CHAPTER 10
JACKIE
Grace had a nice smile. And the man sitting next to her looked at her with such loving eyes that I thought I might melt right there on the floor of the diner.
But the other guy? Fury, he’d called himself…
Well, he was downright swoon-worthy. My hands trembled as I poured him another cup of coffee, the sexiness rolling off of his huge frame like a heat-wave.
He’d engulfed the huge breakfast he’d ordered quickly and I felt his eyes following me around as I worked. By the time I brought them their check, I was as flustered as a teenager.
I hadn’t felt like this since I first laid eyes on Hank in Algebra class in the tenth grade. Of course, he’d shown me his true colors not long after, and it took me many years to untangle myself from his web of lies and deceit, but in the beginning?
Those first feelings? They were powerful.
And now, the look in Fury’s dark, smoldering eyes?
Well, it was enough to bring this small-town girl to her knees.
Out of the blue, here I was again, my heart beating wildly, my palms sweaty and my eyes darting over to crash into his every chance I got.
It was ridiculous, I knew that. I didn’t even know this guy. And his name was probably a warning that I should definitely heed, but the butterflies in my belly weren’t listening at all. Not to mention the fact that an appearance by such ridiculously handsome men was not something that occurred very often in this town. Most of the guys who walked through the doors of the diner were people I’d grown up knowing.
A little fresh meat was intriguing, I had to admit.
My eyes locked onto his hands as I put the check on the table. They were quite large, with scarred knuckles and tattoos on each finger, spelling out ‘FURY’ on one hand and ‘FIRE’ on the other.
The word ‘fire’ got me. He was like a flame, heat continuing to roll off him like lava and now that I was this close to him again, I could feel tiny beads of sweat popping onto my forehead.
“Can I get you anything else?” I asked, using an opportunity to smile Grace’s way to catch my breath.
“No, thank you,” Grace replied. “Thank you for the recommendation yesterday, by the way. Ms. Dottie is delightful.”
“I’m quite fond of her myself,” I replied.
“We’ve decided to stick around for a while longer,” Grace said.
“Is that so?” I replied, my voice a little too high, my smile a little too wide, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering wildly.
“Yes,” she replied, just as Will and his family walked behind me. Benji flashed her the biggest smile and I couldn’t help but smile, too. He was a good kid, always hanging around with Molly, which made me happy. If anyone needed a friend, it was that little girl. They walked out and Grace leaned over after watching them get in their car.
“Jackie, what’s that little boy’s name?”
“That’s Benji. And his mom and dad, Will and Katie. Do you know them?”
“I thought they looked familiar,” Grace said. “But I was wrong, I don’t know them.”
My eyes trailed back to Fury and I quickly looked away when I saw how intently he was staring up at me. His knee jiggled up and down under the table and his fingers twitched around the coffee cup in his hand. He looked as on edge as I felt.
“So, I can take this whenever you’re ready,” I said, as I slid the check to the middle of the table and quickly walked away, panting as if I’d just run a marathon.
“Get it together, Jackie,” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head and smirking. It’d been years since I’d been attracted to another human being and it felt foreign and thrilling, all at the same time. Knowing they’d be sticking around for a while only filled my head with possibilities.
I walked into the kitchen, grateful for a break from the chaos of the morning rush. Tara, my best friend and co-worker, was emerging from the walk-in freezer with a load of vegetables in her hands.
“Girl, did you see those guys?” she asked me right away, never the type to miss an opportunity to notice someone good-looking.
“I’m waiting on them, of course I saw them.”
She paused, looking me up and down and then shaking her head.
“You look like you’re having a hot flash.”
“I’m only twenty-four, Tara, I’m not having hot flashes. Not yet anyway.”
“You have a fever, then?”
“No!” I said, pulling away as she tried to place the back of her hand on my forehead.
“Well, you’re red as a beet, girl,” she said, wrinkling her brow before breaking out into a wide grin. “Oh, my god.”
“What?”
“The guy has you all flustered! Jacqueline Faye Stevens, I haven’t seen you look like this since you got felt up by Hank the first time!”
“Oh, hush, Tara, that’s ridiculous. It’s just busy. A little hot next to the griddle.”
