Chapter 5
I smoothed the gold tunic down over my hips and fastened a belt around my waist. My body displayed my African heritage for all to see. I was usually frustrated trying to find clothes that made my waist, hips, and butt work in symmetry, but tonight, I wasn’t frustrated. This tunic always made me feel pretty, and hopefully, I wasn’t too dressed up for whatever this was tonight. Was it a date? Was it dinner with a friend? Was it a thank you for a job well done? Am I overthinking it? Yeah, probably that. I’m probably overthinking it.
I ran the brush through my hair, which was the only part of my Irish heritage anyone could see. More like my Irish heritage by way of the UK, but whatever the case, he hadn’t stuck around. Growing up, it was just Mom and me against the world, but now, she was going to marry Stan, and I was thrilled to finally have a father. Someone I looked up to and loved. Someone who was excited to have me as part of their family, too. I was gaining a step-brother, and once he married my friend, she’d officially be my sister-in-law and Holly would be my niece. It was almost too good to be true. Honestly, there was still a little part of me that wanted to know the name of the man who had contributed to my existence. I wanted to know who he was and why he didn’t stay. I could never convince my mother that I deserved to have that piece of information, though.
I set the brush down and blew out a breath, shaking off the negative and allowing the positive to fill me. I tossed around pulling my hair back into a clip, but the sun and moon aligned today, and it finally had volume and body as it rested against my face and shoulders. I’d leave it down and hope he’d want to run his fingers through it later.
The clock told me it was almost seven. “Deep breath, Addie.” I inhaled and exhaled to calm my nerves. “Think of it as dinner with a friend.” I twirled my head around in a slow circle to stretch out my neck and release the tension. I checked the ensemble again and made sure my ample breasts were tucked safely and securely in their moorings. There were times when you wanted to be voluptuous and wild, but tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight, I wanted his attention on all of me and not just my boobs.
Well, okay, I wouldn’t mind his attention on my boobs, but I’d prefer it was in private and not on display for the entire town to see. There was a knock on the salon door, so I chased away those thoughts while I hurried to the front to unlock it.
“Hi, Ellis,” I greeted him, stepping back to let him in. “How are you tonight?”
“I’m great, Addie. You look gorgeous,” he said instantly, leaning in and kissing my cheek. “Stunning would be a better word.”
My face heated from his compliments and I smiled ridiculously wide. “Thank you. That’s nice to hear. You’re looking dapper yourself.”
He held his arms out and bowed. “I wasn’t sure where we were going, so I had to guess my level of dressiness. I figured you might want to see me in something other than yoga pants.”
I snickered with laughter because he was right. All I’d seen him in so far had been yoga clothes or shorts this summer. Though last night I did notice that he filled out a pair of jeans nicely in the front and the back. His hours of daily yoga definitely sculpted and defined him to perfection. “It never crossed my mind to text my ideas for tonight so you’d know what to wear. I like the sweater vest and bowtie thing you’ve got going on. Very stylish.”
“I’ll accept that as high praise, my lady,” he bowed again and straightened his tie. “Are you hungry? I’m starving after spending two hours with eight little girls today.”
I laughed and motioned him toward the back of the salon. “I am starving, but first, I wanted to show you the alarm system we talked about.”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s right. Please, show me. I looked into an installed system today. I can’t afford one right now, let’s just put it that way, but I need to do something.”
I chuckled and nodded. “Trust me, I still can’t afford one and I’ve been in business for years. That’s the great part about smartphones and technology.” I showed him the base device and how each door alarm was connected, then how it worked with the phone app. “You can actually use Alexa or Google Assistant to arm it, turn the light on, and other various tasks. I pay ten bucks a month and it alerts the police and fire if the system is breached. It also sends me alerts through the phone. I think it cost about three hundred bucks for start-up and then ten bucks a month. I was thinking, since you work with kids, this kind of system would be good. If one tried to sneak out a door, it would alert you immediately.”
He glanced up from making notes on his phone. “Excellent point. Sometimes parents forget they’re supposed to be watching their kids and get to talking. Next thing you know, I’m chasing kids down the street.”
“Parents,” I said, rolling my eyes and making him laugh.
“It’s worth it, though. I totally love my job and couldn’t be happier working for myself. I loved being a yoga instructor in California, but even with the crazy hours and money worries, I wouldn’t trade being my own boss for anything.”
I held up both hands. “I totally know where you’re coming from. I hated renting a chair, which is why I started Addie and Me.” I checked the clock and grimaced. “I suppose we better get going. It’s almost seven-thirty.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun.” He picked up my coat, holding it out for me so I could slip into it. “I’ll drive, you navigate.”
He held the door open for me and I slipped out, making sure the alarm was set and the security lights were burning. His truck was on the street and he held the door open for me when we reached it.
“You’re the first woman I’ve ever offered a ride to who didn’t need a hand up into the truck,” he said when he climbed in.
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“It’s a good thing. A very good thing. I have a thing for tall, strong, beautiful women.” My cheeks heated again and he chuckled. “I’ve embarrassed you again, haven’t I?”
I laughed and shook my head as he started the truck and turned up the heat. “I’m not used to men being so,” I motioned my hand around searching for the right word.
“Open and in touch with their feelings with the ability to vocalize them?” He signaled and pulled away from the curb as though he just ordered takeout rather than hit me with a truth bomb.
“Honestly, yes. I haven’t had a lot of luck with guys being honest with me. The last one I dated for four years before I found out he was also seeing someone on the side.”
