Service was speedy and before long, with a tray in front of her and her tummy rumbling in anticipation, Amelia bustled past the people still waiting to order and went to join Kyle. He’d got the table but he’d also attracted the attention of some guy who seemed to be giving him a piece of his mind.
‘Everything all right?’ She set down the tray and stood next to Kyle and this man, ready to go between them if either put their hands on the other one. It had looked heated from a distance and the conversation up this close had definitely taken a turn for the worse.
‘He’s a thief.’ The man jabbed an accusing finger in Kyle’s direction.
Good job it hadn’t made contact with Kyle because given past behaviour it would’ve no doubt ended up in a fist fight and although this guy was tall, chunky enough to have a bit of muscle on him, Kyle had youth on his side and had to be half the man’s age.
Please don’t let them be in trouble on their first day in the city. They hadn’t even reached the apartment yet.
She stood her ground, never afraid to speak up. ‘I hope you’ve got a good reason for your accusations.’ She’d met enough people like this one in her job, men and women who leapt to conclusions and assumed the worst.
‘I’m not a thief.’ Kyle looked at her briefly before turning his glare back to his accuser.
The accuser looked Kyle in the eye. ‘You really don’t recognise me?’
‘I’ve never seen you before in my life.’
‘Yes you have. I met you in St Ives once.’
Judging by Kyle’s face, a realisation had dawned.
The man turned to Amelia. ‘He stole my wallet when I was down in Cornwall on holiday in the summer. I caught him at it too and I thought I’d give him another chance, told him to hop it before I called the police.’
‘And now you want revenge, is that it?’ Amelia demanded as Kyle’s reaction told her this man’s claims held an element of truth. ‘Bit late now, you should’ve done something at the time. I’m not condoning what he did, and I thank you for not pressing charges, but that doesn’t give you the right to start on him here.’ Talk about a small bloody world. Bet Kyle never thought he’d lay eyes on this guy again.
‘The woman who left this table dropped some money and your kid scooped it up. I saw it with my own eyes. I’ve never seen anyone move so fast. And he made no attempt to return it.’
‘Not true!’ When Kyle yelled, Amelia did her best to calm the fire that was raging inside him.
She’d give him the benefit of the doubt, she had to. ‘What happened, Kyle?’ She held up a hand when the man tried to talk again. And she didn’t bother correcting his reference to Kyle as hers; she’d had it plenty over the years and didn’t mind one bit. It made her feel like most other women her age – well, she’d have had to be pregnant as a teenager to have Kyle, but still, it was nice to be thought of as someone who had a family of their own rather than the lonely old spinster she was starting to become, with nothing but work and meals for one to look forward to and the odd trip to the pub when the coupled-up friends who lived locally were allowed out on their own.
Kyle at least matched her calmer tone when he replied to her. Over the last year she’d been trying to educate him about thinking before he reacted, something she knew he found a constant battle. ‘I came to get the table before someone else did, and the girl who was sitting here dropped a twenty. I picked it up and was about to run after her when I realised our luggage was at the table with nobody to watch it. I didn’t think you’d want to lose our stuff on day one of our holiday, so I hesitated, andhestarted having a go at me.’
‘A likely story,’ the man muttered, his dark eyes anticipating more trouble.
Amelia stood between him and Kyle. ‘Kyle has explained his side of the story, so unless you have proof to show otherwise, I suggest you leave us to our meal.’ And bugger off. ‘We’ll stay here until we’ve eaten. If the girl comes back we will pass her the twenty; if she doesn’t, rest assured it’ll go in the first charity collection we see.’
He harrumphed as though he wanted to say Bullshit! but thought he’d better be more polite.
‘You have a nice day!’ she called sarcastically when he walked away. She used the best American accent she could muster and the filthy look she got in return suggested she hadn’t made a friend.
When she sat down, Kyle was clearly doing his best not to smile. ‘What’s so funny?’
‘Auntie Amelia, you’re a badass!’ He put up a hand and she couldn’t help smiling and high-fived him back.
‘Did you really steal from him in Cornwall?’ The fact he wasn’t meeting her eye was enough of an answer. ‘Kyle…’
‘It was in the summer, I haven’t done anything like that since, promise.’
‘And how many times have you done that sort of thing?’ She dismissed her own question with a shake of her head. ‘Actually, I don’t want to know. I only want you to promise all that has stopped. You’re a good kid, do your best not to prove me wrong.’ It was the firmest she’d been with him in a long time and she was expecting it to backfire but, instead, she watched as he calmly unwrapped the burger and took a generous bite.
‘I won’t do it again. Derek told me all sorts of things about being inside. No way would I do that to myself.’
She started on her own food, grateful to be miles away from Kyle’s so-called friends.
‘For the record, Auntie Amelia, this time I’m telling the truth.’
She looked him in the eye. ‘I know you are. And can we make a deal?’
