The Strawberry Hearts Diner(40)

“We can,” Jancy agreed. For Vicky and Nettie, she’d gladly go that extra mile. They’d sure enough done a lot for her, giving her room and board and a decent salary—taking her in and treating her like she was part of their family. She owed them a lot.

“M-me and Ryder can come in during lunch rush and help out.”

“Then I don’t even need to call Waynette.” Emily smiled. “I’ll take you up on that, Shane.”

Ryder groaned. “You just volunteered us for a job that means Emily is my boss.”

“It’ll be good for you.” Shane grinned. “I’d let Jancy boss me any day.”

“I’ll be easy.” Emily smiled as she rounded the end of the counter and sank into a booth. “I’m so relieved that I could cry.”

Ryder slid in beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, honey. She’s going to be fine, and me and Shane have been here so much that we know how to write up an order and pin it on that thing up there.” He pointed toward the window into the kitchen.

“W-we might not be as fast as you girls, but everyone w-w-will understand,” Shane said from across the room.

Woody pushed into the diner, his old eyes wide as saucers. “I just heard about Nettie. What can I do to help?”

“You could take Mama’s purse to her. Her phone has already rung about twenty times. I’m sure folks will start callin’ the diner soon,” Emily said. “And if you’ll follow me down to the house, I’ll pack her and Nettie a bag.”

“You go w-with her, Ryder,” Shane said. “I’ll help Jancy until y’all get back.”

Emily and Ryder both stood up and headed for the door.

“I’ll grab a cup of coffee and wait for you right here. Now, Jancy, tell me the truth. Is she having open-heart surgery?” Woody said.

“No, it wasn’t that serious, but she’ll probably have a pacemaker.”

Woody swiped a hand across his forehead. “Give me one of them tarts to go with my coffee. I got a pacemaker five years ago. That’s not a big deal. This is the best bad news that we could have. If y’all need anything at all, you just call me. Don’t matter how small or big it is. You will keep the diner open, right?”

“Ryder and Shane have offered to help with the lunch rush. Emily and I can manage it with that much help. We might be callin’ on you if we need something else. Thank you, Woody,” Jancy answered.

Woody took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “We’ll get through this. We folks here in Pick stick together in times like this.”

Jancy put a tart on a plate while Shane poured a cup of coffee. Working together in such close quarters meant shoulders and hips constantly brushing against each other, creating heat. Big, beautiful, fiery sparks jacked her pulse up.

“Thank you,” Woody said when they got him set. “I thought I’d better have one, since there’s only four left and Nettie won’t be able to make them for a few days.”

“Jancy and Em-Em-Emily are going to try their hand at making them.” Shane stammered even more than usual.

“Well, now, that’ll be interesting.” Woody picked up the tart with his fingers and took a bite. “Just take a word of advice, darlin’, and don’t get too good at it or Nettie won’t feel needed. It might even be best if you fail and have to make something else like strawberry cupcakes so that her feelin’s won’t be hurt. This is her claim to fame.”

Jancy gave him two thumbs-up. “You may have something there. I’ll suggest that to Emily. We could make cupcakes or one of Nettie’s lemon sheet cakes.”

“Strawberry cupcakes,” Woody said. “That’ll be keepin’ with the name of the diner just fine. Put a little heart-shaped candy on the top and all will be good. And wrap up two of what’s left for me to take with me. If I can’t get one for a few days, that might tide me over.”

“You’ll eat them both tonight,” Shane laughed.

“Probably so, and I’ll whine and carry on about not havin’ any more. Here come the kids with the stuff.” He polished off the rest of the tart and downed half a cup of coffee. “Y’all ain’t to worry about one thing. I’ll be by first thing in the mornin’ to see what you need done.”

“Thanks, Woody,” Jancy said.

“And soon as I get that phone down there, I’ll tell Vicky to check in with an update about every hour. See you later.” He met Emily in the parking lot and put the duffel bag and purse into the passenger’s seat of his truck.

“You okay? You look like you’ve been cryin’,” Jancy asked Emily.

“I have, but I’m better. It just hit me hard that life without Nettie would be so empty and . . .” She grabbed a napkin and dabbed the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I need to be stronger. I was raised by the strongest women in the whole county. This is unacceptable.”

Ryder drew her close for a hug. “It’s okay. Cry if you want to.”

She leaned into his chest and then took a step back. “Thank you for the hugs and for helping me at the house. I’ll be fine—especially after I see her tonight. Y’all will be here at seven thirty, right?”

“On the button,” Shane said. “We should get on back to the shop. I promised that feller that his car would be detailed and ready to pick up by five.”