by SM Olivier
Remy chuckled as he placed a pop in front of me and took the seat next to mine. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, disgruntled.
“I’ll go down with Blake,” Jaxson stated.
“Me too,” Kade insisted as he took an inhumanely big bite out of his pizza.
“Jemmy and I can go to the library,” Rachel stated with a smirk at Jemmy.
Jemmy frowned. “Christmas break starts next week!”
“You still have a week’s worth of classes to do,” Drake said in exasperation. “You have six more months of school, then you can fulfill your life long dream of no more schooling.”
Jemmy groaned. “I wanted to hit the slopes again tomorrow morning.”
“We’re here to work first,” Jace said firmly. “You made a deal with Dad that you will still stay on top of your classes while we worked this mission.”
“Fine,” Jemmy muttered as she picked at the cheese on her pizza. She mock glared at Rachel.
Rachel smiled smugly.
“I’ll go do laundry tomorrow,” Dawn stated. When the guys cheered. She smiled. “For a price. Ten dollars per load, plus the cost of the laundry soap, dryer sheets, and the machines. And my laundry services are only every other day.”
“I’ll go with you if you give me half,” Ford said with a grin.
“Deal,” Dawn stated.
“I’ll let the others know, but I’m sure we can find someone willing to go down and do it for free for the mission, and we’ll swap you guys out after four hours. I don’t think anyone spends all day at any of those places,” Jace stated.
Dawn gave him a shrug and a smile. “It doesn’t hurt to try. There are plenty of guys in this group that hate doing laundry. I’ll even fold it for them.”
“I’ll do it, too,” Sierra piped up. “For the same fee,” when Gavin gave her a look of surprise she smiled and shrugged. “What? Christmas is in two weeks, and I need to get more gifts.” She stated.
Troy groaned. “Leave it up to the girls to find another way to take a man’s money.” He winked at me, and I knew the comment wasn’t directed towards me, so took no offense.
“Do I get paid to do my school work?” Jemmy asked hopefully.
“Um no,” Remy stated with an eye roll. “That’s your normal responsibility. You’re already getting paid for the mission.”
“I’ll email Paul right now,” Darren finally spoke up. “We should be able to obtain access by tomorrow. Although I can’t promise you how long it’ll take to comb through it all.”
“I’ll help you,” Gavin stated as he took a drink of pop.
“Me too,” Drake said wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“I can help too,” Troy commented.
“Count me in,” Remy volunteered.
“I haven’t found a good book to read lately,” shy Sam spoke up. “I can always grab a cup of joe, purchase a book, and read for a while.”
“I can go with him,” Marcel said.
Dawn gave him an incredulous look.
Marcel huffed. “I like to read. Just because I’m a stud doesn’t mean I don’t like some Tom Clancy or JK Rowling.”
Everyone at the table started to laugh.
“What?” Marcel asked mystified.
“You just pointed out an author of suspense and action and books written for older children,” Gavin snorted as he grabbed another slice of pizza.
“I also like some Nicholas Sparks,” Marcel said haughtily.
“Bull sh−” Jaxson began but hastily looked over at Kade. “Crap,” he added quickly. “First off I don’t think you can read any book without pictures in it and secondly there’s no way you read any of that lovey dovey stuff.”
Marcel took a long drag from his bottle of beer. “Watch me. Sam will be your witness tomorrow. He can watch me read the whole time.”
We all laughed once more and somehow, I thought that Marcel would pick up a Nicholas Sparks novel just to prove most of us wrong. I could imagine the lean, built black man as a magazine reader but never a novel reader. He went a mile a minute. I couldn’t imagine him sitting still long enough to read a book.
“Okay, so it sounds like we have a game plan,” Jace stated. “I’ll finish the schedules and email the whole team.”
***
“It’s a good thing we have another team relieving us at noon,” Jaxson stated as he unloaded his laptop.
