Leopard Moon

by Jeanette Battista

  Burke was eyeing her too, but didn’t say anything and then turned to Finn. "You’ve got a little something there," he said and pretended to wipe drool from Finn’s chin.

  Rebecca came over to greet them and take their drink order. Cormac tried to politely ignore her. She was their usual server, and she was nice enough, but Cormac didn’t want anything to do with her despite her flirtations. Definitely not his type. Plus Uncle Griff wasn’t real keen on them poaching the waitstaff—he’d banned Finn from even looking at his servers. She gave Cormac a wink and a big smile, which turned sour when Finn asked who the new girl was. "That’s Kess. She’s new--first day. I'm training her." She sounded none too happy about it. A manager’s voice called out that Rebecca had just gotten two more tables and she frowned. "Gotta go. You guys want your usual?" At their nods, she grinned. "Your cows will be up in a few."

  Cormac kept his eyes on Rebecca who was marching over to the new waitress, Kess. From the look on her face, Rebecca was pissed. He understood some of the dynamics of power in female relationships—they were a little like pack dynamics only way more complicated. He watched Reb talk to Kess with a nasty look on her face. The new waitress took it without batting an eye, glancing over only once to their table and nodding.

  Cormac saw that Kess was going to be bringing over their drinks. He was curious about her, and not because she was new. He couldn’t explain it, couldn’t put it into words. He found her fascinating, and his interest only increased when she walked. There was a slink to it, if that was any way to describe the way she moved. It was a shame when she reached their table.

  "Rebecca asked me to bring these out for you. Who gets the sodas?" When Finn gestured to himself and Burke, Kess turned to him. "Then you must get the coffee."

  Her eyes were like nothing he’d ever seen—a brilliant pure green shot with flecks of gold. A dark ring around the iris made the gold more pronounced. He got out a thanks and gave her a smile when she placed the mug in front of him, happy to look at something else because otherwise he was at risk of staring like a complete idiot. Kind of like Finn was doing.

  Kess moved to set the cream down in front of him, but he waved it away. He only took sugar in his coffee, no cream. "Do you need anything else here?"

  "I’d like to hear the specials," Finn said, a sloppy grin on his face as he obviously eyed her up and down. Cormac threw a look at Burke, who just half shrugged, as if to say what can you do with him? Cormac took a sip of his coffee instead of saying anything. If Finn wanted to make an ass of himself in front of the pretty girl, that was his own problem.

  He saw a puzzled look flash across her face for a second and he thought her eyes narrowed. Then she smiled a slow smile at Finn and Cormac waited for the annihilation to begin. "Sure thing. Our soup of the day is seafood chowder. Our catch is a cedar-planked salmon with a bourbon barbeque glaze served with a garlic mash and seasonal vegetables. Our lunch special is a roasted turkey potpie with root vegetables." She paused, then deadpanned, "And since Rebecca already placed your order five minutes ago, I can only assume that this was an excuse to check out my rack. All done?"

  Cormac almost scalded Burke with hot coffee when he burst out laughing. Burke slapped Finn on the back of the head. Finn, though chastised, didn’t look like he regretted it one bit. Burke said, "Forgive my brother, miss. He usually doesn’t go out without his special helmet," which caused Cormac to convulse in fits of laughter.

  "I’m right here, man." Finn rubbed his head. He looked at Kess and apologized sheepishly.

  She nodded. "You guys need anything else?" Cormac shook his head and she took off.

  He grinned over at Finn and Burke. "It was totally worth it," Finn announced. "That’s the future Mrs. Finnegan McNeil right there."

  "It’s hard to date someone when they have a restraining order against you," Cormac noted. "Maybe try for subtle next time." He saw Kess bringing refills to another table and checking on a third party that had just gotten seated. She seemed unperturbed by Finn or their party.

  "Yeah, brother," Burke agreed. "There’s socially awkward and then there’s, well, YOU."

  "Socially awkward is still netting me more girls than the celibate monk over there." Finn gestured broadly in Cormac's direction.

