“You bitch!” Shannon lunged for me, but Ethan was already out of the kitchen and pinning her arms behind her.

“That’s it. You’re out of here.” He pushed her out the door and let it slam behind her. She turned around to face him, but he yelled through the glass. “Take one step toward this place, and I’ll have the cops here before you can take a swing.” He held up his cell to show he was serious.

Shannon screamed and stormed over to the window where her friends were sitting. She smacked the glass with her open palm to get their attention. “Let’s go!”

“We haven’t eaten yet,” the big football player complained.

“Come on,” the girl next to him said, obviously not happy about having to leave either.

They filed out, giving Ethan and me dirty looks in the process. Yup, I was officially going to have a crappy school year.

“Sorry,” I said to Gloria. Now that it was over, what I’d said to Shannon registered. I couldn’t believe I’d brought up Trevor. I really was a monster.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. That one there is a bad seed. There’s nothing else to be said about it.” Gloria turned to the customers who’d witnessed the outburst. “Free peach pie all around.”

Smiles and nods let me know all was forgotten. Ethan kissed my forehead and headed back to the kitchen while I sliced up the pie. When everyone had a piece, I wiped down the booth where the kids had been, trying to erase all memory of them and Shannon.

The bell above the door jingled, and I looked up to see Nora. I followed her to the counter.

“You didn’t pay your bill last time. I’m not serving you anything until you give me the $1.75 you owe Gloria for the coffee.”

Nora reached in her purse and picked through her loose change until she had $1.75 exactly. No tip. Again. I grabbed the money and put it in the register. Then I purposely started refilling the saltshaker right in front of her.

Nora got up and moved two stools away from me. “Coffee. Black.”

“In a minute. I’m busy.” I continued to slowly pour the salt into the shaker.

“Do I need to throw her out, too?” Gloria asked. “This is bad for business, you know.” By the look on her face, I could tell she wasn’t going to put up with me not getting along with any more customers today.

“No. It’s fine. She tried to stiff you on the bill last time. I made her pay up. I’ll get her some coffee.”

Gloria nodded and went into the kitchen.

I poured the coffee, not even caring that I was spilling it onto the saucer under the cup. Let Nora drip coffee on her green dress. Wow, another green dress. Did she own any other clothes?

“Here.” I shoved the cup in front of her. “Let me guess, that’s all you want.”

“No, I want that necklace you’re wearing.” She sipped her coffee.

“What?” I stepped back. “Are you really going to start that again?”

“How much do you want for it?” She pulled a pile of bills out of her purse.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve cheated me out of a tip twice and skipped out on your bill, and you carry around a wad of cash like that?” I liked her less and less every time I saw her.

“I don’t believe in banks. Now, how much for the necklace?”

“It’s not for sale, but feel free to leave the tips you owe me.”

“Everything is for sale. Name your price.”

“If you’re so eager to spend your money, why don’t you go buy yourself another dress? Try a color other than green for a change.”

“Fine.” She stood up and walked out.

Gloria came out of the kitchen. “Did she leave without paying her bill again?”

Damn it! “I’m sorry.”

“Samantha, I can’t have customers skipping out on their checks. We’ll all be out of jobs then.”

“I know. I’ll take the money out of my tips.”

Gloria shook her head, looking disappointed, and walked over to the couple by the door.

The rest of the night was better. No more drama. Just a lot of drink refills, cleaning tables, and trying to get back on Gloria’s good side. By the end of the night, she finally broke down and smiled at me.

“Go home. Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a new day.” She sounded like a generic greeting card.

“I’m really sorry about earlier. It won’t happen again.” And if it did, I’d pay Nora’s bill before Gloria noticed.

Ethan held my hand on the drive home, but he didn’t turn up our driveway. He drove past it.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. You look like you could use a change of pace.”

Actually, it was the change of pace in this new life that was throwing me. I needed the old Sam back. The one who didn’t have a monster lurking inside her.

Ethan pulled onto a small, gravel area off the side of the road. He got out and met me at my door. “Come on.” Reaching for my hand, he led me to a wooden fence. On the other side of it was a huge drop-off. We were on top of a mountain, looking out across the river.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it.” Ethan gently turned my face toward his and brushed his lips across mine. It was a sweet kiss, but there was something behind it. Desire.

I pulled back. “We’re out in the open.”

“It’s dark.”

“Until a car drives by.”

Ethan sighed. “Sorry. It was a stupid idea. I just thought that, after the other night…”

“We could go home.” I really wasn’t ready to, and not because of what Ethan was suggesting. I didn’t want to leave this view yet. “Or we can stay here for a while first.”

“You like it?”

“Yeah. It reminds me of when I was six, and I used to go visit my aunt in Maryland. There weren’t any mountains like this, but her house was on the water, and her backyard sloped down toward a dock. When I stood in her sun room and looked out over the water, I felt like I was flying. Like I was a bird and nothing could touch me.”

“Then we’ll stay, and you’ll fly.” He took my hand, kissing my fingertips.

Yes, Ethan was a typical guy who thought about sex, but he never let his own urges stand in the way of whatever I wanted. I leaned my head against his chest as I stared out over the water.

We stayed for two hours. I hadn’t intended to be there that long, but between the view and being with Ethan, I was in heaven. I kept going back and forth between breathing in the fresh mountain air and breathing in Ethan. The boy was an amazing kisser.

Finally, we went home. Ethan moved one of the bigger rocks to the side. He hadn’t had time to disassemble the strange rock circle yet, but it was pretty annoying having to step over the same rock every time we went in and out of the cottage. “I’ll get the others in the morning,” he said.

I got ready to shower while Ethan ate one of the sandwiches he’d brought home from the diner. Making out made him hungry. I turned the water all the way to hot and was pleasantly surprised that it was actually warm. Still not hot, but definitely not lukewarm either.

I got undressed and looked down at the necklace. Ethan was right. It was silly of me to shower and sleep with it on. But still, I didn’t want to take it off. While the warm water washed down the drain without me, I debated. I decided I’d take it off to shower but put it back on afterward. Baby steps.

I undid the clasp and left it on the sink. I stepped into the shower and basked in the fact that I wasn’t freezing cold. Maybe the pipes were getting used to being used again, or maybe the hot water heater was finding its second wind. Either way, I enjoyed my shower for the first time since I’d come back to life.

I heard movement in the bathroom, and I tensed up. Was Ethan in here? Was he planning on surprising me in the shower? I suddenly felt cold. I shut the water off and reached my arm out from behind the curtain, groping for my towel. I grabbed it and wrapped myself up before I pulled the curtain back.

The door was still closed. Maybe I’d imagined it. Or maybe I’d heard Ethan in the kitchen. I stepped out of the shower, and a cool breeze hit my right side. I turned to see the window open. I hadn’t opened it. I’d never opened it, not once since we moved in. It didn’t have a lock on it, so it opened all the way up.