Jilted Read Free

was able to shove in his mouth, masking his smile. If Lynda had noticed, she would have thought he was making fun of her for choosing such a strange location to pass the time, and he never would have been able to explain that he simply found her very … interesting. And likable.
    Nobody thought of Lynda as likable.
    The woman rarely smiled, and when she did, it seemed forced. She didn’t make friends easily. Even her family got fed up with her mood swings. But beneath those sharpened porcupine quills lay the soft fur of a bunny. A cottontail, not a jackrabbit.
    A waitress slapped an order on the counter next to Clyde’s plate, and Lynda picked it up. “Duty calls,” she said through a sigh.
    As he finished his meal, Clyde watched her through the pass-through window as she moved around the kitchen. In twenty minutes, he would be home in bed, and if tonight was anything like the past two nights, he would be lying awake for a while, trying to make sense of the jumble in his head.
    He sucked on a piece of crushed ice, then chomped it between his teeth. “Hey, Lyn,” he called. “Saturday I’m helping Troy and Pamela clean up that dumpy shop they bought. Want to tag along?”
    She stood in front of the grill, side by side with Dixie. “Might as well.” Her gaze never left her work as she flipped chicken breasts.
    Dixie, however, raised an eyebrow and winked.
    Clyde busied himself digging through his wallet. He and Lynda had already discussed helping their old friends get their used bookstore set up, so there was no reason for the Christmas-morning excitement coursing through his veins. None that he cared to admit anyway. He tossed the money on the counter.
    The cowbell over the door clanked near his ear as he ducked his way to the street, where the breeze still blew from the direction of the feedlot. After more than twenty years of turbulence, his life had finally become peaceful, and he knew he should leave well enough alone. He already had everything he needed.
    Everything he deserved.
    For just a few seconds, he stood in front of the glass door, telling himself to forget about Lynda and her cottontail fur, but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back into the restaurant. Just once.

Chapter Three
    â€œLynda, that man wants you.”
    I pressed my lips together and scowled at Dixie, ending the conversation before it started. Clyde Felton may have fancied me when we were teenagers, but I had never returned the sentiment, and Dixie knew it. Besides, a lot had happened since then. Through the front window, I scrutinized Clyde’s back as he stood on the sidewalk blocking the doorway with his bulky frame. His blond hair was tied at the base of his neck, and when he looked up and down the street, the short ponytail brushed across his back. He glanced over his shoulder, and his gaze flitted to mine before he stepped to his faded sedan.
    I set two plates on the ledge above the grill and slammed my palm against the bell. Clyde didn’t have the gumption to get a decent job, much less chase after a woman. Not that I’d given him reason to.
    Dixie reached for a tomato, then motioned to the dining room with her paring knife. “Here comes Ruthie. Take a break if you want.”
    â€œFifteen minutes?”
    â€œTen. I expect a rush just before closing time when the city council meeting lets out.”
    My daughter perched on the same stool Clyde had been on five minutes earlier, but unlike him, she immediately started swiveling back and forth. She may have been twenty-two years old, but daily she proved she didn’t have to act like it.
    â€œPie?” I asked as I scooped ice into two glasses, then filled them with tea.
    â€œFrench fries.” She hopped off the stool and peered into the kitchen. “You hear that, Dixie?”
    â€œGot it, sweetie.”
    Ruthie stepped to the nearest table, snatched a bottle of ketchup, and then returned to her perch.