Delia scribbled on her notepad. She paused, eyeing up the newspaper still spread across the table. “You looking for a job?” The hawk-eyed assessment she gave Leah was more than a little terrifying. “I need a waitress.”
Behind Delia’s back, Florence shook her head violently, mouthing, “Absolutely not!”
“Uh, yeah, no. That’s not really what I’m after. But thanks.” Leah stumbled over the excuse and Delia looked affronted.
“Doubt you’d hack it anyway. I need reliable and you look kinda flighty.” The diner owner sniffed and hurried away.
They waited until Delia reached the serving hatch before they snickered.
“I’m not sure if I’m offended or relieved!” Leah pulled a face.
“Oh, you should definitely be relieved. She made my sister-in-law’s life a living nightmare when she worked here. There should be a turnstile on the door for how many waitresses have come and gone in the eighteen months since Elenie left.”
“Well, I’ve walked the length of Main Street and the only place hiring is the laundromat.” Leah propped her chin in her hand. “I need to spread my net wider and look further afield. It might mean a change of area. I won’t have the luxury of being fussy if Amity Court sells fast.”
“Babe, the house is gorgeous, but it’s also a tired old money pit. That place is not going anywhere soon.”
Leah accepted the truth in Florence’s words. She was selfish enough to hope that Esther’s house might stay on the market for a while. A buyer would need deep pockets to take on a passionproject like Amity Court. Or at least have the contacts and know-how of Jackson Hale.
A queasy wave washed through her stomach at the thought of moving away from the only support network she’d had since childhood. “I want to stay in Pine Springs.”
“We’ll work something out. And your landlord must realize there are way worse tenants than you. You could have body odor, or triplets.”
Leah grimaced. “I don’t think he’s counting his blessings. Mostly he looks like he wishes I would just disappear.”
“Then he’s an idiot.” Florence retwisted her dark hair back into the barrette holding it off her face. “And, talking of dumbasses, have you heard anything from your ex recently?”
“Matt? Why d’you ask?”
“Just wondered. I keep thinking he’ll realize he missed out on a good thing and track you down.”
“He’d better not. I’ve got enough problems as it is.” Leah’s shoulders hunched. “Matt’s another reason I don’t want to go back to the Kalamazoo area. I took the job with Esther to get away from him. I don’t need anyone else lining up to remind me of my shortcomings.”
“You should google ‘who gives a fuck?’ and see if your name comes up in the search results.”
Florence was a force to be reckoned with. But it was easy to be outspoken and secure when you were the youngest, adored child in a tight and loving family.
Delia interrupted them again, clattering their drinks down on the table, leaving a miniature sea of liquid around each mug, before stomping away.
“Maybe next time we should go to Mocha Magic,” Florence whispered with a chuckle.
Walking back up the driveway toward the house, cheered by an hour of girl talk, Leah found a dark sedan idling on the gravel. Squinting against the afternoon sunshine, she could just make out the driver and a passenger in the front seat, their features obscured by a heavy windshield tint and the shadow from an overhanging tree. Some of Jackson’s workmen, maybe? Or an out-of-towner needing directions? She was ten yards from the car when it purred forward, passed alongside her, and turned out onto the road. Both of the people inside were men; both avoided her eye.
“Lost,” she decided. “Or just rude.”
And she thought no more of it.
Chapter 10
Jackson
He must have seriously pissed someone off to deserve this.
They stood in a line of four, staring up at the swathe of pines on the boundary of the Kingswater plot. Jackson tipped back his hard hat to take in their full height.
“Problem is, we’ve missed the deadline for tree clearing. Can’t take them down until October now.” Rufus, their senior site manager, was typically pragmatic.
Jackson’s father squinted upward. “But they’re mainly dead.”
