Bobling shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. There’s a steak place in Post Falls, and for a little bigger town, you can head on over to Riston. I’d take her to the pub, though. You could dance there, and that would get her in the mood for some kissing.”
“When she was talking about her flower, did she mean what I think she meant? She’s a virgin?”
“Probably, but I have no way of knowing that, sir. No first-hand experience with Ambrosia in that way at all.”
Jackson sighed. “I’m sure there are dozens of men in town trying to date her, so I’m going to do my best to make this a perfect date. Any suggestions?”
Jake grinned. “Go to the florist and get her a dozen purple roses. Ambrosia really likes the color purple.”
“I did notice her glasses were purple. I wish I could have seen her beautiful green eyes just a little bit better . . .”
“When you pick her up, be a gentleman. Open all her doors and basically treat her like she’s the most beautiful, wonderful woman you’ve ever met in your life.”
“She is!”
Jake was sure his friend was ill, and he thought about saying so, but he was sure his friend would hit him for that, and he didn’t need to get in a fight his first day back in Quinn Valley. “And if you do want to kiss her at the end of the night, ask her permission first. She’s the kind that will gobble that up with a spoon. Oh, and make sure you have that rose quartz heart in your pocket. If you take her advice and act like everything she says is gospel truth, it’ll get you far with that one.”
“That’s what I’ll do, then. Jake, I’ll never be able to thank you enough for introducing me to the love of my life.”
“Anytime,” Jake said, steering toward the hotel. “I’m going to get tacos for lunch. You hungry?”
Jackson shook his head. “I’m too nervous to eat.”
Jake said nothing, but he couldn’t help but wonder how a man who went into battle without a qualm was sitting there shaking because he’d met Ambrosia, of all people. The world was definitely lopsided.
Two
Pulling into the parking lot at the hotel, Jake took Jackson to his car. To him the man looked just a little bit off. Had Ambrosia put a whammy on him like she’d always claimed her ancestors could do? He shook his head, refusing to say a bad word about the woman to his friend. Jackson was convinced she was just about perfect, and why would Jake try to change his opinion?
Jackson got out of the truck, but before he shut the door, he said, “I can never thank you enough for vouching for me to Ambrosia. She’s going to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I can feel it.”
Jake grinned. “Happy to help.” He was sure that his friend was a moonstruck Marine, and he was glad that it was him. Jake wanted to marry someday, but he liked the idea of waiting a little while. He’d be the fun uncle for a while before he settled down to have kids of his own.
He parked the vehicle near the taco truck that his brother-in-law Ciran owned. He hadn’t spent any time with the man since they were on the high school football team together and Ciran had been dating Roxane. There had been word that Roxie’s heart had been broken by Ciran, but Jake had never really understood what happened there. And now they were married and expecting their first child, so he was probably too late to clobber the other man.
He got into the line, which was surprisingly long. Ciran’s tacos were a family favorite, he knew, but it looked like they were a town favorite as well. He’d been waiting a minute or two when someone tapped on his shoulder.
“Hi, Jake.”
Jake turned around. “Melinda, right? You’re the girl who is going to turn the restaurant around and make it healthy, and my nine in the morning appointment on Monday.”
Melinda nodded. “That’s me. Welcome home.”
He grinned. “I’m so happy to be here. I just wish I could explain how different things are when you are drifting around from base to base. It’s time to be home.”
“I can understand that completely. And you have such a nice family. Are you back to living with your parents?”
“Just for a week. I’m taking over Riley’s house when she marries her pastor next week.”
“I’m catering that wedding. It’s my first, and I’m a little nervous.”
“Don’t be. Riley and Raina will eat anything. In fact, the last time I saw Riley, I think she was still eating Playdough.” He shrugged.
She laughed. “I do believe she’s past that point now, though. The wedding is so rushed, and a double wedding . . . It’s just strange to be in charge of it, and they never even came in for a tasting. They told me to serve two choices, and they didn’t care what they were.”
