That Night in Texas

Then Vivi smiled at him and his heart ballooned and his pants tightened. Yeah, as he’d said before, he was neck-deep in trouble, all right. And was that an alligator snacking on his ass?

Seven

Vivi burst into tears when she walked through the doors of The Rollin’ Smoke. The main seating area was still covered in an inch of water, but judging by the dark stains on the walls, the floodwater had swamped the leather-covered benches within the booths and knocked over chairs and tables. Her eyes immediately examined the rare photographs of long-ago Texas that hung on the walls, and she was relieved to see that most looked undamaged. The chairs and tables and the flooring could be replaced but the photographs couldn’t.

Clem, who sat on Vivi’s hip, patted her cheek. “No cry, Mommy.”

Vivi felt Cam’s broad hand on her back and turned her head to look up at him. “Yeah, don’t cry, Mommy. It’s all fixable.”

Vivi bit her lower lip. “It’s such a mess, Cam.”

Cam’s hand drew big circles on her back. “It’s just stuff, Viv. Nobody got hurt, that’s the main thing.”

Vivi hauled in a deep breath, grateful for his succinct and pointed assessment of the situation. He was right—it was just stuff, and everybody who worked here was okay. It was, as he said, all fixable.

“Joe! Joe!”

Clem’s piping, excited voice made Vivi turn. She saw Joe, her boss, friend and mentor, standing in the doorway to her kitchen, looking ten years older than before. This restaurant was his life’s work, his baby. And his employees were his family. For him, this was like losing his home.

Vivi picked her way through the debris and walked straight into his arms, sighing when his big, brawny arms encircled her and her child. This man was her family, her sounding board, more than her own father had been. Vivi buried her face in his shirt and let the tears fall. She felt Joe taking Clem into his arms, and then his hand was rubbing her back and she felt his lips in her hair. “Shh, baby girl, it’ll be okay.”

After a few minutes Vivi raised her face and reached for the kitchen towel Joe always kept tucked into the waistband of his pants. She wiped her eyes, sniffed and sent a worried-looking Clem a shaky smile. “It’s okay, baby, Mommy is just upset that the horrible flood made such a mess.”

Clem pursed her lips. “So, no mac-cheese today?”

Vivi smiled and Joe laughed. Clem always ate Joe’s specially-made-for-her pasta dish when she visited the restaurant.

Vivi looked around at the damage and forced the question from between clenched teeth. “So, how long are we going to be out of business?”

Joe ignored her to greet Cam, whom he’d met before. Vivi saw the speculation in his eyes, knew that he was wondering what was happening between Cam and her. She’d be getting a phone call later and demands for an explanation.

Joe led the way into the kitchen and placed Clem on the stainless-steel counter. Vivi smiled when Cam came to stand next to the table, one hand anchoring her small thigh so that she wouldn’t tumble to the wet floor. He was already a protective dad. God help Clem when she was sixteen and wanting to date. Vivi boosted herself up onto the counter to sit next to her.

“Are you okay?” Joe demanded, cupping her face in his big hands, his eyes skimming her face. “You said that you had an accident and that you were fine, but I know you, Vivi. You treat an in inch-deep cut as a scratch.”

Cam opened his mouth to speak and Vivi tossed him a don’t-you-dare scowl. Joe didn’t need to know how close she’d come to death; he had enough to deal with as it was. “I’m fine, Joe. I just have a couple of bruises.” Wanting to change the subject, she looked around. “Where is everybody? I expected the staff to be here, cleaning up.”

“It’s Sunday and I sent them home,” Joe said. “They are exhausted, and many needed to spend time at their own homes.”

Vivi gripped the edge of the counter and asked again, “When do you think we can open?”

Devastation flashed in Joe’s eye and Vivi’s heart plummeted into free fall. When Joe dropped his gaze from hers, ice-cold panic skittered through her veins. “Joe, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?”