Chapter 2
Arden Thatcher breathed a huge sigh of relief—he had a job. Now all he needed to do was show Ronny that he could do it. He took orders and helped for about an hour. Then others came in for their shifts, and Arden finished filling out the paperwork and turned it in to Ronny. “Thank you for the chance.”
Ronny nodded, and Arden swallowed hard, the back of his neck warming. Ronny was sexy, that was all there was to it. In his limited experience with allowing himself to acknowledge his feelings toward other guys, there was one thing he knew: Ronny was hot. Really hot. But he was smart enough to know that acting on Ronny’s hotness was a bad idea. He needed this job if he was going to eat, and that was way more important than his boss’ wide shoulders and narrow hips, or his smile, which made his heart race.
“I’ll work up the schedule later today and call you with your hours and stuff. Right now, I need to get to work. The lunch rush is about to pick up any second.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Arden said and left The Gingerbread, walking back toward the small place he called home, at least for now. He hadn’t lied to Ronny exactly. He did have a small space at his aunt and uncle’s. But it was hard for him to tell Ronny that his uncle gave him the creeps. His aunt really was as nice as he had described. But his uncle was a self-righteous asshole most of the time, and at others, when no one else was around, his expression was different, and he would get too close for words. When Arden reached his place, he went inside and locked the door behind him.
He had a small living room with a tiny kitchen and bathroom. The bedroom was a loft upstairs. It was sufficient for one, and he was comfortable enough there, or would have been if it hadn’t been for his uncle. He sat on a sofa that had seen better days. He’d covered up its hideousness with a blanket he’d gotten at the Salvation Army. The chair he’d found at a secondhand store. That, a lamp, and a coffee table completed his furniture. Still, it was enough for him, and he was grateful to have it, but not enough to play whatever games his uncle seemed to have in mind.
Arden spent the afternoon watching videos on his phone, waiting for a call, which came just after three.
“Arden, it’s Ronny. Can you come in tomorrow from eleven till six? That way I can train you on the systems and get you started. After that, I have you on the schedule Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I may need you on Sunday, but I’ll let you know later in the week.”
“That’s awesome.” He was so excited, his foot bounced on the floor.
“I have you at five dollars an hour to start, but all your tips are yours. And when you work the bar, we have a tip jar that we split among the bartenders that night. Is that fair?”
“It sounds like it.” Arden did some quick calculations in his head and actually smiled that he was going to be able to feed himself and pay his share of the utilities. He might even have a little left over for other things. “Thank you again. I’ll be there tomorrow at eleven.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.” Ronny ended the call, and Arden jumped up off the sofa and did a little happy dance. Maybe he was going to be okay after all.
A tap on the window into the yard made him jump, and he turned to where his uncle leered inside. Dammit, Arden should have remembered to close the curtains. “What are you so happy about?” his uncle snapped.
Arden stilled and then shrugged. He did his best to ignore him, and eventually his uncle went back toward the main house. Arden took that opportunity to pull the curtains closed, with a slight shiver. His uncle seemed to keep a close eye on him, and more than once, he’d found him peering inside when Arden came out of the bathroom. Still, he had a job, something to celebrate, and his creepy uncle was not going to dampen that.
That evening, Arden pulled the to-go container out of the refrigerator. He looked at the remains of a dinner and shivered. He was ashamed that he had taken to finding things from the trash in order to feed himself, but up until now, he had been existing on his meager savings, and they were almost gone. What was worse was that Ronny had almost seen him the one time, and that only added to his shame. Still, he had to eat, and Arden put the leftover burger in the microwave, hoping that any sort of contamination would be nuked away. Once it was good and hot, he ate the now-dry burger, grateful that he wasn’t going to have to do that sort of thing anymore. But Arden had learned that he would do just about anything to survive.
“You’re getting the hang of it,” Ronny told him as he checked over Arden’s order.
“My family had something similar,” Arden explained before putting in his latest order and sending it to the kitchen. Then he hurried away, because having Ronny so close made him tingly, and he needed to keep his mind clear. He checked with his tables, refilled drinks, and got more napkins. Then he put in a new drink order and went to the kitchen to pick up food that was ready. By the time lunch was over, he was pleased and hoped Ronny was too.
“Can you watch the bar for an hour or so?” Ronny asked. There were half a dozen people sitting at the stools.
“Sure. Anything unusual?” he asked.
“No. Mostly beer and wine drinkers. You can call if you need anything.” Ronny went into the back, and Arden wiped down the bar, cleaned glasses, and filled drink orders. He used the opportunity to learn how the bar was laid out and where the various spirits were placed. Every bar was different, yet certain things were always the same. Like the most used items were front and center, making them the easiest to get quickly.
