She dashed up the steps to the diner, forcing herself not to look back. If she did, she’d likely run back into Clay’s arms, all her issues be damned.
Melody jumped past the front door Judy held open, shivering from the cold because the first week of December brought a cold front chilly enough to freeze hell. She pushed her hands tighter into her pockets, thinking she needed to bite the bullet and pay for a good pair of gloves.
“You okay?” Judy asked, frowning at Melody in concern. “You look upset.”
“Oh no,” Melody lied. “Just tired.”
Judy gave her a dubious look but didn’t say anything as she locked the front door. When they left the dining room, they met Hal, who was doing a few last-minute cleanups in the kitchen. He seemed surprised to see Melody walking out back with them.
“You’re not gonna spend time with Powerhouse?” he asked.
Melody shook her head. She couldn’t speak even if she wanted to, because she was fighting tears again. She looked to her feet, seeing the black skid marks on her white sneakers, and knew she needed to take a cup of bleach to them.
“Come on,” Hal said, putting a big arm over her shoulder, ushering her out the back door. “What you need is a morning off.”
“Oh no,” Melody argued as the cold slapped her in the face once more. “I need the money.”
“You need a morning off,” Hal reiterated. “I’ll call Fran to fill in for the early shift. Sleep in. It’ll make all the difference in the world.”
Feeling a little too heartsick to argue, Melody just nodded as she walked with Hal, letting his big body offer her warmth. Maybe she did need a morning to herself, and sleeping in was too tempting to pass up. She’d get some extra rest and come in for the night shift feeling like a new woman.
“Okay.” Melody gave Hal a genuine smile when they stopped in front of her old truck. “So I’ll sleep in ’cause the boss told me to.”
“That’s right.” He squeezed her shoulder once more. “Now get in that truck and get home before you catch your death.”
Melody couldn’t argue with that, not when the cold was stinging her face and burning her ears. She needed to buy a hat to go with the gloves, and she focused on that thought rather than the heartache over Clay welling up in her chest.
Problem was, her hands were so frozen she dropped her keys into the snow as she tried opening the truck. She officially needed a morning to herself; there was no denying it as she bent down and fished for her keys in the snow. Her hands burned. It would be a miracle if she didn’t sit there and start crying.
“Whatcha doing?” Hal asked as he opened his car door.
“Dropped my keys.” Melody was still feeling for her keys, squinting past the tears and cold and darkness to find them. When her fingers closed around icy metal, she called out, “Found ’em!”
“Get home,” Hal called back, obviously determined to get home, get warm, and then get to sleep because he worked more than Melody did.
“Night, darling,” Judy said and then shut her car door.
Melody waved as Judy started her car. Her numb fingers searched for the right key as Hal’s car also started up. She found it and finally opened the truck door, knowing Hal was waiting for her to get into the truck before he left. She waved to him in assurance as she crawled into the truck and pulled the door closed. She locked it out of habit and then leaned over to the glove compartment. She used to have gloves in there last winter. There was always the vain hope they were hiding. After searching through the contents, she sighed, her breath a puffy white mist inside the cab. She was going to have to pay for new gloves.
There was no sense sulking about it. Melody moved to start the truck, reminding herself she’d been in a worse situation last winter battling her ex-husband for a divorce and always looking over her shoulder.
Only the truck didn’t turn over, and Melody leaned forward, half wondering if her dazed state had her doing it wrong. She turned the key in the ignition once more and was met with a cranking sound as the engine tried and failed to start up.
Melody turned and looked wildly to the employee parking lot, seeing Hal’s taillights pulling around the corner. Judy was already gone. It was too cold. They worked too hard. They didn’t hesitate to rush home.
“No no no!” Melody leaped out of her truck, hoping to catch them before they turned onto the main road.
Her sneakers crunched in the snow, getting wet and soaked as she sprinted out of the well-shoveled parking lot and into the snowbanks. She waved her arms, calling out to Hal, but it was no use. She couldn’t catch him. Legs near frozen, lungs burning, face on fire, Melody started crying.