"I'm fixing up a house a few miles from here. It was my grandfather's. I inherited it after he died. It needs a lot of work done."
Lou walks back over to me. "Are you talking about Freeson's place?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
He hitches his thumb toward the kitchen. "Callie told me. She mentioned you this morning. Said some guy moved in next door and was fixing up the house."
So Callie was talking about me? For some reason that makes me smile. "That's me." I extend my hand to him. "Nash Wheeler. Good to meet you."
He shakes my hand. "Lou. I don't bother with a last name. You say 'Lou' around here and everyone will know who you're talking about."
"So you're the owner." I glance around. "Nice place you got here."
"It needs some work, but for the most part, it's held up over time."
I take out my wallet and pull out one of my cards. "If you need some work done, just give me a call."
He inspects the card. "So you're from Chicago?"
"Born and raised. My dad started that business twenty years ago. My brothers and I all work for him. So what do I owe you?" I nod at the check.
"Nine eighty-five," he says, stuffing my card in his shirt pocket.
"Keep the change," I say, handing him a ten.
The door to the kitchen swings open and Callie walks out, holding a brownie on a small white plate. She spots me and freezes.
I smile at her. "Hey. How's it going?"
"Fine." She takes a step forward. "What are you doing here?"
"Having lunch. I was at the hardware store getting a part for my lawn mower and thought I'd stop and get something to eat."
"Oh." She blinks a few times, then scans the counter. "Lou, where's the kid who wanted the brownie?"
"Right here." He points to me.
She rolls her eyes as she brings me the brownie. "He's not a kid. You always confuse me when you say that."
"He's a kid to me." Lou nudges her. "So are you."
"I'm not a kid. I'm 21."
Lou points to me. "How old are you?"
"I'm 25."
"You're both kids," he says, as he walks away. "Your food will be up shortly." He goes into the kitchen.
"Well, enjoy your lunch," Callie says, turning to leave.
"When's your break?" I ask.
She checks her watch. "In like ten minutes."
"Would you mind eating with me? I don't like eating alone." It's not really true, but I want to have lunch with my firecracker. It's only been a few hours since I saw her but I kind of missed her.
She hesitates. "I don't think so."
"Why not? Are you not taking your break today?"
"I am. I just..." She chews on her lip as her mind works to find an excuse.
"I'll save you a seat," I say, tapping the stool next to mine.
"I prefer to eat alone," she blurts out, like it's the first excuse she could come up with.
"If you don't like me, you can just say so." I smile at her. "Although I don't know why you wouldn't like me. I'm friendly. Helpful. And I can fix shit."
She raises her brows. "Do you always compliment yourself like that?"
"Only when I'm trying to get my neighbor to eat lunch with me. Do you have a boyfriend? Is that why you keep trying to get rid of me?"
"No." Her eyes lower to the counter. "And I'm not trying to get rid of you. I'm just not used to..." She looks up. "Never mind. We can have lunch. Just let me finish up in back."
"Sounds good."
As she leaves, I notice Lou is behind the counter again, but on the other end. He was watching us. I catch his eye and he looks away, focusing on a woman who just sat down and is now asking him a question.
A few minutes later, Callie appears with a reuben and a grilled cheese. She sets the reuben in front of me and the grilled cheese in the spot next to me.
"Lou said I could take my break a few minutes early," she says as she fills up two glasses with Coke from the dispenser. She sets them down by our plates. "You need anything else?"
"No. This is good. Thanks." I wait for her to go around the counter and sit down. "Did you make these?"
"Lou made them. He makes all the lunch food. I just make the desserts. Actually, he makes those too. I just portion them out and bake them. He has all these secret recipes he doesn't want anyone to see. Even me."
That last part implies that Lou sees her as more than an employee. I wonder if they're somehow related.
"Is Lou your uncle?" He seems too old to be her uncle but you never know.
She laughs. "No. Why'd you think he's my uncle?"
"The way you two interact, I thought maybe you were related."
"Nope. We're not related. He's just old and likes to boss me around like I'm his kid."
"How long have you worked here?" I ask.
"Almost a year." She cringes. "I mean...if you added up the summers it'd be about a year."
That was odd. Why'd she react that way? And who adds up the summers? Most people would just say they worked here for three summers or however many it was.
"So your family lives here all summer?"
"Yeah," she says quickly.
"Your parents don't work in the summer?"
"No. They're both teachers. So what was wrong with your lawn mower?"