“Like my new wheels?” When Tanner nodded, George added, “It’s a ’59 Alfa Romero.” He patted the door affectionately. “My dream car. Thanks to you I was able to buy it at an auction on Saturday. Just picked it up two hours ago.”
“Nice.” He surveyed the car. What a sweet ride.
“Get in.”
Tanner looked at him. “What?”
“I’ll take you for a spin around the block.” The corners of George’s eyes crinkled as he grinned up at Tanner.
“I’m pretty sweaty.”
“I’ve got seat covers. Brand new. Came with the car.”
“All right, take me for a ride.” He frowned a little at his choice of words. Technically, George had already done that when he sold him the diner.
He climbed into the passenger seat, his knees touching the dashboard. That was the thing with little cars like this. They looked great on the outside, but inside they were uncomfortable to ride in. He’d take his Jeep anytime.
George peeled out of the parking lot like a teenager who had just gotten his driver’s license. “Lots of exciting stuff happening in Maple Falls,” he said, making a sharp right toward Main Street. “My new car, your new business, Anita opening a café.”
“So you heard about that.”
“Listen to that motor purr.” George shifted into second gear. “I’m not completely unplugged from the town. I’m glad to hear she’s starting a new chapter in her life, like we are.”
Tanner hadn’t been aware she’d been unhappy with the old one. He sure hadn’t been. The only big change that had happened when he bought the diner was a little more responsibility and a lot more personal-finance budgeting. But he realized George was right—Anita was heading out on a totally new adventure.
“Yeah, exciting times indeed. Maple Falls is going to return to its former glory.” The tires squealed as they flew by Amazing Grace Church on the corner and made anotherturn. George glanced at Tanner. “Guess I’ll have to read about her grand opening in the paper, though. I’m having it forwarded to my house in Florida.”
The surprises kept on coming. “You’re moving to Florida?”
“Yep. Me and my baby here.” George patted the dashboard. “Already got a condo in a retirement village. Lots of single ladies in that village too.”
“How do you know?”
“I asked, of course.”
So he was embarking on a new adventure too. “I’m happy for you, George. Just behave yourself. You took all my bail money.”
George laughed as he made the last turn and drove into the diner parking lot, the whole trip having taken all of four minutes. He pulled to a stop and looked at the diner. “You know, there was a time when I called this place my baby. I spent most of my life here, first as a kid working for my father and then as an adult. It strained my marriage, although Gloria rarely complained. She was sweet and patient until the day she passed away.” His voice sounded thick as he turned to Tanner. “You remind me a lot of my younger self. Full of ambition and committed to being successful. But don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t let this place become more than it should be. This is a job, not a life.”
He clapped his hand on Tanner’s shoulder. “What I’m trying to say is that you need to get married and have a family and then spend time with that family. If you don’t... Well, you might end up like me. Alone, with only a car to keep me company. Although what a beauty she is.”
Bemused, Tanner got out of the car. George didn’t seemto mind. “See you on the flip side!” He waved a goodbye as he sped off.
Tanner watched him go, pondering his mentor’s words. First his mother wanted to marry him off, and now George. What they didn’t know was he was further from getting married, or even dating, than he had been a month ago. He was struggling to get over Anita as it was, and she had never even liked him as anything other than a coworker or friend. Now they were neither.
Dating, much less marriage, was so far down the road he couldn’t see it. And with Anita out of his life, he didn’t want to.
Chapter20
The café was a disaster.
About three days into the renovation, Anita knew she was in over her head. Not only did she have to answer dozens of phone calls from the contractor—and the interior designer she had agreed to hire after caving to her mother’s request—but she also struggled to figure out the finances that had plagued her from the start.
Three weeks after construction started, she sat on the floor in her office—or what would eventually be her office, a small room walled off from the rest of the building activity outside—trying to make sense of the accounting book she’d bought. Next to her, stuffed beside the wallet in her purse, lay a pile of receipts from various purchases. She didn’t know what to do with them. And when she had talked to the bank officer about a loan, she’d felt like a fool.
“I’ll give you the loan,” the bank president said, “because I’ve known you and your family for a long time, and I’m sure your parents won’t let you default.”
Ouch. But she had to have the loan, so she’d agreed. When he asked her about incorporating her business, she’d told him she would get back to him the following week. That had been two weeks ago.
