Spicing Things Up

by Judi Lynn

  “If you don’t want to tinker with my air intake valve after work, I get it.”

  Tyne skewered him with a look. “I told you I’d work on it, and I will.”

  Paula hitched her thumb at Steph, and the two women scooted out of the kitchen. Tyne glowered. Cowards. He started cooking with a vengeance. Usually, the kitchen was filled with laughter and gabbing. Not tonight. Everyone kept their distance from him, and he knew it. He tried to work himself into a better mood, but it didn’t happen.

  Finally, when the last pot was clean and put away, everyone gave a sigh of relief, including Tyne, and they scurried away. All but Cody. He fidgeted, nervous.

  “Just spit it out,” Tyne told him.

  “Lexy called and got off work early tonight. She asked if we could get together.”

  Tyne waved him off. “We can work on the valve any time.”

  “Sorry, Tyne.” The kid sounded contrite, as though he’d let him down.

  Tyne tried for a smile. It didn’t feel right, but he made the effort. “Hey, women come first.” If you had one. Which he didn’t. Maybe he should remedy that. There had to be some girl in Mill Pond who didn’t want to bond forever, someone he could hang out with to have a good time.

  Cody didn’t linger. He took off. Tyne heard his truck engine sputter to life, and then glanced around the empty kitchen. They’d worked so fast, so hard, everything was done. He decided to drive to Harley’s, but when he got there, Harley and Kathy had gone on a “date night.” Only Harley’s dad, Gino, was home.

  Gino invited him in and shook his head. “Looks like life’s given you a hard knock today, boy.”

  Tyne made a habit of not talking about the women he was involved with, but Gino wasn’t the type to gossip. Tyne liked him, and whatever he told him would stay in this room. “Daphne Ferris is a close friend. At least, I thought we were close. Monday night, she came on to me, and we . . . well, you know. Tuesday, I saw her for a few minutes. She had a decent amount of customers, but when she had a chance, she kissed me. I had to work the supper shift, but when I left, we seemed okay. Today, I stopped in her shop and she wouldn’t even talk to me. It’s not like we’re teenagers. I don’t get it.” Her snub bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

  Gino went to the kitchen and returned with two beers. He handed one to Tyne. “Her parents came home yesterday. She had dinner with them last night. They gave her hell. Beatrice is telling everyone they gave her an ultimatum. You or them.”

  Tyne stared. “You’re kidding. She’s a grown woman.”

  “. . . who sees her parents almost every single day.”

  Tyne shrugged. “Harley sees you every day. Hell, he lives with you.”

  “It’s different for us. We’re more friends and business partners now than father and son. Daphne’s still Arnold and Sophia’s daughter. Their relationship has hardly changed.”

  Tyne took a long sip of his beer. He rested his elbows on his knees, deep in thought. “What about the professor? Did they approve of him?”

  “He’s exactly what they want for Daphne. He enjoyed going on double dates with them, especially when they paid for the concert tickets.”

  “So I’m doomed.”

  “You’re everything they hate.” Gino finished his beer and stood to get another one. “You?”

  “Why not?” Tyne drained his, too, and handed him the empty bottle. This whole situation was new to him. Most parents took one look at him and pushed their daughters into his path. He was successful, considered a “catch.” He avoided those girls. They were looking for marriage.

  Gino returned and pointed his bottle at Tyne to make his point. “In all fairness to Daphne’s parents, they don’t see you as long-term happiness for their daughter. They see you as the love ’em-and-leave-’em type.”

  He couldn’t argue with that. “They’re right.”

  “But Daphne’s not like that. She’s not a player.”

  “Neither am I. I don’t just blow through girls for the fun of it.”

  “Harley didn’t either, but not every girl wants to hang in there just because you’re monogamous. Ask him about Marissa someday. She got tired of waiting and moved on. Some girls want a commitment, and it doesn’t sound like you’re ready to give one.”

  Tyne played with the label on his beer bottle, picking off the edges. “You’re telling me I’m not right for Daphne.”

