“All my tables have left and I’m heading home now. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Jake nodded. “I’ll be by tomorrow around four.”
“We can have dinner after. I’m cooking.”
“You don’t have to, but I’ll never say no to a home-cooked meal.”
Barbi walked off and Lily and Jess exchanged glances, both wondering what that was about. Jess didn’t think that Barbi was seriously dating anyone. Maybe she and Jake would rekindle their old high school romance. With her yoga-toned body, Barbi was a gorgeous girl. The thought of it was depressing. Jess reached for another slice.
“I told Barbi I’d take a look at the brakes on her car tomorrow afternoon. She said they feel like they might be going.”
Jess suddenly felt less depressed. Silly, she knew it, but still. She was glad it wasn’t a date, though maybe Barbi had intentions if she was planning to cook him dinner.
“That’s a useful skill to have. How did you learn how to do that?”
“I’ve always liked tinkering with cars and when I was in college I worked part-time for a mechanic that specialized in it.” He flashed a grin. “If you need a brake job, I’m your guy.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Do you want a slice?” She figured he was probably full, but it seemed rude not to offer.
He laughed. “Thank you, but no. There’s only two pieces in that box. I ate a shocking amount of pizza.”
“It’s true. He shocked me. I have much more leftover,” Wade teased.
They finished eating and playing trivia, and Lily laughed when the scores were read. They came in eight out of ten teams. Three others had dropped out.
“We really should try to get here earlier next time,” she said.
“It’s still fun, though.” Jess didn’t care if they won or not. It was just something to do on a Thursday night and a good excuse to eat pizza.
“Are you girls ready? We can walk you back.” Wade stood and grabbed his pizza box and Jake did the same. Joe set down two more boxes of leftovers, one for Jess and Lily, and once they grabbed those and signed their credit card slip, they all left.
It was a short walk back to the cottages. Once they reached them, Wade said goodbye and went to walk a little further, to the main house where he lived. Lily got into her car and waved as she drove off and then it was just Jess and Jake.
“Well, that was fun. Have a good night, Jake.” Jess took a step towards her front door.
“Night, Jess. I guess I’ll see you Saturday night? Wade said there’s a group going to hear Lily’s band.”
“That’s right. It should be a fun time.”
Chapter 9
Jess was the first waitress to arrive at the Kafe on Saturday. She had the early shift, coming in at five-thirty. They officially opened at six, but the first hour was usually very slow, just a handful of people, usually resort guests and a few regulars that lived nearby. Bob, the new chef, was prepping hash browns on the grill when Jess walked in. He had his favorite Pearl Jam CD blasting as he worked. It was his usual morning routine. Once the doors opened, they would switch to a local easy listening station.
“Morning, Jess!” he called out from behind the line.
Jess popped into the kitchen to say hello, then got busy getting the dining room and front counter ready for customers. She brought a rack of clean coffee cups out from the kitchen and stacked them at the serving station, then checked that all the maple syrups and ketchups were full and on each table. Once that was all taken care of, she started the coffee brewing.
“You ready for the specials?” Bob asked.
Jess grabbed the bright purple marker they used for the white specials board that hung on the wall, in easy view of most parts of the dining room.
“I’m ready.”
“Caramel apple French toast, eggs Florentine, omelet is chicken apple sausage, goat cheese and carmelized onions, special pancake is raspberry and there’s homemade breakfast sausage patties. I’m tinkering with a new recipe.”
“Got it. That all sounds great.” The breakfast menu had all the basics on it, which their customers had always been happy with. But since Bob came, many of them had tried his more adventurous specials and some came in now just to see what he came up with.
“You hungry?” Bob asked.
“A little,” she admitted. She’d been in too much of a hurry to eat anything before she ran out of the house.
“Here, try this.” He put a plate on the pass through counter, where they picked up their food. It was loaded with the special French toast and a delicious-looking omelet.
