Song of the Meadowlark (Intertwined Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter 2

The alarm clock on the nightstand rang in Cora’s ear. She slammed her hand down onto the off button. “Oh, please tell me it’s not time to get up. Please.” She rolled unwillingly out of bed on this Friday morning and headed for the bathroom, her neck still stiff from driving. Her shower drove the sleep away, but didn’t remove the longing for the soft bed.

She’d have to get ready in a hurry so she’d be on time for the savory breakfast downstairs. Ms. Lottie was indeed strict about being on time for meals. Cora chuckled. The sweet little woman had bossed everyone around at dinner the night before. Her customers all loved her, though...obviously, or they wouldn’t keep coming back.

Refreshed, Cora emerged from the shower and dried her lengthy hair. If breakfast tasted half as good as dinner, she’d never want to leave.

She slipped on her jeans and shirt and headed down the stairs of the old home, allowing her nose to lead her to the much-coveted food. Quite a few faces filled the dining room, more than could fit in the rooms upstairs. Locals must come to eat at the inn on their way to work. Cora found a stool at the bar so as not to take up a whole table by herself.

Only a few minutes passed before Ms. Lottie stepped up. “Mornin’. What can I get for you?”

“I’ll take scrambled eggs, bacon, a fruit salad, and a biscuit with butter and strawberry preserves, please.”

“You got it.”

The food arrived and made her stomach as happy as it had been the night before at dinner. She drank two cups of Ms. Lottie’s coffee, which warmed her soul as much as her body and would help her stay awake as she drove. Cora gulped. She wouldn’t drive anywhere today. Her car temporarily called Millburn’s Station home. She groaned and finished her feast, left the money on the bar, and headed toward the exit.

Bobby stepped inside as she reached the door. “Ms. Buchanan? I’m glad I caught ya.” He removed his cap, his hair sweaty and stuck to his head.

“I was just coming to see you.” Cora smiled at the odd, grease-covered man.

“About your car…I checked around everywhere, and nobody’s got the parts. I’m afraid you need a lot of work done on your transmission. I don’t have to replace it, though, so that’s good. But it’ll take a week to get the parts here. Sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault.” She sat down on a stool beside the door. “I shouldn’t have driven the old piece of junk.”

“Hey, now, don’t talk that way. It’s a great car.” He smiled. “You couldn’t have known this would happen. Do ya want me to repair it, or have it towed somewhere?”

“Gracious, no, I couldn’t afford that. I want you to repair it. But do you have any idea how much it will cost?” Maybe it wouldn’t wipe her out.

“About three hundred bucks. I need to repair a few other things, or ya won’t make it to Florida. I’d hate for ya to get stranded again.”

“I should’ve had everything checked out before I got out on the road. Go ahead and order the parts. But let me know if it’ll be more than three hundred, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am, I will.” He grinned. “At least you have a nice place to stay.”

She smiled at her lovely surroundings. Yes, a nice place to stay—if she could afford to do so.

After Bobby left the inn, Cora huffed back to her room and threw herself across the feathery bed. She’d wanted so badly to start her life over without anyone’s help. Now her only other option was to call Dad and ask for some money to get her to Panama City because without his money, she couldn’t even return to South Carolina if she changed her mind about visiting home.

She counted the bills in her wallet and added the cost of the repairs with the cost of staying at the inn. Clearly she didn’t have enough to stay with Ms. Lottie. She didn’t have a credit card to charge the repairs, and she didn’t have enough in her bank account, so she’d have to find a job. Maybe someone would let her work just for the week.

Her determination grew. Instead of sinking into a bottomless pit, she’d walk the streets of this friendly town and find someone who’d hire her. She jumped up off her bed, freshened up in the bathroom, and headed down to see Ms. Lottie.

“Ms. Lottie, may I have a word with you?”

“Sure, child. I’m just clearin’ away the last of the breakfast dishes.” Ms. Lottie bustled about.

“Would it be okay for me to stay through next Friday? I hope you have room for me.”

“Of course I do. What’s the matter?”

“My car won’t be ready until the end of the week, so I can’t go on to Florida.” She followed Ms. Lottie to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know ya wanted to get home. You’re welcome to stay here. Is your room okay?”

“Oh yes. It’s great.” She paused. “Ms. Lottie, do you know anyone who would hire me for the week? I’m going to need some extra money to pay for the repairs and for my room and board here. I might even need to find somewhere cheaper to stay.”

Ms. Lottie set down a serving tray and threw her towel over her shoulder. She faced Cora and gazed straight up into her eyes. “Do ya know anything about serving food? Cookin’? Or runnin’ a cash register?”

“Not really. Well, I can cook. And I used to be a receptionist in Columbia so I’m pretty good with people. Why?”

