There’s a few dollars for a tip on the table, and I peek over my shoulder to see if Amy is looking my way. When I don’t spot her, I walk past one of her tables that still needs to be cleared off and drop the cash there before making my way to the back.
Amy is a single mom, and her ex is an asshole. I know she can struggle at times to make ends meet, and she needs the money more than I do. The truth is, I don’t actually need any money at all. Everything that belonged to my parents went into a trust when they passed, including the life insurance. A judge was overseeing it since Grams never even took the allotted money she was supposed to receive. When I turned eighteen, everything was handed over to me, and now I’m just trying to figure out what I want next.
“Are you out of here?” Amy asks, and I can see the worry on her face.
“You need something?” I know she always feels bad when she asks me to cover a shift, but I never mind doing it for her. She works damn hard, and I don’t really have a buzzing social life at the moment.
“Devin has a small fever,” she says, talking about her son.
“Oh Amy, you should go then. I’ve got this.” I give her a big smile to reassure her it’s not a problem.
“It’s fine, you both can go,” John calls from his office.
“Thank you! Let me go clear my last tables.” She darts off towards the front, and I pop my head into John’s office.
“Are you sure?” I ask, and he looks at me over the top of his glasses.
“Yeah, Missy will be in shortly. We’re out of chicken, and most of the town has already been through here today. We’re going to be slow tonight.” I nod in agreement. There are a few people that do sometimes hit the diner twice in one day, but it’s rare.
“All right, but you can call me if something changes.” He nods, giving me a warm smile before I exit out the back of the building to my Jeep. Before I get in, I check my phone and see I have a text from Lux. As I read it, I still can’t believe she’s pregnant.
Lux: What are you having for dinner? I’m thinking burgers.
Me: You always want burgers
While I’m getting in my Jeep I think about how it sucks that all we have on the regular now is texting. I can’t say I still don’t know almost everything she’s up to because we’re always texting even when we don’t have anything to talk about.
As I pull out of the back alleyway, my eyes drift over toward the police station, knowing Cooper is likely inside. We’ve both done well at avoiding each other. At least in keeping physical distance. He doesn't even come into the diner anymore.
Still somehow at every turn I see him. Even when I’m at Grams’ I'll catch the patrol car driving by, and although I know it’s part of his job to ride the neighborhoods, I swear it’s more often than it should be. Or maybe part of me is hoping that’s why. Hope that this is hurting him the same way it’s been hurting me. I keep waiting for the pain of his rejection to lessen over time, but it never does. I’m not going to chase any man, and I’m getting sick of waiting.
My phone goes off again, and I look behind me to make sure I’m not blocking anyone before I check it.
Lux: I heard Paula is back in town.
She sends a few puking emojis.
Me: No clue who that is.
If she’s back in town I might not have met her, and that name doesn't sound familiar. I let my foot off the brake just as another text comes in, and I glance over to the seat beside me to read it.
Lux: Right. Duh! She and Cooper were prom king and queen. She left town soon after Cooper enlisted. I wish she would have stayed away.
I stare down at the screen until a horn blares at me, and I jump, slamming on the brakes as a car drives around me. I’d slowly rolled into the street, not paying attention, and I curse my own stupidity.
“What the hell, Juno!”
I sigh because I know exactly who’s shouting at me without looking. When I turn my head I see Cooper Cross standing on the sidewalk, pissed off and glaring right at me.
“You need to watch what you’re doing,” he goes on, scolding me as stomps over and closes in on my Jeep.
With a smirk, I hit the gas and take off before he can get to my door.
Probably not the best idea to run from a cop, but what’s he going to do, arrest me? It’s not like he’s going to slap his cuffs on me because that would mean he’d have to get close. He avoids me like the plague, and I don’t know how much longer he can keep it up.