“Hmmm,” Ash thought. “I went out for dinner with that paralegal Donna a few months ago, but that didn’t really work out. And I had a couple of dates with that guy I met at the gym—Bill or Bob something. But he was way too into himself and frankly, a little too young for me.” Ash didn’t hide the fact that he was bisexual, but having an expanded pool of options hadn’t really helped him find someone.
Phil placed a burger in front of Ash and turned to Finn. “These two,” he whispered, gesturing to the couple seated onAsh’s left, “should be leaving in a couple of minutes. Is Clay coming in?”
“Yeah. He should be here any second. Can I have a Woodford on the rocks when you have a moment?”
“Sure thing.”
Ash hung up his jacket and tossed his keys into the bowl on the small table just inside the door. It had been great spending time with Finn and Clay at the Whale, but he probably shouldn’t have had that beer, considering how exhausted he was. Ah, well, he’d gotten home safely, and at least he’d sleep well tonight.
As he got ready for bed, he thought about his conversation with Finn. He was feeling pretty pathetic. Forty years old and no real love life to speak of. Usually, it didn’t bother him. Much. Work kept him busy, and what he’d told Finn was true—his schedule didn’t leave him much time to meet anyone. But seeing Finn with Clay had just made him realize that time was passing, and if he didn’t meet someone soon, he might end up alone. Not that he’d settle for just anyone; he wasn’t that desperate. But it would be nice to have someone to come home to. Someone to talk with about his day. To snuggle with on the couch while you read or watched a movie together.
Ah, well, tomorrow’s another day.He slipped under the covers, set his alarm, and eventually drifted off to sleep.
The alarm rang at seven, jarring Ash awake. Cursing the ungodly hour for a Saturday, he padded to the bathroom to pee, thenshower. Thank goodness he didn’t have to be at the shelter until nine thirty to help prep for lunch.
Caffeine. He definitely needed caffeine. Once dressed, he grabbed his keys and phone and headed out to Cuppa Joe’s for breakfast. He sat in the shop, sipping his coffee and nibbling at his breakfast sandwich, half expecting to see either Court or Mitch pass through, but neither showed, so he soon returned to his vehicle to begin the short ride up to Plymouth.
Rather than turn on the radio—Ash loved some quiet time, especially in the morning—he pondered his life on the drive. He was reasonably happy. He enjoyed his job and got along well with his partner. He had a wonderful, loving family. But again, seeing Finn and Clay together had started him thinking about his own future; he wouldn’t mind finding someone and settling down, but hell, he was already forty. And how did it get to be September already? Where had this year gone? Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. But he could still have a fulfilling life, right? Like volunteering at A Helping Hand. After all, it had started years ago as a small community kitchen, offering meals to homeless and otherwise less-fortunate people in the area and was now growing into so much more. Maybe he could help make a difference there.
Ash parked in the small lot at the back of the building and checked his phone to remind himself who he was meeting here—Joyce Riordan.
He walked in the back door and found himself in a restaurant-style kitchen, bustling with activity. A short Black woman with colorful locs was giving folks instructions, so Ash approached her.
“Hi, I’m Ash Reynolds. This is my first day volunteering.”
“Hey, Ash.” Her killer smile radiated warmth. “Welcome. Gimme one sec.” She looked at one of the guys just standingthere, wearing a long white apron, and said, “Dean, can you start prepping the vegetables?”
Turning back to Ash, she reached out her hand, smiling again. “Very nice to meet you. I’m Joyce. You’re the detective from Hawthorne Bluff, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me. What can I do to help?”
“I dunno,” she said bluntly. “What can you do?” Then she chuckled. “Sorry, I don’t mean to tease, but since you’re new, I’m not sure what to ask you to do since I’m not sure of your skills yet. Help me out, please.”
“Oh, sure. I know my way around a kitchen, so I can certainly help with food prep. I can cook a bit, chop fruits and vegetables, wash dishes, just about anything, really.”
She looked a bit skeptical but said, “Okay, how about you work with Dean over there?” She pointed to apron guy. “With the weather starting to turn colder, I like to do something warm when we can, so we’re making vegetable soup for lunch today. It will go great with the loaves of sourdough that a local bakery donated to us. There’s onions, celery, zucchini, and carrots to be chopped. Diced about a half inch or so if you can manage that.”
“You got it,” he said, cheerfully. “Where can I hang my coat?”
“There are pegs behind the door over there, and you can wash up at that sink. Dean can show you where the knives and cutting boards are.” And then she was off, moving quickly through a set of swinging doors that, Ash assumed, led to the dining area.
After washing his hands and rolling up his sleeves, he walked over to Dean. “Hi, I’m Ash. You’re Dean, right?”
“Yeah, pleased to meet you. Did Joyce put you on veg duty too?”
“Yup. She said you could tell me where the knives and cutting boards are.”
Dean reached under the counter and retrieved a large cutting board, then opened a drawer to grab an apron identical to the one he was wearing. “Here, put this on,” he said, turning and pointing to another set of drawers along the back counter. “Knives are in there. Pick out something you like. And there are gloves in the next drawer over. You don’t wanna be chopping onions without those, or your hands will stink for days!”
They chatted amicably to pass the time as they chopped.
CHAPTER
TWO
Walker
Ker ambled down the sidewalk, sipping his coffee. It was a short walk to A Helping Hand, and he enjoyed the bright sunshine and the crisp breeze coming in from the harbor. It was definitely chillier than it had been a week or two ago, and soon he’d have to pull out a heavier coat from his collection of winter clothes. Even though he enjoyed working at the community kitchen, hopefully soon to be more of an outreach center, it wasn’t really how he’d prefer to spend his Saturdays. He’d much rather sleep in and then do something fun on the weekend. But it was his own fault. Volunteering kept him busy and helped keep the negative urges at bay. He really didn’t want to start using again.
