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Danica
I was tired. So fucking tired. Working two jobs sucked ass, but at least the second one was from home. I wasn’t lying when I told Leo I couldn’t go out with him. The girls were part of the reason, but mostly it was just that I had zero free time. Most nights I worked until midnight before I was done. Then I had to get the girls up and to school, or least to the bus. After that, it was back to the coffee shop. I worked five days a week, ten-hour days, because I needed the money. The owner liked the way I ran the place, so it worked out best for everyone.
The truth was, even if I had been free I’d have blown Leo off. I had exactly zero interest in the guy. Sure, he was good-looking, but he was a prick. A local football hero who had flunked out of college and fallen back on his family’s money and pretended to be rich. I’d watched as one woman after another followed him around like a puppy dog as he cheated on her and treated her like shit. When he moved on, to a woman they all followed after him, begging him to take her back. I guess money does a lot for a woman’s self-esteem. In the wrong direction.
Now, had it been Wylde…
The man was an enigma. He was so flippant about everything but when he was working, he was hyper-focused. Several times throughout his day, I’d come by and refill his coffee. Why not? He always tipped well, and I enjoyed his company. If I refilled his coffee for free once in a while, I doubted the shop would go under. He never noticed. Unless someone other than me brought him something. That, he wouldn’t touch. Probably because I was the only one to actually refill his mug -- and he bought a new one every day. It was why I quit asking and just had it ready. He didn’t seem to want a disposable cup, but wouldn’t bring one of the dozens he already had.
He also pulled shit like he did today with Jordan, ordering some wild concoction no one could remember and he would never drink. If she’d actually managed to make it correctly, he’d just have said to give it to someone behind him and asked for something even more complicated. The man didn’t want to ask for what he wanted. He was arrogant enough to want the people he interacted with daily to know what his needs were and meet them without him asking.
Yeah, he was a colossal prick. But he was magnetic. He was also sweet as he could be to me. The few times I’d left when he did, he’d always held the door for me and walked me to my car. It wasn’t creepy or stalkery. It felt… protective?
Shrugging both men off, I finished cleaning up. At five I closed up. The last hour was spent preparing for the next morning. The girls rode the bus from school to the shop and did their homework while they waited.
Lemon and Apple were twins. At sixteen, they were outgoing and more than a little wild. Definitely wilder than I’d like, but I didn’t really blame them.
“Ready to go?” I smiled as I prepped the last station for the morning. I always did it, even if I didn’t open. It was easier on me when I did, and Jordan was never on time anyway.
Apple blew a bubble. “Sure.”
“I need some shit for a school project.” That was Lemon. Of course. She was the ringleader of the two, and pushed her boundaries enough to set my teeth on edge.
“Don’t say shit,” I said, fully aware she’d smirk at me because of my own use of the word, even if it was to correct her language.
Sure enough, she snickered. “Sure, Dani. I’ll lay off the shit. Is ‘fuck’ OK?”
I sighed. “You’re really pushing my patience.”
“All you need to add is the ‘young lady’ part and you’d sound like an old woman.” And of course, Apple had to add her two cents’ worth.
“Living with the two of you is making me old. Come on. Where do you need to go?”
“Just Wal-Mart or something. It’s pretty generic.” Which meant it would likely be anything but, and she wanted to watch me run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find what she needed. They were little brats, but I loved them. They’d also had a rough time of it, losing their mother and being raised by their sister. Just like me, they’d never known their father. Our mom had been a good mother, but she’d had horrible taste in men. Or maybe she’d done it on purpose. She never confided in me, and it was too late now.
“Right. You got a list?”
She grinned, tapping her temple. “All up here.”
“Yeah. That’s not going to work. Done this too many times.” I pointed at her phone. “Make a list and send it to me. We’ll swing by a fast-food restaurant, then go in search of supplies. Deal?”
“Works for me.” Lemon immediately ducked her head, her thumbs flying over her phone. They always had their noses in their phones, so it wasn’t unusual.
Food was quick and light. We all ordered from the dollar menu. The girls might be brats, but they knew the score. Money was tight. They’d both tried to get jobs but I’d refused. School was their ticket out of here, and as long as I could keep food in their bellies and a roof over their heads, they weren’t working. Besides, they were only sixteen. It was how I’d prevented them from starting jobs they’d both managed to score by lying about their age. I’d also confiscated the fake IDs they’d gotten their hands on. Didn’t matter that it listed their ages as eighteen instead of twenty-one.
I studied the list Lemon had sent me. Yeah. Wal-Mart wouldn’t have some of this stuff. Which meant heading to a specialty store with art or hobby supplies.
An hour later I was roaming up and down aisles looking for the few remaining things Lemon needed. Apple was helping, but had stopped to talk to a boy who looked like he was at least four or five years older than her. Maybe more. Closer to my age than hers. Which set my teeth on edge. I was about to call her back to me when Lemon snagged my attention.
I rounded a corner and ran into Jordan. “Hey! Watch where you’re going, bitch!”
“Jordan?” I gasped at the anger in her voice and expression. “I didn’t see you. It was an accident.”
“Like hell! You’ve had it in for me since I started working at the shop. Now you’re trying to kill me!” She wasn’t subtle about voicing her anger. “You stay away from me, bitch!” She stabbed my chest with her finger before shoving past me.
“Fucker,” Lemon muttered.
“I bet Deacon could take care of her.” Apple’s comment was as muttered as Lemon’s. Both girls stared after Jordan angrily.
