Chapter
One
“The damn raccoons are out by the dumpsters again. We’re gonna need you to get a broom and take care of ‘em, Ashley,” the greasy line cook with two felonies by the name of Craig, stated.
Ashley didn’t complain. Instead, she grabbed the broom and did as she was told. There was no use in complaining. It wasn’t like she had anyone to complain to that would listen.
Sure, she’d grown up being told she could do anything, be anything, but in Walland, Tennessee? Working at the diner was as good as it got. She’d learned early on that real life wasn’t a Hallmark movie. There was no prince coming to save her.
Threatening a troop of four raccoons with the business end of her broom was as good as it was going to get, and she knew it.
One of the furry little bundles of hate hissed at her as it slapped at her broom, making her yelp before she thrust the broom back at it.
“I’m fighting with a raccoon and this is the highlight of my day,” she mumbled to herself as the raccoon finally backed up to waddle away, its tail held in a way that seemed like a middle finger to Ashley.
Ashley blew air out of her pursed mouth, looking at the rest of the animals. “Are you going to be problems too?”
One of the animals growled at her and Ashley’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Lippy, eh?”
Ashley pushed the broom at the creature, giving a hiss of her own. The raccoon with deep, dark eyes that shimmered in the darkness backed up, seemed to chitter to its companions, and started to walk away.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Ashley called after them, waving the broom as they walked away, complaining noisily as they did so.
It wasn’t the first time Ashley had been sworn at in her life, but it was the first time an animal had done it. With a chuckle to herself, she walked towards the door to the diner, trying to ignore the wave of sadness that washed over her as she clutched at the door handle.
She let the handle go and leaned against the wall, staring up at the dark sky beyond the streetlight. Would life ever change?
Her daddy, Ned, brought her to Walland 20 years ago, and the rumors started immediately. Everyone had theories about the single father and the baby girl he brought with him. When the most exciting thing to happen in town before Ned came was Martha Jane from down the street having her pajama bottoms drop down to her ankles while letting her chihuahua out for a walk, a single man with a baby was just too exciting not to talk about. In Walland the rattlesnakes were cruel, but the townspeople could be much crueler.
Life had never been as glamorous as the girls on TV had it, but she could hardly complain. Most girls in Walland had it the same way, even if some had it just a smidge better than others. Instead of complaining, Ashley had formed a plan. She’d buckled down, earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of Tennessee, and had kept her glee to herself.
She’d taken on the job at the diner to help her Dad pay the bills while she was still in high school, and when the scholarship offer, and the university acceptance letter, arrived she’d finally allowed herself to think escape might truly happen. She’d allowed herself a moment to breathe easily.
Then her father had a stroke two years ago and every dream she’d secretly had suddenly became impossible.
A small part of her remembered when Kyle, the owner of the diner, used to call her his college girl. He’d bragged to just about everyone who came in about the fact that she was going to be going off to school on a full-ride soon. But now? After her father’s stroke?
Ashley shook her head as she turned on her heel and opened the door to the diner, knowing that there was no use crying over spilled milk. Everything happened for a reason, and she hadn’t been able to leave town because of her father’s health for a reason. The only problem was she didn’t exactly know what that reason was. Other than taking care of her father.
Her father wouldn’t survive without her and she knew it. More importantly she didn’t know what she would do without him. He’d always been her rock. Now, she was his. Life was funny like that.
The moment Ashley returned to the diner she had her timecard shoved in her direction, with a sharp look on Cheryl, the manager’s, face that made it clear it was time for her to go home.
“There is a storm rolling in, honey. I’ve just sent Craig home. It’s time for you to get on home to your daddy. Make sure he’s all tucked in for the night, I’ll close up,” the middle-aged woman said, her face making it clear she wasn’t going to listen to any arguments from Ashley. Cheryl didn’t play around about the weather. Not since she lost one of her two sons in a car accident during a storm.
“That’s weird. The weather channel didn’t say anything about a storm coming in today when I watched it earlier,” Ashley said, her brows furrowing as she jotted down the time on the card.
“Too bad my car is in the shop,” she sighed, hoping that Cheryl would offer her a ride. The moment she saw the hint of pity flicker across the other woman’s face she knew she was shit-out-of-luck. A walk was in her future. Good thing she only lived a few blocks away from the diner, but if a storm was rolling in? She might get soaked. Wonderful.
“Sorry, honey. Thomas has my car and he’s coming to pick me up.” Cheryl’s mouth pulled down and Ashley wondered if she even knew she was frowning.
Cheryl’s only remaining son Thomas wasn’t good for much. He’d come onto Ashley more than once and she could barely stand to be in the room with him, much less the same car.
“It’s okay, Cheryl. I need to get my steps in today, anyway,” Ashley said with a smile, knowing she’d much rather get soaked than sit in a car with Thomas. It was easier than trying to explain why she didn’t like Cheryl’s son.
Besides, if she did beat the storm, there was a kind of peace to a nice, solitary walk. Or at least that’s what she told herself as she pulled open the front doors to the diner and shrugged on her raincoat. She looked up at the sky with a frown as she realized that the moon looked strange tonight.
“Red,” Ashley acknowledged with a furrowed brow, trying to remember what her father had said about what was going on when the moon was red as she started to walk home. There was an old saying, something that he had learned from his father, a farmer... She couldn’t remember it, but her dad rarely mentioned his past.
