Page 25 of Silver Linings

He headed out of the pet shop after that exchange, figuring there wasn’t much more to say. As he went, though, he had to fight back the urge to grin.

After all, she hadn’t said no.

Was this an actual date, or just a way for them both to get some food in them before they went to the town meeting?

In the end, he figured it probably didn’t matter.

Sidney had obviously gone home and changed after work, since instead of her usual long-sleeved T-shirt, she was wearing a pretty, vaguely folk-style blouse with full sleeves and multicolored embroidery. Once again, he was struck by how lovely she was in a completely understated way. No bleached hair or overdone fingernails or even much makeup, unlike so many of the women he encountered in Southern California…or across much of the country, since he traveled enough to get a random sampling.

“What do you like here?” he asked as he opened the door of the restaurant for her.

“Just about everything,” she responded. “We have a lot of great seafood in this part of the world, but the steaks and the other stuff are really good, too.”

Yes, with these forests all around, it was hard to remember that Silver Hollow lay only about ten miles from the ocean, so seafood was probably plentiful here.

And because he’d grown up even closer to the beach than that, he’d eaten his share of fish and crab and lobster.

“Sounds great,” he said.

The restaurant was a little more crowded than he’d expected, considering it was just barely past six o’clock. However, people seemed to run on a slightly different schedule here than he was used to…or maybe everyone at the Sundown Grille had the same plans that they did, which was to grab an early dinner before they headed over to the town hall.

But there was one booth left, and the woman at the hostess station led them right over after exchanging a friendly greeting with Sidney and giving him a vaguely speculative look, as if she was trying to take his measure and decide whether he was worthy enough to be having dinner with one of the locals.

He held back a smile. This sort of thing was to be expected in a small town, he supposed, and even if people wanted to be protective of Sidney, considering the losses she’d just recently suffered, he knew she was the kind of woman who could take care of herself.

The vibe in here was downright woodsy, with wood paneling on the walls and what he thought were original paintings of the forests around town. After the hostess had guided him and Sidney to their booth and handed over some menus, he asked, “Who did the art? It’s very good.”

“A friend of mine,” she replied, appearing almost relieved that he’d chosen such an innocuous topic to open their conversation. “Maribel Chiu. She’s from San Jose, but she moved here about five years ago. She teaches art at the high school.”

Ben reflected that probably most of Silver Hollow was a friend of Sidney’s in one way or another, and he had to be glad about that. At least with everyone in the town looking out for her, she didn’t seem to be quite so alone.

“It’s nice that your friend can still do art on the side,” he said, and Sidney nodded.

“Yes, she’s had a few shows here and there and sells some pieces, but it wasn’t quite enough to pay the bills. That’s why she always knew she’d need to teach to keep herself afloat.”

Their server, a light-haired man in his late thirties who smiled at them as he approached and introduced himself as Gus Stevens…even though Ben was sure Sidney knew perfectly well who the guy was…asked what they wanted to drink. An awkward little silence fell, and he guessed that his dinner companion wasn’t sure whether the occasion was appropriate for something any stronger than an iced tea.

Well, he’d break that particular chunk of ice.

“A glass of chardonnay, please,” he said, since he’d already decided to have some sort of seafood, even though he didn’t know for sure whether it would be swordfish or sea bass.

“Same for me,” Sidney said.

Was that a note of relief in her voice?

“Excellent,” Gus replied. “I’ll be back with your wine in a minute, and then I’ll take your orders.”

He headed off toward the bar, and Sidney fiddled with one corner of her menu. She seemed unusually tense, and Ben couldn’t wonder if she was having second thoughts about agreeing to this dinner. On their way to the table, he’d noticed several people at the booths they’d passed giving them curious looks, and he had a feeling she hated being the center of attention and speculation.

Most likely, she’d already experienced way too much of that over the past few months, ever since she’d had to return to Silver Hollow to deal with the aftermath of her relatives’ mysterious disappearances.

Had she been in a relationship while she was getting her DVM degree at U.C. Davis? Were people disapproving that she was out with someone else so soon after her mother and grandmother had vanished?

Or was it only that they didn’t like the idea of her going on a date with a stranger, someone who wasn’t connected to Silver Hollow except as a vacation destination?

All of those possibilities seemed equally plausible. The problem was, he didn’t think he had the guts to ask her about any of them.

“Do you have these town meetings often?” he asked, hoping that was a neutral enough topic of conversation.

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