Sweet Tea At Sunrise

“Sure, abandon me in my time of need,” he grumbled as she rose, but for once there was a spark of his old sense of humor in his eyes.

That glint made Sarah’s heart catch. Walter Price had been handsome, no question about it. He still was, for that matter. But it was his sense of humor that had captivated her. When that had died, driven out by his demanding father and exasperating mother, she’d lost all hope for their marriage. That didn’t mean she couldn’t hope that one of these days he’d find himself again.

When Travis walked into Wharton’s for lunch on Saturday, he noticed that Sarah seemed to be operating on autopilot. She never once met his gaze while taking his order. Nor did she respond when he told her she was looking mighty fine today.

He watched her as she went through the motions of handing out meals, writing tickets and making change, barely exchanging a word with any of the customers. She looked as if she were a million miles away. Wherever she was, it seemed to be an unhappy place.

Travis liked a puzzle as well as the next person, but he’d always figured the quickest way to figure one out was to ask what you wanted to know. When Sarah brought him a tuna sandwich instead of the chicken salad special he’d ordered, he snagged her hand.

“Hold on, sugar. I ordered the special.”

Jerking her hand away, she looked down at the plate on the table as if seeing it for the first time, then blushed furiously. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know where my head is.”

“You’ve been looking distracted ever since I came in,” he said, choosing his words carefully. Something told him she was one harsh word away from coming unglued. “Is there a problem?”

“Not really. I just made a mistake, that’s all.”

“Never seen you make one before.”

“If you only knew,” she said with an edge in her voice. “I’ll get your chicken salad and be right back.”

Travis decided to let her go. When she returned with his meal, he tried again.

“You know what I’ve been thinking?” he said, then went right on before she could walk away. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about how much I miss that smile of yours.”

She regarded him skeptically.

Travis nodded. “That’s the gospel truth,” he assured her. “I count on that sunny smile. It makes people feel real welcome.”

She frowned at his comment. “Sorry. It’s not on the menu today.”

“Any particular reason?”

Her frown deepened. “Why are you making such a big deal about this? Everyone has a bad day from time to time.”

“Because it always bothers me when I see a woman looking so unhappy.”

“So, what? You think you have to rush in and play Sir Galahad?”

He grinned. “Something like that. It’s a curse, but that’s just the way I am.”

Her lips twitched slightly, as if she were fighting a smile. “Eat your lunch, Sir Galahad. I’m busy.”

“Really?” he said with an exaggerated look around. He was the only customer left.

She blinked as she realized the same thing. “Oh.”

“I hope everyone didn’t slip out without paying,” he said with feigned worry.

She did smile then, albeit with obvious reluctance. “You going to pick up their tabs, if they did? In the interest of putting a smile on my face?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Or you could just sit down here and talk about your troubles.”

“With you? A total stranger?”

“Now, that’s not quite right. I thought you and I had been getting to know each other for days now.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Well, I know yours, Sarah. Mine’s Travis. Travis McDonald.” He held out his hand. Schooled with good manners, she took it, but released it almost immediately.

“McDonald?” she repeated, recognition obviously dawning as the name registered. “Any relation to Tom, our town manager?”

“He’s my cousin,” he admitted, then smiled. “Now, see, we’re practically old friends. You can tell me anything.”

“I thought men hated listening to women pour out their problems,” she said, studying him curiously.

“Really? I’ve found it’s the best way to get to know a woman. If you don’t listen to what’s going on in her life, how are you supposed to know how to make her happy?”

“And making women happy is what you do?”

He laughed at the innuendo in her tone. “Not in that way, sugar, though we could probably work something out.”

She stared at him for a beat, clearly uncertain whether he was joking or not. Finally, she chuckled. “You’re outrageous.”

“Just one of the words I’ve heard used,” he admitted. “Sit, and I’ll tell you some of the others.”

“But I thought you wanted to talk about me,” she said, feigning disappointment.

Travis laughed. “That’ll work, too.”

“Sorry. I really do have to get back to work. As soon as I get this place back in order, I need to get home to my kids. They’re always upset when their daddy goes back to Alabama.”

“You’re divorced,” he concluded.

“Yes, and a single mom of a girl who’s not quite two and a boy who just turned four.”

“No wonder you look a little shell-shocked. That’s a heavy load to be carrying.”

Her gaze narrowed. “You don’t like kids?”

“I love kids, as a matter of fact. I’m just saying I know how demanding it is to raise a couple of them on your own.”

“Now how would you know a thing like that?” she asked with blatant skepticism.

“Because my mama did it with me and my two sisters. My daddy, bless his heart, was worthless when it came to parenting. He was good for three things, as near as I could tell, writing checks, chasing women and telling the rest of us how badly we were screwing up.”

“He sounds like a wonderful role model,” she said wryly. “Are you thinking of following in his footsteps? You certainly have the sweet talk down pat.”