Not What She Seems (5 page)

“Thank you. It will be nice to see you again.” Steven hung up with Rose and sat for a few minutes with the tips of his fingers together.

That weekend he pulled out his luggage and began to pack. As he stuffed some of his t-shirts into his suitcase, he figured he had better phone his mother.

“Please, don’t call the police this time, Mom,” he joked with her.

“I’m so sorry, dear.
 
I just couldn’t get a hold of you. You really scared me.” He knew his mother felt completely justified in phoning the police. He had disappeared, and was not answering his cell phone. She’d reminded him he was, in fact, one of the wealthiest men in the
U.S.
With that comes celebrity recognition and terrible danger as well.

“I’m only going for a couple of days this time. I’ll be back in time for Thanksgiving, cross my heart.” He signed an x over his chest, even though she couldn’t see it.

“Won’t you tell me where you are going? I promise I won’t tell a soul.”
 

He sighed. “
Huntington
,
Nebraska
.”

She hesitated a moment before saying, “That’s where you went on vacation? Where your great aunt used to live?”

“It’s beautiful there, Mom. And the people are wonderful.”

“They don’t know who you are, do they?”

“No, they don’t.” He grinned. “It’s nice and quiet there.”

“Well, your secret’s safe with me. Just be careful. You know how people get sometimes.” What she meant was,
you know how dangerous people can be
.
“I’ll be fine, Mom. I have to go now.”

******

Rose stepped onto the gravel driveway, pulling on her heavy coat and hurrying to her car. The afternoon sun cast long shadows, and she needed to leave in time to make it for her evening shift at the Downtown Café. Pulling out of the long driveway, she headed down the dirt road to the highway. After driving in and out of town for years, she could practically make the short trip in her sleep. As the wind picked up, she turned the heat up in her car. Snow was likely to come soon, as the chilly November air carried with it a promise of winter.

She smiled as she pulled into town, and noticed the familiar looking pickup truck parked across from the Café. Steven had arrived.

“Ethan!” she shouted, as she hopped out of her vehicle. He was just getting out of his truck and heading up toward the warm lights of the café. Clutching her coat around her, she ran to catch up to him.

“Rose, how is Frank doing?”

“He is recovering nicely.” She gave him a quick hug. “It was so nice of you to come. You will join us for Thanksgiving, won’t you?”

“I would be shot and roasted myself if I wasn’t home for Thanksgiving.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

She frowned. “So, this is just a short visit, then?”

“I’m afraid so.”

She glanced over at the large café window. “Well, come inside the café with me. I’ll get you set up with a nice table.”

“Actually, I just dropped by to say hello to you, before going over to see Frank.”

“Frank is resting right now,” she said, trying to think of an excuse to get him into the café. “Why don’t you go inside and eat something, and you can come over to the house to see Frank in the morning?”

“I must admit I’m hungry.”

Rose smiled as she steered him inside and sat him down at one of Emily’s tables.

Chapter Six

Steven stiffened, caught off guard when the waitress emerged through the swinging doors. Her long silky hair and her delicate facial features brought recognition like a freight train slamming into him. She was the woman from the hotel in
Nevada
. The one he’d paid the bill for. His face flushed. What if she remembered him? What if she knew he paid her bill? That would be awkward. She stopped at Harold’s table and set the plate down in front of him. Harold patted her hand and smiled at her. Her eyes sparkled in pleasure as she spoke with him.

She turned, and approached Steven, a slight smile on her face. There didn’t seem to be any sign of recognition as she looked at him. Relief washed over him, and he threw on what he hoped was a charming smile.

“How are you this evening?” she asked.

He looked into her eyes and the bottom dropped out of his stomach. She had the most stunning blue eyes. To say they were beautiful would be an understatement. Her full lips curved into a smile, revealing perfect white teeth.

“I’m fine.”

“Have you had a chance to look at your menu, sir?” Her hand rested on a delicate hip, her soft curves filling out the pink waitress uniform.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, I think I know what I want.”

She pulled out her order pad and pencil from her apron pocket. “What can I get for you?”

Trying not to stare too much, he shifted in his chair and glanced down at his menu. “I’ll have the corned beef sandwich.”

She finished taking his order, and disappeared into the kitchen. Rose grinned at him from across the café. He couldn’t help but smile back at her. So this was the waitress that Rose had wanted him to go on a date with. Hesitation stopped him. Would she go out with him? He had never asked a woman out who didn’t know he had money. Frowning, he glanced at the swinging kitchen door. This could backfire on him. Usually, he didn’t have to wonder if a girl would say yes to a date.

When the waitress brought his food, he read her name tag. That’s right. Rose had told him her name was Emily. He’d forgotten. Racking his brain, he tried to think of something nice to say to her that didn’t sound like a pick up line.

She placed his drink on the table, smiling at him. “You have such nice eyes.”

The compliment caught him off guard.
That,
and his heart hammered, making it hard to concentrate. “Thank you,” he muttered, not thinking of anything else to say.

“Well, enjoy your meal.” She stood for a few moments longer, as if she wanted to say something else, but in the end turned and walked away, hips swaying.

As he ate, he watched her wait on tables. Several other times she stopped by, asking if she could get anything else, or seeing if he was enjoying his meal. A couple of times he almost asked her for her phone number, but something always stopped him. He felt like a creep, trying to hit on her while she worked. Eventually, he gave up and left, resolving to talk to Rose about it in the morning.

******

Emily did everything she could think of to get Steven to notice her. She batted her eyes, and smiled every chance she got. And he did take note, she could tell he was eyeballing her, but he didn’t ask her out. He didn’t even come on to her. She cleared his table, slipping his tip into her pocket. At least he knew how to give a nice tip.

