Page 6 of The Fast Lane

“Wrong.” She tossed the towel on her shoulder. “We met at a restaurant in Houston. It’s this new place where the whole schtick is serving burgers made from exotic meat. So, we sit, we talk. He’s nice. Like, really nice. Great smile. Dimples. Teaches high school history. That sort of thing. I say, ‘Oh, they have ostrich burgers.’”

“Sounds gross,” Mae murmured.

“Actually, I’ve heard ostrich meat is delicious,” I said. “I read this article about?—”

“Excuse me, focus.” Ellie snapped her fingers. “I’m telling the story.”

I grinned. “So sorry, go ahead.”

“Then he says, ‘Oh, ostrich is on my bucket list. It’s a goal of mine to try as many different types of meat as I can before I die.’ So, we order and we’re chatting while we wait and then he says, ‘Have you ever wondered what human meat tastes like?’”

“Shut up!” I said.

Ellie’s braid whipped around as she shook her head. “I didn’t say anything. I just stared at him. He looked at me like he wanted an answer, and he didn’t blink. Not once. My creepmeter freaked out. ‘No, I haven’t ever wondered that,’ I said. Then he shrugged and took a roll from the breadbasket, slapped some butter on it and all I could think was I might be the next thing he slapped butter on if I wasn’t careful. So, I snuck out the first chance I got.”

Mae and I gaped at her in stunned silence.

She shrugged, looking forlorn. “I’m beginning to think something is wrong with me. I attract deadbeats, losers, and now possible cannibals. My man picker is broken.”

“Wow. I’m never dating again,” I said. “Like, never.”

Mae patted my arm. “Yes, you will. Not every guy wants to eat your face for dinner. Look at Chris.”

“You sure about that?” I pointed to her neck; Mae did not look amused.

“Alright, I want to hear what happened on Friday,” Ellie said as a customer arrived at the counter to pay. “Duty calls. Be right back.”

My best friend turned a speculative eye in my direction. “You know, it has been a while since the break-up with Alec and?—”

I hissed.

“Sorry. I forgot we’re not supposed to say his name.” She patted my arm.

“I gave you a list of acceptable things you could say instead.”

“Yeah. Somehow Pea-Brained Coward doesn’t roll off the tongue,” Mae said in a dry voice.

“Alright, sorry to break up the moment,” Ellie said, back in front of us. “But we close in twenty minutes, and I still don’t know what you did.”

With a wave of my hand, I straightened. “I chained myself to the Legacy Tree.”

Ellie shook her head, baffled. “That’s it? That doesn’t seem your normal MO.”

“It was spur-of-the-moment.”

“Why?” Mae asked.

I pushed my empty bowl away. “It seems our illustrious mayor wants to sell Legacy Park.”

“He wouldn’t,” Mae said.

“He wants that stupid football stadium and he’s willing to do anything to get it. Including sell the park to some skeezy developers who’ll tear down the tree and turn it into a strip mall. I really hate that guy.”

“Same.” Mae hated him even more than I did. That’s what happens when your boss is also your ex-boyfriend. As the librarian, she’d had to fight him last year to keep her budget from being decimated.

“He can’t do that, can he?” Ellie asked. “Doesn’t he have to get it approved first?

“I’m sure it would have to go through the city council.” Mae frowned. “But that council is full of people who would love to get more business in town. Even at the cost of our history.”

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