“Mind your business.” I take another bite of my sandwich, and it might as well be sawdust.
“Sure was good today.” He rubs his belly and stretches his arms over his head. I roll my eyes as a group of girls pass, and he winks at them. “Afternoon, ladies.” They all giggle and blush.
“I’m trying to have my break in peace,” I say without looking at him.
“Seems an awful waste to sit out here when the prettiest view is inside the diner.” Luca says, trying to get me to take the bait.
“You’d know a lot about waste. Like how you enjoy wasting my time.” I still don’t look up, forcing myself to stay calm.
“I’m just stretching so my food can digest. You know Juno always gives me a little bit of her pie every time I see her.” When I glare up at him, he winks at me. “Sweetest treat in town.”
“Luca,” I warn, but he plays with his toothpick and ignores the bomb inside of me that’s about to go off.
“From what I hear I’m not the only one she’s handing it out to for free.”
Before I tell my body what to do, I’m on my feet and inches from him. “That’s enough.”
“Easy, big brother.” He winks at me before he pushes off the light pole and walks down the sidewalk. Just when I think he’s gone, he turns around to face me with his smile still just as bright as before. “Today was peach, and it sure was juicy.”
His cackle echoes through Main Street as he walks away, leaving me standing there in a rage. I clench my fists at my side, the paper and my lunch long forgotten as I look into the diner.
She’s at the window with an empty tray propped on her hip, looking at me. Her lavender hair is braided over one shoulder, and even from here I can see the hot pink on her lips. I don’t think about what that hot pink would look like on my skin. Instead I turn around, grab my trash, and stuff it angrily into the garbage can.
By the time I glance back at the diner, she’s gone and so is my appetite. I get in my patrol car and do a couple of checks all over town before I head back to the station. An older woman named Ruth works dispatch, but mostly I think she gossips to the people that call in and report crimes.
Our town is so small nothing ever really happens, and that’s part of the reason I love it here. We’re close enough to a big city that we can go have fun, but the biggest news in our town was last week when the Piggly Wiggly renovated their meat department.
Other than me and Ruth, there’s a retired firefighter who volunteers on nights and weekends so I can have days off. Compared to the hours and demands in the military, this job is relaxed and exactly what I needed after coming back to Pink Springs.
I wasn’t prepared to come back so soon, but after my father died, I knew I needed to take care of Lux. Luca was older, but he still needed someone to look after him too. After my run-in with him at lunch, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have just left him to the wolves like the dog he is.
“Afternoon, Cooper, anything good going on?” Ruth asks as I come into the office and hang my hat up.
“I heard they sold out of chicken at lunch.”
“Fiddlesticks, now what are Frank and I going to do for dinner?” She immediately gets on the dispatch radio, and I hear her telling one of her friends that the chicken sold out.
I smile and shake my head as I go into my office and close the door. Pink Springs is always where I wanted to come and raise a family, but part of me wonders if that’s what this town wants for me.
There’s only one person who’s ever turned my head, and once that happened there was no turning back. I force myself not to think of her, but it’s no use. It’s like when someone tells you to not to think of a lavender squirrel that’s pissed off, and suddenly that’s all you’re thinking of. Fluffy, cute, and ready to bite, but somehow you can’t stop thinking of her.
There was one moment when things could have been different, but I stopped it from going any further. She’s my sister's best friend, but she’s also not the small-town type. One day Pink Springs won’t be enough for her, and when she leaves, she’ll take my heart with her.
Chapter Two
Juno
I wipe down my last table before straightening the ketchup and salt and pepper shakers. The great thing about the chicken special is not only does the day fly by, but I get to see most of the town too. My favorite thing about the diner is the small-town feel. I’m not related to anyone here, but they all act like I’m their cousin or granddaughter. It gives me this sense of belonging, and it’s something I didn't have before I moved to Pink Springs.