Chapter 10 #2
The cafe didn’t strictly close for another five minutes, but with iffy weather, limited foot traffic and few cars on the road, it didn’t look like she’d be inundated with last-minute caffeine fiends.
Clem glanced across at the paddock, with its freshly ploughed dirt and the mounds covering the sunflower seeds Kev had sowed that morning.
Perfect conditions for germination. Tiny green sprouts would be poking their heads out of the soil in a few short weeks.
Two little arms wrapped around her legs and Clem smiled as her daughter snuggled into the folds of her skirt. She ran her fingers along Indi’s loose braids. ‘Come on, let’s get you tucked in.’
‘Okay, Mummy.’ Indi followed Clem inside and settled into her bedroom with the mint-green walls and rainbow bedspread. She was asleep before Clem had finished reading the fairytale.
Clem slipped on her Birkenstocks and returned to the cafe to lock up and stow away the cleaning supplies, thinking about the paperwork she might finally get to finish while Harriet was out and Indi was asleep.
Just as she locked the door, a rumbling truck engine turned down the road, continued past Vic and Kev Jenkins’ place and turned into her cafe car park.
The truck was unfamiliar, but she knew the chance of this customer calling again if she turned him away today, one minute before closing time, was highly unlikely.
Clem deliberated for all of a second before unlocking the cafe front door, flicking the espresso machine back on and heading out to the car park to greet the truck driver.
She didn’t normally do driveway service, but with a freshly mopped floor and all the chairs stacked on top of the tables, she wanted to get a look at his boots before she welcomed him inside.
‘Oh!’ She pulled up short when Spencer Hawkins climbed out of the high truck cab. ‘I didn’t recognise you in that big rig.’
‘On my way to drop off the hives,’ he said, walking towards her.
Clem couldn’t help noticing how well he fitted the King Gee shorts and the three-button workshirt, its sleeves rolled up to his forearms.
‘Am I too late for a coffee? I’d planned on hitting the road earlier, but then an advert for a fabulous cafe featuring South Giddi Giddi honey popped into my Facebook feed, and I realised coffee and something sweet would make the drive better.’
She smiled at the compliment. ‘We’re going through the honey at a rapid rate,’ she admitted.
When he smiled back, his eyes crinkled at the corners, making Clem forget her worries about the slow Saturday and Harriet’s dramas.
‘The honey muesli bar slice is neck and neck with those baklava donuts as the top two menu items. If they keep selling at this pace, I’m gonna have to keep them on the summer menu.’
‘That’s great news, we’re happy to supply as much honey as you need.’
Spencer’s beagle climbed down from the truck cab, nose to the ground and tail wagging as she sniffed around Clem’s car park.
‘I make no promises for whatever scents Dolly might pick up around here. Plenty of my customers and suppliers bring their pooches.’
He whistled. Dolly trotted across to sit by his side, the epitome of obedient. ‘I’ll keep her close, she’s pretty well trained. And I wanted to pass on the good news, Harriet got the starring pirate role in the play. Is she here?’
Why does he have to look so hot when he smiles?
If she had a broken nose, she was sure she’d cringe every time she looked in the mirror, but on him it looked rugged.
Or was it the joy as he looked over her shoulder for Harriet, or the fond indulgence on his face as he watched his beagle follow the trail of past visitors?
‘She’s at a party but I’ll pass on the message. Harri will be thrilled, thanks so much.’
Clem didn’t need to ask him for his coffee order, she had that down pat, but she was about to check if he wanted anything else when a flash of black and orange emerged from underneath the cafe deck and pelted across the driveway.
Clem squealed, and the beagle gave an excited yap as it bounded after the guinea pig. As Clem jumped away from the ruckus in a rush, Spencer instinctively moved to chase after the animals, and they collided with an almighty thud.
Clem’s foot and head took the brunt of the clash.
‘Jesus Christ,’ she cried, her hand instinctively dropping to her foot. A blinding pain surged through her two littlest toes and she felt her eyes watering.
‘Clem,’ Spencer spun around and suddenly his face was two inches from hers, ‘I’m so sorry, she’s normally well behaved. Are you okay?’
Clem blinked up at him, squeezing her eyes shut, and she felt his arms closing around her, drawing her into a hug, as the sound of Dolly’s pursuit faded into the distance.
‘I didn’t mean to tread on your foot, that must’ve hurt. How’s your noggin?’
‘Noggin?’ In spite of the pain, she found herself giggling against his soft shirt. ‘Who the hell uses that word, besides my grandfather?’
This is like deja vu—he’ll be sick of me sobbing into his chest.
Boy, it was good though. She knew she was lingering in the embrace, but that had really hurt, dammit. She took a deep breath, wincing as the pain in her skull rippled down her neck.
‘Well, I am pretty old,’ Spencer joked. His hand skimmed her hair, and his arms loosened their grip.
Step away from the hot beekeeper, Clem told herself, but she took only the tiniest move away, meeting his gaze, and all of a sudden the proximity to his body, and those strong arms, made her skin tingle.
He smelled every bit as good as she’d imagined, like Calvin Klein One from her high school years.
‘But seriously, are you okay?’
Her gaze dropped to his lips, and suddenly the air felt electric, every movement charged.
‘Totally okay,’ she said, and then, before she could overthink it any further, she closed the gap between them.