“I’m sure it will be just great.”
“So, did you see your sergeant?”
Jake nodded. “He saw Earth Mother and had to go in. Would you believe the man took one look at Ambrosia and decided he was in love and wanted to go out with her? They have a date tonight. I’ve never seen a man lose his cool quite that fast.”
“Ambrosia? You mean the older woman with glasses who tries to tell people’s fortunes all the time?”
“Exactly the same. In all the years I’ve known her, she’s never dated anyone. And she made me vouch for him so she could agree .. . . I’m just still a little bit flabbergasted by the whole thing.”
Melinda nodded. “I would be, too. Sounds like you’ve had a very strange morning.”
“Oh, I have. Trust me. It’ll be nice to eat Mom’s lasagna tonight.”
“How do you know she’s making lasagna?”
“Because I know a secret about my mother. She hates to cook, so she only cooks one thing. Lasagna. If she is the one doing the cooking, and it sounds like she is, I’ll be eating a salad, lasagna, and garlic bread.”
“It must be nice to just know those things about yourself,” she said. “My mom was always unpredictable and trying to find herself. She would flit from one job to another, and then she’d be a stay-at-home mom for a bit, and then she’d take up painting and there would be bowls of fruit all over the house, and those bowls of fruit would be supper after weeks of gourmet meals when she was being the perfect stay-at-home mom.”
He laughed. “Not my mom. She’s a redneck witchdoctor who is always threatening to write a book . . . and she makes lasagna. And she loves her children with a ferocity that should be illegal.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I missed her until I just said all that. Thanks for reminding me what an awesome mom I have. Awesome dad, too, but . . . Mom is the heart of us all.”
“Does she ever frown?” Melinda asked.
“From what I can tell, she cries at funerals and when her son is leaving for the Marines. I heard she had a hard time when Dad had his heart problems last summer, but I didn’t see that. I’d have come back for it, but surgery was over and he was back at work before I found out. I was in Afghanistan at the time.”
“I’m sure that was hard.”
He shrugged. “You do what you’re trained to do and leave it at that. I could have whined about how difficult it was every day, and there were men who did, but I was there of my own accord, and I didn’t see a point in being a big baby about it.”
“That makes a lot of sense to me. You do what you have to do.” Melinda shrugged. “And I’m going to quit stressing about this wedding and do what I have to do. I’m only hurting myself. If they were picky, they’d have specified something rather than leaving it up to me.”
“They sure would have.” He nodded to the front of the line. “Now tell me what’s good here.”
“Everything. Ciran doesn’t make a bad taco. But what you want is a bag of chips with queso, some tacos, and then finish it off with sopapillas smothered with honey.”
“What’s a sopapilla?” he asked.
“Oh, you’re having lunch with me in the employee break room today. I have to see you eat your first sopapilla.”
“Are they that good?”
Me
linda just grinned. “You’ll see.”
Jake stepped up to the taco truck and grinned at the man inside. “Hey, Ciran. I told you to keep your grubby hands off my sister, so how’d she get knocked up?”
Ciran grinned. “I thought that was over since I married her first. No?”
“I guess . . .” Jake stuck his hand through the window to shake Ciran’s. “Good to see you, man.”
“You too, Bobling. It’s been forever.”
Jake cringed at his old nickname. He’d expected it, but he still hated it. “It’s Jake now . . .”
“Oh, I figured you’d go back to Bobling now that you were home.”
“Would you let people call you Bobling?” Jake asked, eyebrows raised.
Ciran chuckled. “Not if I could help it.”
Jake placed his order and nodded to Melinda. “This lady told me I had to try sopapillas, so I’m getting her lunch, and we’re going to eat some sopapillas.”
Melinda frowned. “No, I’ll get my own.”
“Why? I’m already paying. I may as well get yours, too.”
