Page 21 of Harvest Heat

Caleb nodded. “It is. The shop is doing even better than I could’ve hoped.”

Rhys nodded, then looked down at his hands. Caleb wondered if he shouldn’t have said that since Rhys saw him as competition. Which he was, to an extent, but he hoped Rhys’s business was still doing well.

One of the bartenders headed their way. She smiled at Rhys. “I didn’t expect to see you in here on a Friday night.”

“Tessa lured me here, then ran out on me. I just want to get some takeout.”

“Do you want your usual?”

“Yes, and I’ll have a Diet Coke while I wait.”

“Good idea. I’ll see what I can do to get this through as fast as possible, but it’s going to be a bit. We’re a little backed up in the kitchen.”

“That’s okay.” Rhys’s face said it wasn’t. Caleb was sure he was anxious to get out of there, but it was good to see he wasn’t going to complain. Treating bartenders and waitstaff well was a green flag in his book.

“And for you?” The bartender turned to Caleb. Before he could respond, Rhys interjected.

“Abby, this is Caleb. He owns Cloud Nine. Abby is Jonah’s younger sister.”

“I’ve heard all about you,” Abby said. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Caleb.”

He hoped she’d heard good things. “It’s nice to meet you too. Come to Cloud Nine one day soon, and I’ll make any drink you want on the house.”

Caleb realized Rhys was looking back and forth between the two of them with a frown on his face. Abby was clearly flirting with Caleb. Did Rhys know he was only flirting back in fun? All he was interested in was gaining another friend in town.

Abby leaned on the bar. “That sounds amazing. What can I get for you, Caleb?”

“I’ll have a Stoneface Oktoberfest while I wait, and I’ll do the bacon cheeseburger and fries to go.”

“You got it. I’ll be right back with those drinks.”

“So what’s your regular order?” Caleb asked Rhys after Abby left to take their order to the kitchen.

For once, he looked pleased that Caleb was talking to him. “A buffalo chicken sandwich, provolone cheese, ranch instead of blue cheese dressing, and a Caesar side salad.”

“A very respectable order. I don’t like blue cheese either.”

“You don’t? All my friends drag me about hating it, but who wants to eat mold?”

“Right?”

This time, when Rhys smiled, it looked relaxed and natural. Maybe they were getting somewhere.

CHAPTER 9

“So what’s up with the lighthouse?”

Caleb’s question startled Rhys out of an anxiety spiral about what they could talk about. This was a safe enough topic. “The lighthouse?”

“I was walking around by it the other day, and a tall scruffy man stepped out and told me it was private property. I tried to ask him a question, but he darted back inside.”

“That’s Derrick. He took over as lighthouse keeper after the previous keeper needed to go to a care home. He’s sort of a hermit. He rarely leaves except to get groceries and other supplies.”

“Hmm. Now I’m intrigued.”

“If you can bring him out of his shell, Tessa will be thrilled. She’s tried with no success.”

“I can imagined,” Caleb said. “So are you going to spill any of your secrets?”