“Uh huh,” Nat said again. He didn’t look worried. Gabe wasn’t about to start a fight in Rainy’s café, and Nat knew it all too well.
“Leave that tenner on the table,” he said to his brothers as he turned to go. The best thing to do was to ignore his brothers’ snide remarks. He wasn’t really flirting with Rainy. He just wanted her to know that he appreciated the pancakes. What was so wrong with that?
Later, at his office, he got a call from the deputy sheriff, who happened to be one of his best friends during their high school days. They had a possible lead on a couple selling drugs in Arlington, Texas. The descriptions matched Martin and Toni. Gabe would be the first to know if anything developed.
It was good to have contacts in law enforcement. Gabe hoped the lead was a good one. Having Martin off the streets would be a great relief to Rainy. He wanted the woman to feel safe again. A frown crossed his face at the thought that she wouldn’t need him any longer, but she still wanted to prosecute, so there was that reason to be in contact.
He was being a coward, and he knew it. What he wanted to do; what he should already have done, was to give the woman some romance. She wasn’t a fancy type woman. She was down to earth in that girl next door kind of way that he’d always liked. But even an earthy woman enjoyed flowers, chocolate, candlelit dinners and the like. He needed to get his head out of his butt and ask her on a real date. It was just . . . what if she said no?
Throughout the morning he found his hand reaching for the phone. Should he call her? Would she laugh in his face? She’d been so angry when he’d broken off their one kiss. And what a kiss that was. He still didn’t know where he’d found the fortitude to walk away from her that day. All he could do was hope that she understood his reasoning. It was in the past. He had to move forward. His hand reached toward the phone and hovered there. With what felt like a supreme effort, he hit the number for the café. She’d be more likely to answer if she didn’t know it was him calling, and her cell phone would give it away immediately.
“Rainy Daze Café. How can I help you?” It was Abigail. He’d know that southern twang anywhere. Now if he could keep her from telling Rainy it was him.
“Hello. I’d like to speak with Ms. Daigle. I understand she owns the café?” He said in his most dignified and lawyerly voice.
“Oh, hey, Gabe. Rainy’s not here right now. She went home. Said she forgot something. She should be back by eleven, though. Should I tell her you called?”
So much for his secret agent skills. He didn’t have much choice now.
“That’s all right, Abigail. I’ll talk to her at lunch. I already told her I’d be coming for the new special.”
“Yeah, she gets the sole shipped in as fresh as you can without being in Dover.”
“I’ll see you then?” He was ready to hang up. He hadn’t wanted Abigail to know he called Rainy.
“Sure. If you leave me another tip like the one from this morning, I’ll bring you a dessert on me,” she said with a laugh in her voice.
“Now, now. That money is for you and those kiddos. Don’t be spending it on me or it wouldn’t be worth my leaving it for you.”
“Well, I’m glad you called, so I could say thank you. My Timmy needs new sneakers, and every little bit helps. I’ll tell Rainy you called.”
“No…” He didn’t think she heard his protest, because she was already hanging up.
Dang it. He wanted to punch something. Instead, he put his head down and got to work reading a contract his father had wanted yesterday. The woman was distracting him too much. He needed to find out if that buzz he felt every time they touched meant more than static electricity in the air.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Rainy
Rainy pulled into her driveway with her heart in her throat. All through her morning chores, she’d thought about the night noises she’d heard. Now, she would see what her flower bed looked like. She fully expected to see footprints from a size ten man’s shoe, since that’s what Martin wore. She could hear Delilah happily barking through the back door as she approached and unlocked it. The little dog jumped into Rainy’s arms when she squatted to give Delilah some loving.
“It’s all right, baby. I’m home.” She left the door open. As soon as Delilah got a few doggie kisses in, she ran outside and did her business. She came back in immediately, seeming to want to stay underfoot while Rainy was available.
