But there’s nothing.
“How’d you know I was here anyway?” I sigh, making my way back to Rick, noticing the back seat full of Lundstrom team members who all smile and nod with professionalism at their crazy boss.
“The sheriff,” Rick says, glad for the change of topic away from my ramblings.
“I saw him at the diner and he said he was heading over to see you, so here we are. We had our breakfast at the diner,” he adds, as If I care.
But Rick doesn’t say or do anything without meaning.
“We got a green light from Figaro Holdings,” he says, stifling a mad grin. The tremor in his voice is sheer adrenalin.
“Stopped by the diner to check the lay of the land, so to speak. Looks like the whole town lives and breathes to sit in that diner all day—”
“Move,” I order, yanking the driver's door open and lifting him out like he’s a garbage bag.
He makes a sound, but catches on fast, figuring if he doesn’t jump in the passenger side and quickly, he’s getting left behind.
In seconds I’m leaving a trail of dust and rubber as I speed towards the one and only place I know Jacinta is bound to turn up sooner or later.
If I knew where she lived, I might try there, but so far I’m personally familiar with only three places of interest in Cherry that have included her.
The diner, the point, and those bushes.
Those bushes though.
The memory of her knuckle deep inside herself makes me growl, and my dick shifts in my pants.
“Uhhh, we got two cars in town, chief,” Rick stammers, trying to keep his cool.
I grunt in reply, letting my foot sink all the way to the floor.
A proper car, finally, not a shoebox on wheels, getting me closer to where I need to be faster.
I’d like to see that fucking sheriff stop me now.
“They’re already in a meeting with the mayor. Turns out Figaro Holdings has a lot of personal connections in town. They’re telling the town we’re the solution to their problems so Cherry’s gonna be an easy one,” he remarks, gripping the armrest as I ignore his last comment.
I feel the motor revving easily as we near top speed.
But Cherry’s not easy for me so far. Nothing today so far has been easy.
In a moment of clarity, I let my foot off the gas.
No point risking my safety by speeding and taking these poor people with me.
Can’t be with Jacinta if you’re flattened on a highway somewhere.
Rick asks me if I’m okay again and once I spot the sign for the diner ahead, I feel at least a little hopeful.
“Just a rough morning so far,” I admit, keeping my eyes fixed on the road until we pull into the diner’s parking lot.
The sheriff's car is out front, and I figure it really is like Rick said.
The whole of Cherry seems to have swarmed to this diner for some reason. And I know it’s not the coffee.
Even before I get out of the car I feel deflated.
At a glance, I can tell Jacinta’s not here.
If she was, she’d light the whole place up like she does everywhere she goes, even though no one else seems to see that.
But I can.
I can feel it too, and right now, she’s nowhere nearby.
“Shit,” I mumble, wondering if I’m not heading in the wrong direction altogether.
And not just by looking for Jacinta at the diner.
Maybe this whole buying up Cherry thing is a waste of time.
If she doesn’t want me to, then I won’t.
But I need to find her, ask her the hundred questions that are floating in my head, and say the ‘sorry’ I’ve been rehearsing since she left.
I’ve never had to say sorry in my life, not to anyone.
But whatever it is I’ve done or said that’s made Jacinta run like this, I’m truly sorry.
And I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.
The small group that is my team from Lundstrom all file towards the diner entrance, giving recognition to the others from the office who all seem to have made themselves quite at home in Cherry so far.
There’s plenty of that bad coffee flowing, smiles, and plates of Danish aplenty.
But when Jacinta’s mom spots me, around the same time the sheriff’s eyes rest on mine. The mood seems to shift.
And not for the better.
“I knew there was something odd about you, boy,” The sheriff drawls, hitching up his belt with a look that makes me feel like I’m missing a cowboy hat and a six shooter of my own.
“Harassment and slander,” I say in a loud voice. “You really are having a busy morning, Sheriff. I hope you have legal resources and personal legal representation to deal with the civil case I’ll be pursuing.”
I feel Rick’s hand on my arm but I snatch my arm away.