“She can’t be a day over twenty-two,” he replied just before she brought their coffee over.
“Here you go. Have you decided what you’d like, or do you need more time?” She could clearly see the menus closed, so Nate didn’t even think she was really paying attention, more like just going through the motions.
“Just the coffee for now, thanks,” Nate told her. “Why don’t you sit down and join us for a few minutes?” He asked impulsively, surprising not only himself but Ty as well. Knowing that he was moving too fast, but couldn’t seem to help himself.
“Oh, uh, thank you, but I really can’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work,” she said.
Ty looked around noting there was no one else in the diner, so he grabbed her hand and turned up the charm he was known for. “Come on darlin’, there ain’t no one else in here and you look like you could use a cup.” He smiled at her but she still hadn’t looked up yet, she just stood there frozen. So Ty gave a little tug, and she fell onto the bench seat next to him. When she looked up and made eye contact for the first time with Nate that was when he froze. He had never seen such fear in anyone’s eyes before.
“It’s alright miss, we just wanted some company. Ty there gets a little annoying sometimes, if ya know what I mean?” Nate tried a soft smile, hoping to calm her down. She looked down and stared at her hands, like they were the most fascinating things in the world. “How about telling us your name?” Nate held his breath as she looked at Ty first and then him. Some of the fear was gone, but you could still see it lurking in the back of her eyes.
“I..I..It’s Keeley,” she stammered out, with her voice getting a little stronger near the end, and he couldn’t help but smile as she spoke.
“Well, I’m Tyler Maxwell and this here is my big brother Nathaniel. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Keeley.” Ty smiled all dimples just for her, and held out his hand hoping she’d shake it. Nate held his breath, as she almost held in the wince when Ty produced his hand for her to shake. If he hadn’t been watching for that exact reaction, he would have missed it for sure. But now he knew. A man had hit her. It pissed him the hell off but he kept all that anger to himself, so as not to scare her with it.
*******
Ty felt such anger at whoever had hurt this gorgeous, fragile young woman, but then he felt incredibly proud as she took his hand to shake. The minute Keeley took his hand he felt it. This zing that went straight up his arm and embedded this tiny woman into his heart. He just knew she was the reason their Ma had sent them here. She was it. Theirs, forever. He could feel it, and he knew Nate would too. She pulled her hand away quickly and held it to her chest, as if she had felt it as well.
Nate gave him a funny look like he had squeezed her too hard or something, so Ty just nodded his head for him to shake her hand. He stuck his out waiting for her to shake, and when she did both their eyes widened. A huge smile spread across Nate’s face, and Keeley pulled her hand back again and said, “What’d you do, rub a carpet before coming in here?” They both barked out a laugh at what she said, and she looked so startled, like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But the look on her face was comical, until a deep blush crept up her neck and hit her face, turning her a nice shade of red that had them smiling at her unwarranted embarrassment.
Ty was still watching her as Nate started to speak, “How old are you, Keeley?” The question startling her again.
“I’ll be twenty on April first,” she answered. Ty and Nate couldn’t be more shocked at her response, for two reasons. One being that she was younger than they originally thought, and two was that she hadn’t realized today was that day.
“That’s today, darlin’,” Ty said.
“Oh,” she said as she looked down at her watch. “I guess it is.”
They both just sat there utterly stunned that this gorgeous, now twenty-year-old woman wasn’t more excited about it being her birthday. “Do you have any plans to go celebrate with your folks or some friends?” Nate questioned her.
She just looked at Nate like that was utterly ridiculous before replying, “No, my mom’s dead and my dad’s busy,” was all she said before getting up and walking away.
Chapter 3
Keeley felt like crying, but knew if she gave in she wouldn’t stop. She had to get away from Tyler and Nathaniel, they made her feel things she’d never felt before. Their sole attention had been utterly focused on her and her alone. Not once did they make her feel anything other than like a person. She’d never had that before.
She could have done without the reminder that it was her birthday, though. That meant her father would be awake when she got home, just to remind her that she was the butt of every April fool’s joke, and a huge mistake. It didn’t matter that she paid all the bills or for his drinking habit, he always felt it necessary to put her down any way he could, at every opportunity. How pathetic was she that she had never had a real birthday before? It was just another day in her miserable life.
She had to go back out before Fred came looking for her. So she took a couple of deep breaths, closed her eyes, and pictured a beach, to calm her nerves. Only this time the image was different, Tyler and Nathaniel were there, too. Her eyes popped open and she frowned, feeling a little confused over that image, so she went back out to check for new customers and to see if the guys needed anything.
As Keeley walked back out to the dining area, she saw that she had three more tables. She grabbed the coffee pot and started making the rounds, getting everyone settled before going back to top up Tyler and Nathaniel’s coffees.
“Would you like some more? Or something to eat?” She asked hoping they wouldn’t say anything about her abrupt departure a few minutes before. But, of course, she wasn’t that lucky.
Nathaniel answered. “We’ll both have the pancake special, please, with extra bacon. And we’d really like to take you to breakfast after your shift is done.” He didn’t form it as a question, more like a demand.
“I can see the wheels turning in that beautiful head of yours. Let us take you to breakfast or lunch, or maybe dinner? Your choice. Of course, we could always take you to all three. Yep, I think that one works best for us,” Tyler said to her with a wink at the end.
“Dammit Ty, you’re gonna overwhelm the poor girl. Back off,” Nathaniel told him with a frown, marring his beautiful brown eyes.
“Thank you for the kind offer but I can’t,” she declined and turned to put their order in for their meals.
“Why not?” asked Nathaniel as she was half way across the room. She stopped dead in her tracks, feeling the blush working its way up her face, which, of course, made her cheeks throb. Damn pale skin was all she could think as she turned around, and knew that not only could
they see her embarrassment, but so could everyone else as they all waited for her to answer him.
She stood there for a full minute staring at them, until she heard him… “Because this ain’t no fucking dating service, that’s why,” Fred said as he walked up behind her and put his meaty arm around her shoulders, and cupped her tightly.