She grinned at me, flashing pearly whites and cherry red lipstick. “Thank ya, darlin’. I will.”
Busying myself by wiping down the counter while Rosie pranced over to Levi, I pretended not to watch her milk every second of winning his attention. She rested her hand on his shoulder and laughed loudly at all the things he said to her. It was quite the spectacle. And if I didn’t know Rosie so well, I would have been ashamed for women everywhere at how easily Rosie was charmed by Levi Cole.
But the truth was, she laughed like that for everyone. And he could probably consider himself lucky since she hadn’t buried her hand in his hair yet.
She loved to flirt. It was why all the farmers ate breakfast here.
Ordinarily, I found her antics entertaining. Sometimes Reggie and I would even take bets on how forward she would get. But today I was not amused—not with Levi or Rosie’s flirting or any of it.
Thankfully, I got busy with new customers and had something to distract my attention. It was forty-five more minutes of bustling around the small dining room before I came face to face with Levi again.
“Ruby,” he called while I bussed the table next to his. I ignored him at first, which didn’t seem like the most mature response, but I was still so upended by his presence that I hadn’t thought of a better tactic. “Ruuubbbbbyyyy,” he sing-songed, then he reached over and tugged on my sleeve. “Psst, Ruby.”
Finally, I gave him a frustrated look and huffed a, “What?”
He smiled at me. “What’s with the attitude? I haven’t seen you in…”
Wiping the edges of the table, I supplied, “Seven years.”
“Has it been that long?”
“Graduation night,” I answered without thinking. “Kristen’s party.”
I didn’t look up at him, but I felt something shift in his demeanor, like a cloud passing over an otherwise sunny day. The temperature dropped, and the atmosphere stilled.
“Right.”
“Anyway, I don’t have an attitude. This is how I always am.”
“She’s right, kid,” said a farmer named Joseph a table away. “She’s always like this.”
Levi glanced at the elderly man. “She can’t always be like this. How does she make tips?”
Joseph smiled at his menu. “We’re too afraid not to tip her.”
“Joseph McCallister, I’m going to call your wife if you keep picking on me,” I told the man that I genuinely liked.
He gave Levi a look that said everything. “See what I mean? She’s threatening to bring Betsy into this. Of course I’m going to tip her.”
I glanced at the ceiling, hoping to find help there. Nothing but water stains and light fixtures that could use a good dusting. “It better be double today, Joe. Else I’ll never forgive you for this.”
He chuckled and winked at me. “Will do, Ruby. Will do.”
Noticing Levi watching the exchange with uncalled-for rapt attention, I walked quickly back to the counter and considered throwing myself on the ground behind it until Levi left. Unfortunately, he followed me.
The wide counter still separated us and since I had actual work to do, I didn’t feel bad about focusing on everything but him. That way I didn’t notice how tall he was. Or the way he carried himself and how confident he’d become. Had he been that tall in high school? Surely not. Definitely not as filled out as he was now.
His confidence was something more, something infinitely more obnoxious.
He knew who he was now and that had given him a swagger that teenage boys didn’t know how to carry.
Levi Cole had grown up.
You should probably grow up, too,a mature voice somewhere in the recesses of my brain whispered.
Shut up, you, I whispered back.
“We should catch up, Ruby,” he said to my back while I stacked freshly cleaned coffee cups on the counter. They were still piping hot from the dishwasher and my fingers burned as I moved them around. “Smooth over our old differences.”
