“Tomato sauce, if you have it?” I didn’t actually want sauce. In fact, I hated it. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want her to go just yet.
“Back in a second.”
She spun on her heel and stomped away, her delectable ass swaying as she went. I could tell by the way she moved that she wasn’t playing games. She wasn’t one to exaggerate the sway of her hips that my fingers were itching to dig into, it was just who she was. It was a good thing I was already sitting. Finding a sexy woman who wasn’t playing games, a woman who was real, was like spotting Big Foot playing poker with the Loch Ness monster.
Taking the opportunity, I adjusted myself before stuffing a chip in my mouth. It was hot and crunchy and delicious, even if it did burn my tongue.
“Here you go,” she said, dropping a bottle on my table.
“Thanks.”
Before I had a chance to say anything more, she was gone again, winding her way through the maze of tables back towards the bar. Tucking into my meal, I kept tabs on her from the corner of my eye, I don’t know why. I didn’t come here to get caught up in drama, and women were inevitably drama. Drama I didn’t have time for. Drama I didn’t need.
Soon enough I was completely stuffed, yet my plate was barely half empty. They definitely didn’t skimp on the servings here. I knew I’d be back. And not just for the food.
A shadow loomed over me, “Can I take your plate?”
It wasn’t the young one with the ass to die for. Disappointment flooded me and floored me in the same moment. It was scary as hell. “Thanks.”
“Was everything okay?” her voice wavered as she eyed off the pile of food still on my plate.
“Yeah, it was great.” My voice was unenthusiastic. Maybe I was just tired.
“Can I get you anything else?”
As tempting as it was to get her sidekick’s name, I reminded myself I wasn’t here for that. Besides, I had a big day tomorrow and I still had to find somewhere to crash tonight. “I’m good, thanks. But do you know of a half decent motel around here?”
“You just passing through?”
“Just need a room for the night.”
“Depends what you’re after. There’s a B&B about ten minutes from here. Or there’s rooms above the pub.”
I didn’t have to think on that one. B&B’s were for cosy, romantic weekends away, not for me. “The pub’s fine. Can you give me directions?”
Without a word, she pulled out a tattered notepad and drew me a crude map before tearing the page off and handing it over. “Just tell them Jenna sent you. You’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, Jenna. It was good to meet you,” I replied honestly, surprising even myself. As I shrugged my jacket back on, I figured I might as well tell her my name. She’d find out soon enough anyway. “I’m Nathan.”
Sticking her hand out between us, I took it and shook it. She shocked me with her tight grip. Jenna gave me the impression she was not a woman who tolerated idiots. “Good to meet you, Nathan. Have a nice night.”
“You too, Jenna. You too.”
Dropping her hand, I headed for the door, unable to stop myself from turning back and catching the gaze of the girl with the soulful eyes while she absentmindedly polished glasses. With a slight nod, I fished the keys from my pocket and made my out the door into the night.
Forty minutes later, I clicked off the ugliest lamp ever seen by man and flopped back on what I was sure was a bug infested bed and closed my eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long ass day. The truck was due at ten and I had to have somewhere clean to put my crap when they arrived. Right now, there wasn’t an inch of that house I wanted to be in, let alone put my crap in.
The stupid alarm blasted me awake before the sun was even up. I needed coffee. Stat. In massive quantities, if possible. The thought flickered through my mind of coffee in an IV bag. Now that would be a million dollar invention. After a scalding hot shower, I grabbed my stuff and headed out. The sooner I got started the sooner it would be over. At least that was what I was praying for. Climbing on my bike, the engine roared and it was music to my ears. The noise alone had a strange way of calming me. Tearing down the deserted main street, there was no sign of life. Not a single person was visible. Which also meant there was nowhere open to fuel my caffeine addiction. Grumbling into my helmet, I bit my tongue and headed to my rat-infested dump.
Turning the corner, as soon as I saw it I knew why I’d bought it. Even despite the peeling white paint, the overgrown hedges, the tumbledown fence, and the knee high grass, it was still beautiful. It was one of those old houses, probably almost eighty years old, and looked every day of those long, hard years, but it had character. An abundance of it. As much as I wanted to get in and restore the outside to its former glory, first things first. First I had to make it inhabitable.
Pulling into the driveway, I killed the ignition and pushed the bike towards the house. The wooden deck that ran the entire length of the back of the house had seen better days, so I had no hesitation of pushing the bike up under the cover. At least there I knew she’d be safe from the removalists when they eventually arrived. No one, and I mean no one, touched my baby. Not ever.
Opening the back door that I hadn’t even bothered to lock, the odour was worse than the day before. I don’t know how that was even possible, but it made me want to gag. Taking a breath, I got busy.
Time escaped me. When my phone rang in my pocket, I was staggered to see it was already quarter to ten.
“Hello?”
