“Is that what we are?” he asked and she inwardly cringed at the bitterness in his tone. He was obviously out of sorts. Agitated. Distant.
“Of course.” She smiled despite his chilly attitude. “We’ve known each other forever.”
“Humph.”
“You’re my favorite cop.”
“Because I spill my guts.”
“Hardly.”
The waitress, a thin woman with permanent laugh lines finally took notice and swung by. “Can I get you anything to drink to get you started?”
“Coffee for me. Regular.”
“Seven and seven.” Cliff barely looked up even while the thin woman rattled off the specials in a raspy voice that hinted of too many cigarettes.
“I’m not hungry,” Nikki said. “Just the coffee.”
Cliff glanced at the plastic-ensconced menu. “I’ll have the chicken fried steak, fries and biscuits.”
“That’s it?” The waitress scribbled on a pad and looked skeptically at Nikki.
“Think so.”
“Then, I’ll be back with those drinks in a sec.” She whipped off the top sheet from the pad as she headed to the kitchen.
“What’s this about your tires being slashed.”
“Just that.” Nikki explained about her evening and the scowl on Cliff’s face darkened.
“Geez, you’ve got to be careful. Probably just punk kids.”
Nikki didn’t correct him. Didn’t voice her fears. She thought of the note she’d received, but decided this wasn’t the time. She’d only worry him.
“Let me buy you dinner,” he offered.
“It’s too late for me to eat and besides, I was out at the folks’ tonight for dinner. Even though it was hours ago, they force-fed me. I’m still stuffed.”
Some of Cliff’s hostility melted. “How are they?”
“About the same. Mom’s frail. Dad doesn’t seem to notice or doesn’t want to. They get along all right, but sometimes I wonder. It seems…well, you know. Strained, I guess.” She shrugged. Didn’t want to think of the disintegration of what had once been such a vibrant family. “Kyle avoids Mom and Dad like the proverbial plague. I think it has to do with him being the only boy once Andrew died. He never stepped into Andrew’s shoes, well, none of us did, y
ou know that, but Kyle resented that he was expected to be an athlete and scholar and all that tripe. He’s kind of a loner, puts in sprinkler systems and doesn’t even date as far as I know. Mom worries that he’s gay, Dad won’t address the issue, and I just wish he’d find someone to be happy with.” She sighed. Wished she’d been closer to her younger brother; knew she never would be.
“As for Lily, she sees the folks more than I do. She seems to have mended some of those fences she shattered with Mom and Dad, probably because of Phee, I mean Ophelia, my niece. After the initial shock that Lily was having a baby sans husband, Mom and Dad regrouped. The baby came and they turned to mush, which, all things considered is a good thing.”
“A very good thing.”
The waitress appeared, dropped off their drinks and caught the high-sign from a customer in a cowboy hat who’d slid onto a stool at the counter. When she was out of earshot, Cliff folded his arms over the edge of the table. “You know, Nikki, I can’t keep this up. If I keep giving you inside information, it’ll cost me my job.”
“You’re just informing the public of their right—”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it a million times before. Can it. It’s not about rights or the public or any of that other crap. I tell you stuff because I’m pissed off and need to let off steam. You print it because you want a story no matter what.” A muscle worked alongside his jaw as the waitress swept by on her way to the kitchen. When Cliff spoke again, his voice was hushed. “You’re using me, Nikki.”
“We’re using each other.” She stirred cream into her coffee.
One of his eyebrows lifted. “Not the way I’d like.”