Chapter 15
Bess
We got a surprising amount of work done for one afternoon.
Courtney, the woman I had on the phone at Cleaning Restorations earlier, had been super helpful when I explained my situation.
She mentioned she’d just processed a cancellation for next Monday and would be able to have a crew here then.
She also went into some detail about things I could do myself to make the process a little easier and faster.
Saving them time would save me money, so I happily took her advice.
Basically, Emmet, Lola—she showed up later—and I removed everything of importance that could not be run through a washing machine or hosed down. That was important paperwork, pictures, a few paintings my mom left me, books I treasure, and some odds and ends.
At Courtney’s suggestion, we packed everything into a few sturdy storage bins I asked Lola to pick up from Ginny at the Nuts both Lola and Emmet have done that in a big way these past days. Their support has gone above and beyond what the modest salaries I pay them deserve.
Once all this is done and dusted, and we’re back to functioning the way we should, I’m going to need to flex my budget somehow to give each of them a raise. It’s the least I can do.
“If you don’t mind,” I tell Emmet. “I’d like to at least go into the kitchen to toss out all perishables and anything else we can fit in the bin in the alley before they pick up the garbage. Otherwise, it’s just going to sit out there until next week, smelling.”
“What time do you want me?”
“Around nine would be great.”
He throws me a mock salute and a lopsided grin, and reaches for the garbage bag I’m filling with paper cups, plastic lids, and other stuff I’ve been pulling from the cupboards behind the counter in the coffee shop.
It really hurts, having to dispense of all my inventory, but as Courtney informed me, none of it is considered safe for use anymore.
“Leave it. I’m just going to finish this cupboard and then I’ll toss it out,” I assure him.
There is still some room left in the bag after I empty the rest of the cupboard, and I eye the plastic bin which stores our coffee beans.
That’s my gold, a carefully balanced blend I’ve spent years developing and mix myself.
Those are pricey beans, but sadly, they too will have to be tossed.
Too much has happened, too many people have been through here, and too many hands have touched things. I can’t risk using them.
It’s a bit of a struggle tipping the bin into the garbage bag without spilling beans all over the floor, but I manage to get it done.
Of course, now the bag is heavy as hell and I struggle to drag it to the side door.
I guess I could leave it for Hugo, but stubborn determination has me haul it outside myself.
Lifting it up high enough to tip over the side of the dumpster in the alley requires a Herculean effort. There, it teeters precariously, but when it threatens to topple back on top of me, an arm reaches over my shoulder, shoving it resolutely into the dumpster.
I swing around, fully expecting Hugo, but instead I find my brother. My instincts kick in and I shove at him with every ounce of strength left in my body and try to dart past him inside. He’s still faster, and manages to grab hold of my arm, swinging me around to face him.
“Please, Bess. They know everything.”
If there is anything that can stop me from fighting him, it’s those words. I freeze instantly.
I get my first good look at Ken and realize how amazing it is I recognized him in the first place. He’s aged, and not just the twenty years since I last saw him. He’s gaunt and his eyes look old, desperate, and I can’t stop my heart from bleeding just a little for him.
“What do you mean everything?” I hiss at him.
“E-very-thing,” he enunciates slowly.
It’s like a cold fist reaching into my chest and squeezing my heart.
This is a nightmare.
“How?”
The moment he lowers his eyes, I know it was him.
“Why?” I ask my brother, who may have well just signed my death sentence along with his own.
He shakes his head, looking as terrified as I feel.
“Almost twenty years is a long time without being able to talk to someone you trust, Bess. He was my cellmate for nearly ten of those years. How was I supposed to know he’d try and sell that information to Shane?”
Shane is Shane Lee, leader of the Lotus Squad. He and his brothers, Mike and Joon Lee, were the brains and the engine of the gang. At least they were back then when they recruited my brother.
It was a lifetime ago, yet hearing his name, feeling this fear, it might as well have been yesterday.
“We need money and we need to get out of here,” he insists.
“We? Why? You led them here, didn’t you?” Suddenly vibrating with anger at the injustice of it all, I shove him as hard as I can, causing him to stumble back a few steps. “You led them right to my front door.”
“No.” He shakes his head vigorously. “They already knew.”
I can almost hear the tumblers fall into place in my head.
I’m about to tell him what an idiot he is for coming here, when I hear my name called from inside the coffee shop. Just as I turn around, I catch sight of Hugo turning down the hallway and coming toward me.
I whip my head back to find my brother gone. Vanished into thin air in a fraction of a second.
