by Rose Wulf
“So,” Nate began as he reclaimed his seat, his own mug in hand, “how are you liking your new job so far?”
Madison lifted her eyes from the simple, yet strangely striking pattern and smiled again. “I love it,” she said truthfully. “It pays better than my last job, but more importantly I really enjoy cooking and working in a diner. I sort of feel like I’ve finally figured out where I’m supposed to be.”
“That’s good,” Nate replied, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. Grinning, he asked, “Should I plan on you being a long-term resident, then?”
Laughing through her attempts to blow on the steaming liquid, Madison said, “That might be a safe bet.”
Nate nodded, watching her with small smile as she took a tentative sip of her coffee. “Did I get it right?” he asked as she swallowed.
“Yes,” Madison assured him, meeting his eyes again.
Inclining his head, Nate lifted his own mug back to his lips.
“What about you?” Madison asked curiously, too late telling herself that maybe she shouldn’t be indulging her curiosity just yet. But she had already started, so she added, “What is it that you do, exactly?”
Grinning again, Nate let his mug rest on his knee and replied, “That depends on the time of year. During the summer months I borrow my dad’s boat and take the tourists parasailing. I figure, there’s always someone who comes to a beach so that they can fly above it, right?” He paused, shrugged, and added, “But it’s not something I do every single day, and it certainly doesn’t pay enough to qualify as a real job.”
Madison nodded as she listened. His words confirmed her building suspicions, proving that he didn’t actually work. Still, at least it’s something. It wasn’t like he was hurting for money, or even inconveniencing anyone, either. So she smiled and asked, “Think I could talk you into giving me a good price someday? I’ve always wanted to try parasailing.”
“I’d be happy to,” Nate declared with a laugh. “What about your family?” he asked after a beat, swallowing another, larger gulp of coffee. “Are you close?”
She hesitated now, her eyes falling to her own coffee. It wasn’t that his was a hard question to answer so much as it was potentially awkward. Her story was the kind that people judged, and she hated when people got that look. But he had asked, and it would be rather rude of her not to say anything, so she delayed long enough to take a fortifying swallow of her drink before she looked back into his gorgeous eyes and answered him. “I’m close with my mom. But she’s the only family I know.”
Nate looked honestly surprised. “Why?”
Madison pursed her lips for a second, but she released a breath and replied, “Mom’s parents kicked her out when she came home pregnant at sixteen. She actually spent a couple of years living with Paula’s family, which is how she and Paula know each other—and how I got the job at the diner. But for as long as I can remember it was really just me and Mom.”
“Wow,” Nate breathed. He let his eyes land on his quickly disappearing coffee, seeming to hesitate before he said, “I can’t imagine… That must have been hard.”
“It was,” Madison admitted quietly, gently sloshing her coffee around as she reflected on her childhood. There had certainly been trying times—weeks where she’d only eaten one or two meals every couple of days—but she really didn’t have a lot of bad memories about it, either. “But I think it was worth it,” she added, smiling again and lifting her eyes back to his. “I learned lessons a lot of people don’t, and I’ve just about never met anyone as close with even one of their parents as I am with my mom.”
Nate smiled now, clearly understanding that much, and said, “I can’t imagine not being close with my family. It’s good you didn’t have to lose that.”
“You’re close with your family, then?” Madison asked, her own understanding smile shining at him in her eyes as she lifted her mug back to her lips.
Almost laughing now, Nate replied, “Yeah, you could certainly say that. We even have a scheduled monthly dinner where my brothers and I all go back home for the afternoon.”
“That sounds nice,” Madison said, a soft smile curving her lips. “That’s the kind of tradition my mom would love to have. But it’s hard, especially now that we’re living in separate states.”
Nate’s lips dipped down into a frown. “Really? And she can’t afford to move out here to be closer to you?”
“No,” Madison replied, shaking her head. “She’s got a good job right now, but she doesn’t make enough to save up for something like that. Not realistically, at least.”
“Damn,” Nate muttered. He lifted his coffee to his lips and drained it.
“I do miss her,” Madison said, “but we talk on the phone every day. And she’s finally checking her email regularly, so occasionally I send her pictures, too.”
“That’s good, at least,” Nate agreed as he leaned forward and set his mug on the coffee table.
Madison nodded and finished her own drink before she said, “Anyway, I should get going. Thanks for the coffee.”
Nate nodded, smiling, and stood with her as he said, “Thanks for the pie. And the company.”
****
Monday was Angela’s official graduation ceremony. Kirk had woken up the day before in good spirits and Nate breathed a sigh of relief. Jacob—or someone whose description matched him—hadn’t been enough to ruin a life-long friendship, and though he felt guilty over the incident, he was glad.
Graduation day brought its own set of nerves. Nate’s baby sister was eighteen, done with high school and preparing to head off for college. Assuming they all survived the very public, very scheduled day. Nate doubted he was the only one surprised when both the official ceremony and their family-and-friends celebratory lunch at Earl’s Diner passed in beautiful peace.
Surprised, but grateful.
