Page 43 of A Twist of Faith
Reese didn’t have to turn around to know exactly who walked through the café door. Why did God get the blame for everything? And, of course, his brain stopped working and his eyes took over and pulled his attention right toward the front door. Dee entered, hair up in a fancy twist and little red coat blowing around her from an evening gust of wind. She looked like Christmas—and he’d always liked Christmas. He rubbed his beard and examined his overalls. He was not grizzly.
“Well, hi there, Doc.” Emma slid Reese her sweetest smile. “I was just taking a break for a minute talking to my big bro. Care to take my place?”
If Emma felt the heat from his stare, she didn’t show it. Not one hint of smoke. Her smile only grew wider. Meddlin’ female.
Dee’s eyes popped wide. “Well, I wasn’t planning to stay. Just wanted to pick up something sweet for home.”
Emma’s gaze shot to him, filled with enough mischief to shame an elf.
Before he could answer, she jumped in with both feet and a cupid bow. “We have a fresh apple pie nearly done. Maybe ten more minutes. How about you sit yourself down right here until it’s finished and I can serve you up a piece while it’s still warm?”
“I bet she’s tired from a full day of work, Emma.” Reese firmed his words to get his sister’s attention. “She might want to go on home.”
“Fiddlesticks.” Emma brushed his suggestion off with a wave of her hand. “Who wants rest when there is a fresh, warm apple pie only minutes away? Eat first—rest later.”
The back end of the tractor listened much better.
Dee smiled and Reese’s heart responded. Maybe he’d get a slice of apple pie too.
“Maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream to sweeten the deal?”
Dee laughed, which seemed to be coming on a more regular basis lately. Especially when she wasn’t tormenting him through a session. “You’ve sold me. I probably wouldn’t rest well knowing I’d missed such a remarkable apple pie anyway.”
Emma snapped her fingers. “Now you’re talkin’, Doc. Have a seat and I’ll bring a piece out once it’s finished. A la mode.”
Dee loosened the belt of her jacket and Reese nearly jumped to a stand, offering to help. She stared up at him as if he’d grown a horn from his head. Or maybe it was the beard. She didn’t seem like the western-loving type. She hesitated, then allowed him to slide the jacket from her arms and hang it on a nearby coat rack.
Even when he tried to be a gentleman, he screwed up—without even saying a word. Maybe he was getting worse instead of better.
“Sorry, did I do something wrong?”
She blinked out of her stare. “You keep surprising me. That’s all.”
His grin started slow and stretched across his face as he sat back down. “You don’t like surprises?”
Dee cleared her throat and adjusted her sleeves, a tactic to avoid looking at him, he guessed. This was getting a little bit fun. He was versatile. He liked mysteries too.
“Surprises are fine, just unexpected.” She pinched her eyes closed. “You know what I mean.”
“They’re not on a list or somethin’?”
Her lips twitched. “Or something,yes. Where are the children?”
“With Rainey. She took them to some sort of children’s festival about Dr. Seuss.”
“She has an amazing amount of energy—all positive. I’ve never known anyone like her, or your mother, even after what Rainey’s been through.”
The confession must have slipped out because Dee pinched her lips closed and studied the table for a minute. Reese didn’t mind her admission one bit. He took pride in both his sister and mom, even if both were as stubborn as Emma. Dee’s acknowledgement just showed good sense.
“It takes a lot to suffer loss and come out smiling.”
Dee titled her head and studied him a moment. “It does.”
One of those deep quiet moments passed between them again, before Dee stared back at the table, her fingernails carving a line across the wood grain. She wore lonely like a raincoat.
“What about your loss, Dee? Your daddy died when you were young, and your mama?”
Her finger curled into a fist and her gentle expression hardened. She flipped a cold stare up to him, not directed at him maybe, but he still flinched from the chill. “My mother hasn’t been a part of my life in a long time. End of story.”
