Alex Read online

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Vanessa Devereaux

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-097-7

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Kerry Genova

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To everyone at Evernight Publishing, Stacey, and all my wonderful editors.

  ALEX

  Big Sky County, 3

  Vanessa Devereaux

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  It had to be that super moon’s influence on the universe because today everything had gone completely to hell. Well, at least that was Alex’s take on things at McQuire’s café.

  He’d been told, Missy, his usual waitress, was out sick with the flu that had been making its way through the population of Thurston. Upon placing his order, he’d also been informed that they’d run out of his favorite sausages. The replacement brand didn’t even come close on taste. Too much sage and not enough thyme, but maybe he was just being picky. His usual scrambled eggs had somehow strangely arrived fried and felt like rubber in his mouth. He shook his head, trying to get the image of rubber bands out of his head. He washed them down with more coffee which wasn’t up to its usual high standard either. Missy’s husband, Mike, was also out sick which explained the sudden decline in McQuire’s culinary standards.

  Alex scrapped most of the burned flecks off his toast and let them fall onto the plate. He usually read the local newspaper while he ate, but today the replacement waitress was distracting him each time she walked by his table. So far he hadn’t read a single word or even looked at any of the photos. A woman hadn’t held his attention like this for as long as he could remember. Her pretty, dark hair tied up in a ponytail swung left and right, left and right, almost hypnotizing him as she zoomed by his table either carrying the coffee pot on her way to top up someone’s drink or trying to serve more tables than she could clearly handle. Her cheeks were red and tiny beads of perspiration stood out on her forehead. She swiped them away with the back of her forearm and glanced over at him as if she was fully aware he was observing her.

  Quickly looking down at the newspaper, Alex began reading. He smiled because at least the waitress was keeping his mind off his visit to the doctor’s office for his physical. Glancing at his watch, he realized he had only five hours and twenty-four minutes to go until his appointment. He hated anything connected with doctors. Not that he had anything against them personally, but the smell of their offices made his stomach turn. He hated shots and being prodded and poked. Still he had to do it or his mother would hound him or even drag him there herself. Not that he could blame her, losing one son had broken her heart and he wouldn’t let her live through that again. So prodded and poked he’d be.

  He took another sip of coffee realizing that part of his fear was what if they found something was actually wrong with him? What if he had the same thing that had killed his baby brother and he’d need surgery, chemo even. David had been through a horrible ordeal and it was something he didn’t ever want to experience for himself.

  The waitress walked by again. She had a cute ass as well as face.

  That’s it, focus on her and not on what’s going to happen to you this afternoon. Maybe I can convince her to come along to the doctor’s office and hold my hand. He smiled again, being brazen in the fact that only he knew what had brought that grin to his face.

  “Miss, I asked for biscuits and maybe I’m wrong, but these look like waffles to me,” a man shouted at her. He lifted his plate so everyone could see that he wasn’t nitpicking.

  “I’m so sorry.” She took the plate for him, zipping by Alex’s table so fast the napkin waved in the wind she’d set up. She looked frustrated and flustered and Alex didn’t have to use his detective skills to figure out that this was her first time doing this sort of work.

  “Miss, I’ve been waiting fifteen minutes for my order,” said one man tapping the face on his watch.

  “I know and I’m sorry. It’s just we’re sort of rushed off our feet this morning. It’s me and the cook and that’s all.”

  “Miss, I’m waiting to pay,” shouted a woman from the front of the café.

  “I’ll be with you in just a minute, ma’am.”

  “Miss, the cook’s ruined my toast.”

  “Miss, the white of this egg is still runny.”

  Alex didn’t know about her, but his head was about to explode with everyone calling out to her at the same time. He couldn’t enjoy his meal and newspaper with this much clutter going on around him. He stood.

  “Miss, you want me to help you out?”

  She looked at him. She had the most beautiful blue eyes he’d ever seen and freckles over the bridge of her nose. Her face seemed familiar, but he was sure he hadn’t seen her around town before. Then again maybe he had and been foolish enough not to take notice the first time.

  “Sheriff, you would be a life saver,” she said.

  So she’d seen his badge and maybe even his gun when she’d taken his order.

  “Glad to hear that. Where would you like me to start?”

  “You any good at playing cashier?”

  “I can give it a try.” Alex saw three customers now lined up at the register.

  “Here’s the key to open the drawer and I filled it up with cash this morning so you shouldn’t have any problem with making change.”

  She unclipped a small gold key from the belt on her apron and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed momentarily, sending tiny sparks of pure pleasure through Alex’s hand.

  “Let me see to these folks and you can tell me what you want help with next.” He walked over to the cash register and saw that it was Sally Reece who was first in line. He took her bill and rang it up.

  “Everything okay for you today, Sally?”

