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I use the short walk to the diner to calm my nerves, to remind myself that GG was my father, an old man who was well-respected in this town and that strangling him would land me behind bars. By the time I pulled on the door to hear the soothing sound of wind chimes, my anger had subsided by half.
“Hey Lacey, tough day?” Merlina was my favorite waitress because she was good at reading moods and generous with refills.
“Yep. Is it over yet?”
Merlina let out her signature throaty laugh, the one that had all the high school boys sitting in her section even though she was closer to forty than thirty. “Few more hours to go, but it’s just late enough for a beer.”
“You are a godsend,” I told her and tapped on the photo of the amber ale on the menu I knew from memory. “Chili cheese fries with extra jalapenos and a double-thick chocolate milkshake too, please.”
Merlina whistled. “Really tough day,” she sighed. “Milkshake and beer coming right up.”
“Thanks,” I whispered even though she’d already sauntered off, leaving me alone with thoughts I didn’t want to have, but had become more necessary with each passing day. The truth was that I wasn’t just mad at Daddy, I was also mad at myself for making a sacrifice no one had asked me to make. Daddy was an old man, too traditional and entirely too set in his ways. Chances were always slim he’d actually put me in charge and now with Levi around—older and wiser and male, Levi—chances were Daddy would put him in charge and expect me to teach him the ropes. That thought reignited the anger that had dissipated on the walk over to the diner. Daddy would either never retire or never put me in charge, which meant it was time to move on. Somehow.
I couldn’t actually move, despite my threats to Daddy because I had a daughter. Stevie was thirteen years old and a cheerleader. Carson Creek was the only home she’d ever known and I didn’t want to take a happy childhood away from her when I’d already deprived her of having a two parent household. Carson Creek was my future for at least the next five years, but that didn’t mean CCDJ was my only option for work.
“This seat taken?” Levi’s deep voice, thick and masculine, startled a small gasp out of me and before I could tell him to go away, that I didn’t need his pity, he’d already dropped down on the other side of the booth.
“I suppose not,” I told him just as Merlina arrived with my food. “Just don’t touch my food.”
When Levi laughed, he did it with his whole body, broad shoulders shaking, cheeks red, head shaking and throat working to emit the laughter. It was a good laugh, a solid laugh that spoke of a life full of amusement and happiness. It was loud and deep and full-throated, like Levi was a man who made sure to enjoy every single moment of his life. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“What can I get you, handsome?” Merlina tried to hide her smirk but she beamed down at Levi and I couldn’t blame her. He was handsome and polite with heaps of charm.
“I’ll take the turkey burger with onions, peppers and cheese, and a garden salad on the side.”
I snorted at his order.
“Coming right up,” Merlina promised and sauntered off once again.
“Problem?”
I shook my head because I had no problem with anything. I was a woman without problems. Sans problems, if you will. “No, I just don’t need your pity. Or your sympathy.”
He frowned in confusion.
“You could have gotten a burger and salad at home, which means you’re here because you feel as if you need to be. As if I need something. I don’t.”
He laughed again and I ignored the way his laughter impacted me. “I could, but I’d have to make the burger, rinse and chop the salad and all that. Also when you get to be my age, you have to think about every meal. I’d love to have fries with my burger but I would not love to have a heart attack or any other cardiac event, thank you very much.”
I rolled my eyes at his health conscious words. “You’re fifty not ninety, Levi.” I stared at him for a long time as a thought occurred to me. “Tell me you’re not one of those LA types overly worried about aging or getting fat.”
Levi laughed again. “You’re funny, Lacey.”
“Thanks,” I grumbled and stabbed at my chili fries.
“I don’t mind getting old, I have an issue with feeling old. And who wants to be fat?” He laughed again when I didn’t look convinced. “You forget that my last job was pretty stressful. War zones and famine, natural disasters as well as man-made ones. It takes a toll and I’m trying to reverse that damage.”