“It’s so much! But thank you.”
Bob chuckled. “I ate the other half. That’s the special omelet and French toast. Will be easier for you to sell it if you know how amazing it is.”
Jess glanced at the clock. She had ten minutes to eat. She knew her first customer would be walking in the door at six sharp. He always did. She ate quickly, surprising herself by completely cleaning her plate. Since Bob had started, even occasional complaints about the food had pretty much stopped. Of course there were always people like Claire, Jake’s stepmother, who could always find something to complain about.
She brought her dirty dish into the kitchen, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. In a few minutes, Raphael would be in to take care of doing the dishes.
The clock chimed that it was six, and Jess went to unlock the front door. Her first customer was waiting and grinned when he saw her. She opened the door to let him in.
“Good morning, Simon.”
“Great to see your smiling face, Jess. I think I’ll sit at the counter today.”
Simon always sat at the counter. Jess went to pour him a cup of coffee and slid the morning paper his way. He liked to check the headlines while he ate. Simon O’Grady was probably her favorite customer. He was semi-retired, in his mid- to late-seventies, she wasn’t exactly sure. He had snow white hair and was once a successful businessman and many years ago, he was a scratch golfer. He still loved to play, and worked part-time in the golf shop, scheduling tee times and handing out scorecards.
“What’s new, Simon?” she asked as she handed him a menu.
“Well, let’s see, since I last saw you…” He thought for a moment and then a gleam came into his eye. “I adopted ten Saint Bernard puppies.”
“What? What are you talking about, Simon?” Jess chuckled. She knew he had done no such thing.
“That got your attention, didn’t it? Had to come up with something interesting. Not a darn thing is new since I last saw you.” Every time she saw him and asked him that question, he told a whopper. She looked forward to seeing what he was going to come up with next. The other waitresses had thought he was serious at first. Now they were all onto him, and everyone loved Simon. He was always smiling and in a good mood.
“I think I’ll try that caramel apple French toast. You know me, I love my sweets.” Simon tore open a packet of sugar and stirred it into his coffee.
“Yes, you do,” Jess agreed as she wrote his order on a slip and then handed it to Bob. A few more customers walked in and sat at a table by the window. Jess took care of them, then came back behind the counter and topped off Simon’s coffee.
“So tell me all about this new job of yours. I missed seeing you here this week.” Simon came in every morning for breakfast and Jess usually saw him on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“I’m sure Liz and Joni took good care of you,” she teased him.
“Oh they’re lovely girls, but you know you’re my favorite.” He winked at her as Bob rang the bell to let her know his food was ready. She brought his French toast over and set it down in front of him.
“This looks marvelous. So, how is your internship at the vet clinic going?” He popped a bite of gooey French toast in his mouth as Jess started to tell him all about working with Dr. Henery. She’d paused to take her new customers’ orders and then looked up when the front door opened and Jaclyn Hardy walked in. She was her other favor
ite customer. Simon waved Jaclyn over, as he usually did, and she settled at a counter stool next to him.
Jaclyn smiled at Jess and thanked her when she brought her a cup of hot tea with lemon. Jaclyn was another regular and Jess never had to ask what they wanted to drink. They always had the same thing.
“How are you, dear?” Jaclyn asked in her soft Irish lilt. She was about the same age as Simon and also worked on the resort. She had a small cabin near the RV park entrance and took payments for the park. Her yard was hard to miss. It was filled with gnomes, leprechauns and fairies. And she loved rabbits and once said she had twenty of them. She had a twinkle in her eye as she said it, so Jess wasn’t sure it that was true or if Simon’s tendency to embellish had rubbed off on her. Jess handed her a menu.
“Oh, I don’t need that.” She nodded at Simon’s half-empty dish. “I’ll have what he’s having.”
