AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This wasn’t the Thea I knew. It wasn’t even the Thea from my childhood. This was a new version. One that looked beaten down and disillusioned.
Why is she working at a diner?It didn’t make sense. She had a husband with more money than he could spend in his lifetime.
“How have you been?” My question broke through the crackling silence. I needed to play my cards right or risk scaring her off.
She finally lifted her head but looked at Carter instead of me when she answered. “You guys need anything else?”
“We’re good,” Carter answered for both of us.
Thea turned away so fast her apron fluttered out. She was gone a second later, checking on her other tables. The diner was quiet, only four tables occupied, and she was the only waitress on the floor.
“Why is she working here?” I growled, staring at Carter, who only shrugged in response. I took a sip of my coffee, not caring that it was only lukewarm.
“That’s her story to tell, not mine.”
If she would talk to me at all. She’d treated me like a stranger. Her indifference hurt more than if she’d screamed at me.
My gaze followed Thea through the diner. She was constantly moving, making sure everyone had a full glass or cup, and delivered orders as soon as they were ready.
Carter snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Stop staring. You look like a deranged stalker.” I reluctantly turned my attention back to the table. “I suspect I’ll only be in San Diego for another few nights. Then Thea will be on her own.”
“Not on her own.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t expect anything less. Just make sure not to get arrested when you’re following her around like a bad smell. And try not to trespass. She’s safe in the guesthouse she’s staying in. I installed an alarm system, and there’re cameras outside.”
A loud crash sounded from the direction of the kitchen, and I jumped up, my leg nearly buckling at the sudden move. Loud yelling filled the air, and I searched the diner for Thea. When I couldn’t find her, I hobbled up to where the screaming came from, Carter hot on my heels. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he ordered.
Ignoring him, I went through the door leading into the kitchen and watched an overweight, balding asshole yell at Thea. She was trembling, tears running down her cheek. But instead of telling him to stick it where the sun didn’t shine, she took every vile insult he flung at her without a word.
“You useless bitch. I told you to stack the plates to the right of the sink.” He gestured wildly to a pile of broken plates on the floor. “You better make sure this gets taken out of your salary, not mine.”
I stepped in between them, shielding Thea from the idiot, who was now turning his anger at me. “And who the fuck are you?” He spat on the floor right next to my shoe. It took everything in me not to punch him. “No guests allowed in the kitchen, dickhead.”
“Why don’t you go outside to calm down, and once you have a clearer head, we’ll sort this out?” I thought I sounded reasonable, but apparently I was the only one.
“Why don’t you get the fuck out of my kitchen and let the bitch cowering behind you clean up the mess she made?”
That was when I threw myself forward and punched him so hard his head snapped back. He went down like a sack of potatoes. Thea screamed, and Carter kneeled next to him, feeling for a pulse.
Carter checked him over, then glanced at me. “He went down pretty hard, but besides the bloody nose, he seems to be okay. Hit his head, but it’s not bleeding, and his vitals are stable.”
Thea flitted around the kitchen, searching through the drawers until she found a clean towel. She wet it under the huge spray nozzle in the industrial sink and sank down next to the guy passed out on the floor.
I didn’t want her anywhere near the asshole, but when I took her arm to help her stand up, she snatched it back. “Don’t touch me.”
“Are you mad at me for punching the asshole?”
She put the towel on the guy’s nose. Glaring up at me, her eyes were hard, her mouth set in a hard line. “Am I mad at you? Are you kidding? I’m going to lose my job because of you.”
“It’s a shit job anyway.”
Turned out that was the wrong thing to say. She passed the towel to Carter and stood up, coming toe-to-toe with me. I would have reveled in having her this close under normal circumstances, but she looked like she was about to kick me in the balls and then cut them off once I was down.
“I need this job. This was the only place that would hire me. And you just screwed everything up for me. I hope you’re happy.” She stormed past me, and my balls sighed in relief as they got to live another day. She pulled her apron off and threw it on one of the metal benches lining the walls of the kitchen.
I hobbled after her, my only saving grace that she stopped to get her bag, which slowed her down. She was in the hallway that led to a back door when I caught up with her. I took hold of her arm and stepped in front of her, not willing to let her storm off again.
My leg was screaming in protest at the fast pace I’d been pushing it to, and I wouldn’t be able to follow her a second time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble for you.”
