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“Let me go check on a table, and I’ll be right back,” she said.
“Okay.”
With that, Deanna turned and walked away. I got to work on the drinks.
It was Thursday evening, and it was my first official day working at The Steel Pub. Coming into tonight, I certainly felt a bit nervous, but I couldn’t have been more relieved about how well it was going so far.
My boss and the owner of the pub was Cameron, though everyone called him Cam. He’d given me the grand tour when I arrived and made introductions to the staff on hand at the time.
That staff included Deanna and Kelly, who were both working as waitresses tonight. I’d also met Gina, another waitress, and Ernie, one of the bartenders before they both left for the day. In addition to me, Everett would be the other bartender working tonight.
From what I could gather, Cam did everything from bartending and restocking to inventory checks and paying the bills. It made sense. This was his place, and it was clear it meant a lot to him that it ran successfully.
For me, I was merely grateful.
I mean, it came as enough of a shock when I actually got hired for the job. Once that happened, a whole slew of new emotions bubbled to the surface.
I’d been particularly concerned about how this would all go, because my memories of my last few days in Steel Ridge and even the first few weeks that followed when I left twelve years ago weren’t very nice.
Being here now, I wondered how I’d gotten to this point. Maybe it was luck. I’d just met the people I worked with here at The Steel Pub, so it was possible that they had no clue who I was or what I’d done all those years ago.
I couldn’t quite decide if that was what I hoped was the case or not. Because on the one hand, if they’d recognized me, hired me, and been this welcoming and friendly to me, it showed me that people could forgive and move on. On the other hand, if this was an instance of them not knowing the truth, I wondered how they’d react if they ever found out. Would they do their best to drive me right back out of town again?
God, I hoped that didn’t happen.
I couldn’t bear to leave Jesse a second time.
For now, I couldn’t think too much about any of that. I needed to just be grateful for my job, the kindness, and the fact that things seemed to be going well.
In fact, when I took the time to think about it, I realized I was starting to like the small-town vibe that came along with Steel Ridge. It wasn’t something I could appreciate as a kid, but I could see it now for all the positives that it brought with it.
Though I was new to the team, it was easy to see the relationship my coworkers had with one another. They were close and had such a fun-loving and easy relationship with each other.
I loved seeing it.
I wanted it.
And none of them had done anything to indicate that I wouldn’t eventually be able to have it.
I never thought I’d like being back in a small town where it was so much easier to stand out—especially the same small town that had already forced me out once—but if the vibe I was already getting here at work was any indication of how it could be, I was not going to complain.
I’d just finished making the drinks when Deanna came back to pick them up. “I got another table that’s looking for a couple of beers. Pale ales. You decide.”
“Got it.”
As she took off, I got the next order ready. Once she delivered those and came back, we had a momentary reprieve.
“So, do you live around here?” Deanna asked.
“Well, I grew up here in Steel Ridge, but I moved away right after I graduated high school. I just came back into town, and I thought it was going to be a short visit, but it’s turned into an extended stay,” I replied.
A knowing look washed over her, and a smile broke out on her face. “Is there a guy that factored into that decision?”
As much as I refused to tell Deanna about the reason I left Steel Ridge or the specific reason I’d returned, desperately hoping our conversation wouldn’t lead us there, I didn’t mind admitting that Jesse was a huge reason I was here to stay.
So, I grinned at her and admitted, “There is. He’s a guy I’ve known since we were in high school. He’s a few years older than me and we were never more than friends back then, but we reconnected, and things have changed between us.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet.”