  "It's called having standards. And taste." And a not unreasonable desire to avoid becoming an STD poster boy.

  "Standards aren't much good when you're alone in the middle of the night." Finn leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure you and your hand will be very happy together."

  Cormac opened his mouth to respond in kind, but Griff plunked three platters down in front of them. Then he slapped Finn on the back of the head. "Boy, you run off my waitress and we’re going to have a problem."

  Cormac grinned again. His uncle Griff had an easy, open way about him and was much easier to deal with sometimes than his own father. It was a good quality in a Beta. "Your future wife ratted you out, buddy." He tucked into his steak.

  Griff looked at him, laughing loudly. "Wrong there, Mac. She hasn’t said a word about it, just went about her business. Wish all of them were like that when you boys are around." He gave them each a look that said he knew the effect the three of them had on the younger members of the wait staff, stopping longest at Finn who was most likely to cause problems. "I noticed it in case I needed to intervene. The girl handled herself well." He turned a raised eyebrow on Finn. "Future wife, eh?"

  Finn dramatically clutched his chest. "There’s no one else for me."

  "At least until someone prettier comes along," his brother snorted between chews.

  "Not likely," Cormac murmured. Three heads swiveled in his direction at the same time and he found himself flushing a little.

  "We-ell," Griff said in an appraising voice.

  Cormac realized what he’d said and how dumb it was to say it in this company. He knew everyone wondered about him, about when he’d bring home someone serious. Burke had been dating Lindsay for two years and it looked to last after they both graduated college next year. Finn always had a girlfriend, even if they only lasted a week or two. Cormac had dated—one seriously even, but no one that he could imagine being with long term. He found them just really…flighty. No substance to girls his age. He was nineteen but his mother often joked that he was going on forty.

  "What?"

  "See something you like?" Burke needled.

  "I’d have to be struck blind not to like that," he answered, then shut up as she came over to top off his coffee. He nodded thanks, barely looking at her, then watched her walk away, that slink in her stride a thing to appreciate. He turned back around to find three identical grins. He rolled his eyes. "I’ll be right back."

  He headed to the back, where the bathrooms were housed. He passed the kitchen entrance and waited when he saw Kess dropping off an order. He decided to apologize for his cousin’s rudeness. At least that’s what he told himself. When she came around the corner, he stopped her with a soft, "Hey."

  She turned, an unhappy look on her face. "Hey."

  Cormac ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I'm sorry about my cousin back there. He can be kind of a jackass."

  "He can?" She was looking pointedly at him.

  "What did I do?" He honestly couldn’t think of what he might have done to offend her.

  "Aside from staring holes in my ass?" She shook her head, then continued, "Look, this may be fun for you and your friends, but I need this job, okay? What I don’t need is trouble. Rebecca has already warned me away from you. I don’t need a run in with my boss on my first week here because you and the boys decided it would be cool to harass the wait staff."

  "Whoa, whoa," Cormac replied, raising his hands. "First off, Uncle Griff is fine with the way you handled things with Finn. And I apologize if I made you uncomfortable with the, uh, staring. I’ll try not to let it happen again." He stared at her face, trying to see if she looked at all mollified by what he said. "As for Rebecca—there’s nothing g
oing on th…"

  "Not my business." Kess cut him off. "I’ve got to get back to my tables." She hustled out of there and Cormac tried not to look at her. He found it was harder than he thought.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kess grabbed her bag from behind the bar and clocked out at the computer. She waved goodbye to the bartender and stepped out into the biting mountain air. It was beginning to lightly drizzle and the rain made halos around the lightposts in the parking lot. She trudged up the hill to the back lot, tugging her jacket more tightly around her. She was looking forward to a hot meal with Anita and Bran and a long soak in the tub.

  She threw her bag into her car and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened except a couple of clicks.

  Kess tried again, muttering under her breath. Again nothing happened. She checked to see if she had left her lights on or the door ajar or anything else that might have drained the battery, but found nothing. Third time's a charm, she thought, turning the key once more. Except in this case.

