by Pat Henshaw
“Sorry. I’m too tired tonight. Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay?” I got up and grabbed his now empty water glass. “More?”
Again he jumped to his feet. “Let me, chef,” he answered, taking our glasses. “You sit.”
As he walked away to the fridge, Xavier pranced over. Was I the only one tired? I glanced up at him.
“Chef, did you see who was here tonight?” he crowed. “I couldn’t believe Marcus showed up! He’s so short.”
I gave a tired bark of a laugh. “Yeah, they all are, kid.” I gestured toward the sinks. “You got everything under control over there?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Of course.”
I smiled, but my heart wasn’t in it. I was fading fast.
David again came to my rescue, hustling Xavier off for a postmeal chat.
The openings were over. The Silver Star was officially in business.
Next thing I knew, David had his arm around my waist and was half carrying me up the stairs to our apartment.
“Don’t forget the lights,” I slurred.
“Yes, Mom.” He gave a little huff and sat me in our kitchen. “Be right back.” I could hear him mumble “as if I’d forget” as he went back downstairs.
When he walked back up, I looked at him. Really looked at him. There didn’t seem to be a trace of Jason in him these days. He’d completely reinvented himself into a happy, confident person. He’d thrown himself headlong into perfecting the front of the house, doing everything from hiring waitstaff to designing the website and redesigning the reservation system. We were working together as a team, not separately as a chef and his sous as we had before.
We’d had our ups and downs, and I’d had doubts about getting back together again. But we had worked through the rough spots. If like Stone said we took it one day at a time, I knew we’d be able to make it.
I not only loved him, but he was part of me now. He had my back just as I had his. I never knew what my dream in high school really was and hadn’t come up with what I wanted my future to be. Now I knew what I wanted. Not somebody relying on me, but someone strong and independent. Hell, we could conquer the world.
“What?” he asked as I kept staring.
I shrugged. “I’m thinking how much more I love the new David than I did the old Jason.”
“I’m not just a pretty face anymore.” He smirked. “I’ve got chops now.”
“You ass!” I sighed. “I’m trying to be serious here, and you make fun.”
He sobered immediately. “I told you from the beginning, I even put it in writing. I love you. I always have. I always will.”
His words were enough to make me cry.
“I love you too.”
PAT HENSHAW, author of the Foothills Pride Stories, was born and raised in Nebraska and promptly left the cold and snow after college, living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California. Pat has found joy in visiting Mexico, Canada, Europe, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and relishes trips to Stowe, Vermont, and Eugene, Oregon, to see family.
Now retired, Pat spent her life surrounded by words: teaching English composition at the junior college level; writing book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helping students find information as a librarian; and promoting PBS television programs.
Two of her fondest memories include touching time when she put her hands on the pyramids and experiencing pure whimsy when she interviewed Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch). Her triumphs are raising two incredible daughters who daily amaze her with their power and compassion. Her supportive husband keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift away while writing fiction.
Talk to Pat at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pat.henshaw.10
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/6998437.Patois
Book website: whatsinanamenovella.blogspot.com
Website: patbooked.blogspot.com
E-mail: [email protected]
By Pat Henshaw
Blame It on the Fruitcake
The Orpheum Miracle
FOOTHILLS PRIDE STORIES
What’s in a Name?
Redesigning Max
Behr Facts
When Adam Fell
Relative Best
Frank at Heart
Waking the Behr
Short Order
Foothills Pride Stories, Vol. 1
Foothills Pride Stories, Vol. 2
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Foothills Pride Stories, Vol. 1
© 2016 Pat Henshaw.
First Edition of What’s in a Name? published by Dreamspinner Press, 2015.
First Edition of Redesigning Max published by Dreamspinner Press, 2015.
First Edition of Behr Facts published by Dreamspinner Press, 2015.
First Edition of When Adam Fell published by Dreamspinner Press, 2016.
Cover Art
© 2016 AngstyG.
www.angstyg.com
Map
© 2016 Pat Henshaw.
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
What’s in a Name? Cover Art
© 2015 AngstyG www.angstyg.com
Redesigning Max Cover Art
© 2015 AngstyG www.angstyg.com
Behr Facts Cover Art
© 2015 AngstyG www.angstyg.com
When Adam Fell Cover Art
© 2016 AngstyG www.angstyg.com
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-322-5
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63477-689-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016909434
Digital eBook published February 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
