I start to brew a new pot of coffee as the ladies in the corner drown out at any noise in the café. Apparently, a brawl occurred at Sawyers’ last night and it is the talk of the town. At least to the gossip mongers of The Scrambled Egg. I was too busy trying to get a feel for my new job (I can’t even believe I am saying that) that I mute out the conversation as much as possible. Something about a lover’s quarrel I could care less about.

The blabbering of their conversation is loud enough to cover the chime of the door. A rather loud and angry excuse me comes from behind the counter, I turn quickly nearly spilling the hot coffee all over me as I look up and lay eyes on the most beautiful specimen of a man I have ever seen. I thought Trace was God-like in that Norse God kind of way, but this man seemingly outshines him in ways that aren’t even possible in the rules of the world. He is tall and muscular, thick biceps covered in tattoos are peaking out of the black t-shirt he is wearing. A cowboy hat sits atop long dark brown hair that scrapes the top of his shoulders and looks kissed by the sun as if he spends a lot of time outside. His golden skin radiates and perfectly contrasts the greenest eyes I have ever seen, as if they were cut from emeralds. It takes me a while to realize I was staring as I step back and am about to ask him for his order when he cuts in with, “Who the fuck are you?”

Taken aback, I find myself once again at a loss for words. I stutter to try and get some kind of sentence out but with no luck.

“Are you mute or something? Tell Ivy I want my regular.”

Finally, having regained the ability to speak I say kindly even though I want nothing more than to talk back. “Ivy ran out to run some errands. What can I get for you?”

His annoyance is tangible. “Oh. You do speak. Just get me a large black coffee and an egg sandwich. To go.”

“You got it. Coming right up!” I reply in a fake overly cheerful way. The god just looks at me like I grew a second head then sits down and pulls out his phone.

I pour his coffee in a to-go cup with the overwhelming urge to spit in it but decide to leave the middle school antics out of my day. I set the cup on the counter in front of him and notice the gossipmongers looking my way and whispering. Maybe they hadn’t passed over me yet and were still speaking about me, but I notice their eyes drift toward the asshole in front of me.

“I’m guessing the Sergeants are staring at me.” I glance toward the man and see him staring at me. I self-consciously pull on my braid that is slung over my shoulder.

“The who?”

He nods his head over toward the gossiping ladies. “We call them the Sergeants. They think they run the town.”

I nod in understanding. “I guess they’re talking about you or me I suppose.” I don’t know what else to say to him, so I just stand there and stare at him, his green eyes staring back at me. I feel like I am in high school staring at my crush. I am a twenty-six-year-old divorcee, what is wrong with me?

“Yo, space cadet, you gonna get that?”

The kitchen bell rings several times signaling his order is ready, pulling me from my trance. I turn around and bag the container up with napkins and plastic utensils. I place the bag in front of him and he throws a ten on the counter and walks out without even a thank you. Asshole.

The rest of the morning went by quickly after that. Ivy returned with some food supplies the kitchen needed and helped me along with the tables as the café filled for breakfast. By three o’clock the last of the lunch crowd had left and I finally sat down. My feet were killing me!

“You did great today,” Ivy says as she sat next to me and sipped on a lemonade. “Ever since the diner over in Rockfall closed, we have been gettin’ so busy. I’m grateful you were here today. I would have killed one of The Sergeants if you didn’t handle them.”

I smile at her and rub my feet. “Thanks. I’ve learned over the years to ignore people.”

Ivy looks down at my feet. “Those flats are cute, but you probably want to wear gym shoes tomorrow. Runnin’ in circles in here will do damage to your feet in those.”

“Yeah, I probably should.”

“So, I don’t mean to pry into your life, but I am going to anyway. This is a small town, it is kind of what we do.” She laughs, and I tense. Ivy was so easy to get along with, but I was just not in the mood to talk about my life.

She tucks a piece of her platinum hair behind her ear, “Since you have a car to pay for and that is why you’re working, it is gonna get kind of pricey staying at that hotel the whole time. I was talking to Trace and we both feel for you. Believe it or not, he likes you, which I am sure you won’t believe after the bar antics, but he does. He thinks you just got stuck in a shit situation. Anyway, I’m ramblin’. Sorry I do this when I get nervous because I don’t know how someone will take it when I stick my nose in their business and I do it far too much for my own good—”

“What is it?” I cut her off because she was making my head spin in circles.

She takes a deep breath. “When Trace and I got married and moved into his house, I never sold the one I had. We’ve just been using it as a rental and for friends when they are in town. Anyway, we want you to stay there. Free of charge. That way you can focus on what you need to focus on.”

I could have caught flies in my mouth with how big it was gaping open. This was not what I expected Ivy to say. It was beyond gracious and I didn’t know if I could accept the offer. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. That is too kind of you. But I would hate to take up the space if it was making you money. I need to give you something for it.”

“Nope, nothing,” she insists, holding up her hand and shaking it. “That place ain’t makin’ us shit. No one stops in this town. And I would want someone to do this for me if I was in your situation. Who knows, it might only be a couple of weeks if your dad comes through for you, right?”

I nod in agreement but still think I should offer her something. “How about I’ll pay the utilities. I need to do something for you. You’ve given me a job and both you and Trace have helped me through the last couple days. It’s the least I could do.”

“Deal. Utilities aren’t much anyway. Just the air conditioner that will rack up some dollars but not anything unaffordable.” She squeals and clasps her hands together. “Oh, I am so excited. I am so happy I can help you out!”

“Thank you so much. This will probably help me immensely in saving. Speaking of money, I should probably go to the auto shop and see just how much money Blue Betty is going to cost me.”

“Perfect. I’ll just finish closing up here and how about I meet you across the street in thirty and I can take you to the house.”

I agreed to meet back with her after I went to talk about my car. I couldn’t believe her and Trace were going to let me stay for free in their other house. Ivy was such a nice person, someone I could easily see becoming lifelong friends with. And she seemed to steer clear of drama. As I walked to the auto shop, I was beginning to feel something other than anger and depression. Maybe my car breaking down in this town was going to help me transition out of my old life. Maybe this town wasn’t so bad after all. Until I open the door to the auto shop and see a familiar face wiping his greasy hands on a rag.

“You.”