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I inspected the wall. It was an exterior door in the back of the kitchen, near the alleyway. It was an area I had passed through several times before, and I had simply never noticed it. I went right up to it, feeling the wall, and marveling at how hidden it was. There wasn't even a knob. I had no idea how she had gotten in. I was touching the wall when someone came up next to me, causing me to jump and yelp.
"Oh, Robert, whoa, you scared me to death. I was just… I just saw…"
"You saw Lila come out of that door?" he asked, smiling at me. Robert was a huge guy, and I stared up at him, still feeling caught.
"I guess," I said. "There was a woman."
"That's Miss Lila. She's a sweetheart. She comes into the restaurant sometimes. She lives up there, but the Alexanders don't talk about it much. I heard some of the girls talking about saying they thought she might be in witness protection or something. That's what the girls were saying, Becca and Cindy. The family's really protective of her—especially JD.It's better just to leave it alone. Don't knock or anything. You'll have to ask one of the girls if you're curious. I do know her name is Lila."
Robert had been smoking, and he casually flicked his cigarette butt before both of us headed into the restaurant. I was smiling on the outside, but all I could think about was one statement.The family is really protective of her—especially JD.I had just learned that there was an actual secret room. I had so much to be thankful for. It was a huge piece of information in the big mystery of Micah's music.
And yet I didn't even care. I could not care less. I didn't need or want to know anything about the room. All I could think of was this Lila woman and how JD was protective of her. I remembered how protective he was when I brought up the room. It all made sense now.
I barely caught a glimpse of the woman, but I knew she was beautiful. I was frustrated instantly by it. It didn't occur to me to feel bad for whatever had happened to land her in witness protection. None of that even crossed my mind. I was j-e-a-l-o-u-s of her.
I prayed that God would take that feeling from me.
I clocked in, smiling and talking to people like normal, while my mind raced with different thoughts. It was twelve-thirty by the time I simmered down. Feeling bad for the woman named Lila helped me.How could I have bad thoughts about a woman who was possibly running for her life and having to walk out of secret doors?I made myself relax and not worry about James David Alexander.
I was mad, though, and I had to talk myself out of trying to fall for Isaac out of spite. There was nothing I could do to stop those types of vengeful thoughts from crossing my mind. I was jealous of someone who was probably a really sweet woman, and I hated that. Feelings were like that. Sometimes I just fixated on things and no matter how hard I tried to forget it, my brain just kept going back to it.
"What do you do when you're trying to get yourself to stop thinking about something?" I asked a coworker of mine, Anne, who came to stand beside me at the drink station.
"What's on your mind. Huh? JD on a Sunday?"
"What? How did you… "
But then I realized that she actually saw JD.
"JD Alexander," she said. "He's here on a Sunday. Weird."
I turned to look out of the window on the swinging door, and I saw JD walking to the counter. He was dressed sharply but casually in dark jeans and layered shirts in dark reds and khaki with a grey jacket. His hair was combed back off of his face. I could see him looking around and my heart began to race. His eyes made their way to me so quickly that I had no warning at all. His gaze was focused on other places in the restaurant, and then he instantly looked toward the kitchen window, catching me staring at him.
I didn't mean to move, but I reacted by leaning slightly to the side so he could no longer see me.
"Oh, JD's coming this way," Anne said a few seconds later. "Maybe he thinks Jim is working."
"Yeah," I said.
I finished what I was doing before she did, and I left the kitchen, heading into the restaurant. I met up with JD at the door. He stood back while I opened it.
"What are you doing here?" I said. "None of your family is working today."
I smiled and acted nonchalant even though my heart was beating entirely too fast. I moved to slip past JD. He let me walk by, but he called to me on the way out.
"Hey, I was coming back here to see if you were working the counter before I sat down." He spoke quietly because there were three or four people in earshot, and they would all be curious about what he was saying.
I shook my head and smiled at him. "No, I've got a section in the back today. Anne's at the counter. She'll take good care of you, though." I knew I was being short with JD, but my heart was pounding, and my feelings were hurt, and it was just how I reacted at that moment.
I was holding a tray of drinks, so he didn't expect me to stick around and talk to him any longer than I did. Once I was across the room, I could see that JD sat at the bar and Anne went over to talk to him.
I was mad at myself for making him do that, but there was no way he could sit in my section by himself. JD sat at the counter every time. Everyone would notice if he switched it up. I wanted to talk to him, though, and now I was regretting being aloof.
I was busy with my tables, and it was a few minutes later when I headed to the counter to talk to JD. I was nervous, and I made a stop at the restroom first just to make sure I didn't have anything on my face.
"Hey," I said, coming up to stand near his stool.
"Hey," he said back to me. His voice was low and serious, and he stared at me with those impossibly dark eyes. I glanced at his mouth and my stomach tied in knots when I imagined what happened last night. I went back to looking at his eyes, which wasn't any better. His face took my breath away. I was standing there, literally feeling breathless.
