Page 26 of Any Luck at All

The waitress appeared with a carafe of coffee and a small creamer container. “Coffee? It’s our special organic Bolivian blend.”

Lee turned his cup over as though it was a race to see who could get coffee first. “Bolivian. Columbian, North Carolinian…I don’t care where it’s from. As long as it has caffeine, I’ll take it.” Then his eyes narrowed as he scanned the menu. “I think I have the wrong menu. Where are the breakfast items?”

“Oh, they’re on there,” the perky waitress said, pointing to one side of his menu. “See?”

“That says bean sprout toast,” Lee said in a deadpan voice.

“It’s one of our most popular dishes,” the waitress said.

“Where’s the bacon?” Lee asked. “And the eggs?”

“We have tofu bacon and egg substitute,” she said. “We’re vegan.”

Lee looked up at Georgie, his mouth gaping.

Oh dear.

Adalia leaned forward and held the waitress’s gaze. “We’re gonna need a moment to look over the menu, but we’ll take coffee while we’re looking.”

“No problem,” the waitress said, setting the creamer dish on the table as she poured coffee into Adalia and Georgie’s cups.

“Is that half-and-half or heavy cream?” Lee asked.

The waitress laughed as if he’d made a hilarious joke. “It’s almond milk.”

Then she left to check on the next table.

“Vegan?” Lee asked, staring at Georgie in disbelief.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I knew it was organic, but not vegan. We can go if you want.”

“No way,” Adalia said, pouring almond milk into her coffee. “I’ve heard this place is great.”

“You’ve been in Asheville less than forty-eight hours,” Lee said in disgust. “How in the hell did you hear this restaurant was great?”

“Everyone’s talking about it,” Adalia said with a mischievous grin. “We’re staying.”

“We can pick up a muffin from a coffee shop after we finish,” Georgie told her brother.

“They have muffins here,” Adalia said.

Lee made a face. “Chia rhubarb agave muffins.”

“And blueberry,” Adalia said. “And also pancakes. Try them. I’m sure you won’t even notice the difference.”

Lee shuddered.

Georgie couldn’t stifle a laugh. “Okay, I’ll not only get you a muffin but also an Egg McMuffin.”

“Deal.” He grinned, and some of the tightness eased from her chest. She liked it when he let himself lighten up. It reminded her of how things used to be, before Lee followed in their dad’s footsteps and became his clone in training.

When the waitress returned, Georgie ordered a fruit plate and Adalia ordered strawberry pancakes. Lee stared up at the waitress, looking hopelessly lost. “What’s the tofu bacon taste like?”

She made a face. “I can recommend the egg substitute.” When he didn’t seem impressed, she said, “Or the banana almond pancakes. They’re my favorite. With the egg substitute scrambled on the side.”

Lee handed her the menu. “Yeah. Okay,” he said, but he sounded like he’d just committed himself to a three-day fast.

Then again, Georgie supposed it did feel like that to her brother, whose favorite breakfast had always been eggs over easy and multiple pieces of bacon.

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