Jobs like this didn’t exactly abound in a town the size of Sierra Falls, and what else was she qualified for besides waitressing and tending bar? It was all she’d ever done. She supposed she could drive all the way to Silver City for work, but then who’d help with the kids?
“No,” Laura said distractedly, “it’s my old CEO from San Francisco. ”
It took her a moment to register the reply, and then she exclaimed, “Oh!” It hadn’t been tavern business. Her job was safe. For now. “You mean your boss from your old company?”
“Yeah, he’s called…” But then Laura seemed to tune in to just who she was talking to. “Never mind. We’ve got to deal with this window. ”
She was busy, not stupid. “I went ahead and put a call in to Eddie,” she said, but then paled to see the girl’s strange reaction.
Stupidly, she hadn’t considered Laura’s hatred of the guy. At the time, all she’d thought was how she didn’t want to be phoning Jack, a married man, so she’d just called the other Jessup instead.
Helen cringed. She’d messed up now. She wanted to rail at Laura to grow up, but she needed to play nicey-nice if she wanted to keep her job. “Sorry, I guess I should’ve called his brother. ”
“No. Eddie’s…” And then the woman went and blushed. “Eddie’s good. ”
Holy cow. There was no explosion. No bitching. The girl actually blushed.
Helen was treading dangerous person
al territory, but curiosity got the better of her. “I thought you hated Eddie. ”
“I don’t hate Eddie,” Laura snapped. “I’ve never hated Eddie. ”
What was the saying about protesting too much? She just shrugged. “Whatever you say. ”
Laura sharpened her eyes and crossed her arms at her chest. The bitch was back. “So, table four? You are on the clock, right?”
“Sure thing, boss. ” She forced a smile on her face. Nicey-nice.
She’d been avoiding table four. June Harlan lunching with Jack Jessup’s wife, Tina. But Laura was right, it looked like their iced teas needed freshening.
She shuddered to think what they might be talking about, heads leaned close together like that. Every time she approached, their voices got louder and their faces brighter, like they’d only been chatting instead of doing the gossiping she suspected they were doing.
June’s husband ran the hardware store and was Rob’s boss, so they probably had plenty to jaw about where she was concerned. Had Rob’s mistress ever been in to see him at work? Maybe that was where he’d met her.
Maybe she was here even now. Frowning, she scanned the room as she went to the bar to grab the pitcher.
Billy had come in, headed straight for Sorrow in the kitchen, and she overheard them back there. Sorrow was teasing, something about being bad and needing a patdown.
It was the last thing she needed to hear. Her morning coffee sloshed in her belly, sour and burning. If only she had a reliable man, it would all be so much easier. The Baileys thought they had trouble—one broken window, for God’s sake—but she could school them on trouble. Trouble was her middle name.
She refilled the tea pitcher, wiped her hands on a rag, grabbed a fresh bowl of cut lemons, and headed back to serve June and Tina.
If Rob was getting it on the side, it was only a matter of time before he kicked her to the curb. And if her husband left, there’d be no meeting anyone for her. No nice sheriff would ride into her life. She could always try that Internet dating stuff, but what man out there wanted a woman with three young kids?
The ladies were leaned closer than ever, and she braced herself to face them. Would that she had a friend to gossip with, but she could only dream of having that kind of time. It made her feel more the outsider than ever. Slowing, she overheard snippets as she approached.
“…never in. ”
“Three kids. What would she do?”
It was like she’d been punched. She forced a cheery smile, though she was gutted. Dying inside. “Can I get you anything else?”
Their heads sprang apart. “Thanks, Helen. ”
“We were just talking about Craig,” June said, referring to Tina’s son, just off to boot camp. “He says Lake Michigan is pretty in the summer. ”
“Mm-hm. ” She topped off their teas. Sure they were.