“Hmm,” Harvey’s mouth was full. It wasn’t until he’d swallowed his huge mouthful, he said, “This bread is damn good, but it’s not as good as yours. Why don’t you tell Cupid you can actually cook? You know baking is your first love.”
Peter’s heart warmed under the praise. It was true, as soon as he stepped into Cupid’s kitchen, his fingers had itched to start hunting for ingredients. But he wasn’t going to reward Cupid’s open heart or generosity by immediately demanding to be taken to the pantry. “I’m fine washing dishes,” he said, picking up another sandwich. “Cupid runs the shop with his sister and I don’t want to make any waves until they get to know me. Maybe once we get settled in a new home, I can ask him if I can help out in other ways.”
“You’re a better baker than he is,” Harvey defended staunchly, and Peter grinned as he bit into his sandwich. His brother was biased although maybe his words were a smidgen true as well. Peter didn’t care. He wanted to sleep. Tomorrow he could start his new job.
***
“I took on a new kitchen helper today,” Cupid said drowsily, rolling into Liam’s arms. It was late, the room still smelled of their lovemaking and even though Cupid he knew he had to get up in a matter of hours, he took comfort in his husband’s embrace. “I found him scavenging in my dumpster at the back of the shop.”
“Why didn’t you text me his name and contact details?” His sleepy partner was immediately awake. “I should check him out for you.”
“There’s nothing to check,” Cupid laughed at his partner’s formidable glare. It never fazed him. “The boy’s name is Peter. He’s homeless and struggling to feed himself and his twin brother Harvey. I got a good feeling about him and offered him the job. Athena agrees with me and it’s a done deal.”
“You should’ve just directed him to the shelter. That’s what they’re for,” Liam grumbled.
“That was the first thing I did,” Cupid chuckled and then his face dropped when he remembered what Peter told him. “Babe, those shelters are safe places, aren’t they?” At Liam’s quirked brow, Cupid went on to explain what Peter had told him. His heart sank at Liam’s defeated expression.
“What can I tell you?” Liam shook his head. “The police are supposed to act on any complaint they get, regardless of who is laying the complaint. But we’re under resourced and a lot of what goes on in the homeless community is ignored. The people who run the shelters do the best they can, but they can only control what goes on inside their walls. If this Peter of yours was threatened outside of the shelter, there’s nothing they can do. Do you have any idea where the boys are staying? Perhaps I can talk to him, take him for a drive and get him to point the people out so we can keep an eye on them.”
“He didn’t offer the information and I didn’t ask him,” Cupid said. “He was ashamed enough of his situation as it was. I wasn’t going to make it any worse. I’m just going to do my best to help him turn his life back around.”
Liam was clearly thinking, and Cupid settled down to sleep. As much as he and his husband were connected in all ways, he couldn’t and wouldn’t deny the pull he felt to help Peter from the moment he saw him. It wasn’t sexual, it wasn’t even familial, but from the moment Cupid saw that mop of curls ducking in and out of the dumpster, he felt a connection – a strong driving need to help the proud young man. Maybe I’ll learn more about him when he trusts us, Cupid thought as he closed his eyes.
Chapter Three
Peter knew he was early, but he was so excited to get to work. He was so very grateful that Cupid was willing to let him work, both for the money and the food.
Standing on the back step, he made sure he kept to the shadows. He knew he wasn’t that close to the shelter, but he wasn’t going to take any chances that someone could see him.
Harvey had walked him to work, not wanting him to be alone at the early hour. He had hoped that Harvey would wait and meet Cupid, but he insisted that he should leave. He was worried that he would scare Cupid.
Even though Harvey was the older twin, Peter felt responsible for him.
When they were young, the daycare that their mom had hired to look after them so she could work, one of the ladies had lost her patience with Harvey and had shaken him so badly that he ended up with some damage to his brain. Later, as it became more documented, they found out he suffered from shaken baby syndrome.
