Kayla was obviously exhausted.
“It’s all right,” I said. “Rest. We have a long drive ahead of us.”
Kayla nodded and closed her eyes.
I gazed out the window as we left the dirt road in favor of the paved one. The drive became smoother and Kayla nodded off. She slumped sideways in her seat until her cheek found my shoulder. I hid my smile and continued gazing out the window as the apple orchard gave way to fields of hay and rolling hills of grass.
It felt good to have her so close. It was a kind of intimacy I hadn’t felt in a long while. Years, even. Her hair smelled like her shampoo, citrus and honey, and there was a lingering scent of hay around her that wasn’t at all unpleasant.
For the rest of the drive, I considered what she’d told me about Angelica and the other children who were part of the lunch program. It didn’t sit well with me that there was such a high risk of these children going hungry for days if there wasn’t proper funding.
I could do something about that.
I would do something about that.
The ride became less enjoyable as we arrived in the city. We made more frequent stops at red lights and the children were becoming unsettled. They wanted to get out and stretch their legs, and truth be told, so did I. I’d barely moved the entire drive for fear of waking Kayla up and spoiling the moment.
When we finally pulled up in front of the Good Fellow’s office and the doors opened, everyone got to their feet. Children started brushing past us and Kayla woke. She sat up straight and rubbed at her eyes before shooting me an apologetic and timid glance. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I’m sorry. That’s so embarrassing.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. You had a big day today. And I’m sure you were up at the crack of dawn.”
Kayla nodded and put a hand on her stomach. “I’m looking forward to a cold drink and a warm meal,” she admitted. “That pie feels like it was a long time ago.”
We got off the bus last. Kayla thanked the driver and handed him a folded white envelope she fished out of her jean pocket. He thanked her as we stepped out onto the sidewalk, waved, and pulled out into traffic.
“What was that?” I asked.
“A tip,” she said as she waved goodbye to the children and their parents as everyone began making their way to their cars or the normal public transit bus stop up ahead. “He drives his bus for the school district but offered to take us out to the farms today for free. He’s our driver a lot of times, and if I have spare money in the budget, I like to throw a little something his way. He thinks it’s from all the parents and guardians. Otherwise, he’d never take it.”
Did her generosity have no end?
Her stomach growled loud enough that I heard it. She groaned pitifully. “Oh my goodness, I’m starving.” She turned to me. “I’m glad you came out today. Lisa will be thrilled to hear how well everything went. And I’m looking forward to seeing Winifred’s photos. I bet she captured some great moments.”
“Come to dinner with me tonight.”
Kayla blinked. “Sorry?”
That might have been a little forward. I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. “You’re hungry. I’m hungry. I know this great place just a little ways down the street. We could walk over and be there in less than ten minutes. The food is great. Trust me. Let me treat you to dinner. It’s my way of thanking you for a good day out of the city.”
Her eyes danced back and forth between mine, and for a moment, I thought she was going to say no.
“I’m not sure, Lukas,” she said slowly.
“I want to talk business. I did some thinking on the drive and want to talk to you about some ideas I have.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Strictly a business dinner, then?”
“Strictly.”
“All right,” she conceded. “Fine. You lead the way. And you’d better pray this place doesn’t serve fancy little portions. I want something big and heavy. Like pasta. Or a burger.”
I laughed as she fell into step beside me and we made our way down the sidewalk. “You can order anything you want. I own a portion of the business.”
“Of course, you do,” she said with a knowing eye roll.
“It has its perks.”
Dominion, the restaurant in question, was an elegant steak house positioned right on the street corner. It had a gothic edge to it with dark, moody decor, plush red velvet fabric accents, and ambient lighting. Kayla shot me a look when we walked through the front doors.
“This place is way too nice for me to show up in jeans and sneakers,” she muttered.
I leaned toward her. “Another perk of owning the place? You can wear whatever you want and nobody bats an eye.”
“I thought you said you owned a portion.”
“I was being humble.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around at the customers in dresses and suits.
I shrugged out of my jacket, loosened my tie, and popped the first three buttons of my shirt open. “There. Now we’re both messes.”
Kayla smirked. “You are so out of touch if you think loosening a couple of buttons make you look like a mess.”
A server saw us to our table in a private room at the back of the restaurant. Kayla said nothing about the personal service and dining area but she seemed to relax once we were secluded from the other customers. We were given menus and brought glasses of water. Kayla polished hers off in a matter of minutes as she scoured the menu. I didn’t interrupt her decision-making process.
When she put the menu down, we locked eyes.
“So you said you wanted to
