Coffee With You: Small Town Romance

Chapter Seven

**Not edited or proofread!**

Drew

"Drew, you've got a visitor!" Alan called from down below.

I slowly pulled my hat off of my face. I'd been using it to shield the light while I caught a small catnap. I was exhausted, and the weather had me a bit down. It was cold and wet outside. The rain that had started overnight hadn't let up, and it was screwing with my sinuses.

Despite living here all my life, my body refused to adjust to the way the weather could change around here.

I yanked my hat on my head and stood to my feet, marching down the stairs. Blue was sprawled out on the floor in front of one of the fire trucks. He raised his head to look at me and then laid it back down, deeming me unworthy of interrupting his nap.

"Love you, too, you big grump," I muttered.

I headed out front, my eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Kaecee waiting for me, a plastic bag in her hand. She was wearing her scrubs, and her hair was up in a perfect, circular bun on the back of her head, not a single tendril escaping.

"Hey," she greeted, her smile disarming me. "Figured you might be hungry. I only worked a half day today to cover for Farrah while she went to the doctor."

"Everything okay with her?" I asked. I leaned down and kissed her cheek, not wanting to get her sick if I was contagious.

"She's fine; it was just a check up. You sound horrible, Drew."

I shrugged. "Weather never agrees with me here," I confessed. "Come on. I'm starved. What did you get?"

"Farrah's grandmother down at the diner gave me your regular."

I grinned. "Good choice. I could go for fried catfish right about now."

"Fried catfish?" Kaecee asked incredulously.

I laughed softly and pulled out a chair for her at one of the round tables in the dining area of the fire house. "I'll let you try a bite."

Once the food was unpacked, I forked a bite of the catfish and held it up to her lips with a little bit of tartar sauce on it. She eyed it for a moment before finally taking the bite, chewing thoughtfully.

"Okay, that's surprisingly really good," she admitted.

I grinned at her. "Thought you would think so."

We ate in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up again. "So, tell me a little bit about what it was like growing up here."

I shrugged and dipped a fry into ketchup. "I'd say it was a normal childhood—for me, anyway. Played outside a lot. Wandered town without supervision because that was just the kind of thing you did back then. Helped Dad out at his shop after school when I got old enough. I could drive a tractor before I knew how to drive a car."

She laughed. The sound of it warmed my heart. "And your Mom?"

I smiled at the thought of my mom who was always hounding me about giving her a daughter-in-law and grandbabies. She was a nurturer at heart, and I knew she would absolutely adore Kaecee.

"Mom is nurturer at heart. She coddles everything and everyone. Drives Dad mad, but he loves her to pieces. But they balance each other out. The love they share only comes once in a lifetime, and I know if something happens to either of them, the other will never date or remarry again."

"That's both sweet and sad at the same time."

I shook my head. "I don't think so. Once you see them together, you'll understand."

"Once I see them?" Kaecee teased, a beautiful smile on her face.

I winked at her and leaned back in my chair, resting my hand on her thigh. I grinned. "Yes, sweetheart. Once you meet them."