Page 25 of The House Beyond the Dunes

My phone dings with a text.

Keep reading, Lane.

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Chapter Seven

STEVIEPALMER’SDIARY

Sunday, July 2, 2023

2:00 a.m.

If Joey had an employee-of-the-day vote right now, I’d win. His two waitresses leave at closing, and Nikki is minutes behind them. Judging by Nikki’s extra lipstick and perfume, she has a date. My bet is Bourbon. He seemed as into her as she him.

Nikki’s a big girl and must know trouble like Pete always awaits. Still, as I tuck my tips in my back pocket, I say, “Bourbon?”

“Yeah.” Her grin is broad. “He’s kind of cute. And he’s rich.”

Rich? That’s a stretch. “Does he have a name?” I arch, stretching the tension from my lower back.

She smiles. “I’ll let you know when I show up for tonight’s evening shift,” she says.

“Be careful?”

Nikki laughs. “That a question or advice,Mom?”

“A friendly reminder.”

Joey flips on the overhead lights, which cast a glare on the empty bar. The intimate, cool vibe vanishes, and what’s left is a careworn roomwith full trash cans, discarded clusters of beer bottles, and glasses with boozy residue. Joey grabs a large green trash bag.

I remove a band from my wrist and gather up my thick hair. I tie it up, snag a tray, and start moving from table to table picking up glasses and trash.

“You’re off the clock,” Joey says.

“Roger that,” I say.

I don’t love downtime as a rule because it leaves me restless, even anxious. Better to be busy, even on the worst shifts, than to be overthinking existential bullshit questions like do any of us really exist or when will we die? Nope, mopping a sticky bar floor at 2:00 a.m. beats that hands down.

When I leave the bar at three, Joey hollers, “Back tonight?”

“Sure,” I say. “Five?”

“Works for me.”

“Will do.”

“Don’t worry about Pete,” he says. “I texted him a warning, and he’s a lot of things, but he’s not stupid.”

“Is he a regular?”

“Not anymore.” He frowns. “Nikki told me what you did for her.”

“How long have you known Nikki?”

“A couple of weeks. Like you, she wandered into my life.”

And he is one kind soul, but I won’t tease him. Kind gestures are rare, and it’s nice to see Joey trying to help Nikki. I grab my baseball bat from behind the bar. “Takes a village, right?”

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