Chapter 6
Chapter Six
J ody was about to open the door to the diner when it was opened from the inside. Moving aside to let Moon and Train pass, he noticed neither of The Last Riders looked happy.
“Moon, Train,” he greeted the Last Riders.
“If you’re going in to eat, save your money. We sent our food back three times, and she still couldn’t get it right,” Moon complained.
“They’re probably just having a bad day.”
“I heard yesterday wasn’t much better,” Train derided. “All I wanted was pancakes. I ended up eating burnt toast.”
Jody’s stomach churned, remembering his own breakfast.
“They’re probably just overwhelmed with opening a new business. I’m sure it’ll get better.”
Train didn’t mince words. “If two customers overwhelm them, I don’t see it getting much better.”
Unable to come up with another explanation for the bad food, he let The Last Riders go on their way.
Before he could make another attempt to open the door, it opened again. An old man came out with an angry expression.
“We’ll see how good she does without me,” Jody heard the old man complain as he walked past him.
Damn. Silas wasn’t going to be the only one to die a bachelor with the way the diner was sinking fast.
He waited until he was sure no one else was coming out of the diner before he opened the door. The restaurant was empty. He couldn’t see the waitress, either.
Walking to the front counter, he took a seat. He had hoped the waitress would have seen him entering. He looked good, he thought to himself.
He was dressed in his nicest jeans and boots and wore a blue shirt that his sister, Ginny, had told him highlighted the blue in his eyes; Jody felt confident he would be able to sweep his soul mate off her feet … once he charmed her into forgetting the little breakup he’d had with Baylin a couple of hours before.
Jody was growing worried when he sat there for several minutes without seeing her.
When she finally came out of the back, however, she appeared startled to find him there.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in,” she apologized, red flooding her cheeks.
“No problem. I’m in no hurry.” He gave her a smile he had practiced in his bathroom mirror while he shaved.
Her eyes narrowed on him suspiciously. Jody didn’t take that as a good sign.
Damn. The woman was going to be a hard nut to crack.
“Can I get you something?”
“I’ll take a cup of coffee,” he ordered.
She went to the coffee machine.
Telling himself not to become discouraged, he kept his smile on his lips.
When she returned with his coffee, he took the opportunity to introduce himself. “I’m Jody Coleman. What’s your name?”
Frost covered her features as she pointed at the name on her uniform.
“You don’t look like a Rowyn to me,” he teased.
When she set the coffee cup down in front of him, Jody could see the muscles in her jaw tense.
“What’s a Rowyn supposed to look like?”
“I don’t know. Someone uppity?” Feeling as if the ground was sinking beneath him, he tried to regain his footing. “I’m just a country boy.” Jody inwardly winced at the words coming out of his mouth. “What do your friends call you?”
“Since you’re not my friend, it’s none of your business,” she told him coldly.
“Ouch.” He placed a hand over his heart. “You’re right; it’s none of my business. I was just making friendly conversation.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not having a great day. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I just had to fire my cook. I’m not great at taking a job away from someone who needs it.”
“Don’t feel bad about firing him. A cook has to know how to make toast.”
The waitress’ face went back to red. “The toast was my fault. George told me the toaster was getting stuck. I didn’t want to spend the money to buy a new one.”
“Oh … um …” Jody tried to think of something else to say.
“It’s okay.” She must have seen the dilemma on his face. “I know the toast was my fault. The pancakes, which got him fired, were his. Can I get you something else?”
“No, I’m good.”
Nodding, she went to sit down at one of the booths to do something on her cell phone.
As he drank his coffee, Jody tried to think of something to say that would start a conversation between them.
“How do you like living in Treepoint so far?”
“Fine.”
How had he ever gotten laid with his conversation skills?
Taking another sip of his coffee, he hoped someone would come in to get her out of the booth. It was hard talking to someone who was ignoring him.
“I’m sorry for the loss of your father.”
“Don’t be.”
His shoulders sank. Obviously, her father was no great loss to her.
“Treepoint will grow on you.” Deciding to talk to her as if she did want to talk to him, he barreled ahead. “There’re a lot of fun things to do here.”
“Like what?”
Why in the hell had he just shot himself in the foot? There wasn’t jackshit to do in Treepoint. The point was to make her want to stay, not to convince her to leave.
“There’s a nice movie theater and really nice steak restaurant across the str …” His voice dropped off as he realized what he was saying. Using another restaurant as an enticement to stay might not have been the best route to take. From the way she looked at him, as if he was slow on the uptake, he couldn’t blame her. Why was he having such a hard time talking to her? He’d never had this problem before.
The stars might say they are soul mates, but she wasn’t the woman he had imagined since he had found out about her existence.
She was a brunette instead of a blonde, nor was she particularly pretty. If not for the effect she had on his body whenever she came near him, he would have passed her off as uninteresting. There was nothing eye-catching about her. She hadn’t made the effort to put on any makeup, and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
Unless he was wrong, which wasn’t likely, her breasts were a thirty-two double A. He had noticed she had a nice smile when she had smiled at Baylin.
“Would you like a refill?”
“Thanks.” Jody lifted the cup as she got up out of the booth, taking a long drink and nearly burning his tongue off.
Scooting the cup forward, he gave her another one of his practiced smiles. “I would be happy to drive you around town when you get off and show you everything.”
As she poured the coffee, she lifted her eyes from the cup. “I’ve already become familiar with Treepoint. There wasn’t much to see. There are two apartment complexes here, one of which I rent from; a school; a courthouse; three dine-in restaurants, including this one; two convenience stores; two department stores, a shoe store, and four office buildings.”
“You missed the hotel,” he joked. “You have trouble finding a place to live? Housing is in short supply here. I could help you find a place—”
“No, thanks. Like I said, I already found an apartment, at the Omni.”
Jody felt a lump form in his throat. Baylin lived at the Omni.
“It’s close to here. I’m on the third floor.”
Baylin’s apartment was on the third floor.
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.