Chapter 11
CADDO
Sitting in the firetruck, Sam had no idea what he should do. He’d called Seaton, but her phone rang a few times and went to voicemail.
He’d hung up then.
He couldn’t imagine that leaving her a message to say that her house was on fire was a good thing.
What could she do at work?
He thought about putting in a call to Viviana Blaise to ask her opinion, but when he lifted up his phone to call, a bump under the carriage of the truck shook his phone loose.
“Damnit.”
His phone hit the floor behind his boots and he sighed. He’d grab it up later when they were done with the fire. Cowboy would surely let him make a call before they did the overhaul on the house, looking for hidden hotspots.
When they were less than a mile away, Sam could see the full column of smoke in the sky above their heads.
It was going to be rough enough for him to see her house going up in flames, but Seaton herself couldn’t do a thing to help the firefighters knock down the flames.
If he was lucky, they could put it out quickly and then he could find a way to help Seaton put the pieces together.
In the back of his head, he was worrying that she would lose everything she had. It wasn’t fair that everything was happening to her. One thing after another.
She really needed a break from the hits that just kept landing on her.
They rounded the final corner and Sam let out a breath.
At least…
At the very least, the TRO was still in place.
The truck came to a quick stop and the doors opened. The whole crew rushed out and went to get their tools.
Grabbing his Halligan, Sam heard Cowboy calling out assignments.
Sam was almost shoulder to shoulder with him when he got his first look at the house.
He knew at a glance that they weren’t going to be able to save the house.
SEATON
While she worked her tables, she would catch a glimpse of the smoke off in the distance. It was dying down.
The blaze, wherever it was, was being 'knocked down.'
That was good. When she finished with work, she'd call over to Station Seven and see what happened.
She picked up a coffee mug in one hand and the pot in the other. She poured one cup and then reached for another.
The front door opened up, the chimes above the door jangling.
She turned her head toward her shoulder to look and-
HISS
Seaton pulled her hand back and nearly dropped the coffee pot from her hand.
"Seaton?"
Yun turned his head toward her, lowering his spatula to the surface of the plancha.
"What's wrong?"
She pulled her burned hand behind her and smiled at him, hoping that he wouldn't see that she'd hurt herself. "I'm good. I... I almost dropped the coffee pot."
He nodded and gave her a slight smile. "Be careful. If it comes down to you or the pot. Drop the pot. We can always buy a new one. My employees are priceless."
Seaton nodded at him. "Thanks, Yun. You're the best boss ever!"
He shrugged and lifted his chin. His eyes had narrowed so it looked like he had winked at her, but he probably hadn't.
He was just a nice guy all around and working for him was really amazing.
She poured the second cup and put the pot back on the warmer before she stepped out to the dining room. She put the two cups down on the table and turned to see where the new customers had gone.
She stopped short and stared at the man sitting at the table against the wall.
The burn that she'd tried to ignore had started to throb, but even that faded as she looked at Daryl.
He was sitting at the table, his hands folded together, smiling at her.
But that smile on his face didn't match the look in his eyes.
Chloe walked up to her and frowned. "Seaton? Are you okay?"
"Uh... not really."
Chloe turned around and looked in the same direction that Seaton was facing. "Who is that?"
Seaton swallowed and licked at her suddenly dry lips. "That's Daryl, my ex."
Chloe's bubbly personality dimmed. "Oh my god. What... What's he doing here?"
Seaton felt the blood drain from her face. "Nothing good."
Chloe shook her head and started to walk toward Daryl."
Seaton reached out and snagged her arm. "Don't, Chloe."
Chloe frowned and looked back at her. "I'm not scared of him."
"It's not about that, Chloe. I... I don't want you to go anywhere near him."
Maybe Chloe heard something in her voice, or maybe she saw something in Seaton's expression. Whatever it was, Chloe moved closer to her and their linked arms lowered.
"What do you want me to do?"
Seaton tried to focus on the question, but Daryl was still smiling at her.
It had been a long time since his smile had made her feel warm and happy.
Maybe she was imagining things but the look in his eyes just seemed cold. The look sent chills through her.
"Seaton?"
She startled and turned her head to see Chloe's hand on her shoulder.
"Go tell Yun that Daryl's here and uh... have him call the police."
