by Jillian Hart
“Paige, that’s great of you, but we can’t afford it. Heath is still working that intern position and—”
“I wasn’t planning on taking you off the payroll. I just want you to take it easy. We’ll square up later, okay? First things first.”
“Oh.” More tears had her sniffing. “You are a great big sister. I don’t think there’s a better one on this planet.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you could find about a billion. I’ll send one of the twins over with meals for the rest of the day. That way no one needs to worry about cooking, okay? Take it easy. Oh, that’s call-waiting. I have to go.”
After Amy’s grateful goodbye, Paige answered the other call. Probably a business call. It was. A reservation coming in for the brunch. She scribbled the Corey family’s name into the book, giving them the last available table.
At least business was picking up, she thought, as she went to look in on the twins. Brandilyn looked busy refilling coffee and passing out copies of the Sunday paper.
See? At least something was normal. It was going to be like any other Sunday. She’d concentrate on the cooking, hand over the dining room to Jodi when she arrived, and refuse to give a single thought to Evan Thornton…and their impending date.
Because it wasn’t a real date. Not really.
The congregation was standing for the last chorus of the opening hymn as Evan slipped into the back row. He looked like he’d been drowned and beaten, and he was thankful for an inconspicuous spot. The weather must have discouraged a lot of people from coming, so that meant he had plenty of room and he didn’t have to worry about dripping all over perfectly dry worshipers.
Just as the pastor was warming up to his sermon, the back door whispered open and Paige’s son sauntered down the aisle, dripping wet, and slipped into a pew next to several kids from the youth group.
That made him think of Cal. While the emptiness from missing his boys was still as sharp as ever, he didn’t feel quite so alone. And, remembering the way Paige’s hand had felt so right in his, he felt…hopeful for the future.
Someone slunk behind the last row and stopped behind him. “Dad, what happened to you?” whispered a familiar voice.
Cal! There the boy was, looking mighty proud of himself, and taller, wider through the shoulder. He’d grown over the last few months, a man and no longer the little boy Evan was so used to protecting. “Just a little rain,” he whispered back. “You didn’t tell me you were coming home.”
“I thought I’d surprise you, and then I couldn’t find you here. I was just about to come looking for you.”
“Sit and listen to the minister.” He was still the dad; he couldn’t help himself.
Cal gave him a sheepish grin, as if he were indulging his old man, slid over the arm of the pew and dropped onto the seat.
It wasn’t until the closing hymn that they could manage to talk again.
“Are you staying for brunch?” Evan whispered as the first verse rang around them.
“I’m starvin’. Thought I’d come home with you, well, after we eat, and use the washer and dryer. It’s a bummer to use the dorm machines. I never have enough quarters.”
“Sure you can use my machines, but it’ll cost you two bucks a load. That’s a bargain.”
“Ha ha. You’re hysterical, Dad. You know I came home to bum more money, right?”
“Right. I was a college kid once too, long ago.” He resisted the urge to grab his boy in a wrestling hold, mainly because they were in church and because Cal was no longer his boy.
No, he was nineteen years old. He was a man. But, Evan thought as he followed his son down the aisle and out of the church, he will always be my son. He was glad of that fact. Like his older brother, Cal was getting top grades, he made good decisions, was active in church and in sports and behaved well. Evan was proud of his sons, and glad he was in a position to help them get a better start in life than he’d had.
“I’ll meet you at the diner.” He left Cal next to his bright red Mustang, a present for graduating with a perfect G.P.A. The vehicle was polished and spotless beneath the layer of sloppy ice that had been obviously falling for a while.
Evan scraped his truck windshield and huddled shivering in the cab while the traffic jammed as it always did on the trek from the church parking lot to the main street. Through the dissipating fog on his windows as his defroster blew hot air, he could see across the town park to Paige’s diner.
