Love a Little Sideways (5 page)

“Yeah? Well, I not only had one brownie, but I had
three.
” She gave him a saucy wink and went to say goodbye to her family.

* * *

Liz was up bright and early on her first day at her new job. Or maybe not bright, since the sun wasn’t fully up yet, but definitely early. With her hair pulled up into a ponytail and her name badge pinned to one of the Trailside Diner T-shirts Paige had given her, she felt as ready as she’d ever be.

She wasn’t too worried about waiting tables. It was all she’d ever done, and at some restaurants a lot busier and more fast-paced than Whitford could offer. She’d memorized the menu, and the boss was her sister-in-law. But a new job was still a new job, and low-level anxiety hummed through her.

An hour later, she’d shadowed Paige as she opened the diner for business and served the first wave of early birds. Carl, the first-shift cook, didn’t say a lot, but Liz could see he put out an amazing-looking breakfast. And, since she wasn’t much for cooking herself, she already knew they tasted as good as they looked.

Once the initial rush petered out, Paige started giving her a more in-depth tour. “I haven’t decided if I want to invest in a computer system or not yet. Maybe next year. For now, it’s old school. Write down the order, stick the sheet up in the pass-through window and then, when they’re done eating, use the calculator to write down the total. Don’t forget the tax.”

Nothing she couldn’t handle. A sheet of paper next to the register with a running tally of slash marks under the days of the week caught her attention. “What’s that for?”

“Those are for Gavin’s specials. He’s saving up to move to the city and get into a culinary school. In the meantime, I let him try out new recipes on the good citizens of Whitford. Since we’re not computerized yet, just put a hash mark down whenever somebody orders one of his specials. I’ve thought about separating it out so non-residents, who seem to be a little more adventurous, are broken out, but this is enough to give us both a general idea of what works and what doesn’t. He’s had a few flops, but overall his recipes are well received.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact Mike Crenshaw’s son is all grown up.”

“And you know Tori is Jilly’s niece, right? Her brother’s daughter. She moved here last year from Portland because her parents’ divorce was not amicable and she was tired of being stuck in the middle.”

Liz didn’t really know Jilly Burns Crenshaw. Mike met her while he was away at college and she couldn’t remember when they’d moved back to Whitford. There was a lot of that throughout the morning. Faces she knew. Some that were vaguely familiar. Many she didn’t know but who knew who she was.

Everybody, of course, had something to say about her driving Chief Miller’s Mustang.

She was tempted to greet every customer with, “Yes, I’m Liz Kowalski and I’ve moved home from New Mexico because I missed my family and I’m driving Chief Miller’s Mustang because I wrecked my car, but I’m okay, and he lent it to me because I’m his best friend’s sister and no other reason.”

But she didn’t think that would go over well. Not with this crowd, anyway. They liked to ferret out information for themselves, with a whole heap of wild assumptions thrown in.

The chief himself showed up after the lunch rush was over, taking a seat at the counter. “Hey, Liz. How’s it going?”

She hadn’t seen him since he’d rejected her pretty overt attempt at flirting three days before, and she was worried things would be weird between them again. But he seemed normal enough, so she tried to relax. “I guess you’d have to ask Paige, but I think it’s going good.”

He ordered a salad topped with grilled chicken and a diet soda. “I went on a cheeseburger binge after my divorce, until I woke up one day and had to suck in my breath to button my uniform pants. Spent the better part of two weeks sitting at my desk because I could unbutton them and nobody was the wiser.”

“I was sorry to hear you and Mallory split up.” She had been, too. That was, of course, before she’d gotten him to herself for a few minutes.

He shrugged. “Wanted different things.”

It was a lot worse than that, from what Rose had told her. Mallory kept putting off starting a family until Drew finally dug in his heels and told her he didn’t want to wait anymore. She’d finally confessed she’d never planned to have kids and didn’t tell him because she was afraid of losing him. He tried for a while after that, but besides the fact he still wanted kids, he couldn’t get over the fact Mallory had started lying to him before they were even married and never stopped.

“Better cheeseburgers than alcohol,” she told him, trying to lighten the mood again.

He chuckled. “Yeah, until you can’t strap on your gun belt and live in fear of having to chase somebody down.”

She handed his order slip to Gavin, who’d replaced Carl and was preparing for dinner. The special was a steamed haddock with a sauce in a language Liz didn’t understand, so she suspected Ava wouldn’t be putting many checkmarks on the specials sheet during the dinner hour.

Paige had disappeared into the office and they’d pretty much finished the prep work, so Liz poured herself an ice water and went back to talk to Drew. “So, based on customer comments today, we’re quite the Facebook sensation.”

“I swear there are people inventing reasons to talk to me just so they can ask about it.”

“Does it bother you?”

He scoffed. “Of course not. This isn’t the first time the good folks of Whitford have speculated about my personal life.”

