6
Ally wiped her hands on the back of her jeans and
walked through the open door at the rear of the diner. She coughed
as the stench of cooking oil competed with the smell of cleaning
products and caught at the back of her throat. Everyone in the
small space appeared to be busy, so she waited for someone, anyone,
to acknowledge her.
After a while, one of the two guys
looked up, and she smiled at him. “Is the boss here?”
He nodded and pointed to the rear of
the space. “She’s back there in the office.”
“Thanks.” Ally squeezed past him and
headed toward the rear of the kitchen where a tiny office had been
created out of one corner of the rectangular space. The door was
half open, but she knocked on it anyway.
“Yes?”
Ally froze as an all-too-familiar
figure swung around to stare at her. “Hey . . . Lauren. How are
you?”
Lauren sniffed. “What do you
want?”
Ally wanted to turn around and run for
the hills, but that wasn’t possible, and besides, she was tired of
running. Time to face up to another of the people she’d hurt. “I
came about the job.”
Lauren raised her eyebrows, her
expression very reminiscent of Rob’s. “You want me to give you a job? Why the hell should I give you
anything?”
Ally let out a long, slow breath. “You
shouldn’t and I’m sure you won’t, but seeing as I’m desperate, I’m
still asking.”
“You’re desperate for a job? Why don’t
you go and ‘model’ or something?”
“Because I’m too old?”
“That’s hardly my problem, is
it?”
Ally leaned against the door frame and
jammed her shaking hands into her pockets. “You asked why I needed
a job, and I just told you.”
“I want someone to bus tables. I’m sure
you wouldn’t want to soil your beautiful hands with
that.”
“I’ve done it before. It’s hard work,
but I promise I’ll be reliable.”
Lauren stood up, her brown eyes fixed
on Ally. “I bet you wouldn’t last a week.”
Ally held her gaze. “How about you give
me a try? If I don’t make it, you get to keep all my
wages.”
Lauren stared at her for a long while.
“Okay, then.”
Ally straightened up. “When do you want
me to start, and how many hours will you need me?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll give
you your ongoing schedule tomorrow when you start, but expect to be
getting here early and leaving late.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Ally
murmured, and Lauren’s head came up.
“I don’t need any attitude from you,
Ally Kendal. I’m only doing this so I can enjoy watching you fail.”
Lauren rummaged in her desk. “Fill out this paperwork, and bring it
back with you tomorrow before you start your first
shift.”
“No problem. What time do you want me
here?”
“Five-thirty a.m. sharp. Don’t be
late.”
Ally folded the papers in her hand and
turned to leave. “Thanks, Lauren. I really appreciate
it.”
“Don’t try and be nice to me now, Ally.
You’ve done too much damage in this town to ever change my opinion
of you.”
The venom in Lauren’s voice made Ally
feel sad, but she forced herself to turn around. “You have every
right to hate me, Lauren. I know ‘sorry’ isn’t going to cut it, but
it’s all I can offer you. I behaved appallingly and hurt a lot of
people—you included.”
Lauren sat back down and swiveled her
chair around to face her computer screen. “I’m not interested in
your attempts to make me feel sorry for you. Just turn up, do your
job, and leave. Okay?”
Ally went then, fighting an urge to
defend herself. She and Lauren had once been so close that even Rob
had been jealous. And that was all gone now, destroyed by her
desertion and inability to face her own demons. She’d do what
Lauren wanted, though. Keep to herself, do her work, save her
money, and get out of town.
The guy who’d shown her where the
office was looked up as she went by him. She was at least six
inches taller than him. “Did you find her okay?”
“Well I found
her.” Ally forced a smile. “Thanks for the help.”
“Sure.” He wiped his hands on his apron
and regarded her speculatively. “I’m Mike, one of the grill cooks,
but everyone calls me Fig.”
“It’s nice to meet you,
Fig.”
He followed her to the door, his bright
smile undimmed. “Have you just moved here? You look familiar
somehow.”
“I have to go. I’m sorry I can’t stay
and chat.” Ally kept moving. She got that a lot, especially from
men who seemed to have the image of her writhing around in her
underwear from the billboard ads seared on their collective
consciousness. “I’ll be working here, bussing tables, so you’ll get
to talk to me again, I promise.”