  “Her parents don’t think so, but they’d have her stuck with some stick-in-the-mud who pleased them more than he pleased her.” Gino shook his head. “Romance is complicated. It never gets easier. When you’re older, you find someone you’d like to commit to, but you can’t.”

  Tyne heard the angst in his voice. He frowned. “Why can’t you?”

  “Harley and I own the winery together. We share this house. He’s invested time and energy into both. What would happen if I remarried? How could I tell Harley that a new wife would get half of everything I own? That he’d have to find a new place to stay?”

  “Did you ever think that Harley would be happy for you?”

  Gino ran a hand over his face. “He’s a good kid. He would be, but that doesn’t mean that it’s fair to him.”

  “Let him decide what he wants or doesn’t. Talk to him about it. Man up.”

  Gino looked at him. “You don’t back away from anything, do you?”

  “Sure I do. It’s a lot easier giving other people advice than finding your own.”

  Gino smiled. “Why not just follow your heart? Daphne’s important to you, isn’t she?”

  Tyne finished his beer and stood. “I have goals. A woman isn’t part of them, at least, not yet.”

  Gino laughed. “Son, life doesn’t work that way. It’s not that neat, but you’ll find that out on your own. If you love this girl, though, I wouldn’t let her go.”

  Love? He didn’t love Daphne. Did he? “I love lots of things.”

  “Which one of them makes you the happiest?”

  Tyne blinked. He didn’t know.

  Chapter 33

  Tyne didn’t want things to end between Daphne and him in such a mess. He went to Art’s grocery the next day and bought all the things to make Parisian tuna sandwiches—boiled eggs, tomatoes, red onion, artichoke hearts, and a bag of arugula. Good tuna. Good bread. Made one for him, one for her. He wrapped them in waxed paper. At lunch time, he took them down to her shop and waited for a customer to leave before handing her one. “As a peace offering.”

  She stared. She had dark circles under eyes, and he wanted to touch them and make them better. But he stopped himself. He was part of what was causing her stress.

  He smiled. “I’ve heard about the ultimatum. Make it easy on yourself. Let’s go back to being friends.”

  “My parents forbade me to see you again.”

  “At all? Not even coffee on Saturdays when I hike?”

  She shook her head. She looked tired, defeated.

  “Won’t Shadow miss me?”

  She smiled. “So will I.”

  “I get it. I’m not good for you. We’re too different.” It hurt, but she wasn’t going to change, and neither was he. She’d be in Mill Pond for the rest of her life. He might move on. And then where would she be? It wasn’t fair to make her choose. “Let’s call this our Last Supper.”

  She motioned him into the workroom. They sat on stools close to each other, and she fiddled with the waxed paper on her sandwich. “It’s my fault. I didn’t control myself around you. Beatrice told my parents about how we danced dirty and drank too much.”

  He’d like to track down Beatrice and make her life miserable. He might. “Hey, we had fun together. I don’t regret it.”

  She grimaced. “Neither do I. It’s going to be hard, though, knowing what I could have had, at least for a while, that’s now been taken away from me.”

  He wanted to put his hand over hers. To tell her she could have that and much, much more, but wouldn’t that just hurt her in the long run? He tried to lift her s
pirits. “All you have to do now is find a happy medium. Patrick was too dreary. I’m too spontaneous. There’s a guy out there who’s just right.”

  She nodded, and tears misted her eyes. She blinked them away. She didn’t touch her sandwich. Neither did he.

  He finally couldn’t stand being so miserable, so stood with a grin. “Take care, Daphne. I think you’re wonderful.” Another nod. He had to get out of there. He almost ran for the door.

  Once outside, he decided to return to Art’s to buy plenty of beer for the nights ahead. He was walking down an aisle when Chantelle turned the corner, walked straight to him, and pressed herself against him.

  “Rumor is Miss Prude ditched you. I can make you feel good again.” She kissed him so hard, his lips parted, and she jammed her tongue down his throat.

  Anger flooded him, and he grabbed both of her arms to push her away when a flash caught him by surprise. He looked up, and Daphne’s mother stood there with a smirk and took another picture with her cell phone.

