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Faye’s voice is small when she replies, “He’s your nephew. I thought…well, I thought you wouldn’t believe me or wouldn’t care.”
Harold steps closer to her and raises his hand like he wants to stroke her cheek but drops it quickly. “Why would you think that, honey? Of course, I care.”
Faye looks momentarily stunned, then shuffles toward him. I thought she was in love with Wyatt, but the way she’s looking at Harold…
“When I told him I didn’t like it when he touches me and that I was going to tell you if he didn’t stop, he told me you fired the last girl who ‘lied’ about him. He said you’d fire me too, and you know I can’t afford to lose this job.”
Matt is completely forgotten, though he continues to struggle unsuccessfully to get out of Wyatt’s hold, as all of our attention is focused on the scene playing out between Harold and Faye. This time, Harold doesn’t hold himself back. He strokes Faye’s cheek softly, making her breath hitch and mouth part.
“That never happened, Faye. I don’t care if he’s my nephew. I would never have let this go on if I had known about it, I promise.” Faye bites her bottom lip and tilts her head, leaning into his palm on her cheek, and omg, how sweet.
We’re snapped out of the lovely moment when Matt, who’s sweating and puffing now, points an accusing finger at Faye. “That’s not true! I never touched that old hag”—he swings his arm to point at me—“and I didn’t touch that prissy little bitch either!”
Ooh, bad call, dude.
Wyatt growls like a savage animal and picks Matt up as easily as he would a bag of garbage. It takes him three seconds to stomp out of the office, push open the diner’s front door, and literally throw Matt outside on his ass. The three of us follow, and it’s then I realize all the customers, and the kitchen staff as well, are on their feet, heads bobbing around to see what’s going on.
I run out the door behind Wyatt as he stomps over to Matt, who is sprawled on his back in the parking lot. Wyatt twists Matt’s shirt in his fist, pulling him up to stand, and cocks his arm back like he’s going to punch him in the face while Matt pleads for him to let him go.
I lunge for his arm. “No! Don’t do it, Wyatt!”
“Let go of me, Dolly. This little shit deserves it and more for what he did to you and the other girls.”
I wrap both of my hands around his thick arm and go up on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Don’t do it, Daddy. If you hurt him, then the cops are going to come and arrest you. You’ll go to jail, and then I’ll be all alone.”
Wyatt instantly lets go of Matt’s shirt and shoves him away, making him trip over his feet and land on his ass again. Wyatt boosts me up with an arm under my butt, and I wrap my legs around his waist, grab his face, and kiss him hard.
“Thank you, Daddy,” I say with relief when I break the kiss.
Our heads swing to the side when we hear a loud grunt, finding Harold hunched over Matt. He grabs Matt’s shirt like Wyatt had done, pulling him up to sit, and then he punches Matt square in the face.
“Wyatt might not want to go to jail, but I sure as hell don’t care.” He swings and punches Matt again, and it’s lights out for him. Harold straightens and pulls a red bandana from the back pocket of his black slacks, using it to mop across his brow. He yells at the gathered crowd of looky-loos, “Any of y’all going to call the cops, or can we get back to eating?”
They collectively shake their heads, with a few of them shouting out answers of No and Nope. One of the old timers who had been sitting at the counter shouts, “We didn’t see nothing, did we?” to his friends.
One smirks and answers, “Nope, we sure didn’t.” There are a few chuckles, and the small crowd of customers and employees make their way back into the diner.
Harold turns to me and Wyatt, who I’m still clinging to. “Well now, Miss Dolly. I’m real sorry about my nephew’s behavior. If you still want the job, it’s yours, of course. I’m sure my brother is going to wring his neck, and I’ll make sure Matt won’t be back to bother no one.”
I turn to Wyatt and study his expression, which is only slightly back to normal. “Up to you, babygirl. Now that the trash has been taken out, I’ve got no reason to worry about you working here.”
I smile, though I’m still shaken up by everything. None of this changes the fact I still want a way to support myself.
“Thank you, Harold. Yes, I’d still like to take the job.” I happily follow him back inside to collect my new uniform, one I get to pick out.
Faye is smiling brightly when we briefly make eye contact when I’m done, though her attention drifts right back to Harold, who stands at her side, leaning in close and speaking too low for me to hear. She looks smitten, and I hope I read the whole situation between her and Wyatt wrong.
The other waitress, who looks to be in her late twenties, sticks her hand out to shake mine. “Hi. Dolly, right? I’m Violet. This was one hell of a way to meet you.” Her long brown hair with purple streaks is pulled up in a ponytail, and it swings as she laughs. Her jewel-studded nose ring twinkles when she scrunches her nose.
I snort and say, “You can say that again.” I drop her hand and lace mine with Wyatt’s. He clears his throat, and I motion to him. “This is Wyatt, my fiancé.”
Violet grins, eyeing him up and down several times.
Ahh shit, is she in love with him too?
“Yeah, I know who he is. He used to date my big sister, Crystal, before the bitch emptied my wallet and took off. He works with my husband, Jared, down at Berenson Trucking.”
She’s married! Yes! And she’s not in love with Wyatt!
