Chapter 10
Maggie flew down the stairs in her Busy Bee uniform, waving to Virgínia as she bolted out the door.
She’d overslept, and she hated it. Getting used to not living in survival mode was hell.
Her body took so long to relax that when it finally did, she slept like the dead.
Guess it was time to add a third alarm to her routine.
It figured. Only a few weeks into her new life and all her discipline was dissolving. She’d never dared sleep in when she was living with Sean, or things wouldn’t have gotten done. And she would have paid the price when he got home.
Guilt nagged at her for another reason as well. Katya had to take one of her kids to the doctor yesterday and she knew there wasn’t going to be anyone else to work the breakfast shift.
One blessing of small towns was that everything was so close. She’d barely gotten her car started before she was pulling up in front of the diner. When she spied Luke flipping the sign to “Open,” she skipped walking around to the back and just headed straight to the main door.
“I’m so sorry I’m late.” She hustled past him to the kitchen doors, unzipping her coat as she walked.
“You alright, Mags?”
“Just overslept,” she called out as she shoved her jacket and purse onto the hook next to the punch clock and clocked in.
Half an hour late. Damn, she felt terrible.
She turned to see him leaning against the wall, his hands shoved in his pockets, lean biceps on display. Damn he was unfairly attractive in that yellow uniform shirt. “I better go flip the chairs.”
“I’ll help.”
“You don’t have to do that. You have your own work to do.” She slid past him, heading back to the dining room.
As she swung the doors open, her stomach protested that she’d skipped breakfast at the Haven. Ugh, could he hear that?
Maggie hid her mortification and busied herself with flipping the chairs around the tables. Then she got to rolling the silverware she hadn’t got to the day before.
Luke exited the kitchen and came over to where she stood. “It’s Thursday, Mags. We don’t normally get busy on Thursdays.”
Maggie furrowed her brows. “But last Thursday was packed.”
He gave her a wry grin. “That’s because Mom got hurt and everyone wanted the tea.” His gaze was intense, and she nearly dropped the fork and knife she was attempting to roll. Maggie went back to watching her hands.
“How do you take your eggs?”
“Huh?”
“How do you like your eggs? Scrambled, over easy…”
“Um, scrambled, why?”
“Do you want pancakes or waffles?”
“Luke, you don’t have to make me breakfast.” When she turned, he’d hemmed her against the counter, one hand on either side of her.
He leaned in, his breath ghosting over her heated cheeks.
Two fingers grasped an errant strand of hair and tucked it back behind her ear.
Her gaze fell to his lips, outlined by his short, dark brown beard.
Would it be coarse or soft? She could kiss him; it would only take leaning forward an inch.
Would his hair leave red marks on her fair skin, proof that she’d kissed him?
How would it feel between her legs? Her pulse pounded in her ears as the pads of his fingers trailed down her jaw, unwilling to let her go just yet.
For a moment, he was the very air she breathed. His face was all she could see. His arms caged her in, not to imprison but to keep her safe. Maggie wanted to bury her face in his neck and hide from the world.
That’s when her stomach growled again.
She groaned and averted her eyes. Luke chuckled.
“Pick one, Mags. Pancakes or waffles?”
“Waffles. With strawberries if we have any?”
His eyes danced with mischief. “You want whipped cream?”
She licked her lips and his gaze dropped to her mouth. “Sure.”
He leaned in and whispered in her ear, her breaths coming faster. “Coming right up.” Then he gave her the most chaste peck on the cheek in the history of kisses and drew back from her.
“Pick a booth and I’ll be out in a bit.” He shoved his hands back in his pockets and slipped through the swinging doors, looking back at her over his shoulder before he disappeared.
Maggie froze in place, her ears ringing, her cheek tingling. She raised a hand to cover where he’d kissed. That was a yes on the beard burn, then.
After Sean, she never thought she’d want to be with a dominant guy again.
Luke had basically just steamrolled her into accepting breakfast. But as the delicious scents of waffles cooking and meat frying wafted out from the kitchen, the differences between the two stood out in sharp relief.
Sean had wanted to control her. Luke just wanted to take care of her. Could she let him?
With a shiver, she pulled herself together and took two rolls of silverware to the booth next to the kitchen door, where she and Katya usually took their breaks when they weren’t busy.
She went over to the drink station, taking two mugs and some creamers back to the table.
She’d seen Luke drink coffee, but she didn’t know how he took it.
Maggie busied herself with doctoring her coffee, hoping to get her racing heart to calm down.
Luke wasn’t for her; she was still married, and he was her boss’s son.
The line from her wedding rings had only just disappeared after all.
Dating was out of the question, even if she was separated.
Besides, who said she wouldn’t make another massive mistake and choose the wrong guy again?
By the time he came back through the swinging doors, she’d almost convinced herself she’d imagined the heat between them. She about died when he laid her plate in front of her, though. No wait, make that plates. Plural.
A stack of waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream stood at one end, a huge pile of scrambled eggs filled the middle, and sizzling home fries sat at the other end. Then he placed two smaller plates, one of bacon and one of sausage, on the table.
“I forgot to ask if you wanted sausage or bacon, so I made both. You can take whichever you want and I’ll eat the other.”
Next came his own plate, which was filled almost exactly the same as hers, just without the fruit and whipped cream. He sat a pot of syrup down as well.
“Oh wow, Luke, I don’t know if I can eat all this.”
He slid into the booth across from her and put two sugars into his coffee. “I bet you can. You work hard and you need the energy.”
Tears pricked her eyes. Sean would have never been caught dead in the kitchen, but here Luke was, still wearing his apron, having cooked her a veritable feast. If she’d ordered this much food while they were out, Sean would have sneered and admonished her appetite, saying he didn’t want her to get any chubbier.
