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Holly
Dougie was back in town. Even though she’d seen him a few times over the last few days, Holly was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that he was back. For good. She thought for sure that she’d lost her chance with him when she refused to believe him and kicked him out of her life, but now it seemed God was giving her another shot. Which she was grateful for, immensely, but why did it have to be right now? With some group harassing her and the restaurant floundering? Now, when she didn't really have time to date, even though she really wanted to.
The ringing of the phone jarred Holly out of her thoughts and back to reality, but her hand paused as she reached to answer it. Would it be another threat? Another creepy silence? She wasn’t sure she could handle any more of those today. The restaurant had lost so much business that she was the only one working out front this afternoon with one cook in the back, and they still weren’t busy. She had some money saved, but if this kept up, she would lose the restaurant. And she had no idea what she’d do if that happened.
Her stomach clenched as she picked up the phone. “Holly’s Hideaway, this is Holly. How can I help you?” Though she dreaded what she might hear, or not hear, on the other side, her voice shook only slightly. She’d always been pretty good at feigning confidence.
“Holly? Are you okay?”
Her shoulders fell in relief at the sound of Dougie’s voice. “I’m fine, but why are you calling the restaurant instead of my cell?”
“I tried your cell. Several times, but I only got your message.” Was that concern she heard in his voice? Could he possibly still care for her even after how she’d treated him?
Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she tapped the screen to wake it, but it remained dark. “That’s odd. It’s dead, but I could have sworn I charged it last night.” That made no sense. She always made sure her phone was plugged in at night because it served as her alarm too. However, she’d been sleeping so poorly the last few days that she’d taken a sleeping pill last night. Generally she avoided them because they made her feel groggy the next morning, but last night she’d succumbed to the pleasure of a good night’s sleep. Had it knocked her out so much that she’d forgotten to plug in her phone?
“Do you have some time for me to come by? I’d like to fill you in on what we found out about your harasser.”
He’d found something out? Hopefully, it was something good. She scanned the mostly-empty restaurant and sighed. “Yeah, plenty of time. It’s like a ghost town here.” Other than the few regulars who came in rain or shine, they’d had no new people in the last week.
“Don’t worry. What I found will help, I think. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
She slipped the phone back in her pocket and headed to the bathroom to check her appearance. It was silly, but she wanted to make sure she looked nice. She didn’t know exactly why Dougie had decided to come back to Courage, but she hoped to become a reason for him to stay.
Unfortunately, her one night of decent sleep hadn’t done much for the dark circles that were setting up a permanent camp under her eyes. Nor had the concealer she applied this morning done much to camouflage them. If she knew anything about cosmetics, she would work on a product to fix them, but since she didn’t, she decided to work on what she could fix. A pinch of her cheeks brought some color, and she touched up her lips with some gloss. Then she headed out to check on the few customers.
She’d just finished topping off drinks when Dougie arrived, and her mouth dropped open at the sight of him in his uniform. She’d known he had joined the police force, but he’d been in regular clothes the last few times he stopped in. Suddenly, she understood why women found men in uniforms sexy. Something about the uniform not only accentuated every inch of Dougie’s muscular frame but also exuded this sense of power and protection. She was used to taking care of herself, but at this moment, she felt like Dougie could take care of her. And it was nice.
Composing herself, she greeted him, glanced around to make sure everyone was set for the moment, and waved him to follow her to the back office. On the way, she told Pierre to watch the front for a bit.
“Tell me the good news,” she said when they reached the office.
Dougie smiled and sat in the chair. Although sat was not quite the right word. He dwarfed the chair which made him seem even more masculine, and made Holly’s heart beat a little faster in her ear. “Well, we were able to find the woman who’s been posting about both you and the business. She’s got a reputation of harassing people just like you. Unfortunately, you were right. There isn’t much we can do at this moment besides file a police report, which you did, but I did pay her a little visit to let her know a report has been filed and that if the harassment continues, there are further penalties. She wasn’t thrilled, but she seemed surprised that the police could get involved, so I don’t think she’ll be posting any more.”
Holly blinked, hardly daring to believe the news. “That’s great. So she has to stop?”
“That’s where it gets a little tricky.” He said the words slowly and his eyes dropped from hers. Uh oh, that meant there was bad news along with the good. “She doesn’t have to stop, though hopefully she will, but even if she removes her posts, that won’t remove them from other places where they’ve been shared. However, if you see posts pop up, we can go after them as well. So, while this is a win, I can’t guarantee your sales will improve immediately.”
That was disappointing, but at least this was a step in the right direction, and Holly fought the urge to throw her arms around him. “That’s okay. Thank you for everything, Dougie.”
