Skin Heat by Ava Gray Page B

dirty the job, and sometimes . . . it got pretty bad.
    The rest of the day sped by in a blur of appointments. At seven that night, she stood resting her head against her office door. She had finished the last chart and it was time to go home, if she could muster the energy, because in the morning, she had another full day scheduled.
    “Tired?” Zeke asked.
    She had gotten used to the idea he wouldn’t leave until she did, though she only paid him for four hours a day. Which was why she’d started trying to get out of the building earlier. He seemed worried about her safety. But then she’d noticed the way he was always scanning the darkness, like he thought something scary lurked out there. He never seemed to relax fully; she just didn’t know why.
    “Just hungry most likely.”
    “No lunch?”
    Thinking back brought none to mind. An emergency surgery had screwed up her afternoon, requiring a couple of routine checks to be bumped until tomorrow. “Nope. But I’m ready to head out, if you are.”
    They checked the place once more and then she led the way to the front door, where she set the alarm and then locked up. He went out first, his expression wary as he checked the shadows. It was almost like he expected somebody laying in wait.
    “Dinner?”
    Neva paused, keys in hand. “Are you asking if I plan to eat?”
    “Wanna get some? Tom’s Diner?”
    Now she had date confusion. Maybe he just meant for them to share a meal since they were leaving at the same time. Nobody liked eating alone. If it had been Julie issuing the invitation, she wouldn’t hesitate, so maybe she was making it more complicated than it needed to be. The other attendants had been . . . different than Zeke. The first man had been in his late fifties, and the second had the drawn features of the habitual drinker, though he had been careful not to come to work drunk. If either of them had asked her to dinner, she wouldn’t have hesitated over the no.
    “Sure. I’ll follow you.”
    “No need. Can ride with you and then run back.”
    “It’s two and a half miles.”
    He shrugged in answer and walked to her Honda. She got in and leaned over to unlock the door for him and then scrambled to clear the junk off the passenger seat. It was easy to tell she hadn’t had anyone in her car in a while. Once he joined her, she felt conscious of his height, though he didn’t try to take up more space.
    Nerves made her ramble about the pets she’d seen today, and she was relieved when the diner lights appeared on the left. The place was pretty packed, since apart from Armando’s and Pie in the Sky, there were no other options for dining out. And Tom’s had the most varied menu by far. The diner had a retro air: black and white trimmed in red neon. A chalkboard announced the daily specials.
    She chose a booth near the bathrooms, mostly because it was the last one left. Emmylou Fish hustled over with the laminated page that comprised the menu. Zeke took his with an air of abstraction.
    “Today’s special is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. Served with your choice of roll or biscuit. Y’all know what you want?”
    “Sounds good,” Zeke said. “Biscuit, please.”
    “I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger. Salad instead of fries.”
    “Sure thing.” Emmylou scrawled the order and took it to the window behind the counter.
    People watched them, whispering, and soon it would be all over town where she’d gone and who she’d been with. When she was a kid, it made having fun in this town damn near impossible. This time, Neva didn’t let it bother her. She ignored the stares, but they appeared to trouble Zeke. Trying to make small talk proved fruitless while he fiddled with the salt and pepper and flipped his thumb back and forth across the sugar and sweetener packets. Eventually he went to the bathroom to wash up, but his mood hadn’t improved when he came back.
    He sat back down, his jaw tight. “Maybe this was a bad