  Bitch. So she thought she could intimidate him, did she? Well, he wasn’t her daughter, and she couldn’t slam him with ultimatums.

  Her lips curled in disapproval. “I don’t see what my daughter sees in you.”

  Tyne raised an eyebrow. “I could say the same. How did Daphne get to be so nice?” But then it struck him that Daphne must have defended him to her parents. He pulled Chantelle close and kissed her back. “Thank you. Now go away.”

  She licked her lips, stunned.

  “Shoo! Leave!” He gave her a gentle push, and she walked away, bleary eyed.

  Daphne’s mother shook her head. “Look at you. Women just fall at your feet, don’t they? We didn’t raise our daughter like that. You’re not worth her time.” She swiveled on her heel to stalk out of the store.

  Tyne followed her. When she parked at the curb in front of Daphne’s shop, he drove around the block to park behind it. By the time he walked through the back door, her mom was showing the pictures to Daphne.

  Tyne came to glance at them, too. “I think she got my best side. I kind of like my profile.”

  Daphne’s jaw dropped. “Tyne . . .”

  He nodded at the pictures. “You’ve met Chantelle. She’d hump a corpse if he was attractive. She was having fun with me. Lots of women touch without permission.”

  She turned to her mother. “They do. Women touch him all the time.”

  “He wasn’t beating her off.”

  Tyne pointed. “Look at my hands. I was getting ready to push her away, but I doubt you’ll believe that. I don’t care what you think. I do care about Daphne. We’re friends, but you won’t believe that either.”

  Her mother sneered. “Friends with benefits. I know that term.”

  “Good. Did you look it up?” He turned back to Daphne. “From what your mother said, though, I think you defended me, and I appreciate that. You’re starting to grow some balls. Quit letting them push you around, or you’re never going to be happy.” He lifted her off her feet and kissed her properly. “I want you to be happy, Daphne, even if that means I need to stay away from you.”

  She gasped for air when he set her down.

  “Are you leaving now?” her mother asked.

  He’d meant to, but now he came to stand in front of her. “Are you trying to make sure your daughter never marries? That you never let go of her? Is that your plan? Because you’re doing a good job of it.”

  “I don’t want her to get hurt.”

  Tyne studied her. Was the woman that naïve? “But she got hurt, didn’t she? By the professor. And she survived. Anything worth anything comes with a risk. Are you glad you met your husband?”

  Her eyes flashed with temper. “Are you implying that I’m not? That that’s why I don’t want Daphne to marry? Because you’re wrong. We’ve had a wonderful marriage.”

  “Could you guarantee that?”

  Her mother’s chin shot up. “There are no guarantees. You know that.”

  “Yes, I do. My point exactly. You have a wonderful daughter. Don’t be stupid and lose her.” He’d said enough. Too much. He stalked out of the shop and drove to the resort.

  Chapter 34

  Tyne’s brain felt jumbled with chaos. Did he just make things better for Daphne or worse? In the long term versus the short? Or would it never unscramble? He’d tried to open her eyes to what life had to offer. Had he made her hungry for more? Or did he just alienate her from her parents and make her options shrink?

  He parked close to the kitchen door but didn’t leave his Jeep. He needed to sort things out. Daphne had gotten to him. How had that happened? It was his own fault. He’d always connected with women who didn’t expect him to stick around, women who wouldn’t get hurt when he picked up and left. Daphne was different. He knew that, and that’s why he liked her. Too much.

  He’d made a mistake. Fallen for the wrong woman. That made him feel bad. He didn’t garb himself in guilt very often. He tried to push it away, but it only burrowed deeper. Finally, he walked into the restaurant to work. He needed a distraction.

  Paula looked up and smiled. “Hey, I had to change my dinner option for tonight, couldn’t get enough Cornish hens. I went with crispy chicken paillards instead. They’ll go fine with your ricotta gnudi with mushroom-garlic butter.”

  He frowned. “What?”

  She came to stand in front of him, put her hands on each side of his face. “You beautiful, wonderful hottie, you didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”

  He blinked at her, lost. “This is Friday. We do prime rib and salmon.”