  She got out, hitting the hood release as she went. The rain was coming down harder now, no longer a drizzle. Her slim fingers found the catch and she raised the hood of her car, and stared down at the metal stuff that was supposed to make the car go. She felt like an oracle trying to read the future in some chicken entrails. She had no idea what she was looking at. She could fix a flat and check the oil, but that was the extent of her automotive knowledge.

  Kess knew she shouldn’t be mad at the car. It was a good car—it had gotten her all the way from New Mexico to California and then here without much trouble. But she still had to resist the urge to kick it. She knew it was childish, but it was raining for God’s sake. And it was cold. She was going to have call a tow truck and get the car somewhere that could fix it and then find a way to her boarding house. There went her tips.

  "Stupid car. You had to pick now, didn’t you?" Although now was probably better than when she was back on the road, fleeing from her family.

  The sound of tires on gravel made her poke her head out from behind the raised hood. A Jeep was pulling in the lot, stopping right behind her dead car. The driver’s window rolled down and a male voice said, "Everything okay?"

  "It’s fine."

  But the guy was getting out of his car and coming over to where she stood looking down at her engine. Kess recognized him as the guy she’d caught staring at her on her first day. Terrific.

  "Try and start it up," he said, leaning over her car to get a better look in the dim light.

  "Look, I was just going to go inside and call a tow. You don’t have to worry about it." She really didn’t want to owe this guy anything.

  "Just let me listen. If it’s something small, we may be able to fix it. Save you some cash."

  Kess saw the logic in that and went back the driver’s side and turned the key in the ignition. Click, click, click. She stepped back out and shivered. The steady rain was soaking into her jacket, making her feel clammy.

  "It’s your battery." He stuck his head out from behind the hood. "I’ll give you a jump and you can get somewhere to get a new one." He went over to his Jeep.

  Kess opened up the trunk, getting her emergency kit, keeping an eye on him. He was being perfectly nice, keeping his eyes and hands to himself, focused only on the task at hand. He was also getting drenched, just like she was. His hair was plastered around his face and his overshirt was stuck to him. But he didn’t seem to mind it was much as she did.

  He was looking for something in the back of his Jeep when she came up behind him. He held a flashlight and was muttering, "Jumper cables, jumper cables…"

  "I’ve got some." She smiled when he jerked around, startled. She could move quietly when she wanted to.

  "That’s good because I don’t know what happened to mine." He looked at her. "Kess, right? I’m Cormac."

  "Hey." Maybe she’d been overreacting with the staring thing; she’d gotten worse in some of the places she’d worked. And he seemed perfectly pleasant and well-behaved now.

  He seemed to shake himself, then turned back to his Jeep. "I’ll pull up alongside you and we’ll see if we can get you going." He handed her his flashlight and she took it and the cables back to the front of her car while he pulled in beside it.

  Cormac worked quickly. Kess watched, trying to see what he did so she could do it if she ever found herself in this situation again. They huddled under the hood and he pointed out the connectors to her with the flashlight as his Jeep rumbled in the background. He pointed out a couple of other important parts, telling her how to diagnose some basic problems when she asked questions. With their heads so close together, she noticed that his eyes were grey.

  After about five minutes, he said, "Give it a try."

  Kess cranked the key in the ignition and it almost caught. "Try it again," she heard Cormac say. She did and the engine flared to life. She gave the car a little gas, revving the engine.

  When she got out, Cormac had already unhooked the cables. He wound them in a neat circle and put them back in her trunk. Then he headed back to the front of the car for a final inspection. "You should be good to go," he said, letting the car’s hood down slowly until it clanged shut.

  "Thanks. I really appreciate the help." She did. He’d actually been helpful, not just pretending he could help so he could try and mack on her while they waited for a tow truck.

  Cormac ran his hand up through his hair and rubbed his neck. "No problem." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then looked away.

  "You’re soaking wet," she replied. To her, soaking wet was a problem, especially when it went hand in hand with being cold.

