by Dee Burks
Serena nodded, though Lydia’s tone begged for a tacky response. She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip to keep her mouth shut, trying to remember that this wasn’t about Lydia. This was about helping Tyler, and she was determined to lend a hand any way she could. Even if that meant schlepping tubs of dirty dishes to the kitchen and putting up with Senorita Nasty.
Lydia turned to leave, then stopped and glared at Serena. “Don’t touch the tip money.”
As if! Serena squelched the smart remark that almost leaped out of her mouth. Grabbing a pitcher, she scooped up ice. Another waitress came by and stopped. “Hi, I’m Debbie. You must be Justin’s mom.”
Jerking upright, Serena looked at the girl. Short and cute, she had a bandana tied as a headband. Her brown wavy hair fell about shoulder length. “You know Justin?”
“Yeah. I met him a minute ago in the kitchen.”
Serena smiled in relief. She really didn’t want to meet her son’s lover over a pitcher of ice.
“Hey, I can show you an easier way to do that.”
Serena nodded, grateful for the help. For the next half hour, she followed Debbie around learning where things were and the layout of the restaurant dining area. Lydia watched her. Serena sensed the woman’s gaze, but every time she looked up, Lydia glanced away. She was probably making sure Serena didn’t lift any of her precious tips.
In college, Serena enjoyed waiting tables, chatting with the customers and keeping them happy. She’d always had great tips with her outgoing personality and sense of humor. Which was a good thing. It kept her in college books and Justin in diapers those first few years.
Serena watched Lydia out of the corner of her eye. The woman hardly ever smiled and seemed irritated when someone asked for something extra. No wonder she was so worried about her tips; she probably didn’t get very many.
The first hour flew by, then the next. Serena filled glasses and fetched bread, passing Justin as he hefted tubs of dishes onto the cart and rolled them to the kitchen. She finally took a break and went back to see what occupied Tyler.
Scraping a spatula across the grill with one hand, Tyler tossed ingredients in a saucepan with the other, then set it back on the fire.
An impressive display of multi-tasking at its finest. Serena watched him for a few minutes as he plated up a slab of delicious looking ribs. Serena’s stomach growled. Tyler caught sight of her and smiled big enough for dimples to show. Strange, she hadn’t noticed he had dimples before. “So how’s it going out there?”
“Great, but busy. How are things back here?”
“Hot. But it’s slowing up a bit.”
“She can leave now. Nothing more for her to do.” Lydia had followed Serena and stood behind her, arms folded.
Tyler took Serena’s hand and led her toward the back door. “I’m taking a break, Tony.” They stepped into the cool night air. The alley behind the restaurant seemed eerily silent after the chaos of the kitchen.
Tyler put his hands on his hips and breathed deep. “I get sick of inhaling mesquite smoke sometimes.”
“I kinda like it.” She stepped closer to him, the chill rippling gooseflesh up her arms.
He looked down at her. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you and Justin helping us out of a bad spot tonight.”
“No problem. Though I don’t think Lydia likes me at all.”
“Why is that?”
“She made a point to tell me not to steal the tips and has watched me like a hawk all night.”
Tyler laughed. “She probably heard you came in here dressed like a hooker. She’s a little sharp with people sometimes. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“I’m not.”
A shadow moved from behind the dumpster, and Serena scooted back toward the door. Tyler took her hand and led her to the man that was now limping up the alley.
“Hey, Bobby Jack, how ya’ been?” Tyler waved at the man.
He looked somewhere between 50 and 150 to Serena and was whisper thin. A long white beard hung part way down the red plaid shirt he wore over dusty blue jeans. She supposed him to be one of the homeless wanderers that she saw around the city on occasion—from a distance. What connection did Tyler have to him? Bobby Jack smiled a greeting, then stopped short when he saw Serena.
Tyler pulled her over to the man. “Got someone here I want you to meet.” He tugged her closer. “This is Serena.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” The voice sounded like he’d gargled sandpaper. He grinned at them, “You go and git yourself a girl, Ty?”
“I sure did.”
His response surprised Serena. Tyler didn’t have to keep pretending now; they were away from his family. Why would he introduce her as his girl? Even to a homeless man?
Bobby Jack looked her up and down. “She’s a winner, all right.”
Tyler looked at Serena, “She sure is.”
Debbie ran out with a bag and handed it to Bobby Jack. “Got your dinner ready.” She hurried back inside.
“Much obliged, Ty,” Bobby Jack said. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” He nodded at Serena and hobbled off into the darkness.
“How do you know him?” Serena asked.
“He started coming around right after we opened. We’d give him a sandwich, and he’d tell us stories about roughnecking in the early oilfield days.”
“What happened to him?”
“The way I understand it, he lost his wife and baby boy in a gas explosion of some kind in the late sixties. Never got over it.”
Serena shook her head. How would someone ever get over that? And how many people would care enough to even give the man a sandwich? “It’s great that you take care of him.”
“It’s no big deal.”
A humble hero. Quite different from the self-important jerk she’d spent the last two years with. Dr. Jeffery only did good deeds if he got public credit for it or a bronze plaque he could put up for all to see. He’d never see the value in letting a man buy his dinner with a good story.
