She grinned. “Really ugly is more like it.”
William was still handsome, though she’d never admit it to anyone other than herself. He’d traded his boyish looks for the mature face of a man. His voice had deepened to a husky bravado, except for the other night, when it had drawn her in with its warm gentleness. But it was his gaze that sent her heart skipping. Those eyes had remained unchanged. They’d studied her the other night in the parking lot, admired her with such a fierceness, her knees had nearly buckled. She’d forgotten what it felt like to have a man see her, truly see her, and want to know her. She’d had no choice but to hurry off. It took every ounce of her being to glue herself together every day and get by for the sake of her children. But the way he had looked at her that night and the way his eyes followed her now...
Annie took down an order for another pair of customers before whisking behind the counter to fill two sodas. She angled her chin, aware William had been waiting for her to make eye contact.
“How’s Betsy?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“She’s a great kid. You should be really proud.”
“I am.”
William searched her face. “I got a kick out of talking to her. She’s spunky.”
“Spunky?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“She is. She reminds me of you when we were in high school.”
Annie paused, waiting for more explanation. “Is that how you remember me, William? Spunky?”
“I remember a lot, actually,” William said, stifling a grin as he sipped his coffee.
“Well, I don’t.” She turned for the kitchen. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was flirting with her. She slapped the bell at the pass-through window and rattled off an order for Miles.
“Cluck and grunt and a dry stack! Times two!”
Mia bustled in behind her. “Scrape two, burn the British, Miles!” Miles nodded, cracking eggs in a fury. “Karrin and I are going out tonight if you want to join, Annie?”
“Thanks, sweetie, but I can’t.”
“You need some fun, girl. I know you’ve got your troubles, but if you don’t blow off a little steam, you’re gonna lose it.”
“I can’t afford to lose it, Mia. I have Betsy and James to think about.”
“I know, I know. You’re a good mama, but an hour of gossiping can’t hurt.”
Annie knew she was right, but when she got off work all she wanted to do was get home to James and Betsy. Perhaps she just wasn’t as spunky as she used to be.
As she faced the dining room, she noticed Joyce and realized she wasn’t the only one who’d spotted her boss.
“Mornin’, Joyce,” Earl said gruffly, tucking away his newspaper and tipping his Kromer hat. Joyce fluttered her fingers in a delicate wave. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” Earl asked.
“Yes, it certainly is. How’s your coffee today, Earl?”
“Very good, very good,” he said as Danny and Joe nodded in agreement. “Yous have the best coffee in town, Joyce.”
“Do we now?”
“Didn’t ya know that, Joyce?”
Her peachy cheeks rounded with amusement. “Yes, Earl, you tell me all the time.”
After seating new customers, Annie slipped behind the counter to collect the coffeepot and William’s sour disapproval.
“Who’s that?” William said, motioning with a thumb toward Earl.
“He’s been coming in for a while.”
“All of them?”
“Yep.”
“Anything to do with my mom?”
“Probably. She’s a good-looking woman, you know.”
“Annie, that’s my mom you’re talking about.” William eyed Earl.
“So?”
“She’s too old to flirt like that.”
“She’s talking to her friends.”
“Hmm? I’m not sure that’s...”
Annie scowled. “You’re impossible. What are you doing here anyway?”
William leaned back on his stool. “Aren’t I allowed to visit my mom?”
“It’s been twelve years, so yeah, I’d say she was due a visit.”
“What’s the matter with you, Annie? You’ve been on my case since I showed up.”
Annie grumbled something under her breath as she reached for the coffeepot. William jostled his cup on the counter toward her with a playful tinkering.
“I’ll take a refill while you’ve got it.”
She paused in front of him as his eyes scanned hers.
“You’re not in my section,” she said before strutting away.
* * *
WILLIAM STEPPED OUT onto the curb in front of Pop’s Place and raised his arms above his head in a deep stretch. As he released a breath, he imagined what life would be like locked away from the simple pleasures nature had to offer: the late-morning sun warming his face, the cool lake air filling his lungs, a tasty sausage casserole expanding his gut. He knew the lumberjack special wasn’t one of nature’s finest breakfast offerings, but it satisfied him all the same.
The forecast called for sunny, mild days ahead, which was perfect weather for the first leg of a long road trip. If he wanted to be gone by then, he needed to get the bike running by the end of the day and tell his mother he was leaving.
As he was about to cross the street, he noticed a little boy sitting alone on a bench alongside Pop’s Place. A sweet, timid-looking child with sandy-brown hair and gray eyes slumped his shoulders heavily as he stared at dangling feet. William scanned the area, but without an adult in sight, he strolled over to the little guy and eased down beside him.
“Hey, buddy. Are you okay?”
The little boy hugged himself tightly and shook his head in a resounding no.
“Are you waiting for someone?”
“I got sick in the car.”
“Where’s your mom?”
“Inside.”
“Do you want me to take you in there?”
