Frankie chuckled and shook his head. “Nixon thinks he’s the greatest. He’ll see Hunter as a challenge. Only thing bigger than his ego is his bank balance.”
I laughed, knowing there was no way Hunter would even let it go that far. “I guess he’ll just have to accept the fact that I’m Hunter’s.”
Frankie nodded and smiled, studying my face for several seconds. “He making you happy?”
“Very,” I told him. “I don’t think I have ever loved someone the way I love Hunter.” Because he had my heart and I didn’t want it back.
“You just make sure he keeps on making you happy. You’re an amazing young woman and you know you’re like a daughter to me. If he fucks up, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
I bit my bottom lip, trying not to smile like a fool. “Don’t worry, Frankie. I know I got him all wrapped up around my finger.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hunter
Nixon stopped explaining things to me after breakfast rush hour and just let me do my thing in the kitchen. He was helping me out, but he mostly was talking about his private life. Quite honestly, they were the most boring stories I’d ever heard in my life. He was living off his parents’ money and didn’t have a clue about his future. A lot of the time I had to hold back and make sure not to tell him to shut up and just do his work, but then I watched Harlow waiting the tables and everything else that bothered me vanished.
Frankie came into the kitchen from time to time to check on us, making sure to watch me for several minutes so I could prove to him that I was indeed a good cook. I knew what I was doing and didn’t need any help. But still, working full time at this diner was impossible for me with Gunner calling me up almost weekly to assign a new job. I somehow needed to explain to Frankie that I couldn’t take this job full time.
“I was worried you would be too distracted watching her work but you’re actually doing a good job,” Frankie said and leaned against the counter. I looked over at him, stirring the pot with the pasta in it.
“I’m more distracted by those guys eye-fucking my girl. You think there’s something we can do about that uniform? It’s too short.” I knew it was up to Harlow to talk about it, but she was busy, and deep down I knew she wouldn’t approach Frankie about it anyway.
“I like it,” Nixon called out from next to the fridge and I gave him a serious look.
“Sure you do,” I mumbled and turned to Frankie again. He shrugged and ran his fingers over his full beard. “She’s earning more by wearing that shit. She works hard but she needs that money.”
I almost laughed. Not because he thought she needs the money because not even Nixon could keep up with mine nor Jagger’s bank balance, but it was almost insulting the way he thought that Harlow would only get tips by wearing a tight, short thing like that. I was positive that her face was enough to get those men hard, and Jesus Christ, just thinking about that made me wanna vomit.
Those men were in their late fifties and over and the fact that they came here to eat and get a little show was incredibly disgusting.
“I got her covered. She doesn’t need those tips,” I told Frankie and he shrugged again.
“It’s up to her. If she wants to change it, she can do whatever. There’s a thrift shop on St. Joseph Avenue that sells old work clothes. You can find anything in there.”
“Yeah, I once found a full cop uniform when I was a kid and it was the best day ever,” Nixon chimed in and I swear to God, I was so damn close to picking up the boiling pot and throwing it at him. He was unbearable now.
Frankie and I ignored him, and I turned back around to check on the pasta. “I’ll have a look around then.” I was happy with how the conversation turned out and I couldn’t wait to take Harlow there to buy a new uniform. If we couldn’t find a good fit, I could always order a new one online.
***
Harlow
Knowing Hunter was there watching me work was pushing me to work harder. It was weird, but it motivated me. We didn’t really talk much since we had a lot of people coming and going. I was running back and forth, trying to make all the customers happy and hoping I wouldn’t mix up any orders.
Luckily, before dinner rush hour, Adeline came in to help. I hadn’t seen her since the accident and I wasn’t even sure if she would ever be back to work, but I was glad she was. I could use her help and I think Hunter was happy to finally give Nixon a distraction from me. Adeline was flirty with him and she ignored Hunter entirely. She knew he was mine and she was respectful enough, maybe even too much, to just make sure Nixon was having the day of his life.
It was around seven p.m. when most customers left and just a few started coming in to have a piece of cake or some ice cream. I took the chance to help with the dishes and let Adeline work upfront on her own. Nixon had enough for the day so he grabbed himself a can of soda and sat down at the counter to be able to talk to Adeline.
“I think today went well,” I told Hunter when we were alone. I smiled up at him as he stepped closer to me to drop the dishes into the sink. He nodded with a tired smile and kissed my temple softly.
“Was great,” he said and turned back to the stove, scrubbing away the residues.
“I think Frankie likes you too.”
“Yeah, he said I got the job. Did you tell him about me not being able to work full time?” he asked and I nodded. “He just needs Nixon to stay until he finds someone else. But I think Adeline is reason enough for him to stay.”
Hunter chuckled and turned back around to look at me. “That fucker’s annoying as fuck. I just hope I get enough anger out at my other job before I get here.”
I looked up at him and wrinkled my nose. “I hope so too.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I gave him a quick kiss before continuing to clean the dishes. “I can’t wait to get home,” he told me, and I couldn’t agree more.
