The Lottery Winner by Emilie Rose

wall.”
    Did she want to sell another one? Of course she did. But her paintings were sort of like pets or children. She’d invested so much into them that giving them up wasn’t as easy or painless as she’d expected it to be.
    â€œDo I need to pick it up?” he pressed.
    â€œNo. I’ll...handle it.”
    Then the stranger approached the cash register. She made a hasty escape and prayed he didn’t remember where he’d seen her—if he even had—and say something to Logan.
    * * *
    â€œL OGAN C HANCELLOR N ASH !”
    His full name, snapped out in that tone, echoed through the empty restaurant. Logan stopped just short of the Widow’s front entrance and turned to face his aunt. “Yes, ma’am?”
    â€œDon’t you ‘ma’am’ me, trying to butter me up. Stop picking fights with Jessie.”
    â€œShe’s—”
    She threw up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m short staffed. Sue’s threatening to quit. I can’t afford to lose Jessie. You’d better make nice with her. You hear me?”
    â€œI hear you. But aren’t you concerned about her secretiveness?”
    â€œNo. Because sometimes a person’s worth is here.” She thumped her chest with a fist. “It can’t be measured in black-and-white words and numbers on a page. If you’d spend more time concentrating on the people in your present instead of the ones who are long gone, you might figure that out.”
    The jab wasn’t a new one. “Elizabeth and Trent need to pay for what they did.”
    â€œYou were raised in a churchgoing family, son. I know the good book told you that vengeance isn’t your job. But forgiveness is .”
    â€œNot going to happen.” She didn’t understand. He was searching for his exes as much for her as for himself. “If I find them soon, I might be able to recoup some of the money they stole—that includes the money to buy back Jack’s boat. It’s for sale again.”
    The corners of her mouth turned down. “Let it go, Logan. I have. The lost possessions of our past will never make us happy in the present. What would I do with a charter fishing boat, anyway?”
    â€œLive on it, like you always planned to do when you retired.”
    â€œNot without Jack. Besides, I like my house.”
    â€œMiri—” Again she interrupted him with an upraised hand.
    â€œSelling that boat allowed me to keep the Widow’s doors open. Don’t make me shut them now because I can’t staff the place.”
    He wouldn’t stop searching for the ones who’d betrayed him. But he couldn’t handle the worry and exhaustion carving new wrinkles into his aunt’s face. “Colleges are on break. See if you can rustle up some of your summer help to fill in.”
    A tired smile stretched her lips. “I knew there was a reason I let you hang around. You’re pretty smart for a bean counter.”
    The familiar jab made him smile. He didn’t want to be at war with Miri. And if that meant making nice with Jessie, then so be it. It was always easier to get information out of friends than enemies anyway.
    * * *
    J ESSIE STARED AT the coffeepot with gritty eyes and cursed the contact lenses she was afraid to go without now that Logan had started showing up unexpectedly.
    Willing the machine to brew faster, she bent over the sink and splashed cold water on her face, then dried off with a paper towel. She’d tossed and turned last night, dithering over whether to return to the restaurant. Going back meant potentially risking her safety if Sue was right about that man watching her for three days. But breaking her promise to Miri would definitely leave the woman in a really tough spot.
    She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t, as her dad used to say. This was the kind of dilemma she’d always relied on her family to help her figure