His lips pursed and he let out a puff of air. “He was an idiot. He never should have let you go. Where are we headed?”
His frank admittance coupled with his question had my head spinning. I had to shake it in order to make sense of the question. “I was thinking, since you’re from Wyoming, we’d go to Dave Malone’s. Turn left at the end of Main Street.”
“Dave Malone’s? I’ve never heard of it. What does it have to do with Wyoming?” he asked, turning left.
“Only the best damn buffalo burger this side of Lake Superior.”
I could have sworn I saw him flinch but I had to have been mistaken in the low light of the truck. Besides, even if he didn’t like buffalo burgers, he’d never had one from Dave Malone’s.
Our hands swung between us as we walked up the sidewalk to the diner. We’d enjoyed a quiet dinner in the far back booth at Dave’s, but we decided pie was in order to finish the night. He pulled the door open for me and I scooted in, knowing full well Ivy would be there with her tongue-wagging, and she didn’t disappoint. I was throwing her a bone and had to chuckle at the toe bounce she did when she saw us.
“Hey, guys!” she exclaimed as we stood by the pie case. “How was your night?”
I chuckled and gave her a short hug. “It’s been a nice night,” I answered, Ellis’s hand on my back when I stood up. “How was yours?”
She motioned to the corner where a tall tree stood. “Great, we got the mitten tree done and we’re ready to start the rest of the diner.”
“I noticed. It looks like Christmas blew up in here,” I said, grimacing. There was garland, ornaments, and twinkle lights on every available surface.
“The mitten tree?” Ellis asked, his voice questioning.
Ivy swiveled toward him to answer. “Oh, right, you’re new here,” she teased. She looped her arm through his and walked him to the corner where the tree stood. “Every year at Christmastime, we decorate the tree with mittens, scarves, and hats,” she explained. “You bring in one of the three, you get a free piece of pie. By the time the annual Christmas dinner comes around, the tree is full and we have mittens and hats for the kids to go with their new coats.”
I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. “More like the tree is full three or four times over. You always have boxes of them by Christmas.”
Ivy laughed with abandon, and it made me feel better to know she was feeling good, at least for tonight. “True, true.”
“Heck, I’ll fill a box if it means free pie,” Ellis said, nodding.
Ivy opened her mouth and then closed it before opening it again. “You know it’s not actually free if you keep buying mittens and hats, right?”
He grinned and held out his hands, palms up. “I know, but it makes me feel better about eating the pie if I know I helped someone else out in the process.”
Ivy did a round of fake cheering. “And he wins the game!”
Ellis laughed at her antics while I took in the diner one last time before making an executive decision. “We thought we’d grab some pie to go,” I said as Ivy came back around the counter.
“Oh, you can eat it here. I’ll clean off a booth for you,” she promised. “We aren’t closed for another hour, but you know me when I get that Christmas spirit on.”
Shep laughed when he came through the swinging door with another round of bins. “She’s like Mrs. Claus at the North Pole around here,” he said, giving his wife a kiss on the way by to booth four.
I ran to him and hugged him tightly, my lips near his ear when I whispered congratulations. He hugged me and whispered back. “Can you believe it? I had an asthma attack when she told me.”
I burst out laughing, taking more than a minute to get myself under control, all while he stood hands on hip. I held up my hand and forced the giggles back. “Sorry, you know I’m laughing with you and not at you. That’s so Shep Lund. I’m glad you’re okay.” I winked and he blew me a kiss playfully before trucking back down the hallway to the storage room.
When I turned back, Ellis was giving me the same look Shep had been. I sidled up to him while Ivy was busy answering a question for the cook. “I’ll tell you later.”
“Now then, what booth would you like?” she asked, spinning back to us.
God love Ellis for answering. “We’ll take a couple of pieces of pie to go. I don’t want to leave the business unattended for too long,” he explained, checking his watch nervously, even if it was just for show.
“Oh, right, I didn’t think of that,” Ivy said quickly. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I bet you’re nervous as a cat on a tin roof. What would you like? We have two pieces of the holiday pie left. Peppermint cream. It has a chocolate Oreo crust.”
“Sold,” I said instantly, “unless he doesn’t like peppermint.”
“I own a place called Rudolph Yoga Express. Of course, I like peppermint,” he answered without missing a beat.
We laughed and I leaned into his chest while Ivy scooped out the pie and put it in a box for us. “Now, don’t be putting jam on this pie, Addie.”
Ellis laughed as he accepted the box and reached for his wallet. “I’m not sure there’s even a jam out there that goes with peppermint. What do I owe you?”
She waved him away. “Nothing. It’s the least we can do considering what you dealt with the other night. Enjoy it and have a good rest of your night.”
He tucked his wallet back in his pocket and put an arm around me. “Thanks, Ivy. I appreciate it, though it certainly wasn’t your fault. I’m sure it was just a freak thing. Kids out messing around and they weren’t thinking. Officer Dennison figures they should catch them easy enough.”
“Trust me, the police will catch them and make an example of them. That’s what keeps the next set of kids from doing the same thing.” Shep came through the door with another two boxes and she shook her head. “I guess I better get started on this place. The next time you’re here, it will be a winter wonderland.” Her voice held excitement while she did jazz hands.
“So you mean tomorrow,” I joked. “Can’t wait to see it, Ives. Have fun!” I headed to the door immediately before we could get roped into staying to help.