Trailer Park Heart
Page 24
How exactly did they think a strip club existed so close to Clark City anyway? Who did they think frequented the establishment? It wasn’t like a hot spot for tourism.
Besides, it wasn’t even completely nude. That wasn’t allowed in Nebraska. Technically, they had to keep some clothing on—or at least that’s what local law enforcement said.
But I was sure Dennis Cook knew more about that than I did.
“What are you looking for?” Reggie demanded as I rummaged through the cooler.
“Half and half? Do we have any?
“Half and half? Why?”
I turned around, so he could see the look on my face and know not to mess with me. “One of our patrons demands half and half for her coffee. I’m not asking you to solve world hunger. I’m just trying not to piss people off this morning, Reg. Please tell me we have some.”
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Maybe it’s time you start pissing people off, Rube. Might do those wrinkles in your forehead some good.”
“Did you want to die today?” I asked him calmly. Thunder boomed outside, mimicking my mood. “Better call the wife and tell her you love her because I swear I will put you in the ground if you talk about my forehead wrinkles one more time.”
The kitchen staff snickered at my threat, but Reggie just rolled his eyes. He was roughly twice my size and had arm muscles bigger than my head. Yeah, I was probably not going to be able to take him out today.
Or any day.
“The half and half is on the top shelf. The saucer is in the—”
“I know where the saucer is. Thank you.”
He made another humming noise. “You’re welcome.” When I left the kitchen I heard him say, “Woman’s on the rampage today. Damn.”
I let out a slow breath as I walked toward the Cooks—barely noting the newcomers who’d taken up the booth directly next to them. Maybe I was a little higher strung than usual. Maybe I should let my frustration go. Maybe it wasn’t Carol Cook’s fault she was such a snob.
“I found some half and half for you.” I set it down with a little flourish of my hand.
Her nose wrinkled again. “I hope you didn’t just find it anywhere back in that filthy kitchen.”
“It’s fresh,” I rushed to say, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to say—”
“We’re ready to order,” she cut me off crisply. “Dennis, we’re ready to order.”
Dennis turned around on command and I realized I wasn’t alone on this level of dismissiveness from Carol. She treated her husband just as poorly.
Now his frequent trips to Misty’s made more sense.
I instantly felt bad for thinking that. No matter what kind of wife you were, you didn’t deserve an unfaithful man.
That wasn’t to say Carol could act however she wanted without consequence. But Dennis should deal with his wife before slinking off to establishments of ill repute.
However, these were thoughts I would keep to myself. Unlike the Cooks and the Coles and all the other families in this town whose shit didn’t stink, I didn’t spread these rumors around town for everyone to hear. I kept them bottled up tightly. I was a locked vault.
I would never let anyone else, no matter how awful they were, suffer the same kind of ridicule I had to face.
Dennis said something to the man behind him, a man I was only just recognizing, and both gentlemen laughed. Levi Cole had half turned around so that his long arm stretched along the length of the booth. His dimple had appeared as he laughed and smiled at Dennis. The two of them eventually said their goodbyes for now and Dennis ordered biscuits and gravy, and for his wife, a raspberry muffin and cup of fruit.
“Coming right up,” I chirped. Standing there for a few awkward seconds, I decided what to do next and how to find someone else to handle my job for me while I found the courage to be a grownup. I eventually left the Cooks to face a table full of bad high school memories.
Not only was Levi tucked into the corner with his arms sprawled across the booth behind him, but his best friends had joined him this morning. Jeremiah Finch and Jackson Mercer, or more commonly known as, Finch and Mercer, were with him. The two of them had stuck around Clark City, unlike their fearless leader, and had settled down for the most part.
Finch had some kind of carpentry business that was taking off. And Mercer had followed the family business of selling farm equipment—New Holland and John Deere and what not. They also sold a large number of ATVs and four-wheelers.
I didn’t have to deal with them often, but once a month they’d grab breakfast together at Rosie’s and I would be forced to wait on them. They hadn’t changed since high school. For all their success, they were still the goofy meatheads they’d always been.
“Morning, gentlemen,” I said to them upon approach. “Can I start you off with some coffee?”
