Jesse Read Online Free PDF Page B

diner.”
    He stared at her, and for a moment, she thought he’d argue, but something in her gaze must have convinced him she was on the level with him. “Follow me.”
    They walked through the swinging doors to the main dining room, and there it was, just as she remembered—the etching on the plate glass window facing the street. “I know you told me the last time I spent the summer with you, but how old is that window?”
    Jimmy smiled. “’Bout seventy or eighty years old. That’s the first thing I saw when I pulled up out front—the etched glass. Had to have the place; didn’t know what I’d turn it into, but I had a couple of ideas.”
    Lacy looked from her mother to Uncle Jimmy and scrunched her nose. “That’s really old!”
    They both laughed at the innocence of youth. “Yes, it is, little lady.”
    Letting her glance sweep the room, Danielle noticed the oak tables, set in various groupings of two, four, and six. Right in the middle of every table was a glass bottle filled with colorful flowers. “I love the wildflowers in the mismatched jars.”
    â€œHobby of mine, collecting old condiment jars. Some are clear, brown, blue, or green. I like ’em all.” He shook his head. “It’s a lot of work, though, cutting all those damned flowers and changing them in and out of those jars every couple of days.”
    Lacy tugged on her mother’s hand until Danielle bent down. She cupped her hands around her mother’s ear and whispered, “Unca Jimmy just said a bad word.”
    Danielle smiled and said, “Yes, he did, sweetie.”
    â€œSorry.” He shook his head. “I’m not used to little ones. I’ll have to pay better attention.”
    â€œS’OK, but you’d better ’member. Mommy’s strict about bad words.”
    Her uncle didn’t laugh at her daughter, and she remembered that he had never laughed at her—he’d laughed with her plenty of times, but never at her. Just one item on the long list of reasons she loved her uncle and had always felt welcome here.
    â€œCan I see upstairs?”
    Her uncle hesitated. “It’s mighty hot up there today, maybe we can come back later tonight when the sun’s gone down for the night or first thing tomorrow.”
    Lacy followed behind her mother like a little puppy, stopping where she stopped, touching what Danielle touched. She was proud that her little one mimicked the way she did things, knowing that she was setting an example that Lacy should and would follow.
    â€œWe’re not sleeping here?”
    Jimmy shook his head. “Not in the diner. I’ve got a house just outside of town, on a nice quiet dead-end street. No streetlights, so you can see every single star that’ll be shining high in the Texas sky come evening time.”
    Lacy hung on every word and Danielle’s heart filled with admiration for her uncle. He always knew just what to say and how to say it so people—the tall and the small—relaxed in his company. It was his gift.
    Thinking of his way with people, she looked down at her watch and wondered where all of his customers were. “How come there are no customers?”
    He shrugged. “Afternoons are real slow in town, but things pick up later in the week. I’m mostly busy with the breakfast crowd these days, so I close up right around three o’clock every day.”
    â€œSo you’re OK then? The diner’s doing well?”
    He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead, then did the same with Lacy. “I’m fine and the diner’s doing better than good. You can stop worrying about your old uncle now.”
    Relief filled her, tangling with the raw feelings roiling inside of her for having to leave the town she’d spent the whole of her married life in. She needed to recharge, but now wasn’t the time. She