“Stay here, sweetie,” Rainy said as she gave the dog a pat on the head. “I’m going to see what all the fuss was about last night.” She locked the back door and headed to the front of the house. Before Martin, she wouldn’t have thought of locking the back door while she was home for only a few minutes.
She straightened and drew in a deep breath for fortitude. Stepping out, she noticed Mrs. Koenig’s mail was almost falling out of an over-stuffed mail box across the street. She stepped across and gathered the mail, then knocked firmly on her neighbor’s door. The woman was hard of hearing, so Rainy hoped she’d hear the knocking.
“Rainy, so nice to see you,” Mrs. Koenig said before breaking into a sneezing fit. “My allergies are acting up. Oh, you got my mail for me. Thank you. What a sweet thing to do.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Well, it’s helpful to me.”
“Mrs. Koenig. I don’t want to alarm you, but did you hear anything unusual last night?”
“No, but I take my hearing aids out when I sleep. I wouldn’t hear it if they started flying those jets that used to make sonic booms again.”
Rainy wasn’t sure what that sounded like, but she got the drift.
“Why? Is everything all right? I saw police cars at your house more than once lately. What’s been going on?” She sneezed seven times in a row, pulled a wrinkled tissue out of the pocket in her house coat, and blew her nose noisily.
“I had a break in a while back. We know who did it, but he’s gone missing. I heard something at my front window last night. Well, actually, Delilah heard it first. She woke me up with her barking.” Rainy stopped, fearing that her news might be alarming her sweet granny of a neighbor.
“Was it that Martin character you dated for a while? I never liked him.”
“How did you know that I dated Martin?”
“Saw him coming and going. My ears aren’t worth much, but my eyesight is strong as ever.”
“But how did you know who he was?”
“Used to come into Conrad’s store while I helped at the counter. He was always a shifty character. I never understood why you’d give him the time of day, but it’s not in my nature to interfere.” She took off her glasses and cleaned them with her house coat, then set them back on her nose.
“I wish you had this time. He fooled me completely. When I found out who he really was, it was too late. Can you believe that he was selling drugs out of my house?”
“Why don’t you come inside, dear. I’ll put on a pot of tea. I so seldom get company since Conrad passed.” Mrs. Koenig opened her door wide and stepped aside.
“Oh, I can’t. I have to get back to work. I was just stopping by to let Delilah out and saw your mail was accumulating. I wanted to make sure you were well.” Rainy felt a twinge of guilt. She was sure her neighbor was lonely, but she really did need to find out what was going on at home.
“Right as rain,” Mrs. Koenig said as she beamed a thousand-watt smile at Rainy.
“Next time, I’ll bring you some of my blueberry muffins.”
“That would be lovely, dear. We’ll have tea when you come. I’ve been meaning to tell you, anytime you need help with Delilah, let me know. She’s a very well-mannered dog.”
“She is, since she and I went through doggie training classes. She was a mess before that.” Rainy laughed to think of how undisciplined Delilah had been before training.
“Well, the offer stands. You take care, dear, and thank you for the mail. Now if you don’t’ mind, I’m going to go sit these old bones down for a while.”
“I’m sor
ry to keep you standing here. I need to go anyway. It was nice to see you, Mrs. Koenig.”
“Same here. You drop by anytime.”
Rainy nodded and left as the door shut behind her. She had to face her fears and check out that flower bed, so she stood tall and drew in a cleansing breath.
“You can do this,” she said. She crossed the street and went directly to the flower bed in question. Bending down, she saw strange marks, like a small hand with sharp nails. And there were several holes and some uprooted flowers. She checked the rest of the yard and found more holes, especially near some landscaping rocks. She bent to inspect closer and was surprised to flush out an armadillo. She screamed and the animal jumped straight up, like in a cartoon, then ran away. It was fast and running toward the street. Rainy hoped the poor thing wouldn’t get run over, but she didn’t want it staying in her yard either.
