by Susan Stoker
The bell over the door rang and Hope said without looking, “Welcome to Alamo’s. Someone will be with you in a moment.”
“Take your time,” a deep voice returned—and Hope turned to stare at Calder in shock.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, a little harsher than the situation warranted.
But he didn’t take offense to her tone. “Having breakfast,” he said with a smile.
Hope sighed. It looked like it wasn’t going to be as easy to blow the man off as she’d thought. The night before, she’d come to some conclusions about him. With her background, she should’ve been afraid of him, but there was just something about Calder that made her believe he was one of the true “good guys” in the world. Though, that didn’t mean she was ready to be buddy-buddy with him either.
Without a word, she turned her back on him and went to the drink station and grabbed a pot of freshly brewed coffee. She made the rounds in her section, refilling cups and making sure no one needed anything.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Audrey, another waitress, seat Calder in her own section. Hope tried to tamp down the slight jealousy that rose within her. She had no claim on the man and if Audrey wanted to serve him, she could go right ahead.
She tried to go on with her normal routine and pay no attention to Calder…but it was impossible.
Hope simply couldn’t ignore the man. For some reason, her eyes were drawn to him time and time again. He smiled at Audrey, and even Hannah when she went over to his table to make sure he didn’t need a refill. Calder didn’t try to talk to Hope, but she was more than aware of his eyes on her. It should’ve been creepy, but just like last night, it felt more protective than anything else.
She was proved right when one of her customers put his hand on her ass and pulled her into his side as he said, “Hey, baby, how ’bout lettin’ me fill you up sometime?”
Before she could respond, someone jostled her from behind, forcing the man to let go as she stumbled from the contact.
“I’m so sorry, are you okay? I didn’t mean to run into you.”
Hope turned and saw Calder standing there. He put his hand on her elbow and pulled her away from the handsy customer.
“I’m fine.”
“Good. Wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt,” Calder said with a smile. He’d moved so he was standing between her and the table, and the badge on his belt was on display right in front of the man who’d touched her.
With a nod in her direction, and a wink, he ambled back to his table nearby. Hope didn’t have any further issues with the overly aggressive man at her table—or anyone else, for that matter.
Calder was friendly and gracious to everyone, and Hope overheard Audrey gossiping with Hannah about the fact he’d even requested that she tell the cook how good his omelet had been.
Hope wasn’t surprised when Billy poked his head out of the back office to let her know he was done eating his breakfast muffin. But she was shocked when, the second he saw Calder, he made a beeline for his booth.
Smiling big, he showed the medical examiner the badge he was wearing on his jeans.
Hope moved closer to the table, telling herself she was simply looking out for her son, not trying to get closer to Calder.
“Hey! That looks good, Buddy,” Calder told her son. “Fist bump.”
When Billy just stood there looking confused, Calder didn’t get irritated. Didn’t make fun of him. He simply explained what a fist bump was, then smiled at the little boy when he shyly bumped his small fist to Calder’s larger one.
“That’s it!” Calder said excitedly. “Good job. Hey, you hungry?”
Hope opened her mouth to tell Calder that Billy had already eaten, but her son bobbed his head up and down with such force that she blinked in surprise.
Calder patted the seat next to him in the booth and Billy climbed up without hesitation. It was a bit astonishing because, since Earle, Billy had been reticent around most men. Being kidnapped hadn’t helped either.
But he didn’t act the least bit shy around Calder.
Hope watched as Calder’s dark head leaned closer to Billy’s red-haired one as they examined the menu. Calder patiently read off every single item, trying to figure out what Billy wanted to eat. Billy could read, but he was apparently enjoying Calder’s attention and didn’t insist he could do it himself, as he would’ve if she was sitting with him.
Audrey wandered back over to their table then and Hope’s attention was diverted by one of her customers wanting to pay for his meal. By the time she looked over at her son again, Joseph had joined the duo in the booth. He was sitting across from Billy and Calder, and the men were watching Billy tuck into a stack of chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream piled high on top.
Hope wanted to be upset at Calder for letting her son eat so much sugar this early in the day, but Billy was obviously still hungry. She refused to make a scene over food when they’d had so little of it in the past.
By the time she got a break, Billy was finished eating and Calder and Joseph were having a conversation, making sure to include her son.
Hope walked up to the table and told Calder a little harsher than she meant it to sound, “Looks like you’ve made yourself quite at home.”
But again, Calder didn’t seem to take offense to her tone. He merely said, “Yup. I’m sorry for not asking you if Billy could have something. He told me he’d never had chocolate chip pancakes and that’s just not right.”
Hope knew her son hadn’t actually said he’d never had the pancakes, but he still must’ve communicated that somehow to Calder. She smiled at her son and tousled his hair. “Were they good?”
Billy nodded happily.
“I think your break is over, honey,” Hope said. “How about you go wash your hands and face then head back to the office? Joseph will be there soon.”
Showing how great a kid he was, Billy didn’t pitch a fit, simply nodded and raised his fist to Calder.
“It was great having breakfast with ya, kid,” Calder said as he bumped his fist to Billy’s.
