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Am I in Mayberry?
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The next morning Jenna awoke in her new room, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. She lay in a huge four-poster bed in a lush and expensive-looking room. She felt out of place; even growing up as a minor mob princess had never prepared her for a house like this. It was as if she were dreaming and any minute she’d wake up to discover she had never really escaped. Vic would be beside her and soon yelling at her about something.
She closed her eyes and snuggled down in bed again, wanting to prolong the inevitable. Sure enough, she heard someone pounding on the door. Why was Vic knocking though? He usually barged in and screamed at her, pulling her out of bed by her hair.
Sighing and opening her eyes, she realized Vic was long gone, she really was in an opulent room, and someone was knocking at her door in the grand house she currently called home. She struggled out of bed, threw on her robe, and answered the door. There Mrs. Bakker stood, looking put together and glamorous even early in the morning. “Sorry to keep knocking, dear, but I know you start work this morning, and I thought you might want to come down and eat before you head off. Also, you’re probably so exhausted you could sleep all day, so I thought I’d provide a wake-up call.” She smiled.
“Thank you. I guess I’m going to have to learn to set my alarm. I appreciate you waking me up. Let me get dressed, and I’ll be right down.” Jenna could not believe a woman who owned such a house and was clearly of the upper class actually woke up patrons herself. She had learned yesterday that Mrs. Bakker was a rather well-known author and Jenna had expected her to delegate such tasks to employees of the inn. Pella really was like a whole other world, and she was happy to make a fresh start here. Looking at the time, she realized she truly did need to get ready for work. Couldn’t be late on her first day, after all. She put on her uniform, which fit perfectly and was actually kind of cute, tied her apron around her waist, and pulled her dark hair back in a ponytail. She put enough makeup on to look put together, but also to make it look effortless. She really wanted to make a good impression on her new bosses and on the people of the town. If things went well, this would be her new home for quite some time.
Hurrying downstairs with her purse, she found the kitchen and saw the staff had left her some breakfast and coffee. She smiled; a girl could get used to this kind of treatment. She didn’t really have much time to savor it though; before she knew it, she saw Adam’s truck coming up the drive, and she placed her dishes in the sink and hurried out. “Morning, sir,” she said as she crawled into the truck, thankful not to have to walk in the already warm day.
“Morning, Jenna. I see the uniform fits. Anna is never wrong about sizes.” He laughed. They chatted amiably about the weather and other inconsequential subjects on the short ride to the diner. No questions and no uneasiness.
As soon as they walked in, Anna came up and gave Jenna a hug like she had known her forever. “Great to see you ready for work this morning. I assume you are getting settled in over at the Bakker place?”
“Yes, ma’am. I mean Anna. Well, as much as you can settle into a place that seems to be out of a dream.” Jenna smiled. “I feel so out of place there, like I’m not classy enough or something.”
“Nonsense. You’re a perfect resident, I’m sure. But never mind, I’m looking for an apartment for you as we speak. Also, Noah, the local mechanic, comes in a few times a week for lunch. We’ll be sure to ask him if he has any used cars he fixed up for cheap. You’re going to need a car to get around in even in a small town like this, let alone if you need to go to Des Moines or Chicago for something. Don’t worry, dear, I’ll help you get everything figured out.”
Adam laughed, then said, “That’s my darling Anna, always helping everyone figure everything out.”
“You hush,” Anna said with a playful slap at her husband. “Now, let’s get you ready for the lunch rush. Nothing like learning under fire. Most people will know the menu like the back of their hand—lunch is a lot of regulars. However, I’ll be right here if you need anything. We always have the daily specials here on the board. Everything else should be easy as pie for a seasoned waitress such as yourself. Your main problem will be all the curious people wanting to chat as you try to work. I’ll come by and extract you if need be.”
Just then a couple of her coworkers came in. She smiled and said hi, but really didn’t catch everyone’s names. Soon the doors opened, and it was time to get to work—she’d worry about learning names later.
Anna wasn’t joking about the lunch rush. From eleven to one she was hopping from table to table, introducing herself and running back and forth to the kitchen. Everything Anna had said was true; people in town were very interested in the “new little lady,” but her boss came behind and made sure Jenna could do her job. Finally things started to calm down a bit, but just when she thought she might be able to sneak in a little time to sit down, a group of four police officers came in and sat down at one of her tables. The police always made her nervous, but she reminded herself she was a simple waitress now with nothing to hide. Yeah, right.
“Welcome, my name is Jenna, and I’ll be serving you today. Can I get you officers something to drink?” She put on her best smile and acted normal.
“Well, you’re a new addition. Guess that explains why the help wanted sign is missing from the window,” a small but tough-looking Native American female officer said.
“Karen, we’re at lunch, no need to go into cop mode and scare the poor lady off,” an older-looking officer, graying at the temples but still handsome, said. “Don’t mind the young ones, miss, they get a bit overeager. It’s just we know everyone in town in our profession, and we’re curious about any new additions. I’m Officer Crane, but you can call me Tom. This here is Officer Karen Braven, and this is Officer Andy Leman.” He indicated a rather nondescript man with mousy brown hair and a thin mustache. Jenna guessed from his timid demeanor and slight frame he was more of a pencil-pusher cop; he probably kept the files in hand, but little else. Tom was still talking though, and he brought her attention to the last of the quartet. Jenna felt her breath catch. “This is Deputy Henri Gunther.”
The officers all said hello, and Jenna knew she had a job to do, but she found it rather hard to rip her eyes off Deputy Gunther. Talk about a hunk! Tall, handsome, longish dark blond hair that begged to have hands run through it, with a great body and piercing blue eyes. Yum! If only she hadn’t sworn off men. Plus she certainly didn’t want to get too close to a cop who might notice certain details were missing from her past.