How was he going to tell Cal about Paige? It was a date, just a date, but there was no way to minimize the significance of it. Evan had never dated while he’d been responsible for the boys; even if he’d had the inclination, he never would have had the time. More than that, though, the boys were not only hurt by the divorce, but they saw up close what their mother had done. The financial disaster was only part of it. Evan knew it was years before he managed to smile again. Longer still until he could laugh, but never had he been the same man.
How was he going to explain he wanted to take a chance again? He couldn’t even rationalize it to himself. Then again, it was only a first date. The first step toward a relationship, and it was too soon to tell how things would work out.
Maybe he would wait to tell his boys; after all, he thought as he found a parking spot along the curb, he didn’t expect them to tell him every time they went on a date.
The second he pushed through the diner’s front door and spotted Cal talking with Paige’s son, he knew the decision was out of his hands. The boys had known each other through sports, church and school, of course, and Evan tried to hold hope that the kids were talking about one of those subjects.
But as he approached, he noticed Alex’s gaze widen with an uh-oh! expression and water sloshed out of the pitcher he was carrying around.
“Hi there, Mr. Thornton,” Alex cleared his throat. “You, uh, want some coffee?”
“I do.” And those two words sent the boy hurrying off as if Evan had barked an order. He tried to ignore his son’s smirk. “After you surrender possession of my washer and dryer, are you gonna hang around for a while? Or are you heading back to the dorm?”
“I was gonna head straight back. I’ve got this killer chem test tomorrow, but—” That smirk turned troublesome. “I’ve decided to stay and help my dad get ready for his date.”
I should have known this would happen.
Evan was desperately grateful that Alex showed up with a pot of coffee. He was in such a hurry to figure out what to say to his son—and now to Paige’s—that he pushed the cup and saucer closer to Alex with a little too much power and the cup rocked toward the edge of the table.
Alex caught it. “Whoa, there. Don’t go breaking the dishes, Mr. Thornton, or my mom’ll call off the date.”
The boys thought that was hilarious by the looks they were exchanging.
“Just pour the coffee.” He tried to sound unaffected. They were teenaged boys. They could laugh. What did they know? He was a man; he could sit here and pretend nothing bothered him. At least Cal was taking the news well.
“Your mom won’t call off the date. I caught her looking at my dad through the window. She was smiling. Dad is a good catch. I’ve been worrying about him now that I’m out of the house. He needs someone to keep an eye on him.”
“Funny.” Evan was glad that Alex had the manners to stay quiet as he filled Cal’s cup and then backed away. “A chem test, you said?”
“That’s old news. This thing with Paige. How long have you been dating her? She’s old, but she’s pretty. Hey, she’s, like, as old as you!” As if proud of his brilliant deduction, Cal upended the sugar canister over his steaming cup of coffee and stirred.
“I feel so much better now.” Evan stood, taking his plate with him. “I’m not that old.”
“Of course not,” Cal concurred diplomatically. “But you’re, like, forty, Dad. Just roll with it. You don’t look all that bad.”
“I’m relieved to know that.” That was perspective, he thought remember
ing that when he’d been Cal’s age, how anyone older than thirty had seemed ancient. “I figure I’ll try to enjoy what life is left me before the rest of my looks go.”
“Ha ha, Dad.” Cal stepped into the buffet line behind him. “I’m just sayin’ you don’t need to feel like Mrs. McKaslin won’t think you’re, you know—”
“Old?” Evan asked wryly as he grabbed a pair of tongs and loaded up on link sausages. “That’s the last time I want to hear that word, boy.”
“Okay, I wasn’t gonna say it, though. I was gonna say ugly.”
“Thanks for the words of encouragement. I’m glad I can count on my son at a time like this.”
“You can count on me, Dad,” Cal shoved his plate at him. “And can I have lots of sausages?” He was already using his free hand to pilfer the piles of crispy bacon. “So, you got reservations for tonight?”
“I don’t need my son to help me plan my date.” Evan finished doling out sausages and moved onto the choices of hashed or butter-fried potatoes. He took some of both. “I know how to take a woman to dinner.”
