“I’ll tell you now that I think you should see a doctor. I’m no expert.”
“I don’t have health insurance.”
He blew out a breath.
“I’m working under the table for Celeste. I know it’s not right, but she and I are both okay with it, for now. Once I’m on my feet, we can go about things the proper way. Servers don’t get benefits, so...”
“Can I feel the lump?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed thickly and moved my dress down. The small, hard lump was just on the outside of my right breast. “It’s here.” Pushing my modesty aside, I took his fingertips and guided them to the tiny ball invading my boob-space.
He pushed hard on it and rolled it around a little. “It’s hard. I don’t think it’s a cyst or anything, but I can’t be sure. You really need to get this checked, Mercy.”
“Shit!”
“I know. This completely sucks. But my advice to you is to get insurance. Not in a month, you need it now. Do whatever you have to do. You need to get it set up and in place before you set an appointment. That way it isn’t a pre-existing condition. Then they can’t deny you treatment or coverage for appointments.”
I nodded. I knew what I needed, I just had no idea how to get it. How could I afford this?
I decided to name my lump Cha-Cha. She was near my cha-chas and was like one of those annoying, scary clowns you saw at the local circus. She just popped up, laughing at me, scaring the hell out of me at the same time. Damn clowns. Damn Cha-Cha. I caught myself checking her often. She got really sore then Jaxon was a complete jerk at Shady, barking orders and biting everyone’s heads off. I tried to ignore him entirely. I had enough craptastic surprises in my life to deal with. I didn’t need his drama.
He took Donovan to meet his mom and dad when they arrived back in the Charleston port. He’d come back less one cute little buddy, and with more attitude than anyone at Shady could handle.
It was Saturday night and things were insane at the bar. May was so much warmer than April and the beach bunnies had begun to arrive. And it looked like the bunnies were all mating in the sand at Shady Bay tonight. We’d have baby bunnies running around in no time with all the copulation happening on the dance floor.
I was at my largest table, a table of eight rowdy college guys from Alabama. I’d served each their order and was refilling soft drinks and replacing old beers with new ones, when one guy decided to get grabby. His crimson hat was on backward and soft chestnut curls spilled out from beneath it. His teeth were straight, except for his bottom center one, which was a bit crooked. He was lit, but harmless. “Come here, baby.”
I smiled. “No way. I don’t date Bama boys.” I teased, continuing to fill his glass from my pitcher of beer.
“Let me be the one to introduce you to a Bama man, baby.” His friends laughed and raised their beers.
“Please. Like you could handle all this woman.”
Oohs rang out from around the table. “No way can you handle her, Chuckie!”
I laughed. “Your name is Chuckie?”
“No.” He chuckled. “My name is Charles. They,” he motioned around the table to his friends, “call me Chuckie. But you can call me anything you want, baby.”
Cat calls rang out from around the table.
“Anything?” I batted my lashes.
He nodded. “Anything.”
“Hmmm.” I pinched my lips. “Okay, Tiny.”
His mouth gaped open. “Tiny?”
I looked down at his lap and then back up and shrugged. His friends went nuts. I laughed and caught a wadded up napkin in the butt as I walked away.
Taking inventory at my other tables, it looked like one was in the middle of dinner and had plenty to drink. I made sure they didn’t need anything and then stopped by my third. I topped off their beers and Coke and then told them I’d be right back with the bill.
The register was busy. Summer was cashing out her table and I was waiting behind Eve, a new waitress on staff.
A cold hand caught my elbow and I looked up to see one very pissed off Jaxon Harrison breathing down at me. “A word, please?”
I nodded and followed him to his office, which was just across from the stainless steel swinging doors of the kitchen. He closed the wooden slab behind him and took a deep breath.
“What is your problem?”
I was taken aback. “My problem?”
“This isn’t a strip club. You don’t have to flirt to get tips.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
“I saw you with those Alabama idiots.”
I crossed my arms. “Jaxon, those guys are just having fun and I was just joking around with them. I was not flirting with him. I was making fun of him. And you know what? What is your problem? You kiss me and throw me off of you like I was trash, give me evil stares from the driveway, bite my head off all week, and I have the problem? You have the problem, Jax. And don’t ever compare me to a stripper. I’m not one of your ex-girlfriend whores!”
And on that note, I stomped past him, out the door and went back to the register, which was empty. I ran from table to table the rest of the evening. At two o’clock in the morning, the DJ announced last call and people finally started filtering out, heading back home or to their hotel rooms to sleep it off. I wiped down tables and re-filled salt shakers.
I was on until close, so I tried to make sure the shift tomorrow afternoon would be set. The other servers filed out as their tables emptied. The kitchen staff closed everything down and cleaned in preparation for tomorrow before filing out as well. The last person left, was Duke, the part-time bartender.
“You ready to go, Mercy?”
“Almost. I’ll lock up.”
He shifted his feet. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. The bar locked up?”
“Yeah. Everything outside is finished. I can hang around in here for you if you want.”
“I’m fine. Go on home.” He hesitated. “I swear. I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Duke nodded. “I’ll lock the front door behind me, though.”
“Okay, night.”
