Bistro Bachelor: Working Man Series - Book 2

by Rose, Elizabeth

  “You can start by planting the seeds your father gave you. Are they all native seeds of your land?”

  “They are.” Eden smiled. “After all, where do you think Lima beans come from?”

  Jack crossed his arms and nodded. “I’ve been eating Peruvian beans all these years, and I never even knew it.”

  “Not only that, but you probably know more words in the Quechua language than you’ve learned in your little Spanish lesson from Alfredo.”

  “Like what? Tell me one,” he challenged her.

  “Like llama,” she said.

  “Llama is Quechua?” Jack asked in surprise.

  Eden nodded. “As well as cóndor, puma, and pampa.”

  “I think I can handle this Quechua stuff after all,” said Jack with confidence. “It’s pretty easy.”

  “Not all of it, but I can teach you if you want to learn.”

  Jack smiled at her, and she wanted him to touch her. Happiness shone in his eyes and his whole face lit up when he smiled. There was such warmth about him right now. It was warmth that melted his cold façade. But there was still caution in his eyes and, to her dismay, he didn’t reach out for her. He seemed to be holding back, and she didn’t understand why.

  “So when can I start?” she asked.

  “You can go out this morning to the nurseries and get what you need,” he said. “I’ll give you my credit card. Alfredo will drive you in his pickup. I’ll get Rafael to come in early and cover for him – not that we’ll have any business after last night though.”

  “Why do you say that, Jack?” asked Eden, feeling confused. “The Ruby’s grand opening is over and they aren’t open for business so early in the day. I’m sure your customers will come back now.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Jack pulled out a sheet of newspaper from his back pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Eden. She gasped when she saw the picture and the caption. It was a photo of her flung over Jack’s shoulder with her dress hiked up so high she couldn’t believe it didn’t show more. Her hair hung down to Jack’s waist, and he had a look on his face she couldn’t describe. The caption read The Golden Talon Goes Neanderthal. Owner Reverts To Violence.

  “Oh, Jack, I’m so sorry,” said Eden, scanning the story that made Jack out to be some sort of dangerous lunatic who punched Martin Noble in the face for no reason at all.

  “Not as sorry as I am,” he answered. “If you didn’t notice, it’s on the front page.” Eden looked again and realized he was right. He took the paper away from her. “You don’t have to read the rest. They mention something I should have told you long ago.”

  “What’s that?”

  His eyes remained downcast as he crumpled the paper and tossed it to the ground. He seemed angry.

  “I never finished school, Eden. I’m sure even you had more schooling in your little teaching huts than I’ve had.”

  “They’re not teaching huts, they’re nucleos, Jack. And why should I care if you finished school or not?”

  “I had a habit of hanging out with the wrong crowd, too,” he continued. “I was in some brawls and even did drugs at one time.”

  “Well, we chew the coca leaf in the mountains to help us deal with the hard life,” Eden matched him.

  “That’s different, Honey. What I’m saying is, I’m basically a failure.” He had his hands in his pockets and his eyes were focused on the bean plant. Eden’s heart went out to him. She wanted to hug him, but wasn’t sure if the timing was right. “I’ve lost everything my father has worked so hard to build, and I’ve disgraced the family name,” he continued.

  “I understand how you feel,” said Eden, and she meant it. “I’ve disgraced my family’s name as well. It actually started when my mother fell in love with an American.”

  “What’s so bad about that?”

  “The descendants of the Incas don’t marry outside their tribe. My mother became pregnant with me, yet wouldn’t marry my father. He came back year after year and spent the summers there. Our summers. After a while, he could see he was hurting my mother’s image and decided to stay away from her. After that, he only spent time with me. He’d take me up to the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. I spent the summers with him while he did his research. He taught me English and everything he thought his daughter should know. He even took me to the Amazon and all over Peru.”

  “That sounds like the professor I knew,” said Jack. “Or at least the one I thought I knew.”