“You’re welcome.” He rose to leave, but she snagged his arm. She wasn’t even sure why; she just didn’t want him to leave yet. He turned curious eyes back at her, and she scrambled for something to say.
“Wait. Can I make you dinner tonight to thank you?” She bit her bottom lip as she watched his reaction. Holly had no idea if he still had feelings for her, but she’d never know if she didn’t take a chance.
Slowly, a smile spread across his face, lighting it up like the sun rising in the early morning lit the land. “I’d like that. I have to work a little later tonight, but I can be here by eight if that’s not too late.”
“No, that’s not too late at all.” He could have said ten pm, and she still would have claimed it was fine. She would have had to eat a pre-dinner dinner but she would have made it work. “What kind of food do you like?”
He winked at her. “I like it all. Surprise me.” Then he flashed a wave and left her office.
Surprise him. Okay. He was easygoing, which was nice, but she wanted to make something he would enjoy. His favorite food, if possible. She was no mind reader, so she could either guess or… she pulled her phone out and shot a text to Chance. He’d worked with Dougie for years. If he didn’t know what his favorite food was, none of their friends would.
Shoving the phone back in her pocket, she made her way back to the hostess stand, a smile on her lips as she thought about the upcoming date. Was it a date? She hadn’t exactly called it that, but it was one person treating another to dinner. That generally fit the definition of a date.
Holly relieved Pierre and then made the rounds, checking on the last customer and clearing the tables from the ones who had left. The front door opened as she reached the hostess stand again, and a woman walked in.
Courage wasn’t a huge town, and while she didn’t know everyone in town, most people who lived here had an air about them — a casual, relaxed air — that was easy to spot. This woman had no such air. In fact, every part of her screamed the complete opposite. Her outfit from head to toe appeared to be designer, her dark hair was immaculately styled, and her makeup could have been done by an artist, it was so flawless.
“Hi, table for one today?” Holly grabbed a menu, but she expected the woman to say she was meeting someone. No way was this woman eating alone.
“Actually, I’m looking for you.”
“Me?” The word came out squeakier than Holly wanted it to. The woman was dressed too nicely to be one of the people harassing her, but there was something vaguely familiar about her. Unfortunately, Holly couldn’t place it. Could she be an attorney? Did the group harassing her have money to hire one? “Why?”
“I’m Debora Zemora, your father’s PR consultant. He sent me here to clean up your mess.”
The menu fluttered from Holly’s hand as she clutched the podium. Anger burgeoned inside of her, heating her from the inside out. She had no doubt a red flush was crawling up her neck. “My mess? I didn’t do anything.”
The woman shrugged as if this wasn’t her concern. “Whether you did or not, you received negative publicity which means your father received negative publicity, and he’s in the middle of his re-election campaign, so he needs this to go away.”
Holly seethed, her knuckles turning white as she gripped on the podium to keep from attacking the woman in front of her. “I haven’t spoken to my father in years, not since I left New York, so you can tell him to keep his nose out of my business like I’ve done for him for the last decade.”
“Believe me, he doesn’t want to be in your business, but now it’s affecting him.” Deborah ran her hand down her tailored suit, brushing at it as if being in the mere presence of Holly was creating a stain on it.
“Yeah, well, he should be more worried about his reputation as a philanderer and adulterer than as the estranged father of a woman who owns a restaurant and prays.” It took every ounce of Holly’s composure to keep her tone even.
“Your father has worked hard to clean up that image. Now, we can have a press crew here in a few days. All you have to do is state that you made a mistake attending the prayer walk, and you believe in reproductive freedom for women. It won’t undo all the damage you’ve caused, but it will help.”
Holly folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “No. I will do no such thing. I’m not sorry I went on that walk and I’ll probably go on more. I don’t believe abortion is healthcare or reproductive freedom and I won’t state that it is.” Holly had no idea where those words had come from. She had no plans to go on any more prayer walks, not with what it had done to her business.
Deborah’s mouth pulled into a pinched line. “I think you should reconsider. Your father is a powerful man—”
“Who lives in New York,” Holly said, cutting her off. “Just have daddy dearest tell his constituents that I’m a grown woman who doesn’t speak for him. He can publicly disown me if he wants. It’s not like he’s been my father for a long time.”
“I’ll pass the message along,” Deborah said, lifting her chin in a haughty manner, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, she spun on her overpriced heels, probably Jimmy Choos, and clopped out of Holly’s restaurant.
Holly leaned against the hostess podium, wondering what on earth that had really been about. Her father might be up for re-election, but she was all the way in Colorado. And she was a grown woman. Would a story about her, even if it included him, really hurt his chances of re-election? And if not, what was his PR person doing here?
