I wanted to stop them. I wanted to yank his arm off her body and tell her that if she wanted to stay with me, she could. But I didn’t. I just stood there like an idiot, watching the two of them walk away.
If I was the best friend that I said I was, this shouldn’t bother me. Her dating other guys shouldn’t be an issue. I had a fiancée and a whole future ahead of me.
Focusing on Ella wasn’t part of my plan anymore.
If only I could get my heart to understand that, maybe I would feel better about everything. Maybe then, I’d be able to survive.
7
WILLOW
My feet hurt.
I sighed as I kneeled on the booth next to the diner’s front window and flipped the Opensign to Closed. I moved to stand, pressing my hands into my lower back to stretch out my muscles before I straightened and glanced around.
Patricia and Breia normally helped me close the diner, but tonight, Patricia had to pick up her husband from the airport. And Breia’s boyfriend had an AA meeting that he went to in Powta, so she’d left early.
That meant it was my job to clear all the tables, wash the dishes, and make sure that Brody closed the kitchen.
Jasper’s TV show blared from his tablet. I peeked in his direction to see that he was lying flat-backed on the booth nearest the kitchen, with his right ankle resting on his left knee and the table held up above him. His little hand appeared to grab a French fry from the plate I’d had Brody whip up and then disappeared as he munched on it. I hoped the setup would keep him distracted long enough for me to clear all the dishes out of the dining room.
I hurried to the kitchen and pushed through the swinging door. I plugged the back sink and started the water, letting it fill up as I grabbed an apron from the hook on the wall and collected three grey tubs from the stack. Once the sink was full, I headed back out to the tables.
I started in the farthest corner from the kitchen, stacking plates and dumping the different drinks into a community cup before stacking them together and setting them next to the plates. When one tub was full, I pushed through the kitchen doors and brought the dishes over to the sink and set them inside of the hot, sudsy water.
With half the dining room cleared, I paused and straightened my back before I rolled my shoulders a few times and dabbed my forehead with my wrist. I was hot and tired, and I was ready for a bubble bath and my comfy pajamas.
Movement by the front door caused me to glance over. From where I was standing, I couldn’t make out who it was, just that someone was standing at the entrance. I frowned, hoping that they would eventually figure out that the diner was closed and head home.
Uncle Doug used to keep the diner open all hours of the night. It was never really known when he was open or when he was closed. When I took over, I created a set schedule, much to the chagrin of the residents of Harmony. It was taking some time for them to get used to the diner being closed after eight, but they were coming around.
Three solid knocks on the door made me sigh.
Well, most people were coming around to it.
I wiped my hands on my apron as I turned and started toward the doors. I grabbed my keys from my pocket as I approached. Whoever was at the door had their back to me like they were looking around the parking lot.
I slipped my key into the lock and cracked the door open. “We’re closed…”
Cole Watkin turned to face me, his familiar brown eyes meeting mine.
“You.” I glared at him. “What are you doing here?” The memory of his threat that he was going to come back in a month’s time rushed through my mind. I realized that I hadn’t actually thought about this man in weeks.
I’d intended to ask Uncle Doug about the contract after Cole walked out the front door, but by the time I got around to going to Uncle Doug’s house, he’d left on a three-week fishing trip to Montana. When he got back, I’d been so busy with the diner and Jasper that I’d forgotten about Cole.
Apparently, he had not forgotten about me.
I shivered against the cool night air that surrounded me as I held the door open. “Why are you back?”
He reached out and shoved a piece of paper at me. “Here.”
I didn’t want to take the paper, but he didn’t look like he was going to leave until I did, so I gingerly pinched it between my thumb and forefinger.
He dropped his hand, and the weight of the paper fell toward the ground.
“What is this?” I lifted the paper. “From the law offices of Turner and Windrow.” I read the letterhead before I glanced up at Cole. Was he serious?
“You said I needed to come back with something legal.” He nodded toward it. “Read it.”
