“Hi, Addie,” Veta shouted from the grill, and Ivan waved as Lana enveloped Addie in an exuberant hug.
“Hi, Lana,” Addie said into her friend’s ear and waved at Veta and Ivan in the kitchen.
They were a cheerful family and luckily, for them and their business, the locals as well as the college students had welcomed their Ukrainian charm.
“You need to visit more often,” Lana said as she held Addie at arm’s length. “Two weeks is too long. Right, Veta?”
“Right,” Veta said as she came out to the lobby and gave Addie a big hug.
“What’s wrong?” Veta asked with a mischievous grin. “You find a man who keeps you too busy to visit us now?”
Addie laughed. “No, just a lot of farm work and writing deadlines.”
The two other women chuckled as they got back to work. “You shouldn’t be that busy,” Lana said as she delivered a caramel mocha and a grilled sandwich to one of their customers, a big smile on her face and a sincere ‘Thank you for coming in,’ on her lips.
“You hired three strong men to help you,” she continued as she returned to the counter. “You should have lots of time to come see us and go out once in a while.”
Addie sighed. “Well, I had to fire those three strong men this morning. And when I checked, the work they were supposed to have finished was either half done or not done at all.”
“Oh, no,” Veta said as she brought another plate of yummy goodness to the front for Lana to deliver.
“That’s no good,” Lana said as she took the plate out to the customer.
Veta rested her elbows on the counter, concern in her pale blue eyes. “What are you going to do?”
“Well,” Addie leaned on the counter across from her friend, “I was either going to do it all myself or take the long drive to Selah or Yakima, or even waste the four-hour trip down to Tri-Cities to see if I could find someone. If there was anyone still available. But I may not have to do any of that now.”
“Oh!” Lana said as she returned and caught the last half of what Addie had said. “Did you find yourself a good man? Is he handsome? Is he smart? Does he have a brother?”
Addie chuckled at the younger woman’s exuberance. Lana was a flirt and boy-crazy to boot, but Addie found her amusing rather than annoying. Maybe that was because of her genuinely sweet disposition.
“I did find a man,” she answered, “but for the farm, not for me.”
Lana pouted prettily in disappointment.
“Where did you find someone this late in the season?” Veta asked.
Knowing neither of them would like this, she chose her next words carefully. “I picked him up on the side of the road and gave him a ride to town.”
“What!” the sisters said in unison, and Ivan looked over at her with narrowed eyes. Ivan wasn’t much of a talker, but he was protective of his family, which she’d become when he married Veta two years ago.
“You picked up a stranger?” Veta asked, her eyes narrowed, looking every bit the protective older sister.
“Yes, I did, and a good thing, too—”
“He’s one of the cowboys from the rodeo, isn’t he?” Lana asked excitedly.
“Well, yes, he is. He’s experienced, says he’s a hard worker, and doesn’t know any of the locals around here. Anyway, he’s agreed to stay for a few months to help me out.”
“And why did he do that?” Veta asked and Ivan nodded, both still suspicious and clearly expecting Cade to be dangerous.
“His truck broke down and he doesn’t have the money to fix it.”
When Veta tilted her head as if to say, “And how do you know that?” Addie recounted her experience and conversation with Cade.
“He’s a better choice than Mark Harden,” Addie said and her friends all nodded.
“That’s true,” Veta said.
The bell above the door jingled and Addie turned, hoping to see Cade ambling in, but it was only a couple of tourists. An odd sense of disappointment washed over her. She stepped back as Lana greeted the new customers and in a flash, had them telling her all they’d done and planned to do that weekend.
“We had a really handsome cowboy come in here this morning,” Lana confided quietly once her customers had finished and gone to their seats. “One of the bronc riders.”
Addie lifted her eyebrows and grinned. “Really?”
“Yes. Veta keeps telling me to slow down, but how can I when there are so many men in the world?” She smiled slyly. “Besides this one was…” She waved a hand in front of her face. “Oh, so hot, hot, hot! Had eyes you could drown in.”
“Stop drooling, Svetlana,” her sister said sternly as she brought two drinks to the counter for Lana to deliver. “I’m sure Addie has better things to think about than your endless crushes.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Lana said with a wink that made Addie laugh as she sashayed across the cafe.
Veta shook her head as she eyed her sister. “I worry about her. She has no caution.”
“She’s still young,” Addie said.
“Yes, young and silly.”
“And so were you, once upon a time,” Lana said as she returned to the counter.
Veta sighed and went back to the grill. “Are you going to get your regular, Addie?”
“I’m waiting for someone.”
“Oh, the new man?” Lana’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Is it a date?”
Veta rolled her eyes behind her sister’s back and Addie chuckled again.
“No, Lana, it’s not a date. It’s just time to eat and we’re both here. Well, he should be here shortly.”
“Ah, too bad,” Lana said and then grinned broadly. “You need a date.”
“No, I don’t,” Addie replied. She had enough to do as it was. “Don’t start that again.”
Lana’s eyes widened in mock innocence. “I’m not starting anything.”
“Leave her alone, Lana.” Veta’s voice snapped like a whip, but Lana waved off her sister’s warning.
“I was just saying…”
Veta handed a bag of sandwiches to a customer and
