Energized

by Mary Behre

  “No, I’m fine. I didn’t trip. I’m really sorry, Ma—” She cut herself short from saying Marine. No intimacy. That had been the deal. She was his employee now, nothing more. “It was an accident, Mr. Graham. I can pay for the damages.”

  Niall’s grin faded and his eyes went distant. He swiped a hand roughly down his face, then flung yoke off to the sidewalk. “Hannah. You can call me Niall. Everyone here does. People will start to wonder if you get formal around me.”

  “Oh, right. Sure.” She nodded, stepping back and glanced around. “I can get this cleaned up. If you tell me where to find a hose.”

  Niall cocked his head as if studying her. “You want to clean up this mess?”

  “Well, I made it.”

  “I made it. You were just standing in the doorway, not stepping on a nail.” Niall brushed eggshell and slime from his button-down shirt and slacks. “What made you jump anyway?”

  “Nothing . . .” she began, then shook her head. “I was looking at all the metal in there and worried that I might get another vision, like last night. I don’t think I could handle it right now.”

  Niall straightened with a grimace. A myriad of expressions crossed his face, all too fast to decipher or catalogue. Finally, he fixed a decidedly flat smile on his face and said, “I’m sure nothing like that will happen again. I don’t hire criminals.”

  Only weirdos. He didn’t say the words but the wary expression he gave her was loud enough.

  “Look, I need to change and replace the eggs we’ve lost. The hose is in a storage box behind the hedges on the side of the building. Hose the area down and sweep up the shells while I’m gone, then go home and change.” He made a face. “Damn, I forgot to ask how you’re doing this morning. Did you get settled in at Karma’s last night? You’re wearing different clothes, so I assume you were able to borrow some from her. Can you borrow more?”

  “I bought these an hour ago before the egg-tastrophe.” And now she was going to have to buy another work outfit. Perfect. She was going to run out of money before she received her first paycheck. Maybe she should just go home. Between the vision, losing all of her things in the fire, and needing to buy another work outfit, it seemed as if the universe might have changed its mind about her coming to Tidewater.

  Niall put his hands on his hips and surveyed the mess on the ground, then her. A slow smile curled his lips. “Tell you what. We’ll call what happened here a draw. Go home and shower. I’ll send Karma along with a replacement uniform for you, on me. I’ll take care of the sidewalk if you can pick up eggs on your way back. But I need you here in an hour.”

  “You’re replacing my uniform?” Hannah asked in wonder as Niall pulled a fifty out of his wallet and handed it to her. Did he realize how nice he was being?

  “Only fair. You’ve been through some serious sh—uh, stuff the past twenty-four hours.” His quick grin gave way to a stern expression as if his next words were meant to convince her of their veracity. “I’d do it for any of my employees.”

  While he probably would, he was doing it for her. And working hard to convince her it meant nothing. Yeah. Right. Walking backward across the parking lot she called out, “What are you going to do?”

  “What I need to.” Niall unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the sidewalk with a splat. Naked from the waist up, he headed around the side of the building. In seconds, he was back, tugging the long green hose. With a grin, he started the spray. Sunlight glinted off his white teeth and his golden, chiseled chest. “I’m going to shower off and clean the sidewalk. Hurry back.”

  Hurry back? Oh, yes, she definitely would.

  Maybe the universe was telling her to stick around Tidewater a little longer after all?

  * * *

  BY THE TIME Hannah returned with the eggs, the kitchen was bustling. Virgil and Paulie were at their respective stoves. The aroma of oregano, garlic, roasted tomatoes, and caramelized onions wafted from the pizzas, still steaming hot and fresh from the oven.

  Niall was gone and the parking lot’s only evidence of their earlier collision was the damp pavement.

  Hannah shifted her backpack and tried to steady the four crates in her hands. No way was she dropping these. She called through the screened door when Sadie strode past on five-inch spiky heels. “Excuse me, can you get the door please?”

  Sadie turned her feline gaze to Hannah. Her makeup fresh and perfect. The short black skirt she wore fit her like a second skin and the button-down white top had a few more buttons open at the top than might have been strictly necessary. The woman oozed sexuality, even at eleven in the morning.

