Page 11 of Edge

“It’s great,” I said. I opened my mouth to say more but thought better of it. Engaging him was not something I needed to do.

“Irene’s a nice lady. If you’re good to her, she’ll be good to you,” he said.

Irene came back to the front, shaking her head. “She’s sick again and forgot to call. The least she could do is try to sound sick. Maybe throw in a fake cough or two.”

“Do you want me to cover her shift?” I asked.

“If you want to,” she said. “If not, I can always get Bart to help me run plates.” Bart worked in the kitchen with Tony. He didn’t talk much, but he seemed like an okay guy.

“I can stay.”

She smiled. “You’re the best.”

I smiled in return, though I was jumping up and down on the inside. I cherished every compliment she gave me.

Before long, the dinner crowd had arrived, and I was running around trying to stay on top of my tables. I’d almost forgottenabout Edge until he called my name. I turned to him and stopped short when I realized another biker had joined him. “Did you need something?” I managed to ask.

“Yeah. This is my brother, Ink. He needs to place an order to go.”

“Sure thing,” I said and fumbled for my notepad and pen. “What can I get you?”

He placed an order for two meals, and Edge also ordered something for dinner. Was there a third biker around somewhere? And why were they hanging around Cedar Valley? Irene told me they were from Croftridge, which was a smaller city about thirty minutes away.

I handed Ink his order. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Evie,” he said and handed me a fifty-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

My mouth dropped open in shock as I stared at the money in my hand. The change he referred to amounted to well over twenty dollars. When I looked up to thank him, he was already gone.

“I think your friend gave me the wrong bill.”

Edge grinned. “No, he didn’t.”

“Order up,” Tony called from the back.

“Please thank him for me,” I said to Edge as I placed his meal in front of him.

“Will do,” he said and turned his attention to his food.

Once again, he stayed until we were ready to leave for the night. As he watched us walk to our cars, I wanted to ask Irene why he was there. It was none of my business, but there had to be a reason he was hanging out at the diner for hours at a time.

The next day, he came in shortly after breakfast and was still there when I finished my shift. He didn’t talk as much, but he was polite when he did. There were so many things I wanted toask him, and even more that I wanted to ask Irene about him, but I didn’t. It was better to keep my distance.

I waved goodbye before I left, not knowing that was the last time I would see him for months.

4

EVIE

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Irene said. “In the time that you’ve known me, when have I taken a day off? Never. So we shouldn’t waste this rare opportunity. And it’s a party. Who doesn’t love a party?”

“Me,” I told her. It wasn’t that I didn’t like parties, per se. It was that the party was in Croftridge, and she’d already told me Edge would be there. Since I highly doubted he would be the only biker in attendance, I was more than reluctant to attend. But I also didn’t want to hurt Irene’s feelings. She was excited about the party, and it seemed like she really wanted me to go with her.

“Oh, come on. You’ve got to get out and live a little. Meet some people your own age and make some friends.”

I didn’t want to meet anyone or make any friends. I was doing just fine on my own, and I wanted it to stay that way.

“Just agree to stay for an hour. Then, if you’re not having a good time, we’ll leave.”