Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any original characters therein. No copyright infringement intended.
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Chapter 2
After I recovered from my chat with Peter, I straightened myself up as best I could and entered the diner. Sure enough, the next instant, I was being eyed by the locals. I was getting special attention from that ever-present group of old codgers places like this always harbored. I smiled and they all, without fail, touched the brim of their worn ball-caps, and couple of them uttered a respectful, "Ma'am."
Seeing a woman in a fitted light-blue dress and white apron, I walked up to the counter where she was and asked, "Barb?"
She paused in wiping the counter and raised a brow. "That's me, hun. What can I do for ya?"
"Um, I spoke to Jason—from the garage across the street? He said you might be hiring."
She eyed me shrewdly for a beat then smiled. "Oh he did, did he?" She harrumphed and her smile grew as she grumbled, "That boy…" With a gesture to a stool at the counter, she said, "Have a seat, sugar while I grab an application."
I sat and tried to ignore the shrewd glances and knowing chuckles I was getting from the huddle of old farts down the counter. Then Barb came back with not only the application, but a slice of banana cream pie and a cup of coffee. "Eat up Miss…?"
"Bella."
"Bella," she said with a nod. "You need some meat on those bones. I'll collect the application in a bit, then we'll talk."
"Thank you," I said, picking up my fork. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I took the first bite. It was the best banana cream pie I'd ever tasted, and I happily devoured it before ever starting to write.
She came back and cleared the dish with a smirk and I smiled. "Sorry, it was just really good…"
She nodded. "It's Jason's favorite," she said with a wink as she walked away.
Hiding the blush I thought I'd conquered back in Forks by taking a sip of coffee, I picked up the pen and began writing. It was a basic application, thankfully, so it didn't take long to complete, especially since I fudged a few details. If I'd filled it out in detail, I would've been there the rest of the day. Working my way across the country as I had left me with quite the resume, but this was a waitress job for Pete's sake. They didn't need to know everything.
When I laid the pen aside and took another drink of coffee, she walked back over and picked up the page, taking mere minutes to read it over before nodding. "Well, hun, looks like ya got plenty experience slingin' hash. When can ya start?"
My brows shot up. "Really? I got the job? And I can start anytime, any shift."
"Breakfast and lunch are my busiest times, but I might need ya to work an occasional dinner shift too, especially when we have certain festivals and special events, things like that."
"I can do that."
"Good. Since ya just got into town, I'll give ya a couple a' days to settle. You can start Friday mornin'. Shift starts at 4:30 to prep the biscuits and gravy, plus everything for the line. Night shift does all the side work and bakes the next day's pies before closing."
She leaned onto the counter, regarding me with a knowing gaze. This was one intense lady and I swallowed, finding I couldn't look away. "You have an honest look about ya, Miss Bella, but I see lots of secrets in those big brown eyes too." My heart leaped into my throat until she smiled and said, "I like ya." She began wiping the counter again and I breathed out in relief. "You got a place to stay?" she asked while starting a fresh pot of coffee.
I spun my cup and toyed with the handle. "I was just gonna rent a room at the hotel."
She looked back at me and cocked a brow. "You stickin' around a while, or you here to save up money and move on?"
Here it was…
If I said I intended to move on, would she decide I wasn't worth hiring? Still, I found I liked her and couldn't lie to her. "My truck broke down, so my plan was to stay and work until I could afford to fix it or buy something else."
She didn't look surprised. "Not many come here to settle, hun. No need to feel guilty over it. You ain't the first, I'm sure you won't be the last." She jerked her chin toward the back. "Got a room with an attached bath up those stairs. It ain't fancy, but it's clean and comfortable and you're welcome to it as long as ya work here."
"Rent?" I asked.
She smirked. "Comes with the job if ya want it. Besides, I'll always know where to find ya if I need ya."
I smiled, not believing my luck. "Sounds good to me."
Then she pointed her towel at me and narrowed her eyes. "No guests in there though. I live in the apartment next door. We'll be sharin' a wall and Lord knows I don't need to hear no goings on up there at all hours."
My eyes went a bit wide. "I…I wouldn't…I mean…I don't even know anyone here, plus even if I did, I wouldn't disrespect your generosity like that. I was raised to know better."
She gave a nod. "Good to hear. Just needed to get that out there up front, so we understand each other."
"Yes, Ma'am."
She snorted. "None a' that Ma'am stuff with me, hun. Call me Barb, that's plenty enough for me. Now, come on back here and I'll get ya a uniform and show you around."
After the tour of the kitchen, she gave me a key to the room and cut me loose to go check it out and get settled. Once there, I hung up my two uniforms in the tiny closet, made up the single bed with the clean linens stacked at the foot, and decided to take a shower and get some sleep.