  “He was always so sure he’d find some long lost treasure of the Incas.” Eden stared past Jack, remembering her father. “We explored the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. He was certain The Hitching Post of the Sun was some sort of clue.”

  “Hitching Post?” asked Jack.

  “Atop the mountain at Machu Picchu. It’s sort of an old-time sundial.”

  “Oh. So he never found anything?”

  “He didn’t,” answered Eden slowly. “It’s sad that all his time and money were wasted looking for treasure when the real treasure was the love we could have shared if we’d been a true family.”

  “My money,” Jack corrected her.

  “What?” Eden blinked, and wondered if she’d heard Jack correctly.

  “It was my money he wasted.”

  Well, she had heard Jack correctly, but couldn’t believe it. Jack obviously hadn’t let go of the past, and she doubted he’d heard a word she said. He not only blamed her father for the restaurant’s failure, but he’d called himself a failure as well. Jack looked to money and materiality for happiness. If only he could see how little her people had, and how happy they were. If only he could look past his ego and money issues, and realize she didn’t care if he had schooling or not. She cared about him as a person, not about money. But money seemed to be all that mattered to Jack.

  “You’ll never learn, Jack, will you?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Never mind. I’ve got a garden to plant. Do you want to help?”

  “I’ve got something else to do.”

  Eden’s heart fell at his refusal. She had hoped they would get to know each other, yet Jack was running again, just like he always did.

  “I’ll see you later,” said Jack and took off for the garage.

  Eden watched as he pulled out of the garage in the convertible and skidded the tires on the stone as he sped away. She tried not to feel disappointed but couldn’t help herself. She looked down at the bean plant stretching toward the sun. Jack had planted it without even knowing it, and it had grown into a fine, healthy plant. Maybe she could plant a seed as well. In Jack’s mind.

  She realized now that her father’s gift to Jack to pay back his debt was symbolic. He had never meant the seeds alone would help Jack. No, he had only meant to imply that Jack needed to plant a seed. Well, he would never do it, so Eden figured she would help out. It was clear to her that she needed to find a way to help Jack out of debt, and she’d have to plant a seed to do it.

  * * *

  Eden worked until sundown on the garden, not even stopping to eat. It felt good to get back to working with the earth again. She missed it, as well as her family. Brushing off her hands in her skirt, she looked around the yard at her creation. Layered terraces in circles and intricate designs made up a pattern throughout the small yard.

  She’d put Tisha’s kids to work helping her while their mother was resting at home. They dug in the dirt with her, planted seeds, and even helped her put in a few small bushes and a trellis with an archway leading from the garage. The kids had the time of their lives. They were playing with earthworms when Tisha came to pick them up.

  “Thanks so much for watching them all day, Eden,” said Tisha, looking much more relaxed than usual.

  Eden smiled at the girl who had grown bigger with the baby in the last week. “My pleasure. They enjoyed working and did a good job.”

  “Well, I’ll be,” said Tisha, with a look of satisfaction. “I’ll have to try that at home. I thou
ght they were too young to work in the yard.”

  “I started working the land as soon as I could walk,” said Eden. “It’s expected of the young ones in my culture.”

  “Well, it’s going to be expected in my culture as well from now on.”

  “Oh, Maw,” whined Randal. “This is different. We like to get dirty. This is fun.”

  “Fun,” repeated the little one, making Tisha and Eden both laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Jack, walking up from the garage with bags in his arms. They were pink bags. Very feminine-looking bags with stripes on them and the name of a girl – Victoria, if Eden wasn’t mistaken. He had some white bags also.

  “Eden watched the kids today so I could get some rest,” said Tisha. “She is so wonderful with them.”

  “I agree.” Jack’s eyes interlocked with Eden’s and, for a second, she wished they were alone. He had that look about him again. The same look he had when he referred to himself as the Big Bad Wolf. He looked like he wanted to eat her. There was an awkward silence for a moment and then he excused himself and headed through the back door.