“Night.” True to his word, his keys jingled as he locked me inside. I washed down the bar and then took off to clean the bathrooms. Then I could go home and crash. Thank God for rubber gloves. I scrubbed with the toilet brush, the smell of bleach stinging my nose. This was the worst part of closing. But we all had to do it. Best to get it over with.
Soon, the bathrooms sparkled and the joint was ready for tomorrow. I shrugged off the hideous yellow gloves and tucked them and the cleaners back into the storage closet. I washed my hands with enough soap to kill whatever possible toilet bacteria could have jumped onto them while I was cleaning. So what? I was a tiny bit of germaphobe.
The speakers sparked to life with Green River Ordinance’s “Dancing Shoes.” It was one of my favorite songs. I looked over behind the bar and Jaxon rose up from the sound system controls.
His green eyes found mine. I put my purse down on the bar as he made his way around it toward me, ever so slowly.
“Dance with me?” He held his hand out, hope etched across his brow. “I’m sorry, Mercy. Please, dance with me.”
I accepted his hand and he pulled me close. For some reason, he never smelled like grease or booze, just smelled like Jaxon. I wanted to swim in his scent, bathe in it. We rocked back and forth, my arms on his shoulders, his around my waist rubbing small circles in my lower back.
For a moment, all was right in the world. Too bad moments like those don’t last. As the song ended, I began to feel strange. A loud buzzing filled my ears and black dots swirled into my vision, taking it over. That was all I remembered.
Mercy felt so good in my arms. It was like her body was made to fit mine. Her head tucked just below my chin. She smelled like something floral and feminine, delicious. I was losing my shit around her. I knew she shouldn’t get messed up with someone as screwed up as me, but hell if I could s
tay away from her. When I saw her laughing with those Bama guys this evening, I almost went ballistic. The guy put his arm around her waist. She shrugged out of it like a pro, but no one touches Mercy. Not if I had anything to say about it.
“Jaxon?” She blinked at me as if she couldn’t see me.
“What’s wrong?” Her body slumped and I caught her in my arms. “Mercy?”
“Jaxon,” she slurred. I eased her to the floor, pulled out my cell and called 9-1-1. Luckily, Brody and his partner were on call. I unlocked the door and let them in. Her forehead and upper lip was dotted with sweat and she was shivering.
“Is she going to be okay?”
Brody shook his head. “For now. But she needs to tell you what’s going on.”
My stomach dropped. “What’s going on?”
Brody wouldn’t look at me. “What the fuck, Brody! What is going on?”
He shook his head. “She has to tell you. Not me. It’s not my place, Jax, so back off.”
Brody and his brawny friend worked frantically. The friend took her pulse and blood pressure. Brody listened to her lungs and shined his light thing into her eyes and ears. He grabbed a packet from his kit and broke it open. The smell of ammonia filled the air. He waved it underneath her nose and within seconds, her eyes began to flutter and then opened.
“What happened?” Her voice was raspy. “Why am I on the floor?”
“What do you remember,” Brody asked.
“We were dancing. Jax and I were slow dancing and then...everything went black and I couldn’t hear him.” She turned to me. “I couldn’t hear you or see you.”
I squeezed her hand. “Shhh. I’m here.”
Brody’s partner spoke up. “We need to take you to the emergency room, sweetie.”
Mercy sat up. “I’m fine. See? I don’t need to go. I probably just passed out because I didn’t eat dinner.”
That was a lie. She’d been munching on a stack of chicken and fries the kitchen staff had made her. I’d seen her eat.
Brody clenched his jaw. “You sure you don’t want to go?”
She lowered her voice. “You know I can’t.”
He nodded. “She can follow-up with her primary care physician tomorrow. Right Mercy?”
“Yes. I’ll call my doctor tomorrow and tell him what happened. I promise.”
She was lying. She always twirled her hair when she lied. The ends of her pony tail were being twisted into a knot.
Reluctantly, the pair left her in my care. I was going to find out what the hell was going on.
I opened the door to my car and waited until she was settled before closing it for her. When I sat down, I cranked the engine and waited.
“Are you going to drive?” She smiled.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?”
She stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Brody said you needed to tell me what was going on.”
She crossed her arms. “Brody and his big mouth.”
“Mercy, please.”
“Fine.” Tears flooded her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. “I have a lump near my breast, no health insurance, no way to pay for an appointment or any sort of treatment if it’s as bad as Brody and Celeste seem to think it is.”
The air left my lungs in a rush. “Celeste thinks it’s bad?”
She nodded. “She said she wanted to get insurance for me, but I don’t think she can afford it and I know I can’t. I need every damn dime I earn. I don’t know what to do, Jax.” She turned to face out the window.
“Can’t you apply for help from the state?”
“I am not doing that. I work hard. I won’t accept a hand-out when I’m perfectly able to get out and work. Assistance is for those who can’t work. I can. My daddy would kill me.”
Stubborn damned woman. As if she didn’t need it. She had a heart of gold, thinking that if she applied for a medical card, she’d be taking it away from someone else. I blew out a deep breathe. For the first time in my life, I was truly afraid and I had no idea what to do.
