He looked surprised. "You make the pies?"
"Maria and I take turns." She laughed at his stunned expression. "Why is that so surprising?"
"I don't know. I just thought..." He flushed.
Meg enjoyed his distress. "You just thought I was a dumb little waitress who couldn't possibly have any other skills? Well, I hate to disillusion you but I not only wait tables and bake pies, but I help plan the menus and keep the books for Joe."
Zane looked her straight in the eye, his blue gaze seeming to bore straight into her. "I have to stop underestimating you, Meg. You're obviously a woman of many talents. I apologize for jumping to conclusions."
Meg couldn't seem to move or break free from his gaze. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she averted her eyes and gave a shaky laugh. "At least your apologies are getting better. I'll bring your pie in a minute."
She found the last piece of lemon meringue in the refrigerator case and set it on a plate for Zane. She closed the fridge door with her hip and started back to his table.
"Hey sweetheart. How about a little sugar over here?"
Meg suppressed the urge to club the customer over the head with her coffee pot. Fending off over-eager customers was all part of the job. "Can I help you, sir?"
His gaze ran slowly up and down her body. "You sure can, honey. How about bringing me some of that pie? Maybe later we can test whether that motto on the license plates is really true. How friendly is 'Friendly Manitoba'?"
From the corner of her eye she saw Joe watching with a grim expression. She gave him a slight shake of her head. He'd had to intervene on occasion for both her and Jane when a male customer got a little too familiar. Fortunately those occasions were rare.
"We're friendly, to a point," she said, trying to keep her smile in place. "If you'll excuse me I'll bring your pie as soon as I serve my other customer."
"Now, don't go running away, honey." He put his hand around her waist, stopping her retreat and forcing her closer to him. Meg smelled the alcohol on his breath, and fought back the panic that the stale odor always raised. His hand lowered to touch her butt and she stiffened.
"Let me go." She tried to free herself without losing the pie or spilling the coffee on him. She saw Joe step out from behind the counter, and relaxed a little. She could always depend on him.
"The lady said to let her go."
Meg turned her head to see Zane standing beside her, a murderous look on his face and his hands fisted at his sides. The jerk in booth six tightened his hold on her. Apparently he couldn't read body language.
"This is none of your business. The lady and I were getting acquainted."
"The lady doesn't want to get acquainted with you. I said let her go."
The jerk pulled Meg closer. "And I said this ain't none of your business."
Zane's next move was so quick Meg didn't see it coming. He pushed the pie into the jerk's face, surprising him enough that he let go of his hold on Meg's waist. Zane pushed her out of the way, grabbed the jerk by the collar, and tossed him out the front door. The restaurant erupted in applause.
"Meg, honey, are you okay?" Joe took the coffee pot from her hands and set it on a table. She leaned towards him, and he put his arms around her. Joe was shorter than she was but had always seemed like the biggest man in the world to her.
"I'm okay."
Zane returned, his expression grim. "Did he hurt you?"
Meg was surprised at the tension in his face and the anger she heard in his voice. "No, I'm fine. Joe, I don't think you've met Zane Martin. He's Tommy's girlfriend's father. Zane, this is Joe Evans."
Joe nodded in comprehension and held out his hand to Zane. Meg and Tom had told everyone about his impending fatherhood. "I'm glad to meet you. Thanks for helping Meg."
Zane shook hands with Joe, but watched Meg's face. "My pleasure."
Meg felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "Zane and I were just about to go shopping for a crib for the baby. He came to pick me up."
"Why don't you two go now? I can cover you," Joe said.
Meg kissed his cheek. "Thanks Joe. I owe you one."
Joe pretended gruffness. "You owe me more than one."
In the staff washroom, Meg scrubbed her face and then took out her ponytail and brushed her hair until it shone. Her hand shook as she pulled the brush through her hair and it annoyed her. There was no way she'd let some drunken jerk rattle her. She'd survived much worse than that.