Chloe nodded slowly and then she took a step away.
Seaton was listening for her footsteps but couldn't hear anything.
They were both wearing soft soled shoes, so she didn't hear anything, but felt Chloe come back and put her hand on Seaton's shoulder again. "Why don't you come with me?"
Seaton shook her head. "No. We have diners here in the dining room, I'm not leaving him alone with them."
Chloe's hand tightened. "Please, Seaton? I don't like the way he's looking at you."
For a moment, Seaton closed her eyes, shutting Daryl out of her sight, but he was there in her head. Taking up all the of the space that she'd managed to free up.
All of the weeks that he'd been away from her, she managed to put him out of her mind.
She managed to see that there was a way forward for her without him clouding her life.
And now, he was there across the room, staring at her like he had every right to be there.
He didn't.
"Hey!"
She tensed and saw Daryl's smile fade and fall into a frown.
His eyes darkened, too.
"Get out of here!"
Seaton drew in a breath and felt her shoulders tense when Yun stepped in front of her.
He had a cleaver in his hand.
Even though he was on the shorter side, his energy and the strength of his voice had cowed larger men.
And that cleaver was... massive.
"Get up," Yun huffed out a breath, his shoulders lifting and falling, "and get out!"
"That's not very nice," Daryl leaned forward and propped his chin on his hands, "I'm hungry and this diner looks nice."
"This diner is off limits to you."
"I thought the customer," Daryl's smile was back, stretching across his lips, "was always right."
"You're not a customer," Yun's voice had hardened. "The judge said you have to stay away from Seaton."
Seaton heard chairs moving and turned her head.
Chloe was asking the customers that she'd just served coffee to get up.
The two men looked a little put out, but they got up and walked out through the kitchen.
The other couple, who were nearly done with their meals, just stood up and started to walk.
Seaton's heart squeezed in her chest when she heard Chloe assure the couple that their meals were 'on the house,' thanking them for understanding.
This had to look horrible to those customers.
No one wanted to go to a business where disruptions like this happened.
Seaton knew that if she had been one of those diners, she'd think twice about coming back to eat in a place where the cook just came out into the dining room wielding a cleaver.
Yun might have to second guess having her work there if Daryl was going to pull stuff like this.
Chloe stepped up beside Yun and murmured to him near his ear.
"I called 911. They said they're sending someone right over."
Seaton didn't know how to feel about that.
She was glad they were sending someone over, but she didn't want to be the reason it had to happen.
Yun nodded and turned his head back toward the kitchen. "Take Seaton and go outside."
"No."
Seaton cringed at the way her voice sounded in her ears. It sounded harsh and pained, a good translation of her feelings.
"I'm not leaving you here with him."
She knew Yun would argue with her.
He was a father in more ways than one.
He was a kind and generous boss, but he did treat all of the workers at the diner as family.
Something she was extremely grateful for, because how Yun treated family was completely different from how her mother had treated her and certainly different from how Daryl had treated her.
Yun's kind of family was more like a sweet G-rated film version of family where people actually cared for each other.
Something like the episodes of Happy Days that she'd seen on an old cable channel.
He was more of a father to her than her mother had been a mother.
For that she was grateful, but she was also worried that the trouble that she was causing him might be the kind that would cause him to second guess having her as an employee and as a friend.
She certainly wouldn't fault him if he came to that conclusion.
He hadn't spent decades building up his business to have a hateful ex cause this kind of disruption.
He'd lost four customers today.
Comped two meals.
Those four people could easily go online and mention the danger they'd seen. They could also tell family and friends to stay away. This one incident could be horrible for Yun and the Lone Star Diner.
It was all her fault.
Daryl was there because of her.
He hadn't just accidentally stopped by.
Daryl had done this for a reason.
She just didn't know exactly what he had in mind.
He did this for a reason.
She'd learned through the years of their relationship that Daryl might seem chaotic, but there was more going on under the surface.
Most of it was mean and secretly, she'd come to see him as evil.
So it was stupid of herself to believe that he'd taken the judge's orders to heart.
She should have expected something like this...
But she'd mistaken the silence as acceptance of their separation, and she was worried that her mistake might cost more for the people she cared for than herself.
And that... would hurt her more than any danger to herself.