Now or Never(21)

“How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

When Mason didn’t respond, she glanced over to find him studying her.

“I gave Jay a ride home last night.” He gathered up some ketchup bottles and followed her into the bar section to set the tables. “He was pretty messed up. I’m sure—”

“I’m fine, Mason. Thank you for driving him home. I just need to find a chance to talk to him and everything will be fine.”

“I hope so.” He sounded like he genuinely meant that. “If you need anything . . .”

“Thanks, Mas. You’d better set your own tables before Bart has a conniption fit, though.”

“Wouldn’t want to give the skeezy old man a stroke. Then, where would we be?” With a wink he slipped back behind the counter to gather more supplies.

The one day she would have given anything for a distraction, Bart’s was practically a graveyard. A few regulars trickled in around lunch time, and what could possibly have been a Bridge Club stopped by in the late afternoon for the early bird special. By four o’clock, Bart sent Ashlyn and two others home early.

“Gee, wonder why I got sent home and not you.” Ash winked at Em, pulling off her apron and draping it over one of the hooks behind the ticket counter.

“Ugh. Shut up.” Em could handle whatever it was Bart did behind that closed door while she worked out front as long as she didn’t think about it. At. All. He stayed away from her, kept his hands to himself—mostly—barely even spoke to her, and that was the best she could hope for. Job security of the sketchiest kind, but she’d take what she could get.

“I can give you a lift home later.” Mason hopped up on the counter, poking Em’s leg with his toe.

“Aren’t you coming back to my place?” Ash almost looked . . . disappointed?

“If that’s all right.” Em wasn’t prepared to force a conversation Jay obviously wasn’t ready to have yet. And, if she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t any more eager to broach the subject than he was. Coward.

“Of course. As long as you need. It’ll be fun to have a roomie.” Ashlyn scanned the room and found Grayson dropping off his last round of dishes. “I’ll get a lift home. You can use my car.”

Em nearly fumbled the keys when they came soaring in her direction, unexpectedly. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Hey, Grayson . . .” Ashlyn wandered off toward the star struck busboy—she tended to have that effect on guys—and Em knew she wouldn’t have a problem finding a ride anywhere she wanted to go.

***

Ashlyn’s car wasn’t the best looking thing in the lot. And at a joint like Bart’s that was really saying something. It said even more that the lot was almost empty.

“Good night, Em!” Mason and Tom both headed for their cars while Em hauled the trash around back.

She gave a quick wave and rushed to complete her task. It wasn’t a dangerous area, but hanging out around dumpsters in the dead of night all alone just brought back too many bad memories. Headlights blinded her briefly as she rounded the building and made her way toward the rusted old Pontiac.

Em couldn’t have cared less that the door stuck, or the heat didn’t really work. It didn’t matter that the color was almost indecipherable under all the rust, or that it tended to stall if you sat at a red light too long. All that mattered was that it had four wheels and got her from point A to point B. Except . . . when it didn’t.

Em turned over the engine and, after a solid effort by the old boy, it fell silent. She tried again and only got a few clicks that sounded more like death rattles, and then nothing at all. Em kept turning that key like something might magically change, but it didn’t. She was stuck. In an empty parking lot, outside a closed restaurant, in the middle of the night. Perfect. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Dropping her head back against the seat, Em closed her eyes and groaned. It had been one long, frustrating, exhausting day. Even a two mile walk to Ash’s was going to suck big time in the frigid cold. With a resigned sigh, she checked the car for any spare clothing she could pull on to help keep her warm and, of course, came up empty handed. Definitely going to suck.

Climbing out into the cold, Em slammed the door and gave it a kick just for good measure. Stupid car. Stupid job. Stupid life. Stupid—

“What did she ever do to you?”

Em jumped a solid foot in the air as a scream squeezed out around her heart which had firmly lodged itself in her throat. Spinning around, she stumbled back against the car and found Mason backing away with his hands in the air.