Chapter Two
The scenery in the mountains was just amazing. Too bad she was too tired to enjoy it. Mary Elizabeth was mentally and physically exhausted. She'd broken the news to the family the next day, during their weekly, Sunday dinner get-together. In hindsight, maybe she should have waited, but there was no time to delay. The longer she waited, the more time her mother had to wear her down.
Her mother didn't take the news of her moving well. To say her reaction was unpleasant was putting it mild. She went ballistic. “Mary Elizabeth Brown, I can't believe you would do something like this. How can you be so selfish? You know with your sister gone, we need you now more than ever. Who's going to cook Sunday dinner? Who's going to drive me to my hair appointments and bridge games? Who's supposed to take our clothing to the dry cleaner? You know we depend on you."
"Mother, you and daddy don't need me. You have a brand new car that you're perfectly capable of driving. You'll be just fine and don't forget about Charles. You know you can call him if you need anything. North Carolina isn't that far. I'll still come home for visits. Between phone calls and emails, it will be like I'm still here."
Nothing Mary Elizabeth said pacified her.
Her mother was dead set against her leaving and did everything in her power to talk her out of it. She got her friends involved. Mary Elizabeth's phone rang off of the hook with people calling to talk her out of it. She couldn't go anywhere in town without someone stopping her to express their opinion of her actions. Her mother even complained to their pastor and then he was on her case as well.
If it hadn't been for her father, Mary Elizabeth would have caved under all of the pressure. Just when she was ready to give in, call Kiesha and tell her she wouldn't be coming after all, her father had a little talk with her.
"Mary Elizabeth, I know I haven't been the best father to you girls. I let your mother have her way because it was easier to give in than to fight for what I wanted. I should have stood up to her more often, especially about her treatment of you. I realized that when Babs died. Don't be like me. Fight for what you want. Take advantage of this opportunity. Do whatever you have to do to get away from here and experience life. You've spent enough of your life catering to the whims of this family. It's time you did something for yourself."
Mary Elizabeth pulled her thoughts from the past and consulted the map. She was getting close and needed to pay attention if she didn't want to get lost. Kiesha said Refuge was tucked out of the way and hard to find, and this hazy twilight that made it seem later than it was didn't help. She tried to leave early so it would still be light when she reached her destination, but Charles showed up at her apartment this morning in one last determined bid to get her to stay, delaying her departure.
Finally, she spotted the last turnoff. From here it was a straight shot into town. Alex, Kiesha's fiancé, made arrangements for her to rent the only available apartment in town. It was located above Refuge's only eating establishment, which was probably why it was sitting empty. Not many people would want to live above a place that was noisy and always smelt like food. She was too happy to have a place of her own to care.
An hour later she pulled into a parking space in front of the crowded diner. The sign above it read, “Eat at Moe's.” Someone had a really strange sense of humor. Hugh Mosely, the owner of the apartment, was expecting her. She'd been instructed to ask for him in the diner.
After locking the truck, she walked inside. Several people stopped what they were doing to gawk at her. Spotting the waitress, she walked over to her. Her nametag read Cyndi. “Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find Hugh?"
Cyndi arched one eyebrow, looked her up and down and then turned away, dismissing her as unimportant. “Hugh! Someone to see you,” she hollered, then went back to flirting with the male customers at the counter.
"I'll be there in a sec.” A deep voice that sent shivers down her spine came from the kitchen area. Around her, she could hear customers speculating what her business with Hugh might be.
"Who wants me?” She turned at the sound of the voice behind her. Holy moly! A great big mountain of a man was coming toward her. He was tall, very tall and built like a linebacker. The closer he came, the bigger he grew and the more her head tipped back to take him all in. Good Lord, and she'd thought Alex was big. He must have been in the kitchen for he was wearing a white apron and wiping his hand on a towel. His jet-black hair was pulled back into a queue. From this angle, she couldn't tell how long it was.
He was an attractive man, despite or perhaps because of his size. He had high cheekbones and a dusky complexion that betrayed his Native American ancestry. His nose was long and sharp and his lips were sensuously full.
She attempted to pull her sluggish mind together. His mammoth size had briefly shocked her out of her weariness, but now it was all rushing back. “Me,” she croaked. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “I mean, I was told to see you about the apartment upstairs?"
"Are you Mary Elizabeth?"
God, she loved his voice. It was deep like Barry White's and made her feel all shivery inside. “Yes."
"Bring your vehicle around back. There's a stairway to the apartment. I'll meet you with the keys.” That said, he turned and walked away.
Okay, obviously a man of few words. Ready to get settled in after the long drive, she trudged back out to the truck to do as he instructed. She backed out of the parking space, drove around to the back of the diner, and parked near the bottom of the stairs. According to Alex, the apartment was furnished, which was a big plus. Less stuff she needed to transport. Her truck was loaded with clothes and personal items that she couldn't bear to part with, and of course, her expensive cookware. The rest of her things she'd placed on consignment at the store back home.
Hugh was waiting at the bottom of the stairs as promised. Turning off the engine, she grabbed her purse and jump out of the truck. He led the way up the stairs, talking as he went. “It's a two bedroom apartment, fully furnished. The furniture is old and the place needs a new coat of paint, but the heat and air work just fine. Brand new appliances and water heater. Anything don't work, you let me know."
He opened the door and motioned her inside. “I'm downstairs in the diner most of the time. Rent is due on the first, no later than the fifth. You need an extension, you talk to me and we'll work something out. Rent is three hundred a month plus a hundred dollar deposit. Feel free to fix the place up any way you like. God knows it needs it. Any questions?"
"You have a lease for me to sign?” He didn't have any paperwork in his hands. She wanted to get everything settled tonight.
"No lease needed. Alex says you're good people and that's enough for me. Here are your keys. If you lock yourself out, I keep a spare set downstairs in the office. If you'd like to eat in the diner, tenants get a fifty percent discount. Come down tonight when you finish unloading and eat, on the house. By the way, utilities are included in the rent. Can't separate them from the diner below so you won't be getting a bill. Stove's gas. Hope that won't be a problem. Phone's already on. Number's listed beside it."
With that, he dropped the keys in her hand, took one last look around and headed out the door. For such a big man, he moved quickly and quietly. She couldn't even hear him on the stairs as he descended.
Looking around at what was to be her new home, she realized she had a lot of work to do. The place was definitely a fixer-upper. A few coats of paint would go a long way toward sprucing it up. You could tell it had been several years since anyone had lived there.