The money that was paid to them from the daycare allowed their mom to stay at home with them, but it was still tight. Once they were in school full time, their mom went back to work. Thankfully, since she was such a good nurse, the hospital she worked at was willing to give her the time off if she needed to look after them.
Hearing a noise, Peter looked up and saw Cupid walking towards him. Making sure to make some noise so he didn’t startle him, Peter moved out of the shadows.
“Hey, what are you doing here so early?”
“Sorry, but I was just so excited to have a job that I could hardly wait to get here. I remember you saying that you were thinking about getting help for you in the kitchen, so I thought that I could possibly help you with a few other things too.”
Peter was worried that he was assuming too much, but he really wanted to show Cupid that he could help him with whatever Cupid needed.
“Are you sure that you can work these long hours?” Cupid asked, a frown on his face. “I don’t want you getting sick or hurting yourself working so long.”
“Please,” Peter was ready to beg. “I know what my limits are. I know I look small, but I’m a lot stronger than I look. Give me a chance to prove it to you?”
Cupid stood there, really looking at him.
“Okay,” Cupid said after a moment. “I’m willing to give you a chance, but if it gets too much, you have to tell me. I don’t want you wearing yourself out. That’s a quick way to get sick or hurt.”
“I promise,” Peter swore to Cupid. “I will say something if it gets to be too much.”
“All right, let’s get started.”
Cupid went and unlocked the door and turned off the alarm. Peter was once again surprised at the wards he could feel welcoming him into the shop. He wondered who set them, since Cupid really didn’t seem to notice them at all.
“I usually start with making the dough for the donuts and pastries.” Cupid said, moving around to get the mixing bowls and utensils ready. “I try to get them all ready and rising, then while that’s happening, I will make the filling for the different items. The one that we sell the most are the turnovers with fruit fillings, followed by the donuts with fruit filling.”
“Huh,” Cupid tilted his head to the side. “I hadn’t thought about it, but there sure are a lot of people with a sweet tooth.”
Peter grinned at him, knowing that his brother had a crazy sweet tooth as well.
“I know what you mean. My brother could eat a whole tray of pastries all by himself. Mind you, he’s about three times the size of me.”
Cupid looked at him funny, “I thought you said you were twins?”
“We are, but not identical.” Peter grinned at Cupid. “You should see the size of Harvey. Compared to me, he’s ginormous!”
“Is that even a size?” A laughing Cupid asked.
“When you meet Harvey, you will agree that it fits him perfectly.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting him,” Cupid said, “but for now, we need to get to work.”
“What do you want me to do first?”
“Grab the flour and let’s make the donut dough.”
As the two men worked, Cupid would keep giving him instructions, but he was already working on it. After they had the dough set aside, Cupid told him to go sit at the small table and bought them each a cup of coffee.
“I can see that you really do know your way around the kitchen. What was it that you did at your previous job?”
“I started out being the chef’s helper, but when the chef was in a car accident, I stepped in and took over his duties. When it was determi
ned that he couldn’t return to work because of his injuries, the shop offered me the chef’s position.”
Peter leaned back in his chair, thinking about his former job.
“I really loved doing that, getting my hands in the dough and creating something that people would love to eat. Seeing their enjoyment at how the food tasted and looked was something that kept me motivated.”
“Yeah,” Cupid nodded his head. “I can understand that, as that’s the same way I feel. Knowing that something that I made was making someone happy.”
As soon as they finished their drinks, the two men got to work making the bread and the pastry dough. Once they were set aside and rising, or resting, they began to make the donuts.
Cupid went over and made sure that the industrial sized deep fryer was full of fresh oil and heating to temperature.
“Do you also make bagels?” Peter asked.
“I do, but since they take so much longer to make, what I do is set aside a certain block of time each week and make enough that I can freeze them. I know that the bagels will keep in the freezer, but I prefer to make everything else fresh that day.”
“I understand what you mean.”
The men continued to work, getting most everything ready, when Cupid suddenly gasped in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Peter hurried over to stand next to him.
