Chapter One #2
Thankfully, The Pub closed at eleven. It was Mendocino, after all, and if you wanted to drink yourself into oblivion, you could go into Fort Bragg for that.
Darren made sure all the tables were clean.
Paddy had done his job, and the wood chips that covered the ground were free of any food.
After turning off the heaters, Darren locked the gate and shut off the lights, heading inside and closing the door.
“You did really well tonight,” Lilly said, talking to Angie as she handed her a tip sheet. “And you….” Lilly had this mischievous smile. “You should get your behind pinched more often. Those three guys, they left you a hundred-dollar tip.”
That had happened on occasion, but only when he took care of a larger party.
Not three guys. Darren smiled as she handed him his credit card tip sheet for the evening.
He was so tired he could barely see the numbers.
Darren thanked her, and after making sure he wasn’t needed, got his coat and left through the front door.
The wind was still blowing, carrying the mist along with it.
He kept his head down and his feet going along the street until he finally made the turn up onto his front walk.
Darren went inside, thankful he had managed to eat a little between tables and locked the door.
He trudged right to the bathroom, where he got undressed, showered, and then, as soon as he dried off, collapsed into bed after setting the alarm on his phone.
No matter how late it was, he had to be up to go to his first job.
The alarm blared in his ear, and he reluctantly opened his eyes.
Light shone in the windows, but no sun. As usual, it was cloudy, and the town was encased under the marine layer.
He got out of bed, checked the time, and dashed to the bathroom, where he shaved and got dressed, then stopped in the kitchen for his customary two cups of coffee before heading off to his day job, which thankfully, was only just down the street from his night job.
He went in the side door off the parking lot and into the backroom area of the only grocery store in town.
He put on his apron, shoe covers, and white hat before entering the butcher shop.
It was his job to keep the case filled and package the meat for sale.
As usual, there was plenty for him to do, and he got right to it. “Morning.”
“The fish needs to be set out,” Henry said as he passed by. He was the butcher and part-owner of the store.
“On it.” He got the trays from the cooler and carefully set out the fillets and other seafood on ice to keep it as fresh as possible.
Then he moved on to the other meats, making sure everything was up to Henry’s standards before shifting to packaging the ground meats and the chops, then filling the display.
Once that was done, he went in back and helped Henry with cutting up the sides of beef and pork.
Henry usually did the larger pieces, so Darren got started prepping the chickens and getting them packaged and into the refrigerators for replenishing.
“Darren,” Linda said from over the butcher counter. “There is a man up front asking for you.”
“Me?” he asked.
She nodded. “He said he was sent over from The Pub and that he was told to ask for Darren.”
He turned back to Henry. “I won’t be long, I promise.”
Henry grunted and went back to what he was doing. He had long ago learned that particular grunt meant “go ahead.” Others meant “don’t you dare,” or “get the hell out of my way.” There was also one for “dumbass,” and that was one he hoped he never heard again.
Darren took off his plastic gloves and hung up his apron before going out to the front of the store. “Who wanted to see me?” he asked Linda, and she pointed.
“He did.”
Darren turned and almost gasped as blond god from last night stepped closer. “I’m Chet. I asked at The Pub, and they said that you worked here during the day. So, I came over to say that I’m sorry for how my buddy behaved last night.”
“What did he do?” Linda asked. She was a huge eavesdropper and notorious gossip. If you wanted to know anything, all you needed to do was ask Linda, and she could find out.
“Linda,” Darren scolded, and she went back to what she should be doing. “It’s okay. He had had too much to drink.” And it hadn’t been Chet’s fault. “Still, it was nice of you to find me and say so. Thank you. Where are your friends?”
“They all went back to San Francisco and will be on a plane tonight heading for the east coast.” He seemed relieved. “They were friends from college, and while it was nice to see them, it brought home that some of them haven’t grown past college. If you know what I mean.”
Darren did, so he nodded. “I need to get back to work or else my boss will get upset.” There was a lot of do, and he wasn’t being paid to stand around talking.
“As an apology, could I take you to dinner tonight? I could meet you after you’re done with work.” Damn, he made the offer really tempting. It had been a long time since he had dinner with a guy like this.
“I’d like to, but I have to work.”
“At The Pub?” he asked.
Darren shook his head. “At the Harbor View in Fort Bragg.” It was the one job where he had to use the car.
He hated that he had to take it, but the tips there were really good.
“Maybe another night.” He tried to think of when he had a night when he wasn’t working.
“Thursday?” he asked. He only worked here that day, and while he had Sundays and Mondays off here at the store, he worked Sunday nights at Harbor View and Monday nights at The Pub. He never really had an entire day off.
“All right. Thursday it is. I’ll pick you up here at the store.” He smiled that million-watt smile, and Darren found himself nodding, his belly twisting in the kind of excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“This isn’t really necessary, but if you’re sure,” Darren said softly. “Thank you.” He smiled and turned away, hurrying back to the butcher shop, where he got his gear back on and went right to work, trying to ignore the way Henry stared holes in his back.
The man was an artist with meat—he could get the best cuts out of just about anything.
But when it came to people skills, he was best kept in his butcher shop and away from the customers.
So as Darren restocked the case, he helped a number of customers make their selections and wrapped them in white paper, taping them up and putting on the price sticker, all the while trying not to think about a man with golden skin, deep-blue eyes, and hair the color of straw.
It had been quite a while since anyone had asked him out or had the patience to work around his schedule.
Not that this was a date or anything. It was just dinner because his friend had treated him badly.
And Darren reminded himself not to read anything more into it.