“Don’t we all,” Joyce said. “We need to leave in ten minutes, Will. We can get coffee at the diner.”
“The diner?”
“Our shift begins in half an hour.” Joyce shuffled outside and headed to the house as William squeezed past the motorcycle and scratched his chin.
“Helping at the diner, eh?” Brandon said, collecting his suit jacket.
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“What better things do you have to do?”
“Get this engine running for one.”
“Ah, there’s time.”
But that was exactly what William didn’t have much of and wanted to avoid—spending more time in Chinoodin Falls than he could afford.
* * *
ANNIE SPED INTO the diner. Her purse dangled from her wrist and a sweater was slung haphazardly over her shoulder as she swirled her hair into a messy bun. After calling hello to Joyce and playfully hip checking Karrin, her fellow waitress, on her scramble to begin her shift, she sprinted to the office. Beads of sweat were already perspiring on her lip when she stopped short at the sight of William carelessly rummaging through her desk as if he owned the place. The scene caught her so completely off guard, it took a moment for her to piece together a coherent sentence.
“What...what...what on earth do you think you’re doing?” she finally stammered, charging toward him and slamming her purse onto the desk. Her eyebrows shot up as she waited for an explanation, but William made no effort to answer her. He leaned comfortably back in her chair and a satisfied grin curled his lips. “That’s my desk, you know,” she pointed out.
“Good morning to you, too.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’ll tell you if you wouldn’t mind easing up a bit.”
“You tell me right now,” she commanded, her shadow darkening his handsomely chiseled jaw. She avoided looking directly into his eyes, hoping to avoid the mesmerizing pull of those blue pools. William stretched his hands, clasped them behind his head and leaned farther back in her chair.
“Seriously, Annie, I can practically see up your nose from this angle.”
Annie pursed her lips and looked around for the nearest thing to knock the easygoing smile off his face. She snatched the papers he was reading from the desk in one crinkled wad and smacked his shoulder with them.
In an instant, William was on his feet. “Hey. What’s the matter with you?”
“What are you snooping through?” She flipped through the papers with such speed, she couldn’t read or register what they were. The last few years she had tried her best to keep the paperwork for the diner organized—invoices, tax forms, payroll—but it was nearly impossible between working the floor and hurrying home to her children after each shift. As she eyed the evidence of her miserable bookkeeping abilities, it was his scent that finally made her turn her head. She caught her breath at its charming appeal and found William studying her. His gaze sending a series of tickles like butterfly kisses down her spine.
She didn’t know what was going on here, but she wasn’t going to stand around and twiddle her thumbs while he slowly pieced together an explanation. She could table this matter for later, after she had collected herself and put more distance between them. As she tossed the papers at him in a flurry, William sat back on the edge of the desk and crossed his arms.
“I was searching for your letter.”
“My letter?” she said with a sputter.
“Mmm-hmm. I know I missed your voice mail.”
“Voice mail?”
“Unless... Were you planning to apologize in person, Ms. Curtis?” William rubbed his stomach. “I was up all night, you know. It’s a wonder I didn’t have to go to the hospital after all.”
Annie scoffed. “I saw you when you left. You weren’t that sick.”
“No? Have you ever been poisoned before?”
“Are you accusing me of poisoning you?”
“Didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Annie said, tipping her nose in the air on her way out of the office.
“What goes around comes around, Annie.”
“Remind yourself of that fact!” she called. Desperate for an outlet to funnel complicated feelings she’d ignored since she was seventeen years old, Annie attempted to start the coffee maker with a series of pointedly timed clangs and clanks. After a moment of telling it off in vulgarities muttered under her breath, she noticed a shadow behind her.
“Are you okay?” Miles was cautiously peeking from around the corner.
“I’m a little mad.”
He carefully pried a glass coffeepot from her whitened fingertips. “At my kitchen?”
“At you know who.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“Do you think revving yourself up on caffeine is gonna make things better?” Annie reluctantly smiled, snatching back the pot and shoving it into the coffee maker with a final clank. “You know, Annie, he seems like a decent guy. I talked to him earlier and...” Annie’s eyes narrowed as the husky college student hurriedly backpedaled. “I mean...he’s a total jerk, and I guess I don’t like him, eh?”
Annie jerked a nod of approval as she waited for the coffee to percolate.
“Too bad you can’t hide out in the kitchen with me today,” Miles suggested before chugging a soda.
“You know I’d love to, kid, but the farthest point from you know who happens to be the dining room.” Impatient for her jolt of caffeine, she stole a swig of Miles’s soda and rolled her eyes at the fact that that wasn’t nearly far enough.
* * *
WILLIAM GNAWED ON a piece of bacon while sizing things up from the end of the counter. Between observing the morning regulars and quietly recounting his youth slaving away in the diner, he had enough to occupy his attention. Though nothing was as fascinating as the way Annie Curtis could work the dining room. She carried food trays with ease and chatted to all like a long-lost friend. She winked at her regulars, anticipated their requests and bubbled with laughter until, that is, she had to walk within three yards of him. He had categorized himself as the black sheep over the years, depending on the situation, but Annie now helped him experience it at a more personal level.