“It’s something I’ll have to get used to again, I guess. I was a little more anonymous in New Mexico. In some ways it’s freeing to live someplace where people haven’t known you since you were born. But in other ways, it’s lonely. It’s nice having a shared history with people. Stories, you know?”

“Like the time I put the plastic wrap over the toilet bowl in the bathroom your brothers always used, but Rosie was cleaning the other one, so you used that one and peed all over yourself?”

She’d screamed so loud Rose had come running, with her father close on his heels. Drew had been sent home, which meant calling his father and asking him to pick him up out on the road, since Andy wasn’t allowed on the Northern Star property. “I still haven’t forgiven you for that. Someday there will be payback.”

He grinned and butterflies started dancing around in the pit of her stomach. He’d always been handsome, but a little more serious than her brothers, so when he flashed that boyish grin, it really hit hard. “Your old man made me split a cord of hardwood for that. I paid my dues.”

“Not to me.”

Gavin called out her name, so she went to the window and grabbed Drew’s salad. He didn’t want any dressing, which she thought was weird and said so.

“My dad doesn’t like dressing, either. I’m not sure we ever had any in the house, so I’m used to it plain.”

“Salads are made to be covered with cheese, bacon bits and ranch dressing.”

He shook his head, sprinkling salt and pepper over the plate, which she thought was even more weird. “Pretty sure a cheeseburger would be better for you.”

Paige emerged from the office, and Liz could tell by the rosy glow she’d been on the phone with Mitch. “Sorry to disappear, Liz. Everything going okay out here?”

“Except for the part where she harasses customers about their food choices,” Drew said in a dry tone.

Paige’s eyes got big for a few seconds before she relaxed with a shaky laugh. “It’s funny, but because I only met you at our wedding and you just moved back, sometimes I forget everybody knows you. Here I am worried about how you’re treating our police chief, when you guys already have this whole history together.”

Drew choked and ended up downing half his soda before he could talk again. “Sorry, went down the wrong pipe.”

Liz left Paige to fuss over him, but she gave him an eye roll behind her sister-in-law’s back. Hopefully Paige would never know just how much of a shared history they had.

Chapter Five

Business meetings at the Trailside Diner were the norm for Drew. At least a few times per month, somebody would suggest they talk over lunch to save time.

Today he was sharing a booth with Dave Camden, who served as the school resource officer, as well as the school principal. With another academic year behind them, Drew liked to look back at the department’s relationship with the school to see what they’d done right and what they could do better in the fall. Since Dave was fairly young and it had been his first year as SRO, it was even more important than usual.

He managed to keep his mind on topic when the topic was school safety, but as the others digressed, so did his thoughts.

Liz had greeted them all warmly when they’d sat down, setting them up with menus and drinks, but he thought there had been a little extra warmth in the smile she gave him. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he didn’t think so.

She looked totally natural in the diner, he thought as he watched her work. It was only her third day, but she was obviously comfortable with the work and the customers. And she looked like she enjoyed it, too. With one ear on the conversation, in case it turned back to something important, he watched her clean up as most of the customers left and then turn to prep for dinner.

When his meeting finally broke up, he shook hands with the principal and told Dave he’d meet him back at the station in a while. Then he took what was left of his soda and moved to a seat at the counter. Liz was in the process of restocking the salt and pepper shakers and the sugar bowls, but she stopped when she got to him.

“I saw you walk in with that woman and thought maybe you were on a date,” she said with a small smile that looked a little tight.

“I haven’t dated anybody since my divorce. Except, you know. Not that that was a date, I guess.” Rather than keep shoving his foot in his mouth, he shut up.

“Really? I’m surprised the single women in Whitford didn’t jump all over you.”

“We get a lot more baked goods dropped off at the station than we used to.” Since she’d brought up dating, he figured it was a good time to ask the question he’d been wondering about. “So everybody in Whitford knows why Mallory and I split. What happened with you and...what was his name? Darren?”

She shrugged. “Nothing happened, which was a big part of the problem, I guess. I told him we were done and he said, ‘Bummer.’”

“If that was his reaction to losing you, he didn’t deserve you.” It wasn’t an empty platitude. He meant it and he hoped she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“He was a good guy, really. We were friends, if nothing else, and he had a hard time taking care of himself. I believed in his art, so I did what I could to support him. He ended up with some minor success and I ended up...tired.”

“What made you tell him it was over?”

She smiled, fiddling with a sugar packet. “I blame Sean and Mitch.”

“I know Mitch never liked him, but I also know you spent fifteen years ignoring his opinion. What changed?”

“I talked to Rose on the phone a lot. We’ve always been close, even if I was too stubborn to give up on Darren and come home. She’d tell me stories about how Sean and Emma fell in love, with the whole fake fiancé thing, and then about Mitch and Paige. I wanted that. I wanted to turn a guy inside out. I didn’t know at the time I was going to come back to Maine, but I knew I wasn’t settling for just friendship anymore.”

He nudged her arm with his elbow. “For the record, I’m glad you came back to Maine.”

