And then there was that horrible open pit in my heart. The empty feeling in my gut that only she could fill.
I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but I missed my wife, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to give up until I found her.
Chapter33
Amy
The tiredness these days came in waves. It was different than what it was all those months ago when I’d been working and caring for Alessia. That had been a bone-weary kind of exhaustion that seeped into my very soul. This was because I was huge, roughly the size of a whale, and my feet and ankles were so swollen that it hurt just to finish my shift, but I never thought about giving up, just like I hadn’t thought about giving up back then.
I had a good thing here, a job which, even though it was back-breaking, came with three meals a day and a room in the motel. Plus, the people here were good, kind people. Low-class, hard-working people just like me, and they had taken me under their wing.
Even when the baby was born, I would still have a place to live and a job. I really had landed on my feet when I had ended up here that first night and paid for a room while trying to hold back tears.
“Hey A.”
A pile of empty plates balanced in my arms, I turned to find the owner of the Midnight Motel staring at me from behind the counter.
“Hey.” Shuffling forward, I dumped the plates on the side and arched my back, throwing out my enormously pregnant belly evenfurther. He eyed it from over the rim of his stained coffee mug. “Jesus, girl, you look fit to pop.”
I smiled. He always said things like that. “Not quite yet. There’s a month or two left yet,” I answered him.
“You know.” He sipped the bitter black liquid and continued to eye me. “If you told me who the baby’s daddy was, I could force him to look after you. You’re going to kill yourself doing these double shifts.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I’ve told you, he doesn’t want to know.”
My boss cracked his knuckles threateningly. “I could make him see the error of his ways, A.”
My smile slipped. It was funny to think of him confronting Alexei. But not in a haha way. My boss would never stand a chance. Alexei would wipe him from the face of the earth with one well-placed shot.
“I love you for looking out for me, Derek,” I said softly. “But I’m honestly fine. The baby and I don’t need him.”
He continued to stare at me. “OK, A, I take it that he’s not a good person, so I won’t press it. But do you know who is a good person?”
I waited for him to continue. My eyebrow arched.
“Me,” he chuckled. “Do you want to man the front desk tonight, instead of waitressing? Our usual guy is running late thanks to car troubles. I’ll pay your usual rate, and it would mean you can get off your feet for a few hours.”
I looked down before I could help myself. My feet, my poor, swollen, sausage-like feet, were literally bursting from my tennis shoes.
“Yes, please.”
He grinned, his dead tooth catching my attention. “Get to it then, girl. And the rifle is under the counter. Don’t be afraid to use it if there’s any trouble.”
He always said that, but in all the months I had been here, there had never been any trouble. This wasn’t a high-end place. It was more of a secret place. The people who booked rooms didn’t want to draw attention to themselves.
“See you tomorrow.” I lifted my hand to wave at the otherwaitresses and stepped out into the humid summer night. Making my way across the almost empty parking lot, I lifted my face to the slight breeze that fluttered my pale pink waitress uniform around my knees.
The light wind was good against my sweaty skin, but taking the weight off my feet would be even better.
I eyed the cars in the lot as I passed. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that looked like Alexei had found me. It had been months, and I didn’t think he was even looking for me. Why would he be? I was gone, and he now had everything he ever wanted. His long-lost love, Violet.
But it didn’t stop me double-checking my surroundings anyway. Pushing into the small office, I said hello to the middle-aged woman with bright red hair who always manned the office in the day.
“Hey, Sindy. You can go be at home with those kids now. Sorry, it took me so long to get—”
She ignored me completely. Sliding from her stool to brush past me and leaving without a word. OK, so Sindy wasn’t Mrs. Friendly. I liked her anyway. Groaning, I fell into the warm seat she had vacated and pulled the log towards me.
I just needed to check who was in what room, something I always did. There would no doubt be people who needed towels or even couples who would check out long before the morning. Those rooms would need to be cleaned.
