Chapter 1 #2
A young man with freckles and copper blonde hair enters through the door that I assume leads to the kitchen. He’s wearing a similar uniform and is carrying a tray of fresh chocolate croissants. My mouth waters just looking at them.
“Put those out then head on over to school. I don’t want you to be late, and then your parents show up here to yell at me,” the woman says to the young man. He nods and gets to work.
Keeping my faux confidence wrapped around me like armor, I approach the counter.
“Hi! Welcome to Mystic Beans. What can I get for you?” The woman senses my presence and sets her rag in a sanitation bucket.
“Hi,” I reply with a friendly smile. “I’m looking for the owner.”
“That’s me. Kat Deveraux.” She smiles brightly back. “What can I do for you?”
“My son and I just moved here. He just started at the elementary school. I’m hoping you have a job opening.
” I hand her my resume, some of which may be made up, but not completely untrue.
I did manage employees. I just left out that they were strippers and that I comforted them after a particularly bad encounter with a John.
“This looks great. But I’m sorry. I’m not looking for anyone right now.” Kat seems truly apologetic.
My chest deflates. Rejection isn’t fun, and I expect to be rejected at many more places, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.
“Okay, no worries. Thanks, anyway!” I turn to head for the door.
“Wait!” Kat stops me, and I turn back. “Try the library a couple of doors down and across the street. Florence is a bit surly, but she won’t hold it against you that you’re new to town.”
“That’s a thing here?” I ask as my eyebrows shoot up.
Kat gives me a look of sympathy. “You’re in small town Texas. Yes, it’s a thing.”
“Geeze,” I whisper.
Nothing says, “Welcome to Mystic River,” quite like not being able to get a job because I wasn’t born and raised here. I shouldn’t be surprised. I grew up in a different town in Texas. It was larger than Mystic River, but the people there still had a small-town mentality.
Small town. Small minded.
“Not everyone is like that, present company included,” Kat is quick to explain. “Only some. Like, don’t bother trying Mystic River Hardware across the street. Old Man Hicks is a sweet man, but ignorantly sexist.”
“Noted.” I nod.
I should be writing all of this down.
Kat continues, “Mystic River Market is all right, but the hours are hell. With a son, that job may not be the best option. Susan owns the grill, and your experience as a waitress should help you there. She might be willing to give you lunch shifts.”
“Lunch shifts. Got it.”
Kat looks around as if she’s making sure no one else can hear, so I take a step closer. Lowering her voice, she continues, “I don’t recommend the hospital.”
“Hospital?” I question, feigning ignorance.
“Mystic River Psychiatric Hospital,” she confirms.
Like I’d ever go back to that hellhole. I mean, I know I will at some point. Can’t take down a piece of shit hospital unless I actually step foot in there…again.
“Don’t worry. Wasn’t even on my radar,” I inform her with a slight shake of my head.
Kat stops talking and hesitates, rolling her lips in.
I widen my eyes, pleading. “Please don’t stop now. You’re a wealth of information on this town.”
“It’s just…Do you mind working in a not-so-nice place?”
The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a small bar just off Highway 35. It’s a bit run down.”
Quirking a brow, I question further. “Is the owner a creep or something?” A bar would be a great spot to get the people of Mystic River talking.
“Oh! No, not at all.” Kat shakes her head. “There are two of them, and they’re actually nice, despite what you might hear other people say.”
My shoulders relax. I don’t need a fancy workplace. If the people aren’t trying to stick their dick in me without consent because they think their wad of cash is enough, then I’m good.
“Why aren’t people nice to the owners of the bar?”
Motioning me to come closer, Kat lowers her voice. “When they were in high school, their girlfriend Scarlett went missing. Their father was convicted of her murder and is currently serving a life sentence in Texas State Penitentiary.”
“What!” I exclaim too loudly.
“Shhhhhh.” Kat waves her hands, glancing around to make sure no one else heard.
“People don’t generally talk about it anymore.
Scarlett was your typical small-town sweetheart, nice to your face and a bitch behind your back.
She collected boyfriends like trophies, and those two were just a notch in her bedpost.” Kat sighs, looking up at the ceiling then back at me.
“Lord, forgive me. I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but she was a mean girl, and I was one of her targets.
The fact that I’m almost a decade younger than her didn’t matter.
If you were breathing, you had the potential to have Scarlett make your life hell. ”
“Wow. Nothing like small town living.” I shake my head, trying to comprehend how all of that can happen.
Blowing out a breath, I say, “You had me worried there for a second.” I nervously chuckle.
“With the ‘not-so-nice place’ comment. No, I don’t mind ‘run down.’ You should see the last place—” I stop myself and wince.
Not supposed to mention that. On my resume, it says I last worked at Abstract Dreams. Spencer told me to put it down.
“Was it—” Kat begins to ask.
“Thank you so much for everything! You’ve been a huge help,” I interrupt, avoiding her question.
“Here.” Kat quickly grabs one of the fresh chocolate croissants from the tray her employee is still unloading and puts it in a small brown bag. She hands the bag to me and smiles. “Good luck today and come back to tell me how it all goes.” Her offer feels genuine.
I nod and take the bag from her hand.
As I go to exit, two huge, scary-looking men hold the door open for me. They’re both covered in tattoos and wear black leather vests. Their skin looks dirty and weathered by the sun, like they just had a ton of sand thrown in their faces.
“Good mornin’, sweetheart,” one says to me as he looks me up and down. He has a toothpick in his mouth and one hand on the door. His wind-whipped golden brown hair shines in the light, and the tattoo of a skeleton wearing a cloak gleams on his right bicep.
The other man winks at me and greets me. “Haven’t seen you ‘round here before, beautiful.” His hair is deep ebony, and he has a matching skeleton with a cloak on the same arm.
They’d terrify me if I hadn’t already faced a different kind of monster. But I still keep my guard up.
“Atlas! Bas! Leave her alone,” Kat barks.
The one with golden brown hair turns his head to Kat, and I get a look at a tattoo of the world on the side of his throat.
“Aww, don’t be like that, honey.”
“We had a long ride here and are in need of some caffeine.”
Narrowing my eyes at them, I call over my shoulder, “You okay, Kat?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Her voice is firm.
I walk to my car with surety in my step and lock the doors as soon as I’m inside. I don’t know what I thought I could do at that moment. I’m a twig compared to those two.
Peering into the coffee shop window, I see an irritated Kat begin making two coffees without asking what they want. They eye her appreciatively, and she acts as if she doesn’t notice. But every woman notices. It’s instinct.
Kat said she’s okay. So, I’ll go but check back later.
Time to meet more business owners of Mystic River.