by Raven Scott
“Yes, I did. They’re pretty upset, but it was surprisingly easy to negotiate. I’m going to bring the papers by tomorrow morning for you to sign. Both families were honestly pretty practical with the settlement.” I’m sure Landry knew my question before I had a chance to ask it, and he shuffled around on the line before continuing. “One guy was about ready to move into a home with his kid and pregnant wife, anyway, so the total for him will be $1.3 million, and the third-floor tenant decided this was a sign to relieve his misery and is moving to Florida, so that’ll be about $600,000.”
“Really? Alright then. I thought they’d jump at the opportunity to squeeze me.” Surprise flattened my tone, and I rubbed my jaw and neck as Landry hummed in acknowledgment. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for getting that done so fast. What about that contract I had you working on over the weekend?”
“I’m still working on it. Should be ready by Friday.” Nodding curtly, I hung up to turn back to the drama. May and her mother were arguing loudly. Sarah just stood there, clearly unsure of what her role in all this was, and I frowned as I focused on what May and her mom were saying.
“Need you to take her for no longer than a week, Mom. Sarah’s your daughter, and you don’t even want to do that much for her? Seriously? If you won’t do it for her, do it for me, at least!” Her voice trembled with anger, and I resumed my position leaning on the driver’s side door as her mom shook her head.
“You and I both know a week is never just a week. It’ll end up being months, and you know it, May. I have more important things to do tha—” The incredibly loud slap of palm on cheek echoed through the whole damn neighborhood, and May’s mother stumbled back and clutched her face. Wincing as May heaved massive, shuddering breaths, I watched them glare at each other with unease roiling my gut.
“Don’t you dare say what I think you’re going to say. Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?” May was yelling as loud as she could and I tilted my head as the neighbors next door came out to sit on their porch and watch the scene. “You decide one day that you . . . you just don’t want her? You send Sarah to Seattle when I told you it was a bad idea, and you abandoned her with no friends, no family, and struggling to be a functioning human being through the boredom. You won’t even take her for a week? All I need is a damn week, Mom. And you won’t even do that!”
May’s mother was red in the face, and all the yelling attracted attention from the house. A rather bulky, graying man came rushing out, and I suddenly realized where May got those red strands from. The dude was full-on ginger— pale skin, freckles, with a trimmed red beard and redder hair.
“What’s going on out here?” May flipped her hair back, straightened her slender shoulders, and took a deep breath as her father flew down the pathway. Her strawberry blonde waves shimmered in the sunlight, and she turned to Sarah, marched over, and grabbed her forearm.
“Nothing. You two are disgusting. Come on, Sarah.” Before they could march off to God only knew where, I took May’s shoulder and her blazing eyes snapped to mine. “We’re leaving, I said.”
“I know you’re stressed and tired, May, but you can’t give up.” I had a feeling May’s father would be much easier to talk to as he cradled his crying wife, and I nodded insistently at May. “Right? Why don’t we all go inside and talk about this calmly.”
“Talk about what? What happened?” Turning to the older man, I left May to hold out my hand, and his face rippled between worried and confused. We shook hands and May’s mother stormed up the path into the house before he spoke up. “I hope you don’t expect the girls to be calm, Mister . . . ”
“Call me Oran. And no, I don’t, not that this particular moment, at least. I’d like to explain the situation, if you’re unaware.”
24
May
“So, what happened that you had to bring a truck full of your things back?” Sitting at the dining room table, I grimaced at my mug of coffee as my dad’s gaze landed on me expectantly. “You didn’t call first?”
“I didn’t exactly have time. On Friday, while I was at work, the sewage in my apartment backed up, and I’ve been a mess. It’s so bad that no one can live there anymore, and I have to stay somewhere else. I need Sarah to stay here just until Saturday, but Mom’s being unreasonable.” My dad’s bushy brows rose high and I turned my mug absently on the table as I sunk into my chair. “I have nowhere to live and I might lose my job. I can’t handle worrying about Sarah, too.”
