Chapter 6
The restaurant wasn’t busy at all for the next several days.
She had a total of three customers on Monday and fewer than that on Tuesday.
She was glad that she was leaving the place on Saturday because business wasn’t going to be there, so there would be no tips.
And the tips were what she paid for groceries with.
Living in the big house with Brenin and Davy was fun.
She loved that they could spread out in the large rooms, and sitting in front of the fireplace was one of her all-time favorite things to do.
It was warm and pretty, and when she was alone in the house, she would take a nap like she was some kind of diva.
Grading papers in the dining room at the table, she would finish them up sooner than before.
She thought it was because she had so much room to spread out there, too, but didn’t know.
As soon as she was finished with one stack of papers, she started on the next one.
It paid better than the waitressing job, and she didn’t have to go to work to get it done.
Not to mention, she didn’t have to deal with Shanda or Janice when they showed up.
The knock at the front door startled her out of her rhythm.
She supposed she could have gotten up and answered it, but he had staff for that, and she wouldn’t know what to do with someone coming by for him anyway.
Turns out it was for her. It was the other women in the family.
They’d come by to take her to lunch. Since she didn’t have any excuses not to go, they bullied her into going with them.
Davy wanted to stay home as he’d had no school this morning either, and there were plenty of people around the house to make sure that he didn’t get into anything. She was out the door by twelve-thirty.
They were headed to the place she worked, and she thought that was a good thing.
The place could use the business, and she thought it might be fun to be on the receiving end of being waited on.
As soon as they were all seated around the largest table they had, the staff didn’t seem to recognize her at all.
Just as well. She’d never come into the place in anything but a uniform, so that was more than likely why they didn’t know her.
Lunch was enjoyable. She got the lunch special of salad and tuna.
The others got burgers and fries with milkshakes.
It was a rare treat for her to be in the place when there were a lot of patrons, and she was happy for Mr. Weaver and the fact that she was helping in a way to keep him open.
There had been talk about him closing down in the summer.
She hoped that wasn’t true. She loved the old place.
After lunch, they pulled out pads of paper and began working on projects.
They all seemed to understand that she wasn’t a part of that, so they’d pull her in for conversation whenever they could.
Handed a pad of paper and a pen, she was making notes on things that she might be interested in helping with.
Like the fall round-up at the school they had yearly.
She also learned about the local pack and how they were taking students to study with them coming in spring.
Skye turned to look at her with a smile on her face.
“I have a son, too. His name is Trevor. He’s not really my son but a good friend that needed my help when we were hiding out from some very bad people.
” She told her how he’d come to be orphaned one day when he’d been just an infant, when the Connors—an older couple who had killed his parents for him—had taken him away and raised them as their own.
He’d escaped, and the two of them had kept on the run together.
“Kings and I adopted him just a few months ago. He’s Trevor Savage now. ”
“That’s what Brenin wants to do with Davy.
I’m all right with that. It’ll be one more hurdle for Janice to have to go through in her making it so she can get him.
” It was Kaida who asked why she wanted him.
“I honestly don’t know. She wants us to live with her so that she has more access to Davy.
He doesn’t care for her overly much. She’s mad at him because he’s not willing to spend the night with her anymore.
And as crazy as she’s been acting of late, I don’t want him there either. ”
“The men will make sure that he’s safe. When they tell you that, believe them.
They have the resources, too, to make sure that you’re both safe, too.
” She said that she was having a hard time realizing that everything that Brenin said to her was the truth.
“Yes, they can’t lie to you either. That’s the best thing ever.
They’ll be there for you forever. And not just as a husband, but they become your best friend in everything you do, too.
Did he tell you that you could shift? I’ve been doing it for over a week now, and it feels just like Kings said it does.
Like you’ve got a whole new life.” They both laughed.
“I just want to get this over with concerning Janice and Shanda. Shanda is just a pawn for Janice, but she’s been so annoying.
I’m finished working here as of tomorrow, but I’m going to help them out when they need it.
I loved working here.” Raven told her how she was going to school full-time to become an attorney.
“That’s wonderful. I had thought about going back to school to finish up my degree, but with Davy around needing me all the time, I’ve not been able to settle into one thing yet. ”
They talked around the table. She liked Raven best of all. She told her how she’d come to be with Cassian, Brenin’s brother.
“It was my last day to work at a fast food place, and the manager wanted me to stay over and cover for him while he took a two-hour lunch. I’d already clocked out and didn’t want to do it in the first place.
He beat me up and broke bones. It was a month before I could get around on my own.
Of course, Cassian could have healed me, but since the police were involved, he didn’t.
He did take away the pain, but not the wounds.
I love him so much for doing what he did for me.
My manager is in prison right now. He tried to tell the judge that I needed to be made to go with him to work so that he could knock me around.
That was so that he’d not hit anyone else.
And I was supposed to be all right with that.
” She said he sounded like a loon. “You have no idea. He really thought that since I was too poor being married to Cassian, I should be willing to do whatever was needed of me to make the world safe from his tempers. I’m glad he’s gone.
I’ve not had any more nightmares since then. ”
They each had similar stories about having someone in their lives who wanted more than they had to give.
It was always the men who saved them, too.
She wondered what Brenin would do to Janice if given the chance.
She’d bet that he’d kill her and be done with her.
She thought that they’d have that for plan ‘B’ and not kill her right away.
The woman was off, but not to the point where she killed her yet.
But if she hurt her son, then all bets were off, and she’d do the job herself.
There was no way she was going to allow her to hurt her only child.
When they were finished for the day, she made her way back to the house by walking.
It had turned into a warmer day than it had been recently, so she was happy to be able to enjoy the warmth.
Davy would have school tomorrow, she’d bet, and was looking forward to him having a good day at school.
It wore him out, going to school, and since he’d been off for the last two days, he wasn’t burning off as much energy, so he was restless.
“I’ve been thinking about my friend Toby.” She asked him what he’d been thinking about. “I want to go and see him. If his mommy doesn’t care. We are best friends, and I miss him a great deal.”
“We’ll have to see what his mom says. He might not be much better and won’t feel like company.” He assured her that he’d want to have him there. “We’ll just wait and see. I’ll call her after supper and see what she has to say. All right?”
“All right. But he’ll want to see me. I’m his bestest friend in the whole wide world, and we have to be together.
” He didn’t go back to his room right away, and she waited.
He would have what he wanted to say all worked out in his head before he spoke to her again.
“Mommy, what happened to the boy who hurt him? He used to hurt me too, but I’ve not seen him at school for a long time. Do you think they put him in jail?”
“I’ll ask her when I talk to her. I know nothing about the other boy other than his name is Tommy.
Perhaps I can do some research on him to see what he’s been up to.
” He seemed satisfied with that, and she hugged him.
“There might not be much to find out since I don’t have his last name. Did you ever remember it?”
“No. Everyone just called him Tommy.” He started away but came back. “I’m afraid of him, just so you know. He used to beat on me too, but I never cried. He liked it when we cried when he hurt us.”
After they ate together, she called Toby’s mom. She said that Toby was awake now and sitting up, but he wasn’t any better with the scars that were on his face and arms. She also told her that Tommy’s parents were going to have to pay the hospital bill as she’d gotten an attorney.