Sweet on You

by Katana Collins

  Heat burned my cheeks. The entire diner was already glaring at us because of Olivia’s screams, and now they were going to gossip about slutty Ronnie Tripp who needed to get some so badly that she carried half a dozen condoms with her at all times.

  Okay, they probably weren’t thinking that, but no doubt the whole town would be giggling about this by dinner time.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Elsa said, as I returned the last of the spilled items to my purse. Elsa and my mother had been friends for decades. Apparently, they met the day my mother moved to town when she was only nineteen. “Rough day?” she asked, pouring a cup of coffee for me.

  I nodded, taking a sip. “You have no idea. Can you make my salad to go? With her attitude today, I shouldn’t stay long. She’s disturbing the other people eating.”

  Elsa looked around at her diner and shook her head. “Sweetie, there’s only three other people in here and none of them seem to care. Two of them have kids themselves.” Elsa gently patted my arm. “Come on. Stay and have some lunch. It’ll be good for both of you. Can the little one have a piece of pie?”

  I… I had no idea. My brain was mush. It was like all common sense had disappeared from my mind with all the stress and exhaustion. “She really should eat some lunch first.” I pulled out a jar of pureed carrots, cracking the cap and dipping the spoon inside. As I moved it toward her mouth, she shoved it away, sending orange mush splattering into my face.

  Tears filled my eyes. Which was stupid. Why was I about to cry right now? But I felt overwhelmed and frustrated and like I might also have a meltdown that rivaled Olivia’s at any moment. Elsa smiled kindly beside me, handing me a napkin. “Don’t feel bad. Even the best salesman can’t make mushy carrots seem better than fries.”

  A laugh cracked at the back of my throat and then quickly morphed into a sob. I swiped away a stray tear as Elsa rubbed her palm against the middle of my back. “I guess not.”

  I dropped the spoon to the table, giving up on the carrots.

  “I just made a chicken pot pie,” Elsa said. “Why don’t I bring some of that, along with my strawberry pie on the side, for you and the little one to share?”

  I nodded and leaned into Elsa’s hug as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Babysitting is tough. Thank God you get to return them at the end of the day, right?”

  I nodded, but the truth was I didn’t want to return Olivia. She was sweet and smart and I was falling in love with her as much as I was with Lex. In a lot of ways, I wished she was mine, too. Really mine.

  I didn’t notice while I was chatting with Elsa that Olivia had reached out and grabbed the mug of coffee Elsa had just poured for me. In a matter of a second, the hot cup of coffee had tipped over, spilling across the table.

  Olivia shrieked, crying out where the hot beverage had sloshed on her hand.

  “Oh, my God,” I stood, lifting Olivia in my arms, bouncing her in my lap and dipping her hand into the cold glass of ice water on my table, while Elsa ran for some ice and rags in the back.

  Elsa went to work mopping up the coffee and handed me ice wrapped in a clean towel, which I placed on Olivia’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Elsa,” I said.

  “Oh, honey, don’t worry about it. Is she okay, though?”

  I sniffled feeling completely overwhelmed. “I-I think so. I don’t know. How do you know if a burn is bad?”

  I looked at her hand and it was a little red in one area, but otherwise looked okay.

  “Usually, it blisters,” Elsa said, inspecting Olivia’s arm. Her crying had quieted, and now she was hiccupping against my shoulder. “I think it’s okay, though. It doesn’t look too bad. You could have your mom check it out?”

  That was a good idea—my mom was a nurse practitioner and would be able to tell me in a minute if this was something hospital-worthy. Still bouncing Olivia on my hip, I tugged my phone from my purse and texted my mom.

  “What the hell happened?” I looked up to find Lana, Lex’s friend, standing over us, wide-eyed.

  “Lana, hi,” I said. “I’m just watching Olivia for Lex this morning. He opened the bakery and had to wait for Seth’s shift to start.

  “Want some company?” Lana whispered with a smile. “An adult to talk to for a bit?”

  “God, yes,” I laughed and we both slid back into the booth. “Do you and Tony have any kids?” I asked.