I opened up my banana nut muffin and took a bite of it. “I know,” I rolled my eyes. “Just as long as we’re buying food and drinks, I don’t understand why they have a four-hour rule.”
There were signs posted everywhere that, even if you were a paying customer, you couldn’t use one of their tables or couches for more than four hours. The coffee shop was really cute, and I loved the smell of the coffee grounds and warm pastries. I didn’t see this as a mission. I was getting my school work done and still able to see if I could spot the woman who gave birth to me. We had taken up residence on their oversized leather sofa. It had the perfect vantage point of the door.
“I’m okay with that,” Kade shrugged as he took a drink of his hot tea. He didn’t have a taste for coffee yet. “Can we go snowboarding after this?” he asked hopefully.
“I don’t see why not,” Jaxson nodded as he started his laptop.
“I might skip out today,” I said with a rueful smile. Every bone in my body was protesting from yesterdays ‘abuse’ and I still hadn’t checked out the hot tub. If I was left alone for long enough, I might even be able to finish Drake’s Christmas present.
Remy had his housekeeper send us the binders and note card boxes Drake had kept his hand-written recipes in at his house. I know he had started a new binder, but I thought he would like his old recipes accessible as well. I had been meticulously separating his recipes according to categories and sub categories. I was typing them out, and then I had until the end of the week to have it digitally sent to a company that promised to have a hard-bound copy for me by Christmas.
“Are you sure? It sounded like a lot of people were heading back there today. Who knows the next time we get a paid vacation?” Jaxson laughed.
“I doubt we’ll be leaving anytime soon,” I said skeptically. “I’ll go tomorrow.” I promised him.
“Will you try out the snowboards?” Jaxson asked hopefully.
I thought about it for a second. “Sure,” I shrugged. Might as well make the most of this experience while we were here. Who knew when we would have another opportunity to pretend we led a normal life and vacations could be a thing?
I noticed I started to tense and jump every time the bell above the door rang. I started to feel restless when she didn’t enter or anyone that looked like her. It looked like a lot of colleges were on winter break, though, due to the heavy traffic of young college aged students I saw. They came in groups, and very few of them lingered.
Only two tables besides our couch seemed to be occupied for most of the day. It wasn’t until the fiftieth or so customer that I finally had to put my work books away. I had made good headway into my assignments, and I couldn’t focus on it any longer.
I pulled out Drake’s binders and notecard boxes and opened up the files I had for each of the categories. I started to type in one of the recipes, making sure to carefully input all the ingredients and amount in correctly.
“Whatcha working on?” Jaxson asked as he leaned forward in his seat.
“None ya,” I joked as I smiled, trying vainly to shield him from my computer screen. I had already let Remy in on the surprise but I doubted Jaxson could keep the secret.
“Are those Drake’s recipes?” Jaxson asked mystified.
I sighed. “Yes, and please don’t tell him I have them.”
Jaxson picked up one of the notecards and squinted at the writing. “How can you even read this? It’s all chicken scratch. Why are you typing it all up?”
I laughed as I picked up his notebook filled with notes. “Like you can talk,” I said as I pointed at his own
handwriting. “You have the penmanship of a fourth grader.”
“At least you can read it,” he said in mock disgruntlement. “Why are you evading my other question?”
I groaned before standing up. “If you must know, it’s his Christmas present. Can you please keep a lid on this secret? Not everyone likes to ruin their surprises. Now I’m going to grab a drink. Do you guys want anything?”
Kade rubbed his stomach. “Can I have a bagel with cream cheese and a soda?”
I smiled, not surprised he wanted to eat again. “Sure can.”
“I’m great at keeping secrets if I have to,” Jaxson said sullenly. “Can I have another cup of coffee and a bagel as well?”
“What kind?” I asked. “Please do keep this one secret.”
“I will. Surprise me,” Jaxson said with a lopsided grin.
“Me, too.” Kade shrugged.
I got up and made my way back to the counter and waited in line behind a group of young girls who just walked in. One of them even still had braces on his teeth. I assumed they were local high school students.
