A Forever Christmas

Chapter Nine

Eduardo Rubio was polite, but cold and distant when Miss Joan brought the young woman with the light blond hair through the kitchen’s swinging doors and introduced them to each other.

To prove his point that not just anyone had what it took to keep up with the fast-paced orders placed by the lunch crowd—or the dinner crowd for that matter—Eduardo deliberately hung back and gave free rein to the young woman whom his boss had put into his kitchen. He opened the industrial-size refrigerator and allowed her to look around, then pointed out the pantry in what was close to utter silence.

“You will find everything you need there,” he concluded, never really elaborating on which “there” he was referring to.

That said, Eduardo waited for the chaos to begin, convinced that this small woman with the improbable name of “Angel” would go running from the diner as fast as she could within the half hour.

He was wrong.

In less than a half hour, the previous fixture in Miss Joan’s diner discovered that not only could this pretty little interloper keep up, she did it with a style and grace he couldn’t help but admire, turning out meals with a little something “extra.” They even looked inviting and festive on the plate after she finished arranging them.

For his part, Eduardo had never concerned himself about appearances when it came to the meals he prepared in Miss Joan’s diner or in his own home for that matter. The customers who came in at these peak hours were focused on just grabbing something edible and getting back to work. As long as they enjoyed the taste, nobody really seemed to care all that much about what it looked like on a dish.

But this young woman, he had to grudgingly admit to himself, filled the orders and each serving was a poem onto itself, a feast for the stomach and the eyes.

Even Eduardo couldn’t help but notice.

Silently surrendering, he began to work alongside of her.

“Where did you work before you came here?” Gabe asked. Wherever it had been, they had to have had an excellent training program, he couldn’t help thinking.

The feeling of well-being that had been growing within Angel for the past forty-three minutes—the feeling that she’d somehow “returned” to an area that was familiar to her, to someplace that she actually “belonged”—began to break up like so many soap bubbles above a sink full of soaking dishes.

Why did he have to ask her that?

If the short-order cook had asked her what went into making beef Stroganoff, she could have rattled it off from memory as if she was reading the recipe off a chalkboard. It just felt like second nature to her. Right now, she felt like a composite of a huge host of recipes, nothing more.

But the man had asked her something that she couldn’t answer. Something that brought her situation home to her again—that she didn’t know where home was. Or who represented home to her. She didn’t know anything, she thought in frustration.

The short-order cook just asked for the most elementary answer to the most elementary of questions, and she had nothing to offer him.

Nothing to offer herself.

It stood to reason that she had to have learned what she was doing in this kitchen somewhere—most likely a restaurant or some catering business or maybe even a doting mother or aunt had seen to her training—but exactly where she’d learned all this was utterly beyond her scope of knowledge.

Suppressing a sigh, she told him the truth. “I don’t know.”

Eduardo looked at her, equally suspicious and confused. Was she having fun at his expense? Did she think he was some foolish old man to be disrespected this way?

“What do you mean, you do not know? Of course you know. Why is it a secret? Did you learn to do this in prison?” he demanded, plucking the most unlikely setting out of the air. It was absurd and he knew it because no one taught anyone something even remotely sensually appealing in prison kitchens. From what he’d heard, it was all very utilitarian. If inmates weren’t poisoned, or made wretchedly sick by what they ate, that was considered a successful serving.

At a loss, wishing she could get used to this emptiness in her head, Angel raised her eyes to the man’s face and shrugged helplessly. “Because I don’t,” she told him.

“What, were you abducted by funny little green men and taken to their spaceship where they taught you all this?” he jeered, gesturing around at her handiwork. He was growing extremely annoyed that she didn’t think enough of him to share such an insignificant piece of information.

Angel sighed as she watched over three separate meals, one on the grill, two on the burners, all frying at the same time.

