Chapter 6
C hapter S ix
Ronny was bone-tired. What he really needed was a day off, but it didn’t look like he was going to get one this week. Someone had tried to break into the bar Tuesday night, and thanks to Yeardley, they had been caught and were spending some time in jail, waiting for their hearings. One of the cooks had called in sick, and it turned out he had a bad case of the flu and wasn’t going to be coming anywhere near food for a while. Thankfully, Ronny knew how to cook and had taken a shift in the kitchen. It was one thing after another, it seemed. He knew owning a place like The Gingerbread was a lot of work, but until this week, he hadn’t realized just how much it had taken over his entire life.
“You need to go home and get some sleep,” Arden told him about eleven on Thursday. “Is there someone who can close up for you?”
“Yeah, but he’s out with the flu,” Ronny told him, half asleep behind the bar and grateful it was slow.
“Then go back to your office and crash for a while. I got this,” he said gently.
Ronny nodded, went back through the kitchen to his office, and closed the door. He turned off the light and stretched out on the old sofa his father had installed in there years ago. He closed his eyes, and the next thing he knew, the door opened as Arden carried the register drawers inside and set them on the desk.
Ronny blinked. “What time is it?”
“We’re closed, and the bar is all stocked. I sent most everyone else home, and I brought you back the evening’s take.” Arden was too energetic for words. He just kept going. Ronny rubbed his eyes and stretched. “If I can suggest, just slip it into the safe and go home. You can do all the balancing in the morning once you’ve had a chance to rest.”
He nodded, and Arden left. Ronny opened the safe and put everything inside, locked it up, and turned out the last of the lights. He found Arden at the door and let him out before locking up and going to his car. Ronny barely noticed his passenger and pulled off to let Arden out a few minutes later.
“Come on,” Arden said, after getting out and hurrying to the driver’s door. He opened it, and Ronny shut off the engine. “You’re out of any passing traffic and too damned tired.” Arden took his hand and led him into the yard and then inside the small building.
Ronny sat on the sofa, and Arden flipped off the lights. Ronny lay down and barely registered as Arden covered him with a blanket. He curled up and quickly slipped off to sleep, knowing he was safe.
It was dark when he startled awake, wondering where he was and how he got here. He sat up, blinking, trying to make his mind work. “What the hell?” he asked himself.
“Ronny?” It was Arden’s voice from his dream. “You were talking.” Footsteps on stairs pulled his attention, and then Arden sat next to him. Somehow, even though it was dark, he would have known that rich, sweet scent anywhere. “Come on.” A hand slipped into his, and Ronny let Arden tug him to his feet and then up the stairs.
Arden shrugged off his shirt before easing him down onto the mattress. His shoes and jeans followed. For a second, sexy thoughts flitted through his mind, but he was too tired for them to take root. “Just rest. Everything is fine.” Arden lay next to him, a warm arm sliding around his waist, pressing close to him.
Ronny took a deep breath, sighing softly, and then closed his eyes.
The next thing he knew, it was light. He rolled over, facing Arden, whose eyes were closed, his features relaxed, without the hint of the worry and stress that seemed ever-present since they’d met.
“Morning,” Arden told him a few moments later, sliding his blue eyes open. “Did you sleep?”
“Yeah,” Ronny said, swallowing hard. He could get lost in those eyes, and Arden’s lips were right there, so close, he could finally learn what they tasted like. For a second, he hesitated, but when Arden slid his tongue over his upper lip, Ronny closed the distance between them, their lips touching for the first time.
The kiss was slow, tender, and tentative for about three seconds until Arden pressed him, rocking him slowly onto his back. Ronny closed his arms around Arden as the energy between them built in moments. Arden was one hell of a kisser, and he seemed to throw himself into it.
“Arden,” Ronny said, pulling back. “Are you sure?”
Those eyes blazed blue fire. “Sometimes you talk way too fucking much.” He kissed him again.
Ronny rolled them on the bed and then slid his hands down Arden’s back and over the curve of his ass. He continued the movement, taking the pair of boxers he encountered right along with them. In a matter of minutes, he had Arden naked against him, and it didn’t take long for him to return the favor. Ronny held him tightly, their kisses becoming more urgent as they moved against one another. It was almost more than Ronny could stand.
He watched folks flirt and hit on each other all the damned time. A few people turned their attentions his way, but he never encouraged people, and for years he had gone home alone. So having Arden in his arms was amazing, and damned if he didn’t want this moment to last for a very long time. But it seemed that all these months of denying himself only built up the need, and his body was firing on all cylinders.
Arden quivered in his arms, and Ronny closed his eyes, deepening their kiss as his body seemed to develop a mind of its own.
He hadn’t had this little control since he was in high school, but Arden seemed to bring out a passion in him he had long forgotten about. Still, Ronny managed to hang on by the tips of his fingers until he felt Arden still in his arms, groaning softly as heat spread between them. Ronny followed him into release, holding Arden tightly, almost afraid to move in case he broke the spell between them.
