“Do you guys talk?” Renee asked.
“Yeah. We have a few times. Mostly, we’ve texted and stuff because he works so much, and by the time he’s done, it’s early in the morning here. I’ve been busy, and I know he is, because Darren works like a fool most of the time.”
She motioned to the server and asked for drink refills, and they ordered food as well. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean? My father is never going to go for working outside the office.”
Renee rolled her pretty eyes. “What is he going to do? Fire you? Please. You have a sizeable trust fund, and you already own a lot of the company, thanks to your grandfather, who hadobvious doubts about your father.” She thanked the server when they brought the drinks and then glared at Chet. “What you need to do is get off your butt and tell your father what you want and what will make you happy. Then go and make it happen. Sitting around here with kicked-puppy-dog face isn’t going to solve anything.”
“But what if it doesn’t work out?” Chet asked quietly.
“Now you sound like a teenager. You have resources that most people would kill for. It’s not like you couldn’t come back. But you have to find out if this is what you want and if he’s the one for you. Sitting here not knowing is going to drive you crazy. I mean, do you really want to wonder if Darren is the one you let get away? Or do you want to find out and maybe have the life you always wanted?”
Sometimes, she could cut through the crap faster than anyone he knew.
ChapterNine
He walkedout of the market, and the first thing he saw was his aunt’s car in the prime parking space. Darren had done his best to avoid her for the past few weeks. He had dodged her phone calls and deleted her badgering messages. But now it seemed he was going to have to deal with her. The truth was, he hadn’t really had the energy… until now.
Last week, he’d made sausage for Henry, and not only had he liked it, he’d agreed to add it to the case, and it was really selling. They started with two types, and they were both moving really well. Henry had even agreed to a decent raise. On top of that, a server at The Pub had left, and that meant that Darren picked up one more evening there. So, he’d stepped back from the Harbor View completely. He hadn’t left on bad terms and made sure not to leave them in a lurch, but it felt good to have a few evenings free.
Darren had hoped to get past his aunt unseen, but she got out of her car and strode over to him, her heels clicking on the pavement. “We need to talk,” she said. “Otherwise, I’ll press forward with my claims.”
Darren had given things a lot of thought and now he knew he was right. His aunt was well aware that she didn’t have a valid claim. If she had, she’d have gone through her lawyers and the estate counsel. But she didn’t. Instead, she kept trying to contact him. “I have to be at The Pub in ten minutes. I get off at ten, so you can come to the house, and we’ll settle this.” He refused to give her anything more, striding away. Darren was done beingafraid, and whatever game she was playing, he wasn’t having anything to do with it.
Darren checked his phone for messages, but there were none. Usually, at this time of the day, Chet would send a message, and they would chat for a few minutes. But it was quiet. Darren knew he should expect the calls and messages to fall off, but he was still disappointed that they had. He sent a message of his own and waited a little for a response, but there wasn’t one.
Arriving at The Pub, he went in the back, changed into fresh clothes, hit his tables, and went to it. As usual, he had the area outside, and that worked for him. He liked the fresh air, and the people seated there had come to eat, rather than drink at the bar.
His tables were packed all evening long, which was great. It kept him from thinking too much about Chet, and he found himself doing all the time. The people at his tables were really nice and chatty tonight, which was also great. And the skunk made an appearance, skittering under the tables to pick up bits of food before hurrying away again.
“Is that a real skunk?” a kid about six at one of the tables asked.
“Yes. He’s real, and he’s nice.”
The kid inhaled. “He doesn’t stink.”
“Skunks only smell when they spray. So, just leave him alone, and he won’t stink. He comes and goes, but he’s been staying around here for the last few months. He eats the food that people drop,” Darren explained. “The only time he sprayed was when a customer let their dog go after him, and even then, the dog deserved it.” Darren winked, and the kid laughed. Darren took their orders and went inside to put them in.
“Sometimes, I swear, people like the skunk more than anything else,” Leanne, the other server, said as she came back in from delivering food to a table.
“Well, not every restaurant has a skunk for a mascot,” Darren said as he filled water glasses and returned to tables that had turned and were now filled with new guests. He greeted them and took drink orders, then checked on the rest of his tables before filling the orders. There was a definite routine to waiting tables, and once he got into it, the rest was easy. He was always good at looking after his guests, and by the time they left, his tip usually reflected that.
Darren had finished his last table and was clearing up the outdoor area in preparation for the following morning when he was told they had just seated a final table. “He requested to be out there,” the hostess told him, so Darren went to greet them and take drink orders when he stopped in his tracks, blinking in case his eyes deceived him.
“What are you doing back here?” Darren asked once he got his legs moving. “Did you forget something?”
Chet smiled up at him. “I did. I forgot you.”
“Huh…?” Darren said, knowing he sounded kind of dumb, but not sure if he cared. “Me?”
“Yeah. I went back to New York and left you behind. I didn’t like it. So, I came back out here because I needed the answers to a number of questions.”
Darren’s mouth moved, but no words came out at first. “What questions?” he finally croaked.
“Well… I need to know if you missed me.” The smile slipped away, and Chet’s eyes grew serious. “I needed to know if you felt the same way I did, and if maybe you’d be willing to see if things could work out.”
“But your job and the commitments to your family?” Darren probed.
