“Morning, Colby.
“I see they've
got you on table-setting duty.
“You know what
they say about too many cooks in
the kitchen, he said.
“Especially when
they're all men, she said, smiling.
He laughed. “You
might be right about that.
A dairy farmer, Davis was a nice
man, tall and broad
at the same time. He had dark brown
hair and shy eyes.
His wife left him a year or so ago,
and from what Colby
knew about the situation, he'd been
badly hurt by it. He'd
been asking her out for the past few
months. She'd
turned down his invitations because
she herself had no
intention of getting serious with
anyone, and she sensed
140
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
that he wanted someone to fill the
hole left in his life by
his divorce.
Just as Davis began telling her
about a problem he'd
been having with one of his heifers,
Colby glanced
behind him and caught sight of Ian
in the kitchen with
the other men, a smile on his face.
He wore a white shirt
and tie, apparently having taken off
his suit jacket.
Lena and Luke were standing on the
opposite side of
the counter from him, Lena trying to
explain something
to him. Surprised, she watched as
Lena went around to
stand beside Ian. She picked up an
egg and cracked it on
the side of a measuring cup, showing
him how to break it
without getting any shells in the
mixture, just as Colby
had shown her years ago. Since Lena
recently made a
point of rejecting all advice or
parental guidance from
her, the sight did Colby's heart
good.
Ian picked up one and tried it
himself. Lena reached
for a fork and fished a piece of
shell out of the cup.
Something about watching the two of
them together
touched Colby. The only real male
role models Lena ever
had were her grandfather and Frank.
Seeing her with Ian
brought on familiar feelings of
guilt for the things her
life-style had caused Lena to miss
out on.
Ian looked up just then and caught
her gaze. He
nodded at something Lena said, but
he didn't look away.
Colby's pulse quickened. The look
couldn't have lasted
more than a moment or two, but it
seemed like much
longer. She forced her attention
back to Davis, her voice
141
INGLATH COOPER
a little unsteady when she said,
“I'll come out Monday
and take a look at her if you'd
like.
“I'd appreciate
that. Sometime after lunch?
“Sure, she said.
“I haven't said hello to my folks yet,
so I'll see you later.
“Enjoy the
breakfast, Colby, he said, a wistful look
in his eyes.
She joined her parents on the other
side of the room,
where they were chatting with Mabel
Atkins. She kissed
her mother on the cheek and gave her
father and Mabel a
hug.
“You're looking
awfully stylish today, Mabel. Colby
tilted her head at the woman's green
silk dress.
“When you get to
be my age, you start hoping people
notice the dress and not the way you
look in it, Mabel
said with a chuckle. “You're
the one who gets prettier
every time I see you.
“We'd have to
agree with you there, Colby's father
said with a smile.
“Aren't you
supposed to be in the kitchen? she
chastised him.
“Just taking a
little break for as long as I can get away
with it.
She laughed. “That
doesn't surprise me.
“Me, either, her
mother agreed.
“Mabel introduced
us to Mr. McKinley a little
earlier, Colby's father said. “And
she told us how you
saved his life the other day.
142
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“It was no big
deal, she said, certain that Mabel had
stretched the story into Paul Bunyan
proportions.
“If you call
nearly getting run over by a tractor no big
deal, Mabel objected. “If
a person believed in fate and
that kind of thing, I'd say the two
of you—
Not willing to let Mabel get started
on that particular
tangent, Colby said, “You
know, it looks as if they're
asking us to be seated. We'd better
find us a place before
they're all taken.
Reverend Thomas called for the
group's attention.
Once everyone grew quiet, he said,
“I'd like to thank you
all for coming. Our turnouts for
this event keep getting
better and better. I'd have to say
it probably has
something to do with the cooking
skills of our volunteers
in the kitchen.
The men sent up a round of applause
for themselves,
and everybody laughed.
“I'd like to
introduce two new faces to you this
morning. Reverend Thomas stepped
back and
summoned Ian and Luke forward.
“Ian and Luke
McKinley. They came as guests of
Frank and Phoebe
Walker. We welcome both of you to
Keeling Creek and
to our church. We hope you'll feel
at home here.
“Thank you, Ian
said. Luke merely stood beside him
looking uncomfortable.
All the women sat down while the men
began serving
the food. The women joked
good-naturedly about
whether or not it would be edible,
even though the men
had proved themselves in the past.
The smells were
143
INGLATH COOPER
mouth-watering—homemade
biscuits with scrambled
eggs and gravy and freshly brewed
coffee.
Lena joined Colby and her mother at
the far end of
the table. Phoebe and her two boys
sat across from them.
“Would you like
to ask Luke to sit with us? Colby
asked Lena.
Lena shrugged, and looking as if it
didn't matter, said,
“I already did.
He said he'd just hang out in the kitchen.
Colby knew her daughter well enough
to recognize
rejection on her face when she saw
it.
Frank filed past with the gravy,
ladling some over the
biscuits on their plates. “This
will no doubt be the best
item on the menu, he said with a
wink. “I made it
myself.
Phoebe shook her head. “I
might have to argue with
that, since he barely knows the
location of the frying pan
at home.
“Now, now, honey.
We'll just let the ladies judge for
themselves.