  Lana shook her head, smiling at Olivia. “Not yet. And after seeing you in here just now? Maybe we’ll wait a little longer.”

  I laughed at that, sliding Olivia back into the high chair at the head of the table. “This is not an average day… at least not in the couple weeks I’ve known Olivia. Maybe she didn’t sleep well last night.” I handed her another fry and her meltdown from earlier seemed all but forgotten as she grabbed the fry and gnawed on it.

  “She looks so cute in her little glasses,” Lana said.

  “She does. It’s just too bad she needs them because of Sarah couldn’t keep a needle out of her arm.” The opinionated remark was out of my mouth before I could stop it and I winced, peeking back at Lana. “Sorry,” I said, putting my hand over my mouth. “Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep last night, either.”

  “It’s true, though.” Lana said.

  “Even still, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “It’s okay,” Lana said. “I know all about Lex and Sarah’s history.”

  “Oh, right.” I tapped my fingers to my forehead. “Duh, you were his private investigator.”

  She shrugged. “And his friend. He confided in me early on.”

  I gave her a smile. “Of course. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to imply—”

  She waved away my apology. “Oh, come on. Don’t apologize. I’m not the biggest fan of Sarah, either, by the way. You ever need to vent about her?” Lana hitched her thumb, pointing to herself. “I’m your woman.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said. “I have a feeling I’ll be taking you up on that, too. I’ve just been trying to wrap my head around what Sarah’s place might be within all this.” I swallowed and brushed Olivia’s blond curls from her face.

  Elsa came back over with a fresh mug for Lana and poured us both more coffee.

  From across the diner, a man at a table caught my eye. A camera was on the table beside him—which normally wouldn’t cause me any alarm—but the strap was wrapped around his hand, and his finger was resting on the trigger button. And the lens was pointing right at me… as though he’d been photographing my table.

  “Hey, Elsa,” I said, dropping my voice and catching her wrist just before she walked away. “Who’s that guy at the corner table?”

  Elsa and Lana both snuck a glance over their shoulders, and Elsa shrugged down at me. “I’m not sure. I’ve seen him around town for the last few weeks though. Always with that camera.”

  “He looks a lot like this weird guy we saw photographing kids at the park a couple of weeks ago.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t be sure. It had been a while, and it wasn’t like I really remembered his face all that well. I tugged Olivia’s high chair closer to me.

  “I’ll take the club sandwich, please,” Lana said.

  Elsa nodded and turned back for the kitchen. Once she was out of earshot, Lana leaned into me from over the table. “I know that guy,” she whispered, jerking her head back to where the guy with the camera was sitting. But she didn’t get to continue the thought because Lex walked into the diner at that moment.

  “Hey,” he said, grinning and sliding into the booth beside me. It took him a moment to see Lana and his eyes widened, his grin spreading as he recognized her. “Hi,” he said. She stood and gave him a hug.

  “Dada,” Olivia said, holding out her arms to him. The word didn’t quite have the same enthusiasm as it did this morning.

  “What’s wrong with Liv?” he asked, lifting her out of the high chair and putting her in his lap.

  “She spilled my hot coffee on her hand. I think she’s okay, but we should have my mom take a look.”r />
  Lex tugged at her hand, inspecting it and giving it a kiss. “It doesn’t look too bad. Good idea, though. If your mom can save us a trip to the pediatrician, I’ll bake her a pie every week.”

  Lana cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to be a downer, but we might have a problem, Lex.”

  “Why? It’s just a little burn,” he said. “I don’t even think it’s a second-degree burn. Kids—”

  “Not that,” Lana interrupted. “The guy in the corner booth. His name is Jeremy King and he’s a private investigator. He does really shady shit and isn’t known as one of the good guys.”

  Lex’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that the guy from the park?” he asked, mirroring my exact thoughts from earlier.

  “What kind of shady shit?” I asked.

