To Be Obscure

| CH. 08

I thought about walking into the bars, but there was no possible way she could have been there. She was a child. If she had gotten in and was served a drink, I'd make sure it never happened again.

Then, I'd really have to leave Rockfalls.

Nathan mentioned the supermarket, so we took a stab in the dark and walked in—with no success. The cashiers who worked there had no idea who we asked about. Instead, they wondered if we were single. Nathan had half a mind to pursue, but my glare reminded him we had other matters at hand. That didn't stop him from getting a phone number from the brunette with red lips.

"You're acting as if you've never seen them before," I muttered as the automatic doors shut behind us.

"Yeah, but maybe it's the hair?" He ruffled the top of his head, just as he'd done earlier. "They dig it."

"Hm."

After, we'd tried the book store. The general goods store. The local movie theatre. Nothing. She was a ghost in a town where everyone saw everything. It just wasn't possible.

Our last stop—which Nathan had hoped to be our first—was Eternal Blue. Star wasn't working, but Ron was, accompanied by two other employees I wasn't too familiar with. When I asked him had he seen the girl again, he shrugged and shook his head. "No, sorry."

By that point, after hours of walking, and the sun dipping lower into the sky, I was mentally spent. I slumped down on the barstool in front of the register and pressed my cheek against the cold counter space. Nathan sat beside me, helping himself to a cupcake and black coffee. When offered, I refused. "Not today," I said, shaking my head.

"What bout—" Ron leaned under the register to lift my whiskey bottle into view, but even that I refused. Both men looked as though they'd seen a ghost. Ron even checked to make sure he had the correct bottle in his hand.

"No drinking?" Nathan asked, a crumb dropping from his lip.

"Not even a shot?" Ron wouldn't hide the bottle. His two helpers whispered near the far booth—I heard them; neither knew there was a liquor stash.

My eyes skimmed over them: a blonde and a brunette. One taller than the other, one prettier than the other. Like Nathan earlier, I had half a mind to motion one over and steal a kiss. One good smile was all it took. Whether they were on the clock or not, I'd have at least one on my lap.

But I couldn't. Not now.

"Alcohol can't fix my problem right now," I said as I lifted my head to look Ron straight in the eye, "but, I guess I'll take that coffee."

"Coffee, right," Ron said with hesitation, as though he had forgotten he worked in a café. He fumbled for a mug and a coaster and poured me something that smelled dark and Caribbean. Followed by the sugar and cream, it smelled even more heavenly.

"It's only the first day," Nathan said reassuringly, "I'll do more investigating."

I made a sound into my coffee as I hoped it would wash away the ball stuck in my throat. It didn't, of course. My hindrance ran deeper than coffee and whiskey.

"I mean, not that I want to be nosey, but who is she?"

My eyes shot to Ron and his curious eyes. I could feel Nathan's gaze, the same as mine, on me. I raised my brow. "Distant family, you could say."

"Oh," Ron said as he took the money Nathan had placed beside the plate and put it inside the register. "She came in here looking for someone. I didn't think it was you, but I guess now it was."

"What," I placed my mug down on the coaster, "when?"

He shrugged. "A week ago, maybe? Just once or twice. I ran her out the second time for leaving an unpaid tab, but the day she met you, she paid it off. So, I can't be too mad."