The Alpha's Saviour

Chapter 10

Hayley POV

           Leila is already waiting for me as I squeeze into the cute little diner she picked for lunch. It’s 50’s style, with red vinyl booths and white tables and a jukebox in the corner. It’s packed with tourists filling up with some hearty food before they head up into the mountains and a good mix of the town locals starting their weekend off. Leila has snagged a booth in the furthest corner from the entrance and as I make my way over to her, I feel everyone’s eyes follow me and hear some whispering, but everyone is smiling at me and nodding friendly greetings, so it seems to be positive gossiping about me that’s being done. I have gone from completely anonymous to everyone knowing who I am within the last four days.

           “So how does it feel to be the local celebrity?” Leila teases as I swing into the booth opposite her, relieved to have my back to the room so I can ignore everyone watching me even for just an hour.

           “I’m from a small town so I know what it’s like, but this is something else altogether.” I say shaking my head, “I know it’ll all be forgotten about in a few days but it’s a bit strange.”

           “Oh, they won’t forget.” She laughs, “Cooper is basically… the town mayor, and half of Pine Ridge works for my dad. Everyone loves him, and I mean everyone. Proper golden boy stuff. It’s tedious.” She jokes, but I can see her pride him shining through in her eyes.

           “Ah, that makes a bit more sense.” I nod, already picturing some stuffy bore in a polo shirt and khaki’s, similar to the guys I had to deal with in my old job. It’s a bit disappointing.

           “So now by virtue of saving him, you are now our favorite person, they’ll probably commission a statue within the week.” She laughs at my grimace and sets down the menu on the counter. “I don’t know why I’m even looking, I’m here every week.” She quips, catching the eye of our waitress so we can place our orders.

           “Great, I’ll just have whatever you’re having then.” I sit back and look over at Leila, who is just smiling at me without saying anything. “What?”

           “Oh nothing, I was just thinking how great it is to have another woman my age working in the town. I have a doctor’s clinic just down from where you work and pick up some shifts at the hospital. How have I not seen you before?”

           “I only moved here in January, and between starting the new job and trying to get some work done on my house, I haven’t really been out and about yet.” It’s partially true, but the main reason is that I was trying to avoid meeting anyone. She narrows her eyes at me, and I brace myself for more of a grilling, but her face quickly transforms into a mischievous grin instead.

           “Well, that’s just sad Hayley. I mean we all have to work, but you need to have a life too. I officially volunteer my services to show you around the wild party scene that is Pine Ridge.” She winks and calls out to the waitress Jenny to put on 2 burgers and fries for us.

           “I’d love that. The only other person I’ve met is Marcus, and he doesn’t strike me as the wild party type.” Leila’s eyes lose their giddiness for a second when I mention his name and then she huffs.

           “Definitely not. That man doesn’t know how to have fun. Although he was actually smiling when he came to visit you, so maybe you bring out a different side to him. I thought I was seeing things.” She looks a bit sad at the thought of that.

           “Oh no, it’s nothing like that, he just helped me out with some paperwork when I moved to town. Stops in to say hi every now and again.” She nods and shrugs as though she doesn’t care but I can tell she is relieved to hear there is nothing going on.

           “Great, you’ll have plenty of time to go exploring with your new best friend then.” She proceeds to tell me about everything great about Pine Ridge and all the things to do and see close by. I feel like I am out to lunch with the local tourist board and not the town doctor, but her enthusiasm is infectious, and I find myself really looking forward to getting to know both her and the town a bit better. If I am going to stay here, it’s probably about time that I make some new friends.