“You okay?” Arden asked. “You aren’t freaking out or anything, are you?”
“No. But….”
“I’m not either, so don’t go down that road. Okay?” Arden asked, and Ronny chuckled, enjoying the warmth.
“All right. No road-going,” he whispered. “But I think we need to move.” He gently shifted and lay next to Arden, who slipped out of bed and returned with a towel. He wiped them both up before climbing back into the bed.
Ronny looked up at the rough wood ceiling just a few feet above his head. “It’s a little snug up here.”
“Yeah. But it’s comfortable enough for just me.” He sighed. “I understand my aunt had it built for a cousin who was going to stay with her a number of years ago. After that, it was empty for a long time.”
Ronny hummed and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to ask about Arden’s uncle, but he was more than a little curious. Still he pushed his questions aside and gathered Arden to him, and they lay together quietly.
“You know you have all these muscles,” Arden said, running his fingers over Ronny’s chest.
“It’s from years of lifting cases of booze. Who would have thought that lugging tons of alcohol could make you fit? Well, that and working your ass off for years.”
Arden lifted the covers, peered under them, and then put them down again. “Your ass is still there, and it’s quite nice, if I do say so.” He grinned, and Ronny rolled his eyes.
“Thanks,” Ronny snickered softly. “What time is it?”
“It’s nearly ten.” Arden stretched and then settled back down. “I know you need to go soon to get ready to open and everything.” He suddenly seemed a little tentative.
“I do. And you need to be in this afternoon.” Ronny pushed back the covers and climbed out. “This is the part of the day that I hate the most. Sometimes it seems like I leave, sleep, and then go right back.” It was getting a little old.
“Then train someone to do some of the opening work. There’s no need for you to do it all. There are plenty of people who are capable of helping, which may allow you to take a day off.”
Ronny turned around. “I’ve been thinking of closing the place on Mondays altogether to give everyone a day away. We all need it.”
“But you still need to find someone to help open or close,” Arden pressed.
“I had someone for a couple years until I found out they were stealing from me. They took enough that they almost sank the entire business.” Ronny swallowed hard. “It’s difficult to trust anyone that much after that.”
Arden paused. “What a self-centered, greedy bastard. That’s just….”
“I know. It hurt when I finally figured it out. I felt like such a fool for trusting him for so long. It took me a year to get the business off the brink, and then after that, I was able to try to make improvements. I can’t go back there.”
He rolled over. “I understand that. But you can’t keep this up either. You’re working open to close many days, and you’re going to wear yourself out. If you do that, then you aren’t going to be able to continue.”
Ronny sighed. “I know. It’s just hard to trust anyone.”
“My father had the same kind of problem. He stayed close to the money and the register all the time. He probably still does. The only person he trusted around it was Mom. But she couldn’t work as many hours. She had to take care of us. I helped my dad, but….” Arden shrugged. “Look, I guess you have to take a chance and make sure that everything balances. But you have people you can trust, I’m sure. What about Lilly? She’s smart, and she thinks you walk on water.”
Ronny scoffed. Yeah, Ronny did his best to treat the people who worked for him the way they should be treated. That was something his father had instilled in him pretty deeply.
“Are you kidding? Everyone who works there has been saved by you in one way or another. You make up tips so we don’t get shorted. You saved me, and you helped Yeardley. I’m sure there are others, but I don’t know all of the people who work there that well.”
“Maybe…,” Ronny started. He didn’t really believe it. He had helped Zachary, too, and all it got him was being afraid to leave the bar for fear it would happen again.
“Then train someone to open up and someone else to close. Make the procedures as simple as you can and develop ways to monitor what happens and check that things are done right. That’s all you really need to do.” Ronny knew Arden was right. “I don’t want you to work yourself down to nothing.” He patted Ronny’s chest. “You’re too handsome for that.”
He closed his eyes and tried to think of the last time someone had taken the time to care for him. It was probably before his father passed away. He always thought of himself as the one who had to be strong and who was supposed to look out for the others in his life. His father had always done the same, making sure the people who worked for him were safe and being treated fairly. It wasn’t always easy, but Ronny did his best.
“Can I ask about your uncle?” He really wanted to change the subject, and his curiosity would no longer be denied.
“Vinny has been a godsend for Aunt Louise. He got her in touch with a divorce attorney, and they have filed the initial papers for separation. She’s opened new bank accounts without his name on them and got her money transferred. He apparently has accounts without her name on them, so she couldn’t touch those, but she found statements at the house. He will probably be able to use those for his bail, at least in part, but Vinny was able to make it clear to the court that Uncle Charlie is not able to come home. The restraining order application is being processed, and Vinny told my aunt he has an appointment with the court today.” Arden seemed more relaxed than he had been in quite a while.