“I misjudged where I had placed the knife and cut myself,” Cupid said, hurrying over to the sink. He quickly turned on the cold water and was cleaning the area.
“Let me see.” Peter said, as he gently grabbed Cupid’s hand and studied the cut. “I don’t think you’re going to need any stitches, but you will need to keep your hand covered for a while. You went across the palm of your hand, so this could take some time to heal.”
“Damn it, how am I going to work now?” Cupid groused out. “I can’t close the shop.”
“You don’t.” Peter calmly said. “You watch me work. I can follow your directions when it comes to the mixing and such, but you can do the filling. All you will need to do is wear a glove over your hand while doing it until it fully heals.”
“You’re right. I just hate not doing it myself.”
“Ah, a control freak.” Peter grinned at Cupid.
Cupid stared at Peter, then started to laugh. “Okay, maybe just a smidge.”
The men snickered as they got Cupid’s hand bandaged, and then while he went to get them each another cup of coffee, Peter finished getting everything ready for the baking ovens, or for the deep fryer.
“I have all the donut dough in the machine ready for you, so this way you can cook the donuts and I can handle the heavy trays in and out of the ovens.” Peter told Cupid when he came back with their coffees.
“Wow, you really do know your way around the kitchen. I am so grateful I found you in my dumpster.” Cupid grinned at Peter.
Both men jumped at the knocking they heard from the front of the shop.
“Oh, that’s probably Liam.” Cupid said, as he hurried to answer the door.
Peter smiled at Cupid, hearing the happy sound he made when he saw who it was.
“Hi babe.” Peter heard a strange voice, guessing this was the love of Cupid’s life.
“Come in, I want you to meet Peter.” Cupid squealed with excitement.
“What happened to your hand?” Liam growled out.
“I accidently cut myself while working. It’s a simple cut, but it’s across the palm of my hand. Peter is helping me with the food prep and baking. He’s been a godsend.”
Cupid was saying all this as he was leading Liam back to the kitchen, so Peter was ready when they appeared in the doorway.
“Hi, I’m Peter Ames.” Holding out his hand to Liam, he quickly shook it then looked up into his eyes. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I need to wash my hands again. I know that the first rule of cooking is keeping my hands clean, but I didn’t want to offend you.”
Cupid gave Peter a huge smile, while Liam just looked at him funny.
“You’re so right.” Cupid said. “I’m glad you take this so seriously, you have no idea how much I appreciate that.”
“Sorry,” Liam added. “I know how fussy Cupid can be about the food.”
“Fussy!” Cupid glared at Liam. “I am not fussy! Food can be contaminated, look at Typhoid Mary. I’m happy that Peter takes this seriously and knows what to do properly.”
Liam pulled Cupid into his arms. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
Watching the kiss that they shared, Peter turned away to give them some privacy while he checked to make sure that everything was fine in the oven and the next trays to go in where ready.
“Go sit down, hun and I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
As Liam moved to sit at the table, Peter looked over at him. “So, what would you like to know?”
Both men snickered at hearing Cupid laugh.
“Guess he knows me well.” Liam said.
“I knew you would be coming by today to speak to me.” Peter calmly said. “You’re worried and since you don’t know me, you want to make sure that Cupid is safe.”
“You don’t mind?” Liam thoughtfully asked.
“No, to me it shows that you love and care for him.” Peter smiled this thanks to Cupid when he was handed a fresh cup of coffee. “I actually respect you for that.”
So, while Peter and Cupid worked at cooking the food, they chatted. Peter left out nothing when he told Liam what happened before, and even about the guys from the shelter.
“Would you be willing to point them out to me?” Liam asked.
“I would, but can you make sure they don’t know it was me?” Peter looked at Liam. “I don’t want them to come after Harvey or me.”
“I can do that.” Liam sighed. “You know that I’m not going to be able to do much about the murder of your mom. You are right that because I work in a different city, hell a different state, that my hands are tied. I can’t make them do anything they don’t want to.”
