Page 9 of Spiritwarrior

Wanting to bite his tongue off when he looked up and saw the waitress standing there with their food, Jody had no choice but to brazen it out. “Thank you, Rowyn.”

Frowning, he looked away to stare down at the food she had placed in front of him. Why did her name sound wrong on his lips? He had noticed her name sewn onto her uniform top when she had first come to their table. That was why he had been reassured she wasn’t his soul mate.

“Is something wrong with your food?”

Jody raised his eyes back to hers.

Her friendly smile was gone as she stared back at him.

“No, it looks good. Thank you,” he lied, looking away from the rare steak and runny eggs.

The waitress gave him a disparaging look before shifting her gaze to Baylin. “Is your food okay?” she asked sympathetically. “I can get you something else if you want.”

“No, it’s fine.”

His lips tightened at Baylin’s tearful expression. He should be the one crying. At least her burnt bacon didn’t look like it was about to jump off her plate and start running.

“Can I freshen your coffee?”

“No, we’re good,” Jody answered for both of them.

The waitress gave Baylin time to gather herself, which Jody would have thought was sweet, if he wasn’t coming across as the bad guy by breaking her heart.

The waitress ignored him, waiting for Baylin’s answer.

“I’m fine. Would you mind bringing me a to-go box? I’ve lost my appetite.”

“I’ll be right back.”

After giving him a warning look, the waitress briefly left them alone.

As soon as the waitress’ back was turned, Baylin gave him a feline smile. “Good luck getting into her panties now.”

Picking up his fork and knife, he started eating, afraid if he didn’t keep his mouth full, he would say something he would regret.

From the way the waitress stared at him when she returned to the table with the to-go box, Baylin had accomplished her goal.

“I’ll take the ticket.”

Lowering his fork carefully to his plate, Jody caught Baylin’s gaze. “I would stop while you’re ahead,” he warned, which had both women looking at him warily. “You can give me the ticket when I’m ready to leave.” Remembering his manners, despite how angry he was, he gave the waitress a dismissive nod.

“We’re good. If we need anything else, I’ll let you know,” Baylin said pitifully.

The waitress didn’t immediately leave. “Are you okay?”

Baylin raised her napkin to her eyes, as if she were about to burst into tears. “I guess I’ll have to be. Thank you.”

Nodding, the waitress stepped away to wait on the customers who had just come in. Jody was conscious of her standing where she could keep an eye on their table while Baylin placed her food in the to-go container.

“So, this is it? I’m not going to see you anymore?”

Jody cut off a rare piece of his steak. Piercing it with his fork, he lifted his eyes to hers. “No chance in hell.” Callously, Jody let her see exactly what her chances were of him ever knocking on her door again. “I don’t know what you were going for by acting the way you did. Either you’re a fucking psycho living in a dreamworld, or you did it to get back at me and used the waitress to even your scoreboard. Whatever the reason was, you miscalculated. Colemans might have a bad reputation in town, but no one says we’re stupid, do they?”

Paling, Baylin grabbed her container and fled.

Determined to ride out the embarrassing situation, he ate his food until his churning stomach couldn’t handle another bite. The only reason he had eaten the godawful food was because he wanted the least interaction with Rowyn as possible. Complaining about the food would have him talking more to her and having to wait for the food to be prepared all over again. Having to eat the revolting food was a price he was willing to pay to get away from Rowyn and the effect she had on him.

Standing, he went to the cash register. When she noticed him, the waitress finished pouring the coffee into a customer’s cup.

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