Beneath the Palisade (21 page)

“I wish you and the firm the best of luck going forward.” Harper stood and walked toward the door. “Whatever I need to sign to make this official, please have it sent to my home. I’ll be prompt at returning it fully executed.”

Wow!
He laughed when he’d stepped out into the sunlight.
That felt even better than I’d expected. Harper Callahan, welcome to your new life!

The trip back home felt surreal. So many things were bouncing off the walls of his mind. He had to check himself several times to make sure he was giving his driving the attention it deserved. As soon as he had a realtor they could work with, he’d plan a surprise visit to the North Shore. He and Ian could spend a couple of days away and, for fun, take a look at a few properties.

I wonder what Ian will think when he finds out I’ve picked up his idea and started to run with it.

“
H
ONEY
, Francine needs to head into Duluth for a dentist appointment. Do you feel comfortable being the only one on until Rosalie comes in this afternoon to prep for the dinner rush?”

Audrey was taking the long way around asking if Alex was comfortable being on his own so she could take off and have a break from the café before she returned to run the counter and the register until they took their last order at eight thirty. Like most mornings, she had arrived at six to begin baking the pies and muffins that had become a trademark at the Smacker.

“Oh sure.” Waiting tables was a whole lot easier than he’d thought it would be. Alex was happy to have the opportunity to pull in some extra money, being the only one left on until the dinner shift hit.

“Thanks, darling. You’re a true blessing.” The owner of the Lip Smacker took off her apron and walked over to Francine to tell her she could leave whenever she needed to. Alex finished clearing table nine, the round seating six in the corner, and bused the bin of dishes back to Louie, an ex-Marine who manned the dishwasher until Alex took it over at five.

“Alex, my friend, how’s it look out there? Is it slowing down?” For Louie, it wasn’t about whether or not the sun rose or set, it was all about the volume of dishes dumped in his station. Louie’s life was dictated by it either “picking up” or “slowing down.” A picking-up report brought about a harmless rant of cussing. News that the dish flow would finally be slowing down produced happy whistling and smiles. Colin, an endless source of nicknames, christened the predictable dishwasher “Pavlov.”

“It’s all over for today, Paaa… Louie.”

“Yes! Christ, I could hardly keep up for a while. Those fuckin’ breakfast skillets are a bitch.”

Leaving his tray of dishes on the brushed aluminum counter, Alex reached for one of the small round serving trays from the shelf and headed back out to the restaurant to start filling salt and pepper shakers, just one of the side tasks he was responsible for.

“Alex, are you sure you’ll be okay?” Francine had a problem with both guilt and trust. Whenever she needed a favor, she felt guilty asking, and when you did your best to assure her it was no big deal, she never trusted you were being truthful with her.
How could you leave me here all by myself? You only think of yourself!
He made a note to self to have Colin reach into his bag of names for something fitting for Francine.

“I’m gonna be fine, Francine. You working tomorrow?”

“I open tomorrow, but if you want me to stay late for you, I can. All you have to do is ask.”
Guilt.

“Thanks, but I’ll be good. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Alex, if you’re sure.”

You witch! How could you do this to me?

“Bye, Francine.” Unable to muster up another reassurance, he started down the row of tables, cleaning and filling the small silver-topped containers. The bell over the door rang when he had reached the far end of the dining area, signaling a new customer. Knowing the sign at the door instructed them to seat themselves now that Audrey had left, he kept on with his side work until the tables in the back had been refilled.

A single man had seated himself up toward the front of the restaurant. Alex filled a glass of ice water and headed over to greet his customer.

“Hey, how you doin’?” Placing the glass in front of the man, he backed up in his tracks after realizing who was seated at the table.

“Alex?”

“Hey….”
What are you doing here?

“It’s me, Mike. You remember me?”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry, I’m just surprised to see you.”

His heart was racing. Mike had held a large portion of his thoughts captive since their first encounter. Secretly, he’d hoped they would cross paths again. Nothing had been planned. He’d been too freaked out by the entire experience to show any interest in hooking up again. Now he regretted how abruptly their time together had ended. Maybe there would be a next time after all. Was Mike interested?

“A good surprise, I hope?” Mike smiled, taking a sip of his water.