“Okay. But what is keeping your uncle behind bars?” It sounded to him like he should have been able to get himself out, if there was money that he had access to.
“He has to arrange a place for himself to live.”
Ronny stilled. “Let me guess—he tried to get the court to kick you out so he could stay here?”
“Yeah,” Arden said, lifting his gaze. “But this doesn’t fulfill the requirements of the restraining order, which Vinny expects to have after his meeting, and the judge in Uncle Charlie’s case is aware of the application and its likely approval, so he is waiting on that outcome and not letting my uncle live here. With his history, there’s just no way. So, he’s having to find another place, while he’s in jail, and that has to be quite hard.” Arden was definitely pleased. “I hope he can’t find anything and has to stay there for a while.”
Ronny shrugged. “I’m afraid there are enough places in town that Charlie will be able to rent a place, especially if he has the money. You and your aunt need to be prepared for when that happens. We all do.” Ronny was a little concerned that Charlie might try to cause trouble at The Gingerbread, but not nearly as much as he was concerned about Arden. For whatever reason, he had a fixation with Arden, and that worried him a lot. As long as Charlie was behind bars, Arden was safe, but once he was out, who knew how he’d behave. Though if he tried anything with either Arden or his aunt, Charlie would find himself back in jail for violating his bail, and that would cost him both in money and his freedom until trial. Ronny wanted to think that would be enough to keep Arden and his aunt safe, but who knew what was going to happen. “I wish I could help,” Ronny said.
Arden smiled. “You already are.” He turned and groaned. “I really need to get up, and it’s getting late enough that you’re going to need to go into work.” He leaned closer. “I wish we could stay here all day.”
“Me too,” Ronny said softly, drawing Arden closer, his hand sliding around his back, slipping over warm, smooth skin. “I wish I could. But as you said, I need to get in. I have things that I put off from last night.” He had plenty that needed to be done. But it was warm and comfortable in this bed. For a few minutes, it felt like the rest of the world didn’t exist. “Let me know when you know anything about your uncle.”
“Well, we should have the restraining order today,” Arden said. “God, this has to be the least romantic conversation ever had while naked in bed.”
Ronny grinned. “Well, maybe we can change that… at least for a while.” He drew Arden into a kiss, tugging Arden on top of him.
“What has you so damned happy?” Jack asked as he hauled a case of lettuce into the kitchen. The guy was eternally grumpy, and Ronny swore he had never seen him crack a smile for any reason. “Life pretty much sucks and then you die.” He got to work, getting the lettuce ready for salads.
“You’re just a ray of fucking sunshine. If you’re so unhappy….”
Jack stopped. “Who says I’m not happy?” he asked, and Ronny sighed. “Anyway, why do you look like you got to lick the frosting bowl?”
“I had a good night. All right?” Ronny scowled back at Jack. “God, talking to you is about as fun as a root canal.”
Jack shrugged. “I know I’m not all sunshine and lollipops. The world is going to hell, and there’s nothing I can do about it. But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy, in my own way.” He leaned over the stainless steel work table. “So did you get a little something?”
Ronny met his gaze. “Do you really want to know the details?”
Shaking his head, Jack went back to his work. “God, no. I do not need to know the details of you getting your freak on, but it’s good that you have someone who can make you smile like that. I envy you.”
Jack had a wife and two kids, with a third on the way. “Why? You want to be single again? Dating and shit? It’s hell out there.”
“Oh, God no.” He lowered his gaze, and Ronny figured it was probably best to put Jack and his emotional weirdness out of his mind. If he tried to figure the guy out, his head was likely to explode.
“You gonna be ready for opening?”
“I already am. Go on and do your thing.” He returned to his work, and Ronny turned to go back out front.
“Hey…,” he began. “I need some help.”
Jack paused in his cutting.
“I need someone to open the place a few days a week. Make sure the kitchen is ready, get the tills set up, unlock the doors, that sort of thing.”
“You want me to do that?” Jack asked, nodding. “Sure. I’m here early anyway.” He went back to his prep, and Ronny left the kitchen, smiling to himself. He had someone to open two days a week. Now he just needed someone who could close up. That was a more difficult, but he had a few ideas. But once he got Jack trained, he could have a couple of days where he could come in later. That was a start.
He got the registers ready to open and made a run to the bank before returning to get the bar set up for the day. By opening time, he was ready to go, but no one came through the door for the first fifteen minutes. When the door finally opened, it was Arden, flushed, his eyes wide.
“He’s out on bail,” he said, shaking as he came to a stop. Ronny hurried out from behind the bar, taking Arden into his arms. “He found a place, and they let him out.”
“What about the restraining order?” Ronny asked.
“I don’t know.” Arden shook in his arms, and Ronny held him, his mind turning to what he could do to help.