by Ferraro, W
“Uh, fold,” Reed answered, throwing his cards down and taking his beer bottle and downing its contents in one gulp.
The game went on around him; no one seemed to be the wiser to his rising concern.
No! It is no big deal she is here now. If I run into her, I will just act casual. I have to go with my gut that Colby would never call me out. If I get the opportunity to give her an explanation, I’m sure she will understand. After all, she was just as casual about our affair as I was. Hell, we left it as a good-bye. I’m sure she will be just as shocked to see me, as I am to see her. It will be fine.
As his brain became more confident in this conclusion, other parts of his anatomy reacted to the notion of seeing Colby again. Reed had spent much time since he said his good-bye considering their amazing chemistry but never thinking the opportunity would present itself again.
Perhaps good-bye truly wasn’t good-bye.
With his thoughts now going down this route, Reed suddenly remembered how this topic came to be. He was not comfortable with his brothers talking about Colby in such away. To be truthful, such thoughts had his stomach in knots. And what was Casey saying about one of Gage’s deputies? No, if he and Colby were going to coexist in this town, Reed would have to come to terms with this. After all, no one needed to tell Reed how attractive she was. He knew just how incredible her body felt to slip into and just where to stroke her to get her to writhe in sexual euphoria.
Jesus! Just thoughts of Colby and that incredible body of hers had his body reacting.
Much to Reed’s relief, the conversation turned from Colby to the Bruins playing, and he found himself able to concentrate once again.
However, the thought of running into Colby here in town suddenly had him wanting to make himself as visible as possible. Starting as soon as possible.
With a couple of days under her belt at Molly’s, Colby felt incredibly happy with her decision to move to Clearwater Falls. Everyone that she had met thus far had been incredibly warm and welcoming. She had gotten the hang of waitressing with ease, and Molly and the other waitress, Kayla, truly were patient as she learned the ropes. After the first day, she was confident she could handle a full shift waiting tables and quickly learned that all the customers were as friendly as the owner was.
It was her third day when she arrived for her shift right before the lunch crowd. Kayla was finishing her degree at the local college so she had asked if Colby would mind covering most of the evening shifts, and Colby was perfectly happy to comply. The truth was, the morning light was incredible to paint with so she could get up, enjoy her cup of coffee, and paint for a few hours before getting ready for work. Colby couldn’t believe how things were falling into place.
“Hi Molly, hi Greg, how has it been so far today?” Colby asked as she entered through the back kitchen door.
Molly turned to Colby and watched as the younger woman stripped out of her bulky winter coat, removed her snow boots, and tucked her gloves, hat, and bag into the small cubby that was by the door. Colby removed the black waist apron that she kept there and wrapped it twice around her waist before tying a neat bow in the front, then slipping her feet into a pair of sneakers she kept there.
“Great, Colby! The morning wasn’t too busy, but we can’t say the same about this afternoon; the place is already practically full,” Molly said with a smile and a wink.
Colby confirmed her boss’s observation as she peeked out through the delivery window behind the counter, which looked into the dining area. Almost all the tables were occupied.
Better get to it.
“Shall I take the tables and you can keep the counter?” Colby asked Molly as she made sure she noted the daily specials
“That would be great!”
Colby headed out to the front, took orders from a number of tables, and quickly brought the written orders over to the pick-up window. She filled coffee cups and quickly delivered salads before piling a tray with hot plates that she delivered with ease. Colby worked the room as if she had been doing it for years. Her smile never wavered nor did her upbeat attitude. Before she knew it, she watched as a group took the last available booth out of the corner of her eye. Making sure she delivered another table’s order first and filled some drinks, she grabbed a couple of menus and headed over to her newest customers.
She arrived at the end of the booth; she took out her pad and jotted down the table number and number of people in the party as she spoke her greeting. “Afternoon. Welcome to Molly’s, would you like to hear today’s specials?”
Colby raised her head and looked at the seated man to her left and her heart stopped. Those blue eyes, that straight nose and strong jaw—she had only ever seen that combo on one other person, Reed. However, this man had gray hair running through his dark locks. The cut of his hair was different too—freer and less styled. Then the man smiled when their eyes met, and she could add another similar trait to the list. His smile was just as dazzling and crinkled his cheeks, minus the dimples, in the exact same way.
Colby’s stomach flipped but not for the man in front of her. Rather it was for the memory of a man who ran through her brain.
“Colby! Great seeing you again. I was starting to think you were a mirage or something,” came from her right.
Taking her eyes off the man who captivated her, she turned her head and smiled at Dustin. Even if she couldn’t remember his name, she would remember him just by those undeniable green eyes.
“Oh, hey, Deputy, how are you?”
“Great thanks. Even better now.” He smiled widely.
Colby’s own smile broadened.
A throat cleared and Colby’s cheeks reddened, and her eyes returned to the man on her left.
“Oh, excuse me. Gage, have you met Colby? Our newest resident?” Dustin asked
Colby watched as the man in question’s eyes twinkled as if he suddenly understood something before his smile returned full force and he stuck his hand out. “Haven’t had the pleasure yet, but I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Colby placed her hand in his and shook it, unsure what he meant by the hearing a lot about part.
