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“I think I will accept that invitation.” Elisa’s eyes went back to the menu. “What’s good here?”
Awesome. They’d gotten through the dangerous part. Well, hopefully. It was Bliss and there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be a mob war or a serial killer. He should probably wait to tell her about that. “Most of the menu is organic. Even the beef is from a local ranch and the cows are grass fed and no growth hormones were used.”
“I think she meant what’s tasty,” Van corrected.
Ah, but he had a good reason to have made that mistake. “She’s had cancer. Sometimes a healthy diet and avoiding processed foods is part of the recovery plan.”
Van nodded. “Oh, well, the chicken salad is actually quite good. Totally organic, and the chickens are raised a couple of miles from here. And I don’t believe that the spirits of angry chickens will tear up my gut. Nell makes that shit up.”
“I do try to eat well,” Elisa replied, her eyes warm on him. “But I can have a couple of fun meals, too. How is the chili?”
He loved Zane’s chili. “It’s excellent, and he makes the most delicious cornbread that he can now cook because I fixed the bread oven. They do this weird thing here and slather it in butter and molasses. I love it.”
“Then that sounds like a meal to me.” She waved over Callie.
Hale sat back, finally comfortable that this could work out.
* * * *
Van watched as Hale…was that dancing? Technically he might meet the definition of dancing. There was music and Hale’s body was moving, but he managed to make it pretty awkward.
“Do you think he’s having a seizure? Should we call the doc?” Cameron Briggs’s head tilted slightly as he watched Hale moving on the dance floor.
Elisa was faring much better, but the truth was she was on the awkward side as well. Like there hadn’t been much dancing in her life. They’d had a lovely dinner, but he’d barely noticed the food. She was feminine but in a different way. She was upfront and honest and didn’t hold back. She took charge when she decided to, and that did something for him.
This wasn’t a woman who would float through life for long. If she decided she wanted them, she would want a commitment and… He was getting way ahead of himself.
“He is showing off his moves.” He wasn’t about to tell Cam that he agreed that Hale looked like he might be having a stroke. The big deputy wasn’t a close friend, though he seemed nice enough.
“Well, I’m glad your lady seems to not mind.” Cam chuckled as Elisa sort of ducked to avoid Hale’s water sprinkler move.
It was kind of a workout. “She’s very open minded.”
She would fall into bed with them. Maybe tonight. His whole body hummed with anticipation, but there was some piece of him that was already bracing because he rather thought this might be more complicated than it looked.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Cam stood beside him at the edge of the dance floor, a beer in his hand. It was getting late and the crowd inside the pub had thinned out, many hitting the dance floor or playing pool in the back room. “Is she really Mel’s daughter?”
“She seems to think so.”
Cam shook his head. “Wow. I never thought Mel would do anything so normal as have a child. It’s weird to think of him as having a life before Bliss.”
“According to Max it was during Bliss. He was already living here but he did some work for the military as an intelligence officer.” Just because the dude was whacky now didn’t mean he hadn’t been a serious force in the world once. People changed, grew. Grew apart.
“It’s hard to think of Mel leaving town. He barely travels anymore,” Cam remarked. “Says he’s happier here. You know now that I think about it, he told me once he’d seen the world and didn’t need to ever leave Bliss again. I guess I thought he was talking about Creede or Del Norte. It’s weird to think of Mel in Europe or Asia.”
Van could understand that. He’d seen a lot of the world. At least the parts of it his parents’ RV could get to. They’d once gone as far south as Panama, where they’d discovered they would have to ship the RV across the Darian Gap if they wanted to get to Brazil. It had been cost prohibitive, and they’d spent the winter on an organic commune in Costa Rica. “He would definitely have had to travel if he was in the military. My brother was a Green Beret. He’s been all over the world. But he still likes to travel.”
“Well, Mel does not, so I hope your friend out there doesn’t mind spending some time here,” Cam remarked. “Mel is going to want to get to know her. I hope she doesn’t think he’s too weird. I would hate for her to take one look at him and run the other way.”
