Chapter 2
“I’ll be right out,” a young woman said after Adam knocked on the counter.
The name Annie sounded familiar, but he couldn’t put a face with the name. There certainly weren’t any Annies in his grade, and he didn’t think there were any in his old church; but when the young woman came from around the corner, he immediately recognized her. She was older now, obviously, but still pretty. She had been in Michael’s grade, one lower than Adam, and Michael used to date a friend of hers. He couldn’t remember that girl’s name, though. Michael had a bit of a reputation for playing the field at his young age.
“Welcome to Annie’s Lodge. I’m Annie.” She smiled at Adam but then paused as her eyes went wide. “Adam Bailey?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, my God!”
Adam was surprised when the woman leaned over the counter and gave him a loose hug. He would be lying if he said it wasn’t nice.
“How’ve you been?” she asked excitedly after pulling herself away. “I’ve missed you. I mean, we’ve all missed you. Are you staying long?”
“For the time being,” he replied shyly. “I just thought it’d be nice to visit again, maybe stay if I end up...”
“Oh! Stay!”
“No promises,” Adam couldn’t help but smile at Annie’s enthusiasm. “Do you have any open rooms?”
“Yup, sure do. We’re a little full because of Pumpkin Fest, but I had a cancelation last night. You can have their room.”
“Pumpkin Fest,” Adam said to himself. “So Anderson’s still doing festivals, huh?”
“Well, yeah!” Annie replied sarcastically. “You should have been here for Cicada Song two years ago. It was epic.”
“Sorry I missed it.”
Annie smiled and pulled out a little black book. She wrote a few things down, grabbed a set of keys from behind the counter, and handed them to Adam.
“Here you go,” she said. “I’ve got you down for an extended stay in room 8.”
“Thanks. How much is it per night?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Adam studied Annie a moment to make sure he heard her correctly. “What do you mean?”
“You’re an Anderson native, Adam. It’s on the house.”
“I don’t know if I can accept that. I have some money saved up...”
“You’re a pride kind of guy, huh? I’ll tell you what. If this trip ends up being temporary, then the first week is on me. If you stay permanently, then I’ll waive your fee until you get a job. You can stay here as long as you want after that provided you pay me a weekly rent.”
“Alright,” Adam said after a slight hesitation, “that sounds fair. Thank you.”
“Anytime. The longer I can keep a handsome man like you around the better.”
Adam smiled bashfully as Annie winked. She laughed at his crooked smile and playfully shoved his shoulder.
“Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing. I’m just going to give you a heads up now; I’m probably going to ask you to dinner sometime after you’ve settled in. I figure someone as timid as you might need advance notice.”
Adam laughed and left the office before she could say anything else. Despite being twenty-eight-years old, Adam was still an awestruck teenager while in the presence of women, especially ones as flirtatious as Annie. He was laughing at the thought of Annie’s playfulness when he bumped into a man holding a small ice bucket.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Adam said.
“No, that was my bad,” the man replied with a smile.
He was a tall, striking man with blonde hair and sculpted muscles. Adam looked away, intimidated in the presence of a modern-day Adonis.
“Sorry about that,” the man said after kicking some fallen ice cubes into the grass. “My thoughts were elsewhere.”
“That’s alright.”
The man held out a hand and Adam took it.
“I’m Hugh Harmon,” the man said, introducing himself. “I’ve not seen you around.”
“I’m Adam. I’ll be staying in room 8 for a while.”
“8’s right around the corner down there, a few rooms down from the ice machine. I have a friend staying in room 10, and my girlfriend and I are in room 2 near the office. Are you alone?”
The very question gave Adam pause. He simply nodded.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.”
He laughed at his own joke and smacked Adam’s shoulder as he passed by. It hurt a little, and Adam wondered if the unnecessary force was intentional. He waited a second before continuing on, finding his room where Hugh said it would be. He unpacked his things and then claimed his bicycle from the front office. Annie fingered a wave at him as he left.
He considered going for a ride to see how much Anderson had changed but decided against it, feeling much too tired after the trip from Florida. So he chained the bicycle to a beam that stood right outside his door and lay down, dozing off immediately. He was awakened a short time later by a playful rap at the door. Adam rubbed the sleep from his eyes and answered it.
“So,” Annie said with her winning smile, “ready for that dinner?”
Adam laughed nervously. A playfully forward thing, wasn’t she?
“Do you mind if I shower first?”
“And rid yourself of that manly musk?”
“I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“And I’ll be counting every one.”
Adam hesitated before closing the door. Annie smiled at him but wasn’t moving, and he didn’t want to shut the door in her face. Not knowing what else to do, he invited her to wait inside.
“What kind of woman do you take me for?” Annie mocked. “I’ll be in the office. Meet me there when you’re ready and I’ll drive, unless you intend for me to sit on those cute little handlebars of yours.”
“No, no. That’ll be fine.”
She grinned maliciously and turned to go as Adam shut the door and locked it. Then he laughed. Maybe coming back wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
To continue reading, please purchase Not Quite Home.
Thanks, Bradford Combs
return to top
Cicada Song Page 51
