Chapter 7 #2
Lily snatched two menus from the kiosk. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Kate. Thank you for bringing a coffee shop and bistro to town. I miss my London Fogs and having a cool place to meet with friends.” She added in a stage whisper, “Not that this place isn’t cool.”
Lily showed them to a booth and set the menus down. “What can I get you two to drink?”
“I’ll take a large water with lemon,” Kate said.
“Coffee for me, Lily,” Nick added.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menu.”
Kate peeked over her menu at Nick. “What do you recommend?”
“I usually get two eggs over easy with bacon, hash browns, and toast. Chloe always orders the blueberry pancakes.”
“Pancakes sound good, but I like to start my day with protein and vegetables.”
Lily returned a couple minutes later and set their drinks down. “Have you decided?”
“My usual,” Nick said and handed the menu to Lily.
“I’ll try the veggie omelet with a side of bacon. No toast.”
“Good choice,” Lily said, and scampered away.
“Tell me, Kate. If you weren’t here, what would you be doing today?”
“I’d be testing new recipes, which sounds incredibly boring, I know.”
“Not boring. Baking is your livelihood, but what about hobbies or other interests?”
She had to think hard for an answer. Kate was just as much a workaholic as the man sitting across from her. Maybe this friendship pact was good for both of them. After all, they both needed to get out of their self-imposed ruts and take time to play a little. “That’s a good question.”
“No bucket list?”
She leaned back. “No, but I’m thinking I need one.”
“Let’s make one now, then.”
“Listen to you. I thought you were all work and no play,” Kate said.
“Said the pot to the kettle.” Nick laughed.
“Well, you already know I want to visit all fifty states. But I also haven’t been out of the country.”
Nick nodded. “Which countries would you like to see?”
“Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Germany, England,” Kate said.
“So, you’ve given this some thought.” Nick smiled his oh-so-sexy, women-turning-heads-and-causing-traffic-accidents type of smile. “What about here and now?”
“I’ve never been snowshoeing or white water rafting.”
“I can help you with those.”
“Oh yeah? All of them?”
“Let’s start with getting you on the trails.”
“Here you two are.” Lily set their breakfasts in front of them and refilled Nick’s coffee. Kate had been doing most of the talking and had hardly touched her water.
“Looks delicious. Thanks, Lily,” Kate said.
“Enjoy.” Lily scampered off to her next table.
Kate was so absorbed in their conversation she hadn’t noticed how full the diner had become.
They’d gotten halfway through their meal when Rosie, Elsie, and Emma came over to introduce themselves. When they left, Kate met the charming old Sampson brothers and Maggie and Ethan’s mom, Linnie.
Nick finished his coffee. “I apologize for what seemed like the entire town stopping by to chat.”
“It’s fine. I enjoyed meeting everyone.”
Lily came by and gathered their plates. “Breakfast is on Rosie. She felt bad for starting the town introductions.”
“Please thank her. My compliments to the chef.” Kate placed a hand on her stomach and took a deep breath. “That was the best veggie omelet I’ve tasted. I’ve never had one stuffed with so many vegetables.”
Nick leaned forward when Lily left. “When I returned home to Deer Creek Falls, the same thing happened. People were always interrupting meals to shoot the breeze. It’ll fade with time. You’ll like it here; this is a great community.”
“I didn’t mind.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Nick placed a twenty on the table and stood. He waved to Rosie as he led Kate out of the diner and to his truck.
* * *
Kate sat in the passenger seat, craning her neck to look at all the storefront Christmas displays as they drove down Main Street. Nick tried not to notice her floral scent or the strands of hair she tucked behind her ear. His gut tightened with inconvenient lust.
Kate removed her mittens and said, “Tell me about the gun range.”
“It’s not far, just outside of town. It’s run by a former classmate of mine. He added an indoor range this past summer. He’s had the outdoor range for years.”
“Can I rent a gun?”
“No need. I brought two with me. My service weapon, which I’ll use, and I brought my personal pistol, a Glock 19. I think you’ll like it.”
Kate listened as Nick pointed out different landmarks. She noticed the sign for the Lucky Lure Resort. “Is that the resort Maggie and Owen own?”
