Six Months

by Dark, Dannika

  “No hard candy, Peanut,” he said in a firm voice. “What did I tell you about that?”

  “But it doesn’t hurt.” She pointed at her new missing tooth.

  Denver rubbed a worried look off his face.

  I’d met Maizy a couple of times; she was Lexi’s six-year-old little sister with a candy obsession. She was charming and sweet, so I couldn’t help but sneak a piece to her now and again. Maizy appeared so innocent compared to some of the kids who wandered in our store. She sometimes played by herself in a corner while her mom talked to Lexi, and a few times she’d brought in a wand. It seemed a little immature for her age, but I found it endearing. It’s a sad day when children realize magic doesn’t exist and they have to grow up.

  “Hi, Miss April.”

  “Hi, sugar. You’re getting so tall,” I said with a dramatic gasp. “You grow faster than a wildflower!”

  She laughed and ran back into the shop.

  “You’re good with kids,” he said, complimenting me.

  “Is she okay?”

  Denver stuffed his free hand in one of his front pockets. “She banged her tooth hard enough they had to pull it. Good thing it was a baby tooth, but the dentist isn’t sure if it’s caused any damage for when her real tooth grows in.”

  I smiled softly. “She seems to like you.”

  He shrugged and turned his head to the side. “I look after her. Kids should be protected from the lowlifes in this world. Her dad’s not around, and Austin’s not in a position where he can devote that kind of time.”

  “That’s sweet of you to do. I’m sure Lexi’s mom appreciates a little help.”

  Denver inhaled sharply and the conversation shifted gears. “One of my brothers is missing. I dropped by to see if Lexi would watch Maizy for about an hour while I look for him. I had to take her to the dentist, but I don’t want to drive her home and have to come all the way back into town. I know you’ve met the twins, have you ever met Reno?”

  I chewed my lip. “Guy with the short brown hair who wears sunglasses all the time? Muscular arms and…”

  Then I blushed and looked down so fast that my bangs covered my face. My inner monologue started up again. Yeah, tell him just how hot his brother is. Then he might go for you because that’s what every guy wants to hear.

  Denver lifted his cupped hand to his mouth and slid all the candy in, talking with a mouthful. He wiped his hand across his T-shirt. “That’s probably him. He’s not a man who falls out of touch, and we’re a tight family who keeps tabs on one another. Seen him?”

  “He was at Walgreens yesterday on his bike. Maybe he was at a party or left his phone off the hook. Sometimes I turn mine off when I just want to sleep in.”

  Denver sniffed out a laugh. “We all live together and his bed is made up so tight you could crack an egg on it.”

  “You all live in the same house?” Lexi had talked about Austin’s brothers, but I’d assumed only one or two lived there, not the entire family.

  He slowly ran a hand through his unkempt hair. “Yep. Don’t you live with anyone?”

  “My fish.”

  “Ah, is that so? Well, I hope he’s a fintastic roommate.”

  “Here, April,” Lexi said, tossing me a pair of sandals. “They might be too big for your feet, but that’ll get you through the day. Did you walk all the way up here? I thought you took the bus?”

  “I just stepped in some mud is all.”

  Maizy ambled in, chewing on a wad of red gum.

  “Maze, do you feel like treasure hunting today?” Lexi asked.

  Maizy ignored her and Denver shot Lexi a private glare. “You need to give that shit up,” he said with a pop of his brow.

  Lexi sighed and began tapping her fingernails against the doorjamb.

  “Did Reno say anything to you?” Denver continued.

  “No. I just saw him park his bike and go into the store.”

  “The fuck?” Denver exclaimed in frustration, throwing up his arms. Lexi covered her little sister’s ear and had one of those pissed-off smiles that told me she’d tried a dozen times to get him to curb his language around Maizy. “He wants tabs on every single one of us, but he thinks he can just cut loose and…” Denver thinned his lips and made a sharp noise with them that made Maizy giggle.

  Lexi didn’t seem as worried about Reno as Denver was.