Dustin returned the introduction. “Colby, this is my boss, Gage, and the sheriff of Clearwater Falls.”
Suddenly, Colby understood; Paige must have talked his ear off about her.
“Pleasure to meet you, Sheriff; I’ve heard wonderful things about you from Paige.”
“As have I. Welcome to town. Hope you are settling in well enough,” Gage’s deep voice said.
“I am. Glad I came,” Colby answered.
“We all are,” Dustin added offering her another smile and winking as Colby’s cheeks turned red once more.
Colby took their order and promised it wouldn’t take too long. She went back into the kitchen to drop off her newest slip and picked up other orders. She delivered them to the appropriate tables, refilled drinks, delivered pieces of pie, and fulfilled coffee orders to go. When she was called for Dustin and Gage’s order, she picked it up, forgoing the tray since Molly had helped, delivered their drinks, and was on her way to their table. Saying thanks and good-bye to her departing customers, she reached their booth. Focusing on the plates in hand, she said, “Here you go, Sheriff. A medium-rare burger for you, and for you, Deputy, the cheese steak with extra mushrooms.”
But when she looked up to her customers, she hadn’t placed the second plate in front of Dustin.
It was the man she hadn’t been able to rid her mind of.
Reed Dennison.
“Oh sorry, Colby, Dustin had to head back to the station to take care of something. Can you wrap that up to go and I’ll take it with me when I leave?” Gage requested, unaware of the silent hysteria which threatened to choke her.
Finally able to pull her eyes away from his handsome face, she prayed hers wasn’t as white as she felt it was. “Uh, yeah, um, no problem.”
What seemed like an eternity passed, which truly only were a few seconds. She stood there unsu
re of what to do, when she finally asked with a slightly shaky voice, “Uh, hi, can I get you anything?”
If she didn’t want the floor to open up and swallow her whole badly enough right now, she frantically looked for her pen in her apron pockets, silently cursing herself because she lost it. Reed cleared his throat and pointed at her head. Suddenly, even more embarrassed, if that was even possible, she pulled the pen from behind her ear and hoped her hands weren’t shaking as badly as she thought they were. She feared the entire restaurant could hear her pounding heart as well.
She focused on the pad in front of her, not daring to meet either of their eyes even though she knew both sets of blues were trained on her.
“Yes, I’ll have the same as my brother here, just with the sweet potato fries instead.”
Colby scribbled the order, not caring that it was practically illegible. “Anything to drink?” She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut as her voice squeaked out the question.
“Coffee, please.”
“Right, large bold and black.” She gulped and then her eyes rose to meet his as she immediately realized her mistake. With fear and panic so evident in hers, to her surprise, his were calm and almost soothing.
With a smile and slight laugh to his oh-so-sexy voice, he answered, “How’d you know?”
Colby stepped away from the table, headed directly to the kitchen, and dropped off the order. Excusing herself from Greg, she went into the bathroom and shut the door.
Immediately, she placed her hands on the ivory pedestal sink and leaned against it. Raising her head slightly, she looked at her reflection in the large oval mirror. By her own eyes, she could easily see the stress of this sudden surprise encounter, but thankfully, her physical appearance showed no such thing. She looked exactly the same now as she had when she left her apartment an hour ago. Thank goodness for small miracles.
Her short honey brown locks smooth against her head in the back while a knotted green bandana tucked the front back. Only a few of her wispy bangs brushed her forehead lightly. Her brown eyes were lined with a subtle brown pencil and matching brown mascara as her only eye makeup, and her perfectly flawless ivory skin was bare of any enhancements other than their natural ones, her splatter of light freckles over her nose and across both cheeks. Her lips stained a fleshy pink color, which Colby considered completely acceptable for work. Her slight frame wore the dark green short-sleeved polo with Molly’s embroidered in white over her left breast tucked into her favorite pair of dark blue denim low-rise jeans. Her large white studded belt fit through the belt loops effortlessly.
What are the chances? She moves to a town that he not only lives in but where his brother is also the sheriff? And how about her boss, Molly, whose last name is the same? She mentioned it was her new married name, so could she too be related? Oh dear, thinking back to the lovely older couple on her first visit to the restaurant, now that she thought about it, something had been familiar in the older man’s eyes. Could that be his father? Did she fall into a Dennison breeding ground? How many more of them could there be?
Aware that she could certainly drive herself crazy if she continued with these thoughts, Colby knew she wasn’t going to get anything accomplished if she remained here in the bathroom. Realizing her time of hiding was over, she washed her hands, took one last look at her reflection, let out a deep breath, and opened the door.
Feeling a bit more like herself, she accepted a waiting order and went to deliver it. She needed to put this unexpected news and the unanswered questions in the back of her mind. When she was back at her apartment tonight, she would obsess and drive herself loony. Then, but not now.
Now was the time to do the job she quickly fell in love with. So what if Reed surprisingly walked into the restaurant and right back into her life? She needed to keep her focus, and that was exactly what she was going to do
She entered the dining room once more, walked as confidently as she could back to their booth, and placed his exact order down before smiling and asking if either would need anything else. When she turned to leave, she felt immense pride in how well she took control over her mortification. She went back to serving the other diners, focusing on avoiding looking back to the infamous table as she went about her business of taking care of the rest of her customers.