Ciran waited for her order, and then he charged Jake’s card. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you. I can’t wait to be an uncle. I saw Roxie a little bit ago, and she looked perfectly miserable.”
“I almost feel guilty that she’s so uncomfortable, but she wanted a baby.”
“And she’ll want four more.” Jake took the food Ciran handed him. “Thanks, man. I’m sure I’ll see you for supper soon.”
“I’m sure you will,” Ciran smiled and moved onto the next customer, but Jake was happy they’d had a chance to talk, even if only for a short while. The man was married to his sister, after all.
Jake followed Melinda into the hotel to the employee break room, where the two of them snagged a table toward the back. He handed Melinda her tacos and took out his own, but she took a tinfoil wrapped packet and put it aside.
“Are those the sopapillas?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yup. Now break out the chips and queso.”
While they ate, they each talked about different items they wanted to see on the menu of the restaurant.
“I love the name Impressions,” he said.
“Yeah, well, your dad wants Bob’s to stay the name, but it’s not happening. That name is awful.”
Jake nodded. “I always hated the name Bob, but Bobling was a million times worse. I can’t believe I thought it was normal until I started school and all the other kids picked on me. I threw my first punch over that nickname, and I was still punching over it in high school.” He shook his head. “Someone should pay for saddling me with something so awful.”
“Who came up with that nickname anyway?”
“My grandpa, and I love him, so I can’t even complain.” He shook his head. “Of course, his name is Harley Quinn, so he has a doozy of a name, too. I guess he wanted one of his grandkids to be saddled with something horrific as well.”
Melinda ate the first bite of her taco, and it was all she could do to keep from moaning aloud. When she ate Ciran’s tacos alone, she did typically moan. It was ridiculous. “These soft chicken tacos make my heart beat faster. If Ciran wasn’t a married man, I’d throw myself at his feet, just so he’d make me tacos every day.”
Jake laughed. “Well, if he wasn’t my brother-in-law, I could get behind that idea. But he is, so let’s be kind to my very pregnant sister and avoid doing that.” He looked at her for a moment. “You’re not serious about anyone?” She had no ring on her finger, but that didn’t mean anything. She could keep it in her pocket during work hours.
Melinda looked surprised by the question, but she shook her head. “Nope. I’ve been married to the job. There were two sous chefs working under Michael, and I wanted to be the one promoted to take his place when he finally retired.”
“Looks like you made that happen. Now you get a little more free time?”
“I sure hope so. We’ll see.” She shrugged. “Kaz would be thrilled to see more of me, I’m sure.”
“Kaz?” he asked.
“My cat. As a kitten, he had a very kamikaze-like attitude about life, so I named him Kaz. I call him Wee Beastie a lot, too. Pretty much whatever comes out of my mouth is what I call him.”
He grinned. “Wow . . . you’re a crazy cat lady!”
“Crazy, I’ll go with. Cat is fine. But lady? I’m not so sure about that one.”
“Oh, I see! I know you weren’t raised in the valley, or I’d know you, so where are you from?”
“Kemmerer, Wyoming. Lived there until I went to culinary school in Park City, Utah, and then I came here. I really do love the people in this town.”
“It’s a special place. My sergeant told me that he expected unicorns, double rainbows at all times, and leprechauns throwing luck at people.”
“And instead he found a crazy woman who believes that fairies live in crystals. Lovely.” Melinda grinned even as she shook her head.
“I’ve known her my entire life, and I’ve never been able to figure her out. She’s something else. I can’t believe he saw something in her no one else did.”
She tilted her head to one side, thinking about it. “You know, that’s what love is. Seeing something in someone else that no one else does. I hope it works out for them, because even crazy people deserve love.”
He finished his last taco and threw the tinfoil square it had been wrapped in into the bag. “Now for these amazing sopapilla things.”
“Nope. You have to wait until I’m done with my tacos.” Her eyes twinkled with laughter, and he felt his stomach clench.
