He glanced over at her with a knowing look. “I swear it’s true. It took my mom days to get the skunk smell out of the house.”
“And what happened to the skunk?” she asked, still chuckling at the thought of them trying to make a skunk a new pet and bringing the animal home.
“Mom had to call a place that rescues animals and places them back in nature,” he answered, making a face. “I swear, just talking about it brings that funky smell back.”
“Eww, that must’ve been awful,” Sophia said. Skunk odors were some of the worst smells in nature. Her own mother would have lost her cool if she and Patience had done anything like that.
“Well, it was and it wasn’t. Flower was an amazing pet, if only for those few short hours.”
“Flower, huh?” she asked, her lips twitching. The Stone brothers must have been hilarious.
“Of course, in honor of the legendary Flower fromBambi. He was pretty iconic,” Caleb explained. “The name was an homage.”
“Of course it was.” Sophia shook her head. “You boys sure kept your mom busy.”
Their household must have been full of mischief and fun. And an abundance of love and brotherhood. She would love one day to give Lily a sibling or two and to fill her own household with the energy of a bunch of kids. If so, she would pick the father of her children more wisely. Next time, she would choose someone who didn’t bail at the first opportunity. Someone who meant it when he told her that they were forever.
When they arrived at Northern Exposure, Caleb quickly came around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. This was simply more confirmation that Daisy Stone had raised her sons right. She couldn’t recall a single time anyone had done this for her. Score! Not only was Caleb an Alaskan hottie, he was a true gentleman. He gently took her by the arm and helped her out of his vehicle.
Caleb wrapped her hand in his as they walked toward the entrance. True immediately spotted them as they were seated at a table by one of the waitstaff.
“Hey! It’s great to see the two of you at the tavern. Date night?” True asked, her gaze swinging back and forth between them.
“Yeah, we heard there’s a great band playing here tonight,” Caleb said, looking around. “Where’s Xavier? I thought we might see him here.”
“He’s supposed to be here, but he may have gotten tied up at work,” True said. “I think he had a meeting with Hattie. Iwas hoping Landon would show up. It would be great to see him come out of his shell.”
Caleb let out a laugh. “Good luck with that. My little brother isn’t really social, and he doesn’t like to dance.”
“Well, he can just sit at a table and look pretty.” True winked at them. “There are plenty of ladies in Moose Falls who are into his nerdy science guy vibe.”
Caleb grinned. “He’s a good one. Sensitive and warm-hearted. Whoever ends up with him is going to be one lucky lady.” He put a finger to his mouth. “Don’t tell him I said that. We like to give him a hard time, but we think he’s pretty amazing.”
Sophia loved the protective tone in Caleb’s voice. He was such a solid guy. Her initial impression of him had been way off base. She was a bit proud of herself for falling for such a wonderful man. After Donny she’d vowed to watch out for signs of potential issues since she had ignored many in that relationship. In retrospect she knew that she’d gone along to get along, especially after falling pregnant with Lily. Because she had been deeply affected by not having both parents in the home, she’d wanted her daughter to have better. But, from what she had learned from the experience, living in a home torn apart by tension and indifference was never healthy for a child. So far, she was holding things down as a single mother and doing a pretty kick-ass job at it.
“I’ll send Bonnie over to take your order,” True said before heading toward the bar.
A few minutes later Bonnie came over to their table. She was their waitress tonight.
“Hey there, guys,” Bonnie said with an ear-to-ear grin. “Good to see you here tonight.”
“Hi, Bonnie,” Sophia said, warmed by the woman’s enthusiasm. She wasn’t sure there had ever been a time when Bonnie hadn’t been pure sunshine.
“Bonnie,” Caleb said. “Nice to see you as well. I’m having fun working with Tucker at Yukon Cider. That dude keeps us in stitches.”
“That’s my guy,” Bonnie said proudly. “He’s a real keeper.”
It was nice seeing Bonnie so in love after everything she had been through. Truly, it gave Sophia hope that she too could wind up in a faithful, loving relationship that went the distance. With Caleb now in her life, she couldn’t help but dream about him filling that role. She just had to keep believing and not give in to doubts and insecurity.
“So, do y’all know what you want to order?” Bonnie asked.
She took their order without even writing it down—an app of chicken wings, an order of slow braised ribs with rosemary mashed potatoes, and salmon with truffle fries and green beans. For drinks they both ordered iced teas.
“Coming right up,” Bonnie said. “The music is going to start in about forty minutes, so you’ll get a chance to eat first.”
“Good deal,” Caleb said as Bonnie walked off to put in their order.
Sophia inhaled the aroma of the food emanating from other tables. “I can’t wait to eat, if I’m being completely honest. The food smells incredible.”