“Oh, May, that’s an awful situation to be in.” I lifted my head and my eyelid twitched as my ears rang with the but that balanced on the tip of my dad’s tongue. He frowned, the lines around his mouth and eyes deepening, and I clutched the mug handle tightly. “I’m sorry, May, but we have a lot going on right now. As much as we want to help, we just can’t. We have too much on our plate right now with your brothers, and I’m working a lot of overtime.”
“How much will it cost a day for you, her own father, to let Sarah board at her own childhood home, huh?” Oran leaned forward, that familiar businesslike lilt in his tone and gravity dragging down his features. I held my breath, my heart pounded, and disbelief draped my shoulders as my dad tore his eyes from me to Oran. “$250,000? Or is that not enough? I can keep going up. Let me know what number is good enough for you. After all, since you don’t want responsibility of your own children, and someone has to foist them on you and your wife, I assume you’ll need to be persuaded somehow else. How’s $500,000 a day?”
“I-I don’t think—”
“You don’t think that’s enough? $750,000 a day? That’s about how much this house is worth, isn’t it? Surely, you have an extra room here. I’ll even do you the favor of having someone come in and specifically make Sarah’s meals and deliver them to her, and then clean up. It’ll be like she’s not even here.” This was too outrageous to believe, and my mouth dried as Oran deadlocked eyes with my father and cocked his head quizzically. My chest tightened, the blood drumming in my ears as the silence stretched, and my dad licked his lips heavily before nodding.
“I suppose that would be good enough.” My stomach dropped to my ankles and the blood drained from my face as Oran stood up and extended his arm. They shook hands, a devil’s bargain, and a violent shiver lodged between my shoulder blades. Disbelief hollowed my lungs and my chest concaved as my vision blurred and air invaded my head.
“May, come help me with your things.” He put his hand on my shoulder and the hairs on my neck stood up when he practically wiped his palm on my back. I stood up, my knee cracking when it straightened, and I followed Oran out of the dining room, through the living room, and out the front door.
“What the hell was that, Oran?” Hissing through my teeth, I punched him in the arm, and he smirked as he held up his phone to flash the display. Blinking hard, I tensed and sucked in a sharp breath, and he paused the recording to jerk his chin at me. “What the hell is that?”
“Ammunition. Like I said earlier, a threat is always empty. It’s the feelings of the person being threatened that matters.” My cheek twitched, and Oran slid his phone back into his pocket as he took the stairs to the pathway. “You know your parents, May. I don’t. Obviously, I’m not going to pay shit, but your father agreed to it, only after I assured him Sarah wouldn’t be noticed.”
“I’m going to give you such good road head on the way home. Oh, my God.” He smirked, and I reached to scratch the back of his head, just to touch him, to show him how grateful I was. “My relationship with my parents has never been so damn bad. I don’t get it.”
“The difference is you don’t have a mental illness getting in the way of your future, May.” We reached the driveway and Oran turned to me with distaste dribbling from his sharp features. “You’ve done plenty of research, I’m sure. Having a diagnosis, even as mild as hers, is an obstacle Sarah will have to work very, very hard to overcome. You said her birthday is on Saturday, and she wants to go to the Carolinas. You can hire a chaperone for her, someone with
experience with this particular kind of autism who will follow your rules in a way that can bend with Sarah’s . . . impulsiveness.”
“I never even thought of that.” Crossing my arms under my bust, I frowned at the comforting hands on my shoulders, and Oran cupped my cheeks.
“You’re not the one who’s supposed to think of it. On the outside, though, it’s pretty obvious to me. Just like getting Sarah a job at a restaurant was not the best idea. If she’s as stubborn and introverted as you say, she’s not going to do a job she doesn’t want to do. So, clearly, she needs to have a passion for whatever she wants to do, right?” It took me too long to realize what Oran was getting at, and my brows rose as the connections finally made themselves in my head.
“Oh-h-h . . . I get it. You’re saying she should do something with birds. Anything else is just a waste.” He stroked my cheekbones with calloused thumbs and I tilted my head into his touch and closed my eyes. “I’d probably be a snotty mess right now if it wasn’t for you, Oran.”