But Luke wanted her to eat. He wanted her to be strong.
God help her, but she could fall for this man so easily.
After their impromptu breakfast, customers started trickling in and Maggie reluctantly returned to work. Luke didn’t even let her bus their table.
The Busy Bee was quiet that day. As Luke had predicted, she only had a few tables to check on.
It wasn’t great for her tips, but it was nice to have a calm day with her head spinning over Luke.
Maybe she could go out with him, despite the badge.
But Maggie also knew she was very likely to get attached to someone who wasn’t sticking around.
But was that such a bad thing? As she weighed the pros and cons, one of her customers waved her over.
“Can I get you something else?”
The kid wore a Penn State hoodie that swamped him, and his textbook and laptop were open on the table next to his empty plate and silverware. “Is it okay if I leave these here while I go to the restroom?” His eyes darted around, nervous like a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.
“Of course, sweetie, no one will disturb them.” She’d asked already if he went to Penn State, but he’d answered that no, he was in the local community college. He hoped to transfer someday, that’s why he wore the sweatshirt.
“Thank you.” He rushed from the table, his head down.
Goodness, she hoped he wasn’t having a reaction to their food! Luke would feel terrible.
She refilled the waters for table six and put in an order for a mother and her child at table four. Chicken fingers and fries for the little one, a chef’s salad for Mom. The little girl asked for chocolate milk, and Maggie was happy to oblige.
Luke produced the food in record time, and Maggie carried it out to their table. She looked over, expecting to see the student back in his booth, but it was still empty. Frowning, she looked back at the restroom door. She couldn’t go in there, but Luke could.
After making sure her tables didn’t need anything else, she slipped through the swinging doors.
“Hey, Luke?”
“Yeah?” He looked up from scraping the griddle.
“One of the customers went into the men’s room and he’s not back out yet. He looked like he was going to be sick or something. Would you check on him?”
“Who was it?”
Still being new to town, Maggie didn’t know the kid’s name. She described him and peeked back through the door just to be sure he hadn’t returned yet. “He’s wearing a Penn State hoodie, but he says he’s not going there yet.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty common to do community college first to save money.” Luke pulled off his apron and hung it on the hook next to the swinging door. “I’ll be right back.”
Maggie returned to the dining room to finish rolling the silverware she’d neglected for her breakfast. Not a minute later, Luke banged the restroom door open with a shout. “Maggie! Call an ambulance!”
She scrambled for her phone and dialed 9-1-1. After giving her location, the dispatcher transferred her to the local service.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“I’m not sure, my coworker said to call.” She ran for the bathroom door, where Luke was hauling the kid out of the bathroom, his limp arm around Luke’s shoulders. Pulling her phone away from her ear, she hit the button for speaker.
“Ma’am, what’s the emergency?”
Luke spoke into her phone. “Kid overdosed in my diner. Male, age nineteen.” He pushed his charge into the nearest empty booth, away from other diners, and laid him on his side. “Come on Mikey, stay awake now.”
She put the phone back to her ear and gave the dispatcher their location.
“Ambulance is five minutes out. Please stay on the phone until they arrive and clear a path.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Maggie hurried to prop open the door to the diner as a chilly wind blew through. “Sorry about the cold, folks.” Worried faces greeted her. The child at table four had climbed into her mother’s lap on the other side, her chicken forgotten.
And there were the sirens. “I think I hear the ambulance.”
“Yes, that should be them. Stay on the line until you can see them.”
She did as she was told, and when the ambulance roared up to the front door, lights flashing, she directed the EMTs to the booth where Luke stood guard. Shaking, she poured herself a glass of water, her throat suddenly parched.
Luke joined her behind the counter, his face ashen and his eyes rimmed in red. Without thinking, she opened her arms to him, and he accepted her hug, clinging to her.
The EMTs wheeled Mikey out on a gurney, with an oxygen mask strapped on. The lead paramedic strolled up to Luke and Maggie with a grim look on her face.
“Are you familiar with the victim?”
Luke stood up and nodded. “Yeah, I used to babysit him.”
“We administered Narcan. He’s breathing, but still not responsive.” She named the hospital they were taking him to, and Maggie flipped out her tablet and wrote it down.
Luke reached out a hand. “I’ll call his parents. Thank you.”
She clasped his hand professionally and patted him on the arm. “You called us in time.”
Luke just nodded as she turned and strode through the door. As the ambulance drove away, he leaned over the counter onto his elbows. Maggie hurried to close the doors.
“Sorry for the interruption, folks,” she called out cheerily. With a tug on Luke’s elbow, she led him back into the kitchen.
“Luke, do you want me to call his parents?”
He shook his head, coming out of his daze. “No, I need to be the one to do it.”
“I think we should close early. Or ask Shorty to come in early.”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, let’s get Shorty. Can you go into the office and call on the diner phone? I need… I need to call Mikey’s parents.” He choked on a sob and she hugged him once more.
“You saved his life.”
Luke glared into the distance, and his growl shocked her. “It never should have been in danger in the first place!”
Maggie jumped away from him, her heart in her throat, and he winced. When he reached for her hand, her gaze dropped to the floor.
“I’m not angry at you. I’ll explain later. Let me get this call over with.”
She squeezed his hand and gave him what she hoped passed for an understanding smile. “I’ll call Shorty so you can leave.” Then she pulled her tablet out and handed it to him. “I wrote down which hospital they were taking him to.”
His relieved “Thank you” told her she’d done the right thing.
Shorty took over the rest of Luke’s shift, and he headed home.
She went through the motions of her work, Luke’s reaction in the back of her mind.
It made sense for him to be upset that a kid he used to babysit had turned to drugs.
But the anger confused her. Almost like it was a personal insult for him that Mikey had the drugs in the first place.