After she changed out of her work clothes, she grabbed her jacket and stepped back out into the restaurant. Zane had resumed his seat and sat quietly drinking his coffee, his face still grim. Meg walked up to his table.
"I feel really badly."
He looked up at her sharply. "Why?"
"I know how much you wanted that pie and that was the last piece of lemon meringue."
For a moment he just stared at her and then his face split in a wide grin. The smile made him look happy and carefree, two emotions she hadn't seen in him before. She ignored the pull of his smile, the magnetism that wanted to bring her to his side.
"It's okay," he said with a laugh. "It went for a good cause."
Meg nodded. "Let's go buy our baby a crib."
* * * *
"That's not how it goes."
Zane looked over at Meg who was carefully studying the assembly instructions included with the crib. He tried to be annoyed with her for criticizing his efforts, but it was pretty hard when he knew he wasn't exactly doing a bang-up job. "Would you like to put this thing together yourself?"
He'd had a thoroughly enjoyable evening sparring with Ms. Evans over which crib to buy. The last fifteen minutes had been spent wrangling over the set up of the crib. They'd brought the crib to his house and taken it up to the bedroom that was going to become the nursery. Zane found perverse pleasure in getting a rise out of her. He'd been told that his size, combined with his scars and his not altogether sunny nature, intimidated women. Meg Evans was not easily intimidated, despite his best efforts.
She held the assembly instructions in front of his face. "What I'd like is to get this thing put together before the baby goes to college. Look, screw A does not go into slot B. If you'd just take a minute to read the instructions I could be out of your hair in five minutes."
"Promises, promises." He took apart the pieces he'd already put together. "Okay, Ms. I-know-how-to-do-this-better-than-you-do. Go for it."
Meg laid out the instructions in front of her. "Okay, first we take the headboard and connect it to the mattress board using screw A." She laid out the pieces in front of her. "Can you hold the pieces in place while I screw them together?"
"Yes, master."
"God, you're grumpy."
"We've been at this for hours."
"And whose fault is that?"
Zane knew when to shut up.
Meg put the pieces together. "Now we attach the footboard." Once more, Zane held the pieces together until she could secure them with the screws. The rest of the assembly went smoothly. He lifted the mattress into the crib.
"It looks okay." He shook the crib to test its sturdiness.
Meg began to laugh and the sound of it made him think of music. "Whoa. Hold the presses," she said. "Was that a compliment?"
He tested the rails of the crib, sliding them up and down. "I suppose so."
She grinned. "As compliments go, it's pretty feeble, but I'll take it." She made a little bow. "Thank you. I owe it all to my ability to follow instructions, something some people, who shall remain nameless, are incapable of doing."
He watched her, thoroughly charmed, but kept his face carefully neutral. "Don't get a swelled head."
She stretched a little and rolled her shoulders before checking her watch. "It's after eleven. I'd better get home. I'm working the early shift tomorrow."
"I'll get my keys."
"That's okay. The bus stop's not far. You must be tired too, and it won't take me long to get home."
"Right. As
if I'd let you walk around in the dark and take a bus alone at this time of night."
She stared at him as if surprised by the forcefulness of his offer. "I'm a big girl, Zane. I can look after myself."
"I'm sure you can look after yourself just fine. In broad daylight. But after dark is a whole different story."
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't patronize me."
Just the thought of Meg standing alone in the dark at a deserted bus stop gave him the creeps. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I'm just saying I picked you up and I'll take you home. End of discussion."
"What discussion? You just issued an edict."
"He's really good at that, isn't he?"
Zane and Meg both turned to see Erin in the doorway, her bare feet peeking out from under her nightgown. Her blonde hair was tousled from sleep. With a start, Zane noted the swell of her abdomen under the nightgown. His heart made a painful thump. She was really starting to look pregnant.
"Sorry to wake you, honey."
She grinned sleepily. "That's okay. I had to pee anyway. Again. What are you doing in here?"
"Putting together the crib."
