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“Sorry,” Kaylee said, reaching out to take a stack of plates. “I’m on it. Where do you want them?”
“You can put them at the end of that counter,” Rita said, pointing a finger. “But you’d better be quick about it. The hungry hordes will be here any minute.”
Rita wasn’t kidding. Within the next ten minutes, the basement was filled with church members and people from the community as they lined up and filled their plates.
The next few hours flew by as Kaylee helped to serve food and fill glasses and pick up discarded plates. She loved the sound of laughter and spirited conversation that pervaded the room. She was surprised by how so many folks all seemed to know each other. Small towns were so different than big cities where anonymity was valued and even craved. No one in Bartlett would be able to get by with anything because no doubt someone in town would recognize them and probably spend three minutes in chatty conversation about how their family was doing.
Things eventually did start to wind down as more people finished eating and left. Kaylee wiped off an empty table then crossed back into the kitchen. “Looks like we haven’t had anyone in line for a while now,” she said to Luke and Emma, who were manning the food line. “Should we start putting the rest of the food away?”
“Not yet,” Emma told her. “Bear hasn’t arrived. He’s usually the last one in.”
“Who’s Bear?”
“An old guy who lives west of town. I don’t think he’s missed a single meal since we started this thing,” Luke said.
“Why do you call him Bear?”
“Because he’s as mean and grouchy as a big ole bear,” Emma whispered.
“Now Emma, be nice,” Dean admonished, coming up behind his daughter.
“Well, he is,” Emma said. “He’s cranky and kinda weird. His house is so rundown, it’s scary. And he’s always walking around town pulling a wagon and digging through people’s trash.”
“That’s no reason to be unkind,” her dad told her.
She hung her small head. “Sorry.”
“The guy’s last name is Berenger, but most people only know him as Bear,” Luke explained. “You’ll see why. He didn’t used to be quite so grumpy, but his wife died several years back and since then, he’s kept more to himself and kind of stopped caring what people think of him. He’s an ornery old coot, but he’s harmless. His bark is much worse than his bite.”
Dean cleared his throat and nodded to the large man who walked into the back of the room and there was no doubt he was the man in question. He was tall and barrel-chested with a full bushy beard shot with gray and thick eyebrows just visible under a worn gray felt cowboy hat. He looked like he could be Hagrid’s grandpa.
The few people who called out greetings to him were met with a scowl as he made his way to the counter and picked up a plate.
The man was even more imposing up close. He was well over six feet tall, and his hands were almost as big as the plate he was holding. But Kaylee knew what it was like to want to be left alone and to have a need for solitude be misunderstood as weird or odd.
She smiled at him as she held out the bag of corn chips. “Hi there. We’re serving tacos tonight. Would you like some corn chips?”
He winced as if her cheery voice hurt his ears. “Who are you? And what are you so goll-danged cheerful about?”
“Hey Bear,” Luke said, holding out a scoop of taco meat. “This is Kaylee Collins. She’s my guest at the ranch this week.”
Bear held out his plate for Luke to fill as he eyed Kaylee. “Since when do you haveguestsat the ranch?”
“Since Faye called and told me she was sending me one.”
The large man answered with a knowing grunt then moved down the line. With his plate full, he picked up a glass of iced tea and shuffled to an empty table. He kept his head down as he ate, his body language giving off a definitestay away, I want to be alonevibe.
Now that Bear had arrived, the rest of the group commenced cleaning up. Kaylee was happy to wash dishes in the kitchen, but Rita handed her a pitcher of tea and instructed her to go offer refills. Even in the short time she’d known her, Kaylee knew Rita wasn’t someone to be argued with. Maybe Rita and Faye were long-lost sisters or cousins.
Most people were finishing up and clearing out as Kaylee made the rounds and eventually ended up in front of Bear. “Could I refill that for you, Mr. B—” She caught herself before calling him Mr. Bear like he was a character in a fairy tale.
He studied her as he pushed his empty cup across the table. “You can just call me Bear.”
“Could I get you a piece of pie?”
“No,” he answered gruffly then narrowed his eyes as he peered toward the kitchen. “But I wouldn’t say no to some of that cake.”
She found the largest slice of cake left on the counter and picked it up. It was chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting—one of her favorites—and on a whim, she grabbed a second piece for herself and brought them both back to the table. “Mind if I join you?”
