by Aja Cole
“I think of you girls like my own children, so it’s my job to worry.” She smiles softly, rising from the table and pulling her pink cardigan off the back of her chair and shrugging it on. “Alright, work calls. You two have a good day, and Kaija - go on a date or something.” She drops a kiss on my forehead and ruffles Jazz’s hair as she walks by, grabbing her keys off the counter.
I get another small piece of cake from the oven, and sit back down, eating in silence.
“She’s worried you’re not telling her something.”
“I know.” Jazz says quietly, keeping her eyes on her plate.
“Are you?”
“I can handle it, I promise. If it was something major, I’d tell you two…but it’s not and sometimes, I just need to figure things out myself. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“I know, kid. You’re 16, practically an AARP member.”
“Har har.” She grabs the empty dishes from the tables and I subtly check her over as she washes them at the sink.
“Is that skirt supposed to be that high?”
“Sorry my legs are long. It’s all an illusion.”
“Mhm. Come on, I’ll take you to school.” I turn off the lights in the kitchen after Jazz goes into the living room to grab her schoolbag. Most mornings, she leaves her house early and walks over to Miss Karen’s so she has a little peace before school.
She’s on a track scholarship at a private school, and things are looking good for her to get into the schools she wants to later on if she keeps everything up.
I lock the door behind us and slip on my shades.
See Jazz safely to class, then just hope the day goes by quickly so I can hop right back into bed.
10
Harlan
“Looking good, Haley!”
“Keep your stick up, Luca!”
“Lookin’ into the middle, lookin’ into the middle, good lead!”
I skate over to the group of boys waiting and bend at the waist a bit so they can hear me.
“When you pass, try to fool me. Try to look at someone else —“
“And then pass to another guy!” Tyler interrupts me, and I smile.
“Exactly.”
We work on the drills for a bit, and by the time we’re finished, it’s time to wrap up camp for the day. I take off my helmet and stand next to the other guys, while Dane does his end of camp round-up with the kids.
“What do you need to be a good leader?” He leans on his stick and scans the group. “Yeah, Jessie?”
“Sportsmanship.” She grins.
“Definitely. What else? Connor?”
“You gotta be a team player.”
“Heck yeah. Good answers here, guys. One more. Will?”
“Being humble.” The kid nods very seriously, and we all laugh.
“Perfect. Okay everyone, really good work today. See you back here tomorrow, and don’t forget to remind your parents about the cookout this weekend.” We high five the kids as they pass with the other coaches, and follow them off the ice.
Dane and I meet outside the training complex after we shower and head to our cars.
“Dinner tonight?”
“Dropping by mom’s to meet Nico’s friend tonight. You should come with.”
“You trying to intimidate the girl?”
“Boy, actually.” I raise my brows and Dane’s face morphs into surprise.
“Really?”
“Yep. Told us the other week. Way he was acting, thought he was gonna say he’s moving to a cult or something.”
“Shit, well yeah. Must be a cool guy if Nico’s bringing him around Michelle.”
“Yeah, Ma’s not for the weak of heart. Dinner’s at 6.”
“Alright, see you there.”
The minute I start my car, the bluetooth starts ringing and I don’t recognize the number.
I back out of the parking space, still debating whether or not to accept the call.
Oh well.
I accept, turning up the volume.
“Yeah?”
“Harlan.” A husky voice comes over the line and I narrow my eyes, clenching my hands on the steering wheel.
“Delia.”
“You don’t sound happy to hear from me, darlin’.” She laughs and it crawls over my skin in a bad way.
I don’t have a shred of good feeling left for Delia.
Not a single fucking one.
“What do you want?”
“Well see, I might’ve done a bad thing…” She trails off and my heart sinks. Immediately, I feel nauseous. She talks and my blood pressure rises with every word.
By the time she finishes, I’m sitting in my parking garage for I don’t know how long, staring into space.
“I don’t even get a thank you for giving you a heads up?”
I click off the call silently, and numbly dial my agent.
“Cameron, we’ve got a problem.”
I stand in front of my Ma’s door with my key in hand, trying to mentally shake off my mood before I step inside.
I’m still standing there absentmindedly when Dane claps me on the shoulder.
“You waiting on me? So sweet.”
I force a laugh and unlock the door, stepping inside and calling out. “Ma, you decent?”
“Never!” She yells from the kitchen and I shake my head, leaning against the doorway after I round the corner.
“Michelle.” Dane grins and picks my mom up in a bear hug and I grimace, watching the way she blushes and looks at him like some starstruck teenager after he puts her down.
“Hey, Dane.” She giggles.
GIGGLES.
“I’m not in the market for a step-father, Dane.”
He throws me a grin and pecks my mother on the cheek, making me scowl even more.
“Call me later.” My mom whispers loudly just for my benefit and I gag, then Delia crosses my mind again.
I sober. “Hey, since I have you two here, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Yes, you can be the flower-boy.” Dane smirks, crossing his big arms and leaning against the counter next to where my mom’s buttering dinner rolls.
When I don’t laugh, he straightens. “What’s going on?”
