Page 61 of Waitress at the Shadow Ridge Inn
I was on my second pot of coffee when Angie finally roused. Unlike me, she’d had no trouble sleeping deeply and soundly. A pang of guilt went through me for feeling slightly bitter about that. Because of her, I had crucial information and a plan.
I still wasn’t convinced we were doing the right thing, but I’d been unable to come up with anything better. Part of me wanted to call the sheriff. I’d met both him and his deputy several times, and they seemed like decent men. But I also knew that as men of the law, their hands would be tied unless an actual crime was committed.
“Morning, sunshine,” I said.
She growled at me, and I almost laughed. She’d never been a morning person.
I knew better than to try and hold a conversation with her until she had at least one full mug, so I poured myself a bowl of cereal and forced myself to eat it. My appetite was nonexistent, but the acid in my stomach from worry and too much coffee needed something to churn.
She poured a second cup and glanced up at me expectantly—a sign that conversation could now commence. “Are you ready?”
“No,” I answered honestly.
“You’ll do fine.”
“I have to make it through a shift, pretending nothing’s wrong, knowing my stalker is probably going to be waiting for me.”
She waved her hand dismissively. The anxiety that had been in her eyes the night before was now absent, replaced by determination and something that looked a lot like vengeance.
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you wanted them to, Ang. I know how hard this must be for you.”
She regarded me then, tilting her head. “Do you? Have you ever had a man use you to get to another woman?”
“No.”
“Didn’t think so.” She sipped her coffee. “What about your boyfriend, Mr. Perfect? Is he going to be an issue?”
I scowled but kept my comments to myself. She was hurting. “I was supposed to head over to his place tonight after my shift, but I’ll text him and tell him there’s been a change of plans.”
“You can’t tell him why.”
I nodded. Steve was so innately protective; he would go nuts if he knew what we were planning. I knew I would if our places were reversed. Still, I couldn’t help but think we needed more if we were going to pull this off. I said as much to Angie.
She nodded, then went over to her bag and pulled out something I didn’t want to see. A handgun.
I recoiled and took a step back. I’d never liked guns. “Jeez, Angie, put that away before someone gets hurt.”
She laid it on the counter between us and glared at me. “It’s insurance. You won’t actually have to use it. Just wave it around if stalling him with conversation doesn’t work.”
“I could never shoot anyone!”
“But he doesn’t know that, does he? Look, we don’t even have to put bullets in it. Point it at his kneecaps or something. Or better yet,” she said with a manic gleam in her eye, “his dick. That’ll put the fear of God into him.”
“Or really piss him off,” I said. “It could escalate the situation.”
“You act like you have to do this alone,” Angie snapped. “I’ll be here too, remember? As soon as I call the police, I’ll provide backup. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Do you have a gun too?”
“No, that’s the only one I have.”
“Then,youtake it.”
“You’re going to be the one face-to-face with him, not me.”
“I’ll have my pepper spray. And I’ll stash my Club of Persuasion by the couch or something.”
“Club of Persuasion?” she said, her lips quirking.
