Chapter 35
J ericho
We’re a block away from the diner when the rooster appears, strutting across the sidewalk like he’s the mayor of the town. He lets out a low, indignant crow and pecks at something on the curb.
I slow down the car. “What the hell—how did he get this far out? I thought he stuck to our backyards.”
Nora opens the window and pokes her head out. “Yeah. Me too. I’ve never seen him come this far. Roman said he saw him, but I thought he was messing with me. Maybe he’s finally given up on us.” I can almost swear her voice sounds regretful.
The rooster fluffs his feathers like he heard us and wants to challenge the accusation.
I frown, putting the car in park. “Does he walk himself into town, or is someone giving him a ride?”
Nora shrugs, but there’s something off in her voice when she says, “Guess he’s expanding his territory.” Her eyes flick toward the rooster again. “Damn traitor.”
“What?” I ask, not liking her sudden change of mood.
“Nothing,” she says way too fast.
We start walking toward her diner when she suddenly slows to almost a stop and looks at me. “You think he’s moving out?”
“Who?”
“The rooster.”
I blink. Then blink again. “Do I think that the rooster we’ve been trying to catch and send as far away from here as possible is moving out from our yard?”
“Yes.” She nods eagerly.
“Sure as fu—” I start but pause seeing her face. She looks… desperate. So I switch gears. “No,” I sigh. “I don’t think so.”
Her beautiful smile returns to her face. “Really?”
“Really,” I sigh louder.
“Good!” With a bubblier attitude, she almost skips ahead of me toward the diner but pauses before entering. “You coming?”
The bell over the diner door jingles as we step inside. It smells like syrup and hash browns and something fried. Karina is behind the counter, pressing something on the register as if it just stole her newborn.
“Thank God,” she cries out, throwing her hands in the air when she sees us. “This thing has given up on me bright and early, and everyone suddenly decided to pay with credit cards.”
Her eyes are a little crazed—or maybe a lot—hair is sticking to her neck. She looks like she’s been battling the machine for hours.
“Let me see.” Nora drops her jacket on the bar stool and walks behind the counter .
After pressing a few buttons, her face scrunches, and she presses a few more buttons.
Then she starts pressing only one button.
Then she starts doing it faster while Karina’s watching her finger like she’d rather push the offensive button herself.
I watch them go at it intensely for a few moments before I get tired and look up to find Roman rolling his eyes, which gives me reassurance that this is a normal occurrence.
“Nora,” I call out calmly, trying not to spook this suddenly wild little animal. “Nora,” I repeat when she doesn’t respond.
Finally, she looks up with eyes matching Karina’s. “What?”
“Let it go,” I say softly, nodding at the register. “I’ll take a look.”
Karina grabs her arm and pulls her to the side. “Let’s go get you some food while ogling the man doing manly stuff.”
With a chuckle, I walk up to the register.
“We have a toolbox over here,” Roman says from the kitchen, and Karina quickly brings it to me.
While I start opening up the register, Nora chats with Karina.
They talk about waiting for some girl named Letty to come back from her boyfriend’s so they can have extra hands.
I guess it’s another waitress. Even though Nora’s shift hasn’t officially started, she flies around the diner refilling coffees and picking up plates.
I guess the work is never done when it’s your own business. I should know that.
A loose wire is an easy fix, and the register is up and running in no time.
“You’re a lifesaver!” Karina claps her hands and begins going through the stack of credit cards.
I slide onto one of the stools after washing my hands in the sink at the bar. Nora grabs a notepad and heads to the tables when Karina beelines toward her and grabs the book from her hands. “I’ll handle it. Go flirt with your Superman in tight leggings. ”
“I don’t even own leggings,” I mutter.
“Shame,” Karina smirks. “That’d be hot.”
Nora slides onto the stool beside me. “I agree though. Those thighs would look good.” She clicks her tongue, glancing at my lap, and I’m suddenly grateful that I’m already sitting or she’d see a hammer , and I wouldn’t hear the end of it.
We’re sipping coffee when the front door opens again and in walks chaos.
Or rather—Moon. With Cheryl close behind her.
“This place is a mess without me,” Moon crows good-naturedly.
“It sure is.” Nora stands. “What are you doing here?”
Cheryl saunters in behind her in her civilian clothes, which looks a little unsettling. For all these months I’ve been living here, I’ve never seen her in anything other than her uniform, and now I’m faced with Nora’s sister and not the town cop.
“Apparently she wanted to leave the house empty for you in case you need it for some,” she glances in my direction, “action.”