His smile blossomed into a grin. “For
real? That’s cool. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Ally escaped down the street and headed
for the library only to realize it was far too early for it to be
open. She slowed her walk and gazed at the upcoming façade of the
Easy Breezy Coffee Shop. Did she have enough for a cup of coffee?
She sure needed one, and it would make the wait for the library to
open go quicker. She fingered the coins in her pocket and guessed
she had at least two dollars.
She pushed open the door and was
enveloped in a welcoming cloud of smoky roasting coffee with just a
hint of burned chocolate. The smell was so heavenly she breathed it
in and smiled. A quick check of the board and a more detailed
inspection of her coins indicated she had just enough for a regular
coffee plus tax.
The shop was crowded, and she joined
the back of the line, her height making it easy to count the six
people in front of her. While she waited, she scanned the odd
collection of notices pinned to the crooked board, which advertised
everything from organic produce to lost puppies to poetry recitals.
She even spied something about AA meetings that she’d have to check
back on. Spring Falls had always had a great sense of community
spirit, and it seemed nothing had changed.
As Ally’s gaze drifted back along the
cluster of tables, she realized that she’d become the focus of some
attention. She caught her name being whispered, and several pairs
of eyes swung in her direction. With all the grace she could
muster, she willed herself to look forward and ignore her growing
sense of unease.
Why did it take so long to order coffee
these days? Why did everyone have to have these crazy-ass
complicated specials? At last she hit the front of the line and
smiled at the woman behind the counter, who thankfully she’d never
met. The woman had the name NADIA embroidered on the top of her
blue apron and appeared to be in her late forties.
“Hi, I’d like a small coffee,
please.”
“Just coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
Ally dug out her small pile of coins,
handed them over, and waited for the woman to get her coffee.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ally turned and headed for the station
where the milk and sugar were provided. She was just about to reach
for the milk when someone collided with her, spilling the hot
coffee all over her hand and down her leg.
With a hiss of pain, Ally dropped the
half-empty cup on the table and grabbed a handful of napkins to
blot the worst of it away. She thanked God she was wearing
jeans.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you
there.”
Ally looked up into the sneering face
of Pauline Jones, one of her old classmates. “Yeah,
right.”
“Are you suggesting it was deliberate?
What are you going to do? Call the cops on me?”
Ally tipped cold water out of a jug
onto a bunch of paper napkins and placed them on the heated flesh
of her hand.
Pauline tittered. “Oh, no, you won’t do
that, will you, because Rob Ward’s not exactly going to help you
out, is he?”
Ally ignored Pauline and concentrated
on soothing the raging pain in her hand. Somehow it was easier to
deal with that rather than facing yet another confrontation. She
was still shaking from her encounter with Lauren. Vaguely, Ally
wondered if the woman behind the counter had some ice and whether
she’d let her have any.
She jumped when a familiar voice behind
her said, “Here you go, Ms. Kendal.” A jiffy bag full of ice
appeared over her shoulder, and she pressed it against her
throbbing skin.
Rob kept his hand on her arm as he
spoke to Pauline. “Now, what were you saying, Ms. Jones? Are you
admitting that you deliberately dumped coffee on Ms. Kendal,
because whatever you think of me, if you’ve committed a crime, I’ll
do my duty whoever the victim is.”
Ally swallowed hard. “It’s all right,
Sheriff. I’m sure it was an accident.”
Pauline made a rude noise and turned on
her heel. She left the coffee shop, followed by two other women who
looked vaguely familiar. Rob took Ally’s elbow and maneuvered her
into the chair Pauline had vacated.
“Are you all right, Ms. Kendal? Do you
want me to call an ambulance for you?”
“Please don’t. I don’t have health
insurance, but thanks for the thought.” She resettled the bag of
ice over her hand. “I’m sure I’ll be fine in a
moment.”
Rob hesitated beside her and then
turned back into the crowd. Ally didn’t watch him go; she just
concentrated on mastering the pain in her hand and the sickness
Pauline’s openly confrontational attitude had started. She’d been a
fool to come back here. A fool.
“Ms. Kendal?”