  “I’ll keep an eye out for him,” I promised.

  Denver stared privately at Lexi. “Did you invite her?”

  “Oh!” she exclaimed. “We’re having a house party on Friday. It took some time to settle in, but we wanted to have a big barbecue and throw on some music. You have to come. I know you don’t normally do these, but you’ve been such a big help to me these past few months, April. If we’re going to be running this shop together, then I think we need to hang out. What do you say?”

  “Um, I don’t know.” I hesitated. I really wanted to go more than anything, but the transportation conundrum was a real party killer. “Where?”

  She fed me the location and I knew I couldn’t go. Buses didn’t run out there and no way could I walk that far. Trevor might not be back by then and who knew if he’d want to go?

  “I think I have something planned, but I’ll let you know.”

  “I smell bullshit,” Denver sang in a low voice. “If you don’t have a ride, I’ll come get you, but you’re coming,” he said, wagging a finger at me. “Let me know if you see Reno. He’s always forgetting his damn phone, but it’s just not like him to vanish.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Chapter 4

  After a long workday, the evening crowd died down and I prepared to close the store. Lexi had gone home early to do some research on coffee shops, and I knew why. She’d always dreamed about buying the empty space next door and knocking out the wall to join two shops. That was a lot to take on, but the potential was there. The only downside was the noisy kids in the candy store would disturb the adults next door who were trying to read and enjoy their espresso.

  One alternative would be to change the coffee shop idea into a pastry shop. Moms could relax with a croissant while their kids scoped out the candy next door. Lexi liked that idea and wanted to talk to Austin about it. She was a crazy-good baker, and if she were involved in baking the sweets, then we’d be a surefire hit. After eating eleven of her homemade peanut butter cookies with macadamia nuts, I could testify on her behalf in a court of cookie law. I didn’t know how she’d swing that kind of money to start up a separate company, but she’d mentioned a couple of Austin’s brothers might be able to help out for free.

  God, no.

  I could only imagine that tattooed guy scaring the kids. Then again, his twin might actually draw in some of the women because every mother on a bad day wants to feel like she’s still got it going on, and Ben sure liked to let women know how sweet their asses were.

  “Are you open?”

  A nice-looking Hispanic man poked his head through the front door and I realized I had forgotten to flip the sign.

  “I’m about to lock up. Is there something I can help you find real quick?”

  He slipped in through the crack and the bell jingled. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks.” I looked him over, trying not to be judgmental about the fact he was wearing saggy pants and I could see his red underwear. I had serious objections to men who showed off their drawers in public.

  He scoped out the room. “I’m looking for something ah… vanilla.”

  “We have taffy and wafers over here,” I suggested, leading him to an aisle on the right. I thought about offering the almond bark since a local lady worked with us to sell her candy, but I didn’t think that’s what he was looking for.

  “That all you got in here that’s vanilla?” he said, coming up behind me.

  I spun around with a wafer in one hand and taffy in the other. “I’m sorry, but it is. We don’t get that request too often. We do carry products that have vanilla flavoring in them, but they’re
diluted with other ingredients so it’s not as strong. Is this for a special occasion? I might be able to look in our catalog and order it.”

  Up close, I noticed a teardrop tattoo on his brown face and a scorpion on his thick neck. He smiled with closed lips and grabbed each piece without removing his dark eyes from mine. I backed up against a shelf but didn’t want to appear rude by weaving away from him. He placed the wafer in his mouth first and swallowed it after two bites.

  “I’m Sanchez.”

  That’s when I heard my inner voice screaming to get out. The main lights were off, leaving only the accent lights on near the windows and the sign behind the register. I was alone in the store with a guy hitting on me.

  Not just that, but doing it in a creepy, roundabout way. I noticed a bandage on his arm and backed up a step.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Sanchez. Let me grab something else I think you’ll—”

  “No,” he said decidedly, wedging in front of the small space I was trying to squeeze through. I had the wall to my back and nowhere to go. “You look pretty vanilla to me. How do you taste?”