“Dad, the last lady you dated was Mom. You’re out of practice. Times have changed.”
“What’s changed? You go to dinner, be polite, have conversation and take her home.”
“Not so much, Dad.” Apparently a dating expert, Cal took over the spoon and loaded diced potatoes next to his mountain of breakfast meat. “You’ve got to have this all figured out. You don’t want her to think this is no big deal.”
“Well, it’s a first date.” And a really big deal, Evan was beginning to realize and didn’t want to admit, even to himself. So he chose eggs Benedict over the Belgian waffles and tried not to think about it.
He waited while Cal took both choices, his plate nearly ready to collapse under the weight of all that food, and they headed back to their table together. “I was going to take her to that steak place in Bozeman that we like.”
“That’s a good place.” Cal dropped onto his chair and bowed his head for a quick prayer. As soon as “Amen” was muttered, he grabbed his fork and dug in. “If I were you, I’d pick an even better place. Classier. Mrs. McKaslin’s pretty swift. She’ll like something real nice.”
“That place is nice.”
“Yeah, but you’re serious, so you have to let her know right up front.”
“I never said I was serious.”
“Dad, look at her.” Cal gestured to the cash register where Paige greeted the newly arrived Corey family. Three generations of them crowded around the counter, as Paige chatted amicably with Mrs. Corey.
Paige. Her loveliness stunned him. Evan couldn’t explain what happened in his heart as he looked at her. Yes, she was sure something. It had taken him a decade to notice, but he was finally ready, and he was noticing.
She’d changed into dry clothes, something she might have had on hand, he suspected, for the jeans peering out from beneath her crisp ruffled green apron were wash-worn, and it was a high-school sweatshirt she wore. Her hair was curlier than usual, probably from the rain and wind, and every time he looked at her she became more beautiful. Not in a cool, distant kind of way, but he noticed warmth and heart in her that he’d never taken the time to notice before.
His son’s words haunted him. Serious. Am I serious about her?
How could he not be?
“Look, Dad, a friend of mine works at this great restaurant in Bozeman. I’ll give her a call, get you a cool table, and on the way home we’ll stop by and get some flowers.”
“Flowers?” He had a hard time focusing on anything because Paige was coming his way, leading the Corey family down the aisle, chatting with Mrs. Corey over her shoulder as she went. Paige was elegance and she fascinated him.
On the way past his table, she surprised him by flashing him a warm knowing smile. One that made his soul lurch. One that made him feel alive all over again.
“Dad? You are one sorry dude. But it’s gonna be okay. I’m gonna take care of you. Help you out with this.”
Evan tried to focus on his son and had a hard time doing it. “Help? Nah, I got this all wrapped up. You need to study for your chem test.”
“Dad.” Cal shook his head like a parent who knows best when confronting a clueless teenager. “You have so much to learn. It’s a good thing you have me. Who knew all my dating expertise was going to pay off? Now, what is it you’re always telling me? Respect the girl. Mind your manners. Be a gentleman. I don’t have to tell you what that means, do I?”
Evan felt his face burn. “No, I think we can safely say that I’ll be a perfect gentleman. Let me think. I’m trying to remember why I was glad you came home? All that quiet I’ve been enjoying sounds good about now.”
“Yeah, yeah. Face it, Dad. You need me.” Cal stuffed a forkful of waffle into his mouth, enjoying this way too much.
Evan’s gaze roamed across the dining room to where Paige was helping elderly Mrs. Corey into a chair and when Mr. Corey insisted that was his job, Paige simply melted.
In that brief moment he saw something new about her. Paige McKaslin was an old-fashioned girl.
Well, she was in luck, because he was a hold-the-door, treat-a-woman-right, old-fashioned kind of guy.
Chapter Eleven
“Mom, you’re gonna be late for your date!” Alex’s voice echoed down the long hallway. “Mom!”
“I’m in here.” She checked her reflection in the big beveled mirror over her dresser.
