Lunch Date

Sam studied Katie across the cafe table. She seemed nervous. Either she was avoiding eye contact, or the menu she was buried in was more interesting than he was. He liked the way her blond hair fell forward, framing her face. Sam pulled his thoughts to a halt when Melinda walked up wearing a Santa hat, a pad and pencil in hand.

“You’re looking good in those coveralls,” she said with a wink.

“You’ll be able to see them again tonight on the ten o’clock news,” Sam said, offering her a smile.

Sam noticed Katie staring at him from behind her menu, but when he glanced her way, she ducked behind it.

With a wave of her pad, Melinda asked, “You want the usual?”

He nodded. “The day I change my order is the day the city council admits they love me.”

“Looks like they already have,” Melinda teased, wiping his cheek and showing him a glitter-clad finger.

Sam groaned. “I’m sure you saw the pictures from that fiasco in this morning’s paper.”

“You looked very distinguished.”

“Yeah, that’s one word for it.”

Melinda placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You got quite the positive response from your glitter bombing, so I wouldn’t complain too loudly if I were you. The town’s eating it up.”

“Well, glad someone’s getting enjoyment out of it.” Sam shrugged Melinda’s hand off his shoulder and glanced toward Katie. “Put whatever she’s having on my account, will ya?”

Melinda glanced toward Katie, as if just realizing she was there. Her smile faded. “Yeah, sure.”

Melinda and Sam both looked at Katie expectantly. She seemed to shrink even further back into her seat. “Um…I guess I’ll get the BLT. With a side of fries.” Katie paused. “And a water.”

With a roll of her eyes, Melinda took their menus and walked back to the kitchen.

“Don’t mind her,” Sam said. “She’s not usually like that.”

Without a menu to hide behind, Katie straightened up. She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “She clearly has a thing for you, and you showed up to lunch with a girl she doesn’t know.” She shrugged. “Makes sense to me.”

“I bring girls here all the time,” Sam protested. Once the words left his mouth, he realized how it had sounded. “I mean, the same two girls, not loads of different girls.”

Katie’s lips extended into a genuine smile. It transformed her into a completely different person; Sam couldn’t look away.

“Do they know about each other?” Katie asked.

Sam glanced down so he could concentrate on her words. “Do who know about each other?”

“The two girls you like to bring to the cafe.”

Sam’s gaze snapped back to Katie. Her eyes, green and enticing, danced with amusement. His face burned. “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. I usually eat here with my sister or my assistant.”

Katie’s eyes clouded and the light that she had emanated faded. “A mechanic with an assistant?” Her face relaxed into understanding, like she had just figured something out. “You’re a news anchor or something, aren’t you?”

For a minute Sam had forgotten that she was one of the few people in town who didn’t know who he was. He was tempted to tell her the truth. But it was so nice to not have his politician mask on for a few minutes. Everyone else examined every word, every facial tic. And she was leaving within a day or two anyway. What would it hurt?

“It’s true that I’m usually at a desk and not in coveralls,” Sam said, skirting the question. “But I’m not a big deal in the TV broadcasting world.” He didn’t mention that no one outside of Amor’s news station even knew who he was. Katie must have been able to smell the deception from across the table because her nose scrunched up. Sam tried not to notice how adorable it was and dropped his gaze to the checkered placemat in front of him.

“What story are you doing at the auto shop?”

Sam hesitated. He should have just told her the truth; now he was going to have to dig himself in deeper. “It’s part of a multi-part series,” he said. That was sort of true. Yesterday had been the daycare and he’d be at the custard stand tomorrow.

Katie didn’t seem to question it. She nodded. “Well, I’d rather not be at the shop once the camera crew gets there. Is it okay if we take our food to go so I can see about my car before they arrive?”

“Sure, no problem.” Sam was relieved that she didn’t want to be there.

Melinda seemed less than pleased when she boxed up their lunches, but she told him all would be forgiven if he came back within the week—alone this time.

When Sam and Katie walked up to the auto shop, CJ was pacing, his lips pursed.

“What’s up?” Sam asked, approaching him. It wasn’t like CJ to seem so anxious.

He ignored Sam’s question and turned to Katie, who was pulling out half her sandwich on the hood of her car. “Do you know of anyone who didn’t want you to take this trip?”

Katie paused, the sandwich halfway to her mouth. Her face lost some of its color and she set down her sandwich, but, after a moment’s hesitation, she plastered on a smile. He could tell it was forced. As a politician, he was an expert on fake smiles. “Not that I can think of. Why do you ask?” It may have been Sam imagining things, but he swore that Katie’s voice trembled as she spoke.

