Chapter Seven
He pulled up to a restaurant that looked right out of the sixties or seventies. It was cute. I smiled widely. “Like it?” Lance asked. I felt his eyes on me.
“I do. Diners are my favorite. The food is always so simple and good,” I replied as Lance hopped out of the truck and walked around the front to get my door for me.
“Thank you, Lance.” I smiled at him and as I slid down he made sure that I didn’t fall. The truck was made for a man his height and not so much for my five foot five frame. The idea of him catching me made me giggle as well as blush a little. What would it feel like to be held by him?
“Daddy! Miss Tenley!” The little voice from the back broke the gaze lingered between us.
“Coming, buddy,” Lance said before he went to open the door and get him out. I smiled at both of them. “Hungry?”
“I want cheese and apple pie,” Logan replied and Lance laughed. He told me to follow him and opened the heavy door for me before we walked inside.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite boys in this town.” A blonde woman looked up from the register, and her face was soft and wrinkled. She smiled warmly. “Who is this pretty friend of yours?”
“Mabel, this is Brie. She’s Irene’s niece from New York and she’s helping me with Logan. Brie, this is Mabel. She’s run this place for years along with her family,” Lance introduced us.
Mabel stepped away from behind the counter and shook my hand, smiling curiously at me. “You do look like Irene and Sarah. I see the family resemblance. Are you here to stay, Brie?” Mabel asked, and I nodded slowly. “How do you like our little town compared to that big city that you came from?”
“I was in Brooklyn, so there are some similarities. People are far politer here, though.” That earned me a broad smile from Mabel. “I hear that you have good burgers.”
“So they say,” Mabel drawled as she looked over the room, a quarter full of customers. “Where would you like to sit today?”
“There,” Logan said as he pointed across the restaurant. Mabel walked us over to a corner booth and set up a booster seat for Logan before she asked for our drink order. Lance had asked for milk for Logan before he looked at me.
“I’d love a Coke or Pepsi,” I replied as she nodded and asked Lance if he wanted the usual. He nodded and she headed to the back. I looked around. “I like this place.”
“It’s like home to me. I’ve been coming here since I was little, and now Logan is doing the same. It’s a great tradition.” Lance smiled, and I saw the happiness in his face. Life here revolved around family and tradition. I felt like I missed out on that sometimes, as loving as my mother had been. She was just kind of scattered sometimes. I could see the difference between her and her sister.
“I think that I’d like a tradition like this,” I murmured. He looked across the table at me.
“You’re young and starting over. You can have anything that you want,” Lance told me. I felt my cheeks warm. He noticed my age, and it hit me that I was just his nanny, which is how it should be. I just wondered what it would be like to be one of his traditions. “You’re welcome at the ranch as long as you want to stay. It’s like a family there.”
“I can see that,” I replied. I glanced at him before looking at Logan. He was coloring on his placemat with a little box of crayons and a huge smile on his face. In New York, a lot of the places had tablets on the table, and this was refreshing and innocent to me. My mom had always encouraged me to embrace technology but to welcome creativity into my life as well. Logan embodied that lifestyle with his simple drawing and crayons. I thought of her with a soft smile.
“What are you thinking about?” Lance asked me as I blinked at him.
“My mom was an artist among other things. She had a lot of talent but so did people around us. Mom worked three jobs, one of which was at the gallery where she showed her paintings. I can’t help but think of myself watching him coloring like that. That’s all that I did as a kid.” I looked at Logan and he grinned at me.
“Logan liked you a lot from the start. You two seem to get along great.” Lance sipped his sweet tea and looked up. “Mabel’s headed this way. Do you know what you want?”
I hadn’t looked at the menu, but I didn’t have to. “How are the bacon cheeseburgers here?”
“Copycat,” Lance teased me as she stopped by the table and looked us over. He ordered two of them and a grilled cheese with fries for Logan. Mabel assured us that she’d bring it soon and I settled back against the worn cushion of the bench seat and stretched.
Our meals were brought over quickly. The burger looked fantastic. I tried to eat healthy to drop the extra twenty or so pounds that I was carrying around but sometimes a girl just needed bacon and cheese in her life. I dug into it with gusto. Lance laughed at me as I moaned at the first bite. I thought I saw something in his eyes when I looked up, but he directed his gaze towards his plate as he reached for his own sandwich. We ate in silence for a few minutes while Logan chattered about his lunch. I watched him as I tried to eat slower. Lance looked at him every moment that he could. I sensed that he had a fear of losing his son deep inside. Was it because his family was gone? Was it because Logan’s mother left them?
We finished our meal slowly and I pushed my plate away with a long groan. “So good,” I said. Lance laughed.
“We always split a piece of apple pie a la mode,” he said as my stomach protested the large meal. “Want to share?”
“A bite. Any more and I’ll die,” I said. He nodded at Mabel. “How often do you guys eat here?”
“I’d say once a week. It gives us a break from the ranch and some time alone. We eat well and bond with Mabel here. It’s nice,” Lance replied as he looked around the room.
“You’re there a lot, aren’t you? The ranch?”
“Well, when my father passed away I had a new baby. I needed to do something to support him, and the ranch was successful. It was what I knew, so I made it my permanent home. I have a great staff to assist me and now a good nanny. The others weren’t that great and always leaving. I want someone that Logan bonds with,” Lance said. I smiled. “I think that’s you.”
“Thanks. I hope so.”
We talked about the college studies I was planning on as he paid the bill (at my protest) and went out to the car. He secured Logan and showed me around town before winding back to the ranch. Logan was quiet in the back. I turned my head to see him sleeping soundly.
“Time for bed?” I asked Lance. He smiled and nodded before giving me a look. “Why did you take me to the room last night? Your couch is really comfortable.”
“I wanted you comfortable, and I was nursing some wounds. I just wanted to sit in front of the TV and drink, as you saw. Thanks for cleaning that up.” I nodded. “He’s young and wouldn’t get it, but I want to set a better example for Logan.”
“Want to talk about it?” I asked as he stopped at a sign and looked at me.