Chapter 14 Sutton
Sutton
Sitting in my booth, I sip my coffee as the chime on the door rings out. I look at my watch, noting he’s right on time. James walks in with his backpack full, but today instead of going to the counter like he usually does, he comes to my booth.
“Hey, Sutton, are you any good at math?” He gives me a look of hope, and I grimace.
“I’m shit at math. But take a seat, and we’ll work it out together.” I shuffle over, and he sits beside me, opening his bag and grabbing his books. I try to tame my grin. The kid is coming around to me… Now I just need his mom to do the same.
James opens his books in front of us both, having complete tunnel vision on his studies.
“James, honey. I think you should come up to the counter.” Nikki’s voice has me looking up. She sounds hesitant.
I give her a shake of my head. “He’s fine.” And damn, so is she. Her uniform fits her small frame just right. Her hair is tied back up today, her bee clip long gone, and I wonder why she doesn’t wear it anymore.
“But you’re in the middle of…”
“I got math homework,” James tells her.
“He’s got math homework,” I repeat, and she gives me an unsure look. Grinning, I wait for her to melt for me, just a little.
“It’s fine, I promise. I got it.” I scruff James’ hair, making him laugh.
“Okay.” She smiles softly, and I almost fucking beam at her.
She’s giving me an inch. Bit by bit, she’s opening up a little, and I sit up taller, taking her trust seriously.
I’ve never worked this hard for someone before.
Usually, people gravitate toward me naturally; I’ve never had to put in effort. It’s new and exciting as hell.
As she walks away, I watch her for a moment, getting busy, doing all the daily tasks I notice she does before closing time.
Cleaning the counters, rubbish removal. She always sorts the recyclables into separate bins, taking great care and attention to put the glass and plastics aside from the general waste.
The diner is the place to be and is open late, but every day before she ends her shift, she makes the whole place a little cleaner than how she found it.
I like that about her. She takes pride in her environment, looks after people, including Rochelle, ensuring things are done for her so that she doesn't have to worry about it later at lockup time.
The few conversations we’ve had, it’s clear that she’s intelligent.
Her voice, her mannerisms, the way she holds herself.
She isn’t a country girl. She’s worldly, and I have a feeling she’s all city.
How she ended up here, where she knows no one, with a little boy who looks just as smart as she is, I have no idea.
Bringing my attention back to James, I ask, “Sooo, how are the bikes?”
“They’re so cool, and we get around so much quicker. They only had pink ones, though…” His face scrunches up. I noticed both bikes out back when I pulled up today.
“They didn’t have any boys' bikes?”
“They were old stock at the toy store. But we take what we can get.”
Huh. I look at him, seeing him swallow his pride for his mom.
“How old are you?” My eyes narrow in on him, trying to work out the age logistics here.
“Ten.”
“How old’s your mom?”
His brow pinches as he looks at me. “Nikki is twenty-three.” There he goes with calling her Nikki again.
“Twenty-three?” I hum, a small frown on my face.
James looks toward Nikki, deep remorse taking over his expression.
“She’s not my mom,” he admits quietly.
I still. “Oh?”
“She’s my sister.”
A whoosh of relief flies through me so damn quickly I’m glad I’m sitting down.
James looks at me firmly. “Just… don’t tell anyone.”
“Your secrets are safe with me.” And they are. There’s a reason they don’t want people in their business, and who am I to start telling everyone I know?
“How’s that math homework going?”
Nikki moves past the booth quickly, her arms full of plates and bowls, heading to the kitchen, clearly reminding James he has work to do. James looks down at his books and my eyes remain glued to her.
His sister. This whole town has pegged her as a teen mom.
A young mom struggling, running from someone, probably a horrible ex or something.
But she isn’t; she’s looking after her brother.
She could be anywhere, having the time of her life, but she’s here, in Whispers, with him.
I don't know their story, but deep admiration fills me. I know what that’s like.
Sawyer looked after me as a kid. With no dad and a mom who worked long hours, Sawyer and I were left to ourselves a lot, and he was my safe space. Still is. My respect for her grows.
“If you cut a pizza into eight pieces and ate two of them, how many are left and what is it in a fraction?”
I look down at his expectant face, his book open, his pencil ready to go.
“None, because I would eat the whole box.”
James’ eyes widen. “You eat a whole pizza?”
“Oh yeah. I love me some pepperoni.”
“It’s been a long time since I had a pizza. Pepperoni is the best.” His face drops a little as memories seem to swirl for him.
“Hmmm… now I feel like pizza.”
“It’s raining,” I hear someone in the diner comment, and I look out the window, seeing a few drops coming down. If it’s starting to rain, there’s no way they’re cycling home tonight. No matter how pink and shiny their new bikes are.
“So school is going good?” I wonder how he’s doing with making friends.
“I’m going to play baseball now.” His eyes grow big, and he can’t contain his grin, one which I match.
“Really? My nephew Kevin have anything to do with that?”
“Yeah. Him and Harvey are really great. They asked me to play at lunchtime, and we now play every day.” The words rush out fast, but I still notice how well he pronounces every syllable. Just like his sister.
“Well, that’s good. You’ll be beating them all in no time.” I scruff his hair, the movement happening so naturally I don’t even register it. But then I look at his hair, the jet-black just barely starting to show a slim strip of lighter hair at the roots, and I suck in a deep breath.
“Are you two chatting or homeworking over here?” Rochelle comes up, hands on her hips, looking at us accusingly.
“We’re working…” James says sweetly. He’s definitely a charmer.
She grins and shakes her head. I think the love she has for Nikki and James is probably bigger than the moon.
As the rain comes down a little harder, and with James counting out on his fingers, Rochelle’s about to leave when I ask, “Hey, Rochelle, any chance I could order two pepperoni pizzas to take away?”
The twinkle in her eye says she knows they’re not both for me.
“Sure thing, movie star.” She nods before heading to the kitchen, and I get back to helping James.
Dinner is on me tonight.