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Hendrix removed his sunglasses. Sadly, he looked stronger and more handsome than ever in a Fetterman Well Services T-shirt and a pair of loose-fitting jeans that fell low on his hips. It was slightly enraging that he’d turned out to be such a perfect male specimen. As far as Ellen was concerned, he’d had plenty of luck in other areas—did he deserve this, too? For years, she’d tried to identify some fatal flaw in him, some character trait or shortcoming that would enable her to feel slightly superior in at least one or two areas.
But if he had a flaw, it certainly wasn’t in the looks department.
“I heard, buddy,” he said. “I know you’ll do a great job.”
Ellen tried not to catch Hendrix’s eye. She could tell he had something to say to her. He probably wanted to tell her to take good care of Leo. But she would do that regardless of any input from him. She didn’t need him to say it. The less interaction they had, the better.
She got the apron she’d brought from home—the one Grandpa Pete always wore when he took over the canning after Grandma Lilly started to decline—and helped Leo get it on over his head. It wasn’t branded. He was so big Talulah had nothing with the diner logo that would fit him. But she was guessing he wouldn’t know the difference. “Turn around and I’ll tie it for you,” she told him.
He smoothed the canvas fabric again and again, obviously excited to feel so official, as he allowed her to tie the strings. Then he yelled out to his cousin. “Do you see this, Hendrix? I have my own apron and everything!”
Hendrix remained just inside the door. Maybe he could feel her resistance to having him stay because he didn’t come any closer. “I can see that,” he said. “You look very sharp.”
As soon as Ellen finished tying the apron, Leo loped over to the windows. “When do you think we’ll get a customer?”
“I hope soon,” Ellen said. “We want a big sales day for Talulah, don’t we?”
“Yes!” he answered as if it was his most fervent wish.
Hendrix slipped his sunglasses into the pocket of his T-shirt. “Has it been busy so far?”
Ellen began to rearrange the cash register area, even though everything was already where it should be. “Talulah opened. She said the first hour was busy—people coming to pick up dessert for dinner before certain pies and cakes could sell out. After the first little bit, Sundays can be slow, although we typically get another flurry right before we close.”
“You know a lot about the diner.”
“Talulah’s my best friend and my neighbor. She’s talked about it since before she opened it. And, as you know, I work here every now and then.”
He came closer. “She can’t be paying you much...”
“It’s not about the pay.”
“You’re good to your friends,” he said.
Ellen blinked in surprise. “Is that...a compliment?” she asked uncertainly.
His eyebrows slid up. “You can’t tell?”
“It sounded like a compliment,” she said. “But it was coming from you.”
He studied her for several moments, long enough to make her even more uncomfortable.
“What?” she said, somewhat defensively.
He grinned—a warm, inviting grin she’d never seen him turn onherbefore. “What if I’m not the ogre you’ve made me out to be?”
Ellen didn’t know how to respond. Even though she didn’t want to feel anything, that damn grin warmed her from the pit of her stomach all the way out to her fingers and toes. “There are...there are a lot of people who think you’re great.”
“Just not you.”
She cleared her throat. “We’re in an unusual situation.”
“I didn’t choose my role in what happened any more than you did,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, well, sucks to be Stuart’s favorite, right?” she said with a humorless laugh. Did he expect her to feel sorry for him? He had everything she’d ever wanted—what she would’ve had if his aunt hadn’t stolen her father.
Hendrix glanced at Leo, who was still preoccupied looking through the large front windows for people who might come in, and lowered his voice. “You know what your mother is like, Ellen.”
Ellen.He didn’t usually say her name. She told herself she didn’t like the sound of it on his lips, but deep down she knew if there was no history between them she would’ve liked it a lot. He reminded her of Brant in some ways, and Brant was special enough that it’d been hard for her when he’d moved on—not that she’d ever begrudged him and Talulah the happiness they’d found. She wasn’t like Averil. She understood she just wasn’t the right fit for him. They hadn’t even slept together, so they hadn’t gotten especially close. It wasn’t as if he’d broken her heart or anything. Besides, she’d always believed that if someone didn’t or couldn’t return her feelings, she was better off letting that person go.