  Without a word, Sadie put a manicured hand on the door and slowly let it creak open, barely wide enough for Hannah to fit through. The screen slapped her in the backpack. It might have sent Hannah stumbling forward had she not seen the devilish glint in Sadie’s eye a moment before and braced for the impact.

  “Thanks. I really appreciate your help.” Hannah gave her a sunny smile and enjoyed the way Sadie’s eyes narrowed to slits.

  It wasn’t nice of her to needle the woman so, but there was something about Sadie that made Hannah want to show her own claws.

  A small, dark-haired woman with bottle-cap-thick glasses shuffled in from the Master Room, clapping her hands and smiling excitedly. She gestured at the eggs, then at Hannah, then to the back door, but didn’t say a word. When Hannah stood unsure what to do, the woman’s grin faltered and she tugged Virgil by the sleeve of his chef’s coat.

  The older man turned to her. A flurry of words danced from their hands as they signed to each other.

  Hannah had studied American Sign Language in college, but had only taken one semester, enough to know how to ask for a cookie or directions to the bathroom, but not enough to follow the beautiful way the pair communicated.

  Virgil laid a hand on Paulie’s shoulder and whispered something. Paulie nodded, then stepped between the two stoves, monitoring both at once.

  Taking the older woman, and she had to be at least three times Hannah’s age, by the elbow, Virgil led her over to where Hannah still stood, her arms starting to burn from holding the eggs for so long. “Hannah, I’d like you to meet Miss Renee Gauthier. Miss Renee has been with the Cat almost as long as I have. She makes all the baked goods we sell.”

  Virgil turned to Miss Renee and signed as he spoke. “This is Miss Hannah Halloran. She joined our little family yesterday. She’ll take good care to get those eggs into your car, Miss Renee. Won’t you, Miss Hannah?”

  There was something so warm and friendly in how Virgil referred to both of them as miss. Southern and old school. Hannah couldn’t help but reply in kind, “I will do that, Mr. Virgil.”

  He waved away the title, laughing. “Just call me, Virgil. I call all the pretty young ladies miss. Ain’t that right, Miss Renee?” Again he signed as he spoke and the old woman blushed.

  “Her car’s out back,” Virgil said, grabbing the top carton of eggs from the stack. “Miss Renee needs those eggs for the cake she’s designing for Saturday’s wedding.” Virgil pivoted left and strode into the large walk-in cooler.

  “Lead the way,” Hannah said.

  “She’s deaf.” Sadie sneered the last word, practically in Miss Renee’s face. “She can’t hear you.”

  To Hannah’s surprise, Miss Renee turned a cold eye to Sadie. Color faded from Sadie’s cheeks.

  “I can read lips,” Miss Renee said roughly, signing the words in emphasis.

  Sadie picked up the pizza cooling on the workstation and disappeared with it into the main hall.

  The old woman watched her go, a toothy grin on her face. With a pat of her hair, she straightened her shoulders and led Hannah out into the sunshine.

  * * *

  BETWEEN THE LUNCH rush, needing to fill in for the mysterious Dawn whose child had her taking another sick day, and helping Miss Renee, who’d r
eturned three separate times for six different ingredients, Hannah was ready to drop from hunger by two in the afternoon.

  The Quarter, the Half, and the Master Rooms emptied out all at once. Only the Three Bells still had guests. That room had been occupied by a book club who sat discussing the month’s current selection. The single round table held ten women, all dressed in their finest clothes drinking tea and coffee and occasionally ordering an appetizer or a dessert. They were friendly and effervescent and seemed eager to share their love of the latest mystery novel.

  Hannah reached for the old glass doorknob to check on the older ladies, but Karma stopped her. “Have you had a break yet?”

  Hannah’s stomach rumbled. “Uh, no.”

  Karma laughed. “So I hear. Go grab something from the kitchen. It won’t get busy again for a couple of hours. I’ve got the Killing Them with Mystery book club. I promise, whatever tip they leave, you’ll get.”

