“Chief, it’s so good to see you. I was just telling Heather how I needed to steal you away for lunch. You’re looking too thin.” She put her hand on my arm and leaned in, smiling.
I brushed her hand off. Why had I never seen the meanness before? Did I have my head so far up my ass I didn’t know that the woman throwing herself at me on a daily basis was a stone-cold bitch? Where the hell had my instincts gone?
“That didn’t sound like what you were talking about.”
Nancy waved her hand and gave a breathy laugh. “Oh, that was nothing, just some girl talk. So, how about lunch?”
“What it sounded like was you trying to spread rumors, trying to convince Heather to divulge confidential information; in short, trying to stir up trouble. Katie Gallagher is none of your business, Nancy. She’s a friend of mine. I’d think it would behoove you to show her welcome, not gossip about things you don’t understand.”
Nancy’s smile was sharp, predatory. “Oh, I think I understand just fine.” She looked me over lazily. “A friend, is she?”
I stared at Nancy as I spoke. “Heather, we’re not going to be needing Nancy’s help around here anymore. Unless she reports a crime or commits one, she has no reason to be in this building. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Chief,” Heather answered.
“Wait just a minute. You’re making a mistake. I have been helping you for a year. Now she’s back and I’m out?” Nancy’s voice had become strident.
“No. It’s got nothing to do with Katie. It has everything to do with my realizing exactly who it is that’s been coming in and out of this station. If I can’t trust you, I can’t have you here. It’s as simple as that.”
“Well—”
I held up my hand. “Stop. Not interested.” I pointed. “There’s the door, Nancy.” I stared at her, waiting. She sputtered a moment before giving up. Good to know my hard stare still worked. A moment later, she spun, her heels clicking on the floor as she made her way out.
I shook my head. “Heather, I’m running up the block to talk with Bear. If you need me, call.”
She wore a secret smile that was all Bear’s. “Tell him I said hello.”
I said I would and then rolled my eyes as I walked out. Fucking Bear.
A few minutes later, I walked into the diner and headed back to the kitchen. The door to the cold storage room was open, so I ducked my head in. Sure enough, Bear was standing on a ladder, his head through an opened panel in the ceiling.
“Bear.”
“Just a minute.” His voice was muffled. “I’ve almost got it.”
I leaned against the wall and waited. He came down the ladder a couple of minutes later, wiping his hands off on a rag before stuffing the grease-stained cloth into his back pocket.
I motioned up. “What’s the problem?”
“Not sure yet. Motor’s working fine. Now I need to check each of the cooling units to see if there’s a short.” He looked me over. “I don’t see a bouquet of porn.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I was such an asshole last night.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what the hell that was.”
“Don’t you? I never thought you were stupid, Aiden.” He just stood there and waited for me to explain myself. Bastard.
I shrugged. “It was just residual adolescent crap. I had a huge crush on her when I was a kid. She’s back now, and my brain is responding to her like it used to. It’s stupid and doesn’t mean anything. I haven’t seen her in fifteen years, and it’s not like we were ever friends or anything.”
I shook my head, trying to dislodge the image of her looking so sorrowful over that baby raccoon. “Seriously, it was just a weird chemical reaction, and it’s out of my system now.” Except that it wasn’t. The small room was making me claustrophobic, so I walked back out to the main kitchen.
Bear followed me, leaning against the cold storage doorframe. Nodding slowly, he studied me. “I see. So, you’re not interested in her anymore, is that right?”
I shook my head. “No, not interested. Not interested in dating. Period.” If I said it enough times, maybe it would be true.
Bear grinned. “So, if I was to continue seeing her, you wouldn’t have a problem with that?”
I shook my head again.
Bear stepped forward and put out his hand to shake. I took it. “Well, that makes me really happy, because I got to tell you, Aiden, that is one fine woman. You know how redheaded women get my engine revving. And her ass!”
