Chapter 11

Brayden

I shook the snow off my boots on the mat at the front door of Emmett’s diner and looked up to see his familiar, bearded face behind the counter. He gave us a friendly wave and motioned for us to come sit at his counter in the three empty stools at the end.

I nodded to them, and Rein took the lead, weaving between chairs and tables. As she walked, she undid her jacket and pulled it off, draping it over her right arm. I reprimanded myself for checking her out. Her walk was different than I remembered. Her hips had a gentle sway to them that pulled my eyes to her perky ass, which she definitely didn’t have when we were an item.

Rein took the last stool at the end of the counter and hung her jacket on a hook at the end. I hung mine beside hers, then helped Bella out of hers. She squirmed a bit when I fidgeted with the zipper. Kids’ clothes weren’t made for big clumsy fingers like mine. I finally got her jacket off and hung it up before lifting Bella onto the stool beside Rein. I took the one on the other side of my daughter and grabbed her a menu.

“So a grilled cheese, hey?” I asked.

Bella nodded.

I found it on the menu. “It comes with fries, or if you’re feeling fancy, a Caesar salad. What do you want, kiddo?”

Bella grinned sheepishly and pressed her hands down in her lap. “Fries.”

“Fries? You’re sure? You don’t want nice crunchy lettuce?”

Bella giggled and shook her head.

“Alright, alright. Fries it is.” I closed her menu and pushed it away, then looked up at Rein. “What are you having?”

Rein bit her bottom lip and then looked down at her own menu. “I was kind of craving a burger. And definitely fries for me, as well. Emmett’s are the best.”

“Glad he found his calling,” I said.

“Who’s Emmett?” Bella asked, looking up at Rein instead of me.

Rein blinked down at my daughter. “He’s a friend of mine. And your dad’s. We all used to go to school together.”

“We met him at the grocery store the other day, kiddo,” I said.

“Oh, right, he’s nice,” Bella said. Then she looked back at Rein and tugged on her sleeve. “How long have you known my daddy?”

I was surprised at how much Bella was talking. Usually, she kept to herself around new people. She had a tendency to get kind of clingy with me when exposed to someone new. Sometimes, she even hid behind my legs. It was shocking to see how comfortable she seemed to be with Rein.

“I’ve known him for my whole life, I guess,” Rein said. She looked me right in the eyes, and I swear I saw her smile. “We both grew up here in this tiny town, so everyone knows everyone.”

“That’s neat,” Bella said. “It’s like my preschool. We all know each other there, too.”

Rein giggled. The sound was just as pure and sweet as I remembered. Damn.

“Yes, just like your preschool,” Rein said.

Emmett arrived in front of us on the other side of the counter. He was wearing a white cotton shirt and blue jeans. A towel was draped over his shoulder, and sweat speckled his brow. He was working hard, it was clear to see, and he was smiling like he was having the best time of his life.

“Hey there, you three.” He looked down at Bella and wiggled his fingers at her. “Nice to see you again, Miss Bella.”

Bella smiled shyly. “Hi.”

Emmett chuckled and braced himself against the counter. “What can I get for you guys? Burgers? Fries? Poutine? Milkshakes? What?”

“Jesus, slow down,” I muttered. “I didn’t realize you were going to try to upsell me. I thought we were friends.”

Emmett cocked his head to the side and cracked a clever grin. “Friends see each other more often than once a decade, man.”

I chuckled. “Touché.”

Rein let out a long sigh and cleared her throat. She was clearly tired of our bantering. “I’ll just get a cheeseburger and fries, Emmett. And a coke, please.”

Emmett nodded his head and looked down at Bella. “And for you, little lady?”

Bella looked at me, and I nodded for her to tell Emmett her order. She looked back up at my friend and smiled politely. “A grilled cheese and fries, please.”

Emmett’s eyebrows crept upwards. “Well, alright then. Nice manners.” He turned to me. “She’s more polite than you ever were.”

I shrugged. “I try. Same as Rein for me.”

