Page 13 of Little Etheldreda Riding Hood

“Hey Darla,” the woman says, looking curiously at me as she sets two large plates down at a table full of women in heavy makeup.

“Is this a long-lost daughter?” she asks loudly. Everyone in the tiny place seems to turn to us.

Darla chuckles. “She’s a niece of sorts. This is Etheldreda, but she goes by Red.”

The woman nods at me. “Soojin but everyone calls me Sue and it annoys the crap out of me. Nice to meet you. There is an empty table over there,” she motions with her head to the corner. Unlike the other night when I passed by, the restaurant is now packed with people. I follow Darla to the table and scoot into a seat by the wall, as Darla sits with her back to the counter. There’s a small menu with only a few breakfast items listed on it next to a set of silverware.

I pretend to scan it as several pairs of eyes watch me from around the room. I’m new. Of course people will be watching. The red hair doesn’t help. I try to keep my focus on the menu, but there’s one nearby table whose attention I feel more than the rest.

I look up quickly, only to find myself staring into the gorgeous brown eyes of Zach Lamar. He winks and goes back to his conversation, looking my way occasionally.

I look down, my face heating up. Certain my face is the color of a lobster, I pretend to be super interested in the menu.

Darla notices and misinterprets my embarrassment. “Sorry, everyone is always curious about new people ’round here.”

I nod and keep my eyes on the menu. Soojin saves me at last by coming up to the table with a pad of paper and a pen, and blocking Zach’s view.

“What would you like?”

I look over at the prices and order the cheapest meal. “The number one, please, scrambled, with a water.”

Darla orders the same and Soojin leaves us. As soon as my view of Zachary is unobstructed, I look down, pretending to be interested in the wood finish.

“So you’ve been here a few weeks. Have you thought about what you’ll do?” Darla asks.

I look up at her, surprised at the question. “Do?” I echo.

“For work. What are your skills? I know a lot of people and we can start asking around. Heck, if you’re a good dancer, Randy Lamar is over there right now. I’m sure with that amazing hair, he’d pick you up for his club. He’s a wolf, but he treats his employees well.”

Randy Lamar…that’d have to be Zach and Zander’s uncle. I shake my head. “Dancer? Like a stripper?” The words come out in a whisper.

Darla just chuckles. “Why do you think all these people are up at four a.m.?”

It honestly hadn’t occurred to me, but looking around at the big bouncer-looking types and the girls in heavy makeup, it does make sense.

“I’m not a sexy clothes kind of girl.”

She laughs. “Anyone can be whatever type of girl they want to be.”

I shake my head. “I’m sure it’s good money, but I’m just not that extroverted or coordinated.”

Darla eyes me for a moment. “So stripping is off the table. What were you doing back home?”

“My last job was in home health. I helped my clients around the house and made sure they took their medicine. That kind of stuff. Before that–” Thinking about my life ‘before that’ feels like a punch to the gut.

I suck in a deep breath. “I used to work for my stepdad. He had a carpentry shop.”

“What can you make?”

I look up at her in surprise. Most older people, upon being told I used to work for my step dad, assume I was some sort of secretary or bookkeeper. This is the first time anyone’s assumed I can actually build something.

“Furniture, mostly. He specialized in tables. Dining room sets. That kind of thing. Though we did custom stairways, entrances, doors–all sorts of stuff.”

“Hmmm, I’ll have to think about that. I don’t know any carpenters. Though we might go visit the Dvergar. There’s a whole group of them mining the property behind the vet clinic. I’ve been towood shop their woodshop. It’s huge.”

“The Dvergar? Who are–”

Soojin slaps our plates down, interrupting me. “Anything else?” She rubs her neck, a scowl on her face.

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