“You can show your appreciation another time. We’re going to head back to Seattle and find you a nice hotel room with a nice bath and a nice massage therapist, okay?” Humming softly, I covered Oran’s palms with my own, and he ducked to kiss my lips tenderly. His lips were warm and slightly chapped, and I caressed up his taut forearms to sigh in a brief, blissful moment of content.
“Guys . . . ” Twisting to see Sarah standing awkwardly at the lip of the driveway, I frowned slightly when she shuffled in discomfort. “Can we leave? I’d rather be homeless than be here.”
“We’re not going to be homeless. Hop in the truck. We’ll get a hotel room with room service and find some great movies. It’ll be like when I was in college.” It was saddening how excited Sarah was— the emotion just burst out her chest and flushed her face and brightened her eyes. Rushing around the front of the truck, she disappeared from view, and my frown saddened. “It’s been a long time. College seems so long ago.”
“It’ll get better.” Squeezing my jaw gingerly, Oran turned to open the driver’s side door for me, and I inhaled a deep breath. Oran charged in and fixed everything going wrong so fast that I could barely comprehend it. The fact he could so seriously talk about three-quarters of a million dollars a day— my dad might’ve questioned if he was bluffing, but I knew Oran was fully capable of holding up that bargain.
My whole body ached when I sat down, but I buckled my seatbelt and slumped deep into the seat. The over-worn seats were almost as comfortable as Oran’s bed, and I closed my eyes to lean my head on Oran’s shoulder. I was heavy and I exhaled a sigh as the truck rumbled to life.
“Hey, Oran?” I was really thankful Sarah wasn’t talking to me. Oran grunted lowly as the truck rolled back out of the driveway. “Why did you help me that time at Hansen’s?”
“Because it was the right thing to do, Sarah.” Oran must’ve drove with one hand because his other arm slung over my shoulders, and I shuffled a little closer while he played with my hair. “The only thing you should count on is karma— you do good, you get good. Whether you do good by other people or yourself is entirely up to you, but good is good regardless.”
“I can see why May likes you. You’re really practical. Just like her.”
25
Oran
Gazing at my phone as I debated answering Candice’s call, I scoffed slightly before swiping the screen and holding it to my ear.
“What?” The wind picked up a little, and I drummed my fingers on the bar of Hansen’s as a ship horn blew in the background of the call.
“You sound like you’re in a bad mood. I can fix that. Guess who I found while I was doing a little sneaking around?” Nodding in thanks at the bartender as she winked at me, I lifted my beer to my lips and grunted in impatience. “I’m going to be docking in Port Angeles in about five hours. Carlyle is meeting me there. I finally figured out who’s been spying on me.”
“Really? Carlyle’s going himself? What have you learned?” I could feel Candice smirking like the Cheshire Cat through the damn phone at my probe, and I took a huge preparatory gulp of my beer. Whatever it was, it would be something she’s immensely proud of, but I honestly wasn’t interested. Carlyle ran the Syndicate like a business— there wasn’t much of the old-school mobster horror stories going on.
“Just that I was right originally. They’re trying to separate you. Divide and conquer, I suppose. Fuckin’ eggs.”
“Why would I need to be there for whatever Carlyle’s going to do? I have something more important to do tonight than watch him say he’s going to do something, and then have someone else do it.” Candice was quiet at that, and I licked my lips of the taste of my draft and hissed softly. “I’m hanging up, now.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Speaking up quickly, Candice paused when a hard, metallic bang sounded, and I frowned darkly under furrowed brows. “Oran, since we’re on the phone, I was wondering, is there anything you want me to bring you?”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine, Candice. I honestly don’t believe I’m going to need anything from you.” Candice’s silence was daunting and I slowly hung up on her as I contemplated my own announcement. She was the one who brought me Kara. Well, technically, Kara asked her to.