Tyler stood behind her and rubbed her arms, warming them up. “We’re about through for the night. Would you like me to take you home?”
“Oh, no. Go ahead and finish up. I’ll wait.”
Leading the way through the kitchen, Tyler directed her to the office. He pointed to the one chair. “You can sit in here and have a little peace and quiet if you like.”
She glanced at the piles of papers on the desk skeptically. “You mean just sit here? With all this?”
“This mess really bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“It would drive me insane. I’ve been told I inherited a certain anal-retentive gene that insists on order.”
“Never heard of it, but feel free to rearrange stuff if it makes you happy.”
“I will.”
“Have you eaten anything yet?”
“No, have you?”
He shook his head. “I’ll make us something before I turn off the grill. What do you want?”
“A great big fat burger.”
“Good. I’d hate to be responsible for the after effects of the vegetarian diet.” He winked at her as he left.
Serena eyed the piles of bills and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
Now this was an area he definitely needed help with, and she wanted to help. Repay his kindness to Bobby Jack in a way. She dug through the mountain of paper and started stacking.
Within 30 minutes, she had made some good progress but still hadn’t seen the top of the desk. Tyler reappeared with two steaming burgers on plates and a basket of fries for them to share. He set the food on top of her piles, and pulled over one of the boxes to sit on.
“Hey, I have a system going here.” She scooted the papers to one side.
“What’s that?”
“First of all, I’m putting them in order by vendor and by date.”
He nodded. “Sounds like a logical system, but you really don’t have to do this. My system works.”
“What system?
”
“I put them in order of threat.” He took a huge bite.
They ate in silence for a few minutes until a screech startled them. Lydia stood in the doorway staring at them. “What you doing?”
Tyler shrugged. “Eating.”
She glared at him and motioned to the desk. “You just let her take over now?”
Tyler frowned at the near-ranting woman. “What’s the matter with you?”
“You no let her go through your things.” Lydia flung her hands up. “She steal what you have.”
“Which isn’t much right now.” Tyler continued to frown. “Don’t worry about it, Lydia. It’s late. Go home. Get some rest.”
“I tell you now,” Lydia wagged a finger at Serena. “If she stays, I go.” She tossed her apron down with a flourish and walked out.
Serena looked at Tyler waiting on some explanation as to the woman’s strange behavior. He continued to eat.
“Is she always like that?”
“Like what?” He glanced at her, then shrugged. “She’s a little hot tempered, but she calms down. I don’t know what got into her tonight. Probably stressed. That’s the fourth time she’s quit this year. She’ll be back.”
“Stressed?” Surely he couldn’t be that blind. The woman seemed out to protect Tyler at any cost. “More like territorial.”
“Territorial? About this dump?”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the restaurant. I think it has to do with you.”
“Me?” he scoffed. “That’s nuts.”
“Oh? Were the two of you ever a thing?”
“No. Absolutely not. It’s always been business with Lydia. Nothing else.” He leaned forward to emphasis his point.
“Hey, I’m not the one who needs convincing.”
Tyler sat back. “What does that mean?”
Serena shrugged. “I think Lydia may want more from you than just a job.”
Chapter 12
Five days. Serena had resisted the temptation to call Tyler all week. So far. She’d hoped he’d call after their . . . what was it? Not a date, though he’d given her a kiss goodnight. On the cheek. Whoopee. But still, it would have been nice to hear from him, talk to him, be sure they were still on the same page.
She sat in her office waiting for her four o’clock meeting with Uncle Frank. The latest edition of “Lone Star Love Affair” hit the stands and the online edition two days ago, and she figured Frank wanted to talk it over. Again. She wasn’t as concerned this time. The article had been toned down somewhat as far as passion, but it had still been highly romantic, detailing a wonderful evening spent at a family cookout getting to know all the relatives. She’d left out the twisted details of the actual events and made up an evening she would have liked very much to have with Tyler’s family. It was easy, really. They seemed like such nice people.
Nolea wandered in and plopped down in one of the chairs, her pink linen suit wrinkled from a full day of sales calls. “So is this where we’re meeting?”
“I guess. You know what’s up?”
Nolea made a zipper motion across her lips. “I’m not saying a word.” She grinned.
“It must be good, then?”
“Very good.”
Will entered and took the other chair. “Y’all talking about me again? You know, being very good and all.”
Nolea snorted. “Hardly, Skippy.”
“Hey, I object to you calling me Skippy all the time. I want another name.”
Serena smiled. “Like what?”
“From now on I want to be called,” he stood and used his deepest tone of voice, “Zeus, Almighty God of Thunder.”
The two women glanced at each other and dissolved into laughter.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Serena said.
Nolea held her stomach. “It’s more like Sparky Almighty God of Static Electricity.”
She pointed to the bottom of Will’s pants that clung stubbornly to his ankles.
“Hey, I like that.” Serena agreed. “Sparky, it is.”
Frowning, Will plopped down as they continued to laugh. “I think I liked Skippy better.”
