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But she’d gotten through the growing pains and found her happy medium, and it was fun to see her just relaxing with an old-fashioned, familiar food we all loved. I paused at the counter, waving at one of the waitresses as she walked by, and chatted with Helen for a few minutes before ordering lunch to go.
The counter gave a view of part of the kitchen, and I caught sight of an unfamiliar face. It was a heavily tatted-up guy with a bandana wrapped around his head to hold back his shaggy hair. He looked up at me quickly, and I noticed he was sort of hot. The second the thought of him being attractive went through my mind, I forced myself to shake it off. That wasn’t something I could even contemplate for a second. After what happened with my ex, Trip, I wasn’t ready to open my heart to another man.
Not that recognizing that a guy was hot was the same as offering up my heart on a silver platter, but it was a slippery slope. It was better to just keep men out of my mind completely. The only guy who needed to register with me was Olly. Taking care of the two of us was all I could think about.
As I headed for the register to pay for our food, I caught a glimpse of Everett holding the other twin and talking to a man who didn’t look familiar. He grinned at me when he caught my eye, and I waved, not wanting to interrupt his conversation. It felt good to be on such amazing terms with my boss, coworkers, and their families. I worked hard and put a tremendous amount of effort and concentration into my job, but at the end of the day, I knew that I was fortunate enough to be able to enjoy it.
5
FINN
The alarm didn’t go off.
I snapped awake, grabbing my phone and checking the time, my heart racing.
Seven in the morning. Fuck!
I swung my legs out of the bed, grabbing at the charging cord and yanking it out of the phone. My feet hit the hardwood floor, and the cold shock sent a chill up my body to join with the sudden dump of adrenaline. How the hell could I have slept so late?
And why didn’t anyone call me?
I stopped mid-step and looked back down at my phone again. Seven a.m. Sunday.
Sunday.
My shoulders sank, and I sat back down heavily on the bed. Sunday. The diner was closed on Sundays now. I was off.
I let myself fall back onto the pillows, unsure if I was actually going to be able to relax but happy to at least get my bare feet back under the sheets. Curling up into the warm spot I had been in but flipping the pillow to the cool side, I tried to let my mind drift. It wasn’t going to be easy. I damn near gave myself a heart attack.
Helen had decided a few weeks back that we all needed a day off. Everyone but Roger and Amy worked pretty much every day. Sundays had often been a busy day for us, but once we started offering our Sunday menu all weekend, it had taken a dive. Considering it just meant Saturdays were that much busier, and the rest of the business seemed to filter to Monday and Tuesday, Helen considered the experiment worthwhile and implemented it full-time.
I had been the only person who wasn’t thrilled with the idea at first. I enjoyed the kitchen. I enjoyed the chaos. Cooking was like breathing to me, but she helped me see that if I kept that pace, I would burn myself out. I needed time to go do other things I enjoyed. Like camping. Or just hiking the mountain trails. Anything that didn’t involve going through three aprons a day.
I tossed and turned in the bed for a good half hour before I finally decided that I wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep. I reached for my dresser on the other side of the bed and found a pair of socks to slip on before getting out of the bed again.
Grabbing my backpack, I proceeded to load up on all the essentials for a nice long hike. I intended on being able to put up a hammock and take a nap at some point, probably by one of the many creeks running through the mountains.
I had my phone charged and a backup brick in my backpack, but I wanted to do this the old-school way. I had a map of the mountain ranges in my back pocket, a compass on my watch, and a hiking stick. I planned on exploring that Sunday and enjoying what Ashford, Tennessee, had to offer. It would be my first time going out into the mountains without a clear plan, and I was excited for it.
