trilogy.
Her small town in the series was located in the Panhandle and had really taken shape in the first book.
Summer had discovered through her editing job that setting could actually be an interesting character in itself, and she had made the town and surrounding area shine in book one, introducing different residents.
She would use the first book’s hero and heroine as her anchor couple, and they would appear in the next two books.
Summer was starting to rethink things, though.
The small town and all its inhabitants might make for more than a trilogy.
Of course, readers would have to buy the first book or two in order to give the series traction, but she could see this entire town coming to life in her mind, bringing new residents in to mix with the old, allowing different romances to blossom.
Dizzy returned with her food and water, and Summer put aside thoughts of plotting for the moment.
Instead, she soaked up the atmosphere of the diner as she enjoyed her breakfast. The biscuits were her favorite part of it, so light and flaky.
The white gravy, speckled with black pepper, gave just the right kick to things.
A few people stopped by her table, wanting to speak to her, telling Summer how glad they were that she’d returned home.
As much as she had enjoyed living in New York, there was nothing like the friendliness of a small town in Texas.
Since everyone seemed to mention her writing, she supposed her parents had spread the word.
She only hoped she would be able to live up to her own hopes, as well as those of her parents.
Once she finished eating, she paid her bill and left the diner to walk a lap around the square so she could see which shops were still familiar to her and what new ones had opened during her years away from Hawthorne.
She would try to write for a couple of hours and then take a break and go inside a few of them.
Summer headed for Coffee Hour and entered it.
It was almost nine o’clock, and she saw a group of elderly gentlemen sitting at a table in the back.
From the sound of their laughter, they were having the time of their lives.
Most likely, they were all retired now and had been friends for decades.
She would have to think about including a similar group in this upcoming book.
Going to the counter, a man in his mid-fifties with silver streaking his temples greeted her.
“Good morning. Welcome to Coffee Hour. I’m Ben Craft, the owner. What can I get you?”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ben. I’m Summer Sutherland. I grew up in Hawthorne and have been away for several years now. I’ve just moved back, though, and will be working on a novel. I’ll probably be a frequent flyer here and do a lot of writing.”
“Ah, you’re Joe and Meg’s girl. I heard that you were coming home. It was New York where you were living?”
She nodded. “I worked as a book editor at Liberty House. Now, I’m going to try my hand at writing novels myself.”
Summer asked for a hazelnut latte, and Ben rang her up, telling her to have a seat.
“I’ll bring it to you.”
She thanked him and went to a chair in the corner, opening her backpack and taking out her laptop. She also removed a notebook and pen. She had jotted down a few ideas and read over them before her coffee arrived.
Ben placed the oversized mug on the table in front of her and took the chair opposite her.
“Your mom tells me that you’re writing a romance novel. If you ever need to know what’s gone wrong in a marriage—and then what’s gone right—ask away.”
Summer was always looking for new ideas, and so she said encouragingly, “Tell me your story, Ben.”
“In a nutshell, I ruined my first marriage. I spent my twenties as a roughneck in the oil fields of West Texas, working my way up to a field manager. Someone in the front office thought I had potential and tapped me to join them in corporate down in Houston. I married a gal who was the sweetest thing on earth, and she put up with a lot. Too much, as I quickly climbed the corporate ladder. Unfortunately, I chose to be married to the job first and her second. She got tired of the long, lonely hours. She left me—and I barely noticed.”
Ben sat back in his chair, shaking his head.
“I spent my entire thirties and forties at that oil company, making myself indispensable. Eventually, leading it as its president. And then the day came when I had a heart attack. I’d ballooned up to two- fifty.
Never exercised. Ate too much and drank even more, and that didn’t even include the chain smoking. ”
Her eyes widened. “You look so fit now. A picture of good health.”
“Now, yes. Back then, I was a disaster,” he told her. “The heart attack happened at my desk. Late at night. I fell to the floor and blacked out. No one found me until the next morning. I was rushed to the hospital. Had triple bypass surgery.”
Ben looked her in the eyes. “I came out of that experience a different man, Summer. I’m one of those people who died on the operating table.
Floated up. Saw myself and those trying desperately to save me.
I told myself that if I had a second chance, I would make the most of it.
Next thing I knew, I was back in my body.
I’d always been about numbers and profits, even building myself a tidy fortune in the process.
But I realized that I had no one to share it or my life with.
No one was there for the highs, and they sure weren’t present for the lows.
My goal at first was to go back to work.
That’s all I wanted to do, despite what I’d said while out of my body.
I wanted to show people I was still the same sharp, decisive leader. ”
She was intrigued by his story and could already see putting her own spin on it.