Page 38 of Edge

I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics. “There’s no need for you to wonder. I’m sure Ranger could satisfy your curiosity.”

She arched an eyebrow and pointed one finger at me. “No.”

“What?” I laughed.

Our banter was interrupted by the first two customers of the day. Walter and Buck were regulars who ate at the diner three times a week, though they usually came in for lunch instead of breakfast.

“Hey, guys,” I greeted and looked at the clock. “It’s a bit early for you two, isn’t it?”

“Somebody wants to go fishing today, even though it’s a diner day,” Buck said and gestured to Walter with his thumb.

“You would’ve thought I asked him to reschedule his vacation with all the bellyaching he did about missing his usual lunch,” Walter said.

“You could’ve picked another day.”

“No, I couldn’t. They’re calling for rain for the rest of the week.”

“What’s wrong with next week?” Buck asked.

“You said you wouldn’t complain if we had breakfast here.”

Buck shrugged. “We haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“Can I get you a cup of coffee or something else to drink?” I asked, interrupting their back and forth. They were lifelong friends, and they bickered nonstop. It was entertaining and somewhat exhausting.

“Two coffees, please. And we’ll need a couple of menus,” Walter said.

“Here you go.” I handed them two breakfast menus and gestured to the empty diner. “Sit wherever you like.”

“Perks of being the early birds.” Walter lowered his voice and leaned forward like he was going to tell me a secret. “He’s less grumpy after coffee.”

“I heard that,” Buck said. “And for your information, I’m less grumpy later in the day.”

“The early bird gets the worm.”

“But the second mouse gets the cheese,” Buck countered, causing me to laugh.

“I think he’s got you there,” I said as I brought their coffees to the table.

“Please don’t encourage him,” Walter teased.

“Wink twice if he’s making you uncomfortable,” Buck said. “I’ll shove him out of the boat when he’s not looking.”

“You two are something else,” I laughed and shook my head. “I’ll be right back with your orders.”

By the time they were finished eating, the diner was in full swing, and I barely had a chance to wish them good luck on their trip.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Walter said. “We’ll see you at our regular time, the day after tomorrow.”

“See you then,” I said and headed back to the kitchen to pick up the next order that was ready. Halfway there, a commotion at the front door had me turning around to see what was going on.

Walter had his finger pointed at another man. “Watch where you’re going, buddy.”

“Fuck off, old man.”

Buck shook his head. “What you should’ve said was, ‘I’m sorry. Please excuse me.’”

“Is that so?” the rude man asked and straightened to his full height.