“I got a call earlier today from D—,” Nico interrupts me and skids to a stop, feigning nonchalance.
“Hey, uh, Ethan’s here.” He clears his throat, smoothing a hand through his dark hair. His hazel-green eyes are a little anxious.
“You don’t seem nervous at all.” Ma remarks, wiping her hands on a dishtowel and untying the apron from around her waist.
“Look at you, playing Step-ford mom for a night.” I whistle. Instead of her usual jeans or coveralls, she’s wearing an actual dress.
I notice now that her normally wild curls have a more uniform look and she’s wearing just a hint of makeup. Damn. Nico must really like this kid.
Nico and my mom leave to go to the door, and Dane helps me set the table.
“Who called you earlier?” He asks quietly, putting down forks.
“Delia.”
“Oh, fuck.” He stops and stares at me, trying to read my face but I shake my head.
“That’s what I said.”
“That bi—woman doesn’t bring anything but bad news.”
“Hindsight is 20/20.” I murmur, putting the bread basket on the table.
“What did she want?”
“To fill me in last that her computer was hacked and that she never deleted the video she made of us, and that it’s among the things that was taken from her drive.”
“Oh shit, well…sex isn’t as taboo these days.” He rubs a hand over his hair, looking as pained as I feel.
“I’m not even as worried about the actual tape, it’s….what we did. It’s not gonna be a good look man. Not at all.” I realize I’m clenching my hand on a fork and I loosen it, looking at the red marks on my hand with a sigh.
Fuck.
“Dane, Harlan.” We turn towards Ma’s vo
ice and see her standing there with flowers in her hand and two slightly red-faced teenagers.
Lord only knows what she said to the poor kids.
I step up, holding my hand out to Ethan, trying not to let my shit show on my face. “I’m Nico’s brother, Harlan. It’s good to finally meet you, I’ve heard good things.”
“Thanks, I’m Ethan. I uh, I’m a big fan.” His grip is strong and sure even though he looks like he’s going to permanently be red for the rest of his life.
“Dane. Nice to meet you.” Dane steps up and shakes his hand too, smiling and I glance at Nico, amused that his eyes are narrowed.
Really likes this kid.
“So formal, we’re really not a formal family, Ethan.” Ma chimes in, moving to the kitchen and pulling down probably the only vase in the entire house.
“Says the woman who’s dressed like she’s about to grace the cover of Home & Garden.” I raise a brow and that actually gets a laugh out of the nervous kid, and my Ma sticks her tongue out. “Alright, let’s dig in.”
Eventually Ethan loosens up, joking with everyone and Nico, and watching the two of them together is a little endearing.
All I care about is that my brother is happy, and he’s lit up with Ethan right now. I share a glance with Ma and she nods her head, winking.
“Cannoli’s for dessert, who’s up for them?” Everyone’s hands fly up next to our heads, and my mom grins. When she walks away, Nico leans close.
“Don’t worry, I switched them out already.” He whispers quickly and Dane and I sigh in relief.
Ethan looks between us, his brow furrowed. “Switched them out?” He questions, keeping his voice low.
“Mom’s cannoli’s suck, but luckily she only makes them very very rarely so we switch them out so she doesn’t know.” I pick up my water when Ma comes back, and she puts a small plates with cannoli on them in front of each of us.
We all pick it up at the same time, taking large bites because we know it’s safe, and Ma’s at the end of the table grinning proudly.
Which is why it’s so hard to hold back my gag.
Ma takes a bite of her cannoli with a smug smile, shaking her head as we all choke and grab our napkins.
“I hid the rest of the good cannoli’s so now you’re stuck with what you’ve been lying to me about for years.” She laughs, eyes sparkling and throughly amused. “Checkmate, you little shits.”
11
Kaija
“And we’re good on inventory for that new hard cider, yeah?” I murmur to Bahi, my bar manager, flipping my sheet.
She checks her own, sliding her pen down the sheet as she checks what she has. “Yep, all good. Order came in this morning.”
“We good on par?”
“Mhm.”
“Okay, make sure you get feedback on that new vodka we’re using for the mixers. And let me know what they say about knocking the price off the Bud, I know he’s overcharging us.”
“You got it, boss.” She hops off the bar stool and I go back to my list, checking a few more numbers, but I look up when I feel her still standing there.
“Yeah?”
“I was wondering if I can take next week off?”
Bahi rarely asks for time off, she’s my right hand and treats the bar like it’s her baby the same way I do.
“What for?”
“I just…I need some time. I’ll make sure everything’s covered and still check in.” She rushes to add.
“You don’t have to do that, you put in more than enough work here to warrant one week of freedom. You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” We’ve become pretty good friends over the years. She knows everything about my past and I know about hers. We’re careful to keep a work relationship at work, though.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you everything. I just…I gotta get through it first.” She looks away, clutching the clipboard.
“Okay. Take whatever time you need. I’ll have Val come in.”
“Thanks, Kai. I really appreciate it, and your support.” She takes me off guard and hugs me, and I squeeze her back. She’s not really a touchy person. Matter of fact, usually I’m the one forcing her to hug me.
