Rebecca greeted them as they entered the dining room. “Morning. Hope you slept well. I’m getting ready to make up another batch of pancakes. Coffee is over there on the sidebar, and orange juice, too, if you want some. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your breakfast.”
Scotty slid into one of the chairs and fiddled with the silverware. Cal gratefully walked to the sidebar and poured a steaming cup of black coffee and took a sip. That’s what I’m talking about.
“Want some OJ, kiddo?”
“Yep.”
Cal was pleased that Scotty had at least moved onto one-word answers. Maybe he was dealing with the shock a little better. Maybe.
A man entered the room with a newspaper tucked under his arm. “Morning. I’m Larry, Rebecca’s husband. You must be our new guests.”
Cal walked over and shook the man’s hand. “Cal.” He nodded at the boy. “And Scotty.”
“Pleased to meet you both. What brings you to town?”
Cal froze. He didn’t know what to say or how to explain. He cleared his throat. “Just looking for a change.”
“Well, Comfort Crossing is a nice little town. Friendly people. Safe. Good schools.” Larry set the paper down on the table. “You got a job lined up?”
“Not yet.” Cal sucked in a quick breath. So much to do and get sorted out.
“What kind of work do you do?” Larry poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip out of the mug.
Cal didn’t even know where to start. He’d done so many things over the last years. Waiter, mechanic—he’d been lousy at that, managed a small shop, and did some construction work. “Construction work.” Cal figured he’d go with that. It didn’t really matter to him what he did now, he just wanted some money coming in until things settled down.
“Tell you what, I heard that Steve Bergeron was looking for some more workers. He owns his own construction company. Going gangbusters these days. New construction as well as repairs from a tornado that came through town a bit ago. I could hook you up with him.”
“That would be great.” Cal had really enjoyed his construction work, seeing things built with his own hands. He’d enjoyed the framing as well as the woodwork and thought he’d been pretty good with it.
“I’ll give him a call and tell him I’m sending you over to talk to him.”
“I’d really appreciate that.”
Rebecca came in with plates of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and a bowl of fresh fruit. Cal laughed out loud when he saw Scotty’s plate. Rebecca had made the boy’s pancakes into shapes. An S, for Scotty—or maybe it was a snake? And a sorry-looking puppy face.
Scotty’s face lit up. “Those are for me?”
“I’m not too good at the shapes, but I thought I’d try. Cal gets the boring old round kind.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Scotty dug into his pancakes.
Rebecca turned to her husband. “I heard you talking about Steve Bergeron?” It was half statement, half question.
“Yes, Cal here is looking for work. Going to send him over to talk to Steve.”
“Great idea.” Rebecca turned to Cal. “I was talking to Holly—that’s Steve’s lady friend, our new veterinarian in town—and she said that Steve was really shorthanded and looking for good, reliable workers.”
“I can really use the work and I have construction experience.”
“Well then, hope it works out for both of you.” Rebecca turned to head back to the kitchen. “You let me know if you want more pancakes.”
CHAPTER THREE
Becky Lee sat at the Magnolia Cafe with her friends Jenny and Bella. Well, she was Bella to the townsfolk, but to the trio of friends, she was Izzy—short for Isabella.
They’d finished up breakfast and still sat catching up on their lives. “I’m glad you two could come in this morning before my lunch shift. I’ve missed you two newlyweds. How’s the whole marriage thing working out?”
Jenny set down her coffee cup. “There’s been some adjustments. Moving in with Clay. Combining the kids so there’re three kids under one roof. But I’m glad to be married to the man. Finally.”
“Only took you, what? About twenty-ish years since you first met him?” Becky Lee loved how her friends’ eyes shone when she talked about Clay. “How about you, Izzy? Things going well with you and Owen? Jeremy coming around any?”
“Owen and Jeremy are slowly finding their footing with each other. Who knew a ten-year-old boy could cause so much turmoil. The funny thing is, I think he likes Owen, he’s just afraid to admit it. But Owen is really patient with him. Timmy, of course, is nuts about Owen. They are quite the pair.” Bella pushed her plate away. “I hope that we get to go on that honeymoon we planned. It just wasn’t possible right after the wedding. Everything was crazy here in town after the tornado with too much going on, but we didn’t want to wait to get married.”