AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This isn’t Chicago, you know.” Getting Charlotte out of her car seat, Linnea handed her to him. “Doubt that Kirby’s delivers.”The last time Kodiak saw the kid he was a gangly, pimply-faced teenager
“There’s a Kroger’s in Decatur. I’m sure they do.” Wrapping his arm around her waist, Kodiak sniggered. “C’mon.”
The diner sure hadn’t changed. Same checkered tile on the floor. Booths covered in red vinyl. An old-fashioned soda fountain. It’d probably looked like this since the 1950s.
Only one table was occupied. An older couple, dining on French fries and club sandwiches, sat by a window in the corner. Fortunately, he didn’t recognize them.
She came out from the back. Grabbing a coffee pot, Hazel refilled the old lady’s cup. She hadn’t changed much either. Turning around to head over to their booth, her eyes went wide.
Kodiak chuckled. “She looks like she’s seen a ghost.”
“Who?” Facing the door, Linnea hadn’t seen her yet. She turned around to look behind her.
The woman’s jaw about fell to the floor. “Tommy.”
A sandy-haired young man poked his head through the opening to the kitchen. The last time Kodiak saw the kid he was a gangly, pimply-faced teenager. He was a grown man now. His gaze flicked between him and his sister, then he burst through the swinging doors. Glancing to his mother, he walked over, Hazel following right behind him.
“Oh, good Lord.” The woman he’d known all his life angled her head, peering closely at his face. “Seth Thomas Black, is that you?”
“It’s me.”
“With all that hair and the beard, I wasn’t sure at first.” With a quiet laugh she waved her hand in front of him. “You look like Jesus.”
His sister hid a giggle behind her hand.
The stunned young man found his voice then, “Linnea?”
“Hi, Tommy.”
“And who do we have here?” Hazel asked, patting the baby’s curls.
“This is Charlotte.”
“Bless her little heart, she’s just precious.” Holding her hand to her buxom chest, she smiled. “How old?”
“Seven months.”
“Tommy’s got himself a wife now and two boys,” Hazel informed his sister as if she had some interest in her son. Then she took a step back, and casting her steely gaze on him, she glared. “Don’t tell me she’s yours.”
“Yeah, Charlotte’s mine.” With a roll of his eyes, Kodiak sniggered. “Jesus, Hazel, she’s my niece. That’s all.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that…” Flustered, the poor woman looked up at the ceiling. “…we’ll talk some in a minute. Let’s get some food in your bellies first.”
They ordered their lunch, and while they were eating, he and Linnea caught Hazel up on the past four years—her marriage to Kyan, and his tragic passing.
“I’m so sorry, dear.” Hazel squeezed his sister’s hand. “He seemed like such a wonderful young man.”
“He was.” Linnea sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin.
The old couple got up to leave. Hazel stopped talking to wave to them as they passed.
“Lock the door, Tommy, and put the closed sign up.” Looking between the two of them, she sighed, her expression turning deadly serious. “You shoulda stayed gone. What in tarnation did you come back here for?”
“We’re not staying long,” Kodiak explained. “Jarrid’s at Decatur Memorial. We’re getting him transferred to hospice. Cancer. So, we’re just here to, you know, take care of things.”
“I don’t think they know.” Staring absently through the glass, she pursed her lips.
Huh?
