Page 1 of Holding Grace

Chapter 1

Grace

“Order up, Grace! Move your ass!”

Barney’s less-than-gracious command reverberated through the diner’s kitchen pass-through, earning a few turned heads and raised eyebrows from customers seated close by. Vanessa, the other server, looked at me and rolled her eyes, both of us too used to it to let it bother us. Never let it be said that Barney, head cook and owner of the diner that carried his name, worried overly much, if at all, about offending anyone with his coarse language.

I usually worked as a cook, but when the dining room was short staffed, I sometimes picked up a shift as a server. I far preferred to be tucked away in the kitchen out of notice of the customers, but the tips were nice and the fact that I was helping out normally kept Barney from bitching at me too much.

Normally, but apparently not today.

It was busy season at the diner, which sat on the main route to Bluelake Springs, a lake area where lots of families vacationed and fishermen tried their luck. Once the season was over, Barney wasn’t likely to need me at the diner anymore, but I pushed that out of my mind. That was still more than a month away. When the time came, I’d move on. Heaven knew I’d done it enough times before. Some of those times were harder than others. One recent move in particular had taken a toll on me, but I did what I needed to do.

Shaking those thoughts away, I focused on the job at hand and customers kept me busy until close.

Once we finished cleaning and counting out tips, I headed down the block to the tiny studio apartment I rented above Cameo, a popular local bar. I scanned the outside as I drew closer, mentally crossing my fingers that I could avoid...

“Hey, girl.”

So much for that.

Travis, one of Cameo’s bartenders, ambled towards me, taking a drag off his cigarette as he walked. With his lean build, sandy brown hair down to his shoulders, and cocky attitude, I was sure he made good tips and got plenty of attention from the female patrons of Cameo. Unfortunately, it seemed the attention he wanted was mine, and I had no intention of giving him any more than I had to.

I should have kept walking, but I didn’t want him following me to the back corner of the building and the entrance to the stairs up to my apartment, which I knew from experience he would do. At least here on the side of the building we were still in view of the bar’s main parking lot and people going in and out.

“Hi, Travis.” I worked hard to keep my reply as bland as possible, containing none of the annoyance I was feeling. I didn’t want to give him the benefit of any reaction. The less I gave him, the sooner I could escape.

Travis stepped closer and I fought the urge to step back.

“Good night at the diner, doll?”

“Yeah, it was packed. I’m really tired.” I kept my eye on Travis as I started to turn away. He’d never made a move on me yet, but I wasn’t taking any chances. “Well, have a good night.”

I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

“You should come in and relax for a while, let me buy you a drink.”

I shook my head, glancing down at what I had on. “I’m wearing my uniform from the diner.” It wasn’t bad really – just a bright red t-shirt with the Barney’s logo on the chest, jeans, and a cheap pair of running shoes – but it was as good an excuse as any. “And like I said, I’m tired.”

Sometimes one or two excuses were enough, and Travis would let me go on my way.

This wasn’t going to be one of those times.

“C’mon. Nobody’ll care what you’re wearing. Hang out with me a little.”

I couldn’t hold back a sigh. I usually admired people who were persistent, but I so wished Travis would let this go. It was far from the first time we’d done this dance.

“You know I can’t do that,” I replied, feeling guilty about the lie I was about to tell, but not so much that I wasn’t going to tell it. “I have a boyfriend, Travis. I’ve told you that.”

“Yeah, right.” Travis threw the butt of his cigarette on the ground and crushed it under his boot. “What was his name again?”

“It’s Michael.”

“You sure he’s a real person?”

“He’s very real, yes.” Very real, very much not my boyfriend, and very unlikely to have anything good to say about me.

“So why isn’t he here?”

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