Three sets of eyes turned to face me at the same time. I felt the curiosity in the air from Finch and Mercer immediately. It was always there with them. We had graduated together, and they’d known me from when we were kids.
Life had not gone as planned for me. That much was obvious to anyone that knew me from childhood. It was a strange thing to watch people grow up in their entirety, without the benefit of secrecy from time apart. There was more judgment there, higher expectations. Not just from them, but from me too. I didn’t understand why Finch had never married his high school girlfriend, Sadie. And I had never understood why Mercer stayed at his family business, when I knew he’d always wanted to travel.
I could feel their unanswered questions about me circling the air, but I was thankful both of them had enough sense not to ask them. Instead, we watched each other the way we always had, from a distance, with our opinions to ourselves. I didn’t really like the two of them, but I didn’t hate them either. In high school they’d been as indifferent to me as they were now. And in my Clark City experience, that was the nicest way I had ever been received.
But Levi was an entirely different creature. I felt his gaze boring into me, demanding answers to those same questions I knew he would be more than happy to ask if given half an opportunity.
“Morning, Ruby,” Levi murmured in that low, hoarse voice of his.
Avoiding his gaze and ignoring his direct greeting, I turned to Finch. “What do you think? Coffee?”
Finch wrinkled his brow and glanced quickly at his prodigal friend before nodding. “Yeah, for me. Please.”
“For me too,” Mercer added.
The trio fell quiet, waiting for Levi’s answer. When he didn’t give one, I was forced to look at him. His green gaze captured mine immediately, hot and cold all at once, like the thunderstorm rolling through town behind him. Icy rain drops in the middle of sizzling streaks of lightning.
“I’d like a cup too, please,” he said softly.
Breathless for absolutely no reason, I nodded at the menus stored at the end of the table and tried to collect myself. “I’ll go grab the pot then,” I told them, hoping they didn’t notice the tremor in my voice. “Y’all can check out the menus. Although I highly recommend our special today. It’s corned beef and hash made with Reggie’s’ homemade sauerkraut. We serve two fried eggs over the top and throw in the cinnamon coffee cake short stack and two pieces of bacon to sweeten the deal. Sounds weird, I know, but I promise you’ll thank me for it.”
Besides, it wasn’t even completely nude. That wasn’t allowed in Nebraska. Technically, they had to keep some clothing on—or at least that’s what local law enforcement said.
But I was sure Dennis Cook knew more about that than I did.
“What are you looking for?” Reggie demanded as I rummaged through the cooler.
“Half and half? Do we have any?
“Half and half? Why?”
I turned around, so he could see the look on my face and know not to mess with me. “One of our patrons demands half and half for her coffee. I’m not asking you to solve world hunger. I’m just trying not to piss people off this morning, Reg. Please tell me we have some.”
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Maybe it’s time you start pissing people off, Rube. Might do those wrinkles in your forehead some good.”
“Did you want to die today?” I asked him calmly. Thunder boomed outside, mimicking my mood. “Better call the wife and tell her you love her because I swear I will put you in the ground if you talk about my forehead wrinkles one more time.”
The kitchen staff snickered at my threat, but Reggie just rolled his eyes. He was roughly twice my size and had arm muscles bigger than my head. Yeah, I was probably not going to be able to take him out today.
Or any day.
“The half and half is on the top shelf. The saucer is in the—”
“I know where the saucer is. Thank you.”
He made another humming noise. “You’re welcome.” When I left the kitchen I heard him say, “Woman’s on the rampage today. Damn.”
I let out a slow breath as I walked toward the Cooks—barely noting the newcomers who’d taken up the booth directly next to them. Maybe I was a little higher strung than usual. Maybe I should let my frustration go. Maybe it wasn’t Carol Cook’s fault she was such a snob.
“I found some half and half for you.” I set it down with a little flourish of my hand.
Her nose wrinkled again. “I hope you didn’t just find it anywhere back in that filthy kitchen.”
“It’s fresh,” I rushed to say, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to say—”
“We’re ready to order,” she cut me off crisply. “Dennis, we’re ready to order.”
Dennis turned around on command and I realized I wasn’t alone on this level of dismissiveness from Carol. She treated her husband just as poorly.
