“In a hospital?”
Nettie chuckled, interrupting the moment. “Well, darlin’, that’s where you are. Why don’t you two go on out of here for a spell? Get something to eat. Take a walk around the hospital grounds. Talk without a nosy old woman hearing every word you are sayin’.”
“I’m not leavin’ you alone,” Vicky declared.
“And you are welcome to listen and even give advice if you want.” Andy grinned. “I’ve never been very good with women. I’m not exactly a candidate for someone to take home to meet the parents. Can’t y’all just hear a woman introducing me? ‘Andy makes wedding cakes and cute little fancy cookies, Mama. Isn’t he just the dreamiest?’”
Vicky giggled. “I know exactly how you feel. Can’t you hear what a man would say if he took me home to meet Mama? ‘She owns this old diner, works seven days a week, and has a twenty-two-year-old daughter. Yes, she’s been a single mother for all those years and she’s only been out of Texas a couple of times in her life.’”
“Menfolks do manly things like haul hay and stretch barbed wire,” he argued.
“That girl who bought the cake from your place of business was Emily’s friend. That cake you made was excellent; everyone at the wedding raved about it. I’d take you home to meet my mama and would be proud to introduce you. I think she might even like you,” Vicky said.
“I know she would have been, but she still wouldn’t sell you our recipe for tarts,” Nettie said.
He removed his hand, stood up, and walked around the room a couple of times before sitting back down. “Are you tellin’ me that the bride who bought a cake from me was a dear friend and you still wouldn’t cater the tarts for her wedding?”
Nettie hit the button to bring the head of the bed up higher. “Unless Emily gets married inside the diner, she don’t even get tarts. Rules is rules and we do not break them. And thanks for staying with her, Andy.”
“My pleasure, ma’am. Can I get you anything?” he asked.
“I can reach the water and I expect they’ll bring me some supper here in a minute. I bet there’s not a bit of bacon in it. And I’m tellin’ you right now, if it’s tofu, I’m going to throw it in the trash.”
“I’ll help you hide the evidence if that’s what they bring in here,” he laughed. “You’ll be out of here in a few days and feelin’ a lot better. Dad said that he had dizzy spells and sometimes his heart felt funny before they put in the pacemaker, but afterward he was fine.”
“I won’t be happy until I’m back in my kitchen at the diner,” she said. “I’d be happy if Vicky would go on home and get some rest tonight.”
“I wouldn’t sleep a wink, so I’ll just stay right here,” Vicky said.
“And—” Andy started.
Nettie quickly butted in before he could finish. “You can’t stay, Andy.”
“I wasn’t going to offer unless Vicky asked, but why can’t I stay?”
“Because it’s against the rules to have sleepovers with strange men. You have to date for at least three months first.” Nettie winked.
“That could be arranged, Nettie,” Andy told her.
“Talk to her, not me. You could never keep up with an experienced woman like me.” Nettie yawned.
“Ahhh.” Andy sighed. “I had my heart set on you, since you are the one who makes those tarts.”
“I’ll teach her how to make them if you’ll get serious and ask her out,” Nettie teased.
Before he came back with another smart-ass remark, Emily led a pack of four into the room in a rush. Vicky had never been so glad to see a bunch of kids in her life.
“Nettie!” Emily bent over the bed and kissed her on the forehead.
“You scared the bejesus out of us.” Jancy patted her on the shoulder.
Shane picked up her hand and kissed it. “W-we all been w-worried, Miz Nettie. Whole town m-misses you already.”
Ryder hung back until they all stepped aside, and then he knelt at the side of the bed. “You’ve got to get well. Emily and Jancy can run the diner without you, but they need you, Nettie. It’s not the same without you in the kitchen.”
She patted him on the head. “I’ll be there soon as they let me out of this joint. It’s a shame that I had to pass out in the doctor’s office and get hauled in here to get this kind of attention. If I’d known that, I would have done it years ago.”
“Listen to her,” Vicky scolded. “She was carryin’ on somethin’ awful when I got here, sayin’ she was goin’ to work in the mornin’, and even told me I couldn’t stay with her tonight. But y’all come in and she’s sweet as molasses.”