I picked one up, skimming over the breakfast options. Before I’d even had a moment to take them all in, a shadow appeared over the table. “What can I get you?”
I lifted my head to find a girl in jeans and a shirt that had “Aggie’s” written across the front standing beside the table. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she was popping gum in a way that made me want to pop her bubble with the hopes of it busting all over her face and getting in her hair.
“Nope.” Raven shook her head at the girl. “Not you. Go tell Aggie that Raven wants to order.”
The bubble popper lifted a dark brow at her. “You something special or something?” she asked with a sneer in her voice and I instantly wondered if this was a girl who valued her life or if she just didn’t know Raven.
“Baby, I’m your worst nightmare if you don’t go get Aggie. I don’t eat anything that I don’t cook myself except for by her. And I sure as hell don’t want you breathing over it. So go get her. Now.”
With a huff and a muttered ‘cunt’ under her breath, the waitress went to find Aggie. I watched as Raven’s face twisted in anger at the insult, but she didn’t move so much as a finger as she sat there. I’d heard that she was not someone to mess with, that she would punch you in the face before she told you just how much she hated you. But her days of fighting were over now that she was pregnant.
“Remind me to stab that gash in seven months,” Raven mumbled.
“Noted,” I said and laughed as I turned my attention back to the menu.
“Raven!” I heard someone call her name and slowly lifted my head to find a plump little woman in a stained apron walking toward our table.
“Hey, Aggie.” Raven stood and kissed the woman’s cheek before pulling her down into the booth beside her.
Aggie’s clear blue eyes went straight to me and I offered her a smile. “Hi there,” she greeted as her eyes seemed to assess every part of me that she could see before narrowing. “So, you’re Jack’s granddaughter. I’ve heard about you. Slapped him good last week, did you?”
I felt heat fill my cheeks but I didn’t look away. I was not sorry that I’d slapped my grandfather. He was just lucky that was all I’d done. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Manners. I like that.” Aggie laughed and turned back to Raven. “What are you two beauties doing in this hell hole this early?”
“I wanted steak and scrambled eggs with some of your biscuits,” Raven informed her. “And Gracie wants a job.”
Aggie lifted a brow. “Really?” I bit my lip, ready for her to tell Raven not only no, but hell no about me wanting a job and her even thinking about hiring me. “Since when do you eat scrambled eggs?”
I frowned, wondering if she had heard Raven tell her about me wanting a job or if she just thought she had been kidding.
“Since this brat started making me crave them,” she
said and pointed to her stomach. “I blame Bash.”
The older woman grimaced. “That sucks. You sure about that? I mean, just the thought of eggs would make you gag when you were a kid.”
“I’ve been eating them for weeks now, Aggie. Not throwing them up yet, but if I have to eat them when they’re made by that skank who called me a cunt, I might vomit on her just for the hell of it.”
Aggie laughed. “You mean Chrissy? Shit, I can’t stand that little bitch. But she’s a good waitress and works extra shifts without much fuss.” She glanced at me and winked. “Notice I said not much, dear.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, liking this woman more and more by the second.
“So I can’t stab her anywhere vital. Got it,” Raven grumbled, a pout on her face that said that she wasn’t pleased but that she would take what she could get. Or in this case, give. “What do you want to eat, Gracie?”
I’d just been sitting there watching them. I already knew that I was going to love Aggie. She was just so real, so straightforward. “Just some scrambled eggs with bacon and toast will be fine with me.”
Aggie nodded. “Got it.” She stood. “Lunch shift begins at eleven. You can start then.”
I blinked as she walked away. That was it? Raven tells her I want a job and she just gives it to me? No questions, no interview, no discussion at all? Not that I was going to argue, because I really needed the money, but that was just crazy. Who did that?
Raven gave me another smirk. “Relax. Around here we normally go on instinct and it wasn’t like you did the asking. She trusts my judgment and knows that if I brought you to her, she could trust you. Plus I’m pretty sure she has a thing for Uncle Jack. You’re his granddaughter. Her giving you a job just wins points with him.” Her smirk turned into a grimace. “Now all we have to do is tell my brother… Good luck with that.”
Chapter 2
Hawk
I woke up alone in bed. It didn’t surprise me. I woke up alone in bed most days since I didn’t crawl into bed until after two in the morning and didn’t open my eyes again until after noon. Didn’t mean that I didn’t hope that I would wake up with Gracie still snuggled against me.