Page 9 of The Sweet Spot
“No, thank you.” She gives me the sweetest smile, and the corners of her blue eyes crinkle. “I think I’ll just rest in my chair for a bit, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, I don’t mind. Let me get your blanket.”
After she settles comfortably in her rocking recliner, I cover her with her favorite fleece blanket. This is Pumpkin’s cue to jump into her lap and curl up. I turn off the TV and the light so she can nap peacefully.
She’ll sleep for about an hour, and I’ll have her lunch ready when she wakes up. She’ll eat around 11:30, and then Dawn will return a few minutes before noon. That’s when I’ll run back to the diner to help out with the lunch crowd.
I walk over to the big front window to close the curtains and catch sight of a man walking away, down the street. I stare at him, unable to look away. He’s the right height, and the right build. He’s wearing the same type of cowboy hat David always wore. The same boots. He’s got the same king-of-the-world swagger.
It can’t be David. It just can’t.
His parents are away for the summer on a European cruise. To my knowledge, I don’t think he has any friends left in town. There’s no reason for him to be here.
A chill runs down my spine.
It can’t be him.
* * *
On my way back to the diner, I stop in first at Emerson’s Grocery Store and find Maggie in the produce department unboxing a shipment of apples. “Hey.”
She glances up from her work. “Hey, you. How’s it going? Calmer now, I hope, after the drama this morning.”
“Yes, much calmer, thank you.”
“What’s up? Do you need something?”
“No. I just wanted to ask you—I know it’s stupid, and surely you’d tell me if you’d seen him—”
“Jennie, please, spit it out.”
“Have you seen David in town lately?”
“David?” Maggie looks horrified. She never did like him, not even when I was dating him, and especially not after I married him. She wasn’t stupid. She saw all the signs. “No! If I had, believe me, you’d be the first to know. Why are you even asking?”
“Granny told me she saw him this morning outside our house. I thought for sure she was confused. But then, a little while ago, I saw someone walking down our street, heading away from our house, and I could have sworn it was David. I mean, it looked just like him.”
“Did you see his face?”
“No. I only saw him from behind.”
Maggie looks worried. “No, I haven’t seen him. And if he were in town, he’d need groceries, and I’m pretty much the only game in town. If he were here, I think I would have seen him. Granny must have been confused, and her confusion has rubbed off on you. She put the thought in your head.”
“I know. You’re right. I just thought I’d ask. I figured if anyone came across him, it would be you or Ruth.”
She nods. “Yeah, he did like to drink, didn’t he? He was his most abusive when he was drunk.”
“You’re right. I’m just being silly. Forget I said anything.”
“Have you mentioned any of this to Chris? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give him a heads up. He could ask the deputies to keep an eye out for David, just in case.”
“Chris? No.”God, no.“I wouldn’t want to bother him with this. I’m sure it’s all in my head.”
Chris knows very little about my disastrous marriage right out of high school, but it’s not something we’ve ever talked about. I was married and divorced while he was at school in Arizona. By the time he returned to Bryce, my relationship with David was old news. There was no reason to bring it up. Plus, I was ashamed to talk about it. I let myself get suckered in by an abusive asshole.
After saying goodbye to Maggie, I walk through the connecting door into the diner. Speaking of Chris, I spot him immediately, seated with Micah and Robyn at one of the booths near the front windows. My first thought when I see them isThank God. The guys always looked out for me when we were kids. And now they’ve grown into formidable men. Just knowing I have them in my life makes me feel safer.
Micah and Robyn are seated on one side of the booth. His arm is across her shoulders, and she’s leaning her head on him. He says something, and she laughs. They make such a striking couple. The contrast between his midnight black, long braided hair and warm brown skin and her auburn hair, blue eyes, and pale, freckled complexion is stunning.
