Traveling Town Series by Diane Ami

Author:Diane, Ami
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

SINCE Ella didn’t have any clothes appropriate for a memorial service, she thought she would visit the shop down the street and see if she couldn’t find something black and somber close to her size. It also needed to cost under twenty dollars since that was all the cash she had left on her. Her hopes weren’t high that she’d find anything, but at the very least, she’d get to see more of the town.

After downing two cups of coffee to fight her restless night, she marched down the sidewalk with determined steps. Already, the concrete was warming underfoot, promising to be another blistering day.

Instinctively, her eyes darted down the street towards the sheriff’s office three blocks away. It was just a blurry dot, but she shivered as if Jesse was there, staring at her.

A clanging sound drew her gaze, and she found that she’d stopped across from L Street. She could see the door for Lou’s auto shop open, the raucous noise coming from inside.

Ella’s hands curled into fists. She adjusted course and tore across the street, nearly getting hit by a horse-drawn wagon. She did a double-take at the strange transportation before churning her heels across the pavement.

When she reached Lou’s, the sound of an electric drill broke over the quiet morning. Ella homed in on the noise. Two legs stuck out under an old Buick. She grabbed the dodgy mechanic’s boots and yanked, rolling him out from under the vehicle.

“Hey—”

“Lou, bet you hoped you’d never see me again?”

He squinted up at her. “E-Emma?”

She bent low, swallowing the space between them. “Ella. E-L-L-A. You traded me a lemon.”

“Pardon?” The toothpick nestled in the corner of his mouth worked overtime, decoding the word.

“That piece of junk you traded me didn’t make it two blocks. And now I’m stuck here. Because of you.”

Until the words spilled out of her mouth, she hadn’t realized how much bitterness stewed inside of her towards the mechanic. Her fingernails dug into her palms so hard she was sure they’d puncture skin.

He held up his hands, his eyes darting around, clearly uncomfortable being on the ground with her towering over him. “That ain’t my fault, though. That car worked fine. Honest.”

“You’re going to give me my jeep back.”

“What? No—”

“Yes,” she hissed. “And you can have that clunker back. It’s still parked in front of the inn, baking in the sun and taking up space.”

“That ain’t a fair trade.”

Ella’s eyes widened, a fire burning in her. “What?!”

Lou scrambled out from under her and staggered to his feet. “I just mean—”

“Where’s my car?”

Fear crept into his eyes. Finally, he pointed a meaty finger at a cabinet against the wall. As she marched over to it, he said, “You coulda left at any time, you know. You were warned to leave the moment you got here, yeah?”

She didn’t respond as she ripped open the cabinet door. Dozens of keys dangled on hooks inside. Her eyes raked over brass and silver colors, searching for hers.

“It ain’t my fault you ignored advice and waited to leave.

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