Chapter 26
Claire
The jingle of the front bell hits my ears as I stretch to wipe down the sticky table. The last group of customers is gone, and I can finally let out the yawn I’ve been stifling since the second start of my double shift began. These days are far too long for me. The arches of my feet are on fire, and I still have all the ketchup bottles to fill. I’ll count my tips when I’m home. I can’t wait to melt out of this uniform and right into bed. I hope the kitchen has some leftover chicken pot pie tonight, the delicious aroma it gave off as I was serving it made my mouth water something fierce.
I grab a few ketchup bottles and pile them in my arms. “Hey, Marty. Is there any leftover pot pie tonight?”
“There sure is,” he says, whipping one of the kitchen towels over his shoulder.
I smile to myself as I clunk all the ketchup bottles down on the counter. First few nights working here I would drop them all—everyone called me Butterfingers for a while. Now I’m a pro.
The bell chimes at the entrance again. I squeeze my eyes tight, cursing myself. Why didn’t I flip the closed signbeforeI started on the ketchup bottles? I straighten up to a brittle, aching spine. Thank God I have a day off tomorrow, I need to catch up on sleep.
I glance at Marty behind the counter who gives me a quick nod. He only had one shift tonight, I guess he doesn’t mind staying a bit over. “Sit anywhere you like,” I call out. God, I hope it’s not a bunch of teenagers, they leave awful tips and ask for too many straws and sugar packets.
A hush settles over the diner. Definitely not teens.
When I turn around, Vaughn Montgomery is sitting in a booth staring back at me.He’s alive.
“Vaughn?” I whisper. He found me. Four months and miles away from home, he found me.
I grab a menu from the hostess station and walk over to his table. “Hello, there,” I say, handing him a menu. “Can I start you off with something to drink?”
“Depends on what you have in your refrigerator at home,” he says in a husky deep voice.
I slide into the booth across from him. “It’s pretty empty, actually. I may have a bottle or two of water, definitely nothing like the expensive whiskey a Montgomery is used to.”
“I’d take dirty tap water if it meant going home with you tonight.”
I look over my shoulder, back at the kitchen. Marty and a few of the guys are poking their heads out of the doorway, watching our exchange. They know all about Vaughn, and about everything I’ve gone through. It’s hard trying to find a job when your background check pops up with some not-so-nice surprises. So, they’ve been waiting for Vaughn to come find me too, actually everyone in this small sleepy New Hampshire town is waiting. Our story has become a bit of an epic tale around here. I guess that’s what happens when a stranger comes into a small town crying and sniffing and babbling about lost love, murder, and scandalous love affairs. Everyone wants to hear, and everyone wants to root for the underdog.
That’s me, I’m the underdog.
I smile back at Marty and the guys and give them a thumbs-up. They all scramble out of the doorway and there’s a sudden intense banging of pots and pans.
I turn back to Vaughn. “Is everything okay?” he asks, pointing toward the kitchen.
“Yes, everything is definitely okay right now.”
“Good, can we get out of here?” he asks, scooting out of the booth to stand. He reaches out his hand and holds it between us. It’s steady and unwavering. There’s no doubt in his mind I’ll slip my hand in his, is there?
I pull up my hand from under the table and without letting me reach out he grasps it in his hand and pulls it up toward his lips. I stand with the momentum and then we’re face to face, only inches between us, looking into each other’s eyes.
He cups my face with his hands, gentle and sure. His thumbs brush over my skin and his jaw sets. “You look exhausted, Claire.”
“I don’t sleep much,” I whisper and chuckle. “Bad dreams.”
“Yeah?”
I nod, losing myself in his eyes.
“I’ve been having dreams too, Claire.” He leans closer.
My pulse beats in my throat and I’m suddenly breathless.
“Ask me what my dreams are full of,” he says in a soft tone.
My skin tingles and all I can think of is wanting him closer.