The break room sat empty, so Emily grabbed her purse, rolled up Steven’s tip, and slid it into the hole in the lining. She’d managed to save several hundred dollars over the past two months, putting half her tips away so Richard wouldn’t take them. It still was a far cry from being enough to leave Richard, though. A noise behind her made her whirl around.

Rose stood there, smiling. “Ethan’s very handsome, isn’t he?”

She set her purse down on the counter. This was her chance. Rose would be the perfect person to set them up.
 
“Why, are you playing matchmaker?” She folded her arms across her chest, but let a smile flit onto her face.

Rose blushed. “I just want to see you happy, dear. A young single mom like you should be dating. And you can’t do any better than Ethan.”

Irritation rubbed at her.
Yeah, right. That’s not even his real name.
But after the thought flitted into her head she felt guilty.
She
was the one planning to take advantage of
him
.

She shrugged. “Well, he didn’t seem that interested.”

“He’s just a little shy. Maybe I can arrange something. What are you doing tomorrow morning?”

Emily untied her apron. “I’ll be at the Laundromat. Tuesdays are laundry days.”

“Perfect.” A sly grin crept across her face. “Something tells me Ethan might show up.”

“You’re a little devil, aren’t you?” Emily laughed, and checked her watch. “Oh, I’d better get going. I need to pick up Connor.”

“Have a nice evening, sweetie.”

Emily nodded, slipping on her winter coat. “You too, Rose.”

Outside, the chilly November air forced her to zip up her coat. Rose was going to play cupid. That would be fine with her. Richard would be glad. He wanted Emily to date Steven, and give him a sob story about needing to pay off some large debt before her paycheck gets garnished. Richard wanted her to get a hundred thousand from him. She rolled her eyes. Richard’s pathetic. Unfortunately, he’s getting dangerous too. If she can get a few thousand from Steven, she will be able to take off with Connor, and never be seen again.

******

Gravel crunched under his shoes as Steven walked up the drive. The morning brought a cold breeze that whipped through the trees. He knocked on the old farmhouse door. Frank answered, surprising Steven.

“Ethan, how wonderful to see you again.
Please come in.”

Frank had aged ten years since he last saw him. His sallow skin hung a little more on his face, like he hadn’t been eating properly. Sadness descended upon Steven. “How are you feeling these days, Frank?”

“Oh, I’m taking things a lot slower, but I’m not letting it get me down.” Frank led Steven into the parlor where Rose waited for them. They all had a nice visit until Frank had to lie down. Steven followed Rose into the kitchen.

Rose pulled out a chair, and motioned for Steven to sit. “So, how did you like our new waitress down at the café?” A smile lit up her face.

His pulse quickened at the mention of Emily. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “She seems nice. Tell me about her. How long has she lived here?”

“Her
name is Emily Grant, and let’s see
, she moved here right after you came.”

“And she has a little boy?”

“Oh, did you see him? Her little boy is such a doll. His name is Connor.”

This confirmed it. She’s definitely the one from the hotel in
Nevada
. “So,” he said, trying to act like he didn’t care at all, “is she married?”

“Divorced, the poor thing.”
Rose shook her head. “Seems like her husband liked to drink a bit too much, and slap her around. She got right tired of it and decided to leave him. She didn’t even know she was pregnant when she left.”

Her husband had abused her? Anger pricked at him, and he frowned. It must have been so hard for her. “I’ll never understand domestic violence.” Steven leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

“Isn’t that the
truth.
” Rose scowled. “Would you like a cup of hot cider?”

The two of them sat and sipped hot cider and chatted about the upcoming holidays. He was just about to turn the conversation back to Emily when Rose said, “I think you should ask Emily out. You two would make a great couple.”

The thought of going out with Emily appealed to him. He could see them having a good time together. However, he had to be back to
New York
before the holiday. “I can’t. I’m leaving tomorrow. I have to be home for Thanksgiving or else the wrath of Caroline Ashton will be upon my head.” He grinned, and took another sip of his cider.

“Then you’ll just have to ask her out today. She has Tuesdays off, you know.”

Steven made a face, and Rose continued, “Why don’t you go down to the Laundromat? She usually does her laundry on Tuesdays. You could take a load of clothes down there, and just strike up a conversation. You know, low pressure and everything.”

He threw the idea around in his head, considering it. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go wash some clothes…”

“Now that’s right.” Rose got up and shooed him over to the door. “You go do your laundry, and just take it from there. Oh, and don’t forget to come by to see us once more before you head out of town again, okay?”

“Cross my heart.” Steven stepped out into the chilly morning air. Wait, how had he gotten roped into going down to the Laundromat? He smiled. Rose was a sly one.

He slipped into his
pickup,
his nerves making him feel jumpy. Something about Emily made him feel inadequate. Maybe it was her poise, or the way she made him feel when he was around her. He wasn’t sure, but he liked the thought of being with her. He’d just have to go get it over with. He went to his apartment and threw some clothes into a basket.
 
Then he drove downtown.

Steven took a deep breath and got out of his pickup truck. The Laundromat was half a block away, and he couldn’t tell if she was inside it or not. He grabbed his basket of clothes and started walking up the street, passing by a man leaning against one of the downtown buildings. He wore a hooded jacket, and stood smoking a cigarette. As Steven glanced at him, the hairs on the back of his neck started to stand on end. The man’s long blond hair hung in his face, and as he walked by, the man scowled. Steven looked away and walked a bit faster.