“Excuse me, are you Violet Jennings?”
A young woman walked up to the counter while I was daydreaming. She’s timid and obviously shy. Her clothes are clean, but she looks so frail, I instantly want to fix her something to eat. She has a large bag over her shoulder and it looks like it weighs more than she does. “Yeah, I’m Violet.”
“Hi. I’m Heather Bates. I went to the Sugar Glaze Bakery to apply for a job, but they weren’t hiring. They suggested I come here.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’m not hiring, but something stops me. “Well, Heather, it’s nice to meet you. Have a seat. What can I get you to eat?”
She looks taken back. “Oh, I’m not going to eat.”
From the look on her face, I know exactly why she’s not going to eat. I’ve seen it before. There have been many people come through Whiskey Run, and if they don’t have any ties here, then they’re here because they’re running from something. I’ve never seen Heather before, so all I can assume is she’s definitely running.
“I’ll be running around, and it will actually make me feel less guilty during our talk if you are eating than just sitting here waiting on me. What about a burger and fries?” I don’t wait for her to answer, instead I ask her, “You want everything on it?”
She looks like a deer caught in the headlights. “Uh, no onion.”
“I got it. And a milkshake too? You like strawberry?”
She nods, and I walk away to put her order in. I’m talking to Eddie and watching the restaurant. Heather is looking around, and I see her gaze stop on something a few feet away. I follow her gaze and see she’s looking at Brett Barrett. At that exact instant, Brett looks at the counter and sees Heather. For just a second, I can see the chemistry sizzle between them, but just as quickly it fades when Heather whips her chair around and puts her head down as she picks at the napkin in front of her.
I join her again and am wiping down the counter as we talk. “So what are you doing in Whiskey Run?”
There’s fear in her eyes. “I’m looking for somewhere... to live. I needed to move, and I ended up here.”
“What kind of experience do you have?”
She shakes her head. “Not any. I wasn’t allowed... I never had a job before, but I’m a fast learner and a hard worker.”
Brett gets up from his booth, and there’s no doubt he’s heard our conversation by the way he’s looking at the small woman in front of me.
He hands me his check card. “How you doing tonight, Brett?”
“Good,” he grunts, and when he does, the woman jerks and wraps her arms around her middle.
Brett and I both notice it, and Brett’s face turns hard. That’s one thing about Brett Barrett: he’s a good man. He doesn’t talk to a bunch of people, but it’s mostly because he doesn’t trust them. He’s been sort of clammed up since his fiancée left him standing at the altar.
“Hey, Brett. Are you still hiring for a housekeeper and a cook out at the ranch?”
He shakes his head, but his eyes tell me he knows where I’m going with this. “I never was hiring.”
His negative response doesn’t even faze me. “Well, I can just imagine how long it’s been since it’s been cleaned.”
“I clean it,” he says, not even offended.
“You’re a rancher. You don’t have time for that. Well, Heather here is new in town and she needs a job. Unfortunately, I don’t have any openings, but I talked to her, and I think she would be perfect for what you’re needing.”
He’s about to argue when Heather jumps up. “I can’t... I can’t go to his ranch.”
Brett stares at her, and he takes a few breaths before he says anything. “What’s wrong with my ranch?”
I hide my smirk. I was expecting him to walk away, but obviously he’s bothered by what’s going on with Heather, and he’s not going to leave her in a lurch.
The woman blushes prettily. “Nothing. I’m sure it’s a fine ranch.”
Brett snorts. “It’s not. It’s falling down around me. But you’d have food and shelter. You would just have to cook for me and two other guys. Maybe clean a little bit. I won’t be able to pay you a lot, but you’ll get room and board too. And you’ll be safe. No one will bother you out there.”
Heather was shaking her head, ready to say no the whole time Brett was talking, until he said the word safe. It’s then she stopped shaking her head.
“But I don’t know you,” she half whispers.
“I can vouch for him. He’s sort of grumpy, but he’s a good guy. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”