Discovering Pride (Pride Series) (4 page)

L
acey loved Saturday nights. She had sweat rolling between her shoulder blades, a juice stain on her shirt, and she was sure there was a small blister on her right heel. But, she had a large smile on her face.

Saturday’s were always busy at the Golden Oar, her family’s restaurant, and Lacey loved them. This was when families came in for a night out away from their kitchens, and couples came in for dates and dimly lit tables.

She adored this small town and the fact she knew everyone by name; further, she liked almost every last person. She was serving the Bergman’s, a family of nine in the large dining hall, when she felt a shiver run up her spine. Setting a plate down, she turned her head slightly to the left and spotted the cause of her disturbance.

He stood in the doorway, and the young receptionist, Katie, was trying to get his attention so she could seat him.

He wore an old pair of jeans with a small hole in one knee, old tennis shoes, and a UCLA t-shirt that had seen better days. His hair was messed up like he had run his hands through it, and he had a smudge of dirt on his chin. He looked great. He gave her one of his big smiles. Katie proceeded to lead him to one of the tables in her section.

After clearing her drink tray, she headed over to Aaron’s table. She’d hoped that after the other night, she wouldn’t see him for a while. She really wished she would stop thinking of him.

“Hi, can I get you something to drink?” she asked while handing him a menu.

“Hi.” He said as he smiled up at her.

“Hi,” she said back. When he just continued to look at her, she piped in, “We’ve a lovely Red Merlot, or perhaps you prefer a White Chardonnay?” She could feel her frustration building as he continued to smile at her as she proceeded to run through the whole drink menu.

“You look very appealing in that outfit.” he continued to smile at her without once looking down at his menu.

The building frustration helped her forget to hide her astonishment and her mouth dropped open.

When he had walked into the crowded restaurant, he expected something different from the very comfortable environment full of happy patrons. The place felt like home, it was hard to explain, but it felt…right.

He had just finished a quick scan of the large restaurant with its nautical theme when he spotted Lacey serving food to a large family in the back corner.  The first thing he noticed was the outfit. 
 
He appreciated the short black skirt that showed off her legs; she looked very appealing.

He enjoyed watching the way she moved through the room and tables like she was on a mission. Then he was treated with her rehearsed citation of the restaurant’s drink menu.   He felt that listening to that sexy voice was never going to be a hardship. However, he thought it was his duty to throw her off balance, and gauging by her expression, he was sure he had succeeded.

“I’ll have a beer please.” he said when she closed her mouth. He could see her eyes starting to fire up with frustration.

She turned on her heels and marched off without a word. He smiled and enjoyed watching her walk away.

Less than a minute later, a
 
tall man came out the kitchen doors,
 
scanned the room, and marched towards his
 
table with determination.

The man was easily a half foot taller than him, but their
 
builds were similar. 

 “Can I help you?” said the man as he came to a stop in front of Aaron’s table.  Aaron thought he heard a hint of an accent but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Yes, I believe I’m ready to order.” he said looking down at his menu. When he received no response, he looked back up at the man. 
 
He had a confused expression on his face and then it dawned on Aaron. The man had the same silver eyes as Lacey, the same black hair, and even the same dip in the chin.
 
This must be Lacey’s brother, Iian, who was deaf.  Setting the menu down, Aaron signed his greeting.

“Hello, you must be Iian, I’m Dr. Aaron Stevens. Todd has told me so much about you and this restaurant.  I thought I’d come and check it out for myself.”
 

“
Dr. Stevens? You’re Dr. Stevens’ grandson?” Iian signed back looking surprised
 
and relieved. When Lacey had come back to the kitchen complaining about the “jerk” at table eleven, he had marched out to take care of the man.

“
Yes.”
 

Iian smiled back at him. “May I join you for a few minutes?” When Aaron nodded, Iian
 
sat in one of the empty chairs.

“
It’s good to finally meet the man who took such good care of
 
Megan. I heard you’re taking
 
over your grandfather’s practice.”

The conversation was light and friendly;
 Aaron figured he would like Iian just as much as he liked Todd. 
 
Both brothers were friendly and very protective of
 
their loved ones.

Iian and Aaron
 
were laughing when Lacey came back
 
over with Aaron’s beer.

She
 
had been surprised to see the doctor using sign to talk to Iian
 
and could not help but notice his hands moving fluently with the language.
 
