Bolting upright, tears scrolled down Ashlynn's cheeks. The dim morning light filtering in through fogging windows while white powder pressed an inch up the glass, had her clenching her eyelids closed for mercy. Cool sweat drenched her back as she rolled to the edge of her bed and rested her feet against the scratched wood floors. The rent was cheap, but this was not the way she saw herself living.
She had family once. Her parents were divorced, but supportive none the less. Her mother and father had both showed up to the gallery opening, and had enough self-control to be civil. She celebrated Thanksgiving every year with her father and his boyfriend, Christmas was with her mom. Now, even a letter or an email seemed to risky. This underworld she had fallen into, was unknown and she had no idea who was watching. She couldn't even call and explain; a picture from her high school yearbook showed up in a newsletter of missing person reports every once in a while, but she doubted anyone looked twice at her most days.
Rolling out of bed, her feet hit the beat-up floor resentfully. She couldn't go home, not while those monsters were still out there. This is your home now, she prompted, get it through your thick skull. Getting dressed for work, she pulled long blonde curls away from her face into a careless ponytail and wriggled into the same blue uniform dress she wore every day, she had more than enough cause to stay away from onlookers, and in diners you rarely made more than a 50 cent tip on a two dollar coffee.
She drew on a pair of tights and boots and prepared to face the snow. Glancing at the clock, she groaned and wiggled a toothbrush in her mouth a few times before gathered her purse and keys and jogging out the front door. An old familiar sense of responsibility kept her from remembering, that no matter how late she was, the world would keep turning.
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Climbing into his silver sports car, Hayden was feeling pretty damn grateful for the seat-warmers as revved the engine. He almost felt bad watching her shiver at the bus stop, but based on the look of fear she had when walking home last night, he had a feeling she wouldn't welcome help from a stranger. Besides, Blaise would be more than happy to warm her up, soon enough.
His phone vibrated, and he dragged it out of his pocket. "Hello," Hayden said, keeping a close eye on the girl. "I'm ten minutes out, Hayden," Blaise stated from the other end.
"Yeah, I'm at the bus stop a block away. She's heading to work, and I've got eyes on her Boss. she really is something special," Hayden said, giving the tiny blonde woman an appreciative gaze. Even dressed in a heavy coat, with her untamed hair looking ready to stage a rebellion, he could see what had attracted his boss to the girl. What he had yet to pin down, was why she had been untraceable up till now. She was certainly sloppy enough, he noted, as she sat on the empty bench, and one of her gloves slid out of her pocket onto the snow. She didn't even seem to notice as the bus pulled up and she hurried on.
"Believe me, I know. Keep me updated on your location."
The line went dead, and Hayden waited another long moment before following the bus. He followed until her watched her get off in front of an old run down diner. Remmy's Diner had seen its better days almost ten years ago, the paint cracked and peeling, and old neon, tacky on the front signs. Ashlynn's eyes were holding a staring contest with the ground as he pulled up into the nearly empty lot and watched her make her way inside.
Hayden texted Blaise the address, and weighed his options. Hunger tended to be an excellent motivator though, and as his stomach growled, he climbed out of the car, clicked the beeper and wandered into the diner. Ashlynn was just tying on her apron as he walked in.
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If it weren't for her recent luck with men, Ashlynn would have to admit that this morning's newest client was quite easy on the eyes. Thick brown hair, wide jutting cheeks easing down into a scruffy jaw. It was the amused curiosity in those big brown eyes though that had her heart melting at 6 in the morning. Then there was the leather jacket surrounding the kind of biceps that used to leave her daydreaming.
"Hello, what can I get you?" Ashlynn surprised herself by smiling as she approached the new guy.
He smiled back easily. "Pancakes, eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, and maybe some fresh fruit if you have it. Oh, and coffee," Hayden offered, listing enough food to feed a platoon.
Smiling back easily enough, she nodded and clicked her pen back down. "Sure thing, handsome."
Spinning on her heels, she blushed like a school girl heading to the back. God, she wanted some of that in her life. Lord knew she hadn't seen much more than dime store romance novels in the way of action lately, and in her younger years she had never been in a drought this long. Besides, making yourself scream in ecstasy just never has the same heat. In other words, what she wouldn't do to see a little of what he was packing.
"God, if I was still young, what I wouldn't give for some of that," Marlene said, from the coffee pot behind the counter as Ashlynn posted the order in the window.
"What is a boy like that doing here?" she asked, trying to avoid the issue as she glanced over at her manager, an older woman, with a grinning but worn face.
The older lady smiled, the look that put Ashlynn at ease the first time she showed up looking for a job. She must have looked like a nervous wreck, but one look and Marlene had taken her under her wing like an injured baby bird. "One thing I've learned in all my years darin' is that you never question how you got lucky, only thank god that you did."
"Oh, I thank God every day. I thank God I found you," she said wrapping an arm around Marlene's shoulder. "But I have terrible taste in men and I don't trust yours," I said winking.
"I heard that," Gordon growled affectionately through the window. A big hulking man, red faced and sweating appeared in the window, smiling like a mob hit man. Lord only knew what Marlene had first seen in him, but they truly were an adorable couple, as she lit up, even after thirty-some-odd years of marriage.
"You know I love you," she said, grinning at him.
He smiled, and softened like putty, "I love you too, Muffin," he said turning back to the grill.
