“The drinks have come out a little slow,” Sid said, shooting him a challenging look, daring him to fire back.
“That’s something I have to give you credit for, Dad,” he said, keeping his eyes on Sid an extra second before turning to his father. “I can see now why you had the heart attack. A long day in court is nothing to working behind this bar. I think you need help.”
“You volunteering again?” A corner of Tom’s mouth curled up, but something in his eyes said he wasn’t kidding.
Lucas broke eye contact, grabbed a rag, and started wiping down the bar. “Not this time. You’d better get home before the crowd rolls in and you try to weasel your way back here. I’d hate to see Mom drag you out by your ear.”
“He’s right,” Patty said. “If you don’t want to lie down we’ll set you up on the porch. I’m sure once the locals find out you’re home, they’ll be coming around to console and commiserate.”
Sid hopped off her stool. “Let me help you to the car.”
Tom moved slowly to his feet, then wrapped an arm around Sid’s shoulders, dwarfing the tiny woman beneath his six foot five frame. Lucas thought she might buckle under the weight, but Sid moved with little effort beside his weakened father. A man he’d thought of as a superhero once upon a time.
No one liked to think about the mortality of their parents, including Lucas, so he pushed reality to the back of his mind. “Mom,” he said, sliding up beside her once his dad was out of earshot. “I’ve never seen Dad talk to you like that. Are you okay?”
Patty sighed. “I’m fine. It’s a side effect of the heart attack and surgery. The doctor warned me he’d be a bear for a while. Feeling weak and vulnerable isn’t easy for any man, but especially not your father.”
Lucas gave her a hug. “Everything is going to be okay,” he said, not sure if the words were for her benefit or his own.
“Yes, it will.” Patty gave him an extra squeeze before pulling away. “He’s my life, you know. I’m not sure what I’d do without him.” Tears floated in her eyes and Lucas’s heart clenched. Just thinking about life without his dad made his mind revolt. There was still too much ahead—weddings and grandchildren and holiday gatherings—that Tom needed to be a part of.
“That man will outlive us all,” he said. “In a few months he’ll be behind this bar barking orders and keeping the tourists in check.”
“But maybe he shouldn’t be.” The words were spoken so softly, Lucas almost didn’t hear them. “I know he loves this place, but I can’t let it be the death of him.”
Lucas slid a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “We won’t let that happen. Let’s just get him healthy for now and cross that bridge when it comes.”
His mom gave his hand a squeeze. “You being here means the world to him. I can’t thank you enough for that.”
“Make me your roast and potatoes with homemade slaw, and we’ll call it even.” Lucas dropped a kiss on his mom’s forehead. “Then I’ll whip up my latest specialty—chicken marsala. I found an amazing recipe, then gave it a kick to make it even better.”
“I guess that’s one good thing about you being away from home. You have to feed yourself. Joe’s version of cooking is ordering a pizza.” Patty walked with Lucas to the door. “About Sid’s outfit? Is that for your benefit?”
“Not going there, Mom.” He tried to shuffle her out.
“You could do a lot worse,” she said, stopping just inside the door. “She’s rough around the edges, but you could use a woman like Sid. You’ve gotten too polished up there in the city.”
“If you keep this up, I can be on the next ferry out.”
“Fine. Fine. But that girl has had a thing for—” Just then, the front door flew open, cutting Patty off and sending her headfirst into Lucas’s chest.
“What the …” Sid came around the door and spotted them. “Sorry, Mrs. D. I didn’t know you were there.”
Lucas righted his mom. “I’ve got one parent down, let’s not take out the other, huh?”
“I’m fine,” Patty said. “We shouldn’t have stopped so close to the door like that.” Patty lifted her hand to Lucas’s face, pulling him down to drop a kiss on his cheek. Then she tapped his chest and smiled. “You’ll figure it out. You’re a smart boy.” With that, she left the building.
“What are you supposed to figure out?” Sid asked as the door closed behind Patty.
“I have no idea.”
By noon, Sid began to question the effectiveness of the plan. Lucas’s eyes remained on her face whenever he deigned to look her way, which wasn’t often, and she’d done so many laps around the dining room, her inner thighs were starting to chafe. Cutting the squats down to once a week might not have been the best idea.
They hadn’t talked about the kiss on the beach, Sid’s blatant invitation to sex, or Lucas’s reluctant yet firm refusal. In fact, the man seemed to be using the same tactic she was, pretending nothing had happened.
Fine. If he could blow it off, then so could she.
What she couldn’t seem to blow off was Lot. For a seventeen-year-old, the boy had enough pickup lines to fill a How Not To Pick Up Women manual. Each less creative and original than the one before, they’d made her laugh at the start of the day. After a couple hours, she wanted to deck him.
“I’ve got a fifteen minute break,” Lot whispered. “What do you say we sneak out back and you make a man out of me?” Did the boy stay up nights thinking of this shit?
“If you keep it up, Lot, I’m going to make a girl out of you.”
“So that’s a maybe?”
Sid shook her head and walked away. Too bad school didn’t start for another month.
“I’ve got three drafts, one diet, and an order of onion rings,” she said, sliding the drinks from her previous order onto her tray. “Add a cup of ranch dressing with the rings.”
“Coming right up.” Lucas called her food order through the window to the kitchen, then moved three chilled glasses to the taps. “How did you think Dad looked this morning?”
Loading the tray onto her shoulder, Sid answered, “Like he had a heart attack a week ago. What did you think he’d look like?”
Lucas lifted one shoulder as a glass filled with beer. “I don’t know. I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”
He looked worried so she said, “My dad had the same thing, only he never made it out of the hospital. Tom looks weak right now, but the fact he’s walking around shows he’s stronger than you think.”
“Your dad died of a heart attack?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah,” she said, the sudden turn of conversation bringing the threat of tears. “I’d better deliver these drinks.”
When Sid returned for her next order, four large white bags sat on the stainless steel shelf, each marked with the letters AA. Manny.
“There’s my girl. How you doin’, Sid?”
She took a deep breath before turning around. “I’m good, Manny. How are things in Adventure Land?”
Instead of answering, Manny did his best impression of a drowning fish. Georgette floated past him and said, “Breathe, Manny.”
“Oye mamacita, que buena estás.” He followed that statement with, “I’ll take lunch duty for the rest of the summer if you keep dressing like that.”
Before Sid could respond, Lucas stepped in front of her, cutting off her view of anything but his back and broad shoulders. “Can I help you?” he asked, sounding less than cordial. In fact, he sounded pissed.
“I was talking to Sid,” she heard Manny say. “Who are you?”
For half a second, Sid considered taking out one of Lucas’s knees for acting like a macho ass, but then she realized he was acting like a macho ass on her behalf. She was no expert, but his stance and tone indicated a bout of jealousy.