open the refrigerator to start getting breakfast together.
“Did they bring all that?” Cheryl asked.
“Yes.”
A knock startled him slightly. He checked and answered the door. “Hey, Gerome.” He smiled and got one in return, which made his belly flutter a little.
“Morning. Do you guys need anything? I have to stop at the store after work and thought I’d ask.” His gaze shifted from Tucker to Cheryl. “I see you’re feeling better.”
“Is Coby coming to play?” Joshie asked.
“I’m not sure,” Gerome answered.
“I think we’re good,” Tucker told him.
Cheryl slipped off the stool and approached Gerome. She stood in front of him, and it looked like the two of them were trying to stare each other down for a second. “Jesus…,” she breathed softly. “I’ve known plenty of men in my time, but you’re the stoniest, most closed-off one I have ever met.” She didn’t look away for another thirty seconds at least.
“What was that for?” Gerome asked.
She finished her juice, and Tucker started a pot of coffee. God, he had missed the stuff. “Sometimes I can read people, but I can’t get anything from you. So either you have nothing to hide, or you don’t want anyone to possibly see anything.”
Tucker had never seen her like this.
“Does that scare you?” Gerome asked.
Cheryl shrugged. “Nope. I worry about people who fidget. You held my gaze. I don’t think we have anything to fear from you. But you could bring danger along with you. I’m not sure what to make of that.” She stepped away and sat back down, her doubts seemingly satisfied.
“I have to get to work.” Gerome seemed a little uncomfortable, and he hurried to the door. “Oh, before I go. Richard—he’s the bartender at the Driftwood—said that they were looking for someone to help in the kitchen. I told him you had skills, and he said for you to come on by. If you’re interested, he can see about a job.”
Tucker could hardly believe it. “Sure. What time does he want me there?” He hadn’t thought about how having a job would make him feel. He could be useful again and not take handouts.
“He said to come about eleven. Richard said that they need someone who would help with the prep work and work through the lunch hour.” Gerome raised his gaze. “Andi, one of Richard’s servers, is saying that she needs help. Cheryl, have you ever waited tables?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve done just about anything.”
“Then you could come in with him as well. It’s just a few shifts a week, but it might help. Daniel has said that Joshie could come over to play with Coby when you’re working. Daniel works from home.”
Cheryl’s mouth hung open. “Okay. Where did you come from?” Tucker was wondering the same thing. Was this hard, jagged-edged man really some sort of angel in disguise? “You can’t be real. No one does this for someone else.”
Gerome had his hand on the doorknob, but he turned his gaze to Joshie. “Look, I wasn’t all that much older than Joshie when I lost my parents. There was one person who helped me, the mother of one of my friends. She gave me all the care and love I had missed from others. I wasn’t her son or even her foster son. But she took the place of my mother and asked nothing in return.” Gerome’s voice broke. Tucker went to him but hesitated. He wanted to comfort him but didn’t have the right and wasn’t sure if Gerome would accept it from him. So instead of taking his hand, he just stood there watching him, catching his gaze for a few fleeting seconds. Suddenly Gerome’s edges didn’t seem as rough, and Tucker realized he was seeing something very rare. “I’m only repaying the kindness that I was shown once.” He pulled open the door, and Tucker saw the hard shell fall back into place, jagged edges and all. “Don’t make me regret it.”
He left, and Tucker stared at the door for a few seconds.
He had to wonder what all that was about.
“I think he likes you,” Cheryl commented.
Tucker laughed and shook his head. “Sure he does.” He pushed his own feelings away. Gerome fascinated him. There was a heart under all that stone, but Tucker wondered if he could ever truly reach it.
Cheryl bumped his arm. “I know when a man is interested, and he definitely is. The dark, stony types are the most passionate. Once you get through all that granite, there’s usually an animal