and yes, I was having breakfast in the diner earlier,” she acknowledged, though her tone was anything but friendly. “As for the pleasure of seeing you again, that’s yet to be determined. By my reckoning, you’ve been less than dutiful the past few years.”
He shouldn’t be surprised that Winifred Averill assumed the worst about him. The tone of his last conversation with his parents indicated that they had, as well. Yet he couldn’t recall doing anything in the past that would have made it so easy for people, especially those who should have known him best, to convict him without even hearing his side of the story.
Simon had never been intentionally cruel or neglectful in his life. But somehow he’d been painted as the villain where Lucy Kane was concerned. For the life of him, he couldn’t begin to understand why.
“I guess it wouldn’t cut any ice with you if I said that I only just found out about that little boy in the diner,” he replied, trying not to sound as defensive as he had begun to feel.
Winifred held his gaze for several long, silent seconds. Then she gave a nod of seeming satisfaction.
“Most anybody else told me that, I’d say likely story. But you always struck me as a decent young man, Simon Gilmore, and you surely come from decent folks. Lucy Kane never pointed a finger at you publicly. I doubt people would have been any the wiser if that child’s resemblance to you hadn’t become so obvious lately. You’re here now and you seem aware of your responsibilities. I imagine you’ll do right by the youngster and by Miss Kit, as well. I believe that’s what really matters.”
“I’ll certainly do my best, Mrs. Averill,” he assured her, though he wasn’t certain exactly how to begin.
Seeming to read his mind, Mrs. Averill tipped her head in the general direction of the diner, a few doors down the street from where Simon had parked his SUV.
“Might be wise of you to smooth Miss Kit’s ruffled feathers,” the elderly woman suggested. “She’s had a lot to deal with the past six months. First her mother got sick. Poor Dolores only lasted a few weeks before the cancer took her in December. Then Lucy Kane ran her silly self into a tree, and Miss Kit took on the boy. She’s been trying to sell the diner so she can go back to school in Seattle, but she hasn’t had any takers. I’d say she could use a strong shoulder to lean on right about now.”
“I hadn’t heard about Mrs. Davenport,” Simon said.
He understood even more how callous his behavior must have seemed to Kit. What had he been thinking, strolling up to her and kissing her the way he had?
That he’d been truly glad to see her just as he’d said….
“Not surprising with your folks gone as much as they are, but I’d head south for the winter if I could, too.” Mrs. Averill nodded agreeably, then tapped a bony finger on Simon’s arm. “You go on back to the Dinner Belle and talk to Kit. Take a few minutes and get to know that little boy of yours, too. He’s a fine one, if I do say so myself—just like his daddy, too,” she added, favoring him with a knowing smile before she headed off down the sidewalk to her rusty old pickup truck parked in front of the post office.
Daddy…
Overwhelmed yet again by the new reality he faced, Simon slowly rolled up the window and took his key from the ignition. He would take Mrs. Averill’s advice and talk to Kit again before he drove out to the ranch. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do when he finally saw his parents, and he wanted to be able to give them straight answers to the questions he had no doubt they were going to ask.
If anybody could tell him what he needed to know about Lucy and Nathan, it had to be Kit Davenport. Getting past her anger and hostility would be a challenge, but one he was ready to face. He hadn’t been able to think straight earlier. But he was ready now to present his case to her in a calm and deliberate manner.
With an odd sense of anticipation—all things considered—Simon walked the short distance back to the diner, savoring as best he could the lovely day. The sun had begun to warm with the first taste of summer heat, in counterpoint to the still-crisp, cool air coming off the snow-covered mountains of Glacier National Park, reminding him of how much he’d longed for just such days after the long frozen winters of his childhood.
He hadn’t minded trading months of ice, snow and subzero temperatures for the mist and drizzle of Seattle…until now. He had forgotten how invigorating late spring and early summer could be in this quiet town he’d once called home. But he would remember now, and come back more often. In fact, his parents would insist on it so they could see their grandson.
Having no doubts at all that Mitchell and Deanna would welcome the new addition to their family with open arms, Simon strode into the Dinner Belle Diner with renewed confidence in his mission. He was more determined than ever to sort things out with Kit. He would let her know, too, that he’d be making arrangements to take over Nathan’s care. He didn’t want her to be overburdened any longer.
Fewer people remained in the diner than when he’d first stopped by, and none gave him more than a cursory glance as he walked through the door again. He saw immediately that the playpen was empty. Kit no longer stood behind the counter, either, but Simon fully expected the ding of the bell above the door to bring her out of the kitchen. Instead, a slightly older woman bustled into the dining room to greet him, her blond hair bouncing around her shoulders.
Simon recognized her after a moment as the diner’s longtime part-time waitress, and met her startled look with a slightly sheepish smile.
“Hey, Bonnie Lennox, good to see you again.” He greeted her in his most cordial tone.
Seeming unable to help herself, Bonnie smiled, too, as she paused by the counter.
“Well, hey to you, too, Simon Gilmore. I thought I saw you sitting outside in that fancy black SUV parked at the curb a few doors down the street. What brings you to the Dinner Belle Diner?”
Though her tone was friendly, as well, the look Bonnie gave him was weighted heavily with reserve.
“Back to the Dinner Belle Diner, actually. I was here a little earlier as you may have heard from Kit,” he said, testing the waters.
“She did mention that you’d stopped by,” Bonnie admitted, her face flushing slightly at being caught out.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get off to a good start, and then I bolted like a scared rabbit. Finally got my head together, though.” He allowed his smile to widen encouragingly. “Could you let her know that I’d really like to talk to her again if she’s not too busy?”
“Well, I’m not sure that’s possible.” Bonnie hesitated, hands clasped at her waist. She looked as uncomfortable as she sounded. “We’re a little shorthanded today and folks are going to be coming for lunch real soon—”
“It’s okay, Bonnie, I’ll talk to him,” Kit said, appearing suddenly in the kitchen doorway, holding Nathan in her arms. “George is here now. He can finish up the lunch prep.”
Simon had suspected that Kit had been lurking just out of sight in the kitchen, and he couldn’t blame her for it. Now eyeing her openly as she spoke to Bonnie, he tried to measure how receptive she might be.
She hadn’t changed a lot in the years since he’d last seen her, but she had changed in ways that were definitely distinctive. She had cut off her mouse-brown, shoulder-length hair, highlighted it with threads