“I am, too.”

She was smiling when she said it, but he thought he saw some reservation on her face. “Are you, really?”

“I am.”

“I guess it’s not the kind of thing you want to talk about at work. Sorry about that.”

She laughed. “It’s fine. The place is about empty now, anyway. It’s just that sometimes I feel a little...underachieving. I came out here to be with my family while they were getting married and having babies and running their businesses. But now I’m here not doing much while they’re doing all that.”

“What do you mean you’re not doing much?” He shook his head. “You’re setting up a new house and working a new job. Getting reacquainted with old friends and making new ones. I’d say you’re doing just fine.”

“I guess you’re right.” Her eyes softened, which did things to his insides. “I guess I just see everything they have and feel like I don’t have enough.”

“If you judge your life by what others have, you’ll probably always feel that way. I feel that way, sometimes. It seems like everybody’s got their shit together and here I am starting over, too. Like you.”

“You’re a smart guy, Chief Miller. Before you know it, some lucky lady will snap you up and you’ll be putting that town seal on the door of a minivan.”

He laughed at that visual. “I don’t know about that. I’d never hear the end of it if I had to call Butch to tow me out of a snowbank so I could answer an emergency call.”

His phone beeped, and he checked it to see a text reminder from Barbara. He was supposed to head out to Posthole Road and mediate a dog versus chickens situation and there was a brief window of time when both residents were home.

“No rest for the boys in blue?”

He smiled up at her and shook his head. “Got a dog chasing chickens and if we don’t get it resolved, we’re going to have to hire somebody just to field the complaints the owners are filing against each other.”

“Sounds exciting.”

He downed the last of his soda and stood. “It’s not exactly LAPD exciting, but taking care of Whitford makes me happy. And that’s the thing. As long as you’re happy, who cares what everybody else is doing?”

The warm smile told him she knew he was talking about her. “I’ll try to remember that. Have fun with those chickens.”

“See you next time.”

He walked out in a good mood, because the next time wouldn’t be too far away. As far as he was concerned, being able to see her just by stopping in to the diner was one of the best parts of her job.

* * *

After work, Liz dropped by the Northern Star to see Rose for a few minutes. She had a feeling it would become a regular thing, which was okay. They had a lot of face-to-face visit time to make up.

Rose had just finished dusting in the living room, and it amused Liz that, instead of just sitting on one of the sofas, they still went into the kitchen to visit. It was just how family visits were done at the Northern Star.

“How’s work going?” Rose asked as Liz rummaged in the fridge for some water and an apple. She was hoping to fend off Rose breaking out the baked goods because she was going to need new pants if she didn’t cut back.

“It’s good. I haven’t had any problems.”

“I hear Drew’s in there quite a bit.”

Liz gave her an
are you kidding me
look. “This town is too much. I’m pretty sure Drew ate lunch there long before I moved home from New Mexico.”

“Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes. I can see by the blush on your cheeks that there’s still something going on with you two.”

“There really isn’t.” And there couldn’t be.

Rose pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “I think you should tell Mitch what happened.”

“I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but I’m leaving that up to Drew.”

“That’s not like you, to keep your mouth shut if you think something needs to be said.”

Liz shrugged. “He has more at stake. I’m Mitch’s sister. No matter how mad at me he gets, he can’t push me out of his life. With Mitch and Drew, there’s this whole stupid guy code thing and Drew
could
get pushed out. So I’m leaving it up to him.”

“You two can’t move forward until he knows,” Rose said, giving her a pointed look.

“There’s no moving forward, anyway. I’m not ready to start popping out babies and everybody knows that’s what he wants.”

“He doesn’t necessarily want them
tomorrow.
Mallory didn’t want them at all. You want kids someday, don’t you?”

“Probably.” Liz shrugged, turning the uneaten apple over and over in her hands. “Not definitely, but probably. And not anytime soon.”

“I bet he’d wait. You’re worth it, honey.”

“Don’t you have anything else to talk about besides me and Drew?”

“No, not really.”

Of course not. Rose couldn’t be any more of a typical mother where Liz was concerned if she’d given birth to her herself. “Why don’t you tell me about you and Andy.”

The warm bliss that flooded Rosie’s face made Liz both very happy for her and a little jealous, too. It was obvious the woman was very much in love.

“We’re very happy,” Rose said. “We love each other and, not only do I get to keep taking care of this house and you kids, but he really enjoys helping Josh with the lodge. It couldn’t have worked out any more perfectly.”

“Pretty strange considering how long you refused to let him on the property,” Liz said. “Are you ever going to tell me what he did to make you hate him for decades?”

Rose tightened her mouth and shook her head. “That, young lady, is water under the bridge.”

“Well, so is what happened between Drew and me. Just water under the bridge.”

“I still think you should dive back in and see where the current takes you.”

“Probably over a waterfall and onto the rocks,” Liz said, and then she took a bite of the apple.

Rose shook her head. “You’re just as stubborn as your brothers.”