“Well, next Wednesday is July the Fourth, and I always have lots of lunch and dinner guests. We get lots of people on their way to the beach. I could use some help servin’ customers.” Ms. Lottie wiped the counter with a dishcloth.

“Really? You’re not creating a job, are you?” Cora bit her bottom lip.

Ms. Lottie shook her head. “No, child, I couldn’t afford to do that.”

“I’d love to stay and help. I feel so content here.” Cora surveyed the kitchen.

“Great. Then your room and meals will be of no charge to ya. In return, you’ll help me at all three meal times. During the week, we don’t have many customers, but Friday through Sunday, we can hardly fit everyone in. Wednesday will be an exception, though, because of the holiday.”

“That sounds great, but I still wouldn’t earn any money for the repairs on my car.”

“You keep all tips customers leave for ya. Since you have the weekend comin’ up and the holiday, you’ll do fine. How much does Bobby think your bill will be?” Ms. Lottie washed gravy off one of the dishes.

“Three hundred dollars.”

“No problem. Do ya want to start workin’ the lunch hour today?”

“That would be great.”

“Okay, go get an apron out of the closet and start slicin’ the cold-cuts and raw veggies. We have club sandwiches and munchies for lunch around here on the weekdays. Dinner is our big meal.” Ms. Lottie grinned at her new helper.

“Thanks, Ms. Lottie. I could never repay your kindness.”

“Wait until the end of the week, and then we’ll see who’s thankin’ who.” Ms. Lottie laughed.

This would definitely be a new experience and challenge for Cora. She couldn’t stop grinning at the thought of this big step toward becoming self-reliant.

Cora worked during the afternoon meal, getting to know the people and the facilities. Ms. Lottie proved to be a phenomenal boss, patient and always praising. She had a break between lunch and dinner, so she grabbed her jewelry pouch out of her luggage and headed down the street to the place she’d seen coming in that advertised they bought gold and silver. Maybe she had enough in the broken necklaces and bracelets and silver coins that she’d collected since middle school to help pay for the repairs.

She opened the smudged glass door and stepped up into the shop. The inside smelled like old electronics and pipe tobacco, like a pawn shop but not as junkie.

A man wearing wire-framed glasses with thick lenses and disheveled blond hair in the shape of a horseshoe stepped out of a back room and walked toward her. “Can I help you?”

Cora smiled. “I hope so. I’m Cora. I’m interested in selling some of my jewelry and silver coins.”

He pulled his khakis up high on his waist and tucked in the back of his blue plaid shirt. “You new here?”

“Yes. Just visiting for a few days. My car broke down, and I’m waiting for repairs. Hence why I’m here. I need a little extra cash.”

The man scratched his stubbly chin beneath a flickering fluorescent light. “Someone send you here?”

“No, I saw your sign when I came into town.” Was he going to help her or just interrogate her?

“Hmmm, well, let me take a look at what you’ve got. You’ll have to come back here with me in the office. I don’t keep my money or my gold and silver out where someone can rob me.”

“Of course.” Cora peered over her shoulder at the exit then followed the man into the office.

“My name’s Randy.” He locked the door behind Cora with a key that hung on a carabineer attached to his belt loop. “Hope you don’t mind being locked in here with me. I’ve got surveillance all around, but you can never be too careful.”

“Sure, I understand.” This had better be worth it. If she didn’t come out of here with a decent amount of cash, she’d regret putting herself in potential danger.

“Lay it on me. Let me see what you’ve got. I’m talking about your gold, of course.” He chuckled.

Cora tried to ignore the obvious sexual remark and dug through her jewelry case then placed three broken gold necklaces and two bracelets on the desk. She fished through her silver coins and picked out three of them. She couldn’t part with all of them. She’d collected them for too long.

Randy picked up his magnifying glass and inspected each piece of jewelry, first by touching a magnet to it then by taking a sample of it and pouring some kind of solution on it. “You gotta treat gold like you’d treat a woman. You gotta touch it nice and gentle like, stroke it, to see what it’s worth.”

Cora shifted in her seat. She was ready to forget about selling her gold to this man. Was there a back exit she could flee from?

“Don’t mind me. I’m on medication that makes me flirt with pretty ladies. Plus my wife just had surgery and…”

Sweat popped out on Cora’s upper lip, and her heart pounded like a fawn’s hidden in a thicket.

Randy weighed each piece and calculated the price on his calculator. “Okay, you’ve got fifty dollars’ worth of gold here. You could sell it to a jeweler who could repair the pieces and resell them, but I think you’d make more selling them to me for the gold.” He swiveled in his desk chair and twirled his magnifying glass in his right hand.

“Just fifty?”

“Yes, ma’am. The gold rush is kinda over now. If you’d sold them to me a while back, I could’ve given you about a hundred for the pieces.”

“Well, I suppose that would’ve been nice had I needed to sell them a while back and had I found myself with a broken down car in this town, huh?” She forced a smile.

