Page 46 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“Order forEllie!” the cashier called out.

I grabbed my order and made my way to the door just as a sharp jolt startled me.Someonebumped into me hard enough to make me stumble back.

“Oh,I’msorry,”Isaid instinctively, looking up.

The man before me was older, maybe in his fifties, with a face etched in harsh lines and eyes that held nothing kind.Hedidn’t say a word—just stared at me, unblinking, his expression cold and unsettling.

“Excuse me,”Isaid, trying to move around him to the exit.

He didn’t budge, his gaze tracked me like a predator sizing up prey.

“Watch yourself,” he finally said, his voice low and menacing.

Heart pounding,Ipushed past him quickly and turned around to look, but he was already gone, as though he’d vanished into thin air.

Just to be on the safe side, though,Iquickened my pace across the street.Bythe timeIreached the safety of the front office,Ipractically burst through the door.

“Are you ok?Didyou run here?” she asked, looking a little worried.

“I’m fine.”Ididn’t want to share everything with her becauseIwas pretty sureIwas just being paranoid about the guy. “Somerude guy just bumped into me on the way out.”

“I knew you shouldn’t have gone over there alone!” she scolded, shaking her head.

“It’s not a big deal.Let’sjust eat.”Itold her

I wasn’t sure she believed me, but she didn’t call me out on it.

We enjoyed our lunch and chatted for an hour about a new book we’d both started reading and how we wanted to try out some of the newer hiking trails at the nearbyChattahoocheeNationalForest.Wemade plans for the following weekend when we both had a day off.

* * *

After lunch,Ireturned to my apartment to shower and change for my shift.Thatevening,Iwas waiting tables since we had two people call in sick.Itwasn’t as fun as working the bar withTammybut usually earned me better tips.Plus,Wadementioned he was working behind the bar for a few hours tonight becauseSamhad plans, so he couldn’t come in until after the dinner rush.

During the dinner rush,Iapproached one of my booths, which had been seated with a new party of four at it.Thesemi-circle booths in the back had high sides, making it hard to see who was seated.AsIgot closer,Inoticed the older woman sitting on the end looked vaguely familiar, butIcouldn’t place her right away.AsIgot closer,Isaw all four women look up and smile at me, andIrealized this table was full ofWade’sfamily, minus his dad.

“Ellie, so good to see you,” his mom said with a smile. “Whata coincidence we got you as our waitress.Howwonderful!”

The rest of the table chuckled, andIrealized maybe she’d seen me and asked for me on purpose.Ismiled at that thought.

“Well,I’mhappy you’re all here,”Itold them. “Nowlet me see ifIcan remember everyone’s names.”Ipaused, thinking in my head. “WillaandWhitney,”Isaid pointing to his two sisters sitting on the right. “Andyou’reWendy.”Ipointed to his mom but then paused. “Hmmm, they all called youNana, soI’mnot sureIremember your name, butI’mguessing it starts with aWlike everyone else’s,”Ijoked.

“Nonsense.Allthat name weirdness started with my daughter.”Shewaved her hand around. “Myname isCarol, but you can call meNanatoo if that’s easier.”Shesmiled at me, andIinstantly missed my own gran.

I got their drink and food orders and put them in, occasionally going back to check on them, but the place was busy, soIdidn’t have much time to chat with them over the next twenty minutes.

I was making my way to one of my other tables with some appetizers whenInoticedWadewas now at the booth talking with his family.Hedidn’t look very happy.Wasthere something wrong with their food?Hadthey needed a refill?OnceIset the food down on my current table,Istarted to make my way back toWade’sfamily’s table to see if they needed something.AsIgot closer,Iheard them talking, but thenWadeturned to me and stopped talking.Hisface was unreadable but still slightly grumpy.

“Is everything okay?Doyou guys need anything?”Iasked his family.

“We’re fine, dear,” his mom said. “Wadehere apparently doesn’t like it when we come to visit.Supposedlywe embarrass him.”

“You aren’t here to visit me, and we both know it,”Wadesaid, staring at his mom, who appeared to be unaffected by his glare. “YoucalledTammyto ask whenElliewas working tables then came in on that very night and specifically asked to be seated in her section so you could ambush her.”

"Well,Wade, if you weren’t dragging your feet, we wouldn’t have to do the ambushing, now would we?”Hisgrandma chuckled and raised her eyebrows.

“Besides,Ellieseems happy to see us,”Willasaid. “Andwe plan to leave a generous tip for her emotional support expenses now that she has to live with you."

Every woman at the table just grinned, butIfelt my face turning bright red.Theyknew we were living together?

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