“It might as well have been for all I remember,” Angel confessed, shifting her eyes to his again. The cook seemed angry. Did he think she was lying to him? She didn’t want bad feelings between them. “I don’t remember anything,” she stressed. “Not my name. Not where I was three days ago. Not why I almost drove my car over the side of the ravine.”

Eduardo’s features softened as her words sank in. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. “You are that girl?” he asked, his inference clear. The story about the young woman Gabe had rescued from the car before it exploded into flames had practically been the exclusive topic of conversation at the diner yesterday.

“I am that girl,” she replied, none too happily.

Eduardo nodded, as if that was all he needed to know. Rather than remain standing off to the side, cynically observing her and searching for fault, Eduardo took his place beside her again and began helping her fill the orders in earnest.

He was not above frequently sneaking looks to see what she was doing. Eduardo discovered that seventy was not too old to learn a new trick or two. Very quickly, the meals that he was preparing began to take on a different, less hurried, more appetizing appearance.

“How’s it going in there?” Miss Joan called into the kitchen when the last of the orders were slid out onto the metal counter.

“Very well, thank you,” Angel replied, pleased. She smiled at Eduardo as if he had been the one to teach her rather than the other way around.

“I’m not hearing my angry cook picking on you,” Miss Joan said, lowering her voice a little as she came closer to the counter where pieces of paper with orders on them traded places with hot plates filled with hotter meals. “Did he give up and leave?”

“I am here, old woman. Why would I leave? You have not paid me for this week, and if I leave, you would keep the money I have earned,” he complained. But when he looked at Angel, the hint of a smile took root. He approved of her, but he wasn’t about to let Miss Joan know this.

“Just checking,” Miss Joan replied, doing her best to hide the chuckle she felt welling up in her throat.

The old SOB was staying, she thought with no small relief.

* * *

GABE WASN’T SURE just what he expected to find when he finally allowed himself to swing by Miss Joan’s diner while on street patrol. It had been several hours since he’d dropped Angel off with the older woman.

Miss Joan hadn’t called him to come and collect Angel, so he was hopeful that all had gone well. If it had, that meant that he’d come up with a viable way for Angel to earn a living until such time as he managed to discover who she actually was.

A woman that beautiful couldn’t just drop off the face of the earth without someone looking for her.

The computers were still down, not just in the sheriff’s office, but at the library and at the tiny post office, as well. All the computers were victims of some virus, which meant that for today—if not longer—no progress in the search for Angel’s real identity would be made.

If he was being honest with himself, that fact didn’t exactly disturb him as much as he would have initially thought it would. He supposed that something about Angel drew him to her and made him really enjoy the process.

Gabe was fairly sure that once she remembered who she was—or someone turned up who was looking for her—Angel would leave Forever.

He was in no hurry to see that happen.

He’d always been the type who felt that each day was to be enjoyed for its own sake. And he was certainly enjoying this one even more than he had the last one.

He looked forward to the next one, as well.

And, as long as she was here, he could keep an eye on Angel. Keep her safe.

That was particularly important since Mick Henley had dropped his bombshell on them earlier at the sheriff’s office.

“Got a minute, Sheriff?” Mick had asked in his monotone voice. It wouldn’t matter if he was announcing the end of the world, or ordering a beer, his cadence was always the same.

Since the mechanic rarely left his comfort zone and had sought them out, Rick was instantly alert. “What’s up, Mick?”

“Dunno if this’ll mean anything to you, but I had to take that girl’s car apart.”

“And what did you find?” Gabe asked. It had to be something or why else would the mechanic be here?

Mick looked at the sheriff, then at each of the deputies before continuing. “Her brake lines were cut.”

“But she came all this way in that car,” Gabe protested.

“The brake lines were cut just enough to go out on her after she’d left her starting point pretty far behind her.”

“Somebody wanted her dead,” Gabe concluded, stunned.

“Now I know why I hired you to take Larry’s place,” Rick commented wryly.

“But why would someone want her dead?” Gabe pressed, worried. “And who?”