“We’ll figure it out. But for tonight, you’re staying with me.”
She tried to protest, but I stopped her. “You just passed out. You need someone tonight. Please. Don’t fight me on this. Not now. Please. I need you near me. Just for tonight.”
She nodded and I drove home.
Mercy climbed the stairs in front of me and I unlocked my door. “Give me your keys. I’ll run over and get you some clothes to change into.” Handing me her keys, she told me where to find her skivvies. Diving into her panty drawer would have been so much more fun if the evening hadn’t gone to shit with scary-as-hell revelations.
Mercy showered quickly and exited the bathroom in a tiny tank-top and pair of those shorty-short things she called boy-shorts. No way a boy would wear those, but I wasn’t gonna argue. They were red, fit her ass like a glove, and the word “Juicy” was scrawled across them in white glitter. Mercy and her damned panties.
I showered and climbed into bed, settling in behind her, molding my legs with hers. She didn’t even protest. She was mostly asleep and barely stirred. I wish the same could be said for lil’ Jax because being in this position with Mercy was most definitely an awakening experience for him. I was sure that Celeste’s psychic powers were rubbing off on me. I could envision a hell of a lot of cold showers in my future.
I woke up in Jaxon’s bed alone. Downstairs, the deep timbre of his voice echoed. “I know we don’t offer health insurance for part time employees.”
Silence.
“Then let’s make her a full-time administrative.”
More silence.
“Park, she doesn’t have time for that shit.”
Another pause.
“She’s too proud to apply.”
I threw off the covers.
“What if I add her to my plan, how long would that take? When would her coverage take effect?”
I padded to the door.
“Pretend we are. How long?”
My feet carried me down the steps.
“Three days. Great. Fax the paperwork to me now.” Pause. “I’ll have everything for you in a few hours. Just fax it, Parker. Damn it!”
His eyes met mine as I stepped into the room. “I know exactly what I’m doing.” He hung up on his brother and walked over to me.
“Go get a sundress on and do your hair and make-up. There’s something we need to handle.”
Well, sir, yes, sir. I rolled my eyes and trudged down his porch steps, up mine and into my place. An hour, layers of make-up and several spiral curls later, I pulled a light yellow sundress over my head and checked the mirror. Satisfied with what I’d accomplished, I texted Jax that I was ready. My doorbell rang a minute later and when I opened the door, I was met with a different Jax. He was relaxed, in a light blue denim button down shirt, the cuffs rolled up onto his forearms. His bottom half was clad in some dark khaki cargos that matched the material on his manly flip-flops.
“You look beautiful, Mercy.”
“Thanks. You clean up well, too. Where are we going? I need to go to the shop soon.” I’d just checked the time. It was seven thirty in the morning.
“Nope. Celeste gave you the day off. You’re all mine today.”
I raised my brows. “Is that so?”
“Yep.” He held his hand out for me and I accepted it and stepped outside with one extremely hot looking Jaxon Hot-dimple Harrison.
We drove down Ocean Boulevard, better known as ‘the strip’ and stopped at a local floral shop. “Pick out a bouquet, something chicks like.”
“Who are the flowers for, Jax?” My heart almost hit my feet. I damn near tripped over it.
He grinned. “You’ll see. Pick out something you like, Mercy.”
I lit up like the fourth of July. How did he know? Probably the employment records, duh! Today, the twenty-second of May, was my twenty-second birthday!
I picked out a bouquet of orange and yellow lilies, purpl
e lavender and hot pink roses. It was beautiful and the mixture of floral notes was divine.
“Thank you, Jax!” I kissed his cheek when we approached the car again.
He just grinned and muttered, “Don’t thank me yet.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Jax: You there yet?
Brody: Everything’s ready.
Jax: On the way.
Brody: Does she have a clue yet?
Jax: Nope.
Brody: Oh, shit.
Jax: Yep.
I pulled the car back into my driveway and ran around to the passenger side. The ring box was bulky but easily concealed in the side pocket of these cargos. At least, I sure hoped so. I glanced down to be sure. Looked good.
“Thanks for the flowers! I didn’t think anyone remembered.”
“Remembered?”
“Yeah. My birthday.”
“Today’s your birthday?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that what the flowers are for?”
I grabbed the bouquet from her hand and started stripping off the cheap plastic vase thing. “Um, not exactly. They could be. I mean, I want this day to be very special for you.”
“Okay,” she drawled out.
“Let’s go to the beach for a minute.”
“Okay.” I handed the bouquet back to her and watched as the salty breeze lifted the hair off her shoulders. Grabbing her hand, we made our way to the sand.
Celeste, Brody, June, and Summer waited on the sand with the officiant. I’d scoured the internet in the early morning hours and he’d been the only one to answer his phone.
On the beach waiting for us were Brody and June, Celeste, Summer, and some older guy that Celeste was blatantly ogling.
“What are you guys doing here?” I giggled. This was a weird, early-morning, beachy birthday gathering.
June stepped over to me and started combing her fingers through my hair. “Get your phone ready,” she instructed Brody, who fished his iPhone out of his pocket and complied.
Shady Bay Page 9
