“And I don’t mind either. What if Lonzo decides to go to graduate school? He’s been talking about it lately.”
“I’m sure he’ll find a way to pay for it. He’s at the head of his class, and they’ll probably give him a scholarship. He won’t have a problem with school, and he’ll for sure find a job as a chemical engineer when the time comes.”
Mom lifted her chin. “What if you lose your job?”
Tanner almost smiled.If only she knew.“That’s not going to happen.”
“How do you know? Bad things happen, Tanner. We must always be prepared.”
Good grief, the woman could be stubborn. He couldn’tblame her, though. She had raised him and Lonzo on her own after their father died at thirty-four, almost nineteen years ago. Since then she had worked at least two, sometimes three, jobs to make sure he and his brother had everything they needed to succeed. But it was past time for her to take a break. “At least quit the cleaning job.”
She snatched the remote and turned the volume back on higher than it was before.
Shaking his head, he rose from the sofa. “I have to get ready for work.”
When she didn’t respond, he headed to the bathroom upstairs. He quickly showered, then dressed in his work clothes and headed for Sunshine for the late lunch/supper shift. When he arrived at the diner, he stepped out of his Jeep and saw Bailey carrying a large bag of trash out the door, destined for the dumpster.
She paused, the midday sun glinting off her neon-red hair. “Tanner? Is that you?”
“Yep.” He hadn’t expected everyone to be so surprised.
“Nice,” she said.
“Thanks.” Reaching for the black garbage bag, he said, “I’ll take that for you.”
She handed it to him and went back inside while he headed for the dumpster. He flipped up the lid and tossed the trash in, then went into the diner to wash his hands before clocking in. When he was finished, he went to George’s office and grabbed his card from the slot next to the time clock. Unsurprisingly, George wasn’t around. Over the past six months or so, he’d seemed disinterested in the business he had run for almost forty years.
Tanner punched his card and went into the kitchen. Fred, the morning cook, was flipping burgers on the griddle.
“How’s business today?” Tanner asked, his usual greeting at the beginning of his shifts.
“Kinda slow. Not that I’m complaining... Whoa.” Fred’s heavy-lidded eyes widened. “Who’s this clean-cut guy? You join the army and not tell me?”
“Ha-ha.” The ribbing was going to get old quick, but he could handle it. “I’m not the military type, so you’re stuck with me.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Fred turned and slid a spatula under one of the sizzling burgers. He had started at Sunshine right after George took over running the place from his father and was happy with his job. When Tanner was promoted to assistant manager, Fred supported the decision, even though he’d been passed over. He’d assured Tanner that managing Sunshine was the last thing he wanted to do.
Mabel bustled into the kitchen and nearly skidded to a halt. “Well, I’ll be. Mark this day down as a miracle. Tanner Castillo finally got a haircut.”
“Now you can stop bugging me to get one.”
She inspected Artie’s work. “Looks good. You’ll be shooing away all the single ladies now.”
He doubted he’d be shooing away anyone. “Thanks, Mabel.”
“Does this mean I can burn your ratty cap?” When he nodded, she opened up a cabinet near the kitchen entrance, pulled out a hairnet, and handed it to him, chuckling. “Now you have to wear this.”
Tanner rolled his eyes and slipped the hairnet onto his head. “I’ll be scaring off the ladies with this thing, not attracting them.”
“Doubt it.” She moved past him to the other side of the kitchen, where she made the pies Sunshine was famous for. “I’m plumb befuddled that a young man like you is still single.”
He grabbed an onion and started chopping. “Haven’t found the right girl,” he said.
“Maybe she’s right under your nose.”
Tanner looked up and saw that Anita had walked into the kitchen to start her shift. He couldn’t help but smile. She had showed up at just the right time last night, and he appreciated her input not only on the tapas but also on his ex. As he was cleaning up after she’d left, he’d thought about something that hadn’t crossed his mind in years: the kiss they’d shared in high school. Even now he remembered how intense it was—by a seventeen-year-old’s standards. She’d said she had never kissed anyone before, but he’d had a hard time believing that, considering the way she kissed him.
Since then, they seemed to live in different orbits. He’d worked in restaurants in other cities until the cook job at Sunshine had opened up, and after he’d been hired, he’d been busy learning the job, getting promoted, and convincing George to start the catering business.
