“Actually, I’m going to have a cheeseburger today. Medium-well, but I’ll have a side salad instead of fries.”
“Wow.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Rough day?”
“Actually a good day. I’m getting a grant for most of the cost of an ATV for the police department, and the power sports shop is going to donate the rest of the cost. So I’m celebrating. As a matter of fact, I’ll have bacon and extra mayo on that cheeseburger.”
“You must be really happy to have a four-wheeler.”
“To be honest, I’m the most happy about the paperwork being done,” he said. “But it’ll be nice to be able to patrol the woods a bit. Even if we don’t have the manpower to have somebody out there all the time, knowing there could be a cop on the trails at any given time might deter some of the yahoos.”
Liz ducked away to hang the slip for the cheeseburger before Gavin started grilling chicken for the salad. Then she grabbed Drew’s diet soda and went back to the counter. “Did I tell you I talked to the insurance company?”
“No. How did that go?”
“I guess they sent somebody out while we were camping and they’re totaling it. And they say it’s not worth a lot. I knew it was coming, but a little part of me was still hoping to get it fixed. I guess Butch told them he couldn’t even find the parts for it.”
“Is it enough to put a down payment on something made in the modern era?”
She gave him a sour look. “It wasn’t that old. And I’m not sure. I’m going to go online and research what’s out there and go from there.”
“I can help you out if you need it, you know.”
“Thanks, but my car may have been ancient, but I’m fairly computer literate.”
He shook his head. “I meant with the down payment.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say to that. You didn’t make that kind of offer to a woman who hadn’t been your girlfriend very long, if that was even the term he’d use. But, then again, he was a close friend of the family, so he might have made the same offer to any of them. “Thanks, but I’m okay. If I can’t find something soon, I’ll take the truck from the lodge so I don’t rack up miles on the Mustang.”
“You can drive the car as long as you need it.” He took a sip of his soda. “Well, until mid-October or so. The heater in it sucks and she gets tucked away until spring in the garage before they start salting the roads.”
A few other customers wandered in, so Liz was back and forth for a little while as he ate his lunch. A couple of people stopped to talk to him, and then his dad entered and sat down next to him.
“Hi, Andy,” Liz said when she went over to set him up with a napkin and silverware. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please. I was in town and stopped in to say hi to Drew, but Barbara told me he was here. What’s good on the menu today?”
She sighed. “We have a wonderful roasted chicken breast with arugula.”
“I’ll try it.”
She wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. “With the arugula?”
“Of course. Roasted chicken breast with arugula just isn’t the same without arugula, now is it?”
As she went to give Gavin the good news, she heard Drew say, “Do you even know what arugula is?”
“Nope. But Gavin has yet to serve anything inedible, so I’ll give it a shot.”
Because it was almost time for Ava to take over, Liz left Drew and his dad to visit while she started doing her cleanup and making sure everything was stocked and ready for her. By the time she was done, so were the guys.
After cashing them out, she leaned across the counter so Drew could kiss her goodbye. “Are you going to stop by after work?”
“I have a meeting with a guy from the EPA later this afternoon. If it doesn’t run too late, I’ll be there. If it’s going to be long, I’ll text you.”
“Okay.”
When he was gone, she turned to go bus their dishes and almost ran into Ava. The older woman gave her a knowing smile. “It’s so nice to see Chief Miller smile like that. He’s a nice boy and Mallory was no good for him. You two are a much better couple.”
They were a pretty good couple, Liz thought. They enjoyed each other’s company, respected each other’s jobs, and certainly had sexual chemistry.
Ava put her hand on Liz’s arm. “And you’ll make the most beautiful babies. That Rose is a lucky woman. With the Kowalski looks and her Katie being so pretty and Drew being a looker, she won’t have a homely grandbaby in the whole damn bunch.”
Liz smiled, her cheeks feeling tight. Why did it always have to come around to babies?
*
Drew grabbed the huge box that had been delivered to the police department out of the back of the SUV and walked up to Liz’s front door. He was saved from having to kick at her door for help when she opened it, and it gave him a jolt of pleasure to imagine her watching for him out the window. Or she’d heard his truck pull in, but he preferred the former.