Daffodils and Danger by Mary Manners

Author:Mary Manners [Manners, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: christian Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-61116-374-2
Publisher: Pelican Ventures Book Group
Published: 2014-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

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“Dad, you have to eat.” Kami’s nerves were a tangled bundle of rubber bands. The lunch crowd had dispersed, and now she tackled the next hurdle—her father’s stubbornness. “It’s not healthy to go for hours—even days—without the proper fuel.”

“I’ll eat when I’m hungry.” Thinning, grizzled hair crowned a mottled head. “Right now, I’m not. Besides, we’re too busy to take a break.”

“You can’t go on like this.” She tossed her order pad onto the service counter. The coffeemaker sputtered, mirroring the percolation of her temper. “I don’t think you’ve had a decent meal since—” She paused as he stiffened, the color draining from his face. “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry.”

“Enough.” He turned away as the bell above the entry door chimed. “Another round of customers just walked in. You’ll need to take their order.”

“The customers can wait.” Kami reached for a plate, piled it high with spaghetti and added a sausage link. “We both know I’m more stubborn than you are, and I’m not going back out there until you eat something. I mean it.”

“Fine.” Her father sighed and reached for a fork. “Hand me the plate.”

“It’ll do you good, Dad.” She passed it his way. “And clean it—all of it. Do like Mrs. Baker with her gazpacho.”

“No one devours Italian food like Mrs. Baker.” He swirled the pasta on his fork. “She’s in a class all by herself.”

“Well, at least we can agree on that.”

“Yes, we can. Even your mother thought so.” He shoved the fork into his mouth, chewed and swallowed linguini noodles. When his lips curled into a slight grin, Kami saw a hint of the humor she remembered…and missed terribly. He waved the fork in the air. “I’ll have a few bites; that’s all. It’s good to taste test.”

“For now, that’s enough. But, how long are you going to continue to mope?” Kami poured him a glass of water. “I miss Mom too, you know.”

“I’m entitled to mope. I’ll be through with it when I’m through.” His gaze darkened as he stuffed a second spoonful of pasta into his mouth and chewed. “An old man like me…I have a right to feel a bit of sadness after such a loss, after so many years.”

“Yes, you do. But, don’t you think it’s time—”

“Hello?” A rapid succession of taps on the serving counter drew Kami’s attention. Mrs. Baker’s fleshy face filled the pass-through window. “Is it possible to get some service here…sometime before I starve to death?”

As if that could ever happen. Kami grimaced. She plastered on a smile as she called, “I’ll be right there. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Of course. And a basket of garlic knots would be nice, too, for starters.”

“Coming right up.” Kami turned back to her father as Fred, meandered in from a smoke break in the back parking lot. “Make sure Dad finishes his plate of pasta, OK?”

Her cousin wiped his hands on his apron. “I’ll do my best, but you know better than I do that you’re asking for a miracle.

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