Page 20 of Like A Moth To A Flame

I knelt in front of it and punched in my birthday—02-29-96.

It popped open, and I flashed Barrett a smug smile.

“See?”

“Have you ever even shot a gun?” he asked, looking down at me with a cocked eyebrow.

“How hard can it be? I asked, reaching in and pulling out my dad’s service pistol. “Aim and squeeze.”

It was Barrett’s turn to laugh this time, and again, I jumped.

6

And I won’t be denied

Moth

Despite my groans and protests, Barrett convinced me to leave the house ‘just for a few hours’.

Of course, I protested, arguing that I ‘didn’t have time for this’. He countered with, ‘you owe me for the ten years of my birthdays that you’ve missed’, and so off we went into town to catch a late movie.

He said it would be good for me to get out of that house and away from the stalker, and once I finally saw the light of day, the wind in my hair, and the scent of clear country air, I reluctantly agreed.

Pulling into town, our first stop was the local diner. It was an amazing place, and I missed it during my time away. Kansas City may have diners, but none of them could compare to Mae’s Diner. It had been open for so many years that I doubted anyone named Mae ran it anymore, but the food tasted the same. So who knew?

It was a tiny brick building on the corner of Main Street, across from the courthouse. Walking in, it was exactly the same as Iremembered. It smelled the same—not that I was surprised, it being a diner and all. The same gleaming metal tables sat in rows of two, outlined by booths along every wall. Black-and-white checkered tile covered the floor, and authentic 1950s memorabilia adorned the walls. The only thing missing were the smoking or nonsmoking sections that I remembered as a kid.

Man, I felt old.

Was twenty-eight considered old nowadays?

I let the door swing shut behind me. Barrett stood beside me, reaching up to pull his Stetson off. Something about the cowboy code and it being respectful not to wear your hat indoors. I didn’t get it, but it seemed to mean a lot to him, so I kept my opinions to myself.

Looking around, I recognized more faces than not. I saw Sheriff Banner, seated at one of the farthest tables. I caught his brown eyes, and he gave me a nod. Across the room, Tammy sat with Ray at a booth, and when she saw me, she waved enthusiastically. Tommy Eades, the firefighter who saved me, sat at a table near the door, and when he looked up, he nodded, his brown eyes glowing caramel in the sunlight.

“Hey dear.”

A voice sounded from my left and I turned in enough time to see Mama Mae, as we used to call her, standing at the long, low counter that lined the entire back wall. She had silver hair, pulled back in a tight bun at the base of her skull. Horn-rimmed glasses sat low on a Roman nose, revealing sky-blue eyes clouded with age. She was older when I was young. She had to be in her 80s now, and she looked just as strong as she ever had.

So I had been wrong. Mae’s Diner did still belong to Mae.

“Mama Mae!” I said, hurrying to the counter. I was careful to keep the flowered sundress I’d changed into before we left the house tucked beneath my tush as I took a seat on one of the barstools.

“I heard you came back,” she said, smiling. “I remember when you was just knee-high. Then I saw you at your daddy’s service, and I couldn’t believe how beautiful you’ve gotten.”

I could feel my face flushing and my eyes swimming with tears. This would never get easier. Every time anyone even mentioned my dad, I was crying. Maybe it was all of this damn regret coiled up in my gut.

“Thanks, Mae,” I said, dabbing beneath my eyes with the back of my hand. I didn’t wanna ruin the eyeliner. It had taken me 15 minutes to get it right.

“So what can I get for the two of you?” she asked, giving both Barrett and me gentle smiles. “On the house.”

“Oh Mae, you don’t have to—”

“Nonsense,” she said, waving a hand through the air. “We support our first responders in this town, and you each just lost one of the best ones Cottonwood Falls has ever known.”

She turned to Barrett.

“The both of ya. You were like a son to that man, he told me himself.”

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