The little boy nodded, still clutching his side.
“What’s wrong with your stomach?”
“It hurts really bad,” he peeped.
William gently held his hand to the little boy’s side. “Right here?” he asked, inspecting the boy intently. Just as the child’s face screwed up in a hearty cry, William scooped the boy up into the crook of his arm and carried him into Pop’s Place.
He knew it was generally a bad idea to have a stranger pick up a child, but leaving the boy seemed like a worse idea. William searched the diner for any woman fitting the mother description. As it turned out, he didn’t have to search for long.
“James!” Annie called, racing from around the counter. She stroked James’s hair back from his face with frantic concern. “How on earth did you get here?”
“I found him outside,” William explained. “I think he has appendicitis, Annie. We need to get him to the hospital immediately.”
“Does it hurt, sweetie? This is all my fault.” Her voice trembled as she gingerly put her hands on James. “I didn’t think he was really that sick.”
“James!” a voice boomed. Sean was on the threshold, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled to his elbows, tie loosened around his neck. “I told you to sit your butt on that bench!”
“We have to get him to a hospital, Sean,” Annie explained as Joyce brought her her purse. She tore off her apron before accepting James from William’s arms, struggling with all her might to hold the clinging child.
“Hospital?” Sean scoffed. “He just yakked in my luxury sedan. If you had answered your cell phone, the school wouldn’t have had to call me. I had to leave a deposition early. Do you know how that makes me look?”
“He’s sick, Sean,” she said in a quavering voice.
“I’ll drive you,”
William offered, shuffling Annie and James past Sean and out the front door. “My truck is right here. We can put James in the middle. Hang in there, buddy.”
Out on the sidewalk, Annie’s eyes pleaded with him in a way that made him ready to charge into battle. “He’s so hot, William. He’s so hot.”
“We’ll get you fixed up in no time, James. It’ll be okay, Annie. We’ll get him there in no time. Do you think—”
“Who the heck do you think you are?” Sean said, racing up behind them and shoving William aside. Sean steered Annie and James toward his BMW that was parked on the curb. William straightened his shoulders and aligned his jaw at the sight.
He knew it wasn’t the time or place to remind Sean of proper etiquette. All that mattered was getting James to the hospital as quickly as possible. But he certainly wouldn’t be forgetting Sean’s shove anytime soon. “Get in the car, Annie,” Sean directed, beeping the doors unlocked.
Annie carefully eased James into the back seat and snuggled in beside him, guiding his head to rest against her chest. William kept watch from the sidewalk, a twinge of helplessness tightening in his gut. As Sean flipped his sunglasses on, threw the car into gear and peeled away, Annie mouthed something through the window to him. He couldn’t be sure, as the late-morning sun had cleared the rooftops, making him squint to see. But as the car disappeared in a flash, he would have sworn it was thank you.
CHAPTER FOUR
WILLIAM SQUATTED BESIDE Old Red, meticulously polishing the chrome.
“It’s really coming along,” Brandon offered, kicking his feet up onto an old bench.
“I took it for a spin earlier.”
“Then, you got it running?”
“Before you got here.”
“I snuck out of work just in time.”
“You only come over to drink my beer...”
“My beer.”
“...and drool over Old Red,” William supplied.
“That, too.” Brandon flicked his pop tab into a trash bucket and heaved a sigh. “So, how’s the little guy?”
“I haven’t heard. I’m sure my mom will have an update soon.”
“Is that it?” Brandon asked.
William glowered. “Well, his dad is a first-rate jerk.”
“Is he ever.”
“I don’t know what Annie saw in him.”
“Money,” Brandon said, taking a swig of beer.
“Really? That doesn’t seem like her...unless she changed a lot since I knew her.”
“Well,” Brandon said, “more like...security.”
“Security?”
“She and Betsy were practically destitute when Sean made his move. Didn’t you know that?”
William squatted next to Old Red, his back to Brandon. “Why would I know that?”
“Right, I guess no one would have called to tell you.”
“I wouldn’t have answered anyway.” It pained him to imagine Annie so desperate that her best option was to marry Sean. If only William had been there to help her...
He shook his head at the thought. He’d had his own problems back then and wouldn’t have been able to offer much assistance. In fact, he would have probably caused her more harm. It was no use wondering what might have been, since she certainly didn’t have feelings for him anymore.
“How is Annie?”
William scoffed at the question. “She’s a piece of work, man.”
“Really?”
“She has it out for me—bad.”
Brandon chuckled in disbelief. “What?”
“Oh, yeah. She can’t stand the sight of me.”
“Annie? She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”
“I have yet to meet this amazing Annie Curtis you gush about so often. The last time I saw her, I was eighteen years old.” He neglected to add and in love.
Brandon laughed. “Let’s start with what you did to her.”
“I’ve been nothing but nice to her since I got back,” William said.
“What about before that?” Brandon asked. “I’m not judging,” he quickly added when William shot him a glare. “You had to do what you had to do back then, but...”
