Free Return to Gray Harbor by J.J. Bryant Page B

with the glass of water and Michael felt like he had worked up a little courage.
    She handed it to him and he said, “Thank you. I hope you don’t mind, is it okay if I just sit here and drink this for a little while before I drive? I know you probably want to get back to your boyfriend or husband, so if it’s a problem I can just go sit in my car for a bit.”
    Beth was so nervous all of a sudden. Husband or boyfriend? Was he hitting on her or just being polite? He didn’t seem to show interest before, but asking about whether she was attached was definitely a sign of interest. She felt her body grow warm and she felt what she always referred to as the body blush coming on. God, this was embarrassing.
    “Oh, no, no husband or boyfriend to rush home to. I’m very single ... I mean, stay as long as you like. I won’t be closing things out for another hour before I head home.” She stammered and blushed a deep red. Her face nearly matched her hair. She was embarrassed.
    ‘I’m very single’? Who says that! She could just kick herself.
    He could tell she was embarrassed, but it made her more endearing, he thought. “Thank you,” he said, as he smiled sadly.
    He was a mess, maybe if things could have been different, a woman like Beth would come home to him at night. But he had made choices that put him where he was today. Single, alienated from his family, and soon to be jobless. He chuckled to himself, he was also very single. It made him wonder what her story was. He stared down at his water, not knowing what he was going to do next.
    He stayed just sitting there for another half hour. She busied herself with closing the books and cleaning the bar, things she assumed her regular bar staff would be doing. It was kind of nice: the calm of it all, but all the customer interaction was not her favorite thing in the world. Although, if the customers were all like Michael, she decided it might not be too bad.
    Michael got up and walked over to the end of the bar to say goodnight to Beth. He brought over his glass, setting it down on the bar, and said to her, “Thanks so much for everything tonight. Here’s my glass and the check. Thanks again, I hope to see you soon.” Then he smiled and left.
    Beth stared after him. Michael seemed like a pleasant enough guy, handsome, just the right amount of nerdy, but she could just tell something was missing. He seemed deeply sad.
    Beth wondered. It had been a long time since she felt an attraction like this and it had certainly been a long time since her last date. Maybe — oh, forget it, she thought. She had to focus on her menus. After all, it was tourist season and you never knew when a food critic might stop by. She needed to focus. No out-of-towners for her, especially not ones with history ... no matter how sexy.

Chapter 6
     
    Beth came to work the next morning feeling a little distracted. Seeing Michael the night before had caused a flood of memories for her, and not all of them were pleasant. High school had been tough; being in the ‘in crowd’ was costly. And for Beth, being ‘in’ was really not being in. Being on the basketball team meant she got invited to all the parties and was included in things she otherwise might not have been, but she always felt out of place. Basically, her height had been both a blessing and burden in high school. Being able to play basketball was the obvious blessing, the burden really was the taunting. And guys like Michael’s brother Jesse, and his football goons, were the ones who made life just a little more difficult. That eased up once her sister and Jesse started dating. But Beth never understood what Jenny saw in him.
    Things had changed a lot since high school. Beth didn't always know she wanted to be a chef. In fact, she had tried to convince herself to become a doctor, but after her parents had passed away, she picked up cooking with her grandmother. Her older sister was too busy out with the ‘in crowd’ but Beth stuck