The woman who gazed back at her looked ready for a meal at a fine restaurant. Her hair was tidy, her jewelry sedate—except for her earrings, maybe those were too much. And maybe the black rayon jacket and pants set made her look too severe. She had time. She should pick something else. There was that pretty pink dress she’d worn at Easter, and it had been a flattering color on her.
No, I’m not going to be one of those women who dress to suit some man, she told herself firmly. This is just dinner. Just a thank-you for all he’s done. He’s a customer. He’s a man. He’s not really interested in me.
But am I interested in him? She couldn’t quite answer that question truthfully, and she was glad for the interruption of her son bounding through her open bedroom door, looking windswept and bright-eyed. “What have you been up to?”
“No good.” With a wide grin, he dropped into the overstuffed chair by the picture window. “You know me. Robbing banks. Holding up old ladies.”
“Sure. Did you play basketball at the church?”
“When it finally stopped raining. I told Beth to stop by the diner tomorrow on her way to school. She has work release so she doesn’t have to be there until noon.”
“I never said I’d hire her.” Paige decided black was the perfect color for a woman with a teenage son who had a girlfriend. The perfect color for a woman who was not going to believe in love again. The perfect color to remind her that this dinner wasn’t a genuine date. “And before you say anything, I am shorthanded, but I can’t hire her just because you like her.”
“There’s a reason I like her, Mom. She’s a good person.” Her teenaged boy flashed her a telling look. “Isn’t that what you always say is important?”
Paige rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something? Your homework, maybe?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it. What I need to do—” he rose up to his full six-foot height, “is help my mommy get ready to go out with her new boyfriend.”
That he seemed pleased with the idea only made her laugh. Laughing covered up her embarrassment. She snapped the back off her left earring. “If I ever hear you say boyfriend again, you’ll be grounded so fast, it’ll make your head spin.”
“Ooh, I’m afraid.” With a wink he caught her hand. “Leave the earrings. They’re pretty. Just like you.”
Her heart melted. “You stop trying to charm me.”
“It’s just the truth, Mom.” Sincerity shone in his eyes, as blue as hers, when their gazes met in the mirror. “Cal told me his dad’s like waaay se
rious about you. And I figure, this’ll be good for ya. Get out. Be with a nice guy your own age. I raised ya right. I trust ya.”
Before she could begin to figure out what on earth she should say to that, the doorbell chimed. Nerves skidded through her like cold ice. Her fingertips felt frozen as if she’d been hours out in the cold and she had a tough time getting the earring back on.
“That’ll be him.” With a delighted grin, Alex dashed from the room.
Paige gripped the edge of the dresser, holding on for dear life as her son’s words replayed in her head. Cal told me his dad’s like waaay serious about you.
That can’t be right, can it? Paige clicked on the earring back. And if it is, oh, Lord, what am I going to do? Because she had mentally prepared herself to have a friendly conversation over a meal with Evan. To keep her shields up and her hopes, as tiny as they were, securely in place. What she wasn’t ready for was a big first step on a path that was uncertain and risky.
No, she told herself firmly, Alex’s words were nothing more than the result of two boys speculating on their parents’ relationship. It was nothing to worry about. She took a steadying breath, heard the front door close and the rumble of male voices in conversation. It looked like Evan was waiting for her, so she grabbed her evening bag and headed down the hall. She was ready for a casual, friendly dinner. She wouldn’t think about the rest.
“Evan.” His name spilled from her lips at the sight of the fit and handsome man standing in her foyer, wearing a striking black suit and coordinating black tie, and holding a vase of long-stemmed red roses. There were so many perfect buds, she could smell the beautiful old-fashioned aroma as she stumbled the last few yards down the hallway. “Oh, you brought flowers.”
“You like ’em?”
“Y-yes. Thank you.” The flowers were exquisite, but it was the man who captivated her. The man whose dark eyes widened with visible appreciation as she stepped into the fall of the overhead light. His was no casual look, but one that frightened her for all its sincerity and warmth. She saw the man’s steady heart and kind nature in the slow sweep of his smile.