  Something knocked off the shelf and rolled across the floor. My heart sped up when his tongue swept across his bottom lip. By the glittery expression in his eyes, he liked seeing me nervous.

  “I’m sorry, you need to leave. I have to lock up the store,” I said in a firm voice.

  “What if I want you to open up?” he said suggestively.

  Sanchez had rock-solid arms that looked eager to crush me in his grasp. He chuckled while chewing on the taffy. “I work for Delgado.”

  I blinked in surprise at the familiar name and cleared my throat. “I paid him.”

  Delgado was a loan shark my grandma had owed money to. We’d only met once because he’d wanted his payments in cash, so he always sent a guy to collect. I’d squared away the debt to him, though.

  “Mmm, true.” Sanchez pinched the tuft of hair below his bottom lip. “Delgado wants the interest. All you paid was what was borrowed.”

  My brows slanted in an angry line. “He didn’t tell me that! All he said was that I owed him three thousand and that’s what I paid.”

  Sanchez’s eyes roamed down my shirt and he stared at the lettering that said Sweet Treats, written across my C-cup breasts.

  “How much is the interest?”

  I was relieved when he lifted his hand and held his fingers in the shape of a zero. Until he took his other hand and poked a finger in and out of the hole. “Pay me what I want and I’ll buy you some time.”

  Guys like Sanchez thrived on intimidation. I grew impatient and narrowed my eyes. “I don’t care what you want; what does Delgado want?”

  A smile crossed his face and a silver-capped molar gleamed back at me. “Been a few years. Interest builds up. Now you owe more than you paid.”

  “That’s not fair!” I shouted, pushing him away as I struggled to get around him. He walked me against the wall and slammed his left hand over my head, leaning in hard.

  “Be nice.” He bit his lip and lowered his eyes again.

  I got scared. Sanchez stopped smiling and I cowered like a cornered animal, now understanding why they lashed out violently. He bent forward and licked the tip of my nose. I wrinkled my face, turning away from him.

  “Five large, or one night with me and I’ll give you a discount. I’ll be real sweet. But if you don’t pay him what he’s owed, then I start taking fingers,” he said, lifting my right hand up between us. “Starting with the pinky.”

  Faster than a heartbeat, Sanchez shoved my pinky finger into his mouth and clamped his teeth down hard. I tried to pull it out, but when I felt them lock on the bone, the threat became vividly real. This man didn’t really want to sleep with me—he wanted to mess with my head before he minced me up.

  Sanchez closed his lips around my finger and eased up, so I quickly pulled it out and wiped my hand on my jeans.

  “I’m not doing anything with you,” I growled. “When does Delgado want his money by?”

  He tucked his business card in the hem of my skirt. “Saturday,” he said, backing up and stalking out.

  “That’s in three days!”

  As he opened the door, Sanchez glanced unapologetically over his shoulder. “Noon, Saturday. If you bring half the money, then I’ll… I’ll just take your pinky toe,” he said with a dark laugh, briskly walking out the door and into the night.

  I slid down the wall. “Oh God, what did you get me into, Grandma?” I whispered.

  ***

  That night, I made a desperate decision. I devised a scheme to deduct money from the company account to pay off Delgado. I had access to the account to pay bills and Lexi wouldn’t notice the transaction right away. My plan was to redeposit my own paychecks until I covered the amount withdrawn. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know what else to do.

  When I got home, I refilled my wolf’s water dish and poured him some dog food I’d picked up at the store. He lapped up the water but only sniffed the food before scratching to go out. He was acting peculiar since I’d walked in the door. When I had first sat down, he wouldn’t stop smelling my right hand.

  And growling.

  Something deep, dark, and ferocious that made my stomach feel all fluttery and reminded me of how wild he might actually be. But his leg had improved, so out he went while I got on the laptop and transferred company funds over to my personal account.

  It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done because I’d crossed an ethical line. I was stealing and could wind up in jail because of it, not to mention I was betraying Lexi.