He just wished he’d gotten a glimpse of Madison while they were at the diner. He’d hardly been able to put her out of his mind since they’d shared that pie.
****
“I’ve been thinking, M,” Missy was saying on the other end of the phone as Madison leaned back against the park bench during her lunch break. “Would it bother you if I decided to save up so that I could move closer?”
Madison frowned up at the sky as a light breeze tangled her hair. “Why would that bother me, Mama?”
“Oh, well, I know sometimes kids can get it into their heads that they need some distance from their parents,” Missy explained. There was no hurt or hesitation in her tone to imply that she actually feared that sort of response.
Smiling softly now, Madison replied, “I’d love it if you were closer. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being in separate time zones. But can you really afford to save up like that?”
Missy clucked her tongue, like she always did when Madison questioned her ability to do something, and said, “Of course I can!” After a beat, her voice softened and she admitted, “I think it’ll take a while, though. I don’t know exactly how much I’ll be able to put aside at a time.”
“Don’t worry about that, Mama,” Madison offered reassuringly. “I can be patient. I don’t want you starving yourself or anything just to put another couple of dollars in the bank.”
“You’re such a good girl,” Missy praised, a smile in her voice. Laughter leaked into her tone when she added, “Although I don’t know how much consolation that’ll be if you lose your job just because you lost track of time.”
Madison jerked upright and looked down at her watch. Her mother was right. She really had lost track of time. Crap! “Thanks, Mama! I’ll talk to you later!” She was running down the sidewalk before she even returned the phone to her pocket, her eyes glued to the upcoming intersection. If she could make the light, she would be back at the diner with about thirty seconds to spare. But if she missed the light she would probably be a good two minutes late. She doubted very much that Paula or Earl would fire her for being late for the first time, but that certai
nly wasn’t an assumption she wanted to make.
She only barely made the light, but she didn’t care. There were two other people, neither of whom she recognized, in the crosswalk, and she politely fast-walked around them. Her pace never slowed when her feet hit the sidewalk, and she was incredibly grateful that the small park was so close to the diner. She glanced back down at her watch as she pulled open the door and smiled faintly—forty-two seconds to spare.
“Oh! Sorry,” Nate’s familiar, laughing voice exclaimed from in front of her.
Again Madison’s attention was forcibly dragged from where it had been, and again she wanted to kick herself. Who walks through a door to a public place without looking first? Nate was standing before her, having sidestepped to avoid a collision, and had reached out to catch the door. Embarrassment flooded her, but she pushed it back and stepped properly into the diner as she said, “Wow, I’m sorry; I don’t know where I’ve been today!”
Nate chuckled faintly and shook his head. “No worries,” he assured her.
Grinning slightly, Madison said, “You know, you keep coming in when I’m off, and I’m almost never off. I’m starting to think I should be taking it personally.”
Matching her grin with one of his own, Nate said, “Hey, it’s not my fault you take your lunch whenever us Hawkes come in. The whole gang was here just a bit ago.”
“Really?” Madison asked before rolling her eyes at herself. “The big party. Graduation, right? I should’ve come out and said hi, I’m sorry.” With an apologetic smile, she added, “At the moment, though, I really need to be getting back into the kitchen.”
Nate graced her with a brief chuckle that vibrated around her. “No worries. I’m sure I’ll catch you later.”
She had an irrational moment to wish he’d catch her sooner, but she shoved the thought aside and waved to him as she headed toward the kitchen. She was on the clock and that was no time to be flirting with customers.
****
Nate watched her walk off for a moment, a small, easy smile still tilting his lips.
Probably he should have been working on building a wall between them, to keep her at arm’s length and as far from danger as she could be, considering that she was renting from him. But walls had never been his specialty, and there was something about her that drew him in and held him there even after she’d left the room. If someone catches you staring, she’ll hear about it for sure, his often-hidden rational side piped up. With a subtle shake of his head, Nate turned and reached again for the door.
Tourist season was getting ready to start. He actually had things to do.
****
“Wow,” Eric declared as he and Angela turned the corner onto her family’s street the next afternoon. His eyes were riveted to the large two-story house that was set just slightly back from the street. The property itself was surrounded by a tall, concrete privacy wall, and was only accessible by going through the two taller wrought-iron gates at the front. The house had been vacant for nearly a year, and the couple had joked many times about how it was likely to remain that way.
The large U-Haul in the drive suddenly made Angela glad she’d never actually put money on it. “Come to think of it, I remember Dad saying he’d seen a ‘Sold’ sign in the yard,” she said as they watched a uniformed mover carrying a large box out of the U-Haul.
“So you don’t know anything about whoever bought it?” Eric asked curiously, turning his gaze back to her.
Angela shook her head. “Nope, not a thing.”
Suddenly someone was standing just a few feet in front of them, at the edge of the property wall, and arching an eyebrow at them blatantly. He was about six feet tall, but he looked to be about their age, and had a full head of thick, blond hair to compliment his clear blue eyes. And despite the casual long-sleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans, he was obviously in good shape. “Can I help you?” he asked. His tone wasn’t quite rude, but it was obvious he thought it was strange that they were standing and staring at his new home.
