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Chapter 17
Matt sat at the diner the next morning. He'd begun to realize a lot about himself. Things that he had never thought he was. But Peg Parker pointed them out easily and he felt horrible for it. He looked at the women in the diner. He'd seen them every single day for years. Every morning he'd come in there, ordered his coffee and sat. He dismissed the ladies waiting on the customers. They owned a restaurant. They had it made and they sat around gossiping about everyone else. It was always quiet that time of morning. Only a few people came in to grab a takeout order for breakfast or to have for their lunch that day, but he'd never looked up from his own cup.
He did that day and he saw that the older of the sisters was missing three fingers on her left hand. The other sigh as she dusted an old picture of a man in a military uniform. He sat there for hours that morning watching the people come and go.
Like the Sawyer lady who lived in the two story house on the hill. The one with the big oak trees in the front and expensive wicker furniture on the porch. She came in juggling grocery bag and a toddler in her arms. She had two small girls hanging onto the belt on her hip and a nine year old trailing close with grocery bags in both arms.
"Car broke down." She excused. "I don't know what else is going to go wrong this week."
"He's still hasn't come back?" One of the sister's asked as she showed the new girl they'd hired how to use the cash register.
"No." She smiled weakly and took the bag they handed to her.
"Poor thing." Maggie, the oldest of the sisters shook her head. "Her husband took off and cleaned out her bank account. It couldn't have been a lot. She's works for a travel agency. At least she has that nice house her daddy left her."
"Hey there, cutie."
Matt rolled his eyes. Logan Mitchell leaned over the counter at the diner flirting with the new waitress. She was a young thing. Barely out of high school and she was smiling ear to ear. Matt still loathed him. Still thought he was scum. The waitress was still smiling when Logan left the diner, turning to her two elderly coworkers as she tucked Logan's number in her apron pocket.
"Oh my goodness." She giggled. "He is so cute."
"And rich too. That's the mayor's son." Maggie, the woman who had served him his coffee every morning since he'd started working first at the plant said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but you don't want to get tangled up with him." Sara, was Maggie's slightly younger sister said as the three sat down on the stools for a break. "He's got a temper."
"Yeah, I heard that Logan showed up at his girlfriend's house and saw another boy climbing out her window or something like that. That's enough to make anyone snap I guess. I heard he went crazy."
"I heard he caught them by the river." Sara interrupted her sister.
"I don't know, but," Maggie sipped her coffee. "It's really a shame. Randie Parker was always so pretty, but I can't imagine something like that wouldn't leave behind a permanent scar. Doc Peterson was doing his shift at the E.R. last night when her aunt brought her in. He said her face was so swollen he couldn't didn't even recognize the child. Said she was busted open so bad he had to use stitches."
"A girl that pretty usually does have more than one beaux. I bet she'll be smarter now." Maggie gave the new waitress one of those 'I hope you're not that dumb' gazes.
"Her aunt said that she and Logan weren't even dating anymore." Sara said.
"I wonder where her father was during all of this. Passed out drunk probably." Maggie sighed. "I've heard rumors that he's not even her father."
"What?"
"He stole her. Been holding the child for ransom for years and then I heard her parents died and he tried to sell her, but got stuck with her instead and he took it out on the poor thing."
"Well, that explains all those bruises she kept getting when she was growing up." Sara quipped. "The whole thing sounds like a lot of exaggerations if you ask me. If he kidnapped that child, he would be in jail. They wouldn't be waiting around to arrest him."
"Peg Parker has her hand in it." They exchanged a knowing expression. "You know she's always wanted that girl."
"Any way. I haven't seen Randie since Logan attacked her that day. He got off because of his daddy's name. She ran off and I'm guessing she's still hiding where ever she ran to."
Matt felt sick to his stomach. He wondered why he hadn't heard anything. Why he didn't hear a scream or anything that day. Why Logan hadn't come after him. He had seen him. He had watched them. Why hadn't he confronted him about it?
And he couldn't believe he didn't know that Randie had been abused all her life. It was so obvious from the time they had first met to their recent lives. She jumped when he yelled. She cringed when he touched her. She was terrified to make even the smallest mistake.
Damn. He had been so stupid, so blind and Peg Parker was right about him.
He was supposed to go to work, but instead he went home. Randie avoided him, coming after he left for work and he knew she would leave before he got home. But he couldn't let it end like that.
He stormed into the house. Glanced around. He saw Randie at the sink doing the dishes. She looked as if she were hyperventilating the moment she saw him and took a step back for every commanding step he took towards her. He hated that look of fear in her eyes, the one that stared up at him as he trapped her against the wall, one hand on either side of her head. She placed hands on his chest, in a dull effort to ward him off. He grabbed both of her wrists held them to her side and dropped his lips upon hers.
"This belongs on your finger." He held a pair of tiny rings in his fingertips. He didn't like the way her hand looked without them. He hadn't removed his and he never planned to. "I'm been a jerk. I've been angry and I shouldn't have yelled at you, but I hope you know that I will never hurt you." He ran a finger over the faint healing bruise on her upper arm. "I didn't mean this and I promise I will never do it again."
"I don't think you're the man I've always believed you to be." She whispered. "It was a fantasy that I built you up to be and it's silly for me to think you could live up to it."
"Let me try." He begged.
"Fine." She relented, pulling his hand away from her cheek. "But only for Olivia. I'm not sure how I feel about you right now."