  “You two make a good couple,” said Tisha, picking up the baby. “And the way he looks at you is a good thing. Put it this way, it’s a blessing to have a good man. Hold on to him Eden, if you know what’s good for you. It’s hard being by yourself.”

  Eden knew Tisha’s husband had left her and felt sorry for the woman who had been raising her kids by herself. To make things even harder, she had another baby on the way.

  “I’ll watch the kids whenever you want me to,” she offered.

  “Thank you, Eden. I appreciate it. Come on, kids, or we’re going to miss the last bus home.”

  “You take the bus with the kids?” Eden hadn’t known that. The bus stop was a good four blocks down. That wasn’t an easy task for a pregnant woman with three kids in tow, and neither did Eden know if it was safe.

  “I can’t afford a car,” said Tisha. “I can barely afford the rent.”

  “What are you going to do when the new baby comes?” asked Eden. “Who is going to watch it while you work?”

  “I don’t know,” answered Tisha softly. “But I pray for an answer every day. I can’t afford to pay someone to watch it, and I can’t afford not to come to work. Jack’s been so good by letting my kids stay here. But now –”

  “I’ll watch your baby for you,” Eden interrupted. “When is it due?”

  “It’s due next month. But Eden, I can’t pay you.”

  “You don’t need to. Now, get these kids home before you miss that bus.”

  “Mama, Gaspar’s missing,” cried Patsy. “We can’t leave without him.”

  “I think Gaspar wants to spend the night with me,” said Eden. “I’ll find him and you’ll see him when you come back here tomorrow.”

  That satisfied the children, and Eden waved goodbye as they left. As she headed to the kitchen, she wondered why Jack was in such a hurry earlier. He hadn’t even stopped to look at the garden and hadn’t said what he thought of it either.

  She made her way through the kitchen, her stomach grumbling for food. Unfortunately, the restaurant wasn’t very busy at all for the dinner time, and she felt bad for Jack. She found the cat hiding under a chair, and scooped it up.

  “You can’t stay inside the restaurant,” she told it. “Jack will have a fit if he sees you in here.” She hid the cat partially under her arm and walked past his office.

  “Get cleaned up, Eden,” said Jack, without bothering to look up. “We’re going to dinner.”

  “We are?” she asked, trying to keep the cat out of sight.

  “Wear something nice,” he told her. “I’m taking you to the Ninety-Fifth.”

  Eden had no idea what he meant, and didn’t want to stick around to ask. She wanted to get up to the apartment quickly to hide the cat. She no sooner took one step toward the stairs when Jack called out to her.

  “And leave Fatso outside.”

  “Fatso?” she questioned, without turning to look at him.

  “The cat, Eden. That damned thing has made my kitchen his new home. If everyone would quit feeding him, maybe he wouldn’t look like a blimp.”

  “You’re exaggerating,” she said, holding the cat up to snuggle it against her face. It mewed loudly and Jack looked up and raised his brows. “Well, maybe he could stand to lose a little weight,” agreed Eden. “Maybe if I kept him upstairs, he wouldn’t be eating so much?”

  “Outside,” came Jack’s command.

  “But I told the kids he’d spend the night with me. How about I put him back outside in the morning?”

  “Don’t let me find it on my bed,” he warned her. Eden grinned and headed upstairs, wondering what to wear on her date with Jack. She couldn’t wear the white dress again. Not after last night. She didn’t want to show so much skin again, and she didn’t want to tempt Jack. He seemed to be trying to keep his distance lately. While it bothered her immensely, she respected his decision. He’d said he wanted to start over and that was just what they’d do. But she didn’t have any other clothes besides the housedress she’d bought with Ruthie. She guessed that would have to do since her own clothes were too dirty from the garden to wear out to dinner with Jack.

  When she entered the room, she spied bags on the bed. Putting down Gaspar next to them, she remembered what Jack said and shooed the cat to the floor. She opened the bags to peek inside, finding jeans, several t-shirts, button-down shirts, two fancy dresses, and one casual. In another bag she found a pair of gym shoes, several pairs of flat dress shoes, and a half-dozen pairs of socks.