  “I’m not worried about that.” Hannah waved away the idea. “You’ve given me a place to stay, clothes to wear, and even got me hired here. I owe you big-time. Especially since you barely know me.”

  It was Karma’s turn to wave away the words. “Chica, we are kindred spirits. We were born to be friends, no?”

  Hannah studied her for a moment. “Can you do that at will? Turn the accent on and off?”

  “Yes, unless I’m mad. Then I can hear my mother coming out of my mouth.” Karma shuddered, then winked. “Old habits from having lived in Mexico with her for so long.”

  “I thought you were from Tidewater?”

  Karma grinned, her dark brown eyes shining. “Mama is from Juarez and Daddy’s from here. He didn’t even know I existed until I was sixteen. I went from being a poor kid practically living on the streets to being part of a huge American family.”

  “Bet that was amazing to find, huh? A big family?”

  “It was. I loved it. I lived with Daddy until I was nineteen when my mama got sick. She needed me back in Mexico.” She frowned and her eyes went distant. Then she shook her head as if to rid herself of a bad memory. “Anyway, I came home a few months ago and I’ll never leave here again.”

  “That’s an incredible story.” There was something sad in her friend’s eyes that made Hannah’s chest tighten. She wanted to ask about it but settled on an innocuous question instead. “So are you a US citizen or Mexican?”

  “Both. And there’s a lot more to the story. I’ll have to tell you some other time. Over a very tall glass of wine. Right now, you need a break.”

  “Thanks, Karma, but I’m so nervous I don’t know if I can eat. When I called your cousin Ian this morning, he said he’d be here around three to talk to me.” Hannah’s stomach rumbled making them both chuckle. “Guess my body wants food after all.

  “You know, it’s funny. I had their card already in my hotel room. I was going to call them in a day or two anyway. I wanted to get settled into Tidewater first.”

  Karma’s brown eyes widened. “You already had a card from TSS? Why?”

  “I have family in the area here. Biological family, I mean. I’m adopted. Anyway, these guys came looking for me. I was supposed to call them when I was ready to meet my sisters.”

  Laughter erupted from the book club and someone knocked over a glass. It crashed to the floor. Hannah automatically reached for the doorknob.

  “I got this. Go eat already.” And with that, Karma was gone.

  In the kitchen, Hannah spotted Niall through the screen door. Her pulse did a funny little jig at the sight. He was climbing into his truck with a sack of flour.

  “Miss Renee’s grandson tried to help by carrying the flour into her house. Poor boy spilled it all over her front porch,” Virgil said with a shake of his head. “I don’t know who’s having a tougher day, Miss Renee or our Niall. I don’t think he’s slowed down since the sun came up.”

  Paulie snorted. “Virg, you don’t give the guy enough credit. I saw him running down the beach before the sun came up. That man hasn’t slowed since he came back from the desert.”

  “Yep. That’s my brother. Always a Marine. Faster. Smarter. Better in every way,” Ross said, appearing in the office doorway. There was something in his tone that gave Hannah pause. Or maybe it was the way he and Paulie noticeably didn’t look at each other. Only Virgil appeared unaware of the tension.

  “I don’t know about better, Ross. You’re a Graham just like he is and just as damned smart.”

  “Thanks, Virgil.” The tension visibly rolled off of Ross’s shoulders. He slouched against the doorjamb. “Lunch rush over, Hannah?”

  “Yes, Karma sent me back to get a bite to eat.” Hannah moved toward the three slices of pizza left on the pizza stone. They were vegetarian, not her favorite.

  “Looking for some meat for your meal?” Virgil asked, carrying a plate with a sandwich cut in half. Corned beef, still hot, steamed from between the slices of thick bread.

  Hannah’s mouth watered. “Actually, yes. Is that a Reuben?”

  “Surely is.” Virgil’s face split into a wide, toothy grin. He grabbed a plate from the rack on the far wall and put half the sandwich on it. “Help yourself.”

  Ross handed her a napkin.

  Hannah took a huge bite and managed not to moan in ecstasy. Sort of. “This is the best Reuben I’ve ever tasted,” she said around a mouthful of food.

