Page 32 of Oracles Always Win

Thenhe turned and left with the others without looking back.

Assoon as they were out of sight, everyone in the pub seemed to exhale all at once.Myheart was racing.Iwanted to chase him and beg him to stay.

Ididn’t know him, so why didIfeel likeIwas already missing him?Ishook my head to shake loose the unusual feelings.Oneof my goals was to turn the pub’s finances around.Iwouldn’t do that by daydreaming about some random stranger.

Evenif the stranger didn’t feel strange… or random.

Istraightened my shoulders and tried to get my thoughts back where they were supposed to be.Peoplewere waving at me for more rounds, andIgot to work.Laughterand conversation bubbled up around the room and soon it was like any otherSaturday.Wasthat because theChiefofPolicewas gone?Orwas it something else?

WillowLakerswere weird, so it could be anything.

Chapter Twelve

JAKE

LongafterGageand the others had left,Icontinued to watch the door, waiting for him to return.

Hedidn’t.

Andthe longer he was gone, the moreIwas sureI’dmisremembered the entire day.Havingthe guy from my painting come into my bar was not only improbable, it was impossible.Gagesimply had similar features.

Yeah.That’swhat happened.

Iwas attracted to a real person, not an imaginary one.Whata relief.ExceptIwas still itching to get upstairs and pull out the paintingsIhad hidden under my bed to confirm my mistake.Justbecause.

So, when closing time came around,Ididn’t waste any time announcing last call.Onlya few people lingered over their drinks, andIdidn’t think they’d stay long.Perfect.Theend couldn’t come fast enough.

Ishuffled around the room, clearing away empties and wiping down tables.Myfeet ached from working at the bar all day and night.IhopedAlice’sdate went well, but if she ditched me next week too,I’dhave to hire a third person for the pub.

HopefullyJeremywould take me up on my job offer.OnweekdaysIonly opened the doors at four, but onSaturdayswe were open from eleven in the morning.Itmade for a long-assed day.Betweenlooking after all the drinks and the food orders,Iwas exhausted, even thoughJeremyhad helped for a few hours.

Afterthe last of my other patrons left,Sallypaid her tab but made no move to leave.Sherested her elbows on the bar and cast an assessing eye over me. "Well, honey?Youknow you can talk to me, right?"

Isuppressed a sigh and pasted a smile on my face.Itwas the same fake smileI’dworn a lot lately. "Everythingis good."

"Uhhuh."Sallydidn't sound convinced. "Wannatry that again?"

Iwiped the same part of the counterI’djust done.

"Areyou sleeping at all?"

Istilled.Whathad she noticed? "Ofcourse."

"Oh, honey.Yousuck at lying."Shereached over and patted my hand. "Ithink we should play poker some time."

Isnorted and moved away to grab the highball glasses from the dishwasher.

"Isit because it's coming up to the anniversary of… you know what?"

Mygaze snapped over to the calendar hanging on the wall.Shewas right.It'dalmost been a year since my mother had died.Almosta year sinceIdiscoveredIhad a grandfather.Almosta year sinceImoved toWillowLaketo get to know my only living relative, only to lose him too, just a month later.

Sallysqueezed my hand. "Iguess it wasn't that.I'msorry, sugar.Ididn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Ishook my head. "It'sfine.I'mfine.Nothingto worry about."

Afrown pulled atSally'sface.Shedidn’t have a lot of wrinkles, butIalways had the sense she was older than she appeared.Rightnow, as she eyed me, her concern made her seem even older. "Allright.I'mnot going to push.ButI'mhere if you want to talk."

“Iknow.Thankyou.”