Then Billy scampered down from the booth and headed to the restroom.
Hope kept her eyes on him until he disappeared through the door, then turned to Calder.
He held up his hands. “Don’t get mad,” Calder said before she could say anything. “I figured he was hungry, because when I was his age, I was always hungry. My mom used to swear I had a hollow leg.”
Hope realized that any irritation she’d had over Calder getting a second breakfast for her kid disappeared with his casual words. Billy was always hungry, and she hated that she didn’t have enough food for him most of the time. Joseph was great, feeding both her and Billy when they were at the diner, but she hated to take advantage of the older man’s generous nature.
“It’s okay. But, Joseph, I’m afraid you’re going to have your hands full after all that sugar he ate.”
The older man smiled, his bushy beard hiding most of his face from view. “No problem. He’s a good kid.”
“Just deduct the cost of his second breakfast from my wages,” Hope told him.
“No,” Calder said. “I’ve got it.”
Hope shook her head. “I can’t ask you to—”
“You didn’t ask, although I wish you would. I’m the one who offered to get him something, so I’m paying.”
Hope put her hands on her hips and glared at Calder.
“That glare isn’t going to change my mind, Hope,” he said softly. “So save it for someone it might work on.”
Hope pressed her lips together, then said, “Thank you.” She had a lot of things to do still, and standing there arguing with Calder definitely wasn’t on that list. It wasn’t that she was upset he wanted to pay for the food, exactly, it was just still extremely hard to accept help. Not to mention she was still trying to figure out what Calder’s deal was. Why was he so eager to help her all of a sudden? While she wasn’t scared of the man, he did make her uneasy, and t
hat put her on edge.
It wasn’t too much later when Calder left. He nodded at Hope but didn’t try to talk to her. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Hope saw that he’d been there for two hours. She shook her head in exasperation but didn’t have too much time to think about it, as the diner got their usual mid-morning rush not too long after that.
The next morning, Hope wasn’t too surprised to see Calder appear around the same time he had the day before. Although this time, he sat in a booth in her section. He’d obviously had time to check out which tables the waitresses served the day before.
Tori had managed to show up to work today, and she immediately commented on the hot guy who had walked in. She asked Hope to switch tables with her so she could wait on him, but Joseph overheard and read her the riot act.
Hope was secretly glad, but she did her best to keep her mouth shut. Tori was notorious for flirting with every good-looking man who came through the doors, even though she had a boyfriend of her own. Caleb worked in the diner as well, as a line cook. It took a lot of guts to flirt with customers the way Tori did with her boyfriend around, but Caleb either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Not to mention, he wasn’t exactly model material, at least in Hope’s eyes.
“Hey,” Hope said as she came up to Calder’s booth.
“Hi.”
“I suppose you’re gonna tell me it’s a coincidence that you’re here for breakfast?”
Hope was stunned to see Calder blush, but he kept his gaze on hers as he said, “Nope. I’m here because you are.”
“Calder, I don’t—”
He held up a hand to forestall her words. “I know. You don’t need any help and you think I’m a creeper. But I made a promise to Blythe that I’d look out for you.”
“I don’t need looking after,” Hope protested, feeling let down for some reason that he was there because of Blythe.
“I know you don’t. You’ve proven that time and time again,” Calder said, surprising her. “But…I need to eat every morning. And this place has one of the best omelets I’ve ever had. Not to mention, I get to hang out with Billy.”
Hope opened her mouth to protest, but Calder had already turned his attention from her to someone behind her. She turned to see Billy. He crawled into the seat on the other side of the booth from Calder and held out his fist.
Calder bumped it and asked, “You got your badge on today?”
Billy nodded and came up on his knees on the bench to show it off.
“Good job.” Then Calder looked at her again. “Is it okay for him to eat something?”
Hope sighed, then nodded, pleased that he’d asked permission. “Yeah, but not anything full of sugar like yesterday, okay?”
“Got it.”
Hope heard her name being called from nearby and said, “I’ll be back to get your order.”
“Take your time. We’re good here,” Calder told her.
By the time Hope got back to the booth, Calder was deep in conversation about his friends and their women. Billy was paying rapt attention, but Hope figured Calder could talk about the trash and her son would still be interested. It was a little disconcerting, but nice.
“Did you guys decide?”
Calder ordered a fully loaded omelet and told Hope that Billy wanted an omelet as well.
“He doesn’t like eggs,” Hope informed him.
“He’ll like this.”
Hope resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She’d tried to get Billy to eat eggs for ages, but he’d always turned up his nose at them. But she wasn’t going to waste time trying to explain that to Calder. She recognized the same stubborn look on his face that her son sometimes got. He’d just have to figure it out on his own.
Fifteen minutes later, Hope placed the plates on the table and smirked at the way her son’s nose wrinkled at seeing the omelet in front of him. “Here ya go!” she said in a cheerful voice.
“Thanks,” Calder said. “Can you get me a refill of coffee and a large glass of orange juice?”
She wanted to stand there and watch Calder fail at getting Billy to eat eggs, but instead turned and went back to the drink station to fetch the coffee and OJ.
