What She Saw

“Not much to tell,” she tried to say lightly. “I grew up here, I’ve never been farther from home than Laramie. My mother got cancer when I was a senior in high school, so I took care of her until she died last year. Now I’m going to the community college. A very boring little life. What about you?”

“Well, it hasn’t been boring,” he said, pushing his empty plate to one side. “Sometimes I think I’d like boring. Maybe that’s why I like driving so much. It’s peaceful.”

“Have you always been a driver?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Army. I traveled all over the world, but take it from me, it wasn’t the stuff you’d put on a postcard.”

“I suppose a lot of it wasn’t,” she said carefully, wondering if this man was troubled by nightmares. The notion gave her an unexpected pang.

She rose and went to get him a generous serving of the cobbler. She thought he was done talking with her, but instead he motioned her to join him again, his brow arched questioningly.

So she slid into the chair, refreshed her cup and waited to see what was going on. She didn’t think he was interested in her, particularly, but this was so out of character compared to the quiet way he usually came and went that her curiosity began to stir. Not to mention her hormones. She couldn’t evade her attraction to him, but it wouldn’t do her any good. It might cause her more problems.

“I’m going to Denver tonight,” he said. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“What exactly do you do?”

“I carry shipments from Seattle to Denver. Usually there’s a load leaving Denver for Seattle. Tacoma’s a decent-sized port and a lot of stuff leaves there for Japan and other points east, and we get stuff from there in and out of our terminal.”

“What exactly do you carry?”

He smiled faintly. “A little of this and a little of that, honestly. Everything from bikes to camping gear to coffee. Coming back out of Denver it can be a mix, or it can be an entire container of something headed overseas. I’m not much interested in my loads. I just need to get them delivered in one piece.”

She nodded. “How is it coming over the mountains?”

“A thrill and a half when the load is heavy, that’s for sure.” He rose, pulling out his wallet and putting thirty dollars on the table. A huge tip for her.

“I’ll see you in a couple of days, Haley. Thanks for the company.”

She stood, too, ready to clear the table, sorry to see him go so quickly. But he never lingered. He had a schedule to keep. “Have a safe trip.”

“I intend to.”

Then he paused and said something that sent a chill to her very bones. He kept his voice low, so low she was sure Claire couldn’t hear from the other end of the restaurant. “Haley? Don’t mention what you saw in the lot tonight. Not to anyone. I’m going to check with my company, but…just don’t mention it to anyone.”

She stood frozen, wondering if that was a threat or a warning.

“Promise,” he said.

“I promise.”

He smiled again. “Good. I’ll talk to you when I get back. Stay safe.”

She watched him walk across the lot and climb into the cab of his rig. It was definitely a warning. But whatever for? The cops hadn’t even thought it important.

What in the world did he think might be going on?

Then she realized Claire had come to stand beside her. “Look out,” Claire said.

Haley tore her gaze from the truck that was now pulling out of the lot and looked at the other waitress. “What?”

“These guys are rolling stones, Haley, and we’re only a stop on a long road. Don’t waste any interest on them.”

She knew Claire was right. “He just wanted to ask some questions about what happened tonight. Same trucking company.”

“Sure.” Claire shook her head, but a wicked little grin seemed to dance around her mouth. “That’s why he was eating you up with his eyes.”

Haley couldn’t prevent the shiver of pleasure that ran through her. “Don’t be silly.”

“I saw it, and I’ve been around the block more than once.” Claire’s grin faded. “Just watch it, Haley. The guy’s probably got a life somewhere else.”

He most likely did, Haley thought as she cleared the table and wiped it, just as another wave started to arrive. She owed it to herself to keep her eyes on her goals. That was the only sure way to build a future for herself.

But throughout the night she kept remembering how good Buck Devlin looked, and how nice he’d been. And how she’d responded to him as a woman.

Oh, well. Claire was right. He was just another rolling stone.

Chapter 2

Two nights later, Haley raced into work, her face burning. Hasty was sitting at his stool behind the cash register and his eyebrows lifted. “What the heck happened to you?”

“Dress rehearsal is a great time to find out I must be allergic to stage makeup.”

Hasty’s jaw dropped and then he let out a belly laugh. “No!”

“Oh, yes. Is there any still left? I scrubbed it so much with cold cream, but it still burns.”

“I can’t see it, but dang, girl, you look like you spent too long in the sun.”

“And I have to do this again on Friday and Saturday night,” Haley answered. “I can’t believe this.”

“Can’t they let you use something else?”

“I’m not sure it would work. Besides, I never wear makeup because it’s an expensive waste of money. For all I know, I’m allergic to all of it.”

“Go back and wash up some more. I got some of those over-the-counter pills that might help. It’ll make you sleepy, though. Maybe you should just take the night off.”

“Not unless you think I look that bad. I got bills, remember?”

Hasty chuckled a little and shook his head. “Soap and water, then I’ll give you one of them little pink pills. If you’re slow tonight, I won’t hold it against you.”

Haley took his advice, scrubbing well with soap from the hand dispenser, and leaning close to the mirror to check for any remnants of makeup. She couldn’t find any, but her whole face looked red and just a bit puffy.

When she got back out front, Hasty and Claire were seated on opposite sides of the counter, drinking coffee and chatting. Claire took one look and shook her head.

“Can’t you get someone else to fill in for you? What do they call them? Understudies?”

“Not for my role. It’s too small. No, I’ll just have to get through this.”