The pause had allowed her to regain her common sense, and the moment of craziness passed. Hugh was, first and foremost, a police officer. If he even had the smallest suspicion she’d kidnapped her siblings, he’d be arresting her. Immediately. That temptation to confess was just a moment of weakness, a wish that someone would help them, would share the burden of responsibility that weighed so heavily on Jules.
“What were you about to say, Jules?” Hugh asked. His tone, a mix of command and persuasion, was the same, but any chance of her confessing was gone.
“Just that I need to get back to work.” Standing abruptly, she rushed toward Norman, making as large a circle around Hugh as possible. Unfortunately, it wasn’t wide enough, and he caught her wrist, gently but firmly pulling her to a stop. The fingers locked around her wrist reminded her viscerally of handcuffs, and she fought the urge to twist free.
“Jules.” There was no softness to his voice or his hold. “Know this. If you break Theo, I will break you. Understood?”
There was no way she could answer immediately. Too many emotions spun through her, from bewilderment to fear to shock to anger. When she finally managed to arrange her scattered thoughts into a sentence that made sense, Hugh had already gathered his crutches and was swinging his way toward his usual booth.
“I would never hurt Theo.”
Hugh paused to give her a measuring look over his shoulder, but he didn’t respond except for a grunt that could’ve meant anything, from “I believe you,” to “You’re a Theo-breaking liar.” Then he crutched the rest of the way to his booth, leaving her feeling shaken and scared and guilty.
It was a good reminder, though. Theo was every bit the cop Hugh was. She was an idiot for ever thinking there could be something between them. No more kisses, she resolved. Kissing Theo was like a gateway drug. It started small, but if she let it continue, it would be so easy to slide into other things. Then, all of a sudden, she’d be in love, and it wouldn’t be Theo who’d get broken.
It’d be Jules.
* * *
The encounter with Hugh threw her off her game for the rest of her shift. She mixed up more orders and fumbled more plates than she had on her first, nerve-racked day. It didn’t help that Norman Rounds stayed all morning, his creepy gaze locked on her.
In the lull before the lunch rush, she slipped into the kitchen. She needed a short break before putting on her happy-waitress face again. The customers’ main topic of conversation was the school shooting—who could’ve done it, why the police hadn’t caught the shooter yet, which family had started homeschooling afterward. The memory of that awful day still brought bone-deep shivers when she thought of what could’ve happened, and every mention of it made her relive the horror of that day.
Vicki wasn’t at her usual spot by the grill. Jules could hear her talking to the delivery guy right outside the propped-open back door. It was a relief to be alone for a few seconds, and Jules leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, shoved away persistent thoughts of Theo, and just breathed.
“Hey.”
Her eyes popped open to see Norman Rounds standing right in front of her, and she had to bite back a startled shriek. “What are you doing back here? You’re not supposed to be in the kitchen.”
“I need to talk to you.” He took another step toward her so he was much too close, and she shifted sideways. Norman followed, blocking her against the wall.
“Please go back to your booth.” Her gaze darted to the open back door, and she debated calling for Vicki. The cook would probably just think it was funny, though, to watch Jules try to escape from Norman.
“Wait,” he said, his gaze locked on hers. He was just so creepy. There was a prep sink to her right, blocking her in, so she dodged to the left. Norman blocked her escape again. “Wait! Just listen! I need to—”
Jules tried to duck around him, but he grabbed her by her upper arms, holding her in place. As soon as his hands latched on, she opened her mouth, ready to scream.
“Knock it off, Norman.” Sherry Baker’s calm voice cut off Jules’s shout for help before it could emerge. Dropping his hold on her arms, Norman spun around to face the other woman. “She’s obviously not interested. In fact, I think she and Theo are together, and you probably don’t want to be pissing him off.”
“I wasn’t…” Norman shot Jules a frustrated look and then stomped out of the kitchen, giving Sherry a wide berth.
“Thanks.” Jules knew her smile was a little shaky.
Shrugging off her thanks, Sherry smiled back. “Norman’s harmless, but he shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. If Theo had seen…” She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way.