“Thank you, but that was what I had already guessed.” Peter tried not to cry at knowing nothing would be done to those who killed his mom.
Cupid went to see Liam off, as he had to head back to the precinct.
Once he came back, the two of them worked happily, getting all the food ready for the day.
“How about I start on the dishes now, or do you want me to take out the trash first?” Peter asked.
“Let me worry about the trash. I still have a glove on my hand, so I can take the bags out. This way you can get started.”
As Peter collected the dished and put them into the sink, Cupid gathered all the trash and went out the back door.
“Peter! I think I found Harvey,” Cupid yelled for him, the sound of fear in his voice caused him to drop the baking trays in the sink as he ran out the back door.
“Harvey.” Peter cried out, running over the to huge man who was hiding behind the garbage bin. “What happened?”
Seeing how beaten and abused Harvey looked broke Peter’s heart.
Chapter Four
The next few minutes were a mad blur of action. Harvey couldn’t go into the kitchen, he was covered in dirt and mud and that was without the blood. Cupid offered his office, already on the phone to Liam, demanding someone come down and take action “right now.” Quietly warmed by the passion Cupid was showing in his brother’s defense, Harvey was all Peter could focus on as he led the stumbling man into Cupid’s office space.
“Take a seat, tell me what happened?” Peter gently cradled Harvey’s head. One side of his cheek was completely swollen, his eye half-closed and his lip bulging and split. What looked like rope marks braised his brother’s neck and wrists and cuts seen through shredded clothing suggested a knife had been used. Only Harvey’s hands and knuckles were free from injury.
“Bad men,” Harvey moaned. “Bad men. They wanted to….”
“Did they… did they…?” Peter couldn’t bring himself to say the word.
Harvey shook his head and then moaned again. “Wanted you. Wanted to know where you were. I didn’t tell them. I didn’t shift. I didn’t….”
“Oh, fuck, Harvey.” His eyes blinded by tears, Peter cradled his brother’s head to his chest, taking care not to squeeze him too hard. “Who was it? Who did this?”
“I want to know that too.” Liam’s voice came from the doorway. “Geeze, man,” he hurried over, “you need to be seen at a hospital.”
“No hospital,” Peter said quickly, too quickly, he realized when he saw Liam’s frown deepen. “We don’t have insurance, and we can’t afford to pay.”
“There’s a clinic….”
Peter interrupted him. “Please, no hospitals, no clinics, no doctors. My brother’s been through enough. They get him in there and they’ll want to do tests, they might even take him away. Please.”
Looking down, he stroked Harvey’s matted hair, tears rolling down his cheeks. If Liam wanted to push the issue, Peter couldn’t fight him. They’d have to run again, and Peter was tired of running. He had a job. He and Harvey finally had some hope for the future. He could hear Cupid talking in a low and urgent voice, and prayed the man was on his side. Please, please, please, please, please.
“Okay, no hospital,” Liam sighed at last. “But man, I want to know who did this and when. You’ve got rope marks, you’ve been detained against your will and badly beaten. Why would someone do that to you?”
“Bad men.” Harvey raised his head and growled. “Bad men want to hurt Peter. I didn’t tell them. I didn’t tell them where he was.”
“Cupid, I’m so sorry. I’ll, we’ll have to go.” Peter didn’t stop his tears from falling. “I can’t bring trouble to your place of work. I’m so sorry. This morning was the best time in my life in ages. Thank you so much for everything. Come on, Harvey.”
“Neither of you are going anywhere.” Cupid stood directly in Peter’s path, his hands on his hips. “Your brother is hurt, you’ve got no place to go. If you think for one second, I’m turning you out on the streets when your brother is in this condition then you need your head examined. And besides, those apple turnovers you made are the best I’ve ever had, and they’ve sold out already. Now sit down both of you, and someone find a bloody first aid kit. It was in the kitchen last time I saw it.”
Fates, Mates & Apple Turnovers Page 2