“Wha—” Nora’s eyes widen. “Oh!”
“Yes, ‘oh.’ Well, look at you two,” Cheryl says, grabbing a menu she doesn’t need. “She must be right. I had to drag my ass out of bed before eight on my only morning off.” Turning to me with squinted eyes, she hisses, “You’d better make sure the action is worth my only day off.”
“It’s just coffee,” I grumble, feeling like a high schooler caught kissing under the bleachers. My neck is flaming hot; my cheeks are probably a good match as well.
“That’s what they all say,” Moon mutters, sliding onto the stool. “Let’s hope Steve can live up to expectations.”
“Grandma!” Nora cries out, covering her cheeks, which definitely match my neck, with her hands.
“What?” Moon laughs. “I’m old. Not blind. ”
Nora covers her whole face, groaning into her palms, making Cheryl laugh. “This alone was worth my day off.”
She and Karina bump fists, which Nora doesn’t seem to appreciate as she’s staring daggers into them.
This date is not going well.
I look around the room, feeling curious eyes on us. I’m positive the rumor mill will take off any moment now with some crazy story by tomorrow morning.
Nora starts talking to Cheryl while Karina’s showing something on her phone to Moon, and they both coo when the diner door opens, shifting the energy in the room.
A tall blond man with aviator glasses and a worn-out leather jacket in this frigid cold waltzes in.
My muscles tense on instinct because my body recognizes someone dangerous, and I nearly jump to my feet and move to Nora when I notice a toddler in his arm and a woman in tow.
“Is that—” Nora starts.
“Jake!” her grandmother says with obvious glee at the same time.
“Jake!” Nora hops off her stool, nearly knocking over her coffee.
The guy bounces the child in his arms and beams. “My Moons!”
My Moons? My Moons?!
While I’m struggling to process what he just said, Nora practically launches into his hug, grabbing the man and the toddler into her embrace like they are long-lost relatives.
Jake gives Nora a squeeze. A very tight one.
I stay seated and alert. That’s the Jake whose name Moon remembers just fine. With one arm wrapped around Nora’s shoulders and with the kid in the other, Jake makes his way over, eyes finding mine before he passes the kid to the woman by his side.
“So you’re the bum who moved into my house,” he says, hand out. Friendly but suspicious .
I raise a brow. “So you’re the bum who used to live there and destroyed it.”
Nora snorts, glancing my way.
“Who told you that?” Jake asks with narrowed eyes.
“Jonah.” I narrow mine back. “The realtor.”
The woman next to him cackles.
“Figures,” Jake says, sending her a glare. “Jonah’s Brodie’s godfather. He says worse to my face.”
His hand is still extended, and a few seconds later he slowly raises a brow. On instinct, my eyes dart toward his arm still wrapped around Nora. When he notices, a slow, understanding smile crosses his face, and he retreats his arm and tucks it around the woman to his side instead.
At this, I relax and quickly grab his hand before he changes his mind. I don’t want to get on Moon’s shit list, and I’m very close to it considering the nasty stare Cheryl’s sending my way.
We shake hands. It’s solid. Friendly.
“You must be Jericho,” Jake says, inspecting me like I’m a used car he’s considering buying. “Cheryl’s been texting me about you.”
I throw a look at Cheryl who simply shrugs, unashamed. Great , so this guy knows all about me. I wonder what else Cheryl has shared with him and vice versa. How well does this Jake fella know Little Hope’s sheriff?
“And this,” Jake says, pulling the woman beside him closer, “is my wife, Olivia, and our son, Brodie.”
Olivia offers her hand, which I take quickly.
She’s small, but her handshake is firm, and her eyes are sharp.
There’s something evaluating in her gaze, like she’s sizing me up, which seems to be what everyone else is doing recently.
The toddler in her arms babbles and reaches toward me with grabby hands.
“He likes you,” Olivia says, sounding surprised .
“Brodie has good taste,” Nora chimes in, and my neck heats up again.
Moon slides off her stool and waddles over to Jake, arms wide. “My boy,” she says, wrapping him in a hug that looks like it might crack his ribs. “Finally decided to grace us with your presence.”
“We’ve been texting every day, Moon,” Jake laughs, hugging her back.
“Steve,” Moon says, turning to me, “this is Jake. He used to be our resident troublemaker before you took his position.”
“Jericho,” I correct again, feeling like I’m talking to a wall.
“Here,” Olivia says, suddenly thrusting the babbling toddler toward me. “Hold him while I get my coffee. He won’t stop squirming, and mommy could use a break.”