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He'd had some difficulty getting out; the little ride-share's compact rode lower than his truck and it had put his leg at an awkward angle. But he had already promised Cassie last week that she could borrow the truck today to go hang out with her friends.
It wasn't like he could expect a sixteen-year-old girl to spend all her time playing chauffeur for him, right?
A little discomfort now was still worth the smile that had lit up her face when he told her he was meeting up with Ethan.
And she deserved a chance to spend time with her friends, some space to discover her own self without having to worry about her old Dad all hours of the day. Just like he’d said before she left that morning, finger twirling around a long strand of blond hair anxiously as she'd stood in his doorway; watching him rifle through his closet for something to wear that wasn't just his regular workaday standard of blue jeans, black work shirt, and cowboy boots.
There had been the usual warning about being careful and getting home by dinnertime, of course. All of which she had delivered with such mock seriousness that Jakob had met with the most teenager-like eye roll he could muster.
It had earned him both a giggle and a kiss on the cheek in quick succession. Just before she had swiped the keys out of the bowl in the kitchen and made speed for the truck, the screen door slamming as she yelled her goodbye.
He brushed absently at the soft charcoal jumper Cassie had finally declared he should wear after he had spent ten minutes in indecision. Finally, she’d taken pity on her poor lost cause of a father, helping him find a clean pair of jeans as well and even let him keep the boots. She had drawn the line at the hat, though; instructing him to pull his hair back in a ponytail instead.
No sense in the undercut if he wasn't going to show it off, she had told him.
Bad as any of his former drill sergeants, he'd snarked right back at her with a smile.
But now, as he crossed the short sidewalk and reached for the shiny silver handle of the door, Jakob was left with the odd impression that he had forgotten his armor at home.
It's justcoffee, Jakob reminded himself as he pushed open the door to the diner Ethan had suggested they meet at.Just two old friends catching up. Nothing more.
There was no call for the butterflies in his stomach, the clammy feeling of his palms. No reason at all he should feel this nervous.
Right?
You're being ridiculous. There's no use even thinking in that direction anyway. Not after all this time, not after you went and screwed it all up.
The ringing of the little bell over his head nearly drowned out as he stepped into a world of chattering diners, clinking dishes, and the smell of something sizzling back beyond the long opening in the wall dividing customers from cooks.
Mingling with the scent of maple syrup the interior was practically doused in, it set Jakob's mouth to water. And when combined with the sprigs of plastic greenery and twinkling lights, Jakob spotted as he glanced around the diner? A body could almost believe the place was located somewhere far closer to the Canadian border than on the southwestern edge of the San Morado metroplex.
Provided you were severely nearsighted. And perhaps too hard of hearing to catch that at least a third of the conversations were in Spanish as well.
"Jakob!" came Ethan's deep voice, cutting off the train of Jakob's thoughts. Ethan was waving a broad hand in the air to draw Jakob's attention to the booth in the back where his friend sat.
The light from the lamp hanging low just above the table shone down on him like he was in one of those old master paintings; his dark skin glowing with ruddy undertones, strong features highlighted in burnished gold. And thatsmile. That was a smile that could rival the sun for brilliance, every kilowatt of it aimed in Jakob's direction. Jakob would bet his eyeteeth any of those luminaries would've fought tooth and nail to have Ethan as a model in their art studio back in the day.
It's just coffee, Jakob reminded himself as he propped his cane against the wall and bench; willing his heart to stop beating in double-time at the smile Ethan turned on him as he sat down.
It never was very good at listening.
"I know we said coffee, but this place does a fantastic chicken and waffles if you're hungry," Ethan told Jakob as he slid a menu over.
"Yeah, I could eat," Jakob replied, feeling like the king of understatement. His belly rumbled as a server passed by with a tray of orders, the smell of maple syrup and bacon drifting behind them. Nash had called him up early about a scheduling mix-up with the staff, then he and Cassie'd had to spend a good twenty minutes trying to find where the tractor keys had gone so Nash could drag the north pasture and…
Between all that and his inexplicable bout of nervousness, Jakob realized he had somehow completely forgotten to eat that morning.
"Mornin' darlin's," came a voice from Jakob's elbow.
He looked up at the presence of an older woman whose lipstick smile was as red as the t-shirt she had tucked into her half-apron over black jeans. The rhinestones set into the corners of her matching red cat eyeglasses sparkled in the morning sunlight slanting in through the diner's windows, and her name badge simply read 'Ruby'.
"Cook's just put a fresh pot of coffee on and we've got a coconut cream pie today that'll knock your socks off. But you'll have to order it fast if you want any before the local checkers’n’chat crowd rolls in," she said, holding her pen and order pad at the ready. "Now, what can I getcha?"
Jakob felt like he had been teleported straight into a sitcom.
"Mornin' Ruby. I'll take a cup of coffee with a plate of your chicken and waffles, please. And can you — "
"Add a couple of fried eggs on top again? 'Spose we might — seeing as how we have 'bout every other time, right?" she teased him with an easy grin.
