“Tired, honey?” Her mom followed her up the steps that led to the apartment over the diner.
Her father and Greg had caught up to them and four sets of feet stomped up the narrow wooden stairwell.
“A little.” Rose was more scared than weary.
Aside from a few months of college, she was truly on her own for the first time in her life. Part of her wanted to run back to the comfort of living with her parents, but God had given her this opportunity.
Linda’s sons had thrown her off balance today with their threat to take her inheritance away. Linda’s will had been so clear; at least that’s the way it had sounded from the packet she’d received.
Once Rose understood those financials, she’d have a better reference point to consider whether the Deans’ offer was a good one. After all, knowledge was power. She hoped Cam knew what he was doing and she prayed he wasn’t playing her.
* * *
What was he doing?
Cam stared at the flames licking the dry tinder he’d helped his father stack into the fire pit. It might not have cooled off enough to need a campfire, but what was a summer’s eve gathering without one?
Seriously, what made him think he could teach Rose to read her business returns? Read. Ha! That was an odd choice of terms considering his issues with written words. Numbers were different. Numbers were concrete and made sense, like that periodic table.
“You can toss that log on now.” His father touched his shoulder. “Cam?”
“Huh? Oh.” He tossed in the piece of wood he’d held and then reached for another.
“You okay, son?”
“Yeah, sure.” He’d escaped from the noise of the back deck to help his father while everyone else cleaned up after dinner.
In honor of Father’s Day, his mom had gathered his siblings for a cookout. Matthew was out on the Great Lakes with his job as a freighter first mate, but his wife, Annie, and her baby, John, were here. Zach and his fiancée, Ginger. Even Darren, although he’d sulked through dinner, since his girlfriend had recently left for her music thing in Seattle. Of course Monica, his younger brothers—Ben, Marcus and Luke—and their baby sister, Erin, were here, too. His sister Cat, working on assignment somewhere, was also absent.
“Something on your mind then?”
Cam looked his dad in the eye. Retired from a long army career, Andrew Zelinsky still carried an air of authority that encouraged the truth or else. As usual, Cam darted around giving a straight answer. “I’ll figure it out.”
“No word on a new sponsor.”
“Not yet.”
“What’s past is past.” His father nodded. “You’ll make a comeback.”
“Right.” Cam snorted and stared at those flames some more.
He’d leveled with his folks to an extent. He’d been disqualified from a tournament last year because he’d broken practice rules by fishing after dark. He’d broken more than that with an illegal catch, but nothing had been proven. Still, that decision had not only dropped his standings to the bottom of the pile, but cost him his last sponsor. It could have been worse. He could have been banned from the profession and it would have been justified. Although rumors swirled, his business manager had been able to keep things relatively quiet.
Still, Cam had pushed things far too many times in his fishing career. When competition got fierce and the stakes were high, he’d cut corners. Literally. He’d trimmed fins on fish to make sure they qualified. He’d even stuffed a couple lead sinkers into the bellies of bass for better weigh-ins.
Cam had massaged the truth so well that he’d gotten away with it too many times. It had finally cost him, though. Like now, offering to teach Rose how to review her financials when he only knew what the numbers meant and where they should be.
“How’s the new job?” Monica wiggled her eyebrows at him with a teasing glint in her eyes.
Relieved for an escape from his father’s scrutiny, Cam laughed. “I’m just filling in.”
“I can’t believe you’re cooking at my favorite place to eat. Don’t mess with it too much.” His brother Darren pulled a soft drink can out of an ice-packed metal tub and cracked the tab.
“Come by and see.” Cam tossed another log on the fire, grabbed an icy beverage and kept staring into the flames.
“I don’t get it, why are you working there? If you need money—”
“The new owner is pretty and single,” Monica pointed out.
“Ahh.” Darren nodded. “Now it all makes sense.”
Cam took a long drink and shrugged. “She needed help and I’ve got a few days before fishing in the first Northern Open.”
“So, you swooped right in and saved the day.”
“It’s what I do.” Cam winked.
“Poor woman. Does she know about you?”
“Not yet.” Cam laughed, but his brother didn’t realize just how loaded his teasing words were.
“I’m hearing good things about Rose Dean. The women on the church planning committee are looking for a place to have their meeting. I’ll tell them to go there.” His mom wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a squeeze.
“Thanks, Mom.” Grateful for the switched focus, Cam scratched his forehead.
“Is everything all set for the Fourth of July barbecue?” Monica asked. “It’s only two weeks away and I need to print off the flyers.”
“It’s a go.” His mother looked up at him. “Would you be interested in grilling? It’s going to be big this year. The chamber is sponsoring a live band for entertainment complete with a dance floor.”
“Nope.” Cam backed away from his mom and slid onto a lounge chair. He took a long pull from his drink. If he fished well at the tournament the weekend before the Fourth, any number of opportunities could arise and Cam wanted to be ready to accept.
Darren raised his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m on duty that day.”
Cam watched their mom wrangle their younger brothers into manning the huge grills for their church’s biggest fund-raiser. Ignoring the stitch of guilt that tweaked for not helping, Cam figured he’d buy a ticket instead. Maybe two or three, enough to take Rose and Greg, if he was around.
No matter how attractive he found Rose Dean, Cam knew better than to ask her for a real date. Romancing Rose would be like walking into quicksand. Not only was there a kid involved, but Cam didn’t do anything long-term. Fishing came first and fishing kept him traveling. It wasn’t only his livelihood, it was his life. It’s all he had and he’d come too close to ruining it for good.
Going to the Fourth of July barbecue would be about introducing Rose to more folks in town. Establishing her as the new owner of the Grille and proving she belonged there. He didn’t want those Dean boys getting their hands on the diner. Not when Linda had wanted Rose to have it. Not when Rose wanted it. Whatever it took, he’d help her keep it.
* * *
Monday morning, Rose entered the diner a little before six in the morning. The early sun shone on a quiet Main Street, making the overnight dew glisten. It was so quiet this morning, she hated to ruin it. But she had a business to run and dropped whole roasted coffee beans into the large grinder and pressed the button. She ignored the teeth-jarring sound and savored the rich smell of fresh ground coffee. Would Cam be late? He knew the diner opened at seven, but they hadn’t talked about when he should arrive.
A rap at the door startled her. Cam peered