When she got there, Tori was there bitching about one of their regular customers. “Instead of a tip, again, all I got was another stupid lottery ticket. I swear to God, someone needs to tell him he’s being rude and disrespectful.”
“Right?” Audrey agreed. “I mean, it’s highly unlikely any of us are gonna make it big off a two-dollar scratcher.”
“If he tipped us with money instead of those worthless lottery tickets, I might be able to afford to get that new lipstick I’ve had my eye on,” Hannah threw in.
“I think it’s kinda sweet,” Hope chimed in as she filled a glass with juice. “He told me one day that he gives the scratch-offs because if one pays out, it’ll be more than he could ever afford to give as a tip.”
“Whatever,” Tori said with a roll of her eyes. “I’d much prefer the cash.”
“Me too,” Hannah piped in.
“Ditto,” Audrey said.
Hope liked the older man. Eli Hyde was around eighty years old, and he always ordered the same thing for breakfast…coffee, plain toast, a bowl of fruit, and a cinnamon roll. He’d never been married and lived in a condo nearby. He always had a smile on his face and was the highlight of Hope’s mornings. Well…he had been until Calder started showing up. She’d been pretending to be annoyed with the guy, but that was because deep down, she was attracted to him…and that freaked her out.
Bringing the drinks back to the table where the man she couldn’t get off her mind sat with her son, she was prepared to order Billy something else—but was shocked to see that her son had eaten half the omelet and was shoveling another piece in his mouth even as she approached the table.
“What the heck?” she said under her breath. Then turning to Calder, she asked, “How did you get him to eat that?”
Calder smiled at her, then winked at Billy. “Cheese.”
“What?”
“Cheese. Lots of it. Everything tastes better with cheese. And salsa. Your son loves spicy stuff, and the salsa pretty much blocks out the taste of the eggs. Right, Buddy?”
His last words were said to Billy, and the little boy nodded happily and forked another piece of the omelet into his mouth.
Hope was irked. She’d done everything she could think of to get Billy to eat eggs, but hadn’t thought about salsa. Then Calder comes in, after knowing him for two days, and gets him to eat them? Annoying.
“You’re annoying,” she said quietly, turning so she was facing Calder.
“I know,” he replied, still smiling. “But you like me anyway.”
Hope opened her mouth to refute his statement…but couldn’t. Calder was right, she did like him. He was…easy to be around. He didn’t demand she tell him her life story. Didn’t lecture her on how she was living. And he seemed to enjoy being with Billy. All pluses in her book.
“Maybe. But there’s always tomorrow,” she quipped.
Calder threw his head back and laughed at her response, and Hope just stood there staring at him. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so easy-going with another person, especially a man. And to see Calder laugh, truly be amused, and to know that she’d done that, made her feel all tingly inside.
Billy reached across the table and tapped Calder’s hand. When he looked at the little boy, he wrinkled his brows and shrugged his shoulders.
Hope was going to interpret his nonverbal question for Calder, but she should’ve known the man didn’t need her help.
“I’m laughing because not only is your mom beautiful, she’s funny too,” he told Billy.
His compliment hit Hope hard. It had been a really long time since she’d had anyone say something nice about her. She didn’t believe she was beautiful for a second, but it was nice to hear anyway.
Deciding she couldn’t deal with the compliment, she ignored it and instead told
Billy, “Finish up here. You’ve got math to work through with Joseph this morning.”
Her son scowled at her and glared down at his plate.
“You don’t like math?” Calder asked Billy.
He shook his head vehemently.
“Hmmm, math is fun. I use it every day in my job.”
Billy’s head came up at that.
“I do. Seriously. You want me to help you this morning?”
Billy’s eyes got wide and he nodded vigorously.
Hope blinked. Calder couldn’t really be offering to help her son with his schoolwork, could he?
“Hope? Would that be all right? I can’t stay all morning but,” he looked at his watch, “I can stay for another forty minutes or so.”
“I…uh…are you serious?”
“About you and Billy? Absolutely.”
Hope got the message loud and clear. She just wasn’t sure what to do about it. Wasn’t sure she was ready for another relationship. Especially with someone so closely related to law enforcement. And she had to protect Billy.
But then Billy climbed out of the booth and stood next to her. He looked up at her and put his hands together and pouted, begging her to say yes.
She rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, but when he needs to go, you need to be a big boy and let him leave. Don’t harass him to stay longer, all right?”
Billy nodded happily, then ran off toward the office and his worksheets Hope had made up for him.
Once he was out of earshot, Hope turned to Calder and said, “The only reason I’m letting you do this is because I haven’t seen him take to another man like he has to you. He doesn’t like most men, they scare him, and I can’t blame him after the experiences he’s had. But if you do anything to hurt him, I’ll kill you. I’m not kidding either.”
Calder didn’t even blink at the threat. “I’m not going to hurt him…or you, Hope,” he said softly, looking her straight in the eyes. “I admire you. You’ve been through a hell of a lot, and the only thing I want to do is get to know you, and your son, and give you a helping hand.”
“The only thing, huh?”