“Hey…is everything all right?” Hugo asks behind me, and I swing my entire body around to him, wearing a big smile.
“It’s all fine.”
Hugo
The relief is immediate when I see her standing right outside the door.
She seems a little strange though, almost like she’s looking for something or someone. But the next moment she walks in the door, shutting it behind her as she goes up on her toes to kiss me.
The perfect distraction, instantly erasing any perceived weirdness.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Uh…yeah, I guess. Go where?” she wants to know.
“Dinner at my place.”
I don’t tell her she won’t be going home after; I’ll tackle that when we get there.
Luckily, Doug and Arno were understanding and accommodating, allowing me to pack up her things and pay her bill.
She’ll be ticked off about that too, but whether she likes it or not, she’s going to have to learn to accept some help.
That is, if she wants to stay afloat until her insurance comes through to cover her costs.
“I have my car here, so I’ll have to follow you.”
“Leave it here, we can grab it later,” I suggest, putting a hand on the small of her back as I guide her firmly to the front door.
I’m eager to keep moving, worried the moment we stop she’ll dig her heels in again.
If I’ve discovered one thing about Bess, it’s that she can change her mind on a dime and likes to throw up real or perceived road blocks.
I’m hoping not to give her a chance by staying in motion.
At least until we get to my place. Once there—and without a vehicle to facilitate an escape—I’ll have time to convince her to stay.
To my surprise, she doesn’t say much as we grab her things, lock up Strange Brew, and get in my truck. She stares out the window on the way home, a pensive, almost faraway look on her face. When I lightly touch her arm, she almost jumps out of her seat.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
She forces a tight smile on her face. “It’s been a long day, I guess I’m more tired than I thought. Maybe it’s best if I—”
I quickly interrupt before she can finish that thought.
“Why don’t you have a nap while I cook? Unless, you’d rather have a shower first, of course.”
She grabs a hank of hair, wincing as she sniffs it.
“Shower it is,” she decides.
Ragnar goes ballistic when we get home, almost knocking Bess on her ass as we walk in the door. She doesn’t seem to mind, and gives the dog plenty of loving before I remind him he needs to go out for a pee. Bess grabs the opportunity to head up for a shower.
Of course, my well-laid plans fall apart the moment Bess goes upstairs and finds her own things I already moved into the primary bedroom.
“Why is my stuff here?” she calls from the top of the stairs.
“I was going to talk to you about that over dinner,” I offer, looking up from the bottom.
“Seems to me the time to talk would be before you decided to break into my room and kidnap my things,” she snaps, building up steam.
Admittedly, I’d rather have her fuming mad than subdued, like she was on the way over here. Call me weird, but I enjoy her fire.
“For the record, I didn’t break in, I was given access.
And, I didn’t technically kidnap your stuff, I simply moved it to a more convenient place.
” I hold up my hand to stop her when she gears up to react.
“Please, let me finish. Obviously, in an ideal world I would’ve talked to you first, but you had your hands full at the shop, and I thought I could be helpful dealing with your room at The Carriage House.
You need every penny you have, and staying there is a waste of money when you have a free place to stay here. ”
I take a few tentative steps up the stairs.
“You can have my room; you’ll have your own bathroom. And before you worry about expectations, there are none. Carson is gone for the weekend and I’m gonna crash in his room.”
My son reminded me this morning about the open house this weekend at the University of Washington, the school he has his hopes set on. With everything going on, I’d clearly forgotten about it.
“Where is he?”
One of the things I really like about Beth is her connection with my son. She really cares about him and it has nothing to do with me. I’m convinced they would have this connection, even if I wasn’t in the picture.
“He was invited a couple of weeks ago by Larry Pierce, his buddy Cody’s dad, who was able to get his hands on some Mariners’ tickets for Saturday night. It just so happens to coincide with an open house at UW this weekend the boys wanted to go to, so they are making a weekend in Seattle out of it.”
By now I’ve made it to the one-but-last step before the landing, and am at eye level with Bess, who no longer looks angry.
“I forgot. He mentioned it last week. I can’t believe he’ll be off to college in September,” she mutters.
“Neither can I. It’ll be quiet around here.”
“I’m still mad at you.”
“That’s okay, I can handle it,” I assure her, putting my hands on her hips and tugging her a little closer so she’s within kissing distance. “Go have a shower while I get dinner going, and you can yell at me some more after.”
“Fine,” she mumbles, but her arms slide around my neck when I lean in for a kiss.
I haven’t mentioned the main reason I wanted her closer to me, but that’ll have to wait until after her shower.
I’m not looking forward to it.