It’d spooked her enough to take that final leap and run while she still could. She’d bought Lola and stowed her a couple of streets away in a parking garage. Every so often, she’d go for a short drive in her SUV and when she was sure no one was behind her, she’d stop and stuff Lola with a few more of her belongings.
The night she’d left, she’d mailed the keys to the SUV back to the dealer and snuck through side streets and a few yards until she reached Lola. She’d half expected to be gunned down before she ever made it out of the city limits, but it hadn’t happened and she was still alive.
Jenna carried the ice cream to Noah’s table. Alice waved her arms up and down, clearly excited. Jenna didn’t ask about the wisdom of giving her sugar before bedtime.
“Thanks,” Noah said as he dipped his spoon into the fudge topping.
“No, thank you for ordering something else and saying nice things. I’m not sure my boss appreciates it, but I do.”
He eyed her. “I’ve been coming here for a while. I remember the old man, her father, who had this place before she did. He was a lot nicer.”
“That’s what they tell me.”
“Maybe you need a change.” He winked.
“Maybe so,” she laughed.
He pushed a piece of paper at her and she realized he’d torn off a section of the placemat and written down his number. “Call me if you decide you’d rather take care of Alice than put up with that woman’s shit.”
Jenna took the paper and stuffed it into the pocket of her apron. “Thanks.” She could feel heat flaring in her cheeks. She wasn’t sure why since he wasn’t actually hitting on her. “I, um, better make my rounds. I’ll be back to check on you both in a little bit.”
“We’ll be here,” he said, his deep voice hitting places she’d nearly forgotten existed as she hurried away.
Chapter Four
“What did he give you?” Tami asked as she prepped a salad behind the counter. “Was that his phone number?”
Jenna was busy brewing fresh coffee, her mind racing through the possibilities of saying yes to Noah. She jerked and looked at her roommate. She thought about lying, but why bother?
“Yep.”
“Oooh, girl,” Tami practically squealed. “I hope you plan on riding that thang like a cowgirl at a rodeo!”
Jenna plunked coffee cups and saucers onto a tray along with little plastic containers of cream and sugar packets. “One thing at a time, Tami.”
“Mmm, yeah, if it was me, I’d show him what I could do with my tongue”—she waggled her tongue very fast—“and he’d be fucking me good and hard in no time. Don’t waste your opportunity, Jen.”
Jenna didn’t correct Tami’s assumptions. “Thanks, Tam, but I plan to take it a little bit slower than that.”
Tami shrugged as she plopped a tomato onto the salad. “Your call, I guess. But damn, I knew I should have waited on him tonight.”
Jenna’s annoyance flared. “I don’t think it has anything to do with who waited on him.”
Tami rolled her eyes. “Yeah, he’s horny like all of them, and you’re convenient. Anyhoo, who’s the kid? Is he married or something? Married guys are so desperate in the sack, you know.”
Jenna could only stare at the other woman. Not asking. And not responding to the insult either. “It’s his niece. He’s, uh, taking care of her now.”
She didn’t think it was her place to say that his sister had died, so she didn’t.
“Well, a little liquid Benadryl slipped into her juicy cup, and she’ll be out all night.” Tami winked as she picked up her tray. “Trust me.”
Jenna watched her roommate go, a shudder rolling over her. How the hell had she lived with that girl for almost two months? She’d been better off hanging out at the YMCA and sleeping in Lola. But then Tami had said she had a room in her trailer since her previous roommate had left and that Jenna could have it if she’d split the rent. Since the rent had been cheap, and her half even cheaper, she’d said yes.
Now she was pretty sure she knew why the previous roommate had taken off.
Allison emerged from the kitchen, eyes flinty. “How’s everything going?”
“Fine,” Jenna said, shoving away thoughts of Tami screaming like a wounded chicken in her room while the headboard banged the walls and reverberated through the entire structure at least three times a week. “Making fresh coffee for table two, and table four raved over the crab cakes and fried chicken.”
“Mm-hmm. Good. You need to get the soldier and his kid out so we can put someone else at that table.”
Jenna frowned. There was no one waiting to be seated at the moment, and Noah bent toward Alice, saying something. The little girl held out her hand with a crayon in it, and Noah took it and started to color his own placemat. Her heart squeezed tight.
“Doing my best,” she said tightly.
“See that you do.”
She disappeared as Jenna muttered under her breath about cold hearts and loose morals. She delivered the coffee to the people waiting, then returned to check on Noah and Alice again.
“Need anything else?”
Noah shook his head. “I think we’re good.”
She placed the check on the table. “Whenever you’re ready,” she told him, despite what Allison had said.
He pulled cash from his wallet and laid it down without looking. It was a twenty. “Keep the change, Jenna.”
She swallowed. “That’s too much.”
“No, it isn’t. You look like you need a break tonight.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if that helps or not, but thanks for everything.”
“I brought you ice cream.”
“And gave me a reality check last week.” He put his hand on top of hers when she reached for the bill. His skin was warm, his hand big. His palm was callused, but not in the way of a man who did construction work. Not as thick or hard.
Oh lord, did she really just think thick and hard in relation to this man?
“You were the first person to show me any sympathy or understanding. I appreciate it.”
“I was just the first person who happened to be there. It was nothing.”
His thumb rubbed a path across the back of her hand, and lightning shot all the way down into her core.
“It wasn’t nothing to me.” He drew in a breath. “I want you to take care of Alice for me. I won’t treat you like shit the way your boss does. I’ll listen to you, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to hustle for tips or worry about assholes giving you a hard time. In short, I need you, Jenna.”
She sucked in a breath. He was short-circuiting all her synapses. But did she care? Really? Was this decision that hard to make?
Noah Cross was offering her a lifeline. A way out of the diner and out of Tami’s trailer. She should be thanking her lucky stars, not questioning if it was a good idea or not. She could take the job and keep doing what she’d always done.
Watch her back. And if she needed to go, she could at least make sure that Noah was set up to better anticipate and understand a child’s needs. Not that she was an expert, but working day care had definitely taught her a few things. If she imparted her knowledge and made him more comfortable with his sister’s child, then that was enough, right?