“That, Deputy Gabe,” the sheriff said in a kidding tone, although he was dead serious, “is the two-million-dollar question. The sooner we get some answers to our questions, the sooner that young woman is safe,” Rick told his deputies.

Which was why Gabe had volunteered to go on patrol and take a second turn through his town.

* * *

“SO, HOW’S IT GOING?” Gabe asked Miss Joan, doing his best to sound laidback and relaxed as he walked into the diner around three that afternoon.

For once, Miss Joan dispensed with her perpetual dour expression. Instead, her mouth was curved in what passed for a smile in Miss Joan’s case.

“It’s going real well,” the older woman informed him. “Why didn’t you bring me this girl sooner?” she asked.

“Well, for one thing, Angel wasn’t here sooner,” Gabe pointed out.

Miss Joan laughed. She poured herself a cup of coffee and one for Gabe, as well. She placed both on the counter before Gabe.

“Just pulling your leg, boy. I know all about when and how she got here—also know what a big hero you turned out to be,” she added.

Gabe merely waved her last words away the way he might a persistent gnat.

“Did what I had to. Didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t have,” he added, then got to the real reason for his ducking into the diner instead of just driving past it in his patrol. “So how’s she working out?”

“Working out?” Miss Joan echoed. “Hell, because you brought her to me, I can rest easy because I found Eduardo’s replacement.”

“Do not be so fast to resting and replacing me,” Eduardo called out of the kitchen.

Momentarily forgetting about Gabe, Miss Joan turned her attention to Eduardo, the man she had singularly relied on all these years.

“Why?” she asked. “You told me you were retiring, Eduardo, remember? All that fishing you wanted to do.”

Eduardo made a dismissive noise. “The fish are not going anywhere—and neither am I yet, old woman,” he informed her. “I have much to teach this young woman before I go.”

Miss Joan snorted. “Seems to me, it’s the other way around, Eduardo. I don’t remember ever seeing anything come out of your kitchen that looked half as good as what that little girl whipped up time after time today. All out of her head, all beautiful to look at.”

Just like Angel, Gabe caught himself thinking.

“Then perhaps it is time you went to Pine Ridge hospital and had those failing eyes of your checked out,” Eduardo forcefully “suggested.”

“I see everything just fine,” Miss Joan answered with finality. “Including just what’s going on. Can’t pull the wool over my eyes, Eduardo, so stop trying.”

Only Gabe saw the grin on the finely lined face. Miss Joan winked broadly at him as she continued hassling the cook she couldn’t do without.

She lowered her voice so that this part of the conversation was strictly between her and Gabe. “Angel’s welcome to work here for as long as she wants,” she told him.

Nodding, Gabe said, “Thanks,” and then, satisfied that Angel was all right, he took his leave again.

“No,” Miss Joan called after him. “Thank you,” she countered with emphasis.

He merely grinned just before walking out.

* * *

GABE RETURNED TO the diner when his shift was over. He was there to pick up Angel, assuming that her shift ended around the same time his did. He’d never paid attention to the comings and goings of the diner’s staff. All he knew was that Miss Joan and Eduardo, her sparring partner, opened together and closed together.

He was fairly confident that Miss Joan would cut Angel some slack, especially since this was Angel’s first day on the job.

On his way over to the diner, he stopped to make a pickup just prior to pulling up in front of the silver eatery. At the last minute, he decided to leave what he’d picked up on the passenger’s side in the truck for the time being.

No point in letting everyone else in Forever see and have a reason to rag on him.

Walking into the diner, he found the place to be fuller than the hour customarily warranted. But since Miss Joan’s diner was considered an unofficial gathering place for friends out to kill time and couples who wanted somewhere to sit and gaze into each other’s eyes, Gabe just thought some meeting or other had been declared.

It wasn’t until he was almost at the counter—and paying closer attention—that he realized that if there was a club meeting, the club centered around Angel and its members were comprised of all men.

There had to be at least ten seated or standing around her now, either vying for her attention or just absorbing her presence.