“That’s it. Keep ignoring me,” he whispered under his breath. She’d marched past him into the kitchen, her face etched in a stern glare.
It was a figure at the entryway that finally drew his attention. A tall, hefty man with a commanding presence and pressed suit, who looked out of place in the small, folksy diner. William could feel the energy in the room shift as others followed the man’s arrogant saunter.
“Hello, Sean,” Joyce said. Her voice rang brittle with forced politeness.
William did a double take, recognizing the dressy brute as Sean Butler, a fellow Chinoodin High alumnus who had graduated a year ahead of him. He had been a smug jerk in high school, and judging by his demeanor, he hadn’t changed much except for putting on a few pounds and splurging on polished designer shoes.
Sean halted, his eyes on William. William calmly sipped his coffee and waited for Sean to lose interest in his presence. He generally didn’t engage others in conversation, choosing to keep to himself as much as possible. Besides, if he remembered correctly, Sean’s conversational skills were akin to a wrecking ball.
“Hey,” Sean grunted, screwing up his face to place William. “Chinoodin High?”
“A year behind you.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Heh. You’re Joyce’s son, eh?”
“Will.”
Sean leered at him. “I know who you are. You’re not moving back, are you?”
William had no desire to stay in Chinoodin Falls longer than the time it took to eat his breakfast, but the disgust in Sean’s voice rubbed him the
wrong way.
“Hard to say.”
Sean snorted. “Why’s that?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“Are you holding up the counter and weighing your options?”
“Do you need a second-by-second commentary, or can’t you fill in the blanks on your own?”
Sean jutted his chin before what sounded like a forced chuckle. “You’re a plethora of knowledge, ain’t ya?”
William took another sip of his coffee and turned his attention to what was behind the counter. He knew when he was being baited and couldn’t afford to lower himself to Sean Butler’s level. “So, it’s back from the Navy, is it? Are you gonna help your mother clean up this dump? Lord knows it needs it. I hate just being seen in this place.”
William was surprised Sean knew he had been in the Navy. Suddenly Annie burst through the swinging doors, a tray of breakfasts teetering in her hands. Sean straightened and lumbered toward her as she hurriedly passed out the plates before trying to slip around him.
“I’m in the middle of the morning rush, Sean. I’ll talk to you later,” she said before hustling into the kitchen, but Sean barreled through the kitchen doors after her like a pit bull fixated on a scrap of meat.
Joyce hovered nearby, wringing her hands fitfully. When her frightened eyes found William’s, his spine stiffened in alarm. A quick glance around the dining room proved that Joyce wasn’t the only one on edge with Sean’s arrival. The collective murmur of folks’ conversations had momentarily hushed. A few customers had put down their newspapers. Two women exchanged a worried glance. They were a herd of antelope at the watering hole, and a lion had just been seen on the savannah. They knew something he didn’t, and he hated surprises.
The seconds ticked by as he decided whether or not to investigate. He had no sooner mulled the thought over when Sean’s voice boomed from the kitchen, startling several customers and jarring William to his feet. He wasn’t sure what he’d find waiting for him on the other side of those doors, but he had every intention of finding out.
As he braced himself to throw his full weight against the swinging aluminum doors, Sean emerged with a snarl donning his upper lip. Being confronted with William, he stopped short, the two men mirroring each other’s expressions, standing toe to toe.
“Whoa. Call off your son, Joyce,” Sean finally spat without tearing his eyes from William.
“You’re the one hollering in there,” William said in a deep tone.
“True,” Sean replied in a hushed voice as he hoisted his belt higher on his waist. “The wife still needs to be told from time to time. You know how that goes, swabbie.”
William’s jaw tightened as Sean sauntered around him and stopped to grab a few mints on his way out the front door. The little wife? If Annie had married Sean Butler, it was no wonder she looked as harried and worried as she did. Losing a Miss Congeniality award was the very least of her problems if Sean had weaseled, or more likely bulldozed, his way into her life.
* * *
ANNIE HUNG BACK until she was sure Sean had left. She detested his unannounced visits. They were manipulative confrontations she worried would escalate into public scenes. Every so often, like clockwork, he’d fabricate an excuse about how she was doing a poor job mothering James just so he could come by and unleash verbal jabs in front of her friends and coworkers. But as much as she hated it, they were the witnesses she preferred. On occasion he had stumbled onto her porch steps, sweating whiskey sours and moaning profanities. Any humiliation she tolerated at work was better than scurrying the children off to hide in their bedrooms.
She knew Sean delighted in the power he wielded over her. He was James’s father, so she wanted to believe that underneath the verbal jabs, he loved the little guy, but she really couldn’t vouch for it with any certainty. Most days, James’s welfare was an excuse Sean used to make her life miserable.
Annie bit the inside of her cheek and refused to cry. It wouldn’t solve anything except make her eyes puffy and solicit questions from her friends. She held firmly to her mantra: no emotional breakdowns except in the shower.