“He is so hot,” I heard one of them gush as she pointed her phone towards the couch I just vacated.
“You are not taking a picture of him,” one of the girls said in a horrified whisper.
“He needs to go in my book of hotties,” she insisted.
I felt a combination of annoyance and amusement. They really were harmless. All the girls continued giggling and talking loudly.
You have a fan club over here. Want to smile and wave? I asked silently to Jaxson.
He snorted in response. He looked over at me, and I had to smile. He really was a hottie, and I could see why the girls thought so. He was dressed in dark washed jeans and had a thick heather gray sweater on that clung to his broad chest, shoulders and biceps.
I already have Pizza dude texting me all night and even this morning. Dude can’t take a hint. Even after I told him I wasn’t interested. Goodness knows he wouldn’t believe me if I told him I wasn’t Jemmy! Jaxson gave me a piercing look with his light gray eyes.
I had to stifle the laugh behind my hands. I could imagine Pizza guy’s persistence and Jaxson’s growing annoyance.
“He’s looking our way,” one of the girls squealed.
“Why can’t we have hotties like that in our school?” another girl shrieked. “Even the younger guy next to him is a cutie.”
“He looks way too old for us,” a quieter girl finally spoke up. “And they’re probably from out of town.”
I hadn’t even noticed her until she spoke up. She looked like she really didn’t fit in with the mini version of the Bubble Gum squad. Her clothing wasn’t as nice as the other girls’ clothing. Her clothing was ill-fitted, her hair looked like it was in desperate need of a trim, and her make up looked like it was from a local drug store.
“Why is she with us again?” the girl with the braces said in a loud whisper. She wasn’t even trying to be discreet.
One of the pretty blonds swished her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “She’s my step sister, and my dad made me bring her,” she muttered. “Supposedly she’s a good boarder, though. She just moved here and he think she needs friends. He wants us to bond. She made air quotes with her fingers.
My heart lurched seeing the look of rejection on the other girl’s face. I wanted to make her feel better, somehow, someway.
Kade, can you do me a huge solid? I quietly cajoled my brother.
He looked up from the lap top he had been working on and raised his brow in questioning.
These girls are being so mean to the girl in pink and black, the one with the blond hair, pretty blue eyes. Can you invite her snowboarding with you? Her and her only. You don’t have to flirt with her. Just be friendly.
I saw Kade lean into Jaxson who looked up. Kade wants to know why.
These girls are total mean girls, and her stepsister is making it clear that she’s really not welcome. I know how sweet Kade can be, and he doesn’t have to flirt with her or anything, but she could really use a boost of confidence. I begged quietly.
Jaxson leaned back over to Kade, and Kade didn’t even hesitate as he nodded to me. He says his sister was bullied a lot for a while until his parents moved her to a different school, so he says it’s okay but friends and friends only.
I smiled my thanks at them.
Jaxson began to urgently talk to my brother, Kade nodding in return before Kade stood up and wiped his palms on his jeans. He was a good-looking boy, and I could see why girls would be attractive to his exotic looks.
He walked over to the girls and stopped in front of them. He cleared his throat and they started giggling. “Are you girls from around here?” he asked nonchalantly.
The girl with the braces stepped forward. “Yes, but you’re not, because we would have definitely remembered you.”
I rolled my eyes at how obvious she was.
“Well, my brothers and I just got into town last night, and we wanted to know what the best slopes were around here,” Kade flashed a brilliant smile their way.
I was certain Jaxson helped him with his ‘game.’ I had a feeling that the addition of brothers was his doing though. I guess it was easier than saying my sister’s connections. My brothers-in-law. Brothers being plural.
“We’re going to the best,” the mean step sister said with another hair flip. “You and your brothers can come with us.”
“Actually,” Kade smiled as he looked at the girl that was now hiding in the back. “I was hoping you would show me,” he directed the statement at the slightly awkward but still pretty girl. “You know, just as friends because we aren’t from around here,” he quickly added.