Miss Joan was the first to see him approaching. Like a regal queen, she beckoned him over to her.

As it turned out, the counter was far less crowded on her end than it was where Angel was seated. The young woman’s back was to him.

“Business hasn’t been this good since…well, I don’t remember when,” Miss Joan confessed openly. “That girl of yours turned out to be a gold mine—not to mention a treasure.”

Gabe was about to protest—again—that Angel was not his girl, but as he opened his mouth, he was somewhat less inclined to make the disclaimer in light of the group of men all focused on Angel.

Watching even for a second, Gabe felt something exceedingly territorial stirring within him. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling that way and he wasn’t quite sure how to shake off the feeling—or if he even wanted to.

So all he said was, “Glad it’s working out for everyone,” and left it at that.

At the sound of his voice, Angel immediately turned around. The smile that rose to her lips was nothing short of beatific.

“Gabe,” she called out. Delight and relief—and perhaps something more—echoed in her voice. The next second, she was getting off the counter stool she’d been perched on and making her way over to him.

Gabe found himself not just captivated by the look in her brilliant blue eyes but almost falling into their fathomless depths, as well.

He was going to need to watch himself. Otherwise, things that he didn’t want to happen just might do exactly that.

Happen.

“I hear you did really well today,” he told her as Angel approached. He looked around at the men surrounding her. They appeared to be closing ranks around Angel again despite the limited amount of space.

“Let her breathe, guys,” he said to the men, his voice sounding authoritative and official. “The lady can’t move with you crowding her like that.”

“Looks to me like she’s moving just fine,” one of the ranch hands from the McIntyre ranch piped up in response. The expression on his face showed all the signs that he was completely smitten.

“Your opinion doesn’t count here, Wylie,” Gabe informed the man. “Now I’m not telling you again. Let the lady through.” This time there wasn’t even a hint of humor to be found in his voice.

After a tense moment or two, Wylie raised his hands in surrender and stepped back. “Don’t want no trouble.”

“Glad to hear that,” Gabe said, taking hold of Angel’s arm and leading her to the door.

“See you tomorrow, Angel,” Miss Joan called out after her.

Angel glanced over her shoulder. Her smile very nearly went from ear to ear as she repeated the sentiment to Miss Joan. Then she looked at the man at her side as he held the door open for her. “That’s all right with you, right?”

He liked that she asked, even though she didn’t have to. “You’re your own person, Angel. I can’t tell you what to do, but yes, for the record, that’s fine with me. Miss Joan told me you did really well today.”

Happiness seemed to emanate from her every pore. “It just seemed so right to me, to be doing what I was doing,” she told him with enthusiasm.

He opened the passenger’s side door for her and she was about to slide onto the seat when she stopped and looked up at him quizzically. “What’s this?”

“Flowers,” he answered matter-of-factly.

Holding the bouquet as if it was something fragile and precious, she slid into the passenger seat. “I know they’re flowers, but why are they in your truck?”

Gabe got in on his side. Putting the key into the ignition, he left it idle for a moment as he turned toward her.

“Because I thought that maybe you’d like something to commemorate your first day at work.” He shrugged, feeling oddly awkward about what he’d done on a whim. “Seemed like a good idea at the time,” he murmured.

Angel inhaled deeply, the scent of roses both soothing and arousing her at the same time.

“It’s a lovely idea,” she told him.

Impulsively, she leaned over the stick shift and brushed her lips against Gabe’s cheek.

Or would have had he not picked that moment to turn his head to look at her.

A cheek was replaced by a pair of lips. And what had been begun as the most innocent displays of gratitude escalated into something far more electrifying as her lips touched his.

Once.

Twice.

And then again a third time, each pass becoming just a little more forceful, a little more arousing than the last, until the bouquet fell from her fingers into her lap. Without thinking, Angel slipped her hands around the back of his neck.

Arms enfolded her, then Gabe pulled her closer to him and, just like that, completely lost his way.