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Mason’s eyes locked with hers, but she didn’t add to her request. He sighed with exasperation. “Get me a double order of pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast.”
Hope scribbled everything on her paper and nodded. “Anything else to drink?”
He lifted his mug. “I’m good with this.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be right back with your food.”
The second she was gone, Harley huffed. “I hope you’re not expecting me to eat any of that.”
“It’s nice to hear the venom return to your voice,” Mason said flatly.
“I mean it. I only want coffee.”
“You’re telling me that you didn’t eat supper last night or breakfast this morning, and yet you think you’re going to be capable of doing heavy labor?”
She straightened in her seat, the stubbornness in her gaze telling him everything he needed to know.
“Fine. Don’t eat. It’s none of my business anyhow.” While they sat across from each other, neither one of them spoke. Hope brought Harley’s coffee over, and still there was no conversation. Then, finally, Harley nodded toward Mason. “I thought you were going to call Vern.”
“Who?”
“My uncle. You said—”
“I’ll call him in a few minutes.”
Her lips thinned into a tight line, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she turned her attention over to Hope where she hustled behind the counter. “Who is she?”
He glanced in the direction she was looking. There was only one waitress on staff this early in the morning. “That’s Hope.”
“How do you know her?”
“She works here.”
Harley snickered. “Is that all? I thought in small towns like this one, everyone knew each other because you were all related or something.”
“I’m not related to your uncle,” Mason pointed out.
“You know what I meant.” Harley picked up a menu and looked it over. He watched her carefully, looking for any sign that she was regretting her stance on breakfast. At first, he didn’t see anything, but then there was a glimmer of something. It was small, and if he hadn’t been watching her closely, he wouldn’t have caught it. There were several swallows in succession. Her mouth was watering. Not hungry? There was no way.
Fortunately, he knew better than to challenge her on that front. Mason sat quietly, choosing instead to watch people come and go from the diner. There were the usual cowboys. Hope’s son, Finn, came in just before their food came out.
Hope stopped chatting with Finn long enough to bring them their food. She placed a plate in front of Mason and one in front of Harley. “Enjoy,” she sang, then scurried off.
Harley stared at the plate and her stomach made that incessant noise.
Mason bit back a smile as he picked up his fork and dug into his food. He purposefully didn’t meet her gaze as he ate. But just as he suspected she would, Harley finally picked up her own fork and started taking small bites.
They ate in companionable silence. It was actually quite nice. It wasn’t often he had company for breakfast when he came to Sal’s. And when Harley’s mouth was full, she was actually pleasant to spend time with.
About ten minutes into their meal, Mason grabbed his napkin and wiped at his mouth. He got to his feet, and only when Harley shot him a curious and slightly concerned look did he bother telling her where he was going. “I’m going to make that call to your uncle. I’ll be right back.”
He headed outside, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he reached the sidewalk. The number was saved on his phone. Originally, he’d been planning on calling Mr. Abrams today to tell him that he’d be passing on the job offer officially.
Mason stared at the number. He couldn’t believe he was about to call this man and tell him the exact opposite of what he had intended.
The truth of the matter was that Harley had given him an idea. She’d made a good point when she’d said that money would solve some of the problems they had at the ranch. Wade would have killed Mason for bringing up such a concern. They’d finally pulled themselves out of the gutter. His oldest brother was a proud man, and he probably didn’t want anyone to think they still needed help.
Perhaps they didn’t. But that didn’t mean that a little extra income would hurt.
