Page 12 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
But it’s a small town,he thought with a huff.These people don’t have many options.
Still, he couldn’t help watching her a little as he waited for his food. She stayed mostly behind the counter taking coffee orders, but she also darted about the dining room from time to time, talking with customers and making them laugh. She had more energy than he felt he could possibly understand. And it was more than just energy, it was joy. Joy, working in a place like this? She couldn’t have made that much money off it.
A few minutes later, the same teenager who had brought him the menu came back with a plate of steaming hot food. She set it down in front of him with a flourish.
“Here you go! Can I get you anything else?”
He wanted to say, “Tater tots,” but he decided at the last second not to be so snarky. “No, that will be all, thank you.”
“Enjoy!”
She was gone a moment later, and he looked down at his plate. His stomach rumbled instantly, and he couldn’t deny that the smells wafting up at him were heavenly. He picked up the chicken waffle sandwich and took a bite out of it. Crunchy and smooth textures blended on his tongue along with rich, buttery flavors. The sandwich had some kind of incredible white sauce that was subtly enhanced with herbs. He couldn’t stop himself from staring down at the sandwich in disbelief. Was it really as good as he thought it was, or did he just think so because he was so hungry?
He picked up one of the sweet potato fries and dipped it cautiously in the dish of garlic aioli that had come on the side. The sweet, garlicy, golden taste that immediately filled his mouth caught him completely by surprise. He’d never tasted a sweet potato prepared so well before. He immediately ate another fry, delighted by the soft and crispy texture of it.
He was halfway through his meal, chowing down another sweet potato fry with relish, when he looked up and saw Sally watching him. She appeared to be chuckling slightly, and he felt sure that it was because he was clearly thrilled by the sweet potato fries.
He opened his mouth to protest, but he had nothing to say. Besides, she was too far away to hear anything he said. She waved at him, and he blinked at her for a moment before looking down at his food.
She was very friendly. Very unusually friendly. Oscar finished eating his food and left cash on the table before he’d even gotten his bill.
He left Ocean Breeze Café in a hurry, feeling full and somewhat confused. He wasn’t as confused by Sally’s behavior and style choices as he had been. Instead, he was more confused about the way he was feeling. Jittery, and as if his whole body was lighter than it had been before.
CHAPTER SIX
Jacob walked slowly down the aisles of Turner’s Hardware, looking around intently for the right kind of spackling. There were plenty of holes big and small in the home that he’d just purchased with Hazel, and he knew that in order to fill them properly, he needed a high-quality spackling. He’d done plenty of home repair, and he knew that having the right tools for the job was always the first step, and usually the most important one.
He chose the spackling that he liked the best and tossed a couple of big containers of it into his cart. He would also need drywall, and a little insulation, but those items he was going to get another day.
He was starting toward the front of the hardware store when he noticed the windows selection out of the corner of his eye. He and Hazel needed to replace a couple of windowpanes in their new home, and they also wanted to add a picture window in the living room. He would have preferred to check out the window selection with Hazel there, but this way he could take pictures for her and they could have a better idea of what they wanted before they came back with the intent to actually purchase the windows.
Just as he reached the windows section, Cedric Turner, the owner of the hardware store, walked around the corner.
“Jacob!” The older man’s face lit up with a smile when he recognized Jacob. The two of them were good friends, and Cedric had been a kind of mentor to Jacob ever since he’d started working as a handyman. “What are you in for today? Somebody need their walls repaired?”
“Yup—I do.” Jacob laughed. “Hazel and I finally got everything straightened out with our house, and we’re starting the repair work on it.”
“That’s wonderful.” Cedric clapped Jacob on the back warmly. “I’m so happy for the both of you. You showed me pictures of that house, and it’s really a marvel.”
“We love it.” Jacob grinned, always delighted to have Cedric’s support. “There are all kinds of things that need to be done to it, but we’re so excited. She loves decorating and it’s not like it’s my first time repairing a home.”
Cedric chuckled. “You don’t say? No, the wife and I were actually talking about that. We were saying that you two make a perfect couple, especially when it comes to this new project of yours. What are all of the things you want to do to the house?”
“Well, our list keeps expanding all the time.” Jacob’s eyes were alight with enthusiasm. “Right now, it’s a combination of things that need to be fixed, and renovations we want to get done. Hazel wants to add a bright backsplash in the kitchen, something cute and ‘cottage-y’, as she calls it, and we want to put a picture window in the living room. We also want to add a fireplace in the master bedroom, since it’s right above the original fireplace and shouldn’t be too hard to do, and we want to knock down a wall that leads into this tiny sort of closet with a window in it. We want to turn that into a kind of reading nook for Samantha—it’ll be right off her bedroom. All three of usare just bouncing off the walls with excitement over the whole thing.”
“I can imagine. And that’s good—you’ll need all that energy for all the work you’re in for. You two have quite the plan in mind.”
Jacob smiled. “I know, but I want Hazel to have everything she wants. She’s leaving the house she’s been nesting in for years, and I want to make sure that this one makes her even happier. This fixer-upper is going to be our dream house, I’m going to make certain of that.”
“I’m sure it will be.” Cedric smiled at him affectionately. “It has great bones, and you two make a great team. Keep me updated, will you? You know I love hearing about all that kind of thing. It’s why I run a hardware store.”
“I definitely will.” Jacob nodded. “And I’m sure I’ll be asking you for advice now and again as well. Some of these things I’ve never done before—like opening up a wall for a picture window. And I’ve repaired plenty of fireplaces, but I’ve never installed one before.”
“Oh, certainly, anytime.” Cedric looked pleased that Jacob was planning on asking for his advice. “Just call me and I’ll give you what help I can over the phone—and if I need to actually see the issue to help, I’d be more than happy to come down there and help you out.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
Jacob and Cedric continued to chat for a few more minutes, and then Cedric got a phone call and had to excuse himself. Jacob browsed the window selection for a while, liking what he saw very much and taking numerous pictures so that he could show Hazel all of the windows he thought they both would like.
