“Darling.” Granny took her by the shoulders. “It’s okay to not kiss a man. It’s okay to be honest about why. But is your dormant virus really the reason? Or are you Pops’s mini-me, determined to do your will above all else?” Back to the bubbling gravy. Whisk, whisk, whisk. “I don’t think you can pass on the virus if you’re not infectious. Did you ask your doctor?”
Elizabeth sighed. “So much to unpack here, Granny. First of all, I’m only like Pops in that I know what I want. Second, I know I’m not infectious, but shouldn’t I at least present Ryder or whoever with a doctor’s note?”
Granny’s laugh filled the kitchen. “Well, you didn’t get your romantic inclinations from me or Pops.” She clicked off the stove and set the gravy aside. “Let me ask you something. Have you ever really given love and Hearts Bend a chance? Does a Fortune 100 career mean that much to you? If so, why did you spend your summers here, with your Pops and me and the family, when you were a teen? Why didn’t you intern at one of those big Boston companies? I know for a fact your dad secured a place for you at his firm.”
“I wanted a career, yes. I just didn’t want to start at sixteen.”
“Fair enough, but one final question. Are you sure your ambition isn’t just in your head but not in your heart?”
Granny had a way of drilling down. Her question sat on Elizabeth as she changed into her Ella’s uniform. As she drove down First Avenue in her restored VW Bug. As she shot Tina a quick “Sorry I’m late” and stepped up to command the service window.
She was starting to sound like a broken record. Grad school, grad school, career, career. It’s not that she wasn’t open to other ideas, it’s just she’d lost so much time being sick. And to be honest, she didn’t have any other ideas. She hated to not finish what she’d started.
Yet if any man could make her want to risk it all, it was Ryder Donovan. Sigh. Too many questions. Too, too many.
Ella’s was hopping for the dinner rush. Another server called off, so Tina was busy filling in where she could, but she loved being out on the floor with the customers.
The restaurant was often a destination for out-of-towners. Nashville had Pancake Pantry. Hearts Bend had Ella’s Diner.
Around eight thirty, the rush had faded. Elizabeth started cleaning up while Tina ran numbers from the POS machine.
“Have you seen Ryder lately?” she said rather casually.
“Today,” Elizabeth said. “I had to take some things to him from the Dorsey Mill side of Dorsey Furniture.”
“And?”
“And what?” Elizabeth dumped out the lettuce fragments from the salad station, then asked one of the busboys to get a bag from the walk-in refrigerator. “I gave him the stuff.”
Tina laughed. “Okay…I won’t ask what stuff. How’s he doing? After the fire?”
“Well enough.”
“You’re never going to admit it, are you?” Tina leaned against the counter, her arms folded. “He’s a good man.”
“You want me to admit Ryder is a good man? Easy. He is.”
“No, I want you to admit you two would be great together.”
“That’s not what you said.”
“No, I want you to say it.”
Elizabeth notified one of the servers his order was up. “Okay, maybe I will say it. After you go out with Marty.”
Tina exhaled, made a face, and headed for her office.
“Two can play this game,” Elizabeth called after her.
Tina’s input layered up with Granny’s. Could she love Hearts Bend? Would she and Ryder be a good couple? What about his job offer in Colorado? They were bound for different roads. At least for now.
Grabbing a glass, Elizabeth walked out to the soda machine. Sometimes the fizz of an icy cold soda was the only way to slake a thirst. She was about to head back to the kitchen when she saw Ryder in a booth by the window. He smiled sheepishly, giving her the two-finger wave.
She slipped in the seat across from him. “The special is good. Tina’s spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and side salad. She doesn’t make it very often. It competes too much with Angelo’s, she says.”
“Then I’ll have the special.” Ryder closed his menu and shoved it to the end of the table. “Elizabeth?—”
“About what I said earlier…I must’ve sounded like an idiot. My attempt at being honest came off as rude.”