She shook her head, convinced she knew better than anyone else. Of course, she was right. She was always fucking right. But I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of admitting it.
“Well, who can blame you?” she said, lowering her voice. “He’s the hottest thing to walk into this town since Jared Wolfe. Remember him?”
“How could I forget?” I asked, rolling my eyes at the mention of the last one night stand I’d had. Mentally, I counted the years and when I realized it had been three years since Jared had blown through Greenville, and my bed, like a flash of lightning, I realized my reaction to such a fine specimen of man that was currently sitting in booth three was entirely warranted.
“So, who is he?” she asked, peeking out the door. I pulled her back in quickly.
“Stop staring!” I whispered. “His name is Fury.”
“Fury!” she cried, her eyes widening. “Oh, girl!”
“Shhh! He seems nice, actually.”
“Nice?” she asked. “A guy that looks like that? Sexy, sure. Fucking white-hot, absolutely. But nice? I doubt that.”
“You never know,” I shrugged.
“You’re right,” she said. “I bet he’s amazing in bed. Look how big his hands are! You know what they say about guys with big hands…”
“Yeah, they wear big gloves,” I replied, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. “Stop gawking, Tara. They’re going to be here for a while, they said.”
“Oh, that’s fantastic! Give him your number!”
“What? No!”
“Yes! C’mon, Jackie,” she whined. “I need to live vicariously through you.” Tara had been married to Jimmy Daniels since right after high school and I’d heard all about how the spark had faded from their marriage recently. If Tara wasn’t such a loyal wife, I had no doubt she’d be giving Fury her own number. “Please? Besides, you could use a good roll in the hay. You’ve been insufferably tense lately.”
“I’m not tense!” I protested.
“Yes, you are! Ever since your Ma died and left you in charge of this place, you’ve been ready to break like a tightly wound guitar string. You could use a little…distraction. Or, a big one,” she winked, shaking her head. “Whew! Those hands…”
I took a deep breath and shook my head.
“No.” I said, leaving her in the kitchen as I walked back out to their table. They’d left the cash for the check on the table, and I grabbed it with a smile, once again seeking the safety of Grace’s kind, totally not-dangerous gaze.
“Keep the change,” she said.
“Thank you, kindly,” I said, putting the money in my apron pocket.
“Jackie, what’s your favorite watering hole? Where do people hang out the most?” Grace asked.
“Well, there’s only two in town. Jack’s Green Room is on the corner, that’s where most of the older crowd go.”
“What do you mean by older?”
“I mean the one’s who have been going to the same bar at the same time everyday to play shuffleboard with their same friends for the last forty years. Those older people.”
Fury broke out laughing and I glanced down at him, delighting in the cluster of smile lines that formed at the corner of his eyes.
“There’s another tavern, the Green Frog, on the other end of town. A bit of a younger crowd there, and a great jukebox. You don’t feel like you stepped into a time machine so much. Patty, the bartender, makes a great margarita. If you’re into that.”
“Thank you,” Grace said. “Anything else fun to do around here?”
I looked down at Fury, instinctively wondering just how much fun he would be. I imagined he’d far surpass the carousel on the riverfront, which was technically one of the only things I could suggest for them.
“There’s a carousel down the street at the riverfront. Lots of birds to watch on the river, a few trails that lead off into the woods. There’s a movie theater, a steak house, and this diner you’re currently sitting in. A few shops. That’s about it. You can probably cover all of that in about three hours tops.”
“Got it,” Grace said. “I guess we’ll see you again soon?”
“I’m here every day,” I shrugged.
“Great,” Fury said, his voice a low growl that seemed to come out of nowhere, surprising even him. He grunted and cleared his throat quickly.
I smiled and nodded politely.
“Well, have a great day,” I said, walking away quickly before they could see the blush rising in my cheeks. Tara was waiting for me behind the counter with a look of irritation on her face.
“You didn’t give him your number!”
“No, I didn’t,” I said, swallowing hard and pushing past her.
“You’re hopeless,” she said, shaking her head.
“Maybe,” I murmured, as I filled my coffee pot up, knowing full well I’d not seen the last of Fury. My heart pounded in my chest like a drum, the aching anticipation of future sightings settling into my stomach like a heavy rock.