An image of me wrapping the long length of hair around my hand as I drill into her from behind pops in my mind. I try to will the image away, but it’s already there and not going anywhere.
“You want to join us?” Grace asks, pulling my attention away from Eden.
“Sure.”
With no other choice, not that I’m complaining, I take the only seat available; the one next to Eden. She scoots over to give me room. I want to haul her closer to me, but figured it’s not a good idea. Her sweet scent hits my nose, and I pull in a deep breath, taking in more.
“How are you ladies today?”
Grace answers first. “Good, now that the holidays are almost over. I was going crazy sitting at home not working.”
Grace is an elementary school teacher. School starts on Monday after having four weeks off for Christmas and the New Year.
“Isn’t it usually the other way around?” I ask. “Aren’t you supposed to dread when school starts back up?”
She laughs. “I suppose so, but not for me. I love my kids too much to be away from them for long.”
Grace is a good woman who was dealt a shitty life. She came to live in Malus five years ago when her husband nearly beat her to death.
Don’t worry. My brothers and I took care of him for her.
I glance over to Eden, who’s fiddling with the end of her braid. “Where’s Jenny? I figured she’d be here with you?”
She looks at me out the corner of her eye. “She’s with Judge. He was going to drop us off and run some errands before coming back to get us, but Jenny had something she needed to do as well.”
That explains why Eden is here without protection. No one in their right mind would come inside The Hill to get to her. And that’s the only reason why I haven’t called Judge to bitch him out about leaving her alone.
I toss my arm over the back of the booth, and I immediately feel the warmth of her body hit mine. I’m tempted to drop my arm to her shoulders, but I settle for my fingertips barely grazing the skin on her upper arm. She stiffens beside me, but after several seconds, she relaxes again.
“Any plans for the day?” I ask the women.
“Nothing except wait for Trouble to get home.” Remi frowns as she says this. “Susan’s watching Elijah for me because I was going crazy at home, worrying about him.”
Her anxious gaze slides to Eden’s before meeting mine again. There’s a silent question in her eyes, one she can’t ask with Eden at the table. She’s worried about the task Trouble and Emo are on and wants me to find out what I can. The men left yesterday and are due back tomorrow morning. I have every bit of faith they’ll be back in one piece with no one the wiser of what they did in Southern Cal, but Remi’s new to what my brothers and I do. She’ll always worry, no matter how many times Trouble’s away taking care of shit, but over time, it’ll get easier.
I give her a subtle nod, silently letting her know I’ll make a phone call later, and she gives me a grateful smile in return.
“Is he away on business?” Eden asks the seemingly innocent question. If she only knew the true answer, she’d probably haul ass out of town and straight to the police in the nearest town.
“Yeah, he’s uh, at a physician’s conference,” Remi supplies. I barely hold back my wince when her reply sounds only half convincing.
Luckily, Mae comes up to the table with our lunch. Mae may be getting on in her years, but she makes being a waitress look effortless. She’s got three plates lining one arm and holding the last one with her other hand. Her memory is still sharp as she replays what everyone ordered and places the right plates in front of the correct person.
“Thanks, Mae. This looks delicious, as always.”
Mae pats Grace’s cheek and grins. “Thank you, dear.”
Resting one hand on her hip, she regards me with something akin to curiosity in her eyes. “I didn’t realize you knew Eden.”
I take my arm from around Eden’s shoulder and cock a brow. “And I didn’t realize you knew her either.”
Her eyes narrow when I avoid her question. “I didn’t, until she walked in earlier. How do you know her?”
“Does it matter?”
Being evasive is the best course of action at the moment, or Mae’ll be pulling out wedding magazines and asking what flavor cake Eden wants for the wedding reception. If it were up to her, my brothers and I would have been married off years ago and our wives would be popping out baby number five.
“It might,” she answers, lifting both eyebrows, still waiting on my answer.