nurses.”
Chapter Four
Dot bustled around the kitchen while her coffee brewed. She put together a plain peanut butter sandwich, tossed it in a brown lunch sack, and reached into her pantry for the sugar-free fruit snacks she loved.
Her diet may be closer to that of a twelve-year-old boy, but Dot knew how to maintain her blood sugar. She disliked eggs and yogurt, which made eating breakfast really hard. Dot also hated sitting down to eat. It felt like such a waste of time to her, and she liked things she could grab and eat on the go.
She thought of the dinner with Ward last night. That had been a nice, sit-down-and-eat affair that had taken almost two hours. She’d thoroughly enjoyed herself too, a fact that made her frown when she thought of some of the bumps in last night’s date.
How could she enjoy herself so much when the man lectured her about her sarcasm?
“Probably because of that hot kiss,” she muttered, returning to the coffee maker now that it had completed its job. She poured herself a tall thermos of the stuff, skipped the sugar and cream, and twisted the lid on tight. She would nurse it all morning, along with a few bites of a high-fiber breakfast bar here and there, and she wouldn’t need insulin.
She packed it with her anyway, and she checked her jeans pocket for the hard candy that went everywhere with her. With her breakfast and lunch in her hands, she headed out to her truck.
She made the drive from the older, prettier East side of Three Rivers to the more industrial West side. From the Ground Up sat on a huge plot of land on the corner of Tenth West and the highway that ran toward Amarillo.
Piles of decorative rocks, bark, and pavers made a nice display for customers, and Dot had worked hard to make the lawn and trees and flower beds in front of the building look amazing. She decorated it for the holidays, and right now, since Christmas was only a couple of days away, she’d put a family of light-up reindeer in the front garden area that surrounded the pond.
She’d done all of the landscaping there, and she periodically changed out the bark and decorative rock so she could keep things fresh and show off new products.
Bella’s sporty coupe sat around the back of the building, as did Wendy’s sensible SUV. Wendy had been with Dot from the very first day she’d opened From the Ground Up, and she’d been a valuable asset in helping Dot acclimate to and understand the culture in Three Rivers, Texas.
Born and raised in New Mexico, Dot had had to become a Texan, something she felt sure she’d accomplished some days while on others she felt absolutely certain it would never happen.
As Dot got out of her truck, Calvin turned to park next to her on the passenger side. She waited at the back tailgate for him to get out, noting the Batman lunch box he used. She smiled at it. “You and Trevor use the same lunch box.”
“He likes to be like his daddy,” Calvin said, grinning. “What’s on the schedule for today?”
“I have no idea,” Dot said. “Wendy will have everything printed, I’m sure.”
The older woman liked doing things old-school, and that included printing delivery receipts though From the Ground Up had the software and devices needed to do digital signatures for the receipt of orders. Dot could admit she didn’t mind having something physical for her older customers to sign and for herself to look at when she was navigating around town in her huge dump truck, which she’d named Brutus.
“It’s Bella’s birthday,” Dot said, though she wasn’t sure how Calvin could’ve forgotten. Wendy had sent no less than seventeen texts about the lunchtime party she wanted everyone to attend. From the Ground Up employed six people besides Dot, and noon was when they were finally all there.
“I got her a gift card,” Calvin said with a nod. “You?”
“I hope it’s not to Small Plates,” Dot said. “Because that’s what I got.”
“Nope, for Wilde & Organic. She loves to go to their cooking classes with Dover, and I thought they’d like to go to a couple on me.”
“Good idea,” Dot said, wishing her gift card was that personal. She’d only chosen Small Plates because she’d been there last night. She wasn’t even sure Bella liked the restaurant.
As she entered the building, her phone rang. Dot tucked her lunch sack under her arm,