Mentally shaking herself from her lustful reverie, she said, “Pleased to meet you all. I’m Jenna Trippleton, new to town and the new lunchtime waitress here at the Pizzeria. Are you all ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?” She did her best to appear the typical perky server type.
Just then Anna came up behind her. “I see you’ve met a large portion of our police force here in Pella.” She smiled at all the people at the table. “Now, since you four only have an hour for lunch, maybe you should stop questioning my new employee and let us feed you.” Jenna gave her boss a small smile and stood ready to take their orders. They ordered, and everything seemed normal. She did find herself sneaking glances at the hunky cop in the group—she was only human after all, and more often than not she found him watching her as well. The thought of him watching her made her blush, but she told herself to stop. This was not part of the plan. She needed to establish herself and be sure she had gotten far enough from Vic that he could never find her. Officer McHotty over there was definitely not part of her plan.
As two o’clock approached, the officers started throwing cash on the table and getting ready to leave. Of course, it was Deputy Hotstuff who brought everything up to Jenna at the cash register. “It was nice to meet you, Jenna. Welcome to Pella. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. Anna send you up to the Bakker place?”
Jenna made change and nodded, trying not to look at those pretty blue eyes that were clearly checking her out. “Yes, she and Adam have been so welcoming, giving me a job and helping me find a place to stay.” She handed his change back. “Have a great day, Deputy.” She tried to smile professionally but felt like she was grinning like a schoolgirl with a crush, heat rushing to her cheeks.
“You have a great day as well. And watch out for those ghosts up at the bed-and-breakfast.” He winked at her.
“What ghosts?” she asked, confused.
“Didn’t anyone tell you? The Bakker place is supposed to be haunted. Stories have been circulating about that for over a hundred years.” Henri smiled at her.
“You don’t really believe such things, do you?” Jenna scoffed. She’d lived through real hell; ghost stories weren’t going to scare her.
Deputy Hotty kept smiling and handed her his card. “My cell number is on there. You never know when you might want a deputy to come save you from the big bad ghosts. Of course, you can feel free to call me for anything else you might need as well.”
Oh my God, he really is flirting with me, Jenna thought to herself. Outwardly she tried to remain cool as she took his card. “Thank you, Deputy, but I stopped believing in ghosts a long time ago.”
“Why is that?” he asked.
“The living people around me turned out to be scarier,” Jenna answered before thinking. Damn her too-honest mouth sometimes, it always had gotten her into trouble.
Henri’s eyes seemed to focus a little more after her response. “I’m sorry. Still, keep my card and give me a call sometime. I’m good at all sorts of things, not just protecting people from ghosts.” With one final smile and wink, he walked out to join his fellow officers.
Anna came up behind her as she still held his card in her hand. “Looks like you have a new admirer. Mind you, he might be the biggest flirt in the town, but I don’t know if I’ve seen Henri Gunther go full out like that for attention since he was in high school, and even then he didn’t have to work hard. Girls practically threw themselves at him then—well, until Stacey landed him.”
“And now? No Stacey or women throwing themselves at him?” Jenna couldn’t help but ask. She was going to remain single—she didn’t need the hassle of a relationship, let alone one with a cop and apparently the town lothario—but she still couldn’t help wanting to know. Something about that man got to her. Maybe it was the sadness behind the flirting baby blues, the hint of depths unknown she could see in his eyes.
“Seems like he may have a little interest being returned? Well, I’ll give you a brief run-through on Henri Gunther. Gorgeous, as anyone with eyes can see, and so can he. Back in high school, he was a big shot football player who dated the head cheerleader. Then in the last game, he broke his leg and ended any hope of a college career. Stacey had been banking on him leaving town and taking her with him. When he decided to stay and try out for the police force, well, she took off with one of his friends from the team who was headed to Iowa State. Broke poor Henri’s heart,” Anna explained.
“That’s terrible! She sounds like a bitch.” Jenna’s hands flew up to her mouth. Where was her filter today? “Sorry, Anna, I didn’t mean to cuss.”
“No worries, dear, I’ve heard a few words in my time. May have used them too. No customers are left, so there’s no harm in calling a duck a duck.” Anna smiled reassuringly before she continued. “Well, after the heartbreak Henri never let any relationship get too serious. I think he’s still scared of getting his heart broken again. He needs a nice young woman to show him what real love is, that his high school infatuation was never the real thing. Stacey was never the right woman.”
“Well, I hope he finds someone someday. He does seem to be quite the catch.” Jenna busied herself bussing the last table and restocking supplies, trying to ignore the knowing look Anna gave her. She was not the one to free Deputy Henri Gunther’s heart. She was attracted to him for sure, but she had her own heartbreak and secrets to contend with; she couldn’t take on anyone else’s.
At last her shift ended, and she decided to refuse Adam’s offer of a ride back to the Bakker place. She needed to take a walk around her newfound home and get the lay of the land. She wanted to know where things were, and she needed to pick up a few necessities as well. It was a rather hot afternoon, but she’d brought a change of clothes and felt the need for some physical exertion. Plus it was time to get to know Pella.
By the time she got back to her temporary home she was exhausted and sweaty, but felt she had a little idea of the landscape of the place she now called home. She also knew she was going to be the hot topic of conversation in town, at least until someone new moved in. It surprised her how news of the new waitress at the pizza parlor had preceded her at every stop. Before she ever got a chance to introduce herself, people knew her name was Jenna, and she worked lunch at the pizzeria. A bit creepy, but part of small-town life, she supposed. She had dealt with being known for worse; this was simply idle gossip in a sleepy town. She could live with that. As long as they kept questions about her past minimal and she could keep her answers vague, all would be good.