Angela recovered easily, undaunted by the almost-frown curving his lips, and smiled as she said, “Oh, sorry! No, we were just walking by and noticed that someone had bought the house.” She held out her hand, adding, “My name’s Angela. My family lives just down the street.”
He released an almost invisible breath and shook her hand, replying, “Vaughn.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Angela said, her smile still in place.
Eric held his own hand out a beat later, adding, “I’m Eric, Angela’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”
They shook silently and Vaughn inclined his head.
As their arms fell back to their sides, Angela said, “Well, we’ll just keep going and let you get back to what you were doing. See you around!” She slipped her hand into Eric’s as she spoke, and Vaughn had barely inclined his head once more before they turned and resumed walking.
They were barely past the next driveway when Eric asked, “So why didn’t you introduce me?”
Angela turned confused eyes up to him, their hands falling apart, and said, “You introduced yourself just fine, what’s the big deal?”
“It just seemed odd,” Eric said, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Barely refraining from rolling her eyes, Angela replied, “What’s ‘odd’ is why you’re getting upset about something like that. Or, what, do you think you need to be jealous of a complete stranger?”
“Do I?” Eric challenged, lifting an eyebrow at her without truly turning toward her.
Angela released a frustrated breath and exclaimed, “No! I don’t even know him!” She paused, stopped, and turned to face him fully. Holding his gaze fearlessly, she asked, “Do we really need to argue about this?”
Eric sighed, tugging his hands from his pockets so that his arms could hang loosely at his sides, and shook his head. “No, Angela. I’m sorry.”
Accepting his answer, Angela let her smile return and readjusted her course once again. Her parents’ driveway was just ahead, and they made the rest of the journey in silence.
****
Brooke was pale and tense as she put in another order that night. She turned to leave as soon as she was done, but Madison caught her eye and set down the spoon she’d been holding. “Hey, Brooke,” she called as she moved toward the half-wall that separated the cooking station from the pick-up pathway.
Brooke paused and turned back to her, pasting an obviously strained smile on her face. “Did you need something?”
Madison frowned. She didn’t know Brooke well enough to call her a close friend, but they had talked several times, and they worked together frequently. She was confident in saying that something was at least off. “Are you okay? You look … upset.”
Brooke released a breath and dropped Madison’s gaze. “Don’t worry about it,” she said quietly.
“That’s not what I asked,” Madison pushed, her frown deepening.
Shaking her head now, Brooke lifted her eyes again and said, “No, really. There’s nothing that can be done about it. So, I guess you could say I’ve been better, but it doesn’t matter. Sorry.”
It was obvious that Brooke was hiding something, though whether or not it was something that Madison actually had any right to know about was another matter entirely. So she tried again and said, “Maybe you should take a break. I’m sure Paula would let you.”
Brooke’s smile was honest this time, if not slightly bitter, and she replied, “That’s not going to help much. But thanks, Madison. Sorry to worry you.”
Madison opened her mouth to respond, still unsatisfied with Brooke’s answers, when the ground beneath their feet shook with the force of an unexpected explosion. Hot air suddenly slammed into Madison even as she dropped down on reflex, turning widened, horrified eyes toward the interior of the kitchen. Someone started screaming even before her eyes registered the sight that greeted her.
What had been a slightly-cluttered, but organized, kitchen—full of bustling che
fs and food—was now a disaster zone. Thick, dark smoke already hung heavy in the air, obscuring Madison’s vision and bringing stinging tears to her eyes. Beyond the smoke, her co-workers were shouting and coughing, looking around for each other and the source of the crackling, oppressive heat. Orange flames licked at the ceiling along the far wall. And someone was still screaming.
Oh… God! It took her a moment to process the situation. She thought she could make out a flailing outline that probably belonged to someone she knew, and definitely belonged to the hoarse screams of pain.
“Madison?” Brooke called from somewhere behind and above her. Her voice was choked slightly, but fear and concern were by far the dominant tones.
Brooke’s voice snapped her out of her trance, and Madison choked, “I’m okay,” as she pushed to her feet. Then she projected her voice as loud as she could manage and called, “Everybody out! Get out of the kitchen!”
The doors behind Brooke burst open as the words left Madison’s lips, and Paula was there, staring with a similar horror into her kitchen. She shouted the same command even as Madison and the others attempted to file out of the suddenly narrow exit. “Brooke,” Paula began after a beat, “Go and evacuate the diner.”
Madison was ushering her co-workers ahead of her, feeling a sense of obligation for them, when her ears registered a rapidly-increasing hissing sound. She knew immediately their time was limited. “Go, go!” she cried, adding another layer of urgency to her voice. And then the final cook was through the double-wide doorway and she hurriedly followed after him. The smoke had already filled the entire area, forcing them to move largely on memory and autopilot as they made their way toward the exit that would lead them to the bulk of the diner, and Madison could barely make out a form near the door that she assumed was Paula.