  "Clothes dry." He shrugged. "There’s an auto parts store a few blocks over. You should be able to get a new battery there—I think they can even put it in for you."

  "Thanks again."

  He waited until she got in, holding the door for her. "Consider it penance for the staring." He didn’t wait for her to say anything, just closed the door after her. He waved goodbye and went back to his Jeep.

  Kess backed the car up and left the lot. She checked her rearview and saw Cormac opening his passenger side door to retrieve a large box. He caught her waiting and she waved at him. He smiled at her, then ducked his head down and ran through the rain to the restaurant. She hated to admit it, but he had a very nice smile.

  ************

  She’d been at the Barn for over a week and had gotten into the rhythms of the place. She’d only shadowed one other time, at her first dinner shift, before she’d gotten the go ahead to go solo. It was an easy, relaxed clientele which made it a lot easier to pick up the way things were run, not that they were much different from anywhere else she had worked. She’d learned the regulars’ names, found out what they usually ordered and drank, and made sure everyone she served was well taken care of. The only thing that seemed to change were the specials.

  A few days later, Kess had reached the end of another night at the Barn. She was finishing up her first double with a load of sidework, mostly restocking salt and sugar on the tables and rolling silverware. Her last table had left twenty minutes ago and the likelihood of another dinner party coming in this close to ten was effectively nil. The kitchen would stay open for another hour serving apps for the bar crowd and then it too would close.

  She rolled her last set of silver and stopped by the kitchen to check with Griff to see if there was anything else that needed to be done. Griff stuck his head out of the kitchen and took in the dining room with a practiced eye. "Looks good," he said, approval strong in his voice. "Tip out?"

  "Taken care of. I’m all set."

  "Did you get your meal?" Every server got a free meal from the menu for each shift they worked.

  "Not yet, but…" Kess stopped, embarrassed. She wasn’t sure how to ask the next question.

  Griff cocked his head quizzically. "What you got on your mind?"

  "Are you sure we can order anything off the menu?" She reddened. The m
enu held a huge number of choices, from pastas to chicken and fish. She’d been sticking to the cheaper choices of pasta and chicken, but what really interested Kess tonight was steak. And those were some of the most expensive items on the menu. She didn’t want Griff to think she was taking advantage of his generosity.

  He laughed easily and patted her on the back. "What do you want? I’ll put it in for you."

  "Eighteen ounce ribeye, please?" She asked, wondering if he’d change his mind now that he knew she was asking for a high-priced entrée.

  His blue eyes crinkled up at the sides and she could tell he was fighting a grin. "Baked or mashed?"

  "Baked. Loaded. Veg instead of salad." She looked at him a little sheepishly. "Are you sure?"

  Griff nodded. "How do you want it cooked?"

  "Rare please."

  He pushed her between her shoulder blades. "Go on and sit down in the bar. Unwind a little. It was a good night."

  Kess breathed a sigh of relief and headed to a high top table in the corner, stopping only to grab a glass of water from behind the bar. She settled into the chair and pulled her hair out of the chopsticks, letting it tumble down behind her in a black fall. Having it up all day made her scalp ache and she lightly massaged her head, listening to the murmur of voices and the drone of the television set. The bar was at half-light and it soothed her tired eyes. It wasn’t light enough to read by, so she left the book she’d borrowed from the boarding house bookshelves in her bag, staring aimlessly out into space.

  She knew she’d done well tonight. Even after tip out she still had about a hundred bucks and this was a slow night. She been waitressing since she’d left Miami; it was a fluid situation with unusual hours and you didn’t need a lot of experience to get started. Restaurants also turned out to be excellent places to purchase new papers--half the people working the kitchens were always illegally in the country and they knew where to buy fake social security cards. She’d worked in every kind of place there was--diners, chains, mid-level, high-end, cocktail joints--and she’d gotten better along the way. She knew that in many instances, she’d been hired because she was pretty; she wound up surprising most of her bosses when she turned out to be good too. And they never asked questions when she had to quit unexpectedly.