“Oh yeah, it’s a good surprise. Are you heading home?” Where was home? He couldn’t remember.
Somewhere north of Grand Marais, wasn’t it?

“Nope. I’m heading into Duluth tonight. Staying at the Best Western a few blocks off of Superior Street on second. Interested in hanging out together? I have to make some stops but should be checked in by four thirty.”

Damn!
There was no way he could get out of work tonight. It wasn’t possible. “I can’t hook up tonight. I’m working a double shift. It’s usually after ten by the time I get outta here. I guess I could drive over to Duluth after I’m done.”

“That’s getting kind of late for me. I have to be back on the road early in the morning. Shoot. Got any other ideas?”

“Not at the moment. Do you want to see a menu?” There wasn’t a chance he was going to let Mike leave without some plan to meet up. He needed time to think this one out.

“Yes, please. I’m really… hungry.” Mike winked.

Alex grabbed a menu and placed it down in front of his handsome customer. “We have homemade turkey noodle soup today, and our sandwich special is meatloaf. Do you want something other than water to drink?”

“I’d love a diet cola. And to make it easy, I’ll take a cup of the soup you mentioned and the meatloaf sandwich. Two of my favorites.”

“They’re both really good. I’ll put in your order. Be right back.”

Even if Pavlov would agree to work a double, which of course he never would, Audrey wouldn’t approve of the switch. He was screwed. Clipping his ticket to the order wheel, he filled a tall glass with diet soda and walked back to Mike’s table.

“Here you go.” With Audrey gone for a few hours and the rest of the diner empty, he sat down across from Mike. “I wish I could get off tonight, but it’s just not possible.”

“Oh, I understand. Don’t worry about it. It would have been nice to spend some time alone together, but we’ll figure something out soon. Would you like that?” Mike grinned, removing the paper from his straw.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” His body was in total agreement. Like the time before when they’d been together, his jeans were beginning to feel tight in front.

“So,” Mike picked up the conversation, “what kind of crazy schedule are you on here, anyway? Don’t tell me you work double shifts every day.”

“I work a lot. Right now I’m scheduled to work doubles Monday through Wednesday, I work late Friday and Saturday nights, and I have Thursdays and Sundays off, but I’ll usually pick up a Sunday shift if someone else wants it off and I’ve got nothing going on.”

Mike pulled his phone out of his pocket. While he was studying it, a bell rang in the kitchen, signaling Alex to pick up his order. “That’s your food. I’ll be right back.”

Loading up the empty portion of the sandwich plate with chips and a pickle, he tossed a couple packets of crackers and a soup spoon onto the saucer with the cup of turkey noodle and carried it to Mike’s table. Instead of sitting down after he delivered the food, he knelt on the seat across from Mike. He needed to make some headway on his side work, or Rosalie, the early waitress coming in for the evening shift, would chew his ass off. You didn’t mess around with Rosalie if you knew what was good for you.

“Can I bring you anything else? I have a few things here I need to do before my shift is up.”

“No, this looks great. I was looking at my calendar. I’m going to be headed back this way in two weeks. If I switch around my schedule a little, I could work it so I’m spending the night at the Best Western in Duluth again. That would be two weeks from this Thursday, August 11. You’re off, right? We could have dinner together and then….”

Alex didn’t know if he could complete the sentence either, but he knew what Mike meant. There was no question he would be there. “That sounds like a plan. I’ll stop back in a minute.”

Darting around, he scrubbed and organized the beverage area. Pavlov was just finishing up the silverware so he could roll a couple dozen sets using the special order “Lip Smacker” napkins Audrey had ordered from that fancy paper company in Cloquet. While he waited, he stepped back into the diner to check up on his customer. Mike had finished his soup and still had half a sandwich to work through. He had gone over to the counter and grabbed sections of the newspaper left behind by previous diners.

“Everything okay?”

Mike looked up from his newspaper. “Oh yeah, the soup was amazing. Best I’ve ever had.”

“Good to hear.”
Why is he staring at me like that?

“
You’re really handsome, Alex. I hope it doesn’t embarrass you when I say that. But you really are. The fact you want to spend time with me is so fantastic. Any thoughts about how we can hook up on the eleventh?”

