Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Easton

Hendrix and I walked through the door of The Crazy Fox diner and came to a screeching halt. Everyone inside had stopped talking and turned to look at us. I got the feeling it was more than just because we were new to the town.

"What did you do?" Hendrix whispered from the corner of his mouth.

"Why do you assume this has something to do with me?”

"Because I just arrived today. You've been in town a few days."

Hendrix wasn't wrong, but I couldn't think of a single reason the entire establishment would stop eating to stare at us. That was until I looked around the place for the second time and met a familiar set of emerald-green eyes.

Kati Whitlock was just as beautiful now as she had been when I saw her earlier that day. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. Kati looked like she wanted to hide under the table and everyone around us was glancing back and forth. That's when it dawned on me.

"You might be right. This could be all my fault."

"Who's the broad?" Hendrix nodded his head in Kati's direction.

I pushed his shoulder in hopes that it would stop him from staring. "Come on. Let's grab a seat and I'll explain."

My buddy Aaron raved about the club sandwiches in this place and I wasn't about to miss out just because our base of operations was in a small town where everyone knew everyone else's business. At least, that's what I assume all the glances were about. It wasn't like I’d given Willow Creek residents another reason to talk about me. I had been in town less than a week, and until today, I hadn't gone anywhere except my apartment, the hardware store, and the office.

We took a booth in the back corner, where I faced the front door and had a clear view of Kati. It was hard not to look at her and wonder what was running through her mind. After the way our meeting started, I fully expected her to tell me she didn't want to hire our company, so I was surprised when she didn't say no right off the bat.

"Do you plan on telling me who she is, or are we spending the whole dinner with you drooling over the girl?"

"I'm not drooling," I snapped before I could think better of it. I recognized my mistake immediately.

"Sure you're not." Hendrix laughed. "And I'm the King of England."

I should've asked any of my other team members instead of Hendrix to join me for dinner. Hendrix had the don't give a fuck attitude that drove most people insane. There wasn't a single thing that rattled my friend and Hendrix was known to say whatever the hell popped into his head, no matter how it sounded to others.

"Screw you."

I wanted to say more, but a woman who looked to be as old as my mother walked up to the table. "So which one of you boys is the reason our Ms. Kati's face is as red as the tomatoes on my infamous BLT club?"

I couldn't remember the last time someone had referred to me as a boy.

"Ms. Kati?" Hendrix wiggled his eyebrows. "So the girl has a name."

"Shut it," I muttered.

"That must mean you're the stud Ms. Daisy was going on and on about." The older woman didn't hide the fact that she was looking me over. "I must say, she wasn't wrong when she said you were one fine specimen of a man."

"Ah, thank you?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Talking to people had never been a problem for me before, but there was something about the way this older woman was looking at me expectantly that put me on edge.

"Good Lord, where are my manners? My name's Bertha, but everyone in town calls me Foxy Bee. I'm the lovely owner of this fine establishment." She waved her hand around.

An older gentleman in the booth behind Hendrix coughed out a laugh and turned around to face us. "No one in town except old man Tim down at the Service Station calls you that. And we all know why he does."

If I thought the old woman would blush at the accusation, I was sadly mistaken. I knew I was in trouble when she waggled her eyebrows at us. "I might look like I'm gettin' on in age but I assure you my cooch is still in the prime of its life."

It was a good thing she hadn't served us any drinks yet. I would've spit mine all over the table, no doubt.

"You sly fox . . ." Hendrix brushed his fingers along Bee's arm. "Good for you."

"I can tell you're going to be my favorite." Bee winked back. "What can I get you boys to drink?"

We both ordered sweet teas and watched as Bee walked away. I'm pretty sure the woman put an extra swing in her old steps just for us. I'm not sure if I liked the woman or not, but now I understood how the diner got its name.

"I can see why Aaron loves this place so much. The eccentric part of the sign outside makes sense." Hendrix turned around in his seat and gave the place a once-over.

I looked around the diner as well. Eccentric was an understatement, and I didn't just mean the specials for the day listed on the menu board. I don't think a single table or chair in the place matched and forget a theme. It was almost like when something broke, Bee found a replacement on the side of the road and just tossed it in here. Yet somehow it worked. The bold splash of colors throughout the place mixed nicely with the subtle wall colors. Every decade and fashion sense, from the time Bee was a teenager, looked to be represented.

"The decor certainly matches the owner’s personality. I wonder how long she's owned the place."

"Sixty-two years. Bee opened it on her eighteenth birthday," the same gentleman who spoke up before answered. He turned around and put his arm over the back of the booth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop but . . ." The man shrugged his shoulders.

Basically meaning he wasn't sorry for exactly what he was doing.