  “No, the oatmeal was scorched and my fruit bowl lacked any evidence of cantaloupe, and that’s the only reason I get the fruit bowl, but I’ll let it pass this time. Oh, and I didn’t think it appropriate to leave a tip today; that young lady was very slow and the scorched oatmeal was made worse because it was stone cold by the time it got to me. I’m not the type of person who rewards mediocrity.”

  You nasty old biddy.

  He took her money, and as he’d expected from someone as mean-spirited and anal as Sally, it was the exact change and all in quarters. When she turned her back to leave, Alex reached into his pocket for three one-dollar bills and slipped it into the tip jar on the desk. That young lady was working her butt off, yes, a very nice one, and deserved some reward for her effort.

  “How are you?” Alex asked Bill Adams who ran the local drugstore.

  “I’m doing good although the wife’s down with that flu, hence me coming here for my breakfast. Nowhere near as good as the wife’s cooking.” He handed Alex the bill and a $10 note. Alex counted out his change and handed it back to him.

  “I left the tip on the table.”

  Alex nodded. “Hope Mabel’s feeling better.”

  “Me too, don’t think I could stand eating here again the way things were today.”

  “And how was…”

  No, he better not ask how the food was to the next person in line. That was tempting fate.

  “Looks like we might get some rain,” said Alex taking the bill
from Joe Risler who worked at one of the local ranches.

  Joe picked up a toothpick from the box on the desk and stuck it in his mouth. “Sure does but we need it. Been very dry lately and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the reason everyone’s down with the flu.”

  Alex gave him two one-dollar bills as his change and Joe slipped both of them into the tip jar.

  There that hadn’t been too bad. Now he’d see if he could help out with anything else.

  The waitress was bringing three plates of pancakes to a table by the window. He smiled at her. She looked beat, hot, and some of her hair had worked its way loose from her ponytail. Pieces of it hung around her face making her look even more alluring.

  “Anything else I can help you with?” he asked walking over to her.

  “Could you grab the maple syrup off the shelf over there?”

  “Sure can.”

  Alex took down the container and carried it over to the table where she’d just placed the three plates.

  “Thank you so much for manning the cash register for me,” she said. “I guess I bit off more than I can chew here this morning.”

  “You’re doing great. By the way, I’m Alex.”

  “Eva,” she said putting her hand out to him.

  He shook her very firm, soft hand. Maybe he should ask her out but now didn’t seem the right time.

  “Well, if there’s anything else I can do for you before I leave just name it.”

  “Nothing comes to mind and I think it’s slowed down in here now.”

  Yeah, the place was starting to empty out. Probably the food had more to do with that than anything else did.

  “I’ll see to my own bill on the way out if that’s okay,” said Alex.

  “Sure, let me get that for you.” She rummaged through some receipts she’d pulled out of the pocket on her apron. “You had the Café Classic, right?”

  “That’s me.”

  She handed him the bill and once again their fingers brushed. No ring on the third finger left hand. Maybe he’d stop by again tomorrow and ask her, in a not so obvious way, if she had a boyfriend or was seeing anyone, then if he was in luck, he’d ask her out. Hopefully, Missy and Mike would be back and the food would be edible.

  “Thanks again for the help,” she said.

  “Anytime.”

  Alex walked to the cash register, rang up his bill, and then left a five-dollar bill in the tip jar. She was worth every penny and he knew waitressing didn’t pay much. He headed outside and slipped on his cowboy hat. Wow, she’d almost made him completely forget about his physical.

  Almost.

  ****

  Eva took off her apron and hung it on the peg by the door. Todd was busy scraping down the grill.

  He looked up at her and wiped his brow. “You look as worn out as I feel.”

  “I’m going to leave bigger tips next time I go out to eat,” said Eva. She sat and took off her running shoes, flexing her toes back and forth, hoping she’d get the blood circulating again.

  “I’ve no idea how your sister-in-law and brother cope with this craziness every day.”

  “It’s made me appreciate them in a whole new way,” said Eva, rubbing her fist over the soles of her feet.

  “I can cook great at home for Nina and the kids and hence the reason I volunteered today, but when you’ve got orders coming at you from every direction, well, holy crap. I just hope the food was okay for everyone.”

  Eva hoped he didn’t see her pulling a face. Just about everyone had complained about at least one item on their plate. The only person who hadn’t was the sheriff and she knew his eggs looked like they could rebound off a wall. Very nice of him just to eat them and say nothing. He was cute too; tall, dark, handsome, and he’d been her knight in shining armor. If she had to work another shift for Mike and Missy, she hoped the handsome lawman would drop by again.

  “If you get a load of patients with stomach ailments later on today, you’ll know who to blame,” said Todd.

  Eva hoped she didn’t. That combined with the flu would be a disaster.

  “You did great,” she said. That wasn’t a lie. He had, it’s just his food that was so damn awful.

