Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“Yeah, he has a little girl. I think she’s around seven. Speaks both Italian and English. His wife is Italian. I’ve met him a couple of times when he’s brought food in for us at the police station. He’s a nice guy. His wife is also sweet. I’ve met her once. He’s in his late thirties, so we wouldn’t have gone to school with him, and from what I know, he left Moose Village after high school and lived abroad for quite a while.”
“That’s nice of him to bring you guys food.”
He smiled. “Yeah, he’s a great guy.”
We pulled into the parking lot, and Gavin found a spot near the front door. “Doris Day parking!” he said with a nervous laugh. I wasn’t sure if he was worried about how the food would be or because there were hardly any cars in the lot.
“It’s our lucky day.”
He looked over at me. “What? Why would you say that?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. You found a spot right up front. It’s just a saying.”
Visibly relaxing, he laughed. “Right. Let’s, um, let’s get some food. Good food. Italian food. From Toni!”
He opened his door, shut it, and ran around to my side. After he reached into the back seat to get our coats, he motioned for me to start toward the entrance.
“Why are you getting our coats? The door is just right there.”
He stared at the door, then at the coats, before shrugging. “It could be cold in there. You never know.”
Gavin had been acting strange all day, but this was the strangest yet. I brushed it off and took my coat. “I know I’m cold standing out here talking about our coats.”
He laughed and took my hand. “I heard the deck that overlooks the lake is beautiful. If we want to go out and take a look, now we’ll have our coats.”
I nodded. “Oookay.”
We started toward the door, and I stepped in when he opened it for me. The smells instantly had my mouth watering. Bread and pasta sauce filled my head instantly, and I moaned in utter delight.
“It smells so good in here!”
“Sure does,” Gavin agreed.
Tina, the mother of the owner and chef, made her way over to us. “Brystol! Gavin! Welcome to Rossi Trattoria!”
She hugged Gavin and then me. “May I?” she asked, pointing to my stomach.
“Of course,” I said with a grin.
Placing her hand on my baby bump, she said something in Italian. “Che Dio vi benedica!” She smiled at me. “A blessing for the baby.”
“That’s so sweet, thank you, Tina.”
“Of course. Come, I have a table with a beautiful lake view.”
We followed Tina to the table. Gavin held out my chair for me, and I sat down. It was only then I noticed hardly anyone was in the restaurant. It was a Friday night. It should’ve been way busier.
Tina gave us the menus, took our drink order, and headed off.
I leaned in and whispered, “Gavin, almost no one’s here. That can’t be a good sign. It’s Friday night! I mean, I know it’s March, but we do have winter tourists.”
He looked around and shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll pick up soon. It’s early yet.” He started looking at the menu as I gave one more look around.
Tina returned with our waters. “Have you had a chance to look at the appetizers yet?”
I opened the menu. “Gavin? See anything you want?”
“The garlic knots sound good.”
My tastebuds agreed. “Those do sound good. Lasagna sounds good too.”
Tina smiled. “Do you need more time, Gavin?”
He shut the menu. “Chicken parm for me.”
She took both menus. “Sounds good. Let me put that in.”
“Tina?” I asked before she left. “Where’s the restroom?”
“Follow me, and I’ll show you.”
As we walked through the restaurant, I glanced through double doors to a room set up for a party.
“Private party tonight?” I asked.
She glanced back and smiled. “Yep! They rented out most of the restaurant, actually. But for our police officers, we always make room, so when Gavin called earlier, I made sure we had a table for you both.”
That explained why it was so empty. “That’s sweet of you.”
She pointed down the hall and said, “Second door on the left. Let me walk you there!”
I laughed. “That’s okay.”
“Oh, but I want to show you the Italian tile Toni Junior brought in. It’s beautiful!”
“What about our order?” I asked, hearing my stomach growl.
Waving off my question, she hooked my arm with hers and we walked down the hall together…leaving me to wonder how in the hell I was supposed to pee while she was talking to me about tile.
Gavin
The second Tina rounded the corner with Brystol, I jumped up from my seat, took a deep breath, and went to the only other table with a couple sitting at it.
“You look nervous,” Janice said as she stood.
“I am nervous. Are you ready to go?”