CJ’s anxiety seemed to melt away and was replaced by concern. “My dear, someone sabotaged your car.”

This time, it wasn’t Sam’s imagination. Katie turned a sick shade of gray. “Why would they do that?”

“That’s not something I can answer,” CJ said. “I can call the police, if you’d like. They could investigate and give you a little peace of mind.”

“No, that’s okay,” she said. “If you can just fix my car, I’ll be out of your hair. I don’t want to impose.”

CJ glanced at Sam, his eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. Who was this girl?

“How long before her car can be fixed?” Sam asked.

If Katie wanted to escape town, they shouldn’t keep her. He needed to show everyone he was serious about cleaning up the town, not invite more trouble in.

CJ released a long breath. “Never.”

Katie’s gaze snapped to him. “Excuse me?”

“Your radiator hose was cut, so it’s been leaking coolant everywhere. Your engine overheated and is damaged beyond repair. To replace it would cost more than your car is worth.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, like she was trying to make this all go away. When Katie finally opened them, she glanced around, her gaze darting as if she were looking for someone. Sam wasn’t sure who she was worried she’d see, but he hoped this person never showed up.

                                                                                   * * * * *

Katie’s chest ached and her whole body shook. She eased herself onto the hood of her car, trying to ignore the stares of the two men in front of her. She grabbed the sandwich that sat next to her and shoved it in her mouth. Food always helped her think, and right now she needed to come up with something brilliant.

Fact: Teddy had messed with her car. Sure, she helped him blackmail rich people out of their money, but was she really worth all this effort?

Fact: She was stuck there, unless she could get another car. But she had no money, and ‘borrowing’ one would only create a police report—which Teddy would see.

Fact: Sam needed to stop staring at her with those amazing chocolate-tinted eyes. It was distracting.

Fact: It wouldn’t be so bad to spend more time with him, as long as Melinda wasn’t there.

Katie shook her head. She needed to refocus. She shoved the other half of her sandwich in her mouth.

Fact: She was stuck in a town in the middle of nowhere, with no money, no job, and no place to live. But she was in the desert, where the weather in December was only slightly cool. Katie could easily survive until she figured out something else.

“It looks like I’m staying,” she announced. She squirted a ketchup packet onto her wrapper and dipped one of her fries. The two men were still staring at her, like she was a lost dog that they didn’t know what to do with. At least she had been able to cover up that last panic attack; she was sure they didn’t suspect anything.

CJ cleared his throat. “Can we give you a ride to a hotel?”

Katie chewed on her fry. She needed to come up with something plausible. “Any park will do. I’ve had the most rotten luck this week. I was supposed to be moving to California for a new job, and right before I left, there was a fire in my apartment that destroyed all my things. The only stuff that survived was a couple bags of clothes in my car that I had been planning on donating.” She paused, and they waited for her to continue. “And then as I was leaving, the job called and said they decided to go in a different direction, and BAM!” She slapped her hand down on the car. “Just like that, I had no place to live, no job, and no possessions.”

The two men glanced at each other. “So, you decided to go on to California anyway?” Sam asked, his eyebrow cocked. She was losing him—he didn’t believe a word of it.

“What else was I supposed to do? I didn’t have anything to stay for.”

Katie dipped another fry. She hated lying to them, especially after they had been so nice. She was probably the only thief who had a moral conscience—she certainly hadn’t inherited the quality from her parents—but Sam was a news anchor and she needed to keep as low a profile as possible. Katie didn’t need Teddy to find her on the ten o’clock news.

“How about this,” Sam said after a moment’s silence. “We’ll set you up at a hotel for one night while you figure things out.”

“Really?” These people were so trusting. Sticking around here might be easier than she’d thought.

“I have some connections,” Sam said.

“Oh, right, through your news station.” Katie slid off the hood of her car to throw away her trash, but caught the questioning glance that CJ tossed at Sam. “How about if I go for a walk and explore while your camera crew does its thing, and when you’re done, we can head over.”

Sam nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Katie walked away with a confident step, her head held high, not letting them see how much she was freaking out inside. Her stomach churned and bile rose to her throat. Hiding out here wasn’t as ideal as a big city, especially because she didn’t know how long she could keep up this charade. These people asked too many questions and were too involved in each other’s lives. First chance she got, she had to get out of here.