Confessing to the Cowboy - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,78
house.” She’d already fed them lunch, but they deserved another meal and so much more for their hard work and thoughtfulness.
They all gathered around one of the large tables in the center of the room and both Mary and Lynette took their orders, while other waitresses worked the other tables and the dinner rush. All around them people were dining and visiting with each other.
Laughter rode in the air and the warmth and friendship that filled the room once again humbled Mary. This was her place, among these hardworking, good people, not running from town to town, trying to stay one step away from a man who wanted her dead.
The sleet that Cameron had mentioned appeared just after seven, pinging against the café glass windows and shooting a restless energy through the place. People began to eat a little faster in order to get home before it got too slick outside.
By eight-thirty the last of the diners were preparing to pay up and leave and it looked like it was going to be another early closing night. She sent all of her waitresses home and then called Cameron on his cell phone and let him know that she’d be ready for him to pick her up anytime after nine.
He told her he was currently working a two-car accident and might be a few minutes late. She assured him she would be fine until he arrived.
At nine she went into the kitchen where Rusty had already shut down the grill and was seated on a stool drinking a cup of coffee. “You might as well head home, too,” she said as she pulled up a stool next to him. “I’ve put the Closed sign on the door and locked up for the night. The sleet is accumulating on the roads and I don’t expect anybody else to come in.”
“You sure Cameron will be able to come and get you?” Rusty asked.
“If he doesn’t I can always crash on my new sofa.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe you all did that for me.”
“You have no idea what you mean to the people of this town,” Rusty replied.
She cocked her head and stared at him for a long moment. “Why aren’t you dating? Why don’t you have some nice woman in your life?”
He gave her his crooked half smile. “Who’d want to date somebody with such an ugly mug as mine?”
“Oh, Rusty, you have no idea how handsome you are. You can cook, you’ve got a soft heart and any woman would be proud to be with you.”
“I don’t know... I just don’t think about it much.” He took another sip of his coffee and stared off into the distance.
Mary guessed that he was probably thinking about the family he had lost in a home fire years ago. It had been an electrical fire that had taken place while Rusty was at work and it had killed his wife and son. It had also destroyed whoever Rusty had once been.
“They wouldn’t want you to grieve forever,” she said softly.
“I know. I’m working on it.” He got up from his stool and drained his mug. “You want me to hang around until Cameron does arrive?”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. I’ll just lock up everything tight and maybe make myself a quick cup of hot tea. You’d better get to the cabin before you have to ice-skate yourself there.”
Rusty gave her a flash of a smile. “I never was much good at skating. Oh, by the way, the kid left his cell phone here.” He pointed to Junior’s cell phone on the counter. “I imagine he’ll be in early in the morning to get it.”
“I’ll just lock it up in the register,” Mary replied.
“Then I guess I’ll see you in the morning.” He pulled on his big coat and disappeared out the back door. Mary locked up behind him and then placed a kettle on a burner to heat water for tea.
As she waited for the water to boil, she stood in the entry to the back living quarters. The new sofa was beautiful, made more so with the knowledge that her friends and customers had chipped in to buy it for her and Matt.
The walls were pristine and the smell of fresh paint permeated the air. One more night at Cameron’s and then she and Matt could resume their life here. She knew Cameron wanted them to stay with him until Jason was behind bars, but she couldn’t bunk in with him