LITMIR.BIZ

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      “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.

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