“Harlow, your brother is here!” Adeline’s voice called out and I immediately dropped everything into the water and walked out of the kitchen to see Jagger standing next to the entry. He had his hands tucked into his pockets and the way he was dressed told me he was going somewhere later. He looked clean and his freshly shaven face looked good.
When I reached him, I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to hug him, but I felt like he was holding back from even touching me. So, I stood still, right in front of him, pressing my lips into a thin line and thinking about what to say to him.
“Are you going out?” I asked, thinking it was the best thing to ask. Maybe he had a date. With Bliss. Jagger studied me for a while, then took a glance over at Hunter who I knew was watching us. When his eyes were back on mine, he nodded.
“I would like to have dinner with you. Talk and apologize,” he said, and I suddenly felt release coming over me. I loved how much he put into this, but I wasn’t sure he needed to do all that just because of what happened the night before.
“What do you think? Some alone time, just us. We haven’t done something like this in a while.” He was right. The last time we spent some brother-sister time together was long ago. Before Hunter happened.
How was I supposed to say no? “I’d love to.” I was tired from working all day but if Jagger wanted to talk, I couldn’t just reject him. I was eyeing him from head to toe and I was still holding back my need to hug him. I suddenly felt nervous, hoping last night didn’t change anything between us.
A smile appeared on his face. “Come here,” he whispered and pulled me into his arms. I suddenly felt the urge to cry. That was probably too annoying, so I kept it in but hugged him back tightly.
“Thank you for coming,” I told him. “Always. Now, let me talk to Hunter really quick and then we’ll leave.” I nodded slowly, letting go of him and stepping aside to let Jagger walk over to the kitchen. I followed him and already took off the apron I’d put on to wash the dishes.
“You all right?” Hunter asked Jagger, looking concerned.
“Yeah,” he responded and nodded toward me. “
I’ll take her to get some Mexican food. Gotta talk to her and then we’ll be back home before midnight.”
“What about Dean?” Hunter said more quietly. I was amazed by how well they both just forgot about their little fight last night and moved on with the more important stuff. Men, I thought.
“Bennett just texted me minutes ago. Dean’s on the other side of town. They got their eyes on him so we’ll be fine. You just…wait at home.”
Hunter slowly nodded, knowing that Jagger meant our home. He smiled at me and kissed my forehead quickly. “Enjoy. I’ll finish up here and meet you at home.”
“Okay,” I said and then looked up at Jagger. He nodded toward the door, leading the way. I quickly looked down at my outfit and didn’t really mind the fact that Jagger was all dressed up. He put the effort in for me and I liked the way he looked. Bliss was lucky.
But then, I was luckier. I had him for life and that I knew for sure.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Harlow
The restaurant Jagger drove us to was crowded even that late in the evening. It was a popular Mexican place and I could tell by the smell of the food that it was going to be good. It was located just fifteen minutes from home and Jagger told me that we would be back early enough for me to get some sleep.
We sat down at our table and already ordered our drinks so we wouldn’t spend too much time deciding. When the waiter came back with our drinks, we ordered our food since we already knew what we liked. Tacos, some nachos with cheese, and corn casserole.
“I know this food isn’t supposed to make you forget the way I acted last night, but I thought it would be nice to come here and let you eat as much as you want. You know about the money and I shouldn’t be so selfish and keep it from you, but I hope you understand the situation I’m in is a bit difficult,” Jagger explained and talked calmly, making sure no one would hear him talk.
I shook my head at his fear of me not understanding his thought process. “It’s okay, Jag. Money’s not important to me.”
“But it’s your money. You earned it from working hard and I just kept it hidden from you. It’s not fair and I hate how little you care about it.” Jagger seemed frustrated and I could tell he wasn’t mad at him, but at me for not wanting what he wanted to give me.
“We’ve talked about this before. As soon as your contract with Gunner ends, we will move and start over.” But that didn’t mean I would accept money from him I didn’t earn myself. He didn’t need to know that, though.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” he simply said and sighed as our food was served. I thanked the waiter and then looked at Jagger with a smile.
“Thank you for this.”
He nodded and gave me a smile back. “Anything for you.”
We started eating and I wasn’t sure if I had to ask him about last night or if he would just start talking about it on his own. Luckily, that question was answered shortly.
“I’m sorry for what I said. I know you guys are in love. I guess it’s just hard for me to accept since he never really had any relationship with girls other than some one-night stands or shit like that. And I hated the thought of you having someone else by your side who wants to protect and love you.”
Jagger’s words made me want to cry of happiness. He was incredibly sweet, and I just wished every single girl on this planet had a big brother like him.
“So, you’re jealous of Hunter?” I asked in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. He chuckled, shaking his head.
“My love is for eternity. It’s different. It goes deeper than anything. Hate to say this, but you never know what will happen in a few years. But no matter what, I’ll still be around.”
I knew he wasn’t trying to scare me by saying that Hunter and I could potentially someday split up, but that thought never crossed my mind. I knew what Jagger meant.