She looked up to find the woman who’d
served her the coffee offering her a fresh bag of ice. “Thanks,”
Ally said. “I’m sorry about the mess.”
“That’s not a problem.” Nadia indicated
Ally’s hand. “Are you all right?”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine. It just caught
the back of my hand, so not much damage done.”
Nadia reached forward and patted her
shoulder. “Now you just sit there and make sure you feel all
better. I’ll get you another cup of coffee.”
Ally didn’t argue. She was quite happy
to wait for the shop to return to normal and for everyone to stop
staring at her like she had risen from the dead or something. Rob
took the seat opposite and pushed a paper bag over to
her.
“Here. Eat something.”
Ally peered inside the bag and saw a
chunky blueberry muffin topped with sugar crystals. Her mouth
watered at the sight, and she ripped open the bag and slowly peeled
back the paper case.
“Let me help.” Rob reached across and
broke the muffin in half, right through the middle, and handed her
the bottom part. “I know how you like it.”
“I always eat the boring part
first.”
He smiled. “And save the best until
last.”
“Unless you got to it
first.”
“I never did get that ‘saving it’
thing.”
His voice had a soothing quality that
helped Ally relax a little. “I’d forgotten about Pauline. I can’t
believe she’s still hanging around with the same two losers from
high school.”
“I guess some folks find it hard to
grow up.”
“Obviously.” Ally lifted her chin at
him. “I guess you think I should leave before it gets nasty,
right?”
“I don’t want to see you get
hurt.”
She met his gaze and found it
impossible to guess what he was thinking. Had she done that to him?
Had she stripped the sweetness away and left him too emotionally
detached to risk another relationship? Or was it just a cop thing?
Jill would tell her not to exaggerate her importance in his life,
but then Jill had never known Rob.
“But I can’t leave, Rob. I created most
of my own problems, and I’m just going to have to deal with
them.”
“Even if you get treated like
that?”
“Yeah, even then. Sometimes you just
have to suck it up and move on. I chose to
come back here, and I knew it would be hard.”
“I know all about getting on with life,
Ally.”
She bit her lip. “I suppose you
do.”
He shifted in his seat. “What are you
going to do when you sell the house? Go back to New York and
model?”
“Nope.” She ventured a tentative smile.
“I’m planning on going to college.”
“Yeah?” He looked genuinely interested.
“To do what?”
She shrugged. “To train to be a
teacher. I’ve been helping out with the kids at the YMCA for the
last couple of years, and I think that’s what I want to
do.”
“You always wanted to be a
teacher.”
“You remembered.” She met his gaze.
“And you always wanted to be a cop.”
His smile made her smile in return, and
she couldn’t look away from his approving gaze. Remembering her
plans for the future always made her feel better about herself.
Hell, having plans that didn’t involve finding her next fix were
amazing. She suddenly felt a lot more hopeful.
Nadia returned with two large coffees
and put them in front of Ally and Rob.
“She okay, Rob?”
Rob looked across at Ally for
confirmation, and she nodded. “She’s fine, Nadia. Thanks for not
making a fuss.”
Nadia snorted. “I saw what happened.
That Pauline deliberately knocked your lady’s elbow.”
Ally was too shaken to refute the
notion that she was Rob’s lady and was way too grateful for the
other woman’s kindness. “Thanks for the fresh coffee.”
“Well, I could hardly expect you to
lick it off the floor, now, could I?” Nadia winked at her and
returned behind the counter.
“She’s nice,” Ally said as she took
another bite of the sweet, tart muffin.
“Yeah, she and her husband, Chen Li,
bought the place about a year ago. He roasts all his own coffee
beans, and she makes all the baked goods.”
“Mmm . . .” Ally murmured, and licked
the crumbs from her lips. Rob’s gaze fastened on her mouth, and she
went still. He got to his feet and picked up his
coffee.
“Well, I’d better be getting back.
Jackson will be expecting me.”
“Don’t you take him coffee
too?”
“Nope, I usually take him a muffin, but
I’m sure he won’t begrudge it to you.”
“Oh.” Ally felt her cheeks burn. “I’d
give you the money for it, but . . .”
“It’s okay.” He smiled at her, and she
felt it like a punch in the heart. “He’s getting fat anyway. I’ll
see you around.”