Now his frequent trips to Misty’s made more sense.
I instantly felt bad for thinking that. No matter what kind of wife you were, you didn’t deserve an unfaithful man.
That wasn’t to say Carol could act however she wanted without consequence. But Dennis should deal with his wife before slinking off to establishments of ill repute.
However, these were thoughts I would keep to myself. Unlike the Cooks and the Coles and all the other families in this town whose shit didn’t stink, I didn’t spread these rumors around town for everyone to hear. I kept them bottled up tightly. I was a locked vault.
I would never let anyone else, no matter how awful they were, suffer the same kind of ridicule I had to face.
Dennis said something to the man behind him, a man I was only just recognizing, and both gentlemen laughed. Levi Cole had half turned around so that his long arm stretched along the length of the booth. His dimple had appeared as he laughed and smiled at Dennis. The two of them eventually said their goodbyes for now and Dennis ordered biscuits and gravy, and for his wife, a raspberry muffin and cup of fruit.
“Coming right up,” I chirped. Standing there for a few awkward seconds, I decided what to do next and how to find someone else to handle my job for me while I found the courage to be a grownup. I eventually left the Cooks to face a table full of bad high school memories.
Not only was Levi tucked into the corner with his arms sprawled across the booth behind him, but his best friends had joined him this morning. Jeremiah Finch and Jackson Mercer, or more commonly known as, Finch and Mercer, were with him. The two of them had stuck around Clark City, unlike their fearless leader, and had settled down for the most part.
Finch had some kind of carpentry business that was taking off. And Mercer had followed the family business of selling farm equipment—New Holland and John Deere and what not. They also sold a large number of ATVs and four-wheelers.
I didn’t have to deal with them often, but once a month they’d grab breakfast together at Rosie’s and I would be forced to wait on them. They hadn’t changed since high school. For all their success, they were still the goofy meatheads they’d always been.
“Morning, gentlemen,” I said to them upon approach. “Can I start you off with some coffee?”
Three sets of eyes turned to face me at the same time. I felt the curiosity in the air from Finch and Mercer immediately. It was always there with them. We had graduated together, and they’d known me from when we were kids.
Life had not gone as planned for me. That much was obvious to anyone that knew me from childhood. It was a strange thing to watch people grow up in their entirety, without the benefit of secrecy from time apart. There was more judgment there, higher expectations. Not just from them, but from me too. I didn’t understand why Finch had never married his high school girlfriend, Sadie. And I had never understood why Mercer stayed at his family business, when I knew he’d always wanted to travel.
I could feel their unanswered questions about me circling the air, but I was thankful both of them had enough sense not to ask them. Instead, we watched each other the way we always had, from a distance, with our opinions to ourselves. I didn’t really like the two of them, but I didn’t hate them either. In high school they’d been as indifferent to me as they were now. And in my Clark City experience, that was the nicest way I had ever been received.
But Levi was an entirely different creature. I felt his gaze boring into me, demanding answers to those same questions I knew he would be more than happy to ask if given half an opportunity.
“Morning, Ruby,” Levi murmured in that low, hoarse voice of his.
Avoiding his gaze and ignoring his direct greeting, I turned to Finch. “What do you think? Coffee?”
Finch wrinkled his brow and glanced quickly at his prodigal friend before nodding. “Yeah, for me. Please.”
“For me too,” Mercer added.
The trio fell quiet, waiting for Levi’s answer. When he didn’t give one, I was forced to look at him. His green gaze captured mine immediately, hot and cold all at once, like the thunderstorm rolling through town behind him. Icy rain drops in the middle of sizzling streaks of lightning.
“I’d like a cup too, please,” he said softly.
Breathless for absolutely no reason, I nodded at the menus stored at the end of the table and tried to collect myself. “I’ll go grab the pot then,” I told them, hoping they didn’t notice the tremor in my voice. “Y’all can check out the menus. Although I highly recommend our special today. It’s corned beef and hash made with Reggie’s’ homemade sauerkraut. We serve two fried eggs over the top and throw in the cinnamon coffee cake short stack and two pieces of bacon to sweeten the deal. Sounds weird, I know, but I promise you’ll thank me for it.”