Relieved to know the culprit was a harmless animal, Rainy went back inside and gave extra cuddles to Delilah. She managed to coax Samson out of his closet with a treat and gave him cuddles as well.
“My sweet babies. I think I’d better get back to work,” she said when she released Samson. “But first, I’m calling animal control to see what to do about our night time visitor.”
When she told Abigail about the armadillo, Carlos overheard.
“I’ll come get it,” he said.
“You’ve trapped armadillos before?” Abigail’s face was a picture of incredulity.
“Sure. I grew up in the country. We would catch ‘em by the tail. You have to be careful. They curl back around and try to bite and scratch you. They carry leprosy. You don’t want to get that.” He seemed perfectly serious. Rainy decided she’d google that factoid later.
“I want to come watch,” Abigail said. Her eyes were wide. Rainy hadn’t seen Abigail this curious in ages.
“You should let her come with me,” Carlos said.
“I think I’ll leave it to animal control. I don’t need you coming down with some dreaded disease. I need you here,” she said.
“You’re no fun, boss lady.” Carlos huffed and went back to his station.
Sophie walked in just as Rainy got to the counter.
“Just who I wanted to see,” Sophie said. She leaned over the counter and picked up a glass. “Give me a Diet Coke, would ya?”
Rainy took the glass and filled it.
“Haven’t seen you in a while. What’s up?”
“The boys are having a cook-out at Nat’s tonight. I thought I might talk you and Olivia into a girl’s night out,” Sophie said as she sipped on the soda.
“I would love that, but I hardly slept last night. I would be terrible company.”
“No way. You’re always fun. Please. I may be a newlywed, but I need some girl time.” Sophie clasped her hands as in prayer and batted her eyelashes. Rainy couldn’t help but think of the cartoon character, Puss in Boots. She laughed and nodded.
“What time?”
“Nine work for you?”
“How about nine-thirty?”
“Deal.” Sophie stuck her hand out and the two women shook on it.
“I’ll tell Olivia. She’s off today. She may not be able to get her mom to babysit, though.”
“Bummer. Well, you can paint the town red with me whether she comes or not.”
“Good. I’ll fill you in on why I didn’t sleep last night. It’ll give you a good laugh.”
“Great. I like to laugh.” Sophie finished her drink and spun around on the bar stool twice like a little kid.
“I know,” Rainy said. It would be terrific to get back to her normal life. She couldn’t wait to close the café and have some fun. Too bad it was only lunch time. She had a long afternoon ahead, and Gabe had promised to stop by for lunch. She’d have to get ready for his visit. The man had her so confused, she wasn’t sure where up or down was.
When he did show up, he upset her new waiter, and then asked her out. The man was impossible.
At the end of the day, Olivia didn’t want to go out. She said she had been in her pajamas all day and had no desire to get dressed.
Rainy called Sophie to tell her, and they decided to go to another kick boxing class instead of bar hopping.
“I’m too old and married to go to bars full of single men,” Sophie said.
“I’m worried that the only men at those bars will turn out to be like Martin.”
“We don’t need that, sister,” Sophie said. “This’ll be fun. Want me to pick you up, or shall we meet there?”
“Let’s go in our own cars,” Rainy said. “That way we can both go straight home and jump in the shower. I was all sweaty last time I was there.”
“Sounds like we have a plan. Call me when you’re leaving the café and I’ll meet you at the reception desk. I’ll be the one who looks like Laura Croft, ninja warrior.” Rainy laughed at Sophie. It was good to laugh. She couldn’t wait to spend some quality girl time with her best friend.
Simply having a fun evening planned made the time drag by, but Rainy finally closed up. She met Sophie as planned at the kick boxing place. The women got to use the punching bag. Sophie’s concentration was something to behold, but Rainy tried to pay attention to her own bag. So many faces to punch, so little time. She imagined all the men who’d disappointed her and hit them all squarely on the nose, just as she’d imagined earlier. While they punched the bags, Rainy told her armadillo story, making Sophie laugh hysterically.