She felt her heart rate increase as she stared at them; they were large and tan and she tried not to imagine what they would feel like all over her body. Both men looked up at her and smiled, she quickly pulled her eyes back to Aaron’s face.

“
Well Doctor, have you decided what you want?” she pulled out her pad and pencil.

When she was met with silence she peered over at him. He was giving her a funny look with another one of his goofy smiles.

For the second time that night she felt her cheeks heat and quickly looked
 
over at Iian who was smiling back at her.

“
I’m still working on it.” he said with a smile.

Iian had never seen Lacey this way before; her face was flushed and he was sure she was blushing.
Iian had the feeling that he
 
had been completely forgotten.

“
What time do you get off work?” Aaron asked. Just then, Iian stood up, laughed loudly and walked back to the kitchen shaking his head.

“Let’s just get this out in the open.” she pointed her pen in his direction. “I don’t like pushy men; I don’t know where you come from but around here…” she trailed off when she noticed he
wasn’t paying attention to her anymore.  His eyes were on her face but she could see that they
 
had filled with sadness. She took a deep breath and sat down across
 
from him placing her hand on his.

“
Where did you just go?” she whispered.

He looked across the table at her. Her eyes showed concern instead of the resentment he had seen a second earlier.  He shook his head to clear it. Of course he had been thinking of Jennifer. He’d tried to completely wipe her from his mind, but she kept sneaking back in.

Looking across the table at Lacey, who was the complete opposite of Jennifer, made him wonder why he was so fascinated by her.  She was unlike any woman he had ever been interested in before.

He liked tall,
 
blonde, athletic types. So, why did he have an urge, one that came from down deep inside, to get to know Lacey? Was he willing to chance a relationship again? Could he afford the cost again if things went wrong?

Lacey saw his eyes focusing slowly on her and then glanced down to their joined hands. She pulled her hand away.

“She did a number on you?” she whispered.

“
Who?” he said shrugging and trying to act casual.

Lacey shook her head. “Listen Doctor…” she began.

“
Can you just call me Aaron? When you call me Doctor it almost sounds like an insult.” He smiled over at her and pulled her hand back into his. Lacey tugged on her hand after she saw his eyes were focus and full of mischief.

“
Did you come here to eat dinner? Doctor?” she said as she stood and grasped her note pad and pen tightly.
He laughed and placed his order.  As she marched back towards the kitchen, he wondered what it would take to get inside that little bundle of
 
energy.

By closing time, Lacey’s feet were burning. As she helped clean up the dining area, she realized she enjoyed Saturday nights, but she also welcomed Sunday mornings.

The Doctor had left after filling himself with a full plate of appetizers, a huge steak and shrimp dinner, and a large plate of apple pie a la mode.

She had two
 
brothers, so she knew what it took to feed a man.  However, she guessed that both Todd and Iian wouldn’t have packed away as much food as
 
Aaron had.

She knew he was remodeling the old Bell place,
 
so she thought that maybe he hadn’t eaten since the dinner at Todd’s the other night. He had packed away almost as much food then too.

If there was one thing Lacey prided herself on, it was seeing to her town’s
 
people.  And now, however unconformable he made her, he was one of those people.

She could not understand the discomfort she felt; after all, he had been a perfect gentleman the rest of the evening, and he had left her a large enough tip. 

It wouldn’t hurt to visit the old Bell place tomorrow; she knew his offices were closed on the weekends. Maybe she would just stop by after church; after all, she mused, it would be the Christian thing to do.

She was curious to see what he was doing to the house. She also wondered about the hurt look in his eyes, and about the woman who had put it there.

A
ttending
Church always made Lacey feel more leveled. She found Father Michael’s voice soothing and often blocked out his words and let the feeling and mood of the service seep into her instead. He was a priest who believed in preaching at the congregation instead of to them.  She enjoyed the energy he brought; it gave her the extra push she needed to start the week. Todd and Megan had come to several services after their wedding, but this weekend they were missing.  Lacey knew Megan wasn’t Catholic, but she could tell Megan enjoyed being a part of the small community.

Iian had not been to church in some time; Lacey remembered it was right after the accident when he stopped attending.

After the service, Lacey found herself cornered by the usual group of elderly women. Lacey dubbed them the
“Hens of Pride”
, but never said this to their faces. She had grown up with these women being a part of her life and could handle their gossiping natures, for the most part.  However, today they seemed more organized and seemed to have a purpose.