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“I’m headed over now to help with the afternoon crowd. It’s great to see you, son. I imagine we’ll run into each other here or there in the coming weeks.”
“I look forward to it, sir.”
ChapterTwo
I lockedthe diner's front door, turned off the neon signs, and flipped the sign to “closed” while we finished cleaning up. Usually, Felicity was here to help close, but one of her children had a fever. She was a divorced mother of two young boys who worked most nights and weekends. I’d also hired several teens from the school to help out during busy times so we didn’t always have to clean and setupsfor the next day. Tonight, Daddy had stayed to help me close. I was glad it was only the two of us. We’d been doing some version of this together for as long as I could remember.
“I ran into Seth Jacobs on my way in this morning. Says he stopped by.” Daddy continued mopping as he said this. Today was busy, and this was our first chance to discuss Seth’s return.
“Yes. We spoke briefly.” Daddy had strong opinions regarding his leaving Cherry Creek and my staying behind. He’d encouraged me to go to college, but I couldn’t see how to leave home at the time—or after. He didn’t blame Seth, but discussing it tended to unsettle his mood, so we rarely rehashed things from that time.
“Are you okay, Baby?” His mop stilled, and our gazes caught. I was his baby girl and always would be. We’d been close since I was a child. Now that I was an adult, he’d stepped back a little to give me my space, but his support and love had never wavered. And Daddy knew how much I’d loved Seth back then.
“I’m fine, Daddy. I missed Seth for a long time after he left, but I’ve got a great life here. I love running the diner and mentoring students like you and Momma did when I was young.”
“I can’t help but think how different things might’ve been for the two of you if—” he trailed off. “I sometimes worry that you have regrets.”
I shook my head. “Momma needed me. I’ll never regret my time with her when she was sick. I can’t go back and change things, nor do I want to. I’m content.” I smiled brightly at him for good measure. The last thing he needed was for me to heap guilt on him.
“I just wanted to be sure his turning up after all this time hasn’t thrown you for a loop.”
I shook my head and smiled at him. “No loop. I’m good.” That wasn’t exactly the truth, but there wasn’t any point in both of us fretting about Seth’s sudden arrival in town.
As I wiped down tables, I allowed myself to fall back in time—back to when my worries were few. Back to when I’d had my future with Seth all planned. I’d enrolled as a freshman design student for the fall, and Seth would be an architect. We’d planned to synchronize our class schedules so that we could study, eat, and hang out together. Neither of us wanted to rush a sorority or fraternity because we had each other and didn’t need the extra busyness of Greek life.
The future was shiny and exciting, and nothing could keep us from it. Except for learning that Momma had breast cancer—the most rare and aggressive kind. By the time she was diagnosed, it was already stage three. My parents weren’t people who ran into the city to see doctors every time they got a cold—or cancer. They were too busy running the diner and being surrogate parents for the students who lived at the academy full-time that they ignored their own issues.
I’d moved from remembering the fun times to allowing memories from that awful stretch in my life to creep in—the worst time.
“Do I need to clean the grease trap?” Daddy was always willing to do the hard jobs for me.
“Roger did it this morning, so we’re finished here.” I handed him a slice of cherry pie from the counter and a serving of today’s pot roast special that I’d asked Roger to box up.
“I’ll walk you home,” Daddy offered.
“No, it’s okay. I’m meeting up with Sierra. She’s finishing her shift in a few minutes.” It was almost ten o’clock. We closed the kitchen at nine most evenings, but there were typically a few stragglers who showed up just before closing that we served coffee or dessert to while we were wrapping things up. Tonight, the diner was empty. I changed out of my work clothes before heading out since I didn’t want to smell like french fries all evening.
“I’ll walk you to the inn then.”
I locked up and inhaled the fresh air. Daddy still lived in the same house where I grew up a few blocks away. A while back, I’d rented a cute little apartment a couple of doors down over the top of the gift store, Gifts and Bits. I’d needed some grown-up space of my own, and it allowed Daddy to live a life separate from me.
The evening was chilly but not “big coat” cold. I wore a hooded sweater over my jeans and blouse. I waved goodnight to Daddy and entered the Cherry Creek Inn. It was a gorgeous, old structure, and Sierra’s grandparents had owned it before her. They’d raised her after her parents died in an accident when she was very young.
“Hey there. I’m finishing up.” Sierra smiled and waved at me. She logged out of the computer at the front desk and then spoke to the employee working the night shift.
I hoped not to run into Seth while I waited. Twice in one day would be too much. Since he’d popped into the diner, my senses had been buzzing. I knew it was only our first interaction while he worked in town. He’d mentioned catching up.
“Okay. I’m all done for the evening. Where do you want to go?” We often went out for a quick bite or glass of wine at ten p.m. It wasn’t unusual since we both ran businesses in town and finished our days around the same time. It was an excellent way to wind down before heading home for the evening. I’d gotten accustomed to late nights and early mornings over the years.
I suggested, “How about a drink and dessert at Rutherford’s?” Rutherford’s was the only fine-dining restaurant in town. There was often a crowd on Saturday evening, but by ten o’clock, tourists and locals had either gone home or returned to the inn or their privately owned vacation rentals around the area. There was a nice bar area with tables for intimate gatherings with friends. The vibe was nice, but the drinks were a little pricey.
“Sounds good.” She shrugged into her jacket that hung on a coat tree by the counter.
We walked through the town square where the enormous Christmas tree would be erected by Thanksgiving day. The tree’s arrival was the official kickoff to the holidays here in Cherry Creek. There was a tree lighting on Thanksgiving night, and then we all put up Christmas decorations the day after. So many of my Christmas memories had involved Seth, who was still on my mind after today's unexpected encounter.
“Sierra, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Seth was back in town.” I tried not to sound peeved that she hadn’t given me notice. She understood how his showing up here might’ve upset me.
“Oh, my gosh, Kayla! It was on my to-do list all day, but we were so busy that I forgot to text or call you. Did you talk to him? What happened?”
