Connecting Strangers (Discovering Emily) by Rachel Carrington

puffy, my light brown hair a tangled mess, and my neck is scratched from the scruff of Adam’s jaw. Francine didn’t need me to confirm her suspicions. I look like I’d been thoroughly kissed, and had she stayed at the diner longer, she might have found me looking a lot more relaxed.
    I burn at the thought, and my gaze drifts to the bed occupying the center of the room. Now that the dream has been interrupted, I can only imagine what it would have been like to lie there, my limbs entangled with Adam’s.
    The sex would have been hard and fast because we wouldn’t have wanted to waste any time. I picture my nails sinking into his shoulders as he rises up above me, his eyes boring into mine.
    Damn. I slink out of the bathroom and flop down on the bed, my face buried in the frilly pillow. I have to get out of here. If I stay much longer in Juniper Springs…
    The slamming of a door is quickly followed the sound of an engine. Then tires rolling over gravel. Adam is leaving, and my body is still protesting the interruption.
    “Honey, are you okay?” Francine’s concerned question interrupts the steamy memories my mind is conjuring. She stands at the doorway, and I roll to my back to see her.
    “I’m fine. Just confused.” One arm across my eyes, I groan. “I didn’t come here for this.” I don’t need to tell her what “this” is.
    “Well,” she sits down on the foot of the bed, “sometimes, when a woman’s been missing real lovin’, it’s hard to turn it down when it stares her in the face.” She grins and sniffs. “Now, I don’t have any personal experience, mind you, but I’ll just bet you dollars to donuts Adam Madison could throw down a real lovin’.”
    “Francine!” I sit up and brush the hair from my eyes but only to give my hands something to do so they won’t continue to shake. “If Mark were to find out…” I trail off and shake my head. I don’t even want to imagine the calamity.
    Francine touches my hand. “Does he own you?”
    “Of course not.”
    “And by leaving, weren’t you effectively telling him you didn’t want to be with him any longer?”
    “That’s not how Mark’s mind works.” I nibble on my fingernail while my mind is doing its damnedest to take me back to the moments before Francine had gotten home.
    “Mark isn’t the issue here, Emily. There ain’t nothing wrong with feeling something for a guy, and the way I see it, Adam’s more than interested. You couldn’t find a better man to help you return to the land of the living. Just think about what you’ll be missing if you walk away from this.”
    Though my confidence in choosing a good man had taken a beating, I don’t doubt Francine’s words. Only a few minutes in Adam’s company had given me the same impression.
    “So why don’t you just hang around here for a while? I’m sure that apron will fit, and Art is more than happy to put you to work.”
    “He doesn’t know the whole story, Francine.” My fingers scoop and release the bedspread. “Starting any kind of relationship with lies between you never ends well.”
    Her hand rubs my knee. “So tell him.”
    I sit up straighter, looking at her like she’s taken two steps into the Twilight Zone. “He’s the town sheriff. If I tell him I shot a man, he’s duty bound to arrest me.”
    Her nose wrinkles as she considers my words. “Oh, well, leave that part out. Just tell him everything else.” With a wink, she stands. “Now you come on and grab something to eat. Afterwards, I’ll give you a quick lesson on what you’ll be doing…I mean inside the diner. I think you know what you’ll be doing with Adam eventually.” She chuckles at her own joke.
    “You never give up, do you?” I get to my feet.
    “Not when I know what I’m talking about.”
    Francine doesn’t have to continue to try to convince me any longer. I’ll stay because I want to know more about Adam. Because walking away from this chance might be an ever bigger regret than