I never loved Kara. I never felt that thing that spurred life forward. Kara was a roommate, a constant, a rock in a turbulent ocean. For that, I’d always have love for her, but . . .
I was a different man, now.
Lifting my glass to my lips, I stared at the deep, swirling stain of the bar top through narrowed eyes. May was a polar opposite to Kara, totally different sides of the spectrum, and she didn’t need me to fix her problems. Where Kara used me as a shield to the outside, May resisted and determined her own way. She set her mind on something and she did it.
Like earlier, when her hopes for her parents to babysit their own daughter were dashed, May just sucked it up and trudged on. What happened that made those two hate Sarah so much, and did May know about it? If nothing happened, then why the sudden change of heart? Obviously, they had the resources to assist Sarah in whatever she might want to do, they just didn’t want the hassle.
My palms itched with the urge to write a check and make the whole problem disappear. Sourness coated my tongue, and I took another swig of my beer to wash down the slight disgust that bubbled up in my throat. No, May needed validation. She wanted her hard work to be recognized, not just to be given something for nothing.
But I was working on that.
“Tough day?” A little scoff flowed down my nostrils at that, and I leaned back to sigh as the bartender from the last time I was here leaned on her forearms on the bar. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Here’s a question.” Locking eyes with her under furrowed brows, I pursed my lips thinly as my knee bounced under the bar. “If some unforeseen circumstance rendered you homeless, would you move in with someone you were seeing despite not seeing them very long?”
Interest sparkled in her brown eyes, and I propped my elbow on the bar top to hold my cheek in my palm. Holding the bar’s rounded edge lightly, she leaned back on her heels with a thoughtful expression, and I gulped my beer to pass the time. Speaking of time . . . it wasn’t even four p.m. yet, and here I was, drinking. Man, I need to pick up puzzles or something.
“It’d depend on how much of a connection I felt to that person, I guess. Of course, I would weigh that option against the others, if I had others. My parents, my brother, maybe, but if they couldn’t help me out, and I liked the guy a lot . . . yeah, I would.” She arched a brow quizzically and I tapped my cheek absently as I stared through her. “Why? You thinkin’ of taking that next step with your girlfriend?”
“Something like that.” I didn’t know why I ordered the free crackers and guacamole because I sure as shit wasn’t hungry, and I frowned when the basket and bowl landed in front of me. After what happened this morning, I couldn’t find my appetite. All that roiled in my stomach was disgust. “I don’t
know what I’m going to do yet.”
“Well, I’m sure that whatever she does, she’ll be happy that you offered.” The manager of the place bounced off to the back, and I took a whole grain cracker to rub the salt off between my fingertips.
My phone buzzed and I swiped open the text to gaze at a picture of May, her alabaster skin shimmering as she sprawled out on a massage table. Her nakedness came secondary to the peaceful look on her face, even under the thick, goopy mask she wore. Rust-tinted locks draped over the headrest of the table, and I picked up my phone to type a quick reply.
Oran: You deserve it. Have a nice time.
May sent me a lot of nudes. Most of the time, it was for no reason at all. I never had to ask— they just popped up in my messenger at random. I liked the spontaneity, but it presented me with a problem that got worse and worse with time. We hadn’t actually fucked but on two occasions, and both of those were cut short.
That first time in May’s apartment, I really didn’t want her sixteen-year-old sister to walk in on us. The second time, in the shower at my place, we both had to get to work, so a lengthy exploration wasn’t an option.
Our missed date on Friday had been the day. Neither she nor I talked about it aloud, but I was going to learn all her quirks. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and I wasn’t sure it would any time soon. Regular sex was okay. I got off on it, and so did she. But that was all it was— okay. It wasn’t even really nice. It was just whatever. We didn’t have time, so this’ll have to do.
May: I have to work tomorrow Sarah said she’s going to research the local aviaries and maybe make some calls do you want me to come over tomorrow night
Fondness clutched my heart in a vise and my lips quirked up as warmth shot down my arm. Her texts were probably the cutest thing about May. I typed back a simple ‘yes’.