Ally watched him leave, realizing he’d
probably done more for her reputation in the five minutes he’d sat
with her than she’d accomplished in a month. She continued to sip
at her coffee, mainly to dispel the gathering lump in her throat.
She didn’t want Rob being nice to her. She wanted him cold and
distant so that she could keep her distance
and just fuck him. But it seemed he wasn’t going to allow her that
luxury. She knew him well enough to know he’d just keep bugging her
until she gave in.
Ally finished her coffee, waved
good-bye to Nadia, and walked across to the library, which was now
open. Another familiar face greeted her at the main
desk.
“Well, well, well, who do we have
here?”
“Hi, Mrs. Orchard. How are you
doing?”
The white-haired old lady who’d managed
the library since before Ally was born smiled. “Much better for
seeing you, my dear. Did you want to renew your library card?
Everything’s on computer now and much more
accessible.”
Ally breathed in the familiar scent of
paper and wax polish and immediately felt at home. She’d spent a
lot of time hiding out from her mother at the library. As long as
she kept quiet and was working on something, Mrs. Orchard had
always let her stay.
“That would be great.”
Mrs. Orchard beckoned her over to an
unoccupied computer screen and keyboard. “You can fill in the
application online, and I’ll confirm it right now. You can pick up
to fifteen items now, including audio books, magazines,
interlibrary loans—”
Ally smiled. “That all sounds
wonderful. Actually, I’m looking for a general guide to car
maintenance and a handyman repair book.”
“I’ll go take a look while you fill in
that form.” Mrs. Orchard frowned. “Your mother let that house get
into a terrible state.”
“I know.” Ally concentrated on the
screen and hoped the librarian wouldn’t say anything else. She
heard Mrs. Orchard sigh and then the clack of her heels on the
polished parquet floor. Truth to tell, the noisiest thing in the
library had always been Mrs. Orchard’s heels, but no one had ever
had the guts to tell her.
By the time Mrs. Orchard returned with
a stack of books, Ally was almost a fully authenticated library
patron. She spent a few moments looking through the books and
settled on the two that seemed the simplest.
Mrs. Orchard was behind the desk again,
helping a young guy who wanted to know if they had manga books.
Apparently they did, and she sent him off to a dark corner already
inhabited by two other guys dressed in black whom he seemed to
know. Ally placed the books on the counter.
“I’ll take these two,
please.”
“When your proper card comes through,
you can check out yourself these days.”
“That’s cool.”
Mrs. Orchard sniffed. “I’m not sure
about that. I always enjoyed seeing what folks were reading. You’d
be surprised.” She readjusted her wire-framed glasses. “Your
mother, for example, liked to take out self-help books and romance
novels.”
“That’s an interesting combination.”
Ally took the books and put them in her backpack. “Two things my
mom never managed to master in her life.” Wow, she sounded
bitter.
Mrs. Orchard frowned at her. “Your
mother had her problems, Ally, but she was trying to sort them out.
She’d kicked the drugs, you know, and she volunteered at the
charity shop every week.”
Ally struggled to pick up the backpack
and keep her face blank. She didn’t want to talk about Ruth. She
really didn’t. There was nothing to say—nothing of any use anyway.
She’d run out of excuses and sympathy for the woman years
ago.
“Well, it was nice to see you again,
Mrs. Orchard,” Ally said brightly. “I’ll probably be back in a few
days.”
“I’m sure you will, but remember, you
can renew your books online now. That’s what your mother used to
do.”
With a parting wave, Ally left the
library and headed for home. Her steps slowed as she considered
what Mrs. Orchard had said. Did her mom really have a computer
buried under all that crap in the house? She supposed it was
possible. It was more likely that her mom had pawned it for drugs
or something, but she really should go and look.
As she walked, she thought about Rob
and how he’d stood up for her in the coffee shop. A wave of longing
coalesced in the pit of her stomach. She wanted him so badly,
wanted to let him take care of her, and she knew that he’d get it
right too. But it would be on her terms this time. She wasn’t weak.
She had plans. She was making the
choice.
Her battered truck came into view in
her driveway, and she fished her key out of her jeans pocket.
Tomorrow was the start of her new job, so tonight was hers and she
intended to grab the moment.