Prologue
Marty Cross slid the plate in front of the mountain of a man that sat at the bar of the diner her friend Janice owned. Marty had worked there for five years, even before she was legally supposed to. She had seen all kinds of men and all kinds of trouble, but this one was special.
“Eat up and hit the road alright?” She said and crossed her arms over her breasts as she glared at him.
“You always this nice to the customers?” He frowned when he looked her over.
“When they wear those colors this is what they get. If you don’t like it you can stop somewhere else next time you’re through here.”
“I’m not here for trouble. I’m just looking for somebody and a meal and maybe, just maybe a little courtesy. Used to be able to get that in here.” Ace hated disrespect. A few years ago he would have demanded it, now it made him curious. It took guts to disrespect a Defender. Ace wondered why this girl would take the risk. He got the feeling it was personal but he had been gone from Georgia longer than she had been alive.
Marty crossed her arms and glared at him. Could he really be that dense? She knew she should just treat him like any other customer, but she wanted him to ask. She wanted him to care enough to ask.
“Times change. Who are you looking for anyway?” Her heart fluttered thinking he might say her name, that he somehow knew…
“Janie Cross.”
Guess not. “What do you want with Janie Cross?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Since she was my mama, quite a lot actually.”
BOOM! Marty wanted to laugh. The man looked totally shocked. She knew who he was. She had his picture in a locket around her neck along with mama’s, and she also knew he had no idea that she existed.
“Your mama?”
She nodded and poured coffee for a customer who sat at the other end of the counter.
“How old are you?” He asked when she came back.
“Nineteen.”
He nodded and took a sip of his coffee. Marty could see him mentally counting back and she knew it only took a second for him to come to the right conclusion. She respected him for that. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in his eyes when he looked up at her and that showed a lot about what he thought of her mama.
“You know who I am? That look on your face says you do.”
“I know enough. I was told that if I see those colors on a cut that I should turn and walk away.”
“Your mama tell you that?” He was looking her over now and the gruffness in his voice told her he didn’t believe she heard it from her mama. She knew he was seeing the resemblance. Her hair was dark like her mama’s, but her eyes were all his so was the shape of her nose.
Marty saw the way his jaw hardened and decided not to lie.
“My grandma.”
“I’d like to see your mama.” He grinned. “I’d rather not see your grandma.”
“Me too. Mama died about eight years ago. Nothing to worry about with grandma either. She passed about three years ago too.”
She regretted that. He looked like she had punched him in the face, but she was no good with words. She always just blurted everything out. It was best not to sully the facts.
“Where do you live then?” He asked as he tilted his head to study her like a bug under a microscope.
“Now she lives with me Ace.” A woman with curly red hair stepped up beside Marty and crossed her arms. “She’s going to school over in Dahlonega so I get to hang onto her a little longer. What are you doing back here? After all these years, why are you back now?”
“Guess I’m gettin’ old Janice. I wanted to see Janie. Life gets to all of us after a while. I wanted to revisit a happier time I guess.” He felt like a pussy when his eyes grew moist. Shit was getting to him, but it was the
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