Chapter Three
Chewing her gum, Hope picked up the three jars of salt, making her way out to the main diner to place them on her table. It was late, after eleven, and she still needed to finish writing two assignments before Monday.
The biggest problem she had was that weekends were always so busy at the diner, but the extra money came in handy. She worked so that her trust fund went further. If she didn’t withdraw too much, she’d be able to pay for college and leave debt-free, with a good job. That was her plan, and she intended to stick with it.
Coming to a stop, she saw Beast Carson with a couple of men huddled around a table. They looked so out of place in a diner like this. Their suits gave away their wealth. Each one had to cost more than she earned in a year. Not only that, one suit alone would probably fund her entire college tuition for a year.
“I’m not serving them. I don’t want to register on Carson’s radar,” Chloe, a single mother said, coming toward her. “I’ve got kids to protect.”
Before Hope could comprehend what was happening she was shoved toward the table. Taking out her notebook, she stared at the table of men, who fell silent the moment she approached. When she was around Beast he never made her feel uneasy, but right now she wasn’t exactly getting any of the good vibes. Her stomach was somersaulting, and she felt afraid.
“Is there anything I can get you?” she asked.
“There’s not enough menus. Bring us some.”
“A coffee for each of us to start, Hope,” Beast said.
There he went, his voice calming her. She gave a quick nod, leaving them alone. Entering the kitchen, she began to make two pots of fresh coffee.
Chloe came up to her. “Do you know him?”
“I tutor his nephew in school.” She waited for them to fill, and turned to give Chloe her undivided attention. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal? You know who Carson is, right? You know what he does?”
“I’ve heard the rumors.”
“If I was you, I’d get a new tutor for his nephew. Nothing good comes from sticking around a Carson. They’re bad news.”
Hope watched as Chloe walked away, and she bit her lip, hating that sick feeling beginning to start in her stomach.
Once the coffee was filled, she grabbed a handful of menus and went to serve them. Once again, the table went quiet, and she hated how nervous that made her. Silence meant what they were talking about was top secret.
Or dangerous.
She finished serving them coffee and left them alone, going to deal with other customers. The diner had pretty much emptied out the moment Beