13. Willow
Thirteen
Willow
“ S o when are you going to start serving muffins? I could really use some carbs right now,” John asked as he and Ryan finished the last of their coffees. The night was busy, so she had not been able to talk to them much, but it had finally seemed to plateau.
“That’s funny you bring that up, because serving baked goods has been in the back of my mind lately. I don’t have the time to bake or look for a supplier, though. I would love to support a local bakery and sell their items, but I also want to make my own, so I guess I first have to decide on that.”
“There used to be a bakery down the street from here, but the owner went missing and his family closed it up. The news said he had mental health issues, but I think he was killed. A lot of good people have been dying recently.” The corners of John’s mouth turned down and he made an expression like he smelled something rotten.
“That’s so sad, it seems like it’s always the good ones whose lives end way too soon.” She grabbed a rag and wiped up some sticky spots.
“That’s why I want you to stay safe and watch yourself with those four men that come in here. I think they have something to do with it, though they act like they don’t. It’s all a sham.”
She stopped cleaning and looked up at him. “Why would they kill innocent people?”
“For fun. We have to get back, see you later Willow.” He stood up and pushed his cup toward her. Ryan mirrored his actions and the two left Willow with her thoughts.
Something was weird here. Back in Detroit there were always murders and violence that was blamed on gangs, but here all of that seemed to be blamed on something else. She felt like John blamed Clay and the others because they were rich, and probably powerful from owning so much of the city. There was no way she could picture any of them murdering people for fun, though.
But she had been wrong about men before.
If Clay or Gage turned out to be cold-blooded killers, she didn’t know what she would do. They were her last hope of rebuilding her trust in not only men, but in herself as well. Her instincts had been wrong with her ex-boyfriend and she’d paid a terrible price for that. Self-doubt could be a damaging, isolating thing.
Like they knew she was thinking of them, Horatio and Matteo walked through her door. “Hello Matteo.” Willow gave him a tight smile.
“What? No hello for me?” Horatio pouted.
She turned to him and gave him a much more pleasant smile. “Hello Horatio. Are you having your usual?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She began making one drink, completely ignoring Matteo. She had heard from Marla the other night and was disappointed, yet not surprised, that she and Matteo turned into a one-night stand. Marla even texted him the next night, but never got a response. She had gushed to Willow about her leg-shaking orgasm, but couldn’t hide the hurt tone that was in her voice.
Matteo raised an eyebrow. “Do I get a drink?”
“Nope. What are you up to tonight, Horatio?”
Horatio glanced at his brother and tried to hide his amused smile. “Literally nothing. Sammy’s working at the marina and I’m so tired of hanging out all night with this asshole—” he motioned toward his brother “—so I’m planning on parking my butt on the sofa to binge watch some 90’s sitcoms. I wasn’t even planning on coming here, but Gage asked us to.”
Willow paused mid-stir. “Why didn’t he just come here himself? He hasn’t been here in a while.”
Horatio shrugged. “He said he was busy installing some security system at a rental and didn’t have time to stop by to pick up a coffee, so he sent us to get him one.”
“Technically, he just sent Horatio, but I was bored and decided to tag along,” Matteo added.
Willow decided to bring up the topic that was sitting on the tip of her tongue. “Are you sure you didn’t stop by to see if Marla was here?”
Matteo looked down and began fidgeting with a straw wrapper that was left on the counter. “Ah, so that’s what the cold shoulder is about. I didn’t mean to lead her on, I thought we were on the same page about it being a one-time thing.”
“You clearly knew she had a crush on you, and still you slept with her with no intention of anything else. You’re a slimeball.” She slammed Horatio’s drink down in front of him and noticed that he seemed to be enjoying watching his brother get scolded.
“I am not!”
“Are too. But I suppose it’s for the best, because she deserves someone that will treat her like a princess.”
“Oh my god, if I message her back will you like me again? I don’t like it when you’re mean to me. ”
Willow pursed her lips and stared at him. She wanted Marla to be happy, and for Matteo to actually get to know her beyond the bedroom, but she was worried he would lead her on again. “If you promise to only have a conversation with her and not use her for sex.”
“What am I supposed to converse with her about? Can’t I apologize and leave it at that?”
“You can talk about your weird anime obsession,” Horatio mumbled.
Willow clapped her hands together. “She loves anime! She’s watching one right now about vampires.”
Matteo rolled his eyes. “I hate vampire ones, they’re so unrealistic.”
“Very funny. I’m sure there’s others that you have both watched. That’s the point of a conversation, to discover stuff like that. If it ends up that you two have absolutely nothing in common, then go your separate ways. But at least give her a chance.”
“Fine. Can I have a coffee now?”
Willow nodded and began making his usual. “What is the rich brat going to drink tonight?”
“He would drink whatever you made him. At this point I don’t think he comes here for the coffee,” Horatio answered.
Willow’s face flushed. Before she could ask what he meant by that, the two boys tensed as a male customer walked in.
He was a short man sporting a light-brown buzz cut, with a neck too long for his spray-tanned body and arms too muscular to be natural. His face was small and weasel-like, which would have been adorable on a nerdy tech guy like John or Ryan, but did not fit the gym-rat aesthetic this man was displaying. He strutted up to the counter and flashed a brilliant white smile with abnormally long canines at Willow, completely ignoring the two men that were already standing there.
“Well hello there gorgeous, how is the night treating you?”
Willow held back a sneeze at the overpowering scent of his spicey cologne and put on her best customer service smile. “Hello, it’s been pretty good. How has yours been?”
“It’s been good, but I’m sure it’s about to get better after I have one of your coffees. I’ve heard nothing but good things about your café, so I decided to make a trip over here.”
“This is a pretty far drive from Miami just for a cup of coffee,” Horatio stated.
Willow turned to see the brothers giving identical death stares, and a pit of fear blossomed in her stomach. Their eyes were dark, their lips set in a hard line, and they didn’t feel like the two goofy brothers she was used to. They felt dangerous.
The man, however, continued to look at her with a smile on his face. “I’ve had some business up here. I’m so glad I stopped in. You have to be the prettiest girl I’ve seen in a while. The name’s Jesse James, by the way.”
She took his outstretched hand and shook it. This was turning into such an odd encounter, which grew even odder when he leaned forward and took a loose strand of her hair, wrapping it through his fingers.
“You smell delicious.”
Horatio grabbed him by the wrist and ripped her hair out of his hand. He had moved so fast, Willow barely had time to flinch at the movement.
“I don’t know what business you have here in Vista Maria, Waldo, but it’s probably best that you end it and get the fuck out of our territory.”
He growled, “My business is none of your concern, now let me go.”
Willow interrupted the two when she saw Horatio dig his nails into the guy’s wrist to the point blood trickled down his arm. “Yeah, I’m going to put a stop to this before you guys end up in a fight.”
Her breath caught in her throat when Horatio turned his death stare on to her. It was like he snapped out of a trance with his eyes losing his hard glare and a sheepish grin sprouting across his face .
“Sorry, Willow.” He threw the man’s hand down and picked up his coffee. “I just really don’t like it when people cut in line. Can you make Gage whatever he had last time?”
“I’ll come back another night when these brutes are not here.” Waldo winked at Willow. “You enjoy the rest of your night, sweetheart.”
“The fuck you will,” Matteo growled. “You’re not welcome here, and if we catch you here again, you’ll regret it.”
Waldo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure.” He turned away and disappeared into the night.
Once he was gone, Willow looked at the two boys with raised eyebrows. “Are you two going to tell me what that was all about?”
“I think Gage should be the one to tell you. I will say that ‘Jesse James’—” Matteo made a face and used air quotes “—is not his real name. It’s Waldo. Make sure you’re never alone with him.”
“You know, someone else told me to never be alone with you guys. I’m starting to think I need to pack up and move to a different city. Stuff is getting weird here.”
Horatio stuck out his bottom lip. “Aw, but we would miss you. You can’t leave us! Who would make our coffee this late at night?”
“You know you can buy a Keurig and some flavors and make it yourself, right?”
Matteo scoffed. “It’s not the same. You add that special little touch that makes it so much sweeter.”
Willow felt herself grow more at ease now that the brothers were back to their normal selves. While waiting for the milk to steam for Gage’s drink, she doodled a picture of a floppy eared bunny and a cat that looked more like a cloud than a feline on his cup.
She thought back to the room full of intricate, well-done artwork in the mansion. Her scribbles were nowhere near as good as what she assumed were Gage’s paintings, but she hoped they brought a small smile to him all the same .
The boys left and she continued on with her work, organizing her excess stock and making orders as customers came in. It was a few hours before closing and she was in the backroom, surrounded by empty boxes she was in the process of breaking down when she heard the bells on the door chime. When she walked up front her face automatically broke into a smile.
“I was wondering when you were going to stop in. I was beginning to think I scared you away.”
“You are the least scary creature I know, I was just busy.” Gage stuffed his hands in his pants pockets and took a casual stance at the counter.
“My boys told me that you got to meet the charming Waldo earlier. I figured I would stop by and make sure everything was okay here. He is not a good guy, Willow, and it makes me concerned that he seems to be interested in you.”
She blushed and wondered if his concern stemmed more from jealousy than fear for her safety. “If it helps put you at ease, please know that he is not my type. In fact, I’m rather insulted you think I would be into his fake tan and steroid arms. I have better taste than that.”
“Willow.” He leaned forward and the rest of the café seemed to disappear as she focused on his face. “I don’t want to talk about it here, but please understand that he is dangerous. I want you to stay away from him and to promise to call me if he ever comes back.”
“I promise,” she whispered.
He returned to his normal stance and broke the tension between them. “Speaking of being insulted, I showed Buffy the picture you drew of her and she wanted me to tell you she is not that fat.”
Willow bit her lip. “Snickers thought I did an excellent job on the drawings and said they were very realistic. Next time I’ll make her a little slimmer, though. ”
“She would appreciate that.” He leaned against the counter, “We’re still on for dinner Sunday, right?”
“Of course. I’m curious, where do you plan on taking me?”
“What’s your favorite type of food?”
“Mexican. I heard there’s a really good restaurant across the street from the yoga studio I go to. Would you want to go there?”
She noticed a small spark in his eyes at the mention of yoga. “Yeah, I’m good with that. Do you want me to pick you up on the bike or the truck?”
She grinned. “The bike.”
“Hmm, so I guess I wasn’t that bad of a driver then if you’re willing to get back on it.”
“No, you were pretty decent. I’ll see you Sunday.”
A small smile that she hadn’t seen before on him snuck across his face. “Good night, Willow.”
She liked the way he said her name. It made her tingle in all the right places. “Good night, Gage.”