Page 1 of Healer’s Betrayal

Chapter 1

Kayla

“Come on, come on.” I wrap my hands tighter around the steering wheel. “Not today.” The car sputters again and then stops. I put my head back against the seat and take a deep breath.

“It’s okay, Kayla; we can just walk. It’s not far.”

I take one more deep breath and then face my younger brother through the rearview mirror. “Yeah. You’re right. We can get our steps in at least, right?” He nods, and I smile at him. “At least we made it to a parking lot this time.” I snag my backpack and throw it over my shoulders. “Grab your bag.” Noah grabs his own backpack and puts it on. “Let’s go.” He doesn’t complain as we walk the last mile or so to the café. Then again, he never complains. Of course, he doesn’t really smile either. “The sun feels good, doesn’t it?” He nods. I breathe a sigh of relief when we reach the road that the café is on. This road has a sidewalk, so it’s much easier and safer to traverse. By the time we get to the café, what little makeup I was wearing is long gone, and I have a river of sweat running down my back under my shirt. But at least we made it, and I’m not late...yet. The bell above the door jingles when we step inside. We’re hit with a blast of air from the air conditioning, and I take a few seconds to cool off. “All right; grab a seat. I’ll grab you a cold water.”

“Hey, Kayla,” Jessie calls out as she passes me.

“Good morning.”

Jessie drops off the orange juice she was carrying and walks back to me. “Your car not working again?”

“Yeah, but I’ll figure it out.”

She shakes her head. “Cars. You can’t live with them; you can’t live without them.”

“Isn’t that supposed to apply to men or something?” I ask.

She snorts. “I’m just on the first part—you can’t live with them.”

I grin at her and make my way to the back. After tying a floral apron around my waist, I grab a cup of ice water for Noah. He’s staring out the window when I make it to the small table he’s sitting at. “All right; grab your schoolwork.”

He’s quiet as he reaches into the bag beside him and pulls out his math workbook. I set the water in front of him and wait for him to turn to his math lesson for the day to see if he needs my help. “It’s just review today,” he finally says quietly.

“Sounds good. I’ll get to work then. Love you.” I run my hands over his head and mess up his hair, causing him to duck away from me. I leave him to his schooling and make my way to the back again where I clock in.

“Kayla,” Mama May calls out in her loud voice.

I make my way to the kitchen where my boss is standing with one of the cooks. “Your car die again?”

“Yes.” I keep my head held high. “It won’t interfere with my work here.”

She levels a look at me, and I hold her gaze. “See that it doesn’t.”

I know I’m dismissed, so I book it out of the kitchen and back out front. I pick up my black book and make sure I have several good pens. “Here.” I take in the ice water Jessie’s holding out to me.

“Thanks,” I say before I down the water. “I was more thirsty than I realized.”

“You good?” she asks with a concerned look.

“I’m fine.” Thankfully, she drops it; and we both get to work. I smile and start my shift. Honestly, it’s not even a forced smile. I love working here at Mama May’s. It’s the best café in town, not that there are many to compete with. But there’s something special about this place, and it’s not just that everything is homemade. It’s that, but it’s so much more. The café itself is large with floor to ceiling windows on all sides, exposed brick on the inside, and huge wooden beams that hang low from the ceiling. “Hey, Phil,” I say as I walk past his table. Phil, one of our regulars, holds his mug up for me. I fill it hot, fresh brewed coffee. “How are you on this beautiful day?”

“About to be a whole lot better after I eat.”

“Your usual?”

He doesn’t even look at the menu. “Yep.”

“I’ll put it in.” I write down his order and take it to the kitchen before I grab an order for one of my other tables. “Blueberry pancakes,” I call out with my arms full of breakfast plates. “And Banana Custard French toast.” I pass out a few more plates. “Anybody else need anything right now?” When no one responds, I leave them and head back to the kitchen to see if any of my other orders are ready. I’m almost to the counter when a dark head of hair catches my attention. I freeze mid-step and stare out the window. My heart rate speeds up, and I will the man to look this way. As if on cue, the man turns and walks towards the café. The breath I’d been holding whooshes out of me. It’s not him. I glance nonchalantly over my shoulder and make sure my brother is still where I left him. I start towards the kitchen once again and focus on keeping my breathing even. It wasn’t him, I remind myself. I get back to work, but my heart rate doesn’t slow for quite a while.

At lunch time, I put in an order for a cheeseburger and fries for my brother. I get one free meal on break when I’m working, and I always order a cheeseburger for my burger-loving brother. The kitchen is always kind to send out extra fries because they know I share with him. More often than not, they send out an extra burger or salad or something else that was “made wrong.” I’m not stupid; I know they’re just helping me out. I’m also not prideful enough to not accept the offering. While I wait, I put in a call to the car repair shop right around the corner from my house. “Hey, Billy, it’s Kayla.” It’s pretty sad that I’m on a first name basis with Billy from the garage, but that’s how it is when you drive a beater for a car. “My car died; I’m going to need it towed.”

“Where’d you leave it?” I give him the address. “We’ll get it today. Any idea what’s wrong with it?”

“Nope; it just died on me on my way to work.”