  “That’s very nice of you but I think I might have overcooked a few things.”

  A few. However, what did you expect when a car mechanic becomes a short-order cook?

  “Hopefully Missy and Mike will be back on their feet tomorrow,” he said.

  Why did he have to mention feet because hers, despite the massage, hurt like hell. All she wanted to do was go home and soak them. In fact, soak her whole body in the tub but in less than an hour, she had to start her real job. From midmorning onward her schedule was full.

  She stood. “Nice working with you, Todd. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow morning, maybe not.”

  He held up his fingers, crossed them, and smiled “Same here. See you later, Doc.”

  ****

  Alex sat in his truck eyeing the building. His stomach bubbled and bile backtracked up into his throat. He wasn’t five years old anymore, and his mother didn’t have to drag him through that door. Although someone might have to do some gentle pulling because he couldn’t get his ass to move off the seat. He tapped his fingers on the top of the steering wheel. The exam probably doesn’t hurt. The doctor’s a guy and therefore knows how we males feel in that tender region of the body.

  He was overthinking this. The sooner he got this over and done with the better. His mom used to buy him and David an ice cream after they’d been for their shots or to the dentist. After he got done, he was going to treat himself to a steak and cold beer at the local watering hole this evening. He suddenly thought of David and how he’d been scared just like Alex was right now, and that’s what had cost him his life. He missed his brother so much. He’d promised him he’d take care of Julie and Sasha and he couldn’t do that if he didn’t get checked out to make sure that he was one hundred percent okay. He wasn’t doing this himself but for them.

  Hurrying out of the truck before he lost his courage yet again, he locked the door and headed across the parking lot. He quickly pulled the door open and went inside. Although, Thurston wasn’t a huge town and didn’t have its own hospital, it did have one professional building that housed Dr. Jackson’s office, and a host of others like the dentist, insurance agent, realtor, etc. Today Alex opted to take the stairs up to the third floor which would buy him some more time to calm his mind. Alex briskly walked up the stone staircase and finally arrived at the third floor. He opened back the door and walked along the hallway and turned left into a small corridor that housed the doctor’s office.

  His cell phone rang just as he was about to step inside. Maybe it was an emergency, maybe even a dead body. Not that he wished death on anyone, but it couldn’t come at a more opportune time for getting him out of having the physical.

  Glancing at the caller ID, he noticed it was his mother. He debated whether or not to let it go to his voicemail. However, if he didn’t take the call, the thing would ring or vibrate throughout his exam, unnerving him even more.

  “Hi, Mom,” he said.

  “Have you been for your physical yet?”

  “Just heading there.”

  “I don’t want to hear that you’ve chickened out. I don’t want to hear that you’ve done the same foolish thing as David.”

  Her voice was becoming faint and he guessed she was on the verge of tears.

  “As soon as I say goodbye to you, I’m going in to get checked out from head to toe.” And places in between.

  “I’ll be calling back to make sure you’ve gone through with it, so don’t let me down.”

  “I won’t, I promise. Bye, Mom” He pressed the end call button and realized that now as her only child, he’d stepped into the role of youngest son a position that David had occupied since Alex had been two.

  He took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked inside and up to the receptionist.

  “Alex Davis
and I’m here for a physical.”

  She tapped some keys on the computer and then handed him a clipboard. “As you haven’t been here for over ten years, I need you to fill this in and then bring it back to me.”

  A decade? Had it been that long? Alex took it from her and walked over to the waiting area where he sat and smiled at a young woman who was clearly very pregnant.

  He took the pen from the top of the board and began filling in his name, address, and insurance information. Next he tackled the health questions. Allergies—none that he knew of. Pregnant—not that he knew of. He smiled. He guessed the doctor might find that response amusing.

  Medical conditions—fear of doctors. Yeah, he’d put that down to keep things light and funny. Are you sexually active? He looked around wondering what he should put that might bring a smile to Dr. Jackson’s face.

  “Kay Adams,” a woman’s voice called out and he saw the pregnant woman struggle to her feet.

  Sexually active—only if you consider jerking off as actual sex.

  Any family history of heart disease—yes, his dad had died of a heart attack when he was fifteen.

  Cancer? No. Any close relatives with cancer? Yes—brother. Type—testicular.

  Medications—none, mental health issues—none. He checked all the boxes, signed his name and dated it, and then walked back to the receptionist and handed her the forms.

  “Someone will call you shortly,” she said.

  He’d barely had a chance to sit down and pick up a magazine when the nurse called his name.

  He stood, hoping this wouldn’t be as bad he’d feared.

  “How are you today?” she asked him.

  “Great.”

  “Let’s get you weighed first.”

  He stood on the scales and she wrote something down on his chart.

  “Great, and if you want to follow me to the changing area.”

  He walked behind her and she stopped and pulled a paper robe off the top of a table.