  “Gluten-free bread too,” Virgil said with a wink. “Only the finest ingredients here.”

  Wow, gluten free never tasted this good when her mother tried to feed it to her back in Ohio. “I’ve got to send the recipe to my mom. She’d die. And I know her customers at the bar would go nuts.”

  Virgil just laughed and headed into the walk-in cooler.

  Hannah chewed quickly. Since she was taking another break when TSS arrived, she didn’t want to risk spending too much time right now. She tried to ignore the way Ross stared at Paulie’s back. Hopeless longing in his pretty green eyes before Ross turned his gaze to her.

  “Take a real break. Go enjoy the sunshine,” Ross said, ushering her out the back.

  “I’m going to need to take another one in an hour, so I’m fine.”

  Ross frowned at her, then glanced around. “Niall doesn’t like for staff to eat in the kitchen during a break. Outside would be best.” He paused, cocked his head, then winked devilishly. “Besides, dollface, you could use a little color in those cheeks.”

  Grabbing her plate and another napkin, Hannah slipped past him and stepped into the warm sunshine.

  CHAPTER 12

  NIALL ROLLED INTO the parking lot of the Cat, surprised to find Hannah sitting on a crate out back. A scraggly dog with a notch missing in one ear sat on its hind legs beside her. With its two front paws in the air, it begged for food. Hannah broke off a piece of the crust from the sandwich in her hands and offered it to the mutt.

  She shouldn’t waste time feeding strays. Niall should tell her that feeding them only brought more to his door. More to dig around under the Dumpster at night looking for scraps. But there was something so damned charming watching her with the mongrel.

  She’d rolled up the white sleeves of her uniform shirt to the elbows. A flash of color on her right wrist had him squinting. Before he could stop himself, he’d cut the engine and was halfway across the parking lot headed straight for her.

  The dog yelped and ran between the bushes on the side of the building.

  Hannah frowned after it, then up at him. “I think you scared old Snoopy there.”

  “Maybe Snoopy shouldn’t be sniffing around my restaurant for scraps.” He stopped beside her, then upended another milk crate and sat down next to her. “How do you know the dog’s name is Snoopy?”

  “You’re always so literal.” Hannah laughed, waving away his question. “I don’t. But everyone needs a name. And Snoopy fit him. He looks like a live-a
ction, slightly mangy version of the cartoon. Don’tcha think?”

  Niall glanced in the direction of where the dog had run and shrugged. “I guess if you squinted one eye and the sun was blinding you.”

  Hannah laughed, then popped the last bit of sandwich in her mouth. Eyes closed, she chewed and turned her face toward the sky. Sunlight kissed her fairylike face. She seemed to glow in the light. Her tawny hair, even pulled back as it was in a braid, shined bright and coppery in the warm afternoon.

  Her ever-present pink braid was the only bit of hair not pulled back with the rest. As if she couldn’t stand to yield completely to conformity.

  Niall started to finger it, as he’d done all those months ago, but curled his hands together between his knees instead.

  “Where did you get the sandwich?” he asked instead.

  That got her attention. She whipped her gaze to his. “Virgil made it for me.”

  “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble. It’s just the staff usually eats a real meal during breaks.”

  Tension melted from her face, smoothing out the horizontal worry lines in her forehead. Again, she looked innocent and ethereal. “I love corned beef. I can’t get enough of it.”

  “I would have figured you for a vegetarian.”

  Hannah fingered her pink braid and gave him a sly look. “What would make you think that?”

  “You showed up here in a peasant skirt and your place in Ohio looked like something straight out of the seventies. All tie-dye and peace symbols. You’re all artsy and . . . Don’t give me that look. You know what I mean. You have this whole crunchy-granola-funky-earth-dog vibe going on.”

  “Funky earth dog?” Hannah asked, brushing the crumbs from her slacks. “Wow, I think you’re trying to insult me.”

  “Not dog. Earth woman. Hippie.” Niall was fucking this up. He hadn’t meant to insult her but if her jerky movements were anything to go by . . .