“I’m new here, too,” the girl blushed as she muttered her response.
“Then we can go together and see if it’s cool together,” Kade offered.
The girl looked at him suspiciously. “Why just me? I’m hanging out with them
today. You don’t even know me. And how am I supposed to know if you’re not some sicko?”
The other girls gasped at her audacity, while I smiled at the girl’s moxey.
“Hi, I’m Kade,” Kade held out his hand. “Now we’re not strangers, and I promise you I’m not a sicko.”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll see you out there then. We’re going to triple S’s.”
“Can I get your number?” he asked stuffing his hand into his pockets. I frowned wondering how he was going to get a number with no phone.
She placed her order with the barista and then picked up a napkin and pen off the counter, then scribbled her number on a napkin. “Here, but just friends. You’re not from around here.”
I quietly giggled.
Kade walked away and the other girls immediately started treating the other girl better. I assumed they thought if they were nicer to her, they could all hang out with Kade as well.
“How are you going to text the girl?” I asked Kade as we left the coffee shop exactly four hours after we got there.
Georgia, Texas—both brother and sister from the Illinois team—and Yaris had relieved us from the coffee shop. We had began packing up as we saw them enter the establishment. We wanted to make sure they could inconspicuously slide into our newly vacated seats without it looking to obvious.
“I’m getting him an early Christmas present,” Jaxson stated. Then he looked over at me with one of his dimpled smiles. “I already texted Dad, and he’s going to add him and Micah to the plan. Then I’ll just buy them the phones. I already googled the phone store and it’s right down the street. Do you want to walk or drive?”
I looked at him in bemusement. “Shouldn’t we discuss this first?”
“Mom and Dad didn’t let me have a phone either. I was the only ninth grader without a phone,” Kade said with a shrug.
I had gotten Ella a burner phone for emergency calling only. She didn’t have all the bells and whistles that most of the kids in her class had. It wasn’t neces
sary, especially at their ages. I just didn’t understand the logic behind some of them having phones yet. My Dad’s old-fashioned beliefs had rubbed off on me.
On the other hand, Micah and Kade were mature enough to have them, and I couldn’t imagine them using them for anything inappropriate.
I looked Kade. “If Jaxson wants to get it for you for Christmas then I won’t stop him, but no sexting, posting anything inappropriate on social media, and just be careful to remember we are now in a secret facility, so don’t take pictures you shouldn’t.”
Kade turned bright red as Jaxson guffawed.
“You can check my phone anytime you want, and I don’t have social media!” Kade muttered in embarrassment.
“I already planned to,” I teased him.
“Really?” Jaxson asked me in surprise. “Even Dad didn’t do that to us.”
I raised my brow at him. “Knowing Tamara and the girl’s you guys surrounded yourselves with, he should have.”
Jaxson actually reddened confirming my suspicions. “Oh, look there’s the store,” Jaxson said with feigned excitement. “Are you thinking Apple products or Droid?” he asked Kade.
Kade started laughing. “I would like to take a look.”
I grabbed Jaxson’s hand, stopping him from hiding in the store. “Should I look through your phone, just in case you decided to keep any of those pictures?”
He quickly turned and pinned me to the side of the building before he took my lips with aggression that surprised me. When he lifted his head, he looked at me with an intensity I was surprised with.
“I deleted those photos the night you came into my life, and you can look through my phone whenever you want. I have nothing to hide,” he said before kissing my nose and walking into the store.
I really didn’t think he did, but it was nice to know that he didn’t care if I did go through his phone whenever I wanted to, but I knew it wasn’t necessary.
“Who are you texting?” Noah asked with a mischievous smile as he plopped down on the couch beside Kade.
Troy hopped over the back of the couch on the other side of Kade and leaned over his shoulder. “Who’s Faith?”
Kade reddened before he made his screen go black. “No body,” he muttered.
