Page 33 of Dodge

A loud knock interrupted my reverie.

“Hey, anyone here?”

I looked around to see a blonde woman standing just inside the door. The ragged edges of her blue jean cutoffs rode high on the sides of her skinny hips, and her short cowboy boots clomped as she walked over the shiny polished floor. “I heard y’all are hirin’ waitresses.”

She said the word like it was sour in her mouth. I remembered meeting this woman before. Mallory. She was the one who’d been hanging on Dodge’s arm that night at the River’s Edge. I’d only seen her the one time, but here she was in the flesh. And showing quite a bit of it.

“I prefer to call them servers.”

“Whatever. I’m looking for a job, and I guess I can put plates on a table just as well as anyone else.”

Little shards of pain radiated down my spine. Ireallyneeded that shower! “There’s a little more to it than slinging plates around. I plan on having my servers practice the open-hand method.”

Mallory sniffed. “What’s that?”

I stood straight and mimicked the actions as I explained. “We serve from the left and clear from the right. Never cross the diner’s body, nor touch the diner. Uniforms will be black pants, closed-toed flat shoes, and a white blouse. Clean, neat appearances. No perfume or scented lotions, as that would distract the diner.”

Mallory looked confused. “All that to put out a cheeseburger?”

“McDonald’s does cheeseburgers. I do cuisine.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to say something, but another interruption came through the door.

“Lord have mercy, just look at this place!” Betsey trilled as she walked in, her own boots clicking, with several square Tupperware containers piled high in her hands. “Never thought Miz Mae’s diner would get this kind of makeover. Fantastic!” She whirled around to the woman behind her. “What do you think, Psalm?”

“I think I have some really nice artwork that will fill these walls perfectly and add to the color scheme.” She reached out a slim hand to me. “Hi, I’m Psalm. I own the Soap-n-stuff craft store a few streets over.”

I shook her hand, and the slight scent of lavender and vanilla drifted to my nose.

“Psalm is my daughter-in-law. Blue took the kids and the dogs to the park after closing, so we thought we’d come see how you’re gettin’ on and what we can do to help.” Betsey’s gaze shifted upward. “My goodness, them hanging lamps is real nice. Dodge help you get ’em in?”

“No, I did them myself.” I hadn’t seen Dodge in just over a week. He’d texted me a few times to say he had to work overtime at the garage on a project car, and his dad also needed him for roofing work on the weekend. We may be in the friend zone, but I still missed him. A lot.

Betsey turned back to face me with a big grin. “No kiddin’? That’s fantastic. I love my boys, but sometimes it takes the ladies to get the job done.” Her eyes moved to take in Mallory’s presence and frosted over. Betsey nodded at her, but it was more like a queen begrudgingly acknowledging a less-than-stellar peasant. “Mallory.”

“Hey, Betsey.”

That exchange over, Betsey turned her attention back to me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Eva to come out for a bit to take a look at your bar. She’s cut way back on her sewin’ business and is itchin’ to get her hands busy.”

I frowned a little. “This Eva person. Does she know construction?”

Betsey gave me herpsshhhtnoise, popped thetat the end, and flicked her bright talons at me, pink this time. The square plastic dishes nearly toppled. “Let me tell you what, darlin’, that woman knows her way around a table saw. She used to work job sites all the time with her brothers. In fact, the bar at the River’s Edge is her work.”

I recalled the polished wood and clean lines I saw at Betsey’s place. Yep, if Eva could make that magnificent piece, she would do fine with my little spot. “How much do you think she’d charge?”

“I’ll be good with babysitting or some free meals for my husband and me in lieu of labor. Finding someone to watch my girls while Stud and I have some private time away is damn near impossible.”

A fiery ginger-haired woman approached from the open door carrying a tool bag. If Stud was a Viking god, this woman was a Valkyrie. Colorful leggings covered her muscular thighs, and a long solid T-shirt draped over her tight, flat stomach. If she had more than one child, it didn’t show. Either this woman spent some serious time at the gym or Betsey had not lied about her working construction.

She approached me with an open hand. “I’m Eva. Stud is my old man, and we have five stubborn alpha females under the age of ten. Now, where is your bar gonna go?”

Wow. Just wow.“I think that side in the back in sort of an arc shape. There’s plumbing in that corner to tap into.”

Her green eyes left mine, and she sauntered to the spot. “Good thinking. I can make this work. I’ll draw up some ideas and let you know. You get the materials, and I’ll take care of the labor. I can build most of the framing off-site and just do an installation. Won’t take but a day or two at the most.”

Alpha females, indeed!

“You got an application or something?” Mallory’s voice broke through my reverie. Truthfully, I’d forgotten she was there.

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