  Lana snorted. “He’ll orchestrate scenes to photograph in order to give his client what they want to see. Like, if he’s investigating a potential adultery case, he’ll hire a sexy woman to talk with the man in question and photograph them in what look like compromising positions, even if it was harmless. Like… the actress he hires will pretend to fall into the man’s arms. Then he’ll show the images to the cheating husband first and blackmail him for more money than the wife offered him to get the photos in the first place. If he pays up, he goes back to the wife and claims there was no evidence.”

  “Oh my God,” I hissed. “What a douche.”

  “Mmhmm. Which begs the question, why is that camera pointed at you and Olivia?”

  That was a damn good question.

  Lex moved to stand up, handing me Olivia. “I’ll kill him,” he hissed. Luckily, I was able to grab his elbow and tug him back down.

  “I will handle this,” Lana said. “It’s why you pay me, right?” She turned and glared at Jeremy, giving him a little wave. At first, he seemed startled, and then his expression shifted. His eyes widened. He stood, camera in hand, and crossed over to us. “Lana Shaw,” he said. “As I live and breathe.”

  “Jeremy King. Slimeball of the universe,” Lana gave him a tight smile that was just a tad too nice. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence in our town for these last few weeks?”

  Jeremy paused, his eyes sliding over me first, and gooseflesh rose on my skin. I didn’t like the way he looked at us one bit. “Is this little family one of your clients?”

  I kept my mouth shut, hugging Olivia into me as she rubbed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder. She needed lunch. And she needed a nap.

  “What if they are?” Lana answered ambiguously.

  “If they are, I’d be willing to show you what I have as a courtesy.”

  Lana huffed a laugh. “I’m much more interested in who your client is.”

  “That’ll cost you.”

  Lana shook her head. “That’s not how this works, and you know it—”

  She didn’t finish her sentence before Lex had pulled a fifty dollar bill from his wallet, holding it out to Jeremy. “Who are you photographing us for?”

  Jeremy’s smile was slicker than oil on tarmac as he snatched the bill from Lex’s hand. “Sarah Murphy. She’s convinced you’re unfit to be a father, and she wants her parents to have full custody again.”

  Lex’s frown deepened and his eyes narrowed. I’d never before seen him so angry. “Those photos reveal nothing,” Lex snarled. “Other than pictures of us around the park and in the bakery, you can’t possibly have anything on us.”

  Jeremy’s smirk lifted. “That’s the beauty of photographs. You take enough and even the most benign moment can look downright neglectful.”

  Lex’s muscles jerked beneath my hand and as he moved to stand up, Lana held her hand out, stopping him. “So, we’ll subpoena the entire flash drive and prove just that. That the photos are benign. “You have nothing and you know it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be over here talking to us.”

  “You and I both know a case like this can go on for months… even years. And it would be a shame for little Olivia here to go into the state’s custody while all this gets sorted out.”

  Now it was my jaw clenching right along with Lex’s. I knew we couldn’t trust his ex. Sarah was bad news… even from behind county jail bars. “Then what is it you want? Why are you here giving us this head’s up?” I asked. “Because you don’t strike me as someone to do so out of the kindness of your heart.”

  Lex snorted. “What heart?”

  Jeremy scrolled through some images on the back of his camera and showed them to us. I gulped. One was from just a few minutes ago and showed Olivia mid-scream while I was chatting with Elsa. Another showed the condoms in my hand. Another, the moment Olivia burned herself. “These are just from today,” I said. Admittedly, one bad day. I glanced nervously at Lex who ran his hand over my back in reassuring circles.

  “Okay then,” Jeremy said, scrolling through more. “How about this day?” He turned the camera and showed us that day in the park. Lex and I were standing beside the sandbox snuggling while Olivia was playing at our feet. It looked like we were so engrossed with each other that we weren’t even watching her. Even though we barely took our eyes off of her while she played… he captured the one moment we did—when the little boy stole the toy out from her hands and it looked like she was having an altercation while we were kissing.

  In another photo, Penny was barking with Olivia in her stroller right next to him. I knew that bark… he was barking at a squirrel or something. But in the photo? His face looked terrifying and aggressive. And with a baby right beside him? It looked bad.

  I took another deep breath. “Okay, then I’ll ask one more time. What do you want?”