“An excellent choice. You’ll love it.” Simon approved enthusiastically. Jess handed in her order to Bob and then grabbed a coffee pot to go check on her other customers and top off their coffees. Their food came up as soon as she walked back behind the counter. She ran it out to them, and then turned at the sound of someone else walking through the door. She was surprised to see that it was Jake.
“Have a seat wherever you like,” she said as she saw Bob put Jaclyn’s French toast up for delivery. She brought it to her and cleared away Simon’s empty plate. Jake joined the two of them at the counter and sat next to Simon. Jess handed him a menu and asked if he wanted coffee.
“Yes. Black, please.” She brought it to him and he smiled.
“Thanks. How are you this morning?”
“I’m good. You’re up early.” She hadn’t noticed him out and about this early before.
“I have a lot to do today. Running around stuff, last minute-errands before I start on Monday.”
“Ah. Do you need a few minutes to decide?”
“Get the French toast,” Simon suggested and Jaclyn nodded.
Jake glanced at her plate. “It looks great, but I’m going to be boring and just get scrambled eggs and bacon.” Jess put his order in then checked on her other customers and gave them their bill. When she came back behind the counter, she was amused to see that Jake was in deep discussion with both Simon and Jaclyn.
“Do you treat rabbits at your office?” she overheard Jaclyn ask.
“Sure, we can do that. What’s going on?”
“It’s Mindy. She’s about a year old. She’s gained weight recently and she’s been really lethargic the past few days. Before that she had a burst of energy and cleared out a spot in the closet off the kitchen. She’s been acting very strange. I’m worried that something might be wrong with her.”
Jake smiled. “Well, I won’t know for sure until I see her, but it sounds like she could be pregnant.”
Jaclyn looked surprised. “Oh, I never thought of that. I suppose it’s possible. Goodness, maybe I will actually have twenty rabbits, then.”
Simon chuckled and for the first time since Jess had known him, he was speechless. But really, what could you say to that?
“I can bring her into your office on Monday, if that’s okay with you?” Jaclyn asked
“There’s no need. I can stop over to see you this afternoon. If she is pregnant, then there’s nothing you need to do, except maybe fix the rest so this doesn’t happen again.”
“Oh, if you wouldn’t mind, that would be wonderful. Thank you ever so much.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Jake said as Jess set his breakfast down in front of him.
“A little more coffee?” she asked.
“Sure, thank you.”
She topped off his mug and handed Simon and Jaclyn their bills. They paid and walked out together, and Simon held the door open for Liz and Joni who were arriving for their shifts. Saturdays were usually the busiest day of the week, and Jess knew it was going to pick up soon.
“How is everything?” Jake’s plate was already more than half-empty.
“It’s great. I didn’t have anything in the house for breakfast. Need to pick up some groceries today, too.”
“That was nice of you to offer to stop by Jaclyn’s.”
“It’s nothing. I’m going to be driving right by her cottage anyway. She seems like a sweet woman.”
“She is. Simon, too. He flirts like mad with her. I keep hoping a romance might start with the two of them.”
“They almost seemed like an old married couple. But maybe they’re better off as friends, just enjoying each other’s company. Especially at their age.”
Jess frowned at that. “Maybe. But I don’t think age should matter all that much.”
“No, I don’t think so, either. I just meant it might not be important to them. Good friends are hard to come by. Maybe they don’t want to ruin a good thing.”
“That could be.” Jake was done eating and his cup was empty. “Can I get you anything else? More coffee?”
“No, I’m good. I need to get a move on.” He opened his wallet and drew out some bills. Jess handed him his check and he stood up.
“Let me get you some change.”
“No, it’s all set. I’ll see you later tonight. What time are you planning to head to the restaurant? I can knock on your door and we can walk over together, if you like.”
“I was thinking about seven?”
“See you then.”
She watched him walk out and told herself it was silly to feel a flutter of excitement. It wasn’t a date. It was just a bunch of friends going out together. But, maybe she’d do a little shopping later, too. She was sick of her clothes. She mostly lived in sweatshirts and jeans. That wouldn’t do for a night out. She hadn’t bought any new clothes in ages. It was time.