“And I guess the fact that he’s my best friend makes it even harder for me to just accept it. Hell, you’re my little sister. It was hard enough to deal with everything that happened to you as a kid and now my friend has fallen for you.” He shook his head, then grinned. “Almost like a bad romance book.”
We both laughed at that and I shook my head as well. “I hope we’re not that cliché.”
“I guess it’s just something I’ll have to get used to. He’s a good guy. Love him like a brother, but if he hurts you, I’ll make sure I get paid to kill him.”
“He’ll be good. He has changed, I think. Sometimes I feel like he’s at peace with himself. And if he’s not, he’ll talk about it with me. And I bet he talks to you about it too. Or Bliss.”
At the mention of Bliss’s name, Jagger’s eyes seemed to get darker, almost as if he was losing interest in something.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” I wasn’t sure how to approach him about her. They obviously were seeing each other, but Jagger didn’t seem very happy about it.
“It’s fine. Just complicated, that’s it.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked with a small smile. Jagger shrugged, then sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair
“She’s being a pain in the ass. Nothing more to say about it. We had some fun, but that’s over now. She’s a friend, I guess.”
I knew girls were complicated and I was positive that ninety-nine percent of the time in situations like Jagger and Bliss, communication was not running smoothly. But I wasn’t asking any further since he seemed uninterested in talking about it anymore.
“That’s good to hear. I like her too,” I told him. He nodded once, then started with his tacos.
“Is there anything you want to talk about? About Dean, maybe?” he then asked, and I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to talk about it.
I shrugged, not sure what to say. “I just hope it all just ends soon. I want him to leave.”
Jagger studied me for a while, then reached for my hand on the table, squeezing it lightly. “Me too. We’ll just have to wait for him to mess up so the cops can take him away. Until then, we’ll just do our best not to stop living because of that son of a bitch.” I nodded, giving him a tight smile. I was hoping for Dean to fuck up as soon as possible. I felt nervous inside, knowing he was around and probably up to no good. But we were safe, I thought. With Bennett around, nothing could happen to either of us.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hunter
Days passed and working at Frankie’s was almost better than my real job. I enjoyed being around Harlow and watching her work. She knew she was good at what she was doing, and the diner guests adored her, even if most of them were damn close to receiving a fist straight into their faces.
I tried to push those needs aside and remembered how much Harlow loved this place. She stopped going to school a while ago and Jagger and I had a talk with her about the importance of a college degree. We quickly found out that Harlow, even with her smart mind, wouldn’t keep on attending school and just drop out of it to work.
It was probably the wrong choice because it would be hard to get a real job without a college degree. But Harlow insisted on dropping out, telling us she knew what she was doing. She was being stubborn, but then, Jagger and I were the last two people to tell someone to finish college. Hell, we both stopped attending high school in our freshman year. Or, in my case, I never actually entered a high school building.
Harlow told us not to worry and that she knew where she was going in life. I hoped she also knew that if Frankie’s Diner someday, for some reason, closed, she would have trouble finding a new job. She just shrugged and changed the subject.
It was October first and I was on my way to pick up Harlow. Luckily, not long after I started working at the diner, Frankie found another cook, some college kid in need of some money, and another waitress to cover some shifts so Harlow wouldn’t have to work her ass off every day.
I showed up at work whenever I was free and didn’t have to work for Gunner. It worked well that way and I was able to keep an eye on Harlow as much as pos
sible.
Harlow took the day off on her birthday and the next day, so we could spend some alone time somewhere out of Hastings.
I spent the last day working and was able to get some hours of sleep and preparing everything for Harlow’s birthday before picking her up at work at six.
Jagger was at the diner already, making sure Dean wouldn’t show up, and that way they could spend some time together for her birthday too. I parked at the back of the diner and got out quickly, locking the door and walking through the backdoor.
Passing the kitchen, I nodded at the new cook, whose name was something like Eli or Elliott, then I reached the front and stood behind the counter. I let my eyes travel through the whole diner, recognizing people until my eyes met Harlow’s.
They lit up and she got up from the table and ran toward me. I chuckled, letting her melt in my embrace when she reached me. “Happy birthday, my love,” I told her between kisses, hugging her close to my body.
“I missed you,” she whispered against my lips. I couldn’t help but laugh since we’d seen each other just one day ago before I left for work. But truth was, I missed her too.
I leaned back to look at her face, brushing back the strands of hair from her forehead. “How was your day?” I asked, knowing she was working, but also was allowed to take some more breaks to talk to Jagger.
“Great! Frankie made me a cake. Jagger and I didn’t eat all of it, so you can try some too,” she told me and I looked over at the table. Jagger was sitting there with a pleased look on his face. I nodded toward him and looked back at Harlow.
“Let’s go sit down before we leave,” I said.
“You okay?” Jagger asked as I sat down with Harlow by my side. I nodded. “Gunner needs us for a job. Not sure how that’s gonna work if no one’s watching Harlow.”
Harlow sighed. “Can’t I just stay with Bliss? I mean, Bennet would call if something’s off.” I studied her for a while, knowing that Bliss’s wasn’t a safe place either.
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