out. And that's not even his job. He volunteered for that.
We go inside and find a table. Instead of chairs you sit on hay bales and the tables are pieces of plywood set on sawhorses.
"Too rustic?" Keith asks.
"No. It's fun. I like it."
"They don't make the pies here. There's a separate building for that. They just serve them here and all they serve is pie."
"What can I get ya?" the waitress asks as she stops at our table. She has on really tight denim shorts and a tiny cropped Pie Barn t-shirt that leaves her midriff exposed. She's cute and showing off a lot of skin but Keith keeps his eyes on her face. I bet Tyler wouldn't. If he were here, he'd be totally checking her out.
Why am I thinking about Tyler? Dammit!
"Faith?" Keith says. "Do you know what you want?"
I look over the one-page menu. "I'll have whatever's most popular."
"That'd be our chocolate cream pie," the waitress says.
"Sounds good. I'll have that."
"And I'll have the lemon meringue," Keith says.
"Good choice." She winks at him and smiles before walking away.
"Flirty waitresses," I say, taking a sip of water.
"Was she flirting? I didn't notice."
"She winked at you."
"That's just her trying to get a better tip."
"What if I'm the one paying?"
"You're not, so it's not an issue. But if you're feeling left out, I can ask her to wink at you too."
I laugh. "No thanks."
"Hey." He winks at me. "How's it going?" He winks again, an exaggerated wink that makes me laugh again.
"Stop doing that," I say as he continues to wink.
"Why? You don't find it sexy?"
"Not at all. But it's funny. I'll give you that."
Our waitress is at the table next to ours, dropping off the check. Keith watches her, then says, "She winked at him too."
I look over and see an old guy with a long bushy beard.
"I think it's safe to say the winking is for tips," Keith says.
A teenage boy drops off some napkins and plastic forks, then takes off. Keith divides them between us, setting each fork neatly on the napkin.
"So tell me about being a fireman," I say. "Have you been in many fires?"
"Yes, but only one here in town. The rest were back in Texas, where I went to college. It was a small town with not much to do. They were looking for volunteer firemen so I signed up. I didn't tell my parents until I'd been doing it a couple years. I knew my mom would freak out, which she did when I finally told her. She worries too much."
"I'd be worried too. It's a dangerous job."
"It is, but someone has to do it, and I feel like it's important to give back."
"Me too. I'm going to be volunteering for the county youth program once classes start. I'll earn school credit but that's not why I'm doing it."
"So what's the reason?"
"There's a lot of kids that lose interest in school and people give up on them. They end up not graduating. That happened to my neighbor." I sigh. "I shouldn't have told you that. I don't think he wants people knowing."
"I'm sure it's fine. I don't even know the guy."
"The point is, if someone had just believed in him, he might've stayed in school. I'm hoping I can be that someone."
"That's great."
"Yeah, I'm excited about it. So is this where you're from? This town?"
"No. I grew up in Illinois and then Texas. My parents moved here when I was in college. My grandfather had a law firm here and my dad took it over when he died."
"So your dad grew up here?"
"Yeah. He said he'd never come back, but as he got older the idea of small town living seemed more appealing. And it's not like it's a bad place to live. Because of the college we get some good bands stopping by throughout the year. Actually, there's a concert in a few weeks. I was going to get tickets. Maybe you'd want to go?"
"Maybe. Can I get back to you? I still have to figure out my schedule."
"Sure. And hey, I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I just need to get the tickets soon."
"Do you think you'll stay here? Keep working for your dad?"
"If I met someone who wants to live here, then yeah. Otherwise, I'm open to moving somewhere else. My dad doesn't expect me to stay. What about you? Where are you going after school?"
"I don't know yet. My mom’s in California so I could go