Something’s up, but I don’t want to pry. She’ll tell me when she’s ready to.
I hope.
Bahi is irreplaceable, as far as I’m concerned. If she’s unhappy with something here, I want to fix it.
“Daughter of mine.” A voice rumbles behind me.
I swivel on the stool, jumping down immediately. “Father of mine.” I tease, sinking into my dad’s bear hug and breathing in his long-time peppermint smell.
I pull back, scanning him, making sure he’s not aging too quickly from stress. He’s dressed neatly as always, in a dark suit and a spiffy blue tie over a crisp white button down. His dark hair is cropped close to his head, and his odd grey-ish eyes are as warm as ever. We all tease him about being a light-eyed Denzel.
“You missed brunch last week.” He raises a brow and I feel immediately chastised.
“Something came up. I didn’t think y’all would miss me one time.” I hedge, walking behind the bar. It’s almost time to open, and my dad makes me nervous. I always feel like I need to move when he’s looking for answers.
“I heard Mickey is back in town.” He also doesn’t miss a trick. “And I also heard that you got home very late that night.”
“You don’t need to keep saying you heard, Keyra is literally the only person who would know both of those things and I know you two basically have a bat signal when you don’t like something I choose to do.” I take out the only brand of whiskey my dad will drink, pouring two fingers into a glass. A born and bred politician, he’s had the same habits for years. Same as his father and grandfather before him.
Keyra will follow in his footsteps, since that ship is a little too far gone for me.
“Your sister worries.”
“My sister is worse than a helicopter parent.” I slide him the glass, taking a bottle of water for myself.
“We just want to make sure you’re not sliding back into old habits. You’ve come so far, and I’d hate to see you lose the bar or anything similar in such an important period of growth.”
I grit my teeth. I love my dad, but he’s always trying to nudge me into his little box. It never fails.
“An important period of growth for me or for you?”
“I like to think we grow together. When I prosper, so does my family.” Akin to a party line I’ve heard my entire life. Justification for missed events and late nights. He did all for us, for our family legacy.
“Mickey is family.” I tap my fingers rhythmically on the dark slate of the bar.
“She is.” He nods. “I want all of you by my side. If we don’t do this together, it doesn’t matter.”
“If none of us supported you, you’d just drop it all?” I already know the answer, I don’t know why I’m asking. I also know he won’t give a direct answer.
“I’m fortunate that I’ve never had to find out the answer to that question, since my girls are all-stars.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes, wiping off the water mark my bottle left with a small rag we keep under the bar.
“Don’t think you’re too old to get grounded, Miss Banks.” He rumbles, putting on his stern face. I’m almost tempted to roll my eyes again, but that would be childish and wouldn’t help my I’m an adult case.
“Sorry, Pops. Did you only come down here to make sure Mickey and I hadn’t Thelma and Louise’d it?”
“Very funny. I wanted to make sure I’ll see you at the children’s gala tomorrow night, and the other events that are coming up.”
“You had to come shame me in person to ensure my compliance?” I smile, leaning on my hand and blinking innocent eyes at him.
He looks at the ceiling like he’s asking for patience. “Clearly you needed more discipline as a child for you to mouth off like this.”
“Do you remember when I had that friend ove
r from Mary Agnes’ and she was on the phone with her mom?”
“Good lord, Sina and I could not believe that girl had the mouth she did. She seemed like such a good kid.”
“I told you, I could be so much more spoiled and disrespectful, Pops. You should be grateful.” I walk around and kiss him on the cheek, grabbing my phone and papers. “Gotta go do big girl things, love you.” I start to head towards my office.
“And the gala?”
I turn and walk backwards as I reply. “Mickey and I will be there with bells on.”
“I can’t wait.” He deadpans, shaking his head. All I do is smile.
At least Mickey will be my saving grace. She makes all the boring shit fun. Between her and a few other regulars I know make the big events, I should be able to survive with most of my sanity in tact.
Maybe.
12
Harlan
“Hey man, get the door for me.” Brandon bellows from upstairs.
I give up trying to tie my bow-tie in the hall mirror, and let it hang over my shirt. Fucking hate these things.
I figure Brandon knows who’s at his door, so I don’t bother looking through his peephole.
It’s also comically low, and I’m sore as fuck from conditioning with the PT yesterday.
I pop the door open, not surprised to see Mickey. She looks much more tame today. Her hair is a muted dark brown instead of the red it was when we met. Her slim face looks really…glowy.
I don’t know what women call that, but it looks kinda cool. She’s wearing a long white dress that has some dark beige mesh type details over it that almost blend into her skin.
“Nice to see you again, Mickey.”
“You too, stud.” She walks in and leans up to kiss my cheek. I barely know who the woman is, but she acts like we’re so familiar that I can’t do anything else but just…go with it.
Brandon comes clunking down the stairs, fiddling with his own bow tie. “I fucking hate these things.”
“Tell me about it.” I sink my hands into my pockets, watching as Mickey and Brandon meet at the bottom of the stairs silently, giving each other a look I feel uncomfortable just watching. “Hey, none of that. Spare me, please.”