“Hang on, I’ll be right back.” He needed a moment to collect himself. Mike’s comment embarrassed him. Hiding out in the kitchen, he remembered there was one piece of Audrey’s banana cream pie left. He’d intended to chow on it himself but wanted to serve it to Mike on the house. Taking the tin out of the pie cooler, he topped it off with a small dollop of whipping cream. Grabbing a new fork—that was the fancy way to serve dessert—he placed it on the table. “This is on the house, by the way. It’s my favorite.”

“Your favorite pie is—” Mike took a closer look. “—banana cream? This is getting a little too weird, my friend. Our birthdays are a few days apart, and guess what? Banana cream is my favorite too.”

He knew by the look on Mike’s face that he was bullshitting him. “Do you know what time you’ll be done on Thursday? I’ll plan on driving into Duluth, and we can meet up at your motel or anywhere else you want. I know Duluth pretty well.”

“Should be about the same deal. I’ll be checked in about four thirty. I’m not sure what room I’ll end up in, so why don’t I keep an eye out for you. Say around five, does that work?” Mike placed his soup dish on top of his sandwich plate and moved his slice of pie into place. “I shouldn’t be eating this, but what the hell. You’ve gotta enjoy life, right?”

Yes! You’ve got to enjoy life. I’ve got to enjoy life.

“You can plan on me being in the parking lot of the Best Western at five on the eleventh. Enjoy the pie. I’ll be back in a minute.” When he returned to the kitchen, Pav had finished the silverware. Alex carried the thick plastic container over to the waitress stand and tossed on a bundle of napkins. Filling a soda for himself, he brought the whole operation out into the dining room and placed it on the table across from Mike.

“This is the worst part of the job.” He was bummed he had to waste his time with Mike doing this stupid side work.

“Trust me, I know. I waited tables to help pay for college. I did everything I could to avoid side work. This pie, it’s a little bit of heaven. Does someone here make it?”

“Audrey, the owner. She makes all of our pies and muffins.”

“That was sinful.” Throwing his napkin down on his empty plate, Mike crawled out of the booth. “Well, I should get back on the road. I’m going to be counting the days until we can hook up. What do I owe you for this feast?”

“It’s my treat.” His heart raced. Snapshots of their time together in Mike’s car flashed before his eyes. How good it had felt to be touched by this strong, masculine man.
I can’t wait for you to touch me again.

“Alex, you don’t have to do that.” Mike removed a wad of bills from his pocket.

“No, I want to.”

“It was delicious.” He extended his hand for a shake. “I’m so glad to have run into you.”

Instead of shaking his hand, Mike held it. A wave of desire shot through Alex’s body like nothing he’d ever felt before. Unable to hide his reaction, he broke contact and looked away.

“See you on the eleventh, then?”

“Yes.” His throat was parched.

“Thanks again, handsome.”

When Mike had pulled out of the parking lot, Alex went back to the table to clear it. A crisp twenty-dollar bill was hidden under the pie plate. His heart soared.

Maybe I’ve found my cowboy.

“
Y
OU
got to drive last time. Besides, this was my idea.” Harper accelerated down the ramp, merging their rental car onto the freeway.

“Yeah, well it’s
my
retirement dream.” Ian swatted the dashboard.

“So? I stopped so you could get a bag of sliders, didn’t I?”

“And admit it, you loved them, right?” Ian slid over and placed his head on Harper’s shoulder.

They were good. Sinfully good, there was no doubt about it. The little square hamburgers covered with onion bits melted in your mouth. White Castle was another new experience Ian had introduced him to. How was it he had tolerated living under a rock for so long?

It was fun driving again. So far, his arm wasn’t giving him any trouble. Ian had confessed in a weak moment how much he hated being a passenger. Playfully, he had badgered Harper to let him drive but had finally caved when he realized it wasn’t going to happen. A wonderful sign that the carefulness of their new relationship was starting to fade away. They were starting to settle into each other.

The landscape was changing. Flat crop fields were being inundated by large, majestic pines. First just a few clusters planted here and there, most likely as a windbreak to protect the freeway from the fierce blowing snow that could make winter travel next to impossible. As they furthered their journey north, the wind blocks were replaced by an endless forest.