I slept in the next day, and by the time I made it downstairs — dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a Hendrix shirt this time — the breakfast crowd had cleared out, leaving only a couple of stragglers still hunched over the local paper while nursing their coffee.
Barb waved me over to a seat at the counter. "Well, afternoon, missy!" she teased. "Got plenty a' beauty sleep, I see."
She poured me a cup of coffee as I chuckled. "I haven't slept that good in a long time. That mattress is a dream." I added cream and sugar to my cup and gave it a stir.
"Glad ya like it. It's the same brand as mine, and I didn't skimp when I bought 'em. Nothin' worse than a lousy mattress. You hungry?"
My nose wrinkled. "You know? I'm really not. I usually skip breakfast. Sometimes lunch." I took a sip of the hot brew and she shook her head at me.
"Not good to skip meals, hun, but I ain't your mama. Just don't go gettin' sick on me."
"I hardly ever get sick," I told her while knocking on the wood edge of the counter.
"Uh huh," she said, not sounding convinced. "So, what ya got planned for today?"
"I thought I'd take a walk around town, get familiar with the place. Open an account at the bank. Might do some laundry too, get it outta the way."
She took out a pen and wrote a number on my napkin. "That's my cell. You call me if you run into trouble or need anything, ya hear?"
I stuffed it in my pocket and nodded.
She arched a brow at me. "Now, don't just nod and then forget about it. I mean it, if ya need me, call."
I was touched that she seemed to care. It'd been a long time since anyone had — well, except for Peter and Char. "I will, Barb, thanks."
After finishing up my coffee, I went up to my room and stuffed my loose cash — about three hundred — in the small backpack I used as a purse, then headed straight for the bank where I opened an account.
After that, I took my time walking around, seeing the sights. It didn't take too long, as there wasn't much to see. I made a mental note to visit the park I discovered at the far end of town, though. It was filled with shade trees, right next to the school, and looked like a great place to relax and read on my days off.
As I made my way back toward the diner, my stomach growled so I stopped at the Burger Hut. Despite looking like a shack, the place was doing a brisk business even though the only places to sit were picnic tables outside. After tasting the food though, I knew why the place was so popular. It was probably the best burger I'd ever had, and man, was it messy.
So yeah, leave it to me to be elbow-deep in secret sauce, melted cheese and burger grease when a familiar voice, filled with amusement, spoke up behind me.
"I see you found the second-best burger in Bailey."
He set his tray of food down and straddled the bench on the other side of the table, and I froze with the messy burger poised at my wide-open mouth for yet another bite.
As grease and sauce trickled down my arm, I had never wished so hard for the ground to open up and swallow me whole before. The word embarrassed just didn't quite capture the supreme mortification I was feeling at that moment.
And his response? He grinned widely and offered me a fist-full of napkins while slurping from his straw as those green eyes sparkled with amusement.
With as much dignity as I could muster, I closed my mouth, carefully set my burger next to my huge pile of golden-fried potato goodness, and plucked the napkins from his outstretched hand.
After mop-up operations were complete, I smiled and said, "Thank you, Jason."
"You're welcome," he said, then popped a fry in his mouth. He unwrapped his burger, which was just as messy as mine, and raised a brow at me.
"Awe, come on, don't be embarrassed, Bella. There's just no neat or easy way to eat these things. Ya just gotta get in there and get it done - like you were when I got here." He picked up his burger and nodded toward mine. "Don't be shy, now. They're no good when they're cold."
I huffed and smirked. "Might as well, you've already seen the beast, so to speak."
He laughed. "I thought it was kinda cute."
Steadfastly ignoring the nervous thrill his comment gave me, I threw caution to the wind and tackled my food as he did the same.
After lunch, we took turns at a thorough clean-up in the Burger Hut's lean-to bathroom, and then he offered to walk me back to the diner.
"Don't you have work today?" I asked as we ambled along the storefronts.
"Yeah, but I finished up the brake job early, and the next job ain't comin' in 'till three, so I got some time."
"Must be nice to have such a relaxed schedule."
He chuckled ruefully. "Trust me, it don't always work out that way. There are times we're booked sun-up to sun-down for weeks straight. To tell the truth, days like today are rare, at least as long as I've been here, anyway."
"You haven't always lived here?" I glanced at him in time to see his troubled frown.
"No."
I blinked at the short answer. "Where'd you live before?"
He glanced at me, his eyes shuttered and frown still in place. "I don't know. This is the only place I remember being, but I know I've only been here a little over two years."
I was shocked at that. "Wow."
He stopped walking and turned to me. "I like you, Bella, and I really don't wanna offend ya or scare ya off, but … would ya mind very much if we didn't talk about all a' this?" He hung his head and rubbed his brow. "I just … I just really don't like talkin' or even thinkin' about it. I spent two years tryin' to figure this shit out and it got me nowhere."
