Out of the Ashes by Valerie Sherrard

and headed out.
    I was a few minutes early. Nick hadn’t arrived yet, so I slid into a booth to wait. To my dismay, in walked Greg.
    â€œHi Shelby,” he paused by my table. “Anyone sitting here?”
    â€œI’m waiting for someone,” I said shortly. He wasn’t going to ruin things for me this time!
    â€œI’m working tonight,” he said, not taking the hint. “I have a half hour break for supper so I thought I’d grab a bite here.”
    â€œYou’d better hurry then.” “
    It’s been pretty quiet at work this week,” he went on. “Last night I spent most of my time cleaning because there were hardly any customers. It was so slow that Mr. Broderick closed at nine instead of ten.”
    â€œPeople don’t go out as much in the winter.” I willed him away with all my might while watching the door for Nick.
    â€œI guess not. Well, my burger should be ready. I called it in a few minutes ago. See you later.”
    â€œYeah, see you.”
    The door was opening then, and I thought I was going to scream. Of all the bad luck, Jane Goodfellow stood in the doorway. It was almost comical, like everyone in town was working against me. She looked around and then walked over to my table.
    I wondered what I could say to her. It would be so awkward when Nick got there.
    She stopped and took a seat directly across from me. There was something different about her, and it only took me a few seconds to realize that it was her hair. She’d worn it long and parted in the middle ever since I could remember, but now there were bangs over her forehead. They were way too short, and I thought the new style made her look silly. She probably thought it was chic though.
    â€œThanks for coming.” She smiled thinly. “I didn’t know if you’d happen to check your e-mail in time to get my message.”
    She had sent the e-mail? I hardly had time to adjust to this bit of news before she dropped another bomb on me.
    â€œAnyway, I heard that you did Nick’s essay for him yesterday.”
    â€œWho told you I did Nick’s essay?” I asked, startled.
    â€œHe did. I saw him last night when he was on his way home from practice, and we talked for a bit.”
    So Jane was the friend who needed him for something personal! I was so angry I could hardly speak, considering that some of the time I’d been working on his essay he’d been with Jane. I could picture him with her, not caring that I was alone in his kitchen while she probably flirted with him shamelessly.
    â€œYou aren’t doing him any favours, you know.”
    â€œI really don’t see what business it is of yours, Jane.” I knew I’d spoken more harshly than was necessary and that it was really his fault that I was so upset.
    â€œIt’s my business because I care about him. He has to learn to do his own work or he’ll never get anywhere.”
    â€œBut he’ll get cut from the team.”
    â€œSo let him. That’ll be his problem, not yours. He knows what he needs to do to stay on the team.” She paused and looked hard at me. “You probably think I’m jealous or something, but it’s not about that.
    I would-n’t go back out with Nick if he asked me to.”
    I just bet you wouldn’t, I thought. I was just about to say something that may not have been very nice when Greg caught my attention, waving as he headed out the door on his way back to work at Broderick’s Gas Bar. My eye was drawn to something blue sticking out of the pocket of his jacket.
    It was the other mitten, the mate to the one I’d found near yesterday’s fire!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    You can just imagine the thoughts that were racing through my head by the time I got back home that night. The fact that Jane was being a busybody and interfering in my upcoming romance with Nick would normally have had me steaming, but after seeing the mitten in