Angels Fall

for a bacon cheeseburger and a chicken sandwich, kept moving to set up the two orders of fries.
    "Damn! This is good." He spooned up more of the soup.
    "Thanks. Make sure to tell the boss."
    "I'll do that. So, Recce, I checked the schedule. You're off tonight."
    "Mmm-hmm." She nodded at Pete when the bantamweight dishwasher came in from his break.
    "Thought you might want to take in a movie."
    "I didn't know there was a movie theater in town."
    "There isn't. I've got the best DVD collection in western Wyoming. Make a hell of a bowl of popcorn, too."
    "I wouldn't be surprised." Boss's son, Reece reminded herself again. Tread carefully between friendly and dismissive. "That's a nice offer, Lo, but I've got a lot of things to catch up on tonight. You want a roll with that soup?"
    "Maybe." He edged a little closer, not quite crowding her at the grill. "You know, honey, you're going to break my heart if you keep turning me down."
    "I doubt that." She kept it light as she flipped the grill orders, then got him a roll and a plate. "You don't want to get too close to the grill," she warned. "You may get splattered."
    Instead of taking the soup out to the restaurant as she'd hoped, he just leaned back against the work counter. "I've got an awful tender heart."
    "Then you want to steer clear of me," she told him. "I stomp all over them. I left a trail of bleeding and bruised hearts all the way from Boston. It's a sickness."
    "I might be the cure."
    She glanced at him then. Too good-looking, too full of charm. Once upon a time she might have enjoyed being pursued by him, even caught for a while. But she just didn't have the energy for games. "'You want the truth?"
    "Is it going to hurt?"
    It made her laugh. "I like you. I'd prefer to keep liking you. You're my boss's son, and that makes you the next thing to the boss in my lineup. I don't sleep with the boss, so I'm not going to sleep with you. But I appreciate the otter."
    "Didn't ask you to sleep with me yet," he pointed out.
    "Just saving us both time."
    He spooned up soup, ate in a slow and thoughtful way. His smile was the same—slow and thoughtful. "Bet I could change your mind, you give me half a chance."
    "That's why you're not getting one."
    "Maybe you'll get fired, or my ma'll disown me."
    When the fryer buzzed, she let the potatoes drain in the baskets while she finished the sandwiches. "I can't afford to get fired, and your mother loves you."
    She finished the orders, put them up. "Now go on out, sit at the counter and finish your soup. You re in the way.
    He grinned at her. "Bossy women are a weakness of mine."
    But he strolled out when she started on the next ticket.
    "He'll try again,'" Pete told her from the sink in a voice that still said Bronx even after eight years in Wyoming. "He can't help himself."
    She felt a little harried, a little hot. "Maybe I should've told him I was married, or a lesbian."
    "Too late for that now. Better tell him you've fallen wild in love with me." Pete sent her a grin, showing the wide gap between his two front teeth.
    She chuckled again. "Why didn't I think of that?"
    "Nobody does. That's why it'd work."
    Joanie came in, stuck a check in the pocket of Pete's apron, handed another to Reece. "Payday."
    "Thanks." And Reece made a decision on the spot. "I wonder it when you have a chance you could show me the apartment upstairs. If it's still available."
    "Haven't seen anybody move in, have you? In my office."
    "I need to—"
    "Do what you're told." Joanie finished and headed out.
    Left without a choice, Recce followed. Inside, Joanie opened a shallow wall cabinet emblazoned with a cowboy riding a bucking horse. There was an army of labeled keys on hooks. She took one out, passed it to Recce. "'Go on up, take a look."
    "It's not time for my break."
    Joanie cocked a hip, fisted a hand on it. "Girl, it's time it I say it's time. Go on. Stairs out the back."
    "All right. I'll be back in ten."
    It was cold enough even with the snow rapidly going to slush that she needed her coat. She was grateful for it once she'd climbed the rickety open stairs and unlocked the door, Joanie was obviously frugal enough to keep the heat off upstairs.
    She saw it was essentially one room with an alcove where an iron daybed was nestled, and a short counter on the street side that separated a little kitchen. The floors were random-length oak that showed some scars, while the walls were an industrial pasty-flesh beige.
    There was a bath that was actually