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CHAPTER ONE
NORA
Icould tell the head of the daycare wanted to talk to me as soon as I stepped into the building. The long hallway gave me an unobstructed view of her standing outside her office with her arms crossed and her foot pointed out, tapping her toes. “Have a good day, buddy. Please be good,” I whispered in his ear. He hugged my neck tightly.
“I don’t like it here, Mommy,” he whispered back. My heart broke and the tip of my nose started to burn. I hated that he wasn’t happy here.
“Tell you what, I will try to find a new job so you don’t have to be here so much. Deal?” He backed away from me and I held out my hand.
“Deal,” he said, shaking it. He ran into the room and the door closed in my face. He was my kid, surely I had a right to see what he was doing.
“Ms. Belfort, may I speak with you, please?” The director looked down her nose at me. I wondered why she even wore her glasses. She constantly looked over the rim of them. Were they really decoration to make her look scarier? She didn’t really need them; she terrified me and I was a fully grown adult.
“Of course, Mrs. Trader. I have five minutes until I have to be at work,” I replied as I stood, following her to her office. It was as stuffy as she was. Not a single photo adorned the walls and her desk was bare except for a container of pens. There were no personal touches anywhere and I wondered what it was like to work in a place that sucked so much. I supposed that’s why she always looked miserable.
“Ms. Belfort, we have to talk about Cooper. He hit another student again yesterday.” She folded her hands on her desk and stared at me.
“He told me it was Greg Hyland. The boy who has been picking on him since the day Cooper started here. I will also remind you that Greg is seven, Cooper is four. How can they even interact? When I enrolled my son here, you said the older children were always in a separate area of the daycare.” I crossed my legs and folded my hands on my lap. I wasn’t about to take this lying down.
“Well, sometimes the older kids wander and end up in the smaller children’s room.” Her eyes narrowed in on me, and it was the weakness I was waiting for.
“So, you’re telling me you have no control over your daycare? I’m sure the board you answer to would like to know this information.” I leaned back in the chair, but never broke my focus on the woman.
“Now, Ms. Belfort, I don’t think we need to go that far.” She looked away from me and began shuffling papers that were stacked already perfectly on the corner of her desk. “This was just an informal discussion, letting you know what happened.”
“Are you having an informal conversation with the Hylands?”
“Yes, I will when they come to pick Greg up.” She stared at her computer like if she thought hard enough she could make a note in her calendar to speak to them.
“Mrs. Trader, if you wish to speak to me again, I suggest you have the board in attendance. I will not be pushed around.” Standing, I grabbed my purse and walked out of her office. I held my head high and quickly walked down the hallway. The former school still smelled like cafeteria food, crayons that had been shoved in the heating vents and left to melt, and the markers that kids sniffed trying to get high. Pushing the door open, the warmth of spring hit me and washed over me. It was as if I was being cleansed from that horrible building. I wasn’t lying to Cooper, I was going to find another job, and if we had to move again just to get him out of that place, I would happily do it.
This early in the morning, there wasn’t much traffic. There wasn’t much traffic at any hour, but the street was almost abandoned. Sugar ’n Steam was directly across from the daycare. The coffee shop wasn’t my dream job by any stretch of the imagination, but it paid enough to keep a roof over our heads. Plus, all the leftovers I could handle kept our food costs to a minimum. This town was crumbling. I didn’t see us here forever, but until I could get back on my feet, it’s where we would be. Going home was no longer an option, and it wasn’t like I wanted to. Apparently, even the cutest little boy in the world couldn’t heal some wounds.
I pulled open the door to the coffee shop and the bell rang. “You’re late.” The man behind the till didn’t bother turning to acknowledge me. He had a slimy mustache and greasy hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in a month. He was short and stout, barely able to get his apron tied up. He made working in the small area uncomfortable as he slid back and forth behind me during my shift.
“And good morning to you, Fred. I hope you had a great night. Looks like a busy morning,” I remarked sarcastically as I glanced around the shop. There were no cups on the tables or in the dirty bin and the place was empty. The black and white tile floor would have looked better in a greasy spoon diner, instead of the town’s only coffee shop. I wanted to make minor changes, but Fred was a tightwad. There was an expensive espresso machine that whirred and purred while it made tiny shots of high octane coffee and Fred managed to break it almost daily. I’d started making secret menu lattes, though, and people would get out of line waiting for me to make their favorites. The cafe was busier than it had ever been since I started here, he would say over and over, but never actually attributing it to me being here.
“My night would’ve been better if you’d have come home with me.” He sneered and leaned on the till. Alarms went off, and the till slid open, slamming him in the ribs. I couldn’t help but laugh at him, trying to figure out how to make the squealing stop.
“And just what would I do with my kid?” I asked, a little louder to be heard above the noise. He was a pig, but right now it was the only job in this town, or the only one I could get without any kind of education. Even the daycare wouldn’t take me without specific classes. The bell rang again and people started filing through the door.
“Good morning, Kristin. What can I get you today?” I smiled at the woman who was usually first in line every day. Her curly blonde hair shone like she’d brushed it a thousand times this morning. Her makeup was impeccable and she had more style in her pinky finger than I had in my entire body. It wouldn’t have been hard to be jealous, but she was a super nice person, so I couldn’t hate her.
“Nora, can I get an extra large white chocolate latte with an extra shot of espresso?” She smiled, but her eyes looked tired this morning.
“Sure thing. Bad night?” I asked, grabbing the cup off the tower. Pushing the syrup plunger, I waited for her to start talking.
“Oh, you have no idea. I broke up with my boyfriend and cried all night.” She dabbed at her eyes and blinked wildly as she waved her hands in front of her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Kristin, but I think you’re better off without him. Just think of what you can do now. He isn’t going to hold you back from barrel racing anymore.” I smiled as I poured a double espresso shot into her cup. I was sure I’d seen her face brighten right before my eyes.
“You know what, Nora? You’re right. He has been holding me back. I need to find a rodeo this weekend. You’re amazing, my daily dose of coffee shop therapy. See you tomorrow.” She beamed as I passed her coffee to her. “Keep the change.” She handed me a twenty. I owed her fifteen dollars, but she spun, her hair flying around her head, an extra pep in her step, and headed out the door. Tucking the money in my pouch, I moved on to the next customer. My morning flew by and the shop, eventually, was cleared out. A peaceful lull between the morning coffee goers and the noon hour latte crowd was welcomed.
Most people were good about returning cups to the dirty dish counter, but a few half full cups had been left on the tables, so I cleared them and wiped everything down. A shadow walked past the window and the door opened just as Fred opened his mouth. “Bend over that table a little more, Nora. I didn’t get a good view.” He was staring at me, leaning on the till again, but this time he managed not to set anything off.
“Smashing your face into it is the only way I’m bending over this table any more, Fred. Wanna try me?” I slapped the cloth down into the sink and washed my hands. “Good morning. What can I get you today?” The man who’d walked in was laser focused on Fred. I wondered if he was going to say something about our interaction, but he finally peeled his eyes from Fred and looked at me.
“Black coffee,” he stated, his voice low and gravely. I reached for the pot, noticing it was empty. Fred couldn’t even handle the smallest thing like starting a new pot. Oh, black coffee man, I wondered what he was like. Was he sweet and gentle or was he just like his coffee order, strong and bitter?