  Lex’s jaw twitched. “I have a vague idea of Sarah’s finances,” he said. “She can’t be paying you much.”

  “She’s not,” he said. “Which is why if you can double what she’s paying me, I’ll delete this whole flash drive right now. Right here.”

  “Lex,” Lana cautioned, but he immediately cut her off.

  “Done.” Lex reached into his wallet and pulled out some cash. I reached over, placing my hand over his, and instead pulled out my checkbook.

  “Wait,” I said. “I want a record of this payment… not cash. And how do we know you don’t have these downloaded onto a computer somewhere? That as soon as you have our money you won’t send Sarah the photos anyway?”

  Jeremy put a hand over his heart. “I’m hurt that you think I’d betray you like that.”

  God, this guy was a dirtbag. I glared at him and he rolled his eyes. “Fine. Postdate the check and I’ll write you an email stating that you bought the rights to the photos for exclusive and private use.” He held out a hand. “Happy?”

  I snorted. “Hardly.”

  “How much do we owe you?” Lex asked.

  “Five hundred.”

  I hissed a breath as I signed the check and post-dated it for a week from now.

  He grabbed the check and held it up to us. “If you cancel this before next week, I will sue you.”

  “We wouldn’t do that,” I whispered, narrowing my eyes at him.

  As his finger hovered over the delete button, Lex reached a hand out, covering it. “Wait,” he said. “Give me the memory card. Don’t delete them.”

  “It’s another fifty bucks for me to buy a new one,” Jeremy said. Lex grumbled and slapped a bill onto the table, sliding it over to him as Jeremy handed him the memory card.

  “Nice doing business with you.” Jeremy gave us a little salute, hiking his camera bag onto his shoulder.

  “If I see you near me, Ronnie, or my kid ever again, I’m breaking the camera and your nose. Not necessarily in that order.”

  “Oh, a threat.” He trembled in an exaggerated shiver. “Never heard one of those before.”

  We watched in silence as he left the diner. Once the door shut behind him, Lana had her phone out. “I’ll have Brady work on getting you a restraining order against him.”

  “Do you think he’ll double-cross us?”

  Lana e
xhaled a sharp breath and took a sip of her coffee. “Only if Sarah can pay him more money.”

  Lex shook his head. “That’s not likely. At least… not yet. She would need time to find more cash probably.”

  Lana paused, staring at us from across the table. Olivia had fallen asleep on my shoulder, oblivious to the drama surrounding her little life. “But she potentially could find the cash?”

  Lex nodded. “I’m sure there are ways. Even in jail.” He sighed, turning to me and running his palm over Olivia’s silky curls. “I think… I think I need to go see Sarah at county.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I need to convince her that I’ve changed.”

  The air punched out of my gut, and I felt stunned. “You need to prove to her you’re the better person? She’s the one in jail, Lex. She’s the one who used while she was pregnant with Olivia.”

  “Yeah… but she clearly doesn’t trust me. And I can’t say I blame her. I need her to see I’m committed to Olivia now, despite that horrible things I said two years ago.”

  “But didn’t she see you once already? In court that day? You’ve clearly changed.”

  “We never spoke to each other. She needs to talk to me herself… and honestly? I need to apologize to her.”

  Lana stood up, tossing a few bills onto the table. “I should, uh, head back to work.”

  I shook my head, trying to stop her. “You don’t need to leave, Lana—”

  She smiled kindly at both of us. “This is a personal conversation. But, dinner soon? The four of us?”

  We agreed and said goodbye, watching her leave.

  “What do you need to apologize for?” I asked, once Lana was out the door. “You’ve done nothing wrong. You’ve been searching for them for two years. You moved across the world to find them. Started your own business—”

  “I know you only know me as this Lex,” he said, gesturing to himself. “But the Lex Sarah knew was a completely different man. I wasn’t good to her. I wasn’t good to anyone, not even my own family.” He swallowed, fidgeting with the napkin in his lap. “I’m not proud of this, but when she told me she was pregnant, I gave her an ultimatum. I handed her three hundred quid and told her to either get an abortion or get another place to live.”