I’d had Ethan Chambers on my mind all day long, and it wasn’t in the sexy, doing unspeakably dirty things to me as I moaned in pleasure kind of way either. No, it was in the making a deal with Chambers was like making a deal with the devil kind of way.
When twelve rolled around, I closed up shop for an hour. It was lunchtime and while I hated losing an hour in the afternoon, I also knew how important it was to take a break. I’d send Jessie out again to pick up Cody from school, then we’d all three spend the rest of the afternoon here at work until closing. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked for now.
Jessie made sure things were in order, then brought over two chicken salad sandwiches for us. We sat in two of the big chairs that were usually reserved for customers. For a minute, it was in silence. We just ate and appreciated the fact that we were off our aching feet.
But when my sandwich was half-finished, I put it down momentarily, took a drink of water, and blurted out, “Ethan Chambers stopped by.”
Jessie nearly chocked on her sandwich, patting at her chest in an effort to clear her airway. I winced, offering her a drink of water.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
She swallowed, then took another sip of water. Breathing properly again, she turned to me and demanded, “What? Ethan Chambers? As in the Ethan Chambers, Mr. Bad News himself?”
I nodded.
“What the hell? Did you cut his hair? What did it feel like?”
Jessie was well aware of who Ethan Chambers was. She knew his reputation just as well as I did, and she also knew he was drop dead gorgeous. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen him in person—I hadn’t until that morning—but it didn’t matter. He’d been in the papers around here enough times that everyone knew his face even if they didn’t know him personally.
I rolled my eyes at Jessie. “No, I didn’t cut his hair.”
She momentarily seemed put out, then grabbed her sandwich again. She took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed and asked, “Then what was he doing here?”
Leaning forward, putting my elbows on my knees, I told her, “He had a business arrangement to offer me.”
At that, she raised an eyebrow at me. “A business arrangement? Seriously? That sounds one hundred percent like bad news.”
I lifted one shoulder in a shrug, deflated. Yes, I’d thought the same thing, but I’d been hoping that I was overreacting. I really could use the money. “He asked to use my storage space for overflow from his diner. He said he’d pay well.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she gave me a look. One that said you’re nuts for even considering this. “Overflow.”
I nodded.
“From his diner.”
Again, I nodded.
“Right. Because he doesn’t have dozens of other places he could use to store food. His places. That would be totally rent free.”
I winced. That was exactly where I’d gone with that reasoning, too. Sighing, I said, “So it’s a bad idea, right?”
“No, it’s a horrible idea! It’s the worst thing you could do to yourself and this shop, Diana, you know that. You know what I heard?”
“Do I want to?” I asked bleakly, no longer interested in my half-eaten sandwich. I drank a little water instead, because my mouth suddenly felt like a desert.
“He’s a drug dealer, Diana,” she told me bluntly. I could always count on Jessie for some up front honesty. “He uses his diner as a cover to store and deal his drugs. Think about it. It’s a prime location, with all those truckers stopping by on their way in and out of town. Tons of movement going on there and hard to trace, right? After all, it could be any of those guys hauling drugs and they make stops across the country.”
Sighing, I nodded. Nothing about this was surprising to me. I may not have had the specifics, but I knew Ethan was bad news. And it settled things for me. If it really had been just about storing some frozen chicken until he needed it, that would be one thing, but drugs? I couldn’t let The Cut be a cover for that kind of illicit operation.
I had a son to think of. If I got busted with those kinds of drugs…what would happen to Cody? Would his deadbeat dad magically appear out of nowhere, riding in on some white horse, to scoop Cody up and take him to a better life? Probably not. I’d long since stopped waiting around for Collin to show up again.
No, Cody would end up in foster care. The very best I could hope for is that Jessie would be able to take him, but I knew what she made. It was barely enough for herself, and it was contingent on the success of The Cut. And even if that all somehow worked out, I would never see him again.
Never.
The thought put my stomach in knots. I felt so awful that I almost felt sick.
No, I couldn’t let any of that happen. I would have to tell Ethan no. It didn’t matter how much money he paid me. It wouldn’t be worth my life and the life of my kid. Cody always had to come first.
We finished our lunches in silence, then I opened up the shop again. Jessie went back to the register, taking calls, making appointments, and helping people on the convenience store side. She really was a lifesaver. Worth three employees for the price of one and if I could give the woman a raise, I would.
She went to pick up Cody a couple of hours later and brought him back to The Cut. I spent some time with him, but I ended up being pretty busy. Jessie entertained him, though, and let him draw all over the sticky notes she’d pasted across the register.
I watched them in a daze, telling myself the money wasn’t worth the risk. But the honest money I was making barely cut it, and that was hard to know.
I had several more appointments and two walk-ins. Everyone was talkative, but I wasn’t, so I mostly let my clients ramble away. I had other things on my mind. I’d have to call Ethan. Tell him my decision, which was a resolute no. But I’d have to have a reason and I had a feeling that it wouldn’t fly to tell him I thought he was a drug dealer who wanted to use my drug free, completely by the books store as a cover for his operation.
Yeah, that would go over like a lead balloon.
When I was finally done with customers, we closed up shop. Jessie cashed out the register while I cleaned up. Cody insisted on helping, so I let him sweep the floors. He made more of a mess than he cleaned up, but I appreciated his effort. He was a sweet kid and I was so proud of him.
He’ll be a good man, I thought to myself.
We were ready to head out in an hour. I dropped Jessie off, then went home with Cody. I still had dishes from that morning to do, but the laundry could wait another day and I had leftovers to reheat for dinner, so I was in good shape. Which meant I had no excuse to not call Ethan Chambers and tell him my decision.
“Are we going to have mac ‘n cheese every night, Mom?”
I glanced up from my plate of congealed cheese and elbow noodles. I looked at my son’s wide, round face. His hair was sticking up again, that little cowlick in the front just a single curl that came down farther and to the left while everything else went right. “No, honey. We’ll…we’ll do spaghetti tomorrow, okay?”
“That’s okay. I like mac ‘n cheese. I think everyone should have it like we do.” He dug into his noodles for emphasis, scooping a huge bite into his mouth.
The whole thing tugged at my heart a little, because I knew he was being honest. He loved the blue box special, as my mother used to call it. But we’d had mac ‘n cheese four out of five nights this week because I didn’t have the money for much else.
It was pancakes for breakfast, because I’d gotten a sale on the big box of mix last shopping trip. And it was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, because a little goes a long way and I could get both peanut butter and jelly for a good price thanks to the convenience store. But he deserved variety and, god, I was tired of the damn orange cheese.
You could use that money, a traitorous little voice whispered in the back of my head. I shoved it aside, forcing myself to picture what would happen to the boy sitting in front of me if I got caught storing Ethan’s drugs.
Instead, I focused on my son. I watched him pile macaroni onto his spoon, using his fingers to keep it in place, and shoveling it into his mouth as only a little boy can do. My heart clenched at his innocence, his sweetness, and I felt tears prick at my eyes. I told myself everything was going to be okay. All I had to do was keep being a good mom to him and that meant keeping my nose out of the business of people like Ethan Chambers.
”I love you, honey,” I told Cody.
He smiled at me across the table and with a mouth full of fake cheesy goodness, he responded with, “I love you, too, Mommy.”
I promised myself that after dinner I would make the call to tell Ethan I wouldn’t do it. Nothing good could come from saying yes.