When Reed entered Molly’s, he had no idea just what was about to unfold. He was furious with himself that he was still at home, not in the office, on the hunt for the obscure town resident. Finally giving up on staring off into space while at home and outright refusing to drive around aimlessly hoping for a sighting, he decided to head to the restaurant for a bite to eat.
When he entered, he had full intention of heading to a stool at the counter, but then he noticed Gage sitting at a booth alone. Walking over and taking the available seat, Reed made himself at home.
What happened next left the usually collected man reeling.
Who should come out and be their server, but none other than the woman he had been searching for.
His memory of her did a horrible injustice to seeing her again. Reed couldn’t tell you exactly what it was, but something was absolutely striking about Colby. His body immediately reacted, but then when she laid those stricken with panic dark eyes on him, any sort of pleasure he had at seeing her suddenly evaporated.
Reed didn’t need to be a mind reader to know she was completely taken aback. Even after their exchange and her obvious slip-up, he knew seeking her out was the right thing to do. Perhaps she wouldn’t see it that way, especially since he just presented himself as meeting her for the first time, but Reed was sure if he could just get her alone to explain everything, it would be all right. He would accept nothing less.
To Reed’s gratification, Gage at least waited until Colby had stepped away from the table before mentioning, “Well, I guess Mason wasn’t lying. She definitely is a pretty little thing.” Reed watched as his older brother took a large bite of his burger and washed it down with an equally large sip of his soda before focusing back on his new lunch partner. “So what brings you back to town in the middle of the day during the week?”
Oh, you know, that “pretty little” waitress as you called her. Yeah, that girl. Well, I’ve been stalking the town for the last couple of days to find her. Silly me, should have started here, I would have saved myself a lot of time.
“Working from home a couple of days this week, and thought I’d get out of the house and see one of my two favorite sisters-in-law. I’ve also been hankering for one of Greg’s burgers.”
Gage continued to eat his burger, and Reed knew his eldest brother was silently examining every word he said, looking for any hidden meaning or an obvious lie. Reed was confident he would find none. After all, Reed had learned how to check his emotions from Gage.
“Hmm, you sure it has nothing to do with scoping out the girl behind our poker game conversation?”
If you only knew, dear brother.
“Please. We both know Mason will go on and on about one woman then twelve hours later is infatuated with another. I pay no mind to who he pursues because, sure as shit, it will change tomorrow.”
Gage laughed, and Reed found himself mentally releasing a deep breath. “You are right about that, Reed.”
They sat in silence as Gage continued to enjoy the remainder of his burger and then moved on to his fries.
“One thing is for sure, Casey wasn’t embellishing. Dustin definitely has a crush on her. You should have seen the way his face lit up when he saw her. In a way, I felt like I was intruding on them two.” Gage laughed the last part, unaware of the sudden clench of Reed’s teeth.
Come on, get it together! You’re the district attorney, for God’s sake. What are you going to do, start whipping your dick out because another man is interested in a woman you have a history with?
“I would liked to have seen that,” Reed responded, knowing it was a bald-faced lie.
Before their conversation could go any further, Colby returned wi
th his burger and coffee. Much more put together, he suddenly felt like she was ignoring him. His concrete confidence, which was in place only moments ago, began to crack. Unable to ask her about it with Gage sitting feet away, he filed it away for when he would finally corner her alone.
Before he knew it, she was gone. He took a sip of his coffee and wanted to sigh in contentment. Even though it was just plain black, it just tasted better knowing she poured it. She always did make an amazing coffee.
He and Gage had talked some more before Gage stood to put his sheriff’s coat on.
“Well, I had better get back. I need to be there to make sure Cranky doesn’t scare my new recruit into quitting.”
This statement had Reed smiling. Cranky, one of Reed’s oldest friends and his first deputy, was as nice as they come. Gage bestowed him with the nickname when they were kids as a joke, but it just kind of stuck. Unfortunately, Reed heard he was going through a painful divorce, so he apparently was taking out his frustration on Gage’s staff.
“Tell Cranky to relax. There are other fish in the sea. You are proof positive of that,” Reed said, knowing he and Gage were thinking about the exact same fish.
Gage smiled genuinely. “There certainly are.”
Unable not to crack a matching smile, Reed watched as Gage flagged down Colby, all the while hoping she would make eye contact with him again, to communicate with him in some way.
Except his luck had apparently run out. If anything, she was looking anywhere but in his direction.
“Be right there, Sheriff,” he heard Colby say from another table.
Reed struggled with refusing to allow his eyes to follow the direction of her voice.
“Don’t worry about writing up a bill, Colby. I’ll just leave money on the table.”
Gage removed his wallet from his pants and took out enough money to cover both their lunches and Dustin’s while still leaving an impressive tip. “I’ve got this one. Next time is on you.”
“Deal,” Reed said, knowing it wouldn’t be a long time until they would share a meal like this together again. Especially now, considering he knew just where to find the elusive Ms. Jackson.
