No one would ever hurt their girl, no one.
“Yeah, no freaking out.”
“She’s not even shaking either. Not very talkative though, but she stares at lot that makes you believe she’s listening. Make sense?” Chloe asked.
“Perfect sense,” Pixie said, who was staring out of the window.
Wow, this was a day for women who were turning brothers’ worlds upside down. Suzy was entering the diner. She didn’t stop, but she offered them a smile, moving toward the counter near the kitchen, taking a seat. It was the place where people who were alone sat.
Pixie’s gaze was on her, and Drake smiled, winking at Chloe, who giggled once again.
****
So far, so good. The morning was going great, and she wasn’t freaking out even with the Dirty Fuckers in the diner. Teri was encouraging her, along with Chloe. They were lovely women, and she knew that she was going to enjoy working here, if she got the job. Teri was going to make a decision at the end of the day. Grace was stressed as she really wanted the job.
When someone sat at the main counter, she moved behind, and was shocked to discover one of her old friends, Suzy, sitting there.
“Suzy?” Grace said.
“Oh my God, Grace, I heard you were back in town, but I didn’t actually know it was true.”
Leaning across the counter, Grace wrapped an arm around her old friend. Through college they had both lost touch.
Grace’s parents hadn’t liked Suzy as she’d been from the wrong side of the tracks.
“How are you?” Grace asked, getting in there first.
“I’m doing great. I’m working at the mall.” She mentioned a clothing outlet that Grace recognized. “I’m not living at the trailer anymore. I make my own living, and I have this small two bedroom apartment. What about you?”
“Not a lot to talk about.”
“What are you doing back in Greater Falls? I thought you were going to be some hotshot business owner.”
Grace smiled. “Things didn’t exactly turn out the way that I hoped.”
“Where are you staying? I’d love for us to do lunch or dinner, or something. I know you don’t like drinking, but I can cook for us.”
Grace told Suzy where she was living, in a rundown apartment building, which was the only place she could afford when she first got into town. The last couple of months she had tried to get different jobs, but Greater Falls didn’t have many applications so she’d been traveling to the city in the hope of finding a good paying job.
Nothing had come through. A lot of employers didn’t like to take a college dropout. She wondered if Dwayne knew she would have struggled to get work, which was why he made her drop out.
“No, I’m not having that. I’ve got a spare room, and you can come and stay with me,” Suzy said.
“What? No, you don’t have to do that.”
Suzy placed her hand on top of hers. “Don’t even think of turning it down. I won’t have it. You were the only girl in high school who wasn’t hung up on where I lived, and I’m going to show you the same courtesy. We were always friends, Grace.”
“I wasn’t your friend to get something out of you, Suzy.”
“You can pay rent. Come on, it’s a good apartment, in a good area, and there’s some security as well. It’s safe. I wanted safe after years of living in a trailer. Come on, let me do this for you. You were always nice to me.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Please,” Suzy said. “We were friends, and to me nothing has changed.”
“It has been eight years. How do you know I’m not some addict?”
“This is you, and if you were, the diner wouldn’t have hired you. Teri, she’s not stupid about that kind of thing. Please, we can catch up.”