“You working here?” his uncle asked from the other side the bar. Arden nearly fumbled the bottle of whiskey he had in his hand. Pushing the creep out of his mind, he finished the old-fashioned and placed it in front of the customer. “What do you think?” he asked.
She sipped it and smiled. “Very good. I haven’t had one of these in a long time.” She took another sip, and Arden turned to his uncle.
“What can I get for you?” He wasn’t going to let the creep get to him, not on his first day at work. Arden had no idea that Uncle Charlie came here. If he had known, he might have tried for a job somewhere else.
“A Miller Lite,” he said, and Arden started a tab before getting him the beer and setting it in front of him. Then he continued checking on the others before peering toward the back room, hoping Ronny would come back out. “Can I get another?” his uncle asked rather loudly.
Arden got him another one and went back to work.
“Everything okay?” Ronny asked a little while later.
Arden shrugged as he put glasses away. “Nothing I can’t handle. Mostly it’s been pretty easy,” he reported. “Do you want me to check the coolers?”
“If you have the chance,” Ronny told him.
“Arden, get me another,” his uncle demanded. The more he drank, the worse he got.
Ronny went over. “I think you’ve had enough already.” He went to the register and pulled up the tab.
“I ain’t paying that. My nephew works here now. He can afford to buy his uncle a few drinks.”
Arden paled, not sure what to do. He hadn’t offered, and yet if he really pissed his uncle off, he might throw him out the way his parents had.
“What kind of uncle are you? Taking advantage of your nephew like that. He just started today, and you want to saddle him with your bar bill?” Ronny never raised his voice, and his uncle pulled out his wallet and handed Ronny a credit card. He ran it through the system and handed his uncle a check to sign. Then he half staggered toward the door. Damn, he felt sorry for his aunt for having to put up with him.
“Sorry,” Arden said softly.
Ronny turned around to where Arden wanted to disappear. “That wasn’t your fault. Your uncle is a well-known ass in this town. If he gives you any grief in here, just let me know, and I’ll handle it.” Ronny patted his shoulder. “Now go get Renae another old-fashioned. She says you make the best she’s ever had.”
As the afternoon wore on, the people at the bar shifted, but the orders seemed to stay the same: a few mixed drinks, but mostly beer and some wine. Still, he made sure he kept up, had everything clean, and kept the bar and coolers stocked.
“Did you get some lunch?” Ronny asked. “Go take a break and put an order into the kitchen.” He pointed to the table where most of the staff sat, and Arden ordered a burger and fries before sitting down with a glass of ice water.
“How is it working out?” one of the servers asked as she set down his plate and took a seat across from him before setting down her own plate.
“Good, I think. At least I hope so.”
“Ronny is a good boss, and he treats us pretty good. I worked at Grand Illusion before they closed, and they were good people, too, but Ronny is a better boss.”
Arden nodded and watched Ronny, trying not to be too obvious. “He seems nice, and he took care of my uncle when he tried to stick me with his bar tab.”
Lilly took a bite of her salad and set down the fork. “Ronny has a real sense of fairness, and he isn’t going to let someone take advantage of us. He’s been known to take a customer aside when they stiff us on tips, especially someone he sees regularly. A few weeks ago, I had a big party, a family in town for one of the college events. I handled them, and when they paid the bill, they were really cheap with the tip. I saw the check, but at the end of the night, Ronny paid me the full twenty percent. I know he made up the difference himself.”
“But don’t they add the tip for large parties?” Arden had seen it printed on the menus and wondered if it just wasn’t enforced.
“They didn’t then, but they do now. Still, Ronny made sure I was treated fairly. Not many places would do that. But he did.” She continued eating her salad, and Arden found himself watching Ronny, and he blushed when Ronny watched him back. He turned away, hiding behind his burger and trying not to smile like some lovesick kid. “Do you have eyes for Ronny?” she asked.
Arden shook his head and took another bite of his burger. “He’s a nice guy, that’s all.” And he was saving his bacon with this job. Arden made a point of diverting his gaze to the beer sign on the opposite wall.
Lilly was good enough not to say anything, and Arden wondered if she was just keeping her thoughts to herself or if he might have successfully covered his budding attraction. Still, they talked through the rest of lunch, and thankfully, she didn’t bring up Ronny again. Apparently, Lilly was saving up for a trip to Paris, and Arden confessed his own longing to travel and see more of the world than their little part of it. And once they were done, Lilly carried the dishes into the back. Arden thanked her.