“Oh good, you’re all here.” Frank hurried in and shut the door. He held up the Tuesday edition of “Lone Star Love Affair.” “This, ladies and gentleman, was our biggestselling Tuesday edition of the Cranfield Reporter-Star – ever.”
They all cheered and clapped. Serena couldn’t believe her ears. The biggestselling edition ever?
Nolea squealed. “See, I told you it was good. In fact we’ve had an avalanche of calls from businesses wanting to offer their goods and services to these lovebirds for free! I mean everything from romantic dinners to weekend getaways. Our advertising dollars have gone through the roof!”
Frank leaned on Serena’s desk. “You should be very proud of yourself, young lady. Not only have you almost singlehandedly increased our cash flow, you’ve found yourself a wonderful man.”
Serena gave a weak smile, her stomach sinking. “Oh yeah, he’s wonderful.” Not to mention completely uninterested in anything approaching a real romance.
Frank went on, oblivious to her distress. “I see this getting bigger and bigger. I want this to be the first reality series in print. We’re expanding the section, and next week I want pictures, lots of them.” Frank paced as he talked. “A whole photo layout of the happy couple dining by candlelight, walking in the park, having a backyard picnic. He stopped and glanced at Serena. “You didn’t happen to snap any pictures of the cookout with his family did you?”
She shook her head no. Wouldn’t that have been a sight? The cowboy and the hooker.
“Well, you can always plan another one, and take pictures there,” he said. “I’m thinking about running this for the entire summer. Twelve, maybe fourteen issues.”
A noose tightened around Serena’s neck, slowly squeezing the breath out of her. Another dinner with Tyler’s family? They’d never go for that. She could fake a romance, but not an entire family dinner. She’d been determined to play this out, but had no idea it would get this big. And involve so many people. If anybody found out that the romance of the century wasn’t real, her career would sink right into the toilet.
Frank walked to the door and winked. “I have one other surprise for you.”
Oh God. She couldn’t take any more surprises.
He flung open the door and revealed Mary Jo, her arms loaded with letters right up to her chin. She walked in and dumped the pile on Serena’s desk.
Serena tried to catch several envelopes as they dashed to the floor. “What are these?”
Mary Jo smiled. “Why, they’re your fan letters.”
Will laughed. “Everybody in town must be reading this.”
Everyone? And now there would be pictures. No more hiding. But could she really keep lying to them all? Imagining her friendship with Tyler was a passionate romance was easy, but was she willing to keep up the charade for several months? Then what?
A tiny woman with gray-blonde hair stood at her door next to Mary Jo. “I am so excited and happy for you.” She extended her arms and hurried toward Serena’s chair, engulfing her in hug.
“Thanks, Aunt Macy.” Serena half-smiled.
“I came by to pick up Frank and wanted to tell you how pleased I am that you’ve finally found someone. You never know how short life can be, and you don’t want to waste one minute.” Tears formed in the corners of Macy’s eyes.
Serena frowned and glanced at Frank. He gave nothing away but took Macy’s arm and directed her to the hallway. He looked back at Serena. “We’ll discuss the plans for the layout later.”
“Later?”
“I’m going to the doctor with Macy, but I’ll be back.”
Frank never went to the numerous appointments Aunt Macy had with the dermatologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, and any other ologist she could find. The doctors all chatted with her politely and told her she was fine, but she visited them religiously anyway.
<
br /> Concern refocused her train of thought. Which doctor? And why? What was that comment Macy made about not knowing how long you had? Did it mean something, or was it just Macy’s dramatic flair? Serena rolled the questions through her mind. Macy may have said something or hinted to Serena last week that there was a problem, but she’d been so wrapped up in her own life she easily could have missed it. After all, Macy always had some medical crisis that amounted to nothing, and Serena had learned to tune it out.
“So what’s the plan for the next article?” Will asked. “Do you have any idea when and where we’ll be taking all these pictures?”
Serena ignored him, lost in her thoughts.
Nolea motioned Will to the door. “Can you give us a second, Sparky?” She turned back to Serena. “So what’s on your mind? And I know it’s more than Macy.”
Serena blew out a long breath and leaned her head back against her chair. “This is getting out of hand.”
“What? The articles? Are you kidding? They’re really taking off.”
“That’s the problem.”
Nolea held up her hands. “Okay, wait, and back up. What am I missing here?”
Serena needed to get this off her chest, had to tell someone, and Nolea might even offer some kind of solution. At this point, the fear of what she might lose outweighed her fear of telling Nolea. “It’s all a lie.”
“What?”
“Everything. The romance, the family loving me, all of it.”
“I knew it! You haven’t been yourself since this whole thing started. So Tyler’s a figment of your imagination?” Nolea leaned forward, thrilled to be in the loop again.
“Oh no, he’s very real.”
“Meaning?” Nolea raised a brow.
“His sister ran a personal ad for his birthday, and he wanted me to help scare her off.”
“And the romance?”
“There’s not one. He’s helping me with the story, and I’m helping him keep his family off his back. That simple.” Serena shifted in her chair, Nolea’s intense gaze slicing through her.
“I don’t think it’s near that simple. I think you like this guy.”
