Page 68 of When Morning Comes Around

They both smiled, and the largest one said, “You must be Sadie. I’m Cal, and this is Dalton.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” she said as she stepped forward to shake hands with them.

Dom let go of her, but as soon as she stepped back, he took hold of her hand again.

“You too,” said Dalton. “Although, you may just have made my life difficult.”

She gave him a puzzled look, but he laughed.

“Don’t worry, nothing serious. It’s just that Taryn’s looking forward to meeting you. She was disappointed that you guys couldn’t come in on Saturday night. When she finds out that I met you before she did…”

“Dalton’s Taryn’s guy,” Dom explained.

“Oh, right.” She laughed. “Is she in the restaurant in the afternoons, or only in the evenings? If she’s there this afternoon, I could stop in and introduce myself on my way home – save you from some trouble.”

Dalton grinned. “She’ll be there, and I’ll be forever grateful if you do that.”

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting her, too.”

Dalton grinned at Dom. “You might be in trouble; you never know what Taryn might say about you.”

Sadie was relieved when he laughed. “I can pretty much guarantee that she’ll spill all my secrets, but I’m not worried.” She felt even more reassured when he gave her hand a squeeze. Until that moment she’d forgotten that he was still holding it.

The other man, the biggest of them, met her gaze. She felt as though he’d noticed the way they were holding hands, too – it seemed like he approved.

He smiled. “And now that I can finally get a word in, I’m Cal, Terry’s Cal.”

“Oh! I hadn’t put two and two together. It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She laughed. “I’m not going to make any of the usual jokes about hoping that it was all good. We all know that Terry shares the good, the bad, and the ugly without discriminating.”

Cal laughed with her. “She does. But if it’s any consolation, in the stories she’s told about when you all were kids, you always came off as one of the good guys.”

She wiped her brow in mock relief. “Good to know.”

Cal checked his watch. “I need to get going. I don’t actually work Mondays, but I had to come over for a meeting. I know Terry’s been talking about having lunch with you, Sadie, but do you two plan on coming out with everyone soon?”

She tried to sneak a glance at Dom, she didn’t want to speak for him. They smiled at each other when it became obvious that he was doing the same thing.

Dalton laughed. “Don’t put them on the spot, Cal.”

“Sorry.”

Dom laughed. “There’s no need to apologize. It’s not as awkward as it seems. I think we’d both happily say yes…” He cocked an eyebrow at her, and Sadie nodded.

“We would. It’s just that I haven’t liked to leave my dad home alone. He’s on the mend. I’m sure it won’t be too long before he’ll be glad to get me out of the way for an evening.”

“Let’s just say that we do plan on coming out with everyone soon, we just don’t know when yet,” said Dom.

After they’d said their goodbyes, and were on their way back into town, Dom turned to her with a smile. “Are you really going to stop in and see Taryn on the way back?”

She laughed. “Do you mind?”

“Not a bit. I kind of like the idea.” He laughed. “Maybe it’s just that you don’t know Taryn well enough, but not many people would voluntarily submit themselves to her scrutiny.”

“Obviously, I don’t know her, but I think I’ve heard enough to know what she’s like. I like the sound of her. I won’t lie, I do feel slightly intimidated. But when I feel that way, I find it best to just dive in head first. If she were just some woman who was curious about me as a newcomer, then I don’t think I’d bother. But she’s important to you, so I’d like to get to know her, and I’d like to set her mind at ease.”

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