Page 17 of Spiritwarrior

Jody thought back to last night. Had she seen them as they entered the building?

“It even has its own laundry facilities, right in the middle of the third floor, to make it convenient for everyone. All I have to do is open my door and walk across the hall to wash my clothes.”

The lump settled firmly in his throat, making it impossible to talk. Across the hall from Baylin’s apartment was the laundry facility. That meant his soul mate lived next to Baylin.

He was unable to meet her knowing gaze, so his eyes dropped to his coffee. He didn’t have to ask if Baylin’s bedroom wall connected to hers. The way his luck was running, it did.

Jody felt his cheeks redden as he remembered the loud noises they had made the previous evening.

“The best part is everyone seems to wash their clothes during the day. Last evening, I had the laundry room to myself.”

The laundry room didn’t have a door for the safety of the tenants. He had been seen and heard last night.

Jody knew it would be a waste of time to continue, so he took his wallet out of his pocket. Placing a ten on the counter, he stood up. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks.”

Jody could have sworn he heard the undertone of laughter in her voice as he left the diner.

He went to his truck and pulled out his cell phone. It was time to call in the cavalry.

Chapter Seven

Sophie stared around the empty restaurant. Then, after taking a notebook she kept under the counter, she sat down. Opening the notebook, she scanned through the figures she had tallied for her expenditures. She flipped the pages until she came to the end tally. She had a whopping fifty dollars left.

Crying, she buried her face in her hands just as the bell rang over the door, indicating a customer’s arrival.

When she lifted her face, her jaw dropped at seeing a group of men walking inside. Stunned at the sight, she sat motionless as they filed in, filling the large round table in the middle of the restaurant. Closing the notebook, she turned her face from gawking at the men to wipe the tears from her face.

She recognized one of the faces as she approached the table but focused on the one who seemed to be the oldest, who was staring at her with a comforting gaze.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen, I have to close for the day. I don’t have a cook.”

“We’re working at the housing development not far from here. We’re putting up a fence around the development. Ma’am,we’re thirsty and hungry. My brothers are used to eating anything you put in front of us. They could make the drinks for us, if you could find it in your heart to find something to eat.”

“I can do that.”

Sophie found herself in the kitchen, staring wonderingly at what she was doing. Before the men had shown up, she was about to call one of the realtors in town.

Sighing, she opened the door of the refrigerator. She had plenty of hamburger meat. She pulled some out, turned on the grill, and started putting the patties on. Then she turned on the fryer and went to the freezer to take out a bag of fries. Waiting until the burgers were done on one side, she flipped them then dropped a basket of fries into the hot oil.

She wasn’t a great cook, but she knew how to prepare the staples. If she thought George could be able to waitress, she would have taken over the kitchen and let him serve, but her skills were mediocre at best. She needed an exceptional cook if she was going to make this restaurant work.

Her mother was an exceptional cook. She just needed time for her parents to get here.

Opening the pack of buns, she placed them down on the grill to warm them. Marty might have been a terrible father, but he had taught her how to make hamburgers and fries.

Pulling the fries out of the oil, she seasoned them under the warming lights, then took the buns off the grill and started to assemble the hamburgers before placing them on plates. Once she was done, she added a hefty portion of fries to each plate.

She was about to carry two plates out to the men after placing three in the window when she saw Jody remove the three plates.

“I thought you could use some help,” he said with a grin.

With the window empty, she placed the two she was holding there before picking up the last three. As she carried themthrough the kitchen door, she saw another man taking the ones from the window.

Jody met her halfway, taking the two plates she was holding on one arm.

“Thank you.”

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