I laid my hand on his arm. "Hey, It's fine if you don't wanna talk about it. I'm sorry I brought it up."
His smile was a shadow of what it had been, and I could plainly see the turmoil in his eyes. "Thank you … for understandin'. It's just a really sore subject, and I'm sorry…"
He trailed off when I touched his cheek. "No, you have nothing to apologize for, you hear?"
He looked relieved. "Yes, Ma'am," he said, and now his smile was genuine.
We turned and started walking again and I couldn't resist voicing my thoughts, though I knew I'd be kicking myself for it later. "All that matters is who you are now," I glanced up at him, "and I'm really starting to like who you are."
He grinned and glanced at me then looked down at his feet as he muttered, "Well, I reckon that settles it, then."
I smiled and nudged his arm as we walked. "Yeah, I reckon it does."
He walked me all the way to my door, and like the gentleman he is, waited until I got inside before going back to work at the garage.
After he left, I spent a good half-hour sitting on my bed, staring into space while mentally berating myself. I had let down my defenses, ones I'd spent two years maintaining; I'd allowed myself to be attracted to him, I didn't keep him at arms-length, and the most heinous sin of all … I'd allowed myself to feel…
And then, the little demon inside my head chimed in, listing all the reasons it was okay for me to be interested in him.
He's funny
He's gorgeous
He's gainfully employed
He chews with his mouth closed
He's not an overbearing, faithless asshole
You don't want to die a virgin
You don't want to die alone
Take a chance
"Ahhhh!"
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes and threw myself back on the bed deciding that I wasn't going to decide a damn thing.
"Laundry," I muttered, then drug myself off the bed and got to it.
When I got back from the laundromat, I put my clothes away and headed out to get the rest of my stuff from my truck.
It wasn't much, just a box of personal items, books, and another duffel with the rest of my clothes. What I was most concerned about was my nest egg. If I lost that, it would be a long time before I could move on, and even though I was starting to like Jason, I was still set on leaving. It was the one thing I knew I was good at.
The open road was easy. The open road was soothing. It didn't make any demands and it didn't disappoint.
People were complicated. People caused pain, and I was now a master at avoidance.
Hell, I rarely even called Charlie or Renee these days, choosing instead to drop them a postcard every now and then so they knew I was alive.
It wasn't that I didn't love them, but well, I'd never really been close with either of them. Charlie I barely knew and my teen obsession with the Cullens hadn't helped with that. And Renee? Well, the more I reflected on my life with her, the more I realized just who had raised whom.
Consequently, there was more than a bit of resentment on my part. She was who she was though, and I couldn't stay angry at her for any of it. She's just the type who never should've had a kid. She'd realized that a long time ago, but for me, it was a fairly recent realization, so making my peace with it was a day to day process.
When I made it across the street and headed down the sidewalk to the garage, my heart lurched at what I didn't see—my truck wasn't where I'd left it. In fact, it wasn't anywhere to be seen, so I stepped up my pace.
When I got there, I poked my head inside the open garage door and saw a car parked over a mechanic's pit. "Hello? Mr. Whitlock?"
Eyes and the top of a head of sandy hair peeked out from the back of the pit.
"Miss Bella, right?"
"Right. Well, it's just Bella, but … what happened to my truck?"
His eyes crinkled at the corners with what could only be a smile. "It was makin' a mess out front with all the leakin' oil, so I had Jason move it to the yard around back."
"Without the key?" I arched a brow.
"It ain't hard if you know what you're doin'. Don't worry, sugar, ol' Zeke keeps a good eye on the yard. Won't nobody break in back there if they value their backside."
"Zeke…?"
"Our guard dog. He's a big ol' teddy bear with family, but anybody breaks in…let's just say they never try it again." He climbed out of the pit and wiped his hands. "Come on, I'll take ya back there. I'm guessin' you wanna get some stuff?"
"Yeah, I got the job at the diner and Barb let me have the spare room upstairs for now."
"Jason'll be happy," he said with a side-glance and a smirk.
My heart sped at the mention of his nephew but I did my best to ignore it while subtly looking around. Frank's wry look let me know I hadn't been as subtle as I thought.
"He ain't here," he said dryly. "Had to make a parts run to the next town over for jobs we got scheduled for tomorrow."
"Oh, I wasn't looking for him," I said, hopefully pulling off the light tone I was aiming for.
"Uh, huh," he said while unlocking the gate. We stepped in, he closed the gate and that's when Zeke decided to make an appearance.
Holy crap. The dog must dine on a side of beef a day AND pump iron.
He was a pit bull, beautiful and shiny with a brindle coat over solid, rippling muscle and his shoulder stood almost to my hip. He was terrifying—and then his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth and he gave a friendly woof.
