Circles in the Sand Read Online Free

rose.
    “I’ll see you again. Right now I’ve got to find a sack for the night.”
    “If Gilman don’t have all the rooms you need. We could rent out a room or two at our place,” Ollie said. “Both kids away now, so we’re empty-nesting.”
    “I don’t know how many guys I’m going to have here yet, but I’ll keep your offer in mind.” He walked across the street to the Gilman Restaurant. There were no customers inside this early. The same pretty teenager was listening to a radio. “Howdy Miss Lorena. Think I can get a room and a shower before supper?”
    “Oh yes Sir. I’ll get Mom.”
    Mrs. Gilman took him through a room behind the dinning room to a counter next to inside stairs. Lorena followed along.
    She handed him a card to fill out. “You can call me Dorris, Sergeant, everyone does.” While she read over his information, Clint studied Dorris. Early thirties he guessed. Fairly attractive, nicely stacked, no make-up, he wondered if there was a Mr. Gilman. When she blushed, he realized she knew he was looking at her. He swung his head around to look at a poster.
    “The rooms on the first floor have showers in the toilet. Those upstairs have a basin, but share a shower and toilet at each end of the hall. Downstairs, three dollars a night. Upstairs two.”
    “A personal shower sounds good to me. Don’t have that in the barracks. Not important now, but do you have a weekly or monthly rate?”
    She handed him a large towel, wash cloth and a bar of soap. “We didn’t have. Not enough customers staying long. She handed him a key attached by a small chain to a wood pad. “Number one at the end.” She pointed to the door beside the stairs.
    Inside number one, Clint checked the place over. Clean enough. No phone. No bugs,  bed, one chair, a small table. The metal sided-shower he reckoned was a recent improvement. It’s so narrow a man’ll have to stand in there twice to get wet. 
    Dressed in casual civilian clothes, Clint entered the restaurant. He  sat near the window. “What’s for supper, Miss Lorena?”
    Unasked, she brought him a glass of water. “We’re not expecting a lot of people, so its beef stew tonight. Coffee?”
    “Sure. Black. Stew sounds good to me.”
    When Lorena brought the coffee to  him, she stood nearby and smiled at him. “My, you’re a good looking man in civilian clothes too.”
    “Huh? Why thank you, Miss Lorena. That’s a real complement coming from such a pretty young girl.” He swept his eyes away from her chest.
    Unnecessarily, she wiped off a nearby table. “You don’t have to call me Miss every time. Do you think my Mom is pretty?”
    Involuntarily, Clint’s eyebrows raised and fell. Holy cow . “Ah, why yes. Your Mom is the most attractive woman I’ve seen around here.”
    “I don’t see any rings. Are you married?”
    A third degree? Am I being set up? Caution, Sergeant. “Well not now. I was, and I’ve got a girl friend back in Grand Eclipse.”
    “Hunh. I’ll see if your stew is ready.”
    After she returned with a generous sized bowl of stew and some biscuits, the girl hung around again. No one else had entered the restaurant yet. “There’s a lot of guys after my Mom.”
    “What does your Daddy say about that?”
    “Mom’s a widow. Dad was killed in the war.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure both you and your Mom miss him.”
    “Sure. But that was a long time ago.”
    Thankfully for Clint, two young men came in to order, and broke up Lorena’s  further interrogation. He met her at the counter to pay her, and then left. Mom’s pretty all right. A widow. I wonder how hard up she is for a little casual romance. But Miriam is enough problems without me getting involved with another woman. Maybe I ought to check out the Boar Pen… sometime…but not tonight.
    After he left the restaurant Lorena went back to her mother. “Did you know that good-looking Sergeant Greybull isn’t married.”
    Dorris set aside her paperwork and