Page 6 of Trophy
She took a long shower and put on a simple light green sundress, since she still needed to go out to get something to eat.
She’d bought a few staples from Walmart, but she didn’t have anything easy to eat. She didn’t have the energy to make something anyway.
There was a restaurant in the small downtown section of Fielding. It was only a mile away. She’d get a sandwich there tonight and then go grocery shopping tomorrow.
She’d learned how to drive as a teenager, and Arthur had bought her a car, but she’d never driven very much, since she’d always used Arthur’s car service. She was out of practice. Plus, her father’s car was a tank, and she was very uncomfortable maneuvering it on the road.
She drove very slowly, relieved when she saw a parking space next to the restaurant that wasn’t too difficult to fit the car into.
The restaurant was called Dora’s Café, but it was really more like a diner, with several stools in front of a bar counter and two rows of booths that looked very uncomfortable. There were about ten customers in the restaurant when Allison walked in, and all of them turned to stare at her as she entered.
Maybe it was only natural observation of who had just entered. Maybe it wasn’t as blatant as it felt. But she was very self-conscious as she walked up to the counter. They were watching her like she was some kind of alien.
“What can I get you, honey?” a tired waitress with fake red hair asked her, pulling out a pad of paper.
No one had offered her any sort of menu. She imagined most people who ate here already knew what was available. “Do you have a club sandwich?” she asked, trying to think of something most restaurants served.
“Sure thing. White or wheat?”
“Wheat. Thank you. And I’ll take it to go, please.” Allison had been thinking about eating in the restaurant, just to get out of the house, but with so many people looking at her, she decided she’d enjoy her meal more by herself.
She perched on a stool at the counter and tried to avoid the eyes of the large man beside her in the dirty T-shirt and camouflage ball cap.
“You lost, sweetheart?” he asked after a minute of staring at her.
She cleared her throat and gave him a small smile without meeting his eyes. “No. I’m not. Thank you.”
“You just passing through, then?”
He obviously didn’t think she looked like she belonged in this town. He was right. At the moment, she had a comfortable dress on, with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail and no jewelry on and very little makeup. Arthur would have thought her barely appropriate to be seen in public like this, but she felt way overdressed compared to everyone else in the diner. “No,” she said quietly, looking down at the counter. “I’m not.”
“She’s Chris and Sharon’s girl,” a familiar voice said from farther down the counter. “Helen Davies’ granddaughter.”
Allison sucked in a breath and leaned over far enough to see Rob sitting four stools down, finishing off a hamburger.
Great. Just her luck. She couldn’t get away from him.
“Oh yeah?” the greasy guy next to her said. “You selling their house?”
“No. I’m moving in.” She didn’t like to share her business with strangers—and the entire restaurant appeared to be listening—but she was going to live in this town and she didn’t want to alienate everyone immediately. They were probably already predisposed to assume she was some kind of city snob.
Maybe she was.
“No kidding!” The guy leaned over to look at Rob. “So you got a pretty new neighbor, West? How come you get all the luck?”
When Rob didn’t answer, Allison couldn’t help but look over at him, although she’d been trying to ignore him.
He’d stood up and was swallowing the last of his water. After he’d put the glass down, he pulled out a billfold and laid a twenty on the counter without waiting for change.
He gave the man next to him a soft punch on the shoulder and then gave Allison a polite nod, with just a hint of a smile stillon his lips, as if he were still a little amused by her unwillingness to let him help earlier. “See y’all later.”
Allison wasn’t exactly sure who he was talking to. Maybe it was everyone, since nearly everyone in the room either mumbled or called out a farewell.
Either everyone knew everyone else in this town, or else everyone knew Rob.
He eased out the door with a relaxed swagger that showed he was comfortable in this place and in his own skin.
Allison was not comfortable. She hoped her sandwich would be done soon so she could get back to the privacy of her home.