“Watch the bar,” Ronny told him, and he hurried into the back. He returned, carrying a few boxes, before leaving.
“What’s he doing?” a man at the bar asked.
Arden shrugged, curious himself, but he wasn’t going to leave his post. He did his job but kept one eye on the door until Ronny come back an hour later without the boxes, his attention glued to his phone.
“Hey, Ronny, you setting up hidden cameras?” one of the other patrons teased.
“Sort of. After the dumpster fire the other day, I put cameras up on the second floor. If someone tries that crap again, we’ll get them on video,” Ronny answered, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his jeans, pulling the material tight around his legs.
“Someone set fire to the dumpsters? When was that?”
“Two, three days ago,” a man answered before signaling for a refill. Arden took care of it and updated the tab. “It wasn’t too bad, but Ronny was lucky it didn’t cause much damage. Not like a few years ago when someone set a fire, and it burned through the back wall. Took out the main cooler. They had to use a refrigerated truck for months before it was fixed.”
“That sucks,” Arden said, glancing at Ronny, who was walking through the dining area, checking on tables.
“Yeah, it does. It was after then that Ronny began to really fix the place up,” the man said. Arden didn’t know his name. “He’s still working on it, but it’s come a long way.”
“That’s really cool,” Arden said, refusing to look at Ronny. Now that he had some food in him, Arden had more energy and went about cleaning up the bar, getting it ready for a busier evening.
“Thanks,” Ronny said as Arden took the glasses out of the washer a few minutes later. He had all of them cleaned and put back where they belonged.
“We should probably restock a few of the liquors.” He’d made a list and handed it to Ronny. “I’m not sure where you keep the extra stock.”
“Most of these are down there.” He pointed to a cupboard under the liquor display. “But the Grand Marnier is in the back.” Ronny handed him the list back, their fingers touching for just a moment. Arden tried not to react, but a brief tingle zipped through his hand and up his arm. Then the touch was gone, and Arden blinked, pulling his attention back to the task at hand.
“Thanks,” he said, and hurried to get what he needed.
Ronny brought a bottle of Grand Marnier, and Arden placed it on the back of the bar and replaced any of the other liquors that needed it before making sure everything was closed up and the bar was the way it was supposed to be. Then he made a check to see if anyone needed a drink and finally allowed himself a minute to catch his breath.
“Arden,” Ronny said a few hours later. “Go ahead, punch out, and go home. You did good today. And I’ll see you later. Your hours are posted on the schedule in back in case you haven’t seen the details.”
“Okay.” Arden washed his hands and left the bar, checking in back and noting when he worked next. He had the following day off but was scheduled to work late on Friday and Saturday. He noted them down and got his things, a little reluctant to leave. Here there were other people, but at home, there was nothing but quiet and his creepy uncle, who was not going to be happy with him. Still, he couldn’t hang around here, so he left, walking the couple of blocks home. Arden let himself into the yard and then went into his small place.
No one had been inside, and Arden locked the door behind him. He also made a point of pulling all the curtains closed. Then he showered and finally turned on the television to find something to watch. His belly told him he needed something to eat, so he heated up the last of the food he had in his tiny refrigerator and went through the details of his meager financial situation, working out how he was going to eat for the next week or so until he got paid. It wasn’t a pretty sight and involved skipping a few meals, but he’d make it. He’d had to before, and he would again.
A knock on the door pulled him out of his worries. He jumped up, tensing in case it was his uncle. He went to the door and peered out before opening it to his aunt.
“I brought you some pasta casserole. I didn’t know if you had had anything to eat yet and….” She handed him the warm dish. “You can heat it up another time if you already ate.”
“Thank you.” At least he knew he was going to have something to eat tomorrow.
“I better get back,” his aunt said, looking toward the house. “Your uncle came home stinking of beer this afternoon, and he’s still sleeping it off.” She frowned. “I hate it when he drinks like that.”
Arden didn’t know what to say to her. He knew how much drinking his uncle did at The Gingerbread, but he had no idea if his uncle went somewhere else afterward. He supposed he could be grateful that his uncle was down for the count, but he was disappointed for his aunt. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way. His aunt Louise was a good person, and she deserved better than a husband who drank too much and creeped around the backyard, peeking in windows. “I’m sorry he does that.”
She nodded. “Like I said, I’d better get back to the house before he wakes up.” She turned and went back through the yard.
Arden wondered just how harsh his uncle was to her. He could be mean, and his tongue could bite deep. He hadn’t seen any evidence that he hit her, but he wasn’t sure and vowed to keep an eye on things as best he could.