"The crib?" Erin looked around the room until she found the crib. She made a little moue of surprise. "It's beautiful."
She ran her hands over the smooth railing. "I can't believe you guys did this." Her voice hitched. "Oh damn, I'm going to cry again."
Without a second of hesitation or awkwardness, Meg stepped to Erin and put her arms around her. "It's okay, honey. Cry all you like."
Erin snuggled against Meg's shoulder. "Did you cry for no good reason when you were pregnant?"
Meg's body went suddenly tense, and Zane saw a cloud of sadness pass over her face. "Yeah, I cried a lot."
"It's a really beautiful crib, Meg. Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me. It was your Dad's idea. I just put it together for him." Her last statement was said with a wink in his direction. Erin flung herself into Zane's embrace and he held on tight, closing his eyes as he rocked her gently in his arms. How could it be that his baby was having a baby?
"Thank you Daddy." She pulled away from him a little to look into his face. "I know how disappointed you've been in me. I'm going to try to make it up to you somehow."
Zane kissed her forehead. "You've never been anything but a joy to me, Erin. Don't forget that. I've always been proud of you and I always will be."
Fresh tears pooled in her eyes but Erin blinked them away. "Okay."
Zane felt a little choked up himself. "Go back to bed now. I'm going to take Meg home."
Erin laughed and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "You might as well go quietly Meg, because once he takes that tone of voice you're doomed."
Meg smiled at Erin and then glanced at him. Zane was doing his best to look severe and disapproving. She shrugged. "Well, perhaps getting a ride home is the prudent thing to do."
"Meg, do you think you and I could go shopping together? For baby things I mean? I don't have any clothes or blankets or anything yet."
Meg put her arm around Erin's shoulder and smiled. "I'd love that. Call me as soon as you've finished your exams and we'll set a date."
Erin gave her one last hug. "I'll do that. Goodnight." She hugged Zane again and went back to her room. Meg stared out the doorway after her.
"You're a really good dad."
The compliment surprised him. He loved his daughter with every fiber of his being but there had been many times in the last eighteen years when he wondered if he was a good dad. He answered her honestly. "Thanks, but half the time I don't know what I'm doing."
She smiled, and Zane wondered where the sadness in her eyes came from. He wished he could ask her, wished he were the type of man who easily shared or elicited intimacies.
"Some fathers don't get things right even half the time."
For a moment she seemed to be someplace far away, seeing a past he had no right to intrude upon. Then she roused herself, shrugging off the gloom like an old coat and forcing a smile. "If you're ready, I'll take you up on that offer for a ride now."
They drove the quiet streets back to her nondescript St. James apartment. Zane searched for something to say while Meg rummaged in her purse for the keys. He found he was reluctant to let her go and end their evening together.
"Do you get a lot of guys like the one tonight in the restaurant?"
The question seemed to surprise her. "No, not very often, fortunately. But it happens once in a while."
"I don't like the idea of some guy pawing you."
She blinked at him a couple of times. "I'm not real crazy about it myself. But I can handle it."
"Like you handled it tonight? He was all over you."
"I was fine, and besides Joe was there." She frowned at him, her voice taut with irritation. "What makes my job any of your business anyway?"
"This."
He pulled her into his arms, his mouth covering hers before she had a chance to protest. At first she held herself stiff and unyielding, but after a moment she made a little sound deep in her throat, and her lips softened against his. She touched his face in a gentle caress and Zane's heart melted inside his chest. She tasted so sweet, like one of the lemon pies she baked. He tried to pull her closer, to meld her body against his, but the small confines of the car wouldn't allow it. Frustration ate at him.
"Damn," he said.
It was as if he had broken a spell. Meg stared at him, her eyes huge and full of panic. She fumbled to fasten the buttons of her jacket, but couldn't seem to make her fingers work.
"I'm sorry Zane. I can't... I just can't. I have to go."
