“Coming right up.” Pearl clip-clops away in her kitten heels.
“It seems like we’re the talk of the town,” I state the obvious.
He shrugs. “Not a lot happens here that people don’t know about.”
“Everyone seems to love you guys.”
“Maybe I briefed them ahead of time to make a good impression,” he winks.
Pearl returns with two cups, filling them with piping-hot black goodness.
“Dr. Otto mentioned that you used to help him out?” Although Hale shut him down earlier, I’m hoping that he’ll open up to me.
“I always wanted to be a vet.” Hale adds creamer to his coffee. “I love animals and helping them.” His eyes light up. “I worked with him when I was in high school.”
“And you went to college after that, right? I remember someone saying you dropped out.”
“Life happened.” His shoulders sag. “Sometimes we don’t always get to live out our dreams, so we have to make new ones.”
Judging by his expression, it’s not something he wants to talk about, so I let it go for now.
“What are our plans for the rest of the day?” I change the subject. “After the pancakes?”
“Well, I thought we could maybe go up to my parents’ fruit farm. I can show you around.”
I splutter on my drink. “You want me to meet your parents?”
“Don’t worry.” He laughs, hastily wiping up my coffee spill. “Even if they are home, we can avoid them; the property is huge. Fifty acres.”
I instantly relax. I’ve never met the parents of anyone I’ve dated before, and the thought of meeting Hale’s family makes me extra nervous. I doubt any decent person would want their son embroiled with the daughter of a man like Richard Sinclair.
Pearl totters over with our piled high plates. “Enjoy, sweet peas.”
I gape at the plate in front of me. A towering stack of pancakes the size of dinner plates are layered with crispy bacon and lashings of maple syrup with a side of hashbrowns.
“Woah.” I practically groan as the first bite hits my tongue. It’s a sweet and savory feast that shouldn’t work together, but it does. “This is…” I’m already shoveling in another bite.
The smile curling Hale’s lips makes him even more attractive. “Good, right?”
“Uh-huh,” I moan, practically inhaling the food. “So good.”
“Pearl’s is the best.” He sighs wistfully. “I used to come here with my dad all the time as a kid.”
“You two are close?”
“Always have been. He’s amazing.” He nods. “He’d bring me out here, then we’d go hiking through the woods or work on cars all afternoon. When I worked with Otto, he’d come by here to meet me for lunch.”
“He sounds like a great dad,” I reply. “The only time I ever saw my father was when his assistant scheduled dinners for us.”I laugh wryly. “They were usually months in advance, and he’d sometimes cancel.”
“That’s,” Hale’s forehead wrinkles, “sad.”
I shrug, like it means nothing. “I got used to it after a while. Business comes first to a Sinclair. We did more together as a family before Mom died, but after that, Dad threw himself into his work.”
“That must have been lonely.” He sets down his fork, giving me his full attention.
“He’s happy as long as he has a new, hot, young wife on his arm, and the money is flowing.”
“I wasn’t talking about him.” Hale leans back in the booth, crossing his arms. “I was talking about you. It must have been hard to lose your mom so young then having your dad go AWOL.”
