Page 21 of There I Find Rest

They worked together better than anyone Chi had ever worked with before, very seldom needing words. It was almost like Griff read her mind, and somehow she was able to read his body language.

Regardless, someday she was going to get his story. Although, he was the kind of man who didn’t stay in any place very long. After he started, she’d wondered pretty much every morning whether he was going to show up. So far, he had, but it wouldn’t surprise her to open the diner some morning and find him gone, with no word and never hearing from him again. The idea made her sad. She got attached to people way too easily.

Of course, he rented the second apartment above the diner from her, so not only was he her employee, he was also her neighbor. No wonder she was attached.

To her surprise, when she walked back out with the salads, there were two more people sitting in a booth next to the front window.

Goodness, the place was just hopping. She almost went back into the kitchen to warn Griff. Or to tell him so they could celebrate together, she wasn’t sure which. But Griff’s idea of celebrating was probably to grunt a little louder than normal.

It didn’t matter. She could celebrate for both of them. Hopefully, this was just the beginning of all the good things to come.

Chapter 9

Griff glanced up fromthe grill. He’d scraped it clean and could see out the window that there were no new customers.

Chi had been beaming about having more customers than normal, and seeing the excitement in her eyes made his heart swell.

He hadn’t been meaning to stop in Strawberry Sands, had just wanted to spend a day or two in the small, noncommercialized town, enjoying the view of the lake and the freedom riding his bike offered. But from the first moment he’d seen the diner owner, there was just something about her that drew him, and he parked his bike, hung his keys up, and picked up a spatula.

He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but all she had to do was look like she wanted something and it made him want to give it to her.

Unfortunately, all she saw was his outside, the tats and piercings, the gruff exterior, maybe even the boots and leather. His bike. She’d already written him off as someone she would never be interested in.

But she definitely chatted it up with that fancy lawyer from Chicago.

Griff could tell her that the lawyer had cheater written all over him. Funny how Chi couldn’t seem to see it.

Still, when Chi had been in earlier, chatting about Kim and Davis and them opening a riding stable, it had made Griff realize that possibly he could be a help in this small town.

Hanging the spatula up on its hook, he wiped his hands on a dish towel from the counter and stepped around the island in the big industrial kitchen.

“Oh!” Chi said as she pushed through the door with dirty plates in her hand. “Are you quitting?” A wrinkle appeared between her eyes, worry crossing her face. She paused with her back against the door, her body half turned.

He wasn’t quitting. Wouldn’t think of it. She still needed him. He supposed he’d ride away when she was on her feet and married to the fancy lawyer, because that was coming. He was sure of it. Wasn’t really what he wanted, but he was old enough to know that sometimes people didn’t get what they wanted.

“I wanted to talk to Davis.” He didn’t owe her an explanation of what he was doing or where he was going, and most people wouldn’t have gotten it, but Chi was the exception for a lot of things. Apparently.

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