He holds the door for me, and we’re soon seated at a booth near the window.
A moment later, a waitress approaches with a pot of coffee. She turns our cups right side up in the saucers. “You want coffee, honey?” she asks me.
“Yes, please.”
“And you?” she asks Cody.
“Please.”
“You know what you want, or you need a minute?” she asks while she pours the dark, aromatic brew into our cups.
“Steak and eggs for me,” Cody says, and the waitress shifts her attention to me.
“And you, doll?”
“Um, two eggs scrambled and sausage.”
“You got it. Any juice?”
“OJ, please,” he says.
“Same,” I reply.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
After she leaves, Cody locks eyes with me. “What are you doing in San Jose?”
Fiddling with my coffee, I add cream and sugar, then stir. “You want the truth?”
He huffs a laugh. “No, lie to me, babe.”
“You gave me the idea. That day at the cemetery. I needed a fresh start for myself and Tucker.” I shrug and sip my coffee. “California seemed as good as any place.”
“Bullshit,” he says.
My cup clatters on my saucer. “What do you mean by that?”
He grins. “You just decided to move you and your kid out here and leave your family behind? You know anybody out here?”
“I guess I do now. You.”
He tilts his head, studying me. “You are the strangest woman I’ve ever met.”
The waitress returns with our juice, then retreats.
“When did you start dancing?”
Here we go.I suck in a deep breath, and get into it. “When Tucker was about a year old. I needed money. There weren’t a lot of jobs to choose from, not that paid well, anyway.”
“Didn’t Ryan’s family help out?”
“They never really liked me. Somehow, they thought I was the one who talked him into joining the military.”
“That’s a load of crap. He told me he signed up because of 9/11. Wanted to do his part.”
“Well, tell that to his mom and dad. They were grief-stricken.”
“And they didn’t want to be a part of the baby’s life?”
