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“Cody, please.” He picked up a menu.
“Have you been in before or just visiting?”
“I moved here recently from Helena. I’ve had burgers from here but never been into the diner.”
“Okay, what would you like?”
Cody gave her his order, along with the men’s, and watched her pin the paper to the metal wheel, spin it around, and tap the bell. He saw a man through the pass-through window, take the order, and went to the grill. Cody could smell those onions frying and his stomach growled.
An older woman set his plate on the counter.
“Here you go, hon.”
“Thank you. I love these burgers.”
“So, you’ve been in before?”
“No, ma’am, but my brother-in-law told me about them, and since eating the first one, I can’t get enough.”
She smiled at him. “I’m Connie. I own the diner, along with my husband, Owen. He does the cooking.”
Cody stood and shook her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Connie. I’m Cody Haines, and I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of me.”
“We appreciate that. Who’s your brother-in-law?”
“Gray Beckett.”
“You’re Vivian’s brother?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We adore her.” Connie grinned.
“I do too.” Cody chuckled.
“Are you married, Cody?”
“No, ma’am.”
“There are a lot of beautiful, single women in the area.”
“Oh, I know. I’ve seen them. I just started seeing someone though, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Connie gently patted his hand before winking and bustling off to assist other patrons. Her infectious laughter could be heard as she interacted with those around her. He couldn’t help but smile, remembering how fondly Addison had spoken of her. Now he understood why. Connie was a truly wonderful person.
After savoring the delicious meal, he paid the bill, left a generous tip, and picked up the to-go order before stepping outside. As he stood on the busy sidewalk, he couldn’t help but notice the numerous people milling about. Why were there so many people in town? Did no one have jobs or responsibilities here?
His attention was suddenly drawn across the street when he thought he caught a glimpse of Gwyn entering a store. It couldn’t be possible! He shook his head, trying to dispel the image, but his heart raced as he cautiously checked for traffic before jogging across the street and entering the store.
Once inside, he navigated through the aisles, straining to catch sight of her. But she was nowhere to be found. Was it all just his imagination playing tricks on him? He couldn’t understand why thoughts of that woman still haunted him. With a deep breath, he quickly left the store and continued along the sidewalk until he reached the pharmacy.
As he pushed open the door, he was met with chaos in front of him. The place was packed with customers. He saw Addison engaged in conversation with another woman. When she spotted him, her face immediately lit up with a bright smile. Returning it, he made his way over to where she stood.
“Hi, I’ll be with you in a moment, Cody.”
“It’s fine. I was just having lunch and thought I’d stop in to say hi.”