Chapter 10
Jess jumped at the sound of a knock on her door. It was a few minutes before seven. Jake was right on time. She took one last look in the mirror and ran the brush through her hair again, fluffing it up just a bit. She looked about as good as she was capable of. Her hair fell just to her shoulders. It was straight and all one length, easy to pull up into a ponytail when she worked at the restaurant or Dr. Henery’s office. She didn’t generally wear much makeup, but she’d put on a little mascara and a bit of blush across the apples of her cheeks. The final touch was a slick of peachy pink lipstick. She wasn’t as glamorous as Barbi, but she was feeling pretty good. The pale lavender sweater that she’d bought that afternoon made her best feature, the ice blue eyes that all the Weston siblings also had, stand out.
“Come on in,” she called out as she walked toward the front door. Jake stepped inside and Maya and Rudolph came running to inspect the visitor. They slowed as they approached and started sniffing around his feet. After a minute, Maya rubbed against his leg and then Rudolph followed. Jake reached down to pat both of them.
“They like you,” Jess said. She didn’t blame them. Jake took her breath away. He was wearing a charcoal gray sweater with a white t-shirt under it and what looked like new jeans. He’d shaved, too. Although she liked the stubble look, a clean-shaven Jake was every bit as attractive.
“Were they here when I helped you with the boxes? I didn’t see them then.” he asked.
“I had them in my bedroom with the door shut so they wouldn’t get any ideas about going outside when I left the door open.”
Jake took a step back and smiled. “You look great. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” Jess grabbed her purse and a lightweight jacket and opened the door. Jake walked out and she locked the door behind her. They chatted easily as they walked the short distance to the restaurant. Dani was already there, sitting at a big table in the corner of the bar, along with Wade, Kelsi and Shane, Wyatt and Will. Dani waved them over and they sat in the two empty seats next to her. Lily was there too, helping her brother Tyler and Mark set up the band’s equipment.
“Is anyone else coming?” Jess asked.
“I think this is it. Wes was going to join us but
he got a better offer. He’s going to a party in town with some of his friends.” Wade handed each of them a menu from the stack in the middle of the table. “We were thinking of just getting a bunch of appetizers—nachos, wings that kind of thing, and whatever else you want. I’m getting a burger, too.”
When their waitress came for their order, Jake got a burger as well. Jess knew she’d have more than enough with the appetizers Wade ordered. She looked around the restaurant. It was busy. The dining room was packed and the bar area was filling up fast. Lots of people came just to hear the bands on the weekends and have a drink or two.
Their food came out quickly and they had just finished eating when Jess noticed Lily getting into position behind her microphone. The house music faded and the lights dimmed a little as they got ready to play. They were a crowd favorite at the restaurant and Wade was booking them more often. They were also becoming more well known in town, too, and playing gigs frequently there as well. They played a mix of music, mostly covers of popular soft rock tunes as well as country favorites. At least a few times a night they played one of their original tunes, and she wondered if Lily was going to play the one they worked on a few nights ago.
Jess leaned back in her chair and relaxed, feeling full and happy and enjoying the music as it flowed over her. She noticed that Jake seemed to be enjoying it, too, as his toe was tapping in time to the music.
Kelsi was chatting away and had them in stitches, telling funny stories about things they saw and did on their honeymoon. She and Shane were still newlyweds, and seemed madly in love. Jess was thrilled for them, and maybe just a tiny bit envious because they seemed so happy. She hoped to someday find that for herself.
The night flew by and Jess was having a wonderful time until the band was halfway through their second set. She instantly tensed up when she saw Ed walk through the door with a couple of his friends. He didn't seem to see her at first, as they went straight to the bar and sat in the few seats that had just opened up.
Veterinarian's Vacation (River's End Ranch Book 2) Page 5