“Oh, do I?” He reached across the table quickly to snatch the sopapillas but was stopped by his terrible nickname being screamed.
“Bobling!” It was his sister Raina, wearing pink scrubs, which was her work uniform. She flew across the room at him. “You’re home early!”
He got up and put his arms around her, lifting her off her feet. “You grew up while I was gone.”
“Well, you were gone forever!”
He laughed. “I guess I was. Good to see you, sis.”
“I’m glad you’re home in time for my wedding. I can’t wait for you to meet Derek. He works with Joel, and he’s just amazing.”
Jake grinned at her. She had told him all of that in the emails she’d sent to him weekly. He felt like he already knew Derek after reading so much about him. “I’m glad he makes you happy.”
“He does. He really does.” Raina peeked over at Melinda. “When did you get back?”
“Just this morning. I flew into Boise last night, and I spent the night, but I woke up about four and just wanted to be home. So, I drove on here.”
“Well, I’m glad you did. It’s so good to see you.” She hugged him once more, and then hurried from the room.
Jake looked over at Melinda, who was grinning. “What?”
“Bobling. Everyone in this entire town calls you Bobling. It’s going to be an uphill battle to convince anyone that you’re really Jake.”
He sighed, sitting back down. “I know. I’m going to fight for it, though. I’m thinking about buying a pack of ‘Hello, my name is . . .’ stickers and wearing them everywhere. Not sure what good it would do me, but I might try it.”
She laughed. “I don’t think it would do any good at all, but I guess if it made you happy . . .”
He shrugged. “I’m happy already. It’s just good to be home. And I cannot wait to start working later. After lunch I’m going to go up and check out the workout center. It’s going to be good to have a job I can sink my teeth into.”
“Very few people get to do what they love. I’m happy to say, I’m one of those few, and I think you will be, too. That will make us some of the happiest people around.” Melinda reached for the sopapillas and opened them, carefully spreading butter and honey on one of them, and then handing it to him. “Eat.”
He looked at the thing curiously before he took a big bite out of it. He closed his eye
s with pleasure. “These need to be served at my sisters’ wedding. Can you make these?”
She shook her head. “No, but rumor has it Ciran is going to provide some.”
“Oh, good. Do I get a family discount on Ciran’s stuff? Because if not, I might go broke.” He shook his head. “I must seem like a hypocrite to you. I talked this morning about having a healthy menu at the restaurant, and here I am eating this fried bready thing with butter and honey. But oh, it’s good.”
She shrugged. “You’ll work it off later, I’m sure. You seem the type.”
“I am definitely the type.” He reached for another and fixed it just the way she had. “You’d better eat yours, or I’m going to pig out on them, too.”
She laughed. “I only want one, and we got four. I can’t eat two in front of my personal trainer. He might say something.”
Jake shook his head. “No way. You seem to be in good shape. No extra weight. Now we just need to redistribute that weight, and you’ll be on your way.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized he shouldn’t have said them. “Err . . . You’re gorgeous the way you are, but if you want help conditioning, I’m happy to do that.”
Melinda shook her head at him. “No one can call you a sweet talker, Bobling Jake Quinn. You’re not anything like Dusty, are you?”
“My cousin Dusty? You know him?”
“Every woman in town knows him. He considers himself a real ladies’ man. I went out with him once, and I realized he was not the right man for me.”
Jake shrugged. “I haven’t seen him in years. I’m sure I’ll be making the round of the Quinns this week, though. Everyone wants to see me, which is good and bad. I mean, I’m glad everyone is happy that I’m home, but home has always been my place to relax, not be surrounded by people.”
“That makes sense to me.”
“I might take off on a four-wheeler and head up into the mountains for a night or two. Not this weekend . . . not next. And I guess the next is a family get-together to welcome me home.” He sighed. “I’ll do it sometime soon. I swear!”
Melinda shook her head. “Your busy schedule won’t last forever.”
Moonstruck Marine Page 2