  Eden laughed out loud at the flat shoes, but thanked Jack silently. He’d even bought her a lightweight jacket and ribbons for her hair. She’d lost her green ribbon shortly after arriving, and was happy to see replacements to hold her braids back. On the bottom of the bag she found a baseball cap. She really dreaded the thought of not wearing her own hat, but knew Jack hated it.

  She was on her way to the shower when she saw a box wrapped up in heart paper on the dresser. Pulling off the ribbon carefully, she felt excited to see what else Jack could have possibly bought her. She gasped when she saw the sexy, red, floor-length nightgown made from silk and lots of lace. It had thin straps and a plunging neckline and a slit up the side. Then she saw the silk panties and leopard-skin bra. They were so beautiful that she didn’t know how she could ever bring herself to wear them.

  After slipping them back into the box, she stripped off her clothes and headed for the shower. With any luck, maybe she’d be able to show Jack how they looked on her after all.

  Chapter 17

  It had been a full month now since Jack had made love to Eden, and it was driving him crazy. He’d taken her to dinner at places such as the Ninety-Fifth Restaurant at the top of the John Hancock building and had shown her the city at night. He thought she’d be awestruck by the height, but after living so high up in the mountains it didn’t really impress her at all. Instead, she told him of the mountain named Huayna Picchu that she’d climbed with her father. Since it was 11,000 feet high, he couldn’t top her story.

  “And guess what was at the top of that mountain?” she’d asked him.

  Jack figured it was some sort of temple or Incan artwork carved into the stone. She’d laughed and told him there were temples along the way, but at the top of the world there was nothing but flies.

  He liked the way she’d been wearing her new clothes lately when she worked in the garden and when they dated. She looked good in them and so different from the scared little girl with the big hat he’d first laid eyes on in the cemetery. Once she’d stopped wearing that damned big hat, he could see her face so much better, along with her twinkling blue eyes. She had the eyes of her father. American eyes. It was the only attribute about her that gave away her mixed blood.

  Eden seemed to be getting accustomed to the States and the North American way of living. They were spending time together and getting to know each oth
er pretty well. He’d walked hand in hand with her at the Field Museum and even put his arm around her during the star show at the Adler Planetarium. However, he hadn’t kissed her again since the night he’d taken her virginity and part of her soul as well.

  Summer was just days away and his father would be coming home soon. Jack needed to get his mind back on business but just couldn’t seem to concentrate when Eden was occupying his thoughts day and night. She had turned his back yard into a small paradise of flowers, shrubs, fauna, vegetables, and some things he couldn’t even begin to identify. The girl was great with Tisha’s kids and even with that damned stray cat the kids found. She’d also been making some of her native dishes for the employees to try lately.

  Jack got her whatever she wanted or needed, including the octopus for the ceviche she’d put together. He never thought he’d like the raw fish dish with onions, marinated with lime juice, but he was wrong. He was beginning to like everything Eden did. It was good to see past the shy woman under the big hat to the lively, exciting woman she really was. Eden was coming out of her shell, so to speak. And with every seed she planted in his garden, she also planted one in his heart.

  He knew he couldn’t keep her here forever though. The professor had sent Jack his only child, with hopes of Jack helping her get home. Although he hadn’t sent her home at first because he was angry with the professor, he had learned to forgive the man and love his daughter. Jack was becoming too attached to Eden. If he wasn’t mistaken, he was falling in love with her, and he’d never meant for that to happen. He should have just sent her home the first day he’d brought her here from the cemetery but, instead, he’d played a stubborn game that had gone too far.

  He had to buy the ticket. She needed to go back to her mother and her people where she truly belonged. Jack decided to do the right thing to make up for all of his mistakes of the past. Even though he knew it was the right thing to do, in his heart, he didn’t want it to end. Besides, Eden hadn’t been complaining to leave anymore, and even seemed to like living here. A nagging voice filled his head, telling him that she couldn’t stay forever. He would have to send her home before his father returned.