  “Not tonight. We switched it up. A group of guests are coming in late to rent the cabins tomorrow, remember? They’re only staying one night, so Ian asked us to flip meals around.”

  “Right.” He rubbed his forehead, trying to focus.

  She grinned. “What are you fighting it for? Daphne’s a keeper. Marriage is wonderful. Ask me. I’ve never been happier.”

  He felt his brows draw together in a scowl, what his mom used to call his Stubborn Face. “Her parents don’t like me. I know what it’s like to be cut off from your mom and dad. Daphne and her parents are close. She’d regret losing them after a while.”

  “She’ll regret losing you, too.”

  Tyne shook his head. “Once she starts looking for love, she’ll find it. She’s too special. Someone will snatch her up.”

  “But not you?”

  “I challenge her, but that doesn’t mean I’m right for her. And once I don’t see her for a week or two, I’ll be okay.”

  Paula patted his arm. “I don’t believe you, but you’ll have to find out for yourself. Just remember, you were always there for me. I’ll always be here for you.”

  The kitchen door opened, and her kids flew in to see them. Aiden grinned ear to ear, fake punching Tyne. Bailey wanted him to pick her up, and pretty soon, he could feel himself relax. Life went on. He had lots of friends to fill his time. And his heart. When Paula, Aiden, and Bailey left, he was ready to get down to the business of cooking.

  He lost himself in the feel of the gnudi he was making for dinner. Mixing the ricotta with the eggs, Parmigiano, and flour. The aromas and textures. Cooking always helped center him.

  More guests than usual came to compliment him on the food that night. The foodies who came to the resort were willing to try new things. He could stretch his wings here.

  He stayed after work to help Cody work on his pickup. By the time he turned off the lights in the kitchen and locked up behind him, he felt like he was finding his balance again. He was going to miss Daphne, but he’d keep himself busy. He’d experiment on new recipes at home, maybe drive to Indy on Monday and buy new cookbooks and cooking equipment. He’d wanted a tagine for a long time. Maybe he’d buy a few of them, and if he liked them, he’d take more to the restaurant.

  He felt tired when he climbed the stairs to his apartment. It was only ten, but the drama of the last few days had wiped him out. He took a quick shower to rinse
off the kitchen smells, then sagged onto his bed.

  His phone buzzed at three a.m. He frowned, confused. This wasn’t Monday. He didn’t work an early shift. And then he glanced at the clock. Not his alarm. Early hour phone calls never bade well. “Yes?” He waited.

  Steph’s voice sounded on the other end. “India died. Maxwell’s a mess. I can’t stay with him.”

  “I’m on my way.” Tyne dressed and drove to the bakery. This was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 35

  Daphne didn’t answer the phone. She hadn’t even dressed today. Come to think of it, she hadn’t gotten dressed yesterday either. The phone started again. She glanced at it. Her mom. She switched it off. She and Shadow shared a bowl of cereal while Daphne watched old movies on TV. Marilyn Monroe was swinging her hips as she walked down a train aisle. Jack Lemmon was dressed like a girl. Daphne had never seen anything so sad and started crying.

  A voice came from the door. “It’s a comedy.”

  Daphne glanced up as Miriam came to sit on the chair across from her. “Sorry, I meant to return your call, but I’ve been busy.”

  “I can tell.” Miriam looked at the empty food cartons that littered the floor. “What happened? Did Tyne kick you to the curb?”

  “No, I decided to stop seeing him.”

  Miriam took a deep breath. “Your parents.”

  “If I choose Tyne over them, and then he dumps me, what do I have left?”

  “A life.”

  “But Tyne’s only temporary, brief. We both know that.”

  “Who cares?”

  Daphne wiped her eyes and flipped off the TV. Her teeth felt gummy. When had she brushed them? On Friday morning?

  Miriam went to open the drapes. “There’s sunshine today. It won’t last. We’re getting into Indiana’s gray months.”

  “I hibernate during bad weather and get a lot of work done.”

  “Aren’t you the good, little worker bee?”

  Daphne blinked. “You never use sarcasm.”