Midnight Sun (79 page)

Tonia
and
the
two
men
were
seated
at
a
booth
in
the
far
corner
when
Hilde
and
Lonnie
entered.
A
young
woman
with
thick
,
sandy
-
colored
dreadlocks
bundled
atop
her
head
looked up with a friendly expression
as
they
walked
in
.
She
had
the
tanned
face
of
an
avid
outdoors enthusiast, probably a
hiker
or
kayaker
who
spent
many
hours
unprotected
in
the
wind
and
sun.
Wrinkles
at
the
edges
of
her
eyes
and
mouth
rendered
evidence
of
weather
damage,
giving
her
a
prematurely
aged
look
that
put
her
in
her
mid
-
to
-
late
thirties
even
though
her
body
language
suggested
she
was
probably
closer
to
twenty-five.
Against
her
dark
skin
,
a
gold
stud
glimmered
in
the
side
of
her
nose
,
and
a
large
gold
pin
shone
in
contrast
to
the
eyebrow
through
which
it
pierced.
Whether or not such scar
-
inducing jewelry was to a person's taste, the young lady was quite attractive nonetheless.

She
smiled
as
the
two
ladies
walked
in
and
said,
“
Hi,
welcome
to
Snow
City.
Just
the
two
of
you
this
afternoon?
”

Tonia
saw
Hilde
and
Lonnie
right
away
and
stood up
,
calling out and
motioning
them
to
the
table.

Hilde pointed that direction and said, “That's our party.”

The
smiling
woman
called
after
them
as
they
headed
toward
the
booth
.
“
Would
you
like
a
menu?
We
still
have
lunch
and
serve
breakfast
all
day.
”

Lonnie
suddenly
realized
she
was
more than just
hungry.
She
was
,
in
fact
,
famished.

“
Yes
,
please
. C
ould
you
bring
it
to
our
friend
’
s
table?
”

“
Sure
thing
.
”
The
woman
reached
the
table
just
a
moment
after
the
two
women
sat
down.
S
he
set
the
menus
and
glasses
of
ice
water
in
front
of
each
of
them
,
then
gathered
the
used
dishes
from
the
table.

“
Would
the
rest
of
you
like
something
else?
More
coffee
,
maybe?
”

“
Sure
.
”
Warner
’s
face
softened
slightly
as
he
handed
the
cup
to
her.
She
took
it
with
smile
and
a
nod.

“
I
’
ll
be
right
back.
”

The
young
woman
walked
away
with
his
cup.
She
was
thin
and
fit,
with
feminine
curves
accentuated
by
a
hiker
’
s
muscular
physique.
Warner
followed
her
with
his
eyes
for
a
few
seconds
,
then
turned
back
to
the
remnants
of
F
rench
fries
on
his
plate.

“
Damn,
Warner,
”
Tonia
said
,
“
is
that
an
attraction
to
the
opposite
sex
I
see
on
your
face?
”

“
Huh?
” Warner nearly choked
on a fry
.

“
He
’
s
blushing,
”
Tomer
said.
“
L
ooks
real
enough
to
me.
”