“Let me take a look at your coins.” Randy slid them across the desk and studied each one. He pulled up a site on his computer and compared the coins to what he found online. “I can give you twenty-five a piece for these.”

Cora needed the hundred and twenty-five dollars. That would pay for half the car repairs. “Okay, sounds good.” At this point, she needed to collect her money and get out of this place.

“Do you want cash or a check?”

“Cash if you have it. Like I said, I’m only passing through town…”

“Right, right. Where ya staying?”

“Um, I’m staying with Ms. Lottie.”

“You like it there?”

“Sure. She’s been real nice to me.”

Randy removed his glasses and tossed them onto his desk. He studied her with beady dark eyes. He unlocked a drawer to his right and counted out Cora’s cash. “I’ve got room at my place if you can’t afford to stay with Lottie.”

Cora crinkled her brow. What was he saying? Did he own a B&B too? “Excuse me? You own a hotel or something?”

“No, just have some room at my house. I could offer you a place to stay at no charge.” He smiled and winked as he counted out the money into Cora’s outstretched hand, dragging his fingers along her palm as he paid her.

Cora flinched and pulled back her hand, dropping the bills on the floor. Here she was locked inside this creepy man’s office with no way to escape, and he was propositioning her. “Excuse me? I think you might have misinterpreted my situation. Can you please unlock that door and let me out of here?” Cora grabbed the money off the floor.

Randy stepped out from behind his desk, hands held out in front of him. “You must have misunderstood me, ma’am. I meant nothing by it. You gotta know, I’m a married man. I’d never make a pass at a stranger.”

Would he make a pass at someone he knew then? Cora shoved the money and her jewelry pouch into her purse and bolted for the door.

“It’s just that my wife has been real sick lately, and we’ve not been able to…well, I get kind of lonely.”

“Let me out of here now!”

Randy surrendered and unlocked the door. Cora grabbed the doorknob and dashed out into the showroom, if it could be called that.

“You didn’t let me give you a receipt.”

“Keep it!”

* * *

Cora stood in the tiled kitchen of the inn, preparing a dinner plate for a customer, disgust from Randy’s behavior still climbing up her spine. If he came in here to see her, she’d call the police. She shook her head. She had to forget about that disgusting man and focus on her work. She couldn’t afford to let her experience with Randy ruin her productivity here.

The dinner crowd seemed different from the lunch crowd and required more concentration to each task. At lunch, the customers had been taking a break from work, and they’d talked to Cora. However, the dinner guests consisted mainly of families or couples who talked amongst themselves instead of being neighborly to a stranger. It didn’t matter though. She’d only be here a week and didn’t long for new friendships.

Cora carefully carried the steaming plate of country-fried steak, corn, green beans, biscuits, and gravy to a customer. A new customer with a downtrodden appearance sat at the counter. “I’ll be right with you, sir.”

A minute later, she was back. “What can I get for you, sir?” She clicked her pen and turned to a new page in her order booklet.

“Where’s Ms. Lottie?” he growled like a bear, scowling with distrusting dark eyes.

“She’s…in the…kitchen.” She pointed with her pen. “I’m helping her out until next weekend.” Cora lifted her eyebrow. Had she answered to his satisfaction?

“Hmm, she’s not sick or anything?” He looked into Cora’s eyes, revealing no emotion.

Cora bristled at the rude man’s intimidation. “No, she’s fine. I needed some extra cash. She offered me a temporary job.” She forced a smile at the man who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and who apparently received special treatment quite often from Ms. Lottie. Why did she feel like she had to defend herself? Who was this guy?

“Nice lady, that Ms. Lottie. You’ll find no other like her.”

“I’m sure.” Cora returned his stare until he studied the menu and stopped interrogating her with his eyes.

He sat quietly for a minute, then said, “Tell her Rex sends his best. I’ll take today’s special.” The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly and revealed the laugh lines around his haunting eyes.

“I sure will. And I’ll get that order placed for you. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

Rex tipped his hat and nodded.

Cora pushed the swinging doors open with her back. Ms. Lottie was in front of the stove cooking an order. “Ms. Lottie, a gentleman named Rex says hello.”

“Rex is here? Well, I’ll be. I need to go see him.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “Watch this for me, would ya?”

“Sure, Ms. Lottie. By the way, who is he?”

“One of my babies. He’s like a son to me, dear. Lives on a ranch outside the city. Biggest, prettiest ranch you’ll ever see in your life. He comes in once a week to eat.” Ms. Lottie rushed out of the kitchen.

What did Ms. Lottie see in this peculiar man? Cora inched her way over to the swinging doors and peeked out over them at Ms. Lottie and Rex. The two hugged like best friends. When he smiled a broad smile, Cora’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart did a somersault.