“You got it,” Emmett said, nodding assertively and then turning away from us to busy himself with other customers sitting farther down the counter. I watched him bustle around like a chicken with his head cut off for a couple minutes and was dimly aware of the fact that Rein and Bella were chatting beside me.

Their conversation was simple, mostly Bella just asking silly questions, like why Rein had red in her hair, and Rein answering sweetly. She endured the bombardment of questions my daughter threw at her like a seasoned pro, and I turned to watch the exchange.

It was nice to see Bella so at ease with a stranger. She was usually tentative and shy. It was something Mrs. Jasmine had chatted with me about several times, and she and I were both working toward trying to help Bella have more social skills. But right now, she was completely at ease. Not only that, but she was enjoying herself.

Emmett brought us our drinks and placed them in front of us. Rein plucked straws out of the metal dispenser on the edge of the counter and passed one to me and one to Bella. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Rein did something she used to do when we were young.

She tore one end of the wrapper and pulled it off about an inch. Then she twisted the extra paper at the still sealed end of the straw. She lifted the straw to her mouth, pursed her lips around it, and pointed it at Bella.

Then she shot the paper straw covering at Bella’s drink.

Bella looked up gleefully and proceeded to do the same thing with her straw.

Rein laughed as it bounced off her shoulder. “You shoot your straws, too?” she asked playfully.

“Daddy and I do it all the time.” Bella giggled.

Rein lifted her coke up and sipped it. Her eyes met mine, and I wondered if she was thinking of all the times I had shot my straw at her in this diner. It used to drive her crazy. I used to promise that I wouldn’t do it, and then, when she wasn’t looking, I’d do it anyway, winning myself an exasperated look that for some reason I found incredibly endearing. Probably just the teenage boy in me.

Rein was still looking at me. I shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”

Rein surprised me by smiling. “Apparently.”

Emmett returned with our meals shortly after, placing them in front of us. The smell was intoxicating, and my mouth was watering as grease dripped off the edges of my burger. We dug in, and I relished each and every bite. Back in Florida, I didn’t eat like this.

Bella devoured her grilled cheese and fries and chatted with Rein all through dinner. I sat in silence, enjoying my French fries and the sound of the two girls talking like they had known each other for ages. It made me think of what things would have been like if Bella’s mother had still been with us. I figured it would feel a lot like this.

When I finished eating, I wiped my mouth with my napkin and pushed my plate away so I could lean forward on my elbows and look down the counter at Rein, who was nodding along to a story Bella was telling her.

She finished her story and began munching on some fries.

“So,” I said, catching Rein’s eye. “How has this place been since I left?”

Rein pursed her lips and stared back at me for a moment before answering. “Not much has changed, as you can see. People are getting by. Somehow, we’re all finding a way to make ends meet. If someone needs a hand one month, everyone is there to help. Small towns are good that way.”

“Yeah, I remember that.”

“I bet,” Rein said.

I analyzed her expression. She was angry. “I know you’re still mad at me, Rein. I don’t blame you. But I don’t want to spend all my time here with you mad at me. Can I take you to dinner sometime? Maybe we can work through this and put it behind us.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Her response surprised me. Being turned down was rare for me, but being turned down by Rein Petty felt like a cold punch to the gut. “Really? You won’t even do dinner?”

Rein shook her head. “What happened between us happened, Brayden. I’m over it, okay? But I don’t want to go reliving that. I can’t.”

Rein raised her hand and caught Emmett’s eye to ask for the check. He brought it over within seconds. She plucked it from the counter, read the total, and grabbed money from her purse. She put it down on the counter beside the check and slid off her stool.

She gently grabbed Bella’s shoulder. “It was so nice to meet you, Bella. I hope you like the polar bear painting.”

“Bye,” Bella said, frowning slightly.

Rein paused beside me as she made her way by. “See you, Brayden.”

“Alright,” I said. “It was nice to see you, Rein. Really.”

She gave me a curt nod but didn’t return my sentiments. I shouldn’t have expected her to.