The Strawberry Hearts Diner(64)

“Evenin’,” Andy said. “I could hear worry in your voice on the phone. Want to talk about it?”

She patted the space beside her and pointed to the beer. “Yes, I do. There’s a lot going on, and I’m not doing so good at processing it.”

He twisted the top off the beer and sat down. “Nettie’s okay?”

Just like in the hospital and when she heard his voice, his presence put peace into her heart and soul. Was this what an adult relationship was like?

“She’s the least of my worries.” She went on to tell him about Emily’s upcoming marriage and pregnancy. “I’m going to be a grandmother,” she said.

“How do you feel about that?” he chuckled.

“Happy. Worried. It’s not funny. Ryder is the father, and they want to get married in less than three weeks. That’s what I’m having trouble processing,” she said.

“The only thing that can change a person is love. They’ll be all right. I would have come on over sooner if I’d known you needed a shoulder.”

“I needed some time to wrap my mind around all this before I talked to anyone. The shock still hasn’t worn off,” she told him.

“Can you change any of it?”

“Not a thing,” she answered.

He sipped his beer for a few moments and then said, “Nice evenin’, isn’t it? We won’t get too many more of these. I bet this old swing could tell some stories if it could talk.”

“You are changing the subject,” she said.

“That I am. Fretting is not good for the soul.”

A friend would worry with her, let her talk circles around the whole thing, even if they couldn’t fix the problem. A best friend would help her to move past the problem and focus on something else to keep from going crazy. Andy had just proven to be the latter.

“Okay, you changed the subject, so what are we going to talk about?” Vicky took another drink from the bottle and then set it back on the porch railing.

“You.” Andy grinned, and her pulse jacked up a notch. “It’s crazy that our paths have never crossed before now. And to think it was all because of a strawberry tart.”

Vicky took a sip of her beer and set it back down. “True, even with our rival high schools. I was born and raised right here in Pick. My grandparents owned this house, and when they died they left it to my mother. I can remember my grandpa telling me stories about Pick while we ate red Popsicles out here on this swing. Then he passed away and my dad and mama moved in here when I was four. I’ve lived in this house ever since,” she said. “Lots of mileage on this swing, for sure.”

“Didn’t you move out when you got married and had your daughter?”

She shook her head. “My new husband and I were going to rent a place of our own, but we stayed here with Nettie to save some money. He died six weeks after the wedding.”

His long arm stretched across the distance and patted her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. That must have been tough. So Nettie is your grandmother?”

She didn’t see stars or hear bells and whistles, but she did like the way his hand felt. And there was a little spark there, but she attributed that to the nerves about this whole marriage and baby thing.

“No, Nettie was my mama’s distant cousin and friend. When she divorced the summer that I was seventeen, she moved in with us. Thank God! I don’t know what I’d have done without her then or now.”

“How long had she been here when your mama died?”

“A month. Nettie moved in with us in June. Mama died in June, too, leaving me this house and half ownership of the diner. I found out I was pregnant in August and was a widow by the end of September.”

“That’s too much for anyone to endure, especially a teenager.” He took her hand in his and held it on the swing between them.

It was a simple gesture, but it felt right and good. Maybe she would go out with him if he asked.

“That which does not kill us, and all that . . .” She smiled.

“You should be able to shoulder a full-grown longhorn steer if that’s the case.” He held his bottle toward her. She retrieved hers and touched it to his.

“To nothing but good luck in the future,” he said.

“I agree.”

“Okay, then, looking toward the future. Will you go to dinner with me on Friday night after you get off work?”

Had she heard him right? She’d just been thinking about going out with him and then, less than a minute later, he asked. Could he read her mind?

“We are about to get knee-deep in wedding stuff. A rain check?” She needed a little more time to think, even if she had already let the idea flutter through her mind.

“After the wedding, we’ll celebrate getting through it all by going to dinner, then. We won’t get many more pleasant evenings like this. Pretty soon even the nights won’t drop below the nineties and it will be too hot to sit out here.”

“This old swing has seen me work out problems in the heat, too.”

“Then here’s to lots of evenings on this swing.” He smiled. “I really like spending time with you, Vicky.”

“Likewise,” she said.

“Good, that’s a step in the right direction.”