“Yes. Maggie inherited it from her grandfather. She and Owen live on the property, on the family homestead. Roman lives across the street, and Ethan lives on the other side of the resort.”
“I don’t think I’ve met Roman yet.”
“Roman is the oldest son of the Reynolds clan. He owns a landscaping business.”
Nick glanced at her. “What are you thinking about?”
“Oh. How nice it would be to have siblings and live close to them.”
“It is. But it can also be a bit much.”
“Oooh, do tell, or do I have to ask Chloe to paint a picture of you as a reckless teenager?”
“Who, me? Reckless?”
Nick pulled up to the large red pole barn that housed the indoor range. The building sat amongst a stand of birch and poplars. There were a few cars in the lot. “I reserved two lanes, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be a problem.”
They climbed out of the truck, and Nick grabbed the range bag from the back seat. He placed a hand on her lower back as they walked. Kate pulled the door open and waited for him to enter first.
“Hey, Nick,” greeted the man behind the desk.
“Hi, Mark. I want you to meet Kate Davis. She’s renovating the old church into a coffee shop and bistro.”
Mark shook Kate’s hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m planning to be a regular. I heard you’re quite the baker, helping the Reids and all.”
Kate’s brows furrowed. “Thank you. Yes. We’re all set for Santa Days this weekend.”
“My son loves visiting with Santa at the lodge.” Mark turned his attention to Nick. “How’s your dad?”
“Grumpy, but doing well. He was lucky Jake was at the lumberyard.”
“Are you taking over Santa duty?” Mark asked.
“Me? No. Not a chance. Cole will.”
Mark checked them in and walked Kate through safety protocols and commands.
She was attentive and asked a few questions.
Before long, she was laughing and joking with Nick’s friend.
After a few minutes, she excused herself and walked toward the gift items. Mark stood next to Nick and whispered, “I like her.”
The smile that broke free on Nick’s face surprised him.
Kate returned. “Ready?”
“You’ll be in lanes five and six.”
“Thanks, Mark, it was nice to meet you,” Kate said.
“You too, Kate.”
They walked to their assigned lanes. “Everybody is so friendly.”
“That’s our small town for you.” Nick placed his bag on the shelf and pulled out safety glasses and ear protection.
There was only one other shooter, in lane eight, and he looked to be packing it in for the day.
Nick nodded to the older gentlemen. He placed a semi-automatic handgun and two magazines in each lane.
“You mentioned you hadn’t fired a gun in a while. You’ll be using my 9 mm Glock. Let’s get you set up, and I’ll show you how to load the magazine.”
Kate said little but listened and nodded. Nick moved the paper target closer. “Let’s start at five yards.”
He moved behind her.
As Nick’s arms reached around to show her how to hold the gun, Kate could smell Nick’s body wash.
A minty-fresh goodness—yum. Damn if she wasn’t attracted to Sheriff Nicholas Reid.
Not good. Not good at all. She needed to adhere to the rules on the friend-zone list. One was to keep physical contact to a minimum.
Technically, leaning was minimal contact.
She wondered if she was receiving standard or special treatment. Either way, she wouldn’t complain about the sexy sheriff standing irresistibly close. Her pulse quickened.
“Okay, square up the target and place your feet shoulder-distance apart,” he instructed. “Place your gun in your hand like this.”
He showed her the correct grip. They put on their noise-cancelling ear protection, and she squared to the target.
All right, hotshot. “Like this?”
“You got it. Nice and slow.”
Kate placed three shots into the 10-ring, center mass. She removed the mag, placed both pieces on the table before her, and removed her ear protection.
She brought the target in and unclipped it. “You know what they say about assuming, Sheriff.”
“Damn.” Nick grabbed Kate’s target. “My bad. Lesson learned.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t feel bad. I made it to Olympic trials for pistol shooting.”
He shook his head. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
She shrugged. “It was more fun to see your expression.”
“Can I keep this?” He held up her target.
“Sure.”
“Are you always this full of surprises?” he asked.
“I guess you’ll find out.”
A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “I can’t wait.”