Behind Frank appeared Ian with a big
blue bowl in
his hands, the image somehow
incongruous. He gave her
a sheepish smile. “They
put me in charge of the grits, and
since I didn't even know what they
were until twenty
minutes ago, I'm not making any
promises on how they
turned out.
“I'll take my
chances, Colby said with a half smile,
uncomfortable, because her mother
and Phoebe were
taking in every word of the
conversation.
144
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
He put some on her plate. “If
it hadn't been for
Lena, they probably would have
thrown me out of the
kitchen.
Lena smiled up at him, looking for
the moment like
her playful, lighthearted daughter
of old, and Colby
wondered if Ian had that effect on
all the women who
crossed paths with him.
145
24
he next day, Colby ran errands on
her lunch hour,
Ton her way out of Tinker's Drug
when she looked
up to find Ian coming in.
“Hi. He reached
out to right a box of tissues
threatening to slip out of one of
her bags.
“Hi, she said,
her heart suddenly beating too fast.
“Here, let me
help you with that.
“Oh, no, that's
okay. I've got them. Real y.
He ignored her protests and took the
bags from her.
“Where are you
parked?
“Around the
corner. But you don't have to—
“That's the least
I can do for someone who not only
saved my life, but ate my grits
without any obvious il
effects. Smiling, Colby fol owed
him, running a hand across
her hair and wishing she'd thought
to put on some lipstick.
At the truck, she unlocked the door,
and he stuck the
bags inside before turning to her
and saying, “How about
letting me treat you to some lunch?
I still haven't paid you
back for saving my life.
146
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
She should have said no. Any number
of excuses would
have been plausible enough to send
her on her way. But
she did have a little time before
her next appointment.
Reluctant as she was to admit it,
lunch with Ian McKinley
sounded appealing. “Al
right, I'll take you up on it.
Tinker's Drug and Soda Fountain had
been around for
fifty years or more, unchanged to
speak of during that time.
It was busy now at lunch hour.
Inside the front door, they
were greeted by the smel of grill
food, French fries and
onion rings. They made their way
down an aisle of soaps
and toothbrushes to the snack bar at
the back of the store.
A row of booths lined one wal . The
seats were red vinyl and
squeaky-clean. A white Formica
counter with red-topped
bar stools offered a view of the
gril .
This was one of Colby's favorite
places in Keeling Creek.
Growing up, she'd come here with her
dad every Saturday
morning for a Coke float and a
little spot of time that had
been their own.
“Booth or
counter? Ian asked.
“Counter, she
said, thinking the booth sounded more
intimate. Sitting there in full view
would be less private, like
they'd just run into each other.
Which they had.
“Counter, it is.
He waited for her to take a stool and
then sat down beside her.
Thomas Tinker approached them with a
smile and a
menu. He ran the place with the same
pride his father had
taught him to have in the family
establishment. “Hey,
Colby. How're things out at the
clinic?
“Busy, she said.
147
INGLATH COOPER
“I believe it.
Your waiting room stays busier than Doc
Smiley's office. Who's your friend?
“This is Ian
McKinley. Ian, Thomas Tinker.
The two men exchanged small talk,
with Ian explaining
that he'd recently moved to town.
Thomas's welcome
sounded sincere.
“I can't get used
to the friendliness, Ian said when
Thomas left them with their drinks.
“I guess the city's
made me a cynic, but I keep
expecting to find out they're
putting me on or something.
Colby smiled, fiddling with the edge
of her menu.
“Things are
pretty different here.
Thomas came back for their order.
Ian ordered a
burger, the house specialty.
“I'll have my
usual, Thomas.
The older man shook his head.
“Lettuce, tomato and
cheese on a bun, coming right up.
“Vegetarian? Ian
asked when Thomas headed for the
kitchen.
Colby nodded. “Yep.
“Never eaten
meat?
“When I was a
kid, my mom didn't consider the table
complete without a roast or a baked
chicken. I made up my
mind about al that after I left
home.
Ian appeared to think about that for
a moment, then
said, “Mr.
Tinker?
Thomas turned from his stance at the
gril . “It's
Thomas. What can I get you?
148
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“Cancel that
burger. I'd like to try one of those veggie
things she's having.
Thomas shook his head again.
“She's getting to you,
huh?
“My doctor has
been after me to make a few changes
in my diet. No time like the present
to start.
Surprised, Colby said, “I
hope you didn't do that
because—
“A veggie
sandwich sounds good.
Casual and easy, the declaration
pleased her. Too much
so. Most of the men she knew thought
vegetables were for
sissies. “So,
you're planning to fix up Oak Hill?
Ian nodded. “I'd
like to do most of the work myself, so
it may take a while.
“I actual y had a
notebook of plans, things I wanted to
do to the place if I ever bought it,
she said on impulse,
and then, feeling sil y, added,
“My dad and I used to drive
by there about once a week when I
was growing up. I
always made him stop so I could look
at it. It sat empty
then. I thought it looked lonely.
Like it needed a family. And
it has one now.
“I feel bad for
messing up your plans, Ian said.
She waved his apology away. “First
come, first serve.
“If it helps any,
I don't know how long I'll hold on to
it. I can't say anything definite,
but there's a good
possibility I'l be wil ing to sel it
at some point down the
road.
149
INGLATH COOPER
“Real y? I mean,
I guess that would make sense. When
you move back to New York, you'l
hardly have any reason
to keep a big house like that.
“No, probably
not, he said. “I'l certainly give you