AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Luc… I treat you the way I do not because I think of you as a kid but because I love you. You’ve had to miss out on so many things I was able to do with Dad. I didn’t want the Super Bowl to be another one. I’ve been told I meddle too much. I guess he was right.”
Luc turned to face her. “I didn’t share the Super Bowl with just Dad; you were there too. You could have come, and we could have both picked who we wanted to invite with us.”
“I didn’t think of it that way,” she conceded. “I just assumed you would prefer someone else. Next time, I’ll ask.”
Luc’s expression grew morose. “There probably won’t be a next time. Dad’s good days are getting further in between. They’ve both been sleeping since I came home.”
“I know. That’s why I’m moving back home next week.”
“At least you didn’t sugarcoat it like you usually do.”
“The time has gone past sugarcoating anything concerning them. There’s no way to prepare for what’s coming, but anything I can do to help, all you have to do is ask.”
“Okay.” Glumly, Luc stared down at her.
“I need to be at work at the restaurant in thirty minutes. You want me to send some dinner over?”
“That sounds good.”
“I’ll check in with Mom and Dad before I go. Text me when they wake, so I can talk to them.”
“I will.”
Saying goodbye, Arden returned to her car. She made it to work with three minutes to spare and checked in with Mama to order dinner for her family.
“What time do you want me to send it over?”
“Six. Mom and Dad should be awake by then, but if you have a lot of orders, they can wait.”
Mama narrowed her eyes at her, swinging a mallet down on a head of garlic. “Other customers can wait. I’ll make your parents my special soup.”
Wincing for the poor garlic, she moved to the side. “Uh… Is something wrong?”
Mama halted the mallet mid-air. “What makes you think something is wrong?” The mallet came down with such force that Arden felt a piece of garlic hit her lip.
“Other than the garlic being pulverized rather than being minced.” Arden eyed the trash can. “It looks like you burnt four trays of knots too.”
Mama gave a heavy sigh. “I’m done with men.” Scraping the garlic into a pan, she picked another victim from the basket of garlic. “I caught Calvin texting another woman.”
“I’m sorry he didn’t work out.”
“He really was no loss.” The mallet slammed, squishing the garlic. “His dick was the size of a cocktail shrimp.”
Arden flicked off another spray of garlic that had hit her arm.
“Yes—well…” She started edging away. “Try, try, try—again.”
Mama scraped the garlic into her pan. “Do you think women cheat as much as men?”
“I think it depends on the person whether they cheat, regardless of their sex.”
“So, I’m picking the wrong men to date.” She slammed the mallet down on the counter. “How can I own and run the most popular business in Ohio but suck so bad at choosing men?”
Arden bit her lip. She wasn’t going to mettle… She wasn’t going—
“It might have something to do with you picking men to date who are…” She couldn’t think of the right word to use.
“Are…?” Mama prompted.
“Aren’t as…” Finally, it came to her. “Confident as you.”
“Confident?” Mama slowly nodded, making a face. “In other words, I pick weak men.”
“No! I wasn’t—”
Mama rolled her eyes. “You’re right. You don’t have to worry about hurting my feelings. I like weak men. That way, I can mold them into what I want them to be.”
Arden laughed. “I love how honest you are. Most women pretend they don’t want to change men then start changing them. At least you’re upfront from the get-go.”
“Unfortunately, I’m also getting nowhere.”
She shooed her off so she could remake her garlic knots, so Arden left to go to the hostess stand. The restaurant was fairly slow. At nine thirty, Mama told her she could leave.
On the way to her apartment, she called and talked to her parents. Ending the call when she reached the turnoff to her apartment, Arden felt a clutch of sadness in her throat that Lizzie and Andy wouldn’t be sitting outside their door.
She headed up the walkway, turned to go up the stairs, and nearly dropped the plastic container she was carrying when she saw Doom sitting on the steps.
“Why are you sitting out here?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Because of what I said earlier to Andy?”
“No, I thought if you got inside, then when I knocked, you might still be too mad to answer.”
Arden met Doom’s searching eyes. “I wished you hadn’t come to my office. What Haven said didn’t bother me.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then don’t. Regardless, I don’t need your protection. They aren’t going to treat me any better or worse despite you playing avenger or frightening them with The Last Riders. They are just normal, everyday people finding a way to relieve the boredom of having to relive the same, boring day five times a week.”