"Zeke! Come here boy!" Frank called and the dog loped over, greeting the man with a lick to his hand as his whole back end wagged. "This is Bella. Be nice now, Jason likes her."
Zeke eyed me for a beat like he was thinking about what he'd just been told before trotting over to smell my hand. Then he licked it and sat back on his haunches. When I just stood there, he placed a huge paw on my knee and woofed.
Frank leaned over and murmured, "I think he wants ya to pet him."
Squatting slowly, I reached out with both hands and petted his head, then scratched behind his ears. He seemed to like it because he promptly knocked me on my ass and licked my cheek. I laughed because he really was a big teddy bear—a solid one—but a teddy nonetheless.
"All right Zeke, that's enough. Let the poor girl up," Frank said, grasping my hand and hauling me to my feet.
"Thanks," I said while dusting myself off. Zeke was looking betrayed, so I reached down and patted him. "Later, big guy." I got a tail-wag for that.
"So, there's your truck," Frank said, pointing across the fenced yard. "You need any help?"
I shook my head, "Nah, it's just a medium box and a duffel. I'll be fine."
"Okay, I'm gonna get back to that muffler job. Just ring this bell when you need out and I'll lock it back up."
"Got it, thanks."
He left and Zeke and I headed to my truck. After rummaging behind the seat, I stuffed the cash in my bag, shouldered it, scooped up the box and hip-checked the door closed. "That's it, big guy, thanks for watching it for me." He woofed and I walked to the gate and rang the bell.
After a moment, Jason walked out and smiled. "I see you met my buddy," he said while opening the gate.
I stepped out. "You mean that solid mass of teeth and muscle? Yeah, we met."
Jason laughed. "He's a big baby."
I raised a brow and smirked. "With the added benefit of looking scary as hell."
Jason inclined his head as his dimpled grin made an appearance. "Okay, I'll give ya that." He reached out and hefted the box from me.
"Where we headed with this? The hotel?" he asked as we started walking.
I gasped because I totally forgot to share my good news with him earlier. "No, Barb hired me and gave me the spare room upstairs."
He smiled brightly. "I'm glad to hear it. Barb's a great lady, I think you'll like workin' for her. You get the mornin' shift?" he asked as we waited for a car to roll by before stepping off the curb to cross the street.
"Yeah, but she said I might work the dinner shift sometimes, for festivals and special events, stuff like that." I said as we reached the diner. We climbed the stairs to my room and I unlocked and opened the door.
Shrugging the duffel off my shoulder, I chucked it on the bed and took the box from him as he stood in the doorway. "I'd invite you in, but I'm, uh, not allowed guests."
I hid the blush I could feel in my cheeks by setting the box down inside the door. Then I looked back at him just as he ran a hand through his hair. It looked soft, and the way it stubbornly fell over his brow made me want to brush my fingers through it.
He wet his lips and swallowed, now seeming a bit nervous. Damn, was he ever testing my resolve. "Well, I gotta…" he gestured back across the street and I nodded. "Gotta help close up." Again, I nodded, feeling awkward as hell.
"Thanks," I said, "for the help."
"Of course." He looked at the floor then heaved a breath before glancing up through his lashes. "So, I'll see you tomorrow? For breakfast I mean, 'cause I eat here just about every mornin' before we open the shop."
I smiled at his obvious discomfort, glad it wasn't just me feeling it. "I'll be there."
He grinned. "Good…that's good." He slowly reached out and took my hand, his fingers lightly playing with mine as he stared down at them. "I'm glad you're here … glad that ol' truck picked this town to break down."
My breath caught and my heart picked up speed. Either I was imagining things, or he was throwing out some vibes I wasn't ready for. He was gorgeous and polite and sweet, but … I just wasn't ready.
"Jason," I murmured and he looked up. "I…I'm not sure…I mean… Damn it, what I'm trying to say is…I don't really stay any one place for long, you know?"
He let my hand go and nodded. "Sorry. I get it, I do. Small town life ain't for everyone." He was silent for a beat before looking back into my eyes with a crinkled brow. "But who knows? Maybe you give this dusty little town a chance…learn to like it here…." That crooked little grin reappeared. "A man can hope, anyway." With that, he turned and trotted down the stairs.
I watched him for a minute, then slowly closed my door and leaned my forehead against it, one hand splayed over my thudding heart as I did my best to gather my scattered wits. He scared me. He scared me because, for the first time in a long time, and despite my every intention, I was starting to feel.
'Damn irresistible, green-eyed southern boys anyway….'
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A/N: Well, I asked for support for getting back into the Twilight groove, and boy did you all come through for me! Thank you all so much, and I'm so glad you're liking the story so far! If you would, please keep the comments coming. Lets me know if I'm getting it right or not.
Light and love,
~Spudz