“Yeah?”
“Some folks have a long memory.”
* * *
AFTER BRANDON LEFT, William retrieved his cell phone from the workbench and stared at it for a few minutes, pressing the button to illuminate the screen every few seconds after it had gone dark.
One new voice mail.
“Will?” his mother called from the back porch. William tucked the phone in his pocket and locked the shed for the night. With the bike finally running, he could be ready to leave by morning if absolutely necessary, though he’d be out the money for his truck.
“Yes, ma’am?” he asked, shuffling up the back porch steps.
“Would you lend a hand tomorrow? Annie’s taking the day with James.”
“I...guess. Is that really necessary?”
“It would help me out so much,” Joyce insisted. “I’m too old to pull another double shift.”
“Don’t you have anyone else to wait tables?”
“Karrin and Mia are both coming in, and Bobby agreed to pull a double shift busing. I’ve been meaning to hire on more staff, but...”
“What?”
“Coulda, shoulda, woulda, you know? That’ll teach me for putting it off.”
“Wait,” William said before Joyce could retreat inside the house. “What happened with James?”
“It was a virus. Annie’s pushing fluids and popsicles. He’ll be shipshape in a few days.”
“That was it?”
“Fevers come on quickly with little ones.”
“I guess so.”
Joyce paused and smiled. “I remember one time when we were living in Duluth, you were supposed to go out with your father to...what was that place called? Oh, yes, Mr. Twister’s. He’d promised you a frozen yogurt after dinner, and you were jumping all over the house with excitement until you left. But by the time you two had returned, you had a fever of 102 and were sicker than a dog. You spent most of the night in between us in bed.” Her gaze drifted off as she recalled the bit of nostalgia. “You were a cute kid back then, even when you were sick.” She sighed. “Good night, love.”
William strained to remember a time when his stepfather hadn’t been front and center. Once Dennis and his mother had married, she had stopped telling stories of his father, and as a result the memories had faded. She had shushed him away at first when he’d asked to hear a story, and over time he’d stopped trying.
With his mom out of earshot, he plucked his cell phone from his pocket to finally retrieve the voice mail.
“Mr. Kauffman, this is Special Agent Denver Corrigan again. I’d like to remind you that the Miller case has been reassigned to me and you are required to meet with me or risk us issuing a warrant for your arrest. You can reach me day or night at this number. Thank you.”
William deleted the voice mail on Denver’s final breath. He had no intention of ever going back, regardless of what the consequences might be. He and Old Red were rocketing west as soon as he could sell his truck and secure a little cash. If he could manage to leave Chinoodin Falls on good terms, even better.
* * *
ANNIE MET MARJORIE on the front stoop of her house.
“Thanks for coming, Margie. I need to run a few errands.”
“Is he sleepin’?”
“Watching cartoons.”
“Of course. Take your time, honey. We’ll be fine.”
“Keep the doors locked in case—”
“I know the drill, sweetie.”
There were few people in the world Annie trusted her children with, and Marjorie was one of them. “I’ll be back in a half hour,” she said.
After two days of bone broth and popsicles, James had finally developed an appetite. She intended to get him anything he wished, which at the moment was a special request for peanut butter pie and french fries.
Arriving at Pop’s Place, she hesitated when she spotted William’s truck parked in the back lot. She slipped through the door and bypassed the office, but not before catching a glimpse of William at her desk. He was pouring over papers again.
Annie kept moving.
“How’s the little guy?” Karrin asked, sidling up beside her as she fixed a take-home container. A lifelong waitress in her early forties, with silver-streaked black hair, Karrin reeked of coffee and old-time diner as she crushed Annie in a sideways hug.
“He’ll be better with some peanut butter pie. Please tell me we have some.”
“I think we have a piece left.” Karrin followed Annie to the dessert case and hung close by as she hunched over and delicately jostled the last slice of pie into a Styrofoam box. “So...have you talked to William?”
Annie jerked her head. “Why?”
“He was asking about James.”
“So.”
“Joyce mentioned something about you two... You know...”
Annie straightened, her eyes darting around for eavesdroppers. “No?”
“You two...used to be an item?”
“What did she say?” Annie wafted her hand in the air as Karrin drew a breath to explain. “No. Never mind. I don’t want to talk about this right now. I have to get home to James.”
She pecked Karrin on the cheek and hurried to the back door, relieved she was about to duck out without anyone else spotting her. But before she did so, she hesitated and listened to William shuffling papers a few yards away. Before her brain knew what her feet were doing, she found herself creeping closer until she was loitering in the office doorway. She was just as surprised as William was when he noticed her.
“What are you doing here? How’s James?” he blurted, jumping to his feet.
“He’s fine. It was a virus. He’ll be better with rest...and french fries.” She jostled her take-home container.
“Good.” William nodded, clutching the back of his neck. “He was holding his stomach... If I overreacted about it, Annie, I was only—”
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