  Hermie and Salvador paddled around in their fishbowl without a care in the world. I stared between Sanchez’s business card and the one Maddox had left behind. I wondered if borrowing money from one shark to pay off the other would get one of them off my back.

  Which wasn’t a bad idea.

  I already owed Maddox more than I could possibly pay, but at least he wasn’t threatening my life or my fingers. If my grandma had borrowed frequently from the man, she must have trusted doing business with him.

  My cell phone rang, pulling me away from my thoughts.

  “Hello?”

  “How’s my April Showers?”

  “Hey, Trevor. Where are you?”

  He sighed. “A Burger King in bumfuck nowhere. I wanted to eat inside, but a couple of rednecks were giving me the Deliverance stare. Did you ever see that movie? It gives me the heebie-jeebies about driving anywhere in the South. Not that I have much of a choice,” he said with a snort. “I got all my stuff packed up.”

  “That was fast.”

  “Yeah, I did it porn style. In and out.”

  “Thanks for the visual,” I said, rubbing my eye.

  “I’m headed back tonight.”

  Shoot! I hadn’t cleaned. Trevor had visited my home only twice before, but I wanted to tidy things up and make it special since he had been through a rough breakup.

  “How long is your drive going to be? If I’m at work when you get here, I’ll have to hide the key somewhere.”

  “Don’t sweat it, babe. I’ll be there in less than an hour. Just wanted to give you a heads-up so you don’t freak out and pull a machete on me when I come knocking on your door. And by the way, don’t bother cleaning. I’m not the queen.”

  I laughed and put my feet up on the sofa. “I have a new friend living with me temporarily, and I don’t know if he’s going to like you very much.”

  “Huh?” His clipped tone was serious and a little pissed off.

  “Careful,” I said in a teasing voice. “Jumping to conclusions is an Olympic event.”

  “I want that on a T-shirt along with my gold medal. So, who’s this friend whose ass I’m going to kick?”

  “A dog. Well, I think. Maybe a wolf.”

  “A what? I hope you’re yanking my chain, April. If you brought a fucking wolf home, I swear to God.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, getting up to open the door. “He’
s just hurt and has macho issues.” I poked my head outside and whistled but didn’t see him. “I’ll make sure he stays outside tonight. Do you want me to wait up for you?”

  “Nah. Leave the key in the grill and I’ll let myself in. Are you workin’ tomorrow?”

  “Actually, it’s my day off. Um, I meant to ask you something.”

  An amused laugh crackled on the other end. “This sounds good.”

  “Do you want to go to a thing? I mean, it’s a party. Not the club kind, just a barbecue at a friend’s house.”

  “Will adult beverages be served?”

  “Probably. It’s a bunch of guys.”

  “Magic words, babe. I’m in. Look, I’m going to take a whiz and then head out.”

  “Too much information.”

  I whistled a few more times, but there was no sign of my wolf. I slipped on a pair of sandals and walked to the grill to conceal the key inside. “Can you pick me up something for breakfast?”

  “Don’t you have food?”

  I chuckled. “Nothing I’m not already sick of. Might as well get something for yourself while you’re at it and stick it in the fridge.”

  “Cool. Don’t wait up for me.”

  With Trevor on his way, I put on a thin shirt and a pair of black shorts with a pink waistband. He didn’t care what I slept in, but I wasn’t comfortable enough with anyone to walk around half-naked.

  Something roused me from my sleep in the middle of the night and I rubbed my face, staring down the length of my bed and through the open doorway. A dim light was on and cast a soft glow on the couch. Trevor was sprawled out with one long leg on the wall and the other bent at the knee. I couldn’t see his face because he had his nose buried in a paperback.

  “Hey,” I said groggily, sliding my bare feet across the floor. “How long have you been here?”

  “Ah, shit. Did I wake you, babe?” He set the book down and stood up, giving me a tight hug. “I got in about a half hour ago and holy hell, girl. You’ve been holding out on me,” he said, pointing at my new book.