After forcing a few deep, calming breaths, she smoothed the front of her dress and stepped out into the dining room with the resolve of a royal diplomat.
“Are you okay, honey?” Joyce whispered, looping an arm through hers.
Annie feigned a smile. “Of course.” But when she read pity in William’s gaze, a sinking pit in her stomach quaked open. Pity was something she absolutely could not take.
She’d had her fair share of it over the years. The pitiful stares after Julian ran out, leaving her pregnant with Betsy and practically destitute, still haunted her.
There had been a pity party disguised as a wedding reception when, out of pure desperation to provide for Betsy and herself, she had married Sean. Oh, how she had wanted to escape from the hall after Sean got drunk with his buddies and forgot her during their first dance.
She was still paying the price for those bad decisions, and she didn’t need anyone’s pity or judgment, especially William Kauffman’s. Perhaps if he hadn’t bailed on her in the first place, things would have been different somehow. But instead, here he was, standing in front of her as the aftershock of Sean’s visit rattled her.
“Are you okay?” His voice aimed to soothe, but Annie wouldn’t allow it. She paused, fiddling with her apron strings as William leaned closer, the heat from his strong build warming her skin, making goose bumps prickle up her neck.
“Never better,” she said.
“I heard the way he talked to you.”
“So?”
“Does he do that often?” Annie shrugged in dismissal, but he quickly continued. “You don’t deserve that, Annie.”
She met his gaze, ready to defy his pity, but found only grave concern instead. His center of gravity seemed to shift, and she thought he was about to reach out and touch her. How she had ached for him to touch her when it had been another man cozied up beside her in bed and all that truly comforted her was the memory of his gentleness.
Annie pulled away. “Unless you want to place another order, I have paying customers to see to. Excuse me.”
She breezed past him. She hated that she still longed for him to touch her. And she hated that he was witnessing how her life had fallen apart these last twelve years without him in it.
* * *
WILLIAM SLID A For Sale sign onto his dashboard in one swift movement. Once he sold his truck, he’d have enough money to gas up Old Red and head for the Pacific Northwest for the summer. Who knew where things would lead him after that? He’d travel on the wind, no ties to anyone, and decide next steps as opportunities arose.
“Are you selling your truck?” Joyce frowned at him, having just locked up the diner for the night. William nodded, opening the passenger door and helping her up into the cab. “What’s wrong with it?”
“I can’t drive a motorcycle and a truck at the same time.”
Joyce clutched her handbag on her lap and fiddled with the straps as William climbed into the driver’s seat.
“I don’t see why you can’t have both. There’s room in the garage and shed.”
He stalled before answering as Joyce’s eyes bored holes in the side of his face. She had assumed he was home to stay, and he knew he had to correct her. At some point. After firing up his Chevy, he offered a reply.
“I need to sell her while she’s still running.”
“On her last legs, is she?”
“Something like that,” he said, tuning the radio to a classic-rock station. Joyce nodded before yanking a handkerchief from her purse and hacking into it with such force, William nearly swerved off the road. “Ma, are you okay?”
Joyce attempted a nod as her cheeks swelled to a patchy rouge. With each gasp for breath between coughing fits, William was more alarmed, his eyes darting back and forth
between her and the road.
After several agonizing seconds, she finally heaved a sigh, clutching her chest in relief. “Oh, goodness,” she breathed. “I’m glad that’s over. Don’t look so worried, sweetie. It comes and goes.”
“What exactly?” William said, resting his hand tenderly on her shoulder.
“It’s a little respiratory infection I’m still shaking. My immune system is building itself up again after my being sick last winter. I could do with a nap before dinner.” Joyce blotted her mouth with her handkerchief before carefully tucking it into her purse. She smiled reassuringly. “Really, honey, I’m fine.”
“Have you seen a doctor?”
“Of course, of course. My seasonal allergies aggravate it. Plus it’s been a long day.”
William finally eased back into his seat and put both hands on the wheel. “It was an interesting day.”
“How so?”
“Does Sean Butler come into the diner often?”
Joyce rolled her eyes. “Define often.”
“He hasn’t changed a lick since high school, you know.”
“Did you know him, dear?”
Bullies like Sean hardly went unnoticed in a school as small as Chinoodin High. “Unfortunately. How long have they been married?”
“They divorced three years ago, but he’s as awful an ex-husband as he was a husband.” William tensed, imagining Annie married to Sean Butler. He was a class-A creep. “Annie’s had a rough time of it,” Joyce continued, tilting her head back to rest.
“Why? What’s happened?” William frowned. A soft hum vibrated behind Joyce’s cute smile as she lovingly patted his leg. “What?” he blurted, shoulders jerking in defense.
“Some things don’t fade with time, I suppose.”
“Never mind,” he said, turning up the radio volume. The less he knew about Annie and her troubles, the better. She’d be a dot in his rearview mirror in a matter of days anyway.
A Promise Remembered Page 3