“Want to come over for a glass of wine?” Sophie asked when the session ended.
“No thanks. I’m beat. Didn’t get much sleep last night. All I want is a hot shower, some chamomile tea, a firm bed, and a soft pillow.”
“Suit yourself. Zeke will be happy to have me home,” Sophie shrugged.
“You ladies did real good tonight,” Dave said. He was a different coach than they’d had before, and he’d worked them hard. It was a cathartic evening for Rainy. She slept like a baby that night. The animal control people caught the armadillo, or it went somewhere else to dig up a neighbor’s yard. Either way, Rainy was thankful for a full night’s rest.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Gabe
Gabe stopped by Barbara’s desk to drop off some paperwork on his way out of the office.
“I’ll be back in about an hour. I’m not expecting any calls, so if you want to take your break while I’m gone, it’ll be fine.” He tapped her desk and walked away when she nodded. It was a beautiful day, so he walked to the café. He looked around for Rainy as he sat at his usual table, but she was nowhere in sight.
“What can I get you today?” a new waiter asked as he handed Gabe a menu.
“I don’t need a menu. I’ll have the sole special.”
The man wrote the order down and walked away. Gabe wondered why the guy didn’t ask what he wanted to drink. A spark of jealousy crawled up his back as the man walked toward the kitchen. The fact that Rainy had hired a new waiter shouldn’t bother him, but did she have to pick one so young and good looking? Gabe felt old just watching the spring in the guy’s step.
The waiter brought a glass of ice water to the table.
“I forgot to ask what you want to drink, sorry. First day here.”
“No problem.” Might as well be nice. “Iced tea with lemon.”
“Coming right up.”
Before the man could leave, Gabe asked for his name.
“Burt.”
“You from around here?”
“Just moved. My mom got a new job, so…”
“Oh yeah? Where’s she working?”
“At some construction company. She thinks it’ll be a good place to work except she’s worried, because it’s owned by some people who seem to own half the town. She says she’ll have to watch herself.” He laughed as if he’d made a big joke.
“I’m sure she’ll do fine, Burt.” Gabe said. He’d have to check with Human Resources to see who the new hire was. “Would you tell Rainy to come out here?”
“Why? Did I
do something wrong? I really need this job, man.” The guy was pretty green.
“No, I just want to talk to her. She’s a friend.”
“Oh, good. I’ll tell her. What’s your name?”
“Gabe. Gabe Hart.”
Burt’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any larger. His mouth worked like a fish out of water for a few beats, heat climbed up his neck and onto his face before he turned on his heel and rushed away. He obviously remembered the name of his mom’s new firm now.
Rainy came out a few minutes later with a scowl on her face.
“What did you do to my new waiter?” She folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot.
“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I’m working.”
“I see that, but I wanted to ask you something. Would you please sit?” He motioned for her to sit across from him. She hesitated, chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, but finally sat.
“What?”
“Don’t act so upset. I’m not going to bite.”
“Look. I’m not in the mood to play your games, Gabriel. I have things to do.”
“I don’t want to play games.”
“Well then?”
Why did talking to Rainy always come out different in real life than it did when he rehearsed things in his head?
“I wanted to know if you’d like to go out with me, damn it.”
“Well, that’s one heck of a way to ask,” she said. Her eyes flashed, and he worried that she’d say no before considering.
“I didn’t plan it that way. You came out here all upset about Burtie boy and it threw me off.”
“Burtie boy? How rude is that?” She started to stand up, but he put his hand on her arm.
“Let me start over,” he said.
She waited. At least she wasn’t leaving.
“I asked Burt to tell you I wanted to see you, because I’ve been thinking about you non-stop and would love to start over with you. I’d like to take you out on a date. You know, the traditional way people get to know each other? Maybe bring you flowers. Take you to a movie or a show in Dallas. Something nice.” He held his breath as she sat across from him with her mouth hanging open.
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