She bolted from the car, her jacket sliding down her shoulders as she ran. Zane got out of the car, intending to apologize, but by the time he got to the sidewalk, she'd already slipped inside the building.
He stood there for several seconds, berating himself. He'd acted no better than the creep who pawed her in the restaurant. If she never wanted to see him again, he'd understand.
But he'd regret it for a very long time.
Chapter Four
The mall hummed with Saturday afternoon shoppers looking for bargains. Meg and Erin browsed through the baby section at one of the department stores, stopping to admire each tiny outfit.
"Oh, look at this, Meg." Erin held up an infant-size baseball cap with a matching romper. "How cute is that?"
Meg chuckled. "It's very cute. But what if you have a girl?"
"She could wear it. Girls play baseball too."
Meg just laughed. She'd thoroughly enjoyed her afternoon shopping excursion with Erin. They'd bought sheets and blankets for the crib, and with the help of Zane's debit card, had also purchased a matching chest of drawers and a change table.
The baby now had a set of clothing as well, in gender-neutral styles and colors to get him, or her, started in life. As Meg looked at the bags of baby clothing and paraphernalia, she couldn't help but contrast Erin's situation with her own. Erin had the unwavering love and support of her father, as well as that of herself and Tom.
When Meg was pregnant with Tom, there'd been no trips to the mall for baby things, no expensive cribs. There'd only been anger and fear. She was grateful things were different for Erin.
She saw Erin massage the small of her back with one hand and knew it was time to take a break. "My feet are killing me. Why don't we go to the food court and grab a snack?"
They found a table and then took turns guarding their merchandize and visiting one of the many food booths in the court. Meg got herself tea and a muffin, while Erin came back with milk and a spinach salad topped with grilled chicken. She tucked into her salad as soon as she sat down.
"I've been so hungry lately," she confessed. "The first three months I could barely eat and now I can't stop."
Meg smiled as she sipped her tea. "It looks like you're making some healthy choices."
Erin nodded as she swallowed. "I've been reading a lot of books on nutrition for pregnant women, so I
know the baby needs calcium and iron rich foods. I've been trying to stay away from burgers and fries so I don't turn into a blimp. Besides, they just don't have the nutrient value of vegetables and fruits."
Meg was impressed with her knowledge and maturity. "Good for you."
"I wish I was a better cook. I'm getting kind of tired of eating the only three things I know how to make."
"I can teach you some simple recipes if you'd like."
Erin beamed. "Would you? That would be great. Do you think you could come over to my house sometime?"
Meg hesitated.
Since the night Zane had kissed her she'd been avoiding him, embarrassed not only by the wanton way she'd reacted to the kiss, but also because she'd bolted from the car like a frightened schoolgirl. It had been a wonderful kiss, arousing but yet so tender, so gentle. Maybe that's why it had scared her so much. She pushed the thought from her mind.
She sipped the hot tea carefully. "Maybe you could come over to the restaurant."
Erin chewed thoughtfully on a piece of chicken. "Is there some reason you don't want to come to my house?"
Because I'm afraid I'd want to kiss your Dad again if I saw him. "No, of course not."
"Did you and my Dad have a fight the other night? He's been acting weird all week."
"Weird?"
"Yeah." Erin stabbed at her salad. "He hasn't said anything but I can tell he's upset. When he's upset he totally clams up. That's what he's doing now."
Meg averted her eyes. She'd handled everything so wrong. When he first kissed her, she was too stunned to do anything. But then her body had started to respond. For a few brief moments it had felt so good, so right to be in his arms. She'd never felt like that before. Then all her old fears came crashing down on her and she'd panicked. Her face felt hot with fresh humiliation. Zane must have thought she was crazy.
"I'm sorry he's upset." Meg had no intention of discussing her relationship with Erin's father, such as it was. "I suppose I could come over to your house and show you how to make a couple of things. It would have to be in the afternoon though, between the lunch and dinner rush." She could be fairly certain that Zane would be at work at that time of day.
A Long Way From Eden Page 4