"And you are?" I swore I'd seen his face before. The gentleman was older than me, but not quite as old as Bee. If I had to guess, I would say mid to late sixties and likely worked hard his entire life, based on the calluses on his hands.

It was better that my team and I got to know the locals if they were going to be up in our personal business. I had a feeling our every step would be talked about.

"The name's Ivan, I own the hardware store next door."

That's why the guy looked slightly familiar. The One Stop Shop had been a frequent destination for me and my friends over the last few days.

"That's right. You've been dealing with my boss, Maverick, a lot the past week or so."

It was still weird calling Maverick “boss.” He was my team leader for years, but now he was the man signing my paychecks.

"Yep." The man nodded his head with vigor. "A great guy. I must say, I was happy to see the empty building on the other side of the antique shop finally found some use. Two whole years that place was deserted. The whole town was starting to think no one would buy the dang place and then you all moved in."

I understood why no one wanted the place. The building was nearly seventy years old, and from what Maverick told me, it hadn't been updated since the previous owner passed away. The place was left to his son, who wanted nothing to do with it. It hadn't even been cleaned out after the old man croaked. From the pictures Maverick had sent, there were half-done tailored suits still on tables. It was almost like the man keeled over and no one thought to step foot in the place ever again.

"Well, I'm glad we could be of service."

"I'm betting there will be lots of ladies in town who want your services. It's practically unheard of to get new blood in this town. Although, from what I hear, you, sir, already have one of the ladies in a tizzy."

I looked across the diner to where Kati was doing her best not to look my way. It wasn't all that hard considering her booth was perpendicular to ours. Something that would be odd in any other restaurant but somehow made sense here.

"It was just a bit of a misunderstanding," I replied, not bothering to go into further details. Small towns were like a game of telephone. What the first person said and what the final person heard were two completely different things. God only knew what this man's version was.

"I don't know," Ivan cackled. "Ms. Daisy is predicting a wedding in the future and that woman is never wrong."

I nearly choked at the man's words. No, not nearly. I did choke. The embarrassing kind that had everyone in the damn diner looking over to see what was happening. I banged on my chest like it might actually help, but my damn body betrayed me and I continued to sound like a dying man.

"Oh dear. Here's your sweet tea." Bee appeared out of thin air and dropped the dewy glass in front of me. "Can I get you something else to help with that?"

I waved her off and did my best to control the coughing fit as it ravished my body. But I didn't miss the smirk on Hendrix's face, despite the unshed tears obstructing part of my vision.

"Not exactly the kind of response a man should have to his upcoming nuptials," Hendrix teased.

"Your friend is right, you know."

When I finally stopped sounding like I might keel over at any moment, I gave them both a glare that would hopefully make them shit their pants in fear. Unfortunately, no such luck.

"Screw you both. Ivan, I understand this isn't the best first impression, but I don't care what Ms. Daisy has to say. There's no wedding in my future."

I tried my best not to look over at where Kati sat with another woman and who I assumed was her son, but it was no use. My eyes had a mind of their own. And just like every other person in the place, she was looking right at me. The rest of the diner simply melted away as I was captivated by her intense stare.

That was until Hendrix's chuckle and subtle boot hitting my shin pulled my attention away.

"Rightttt . . ." Hendrix dragged the word out. "You might want to have that discussion with your eyes. I don't think they got the memo."

"Tell me again why I wanted you to join me for dinner?"

"Because you missed my ugly mug. Besides, who else would've joined you? Mave is too busy getting things set up, and better him than us. Aaron's been here a million times, so he would've just given his opinion on everything. Lex wouldn't have spoken at all, but since he's not in town, it didn't matter. Both Nolen and Owen are just too damn nice. You need someone like me who can shoot it straight with you." Hendrix wiggled his eyebrows. "Tell me I'm wrong?"

The cocky bastard knew he was right, and it was damn annoying. The seven of us had known each other so long that we were familiar with each other's quirks. Despite how obnoxious he was, Hendrix was usually who I hung out with the most. The last few days had been boring without my buddy around.

"Screw you." I crushed the straw wrapper and tossed it at him.

Hendrix's reflexes could've batted the tiny ball away but, instead, let it hit him square in the chest with a huge grin on his face.

"What's that look for?"

"Oh, nothing." Hendrix whistled.

I knew him better than that. It was never nothing when it came to my friend. "Just spit it out already." I shook my head.

"I can tell already I'm really going to like this new town, and I can't wait to see how things play out. Something tells me it's going to be fun as hell to watch."

I wasn't sure I agreed. Then the feeling that someone was watching me pulled my attention back to where Kati was sitting. Instead of those piercing green eyes gazing my way, it was a different set looking me over. And the owner of them looked curious. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

Would the young man still be curious if he knew the thoughts that filtered through my mind about his mother earlier in the day?

My first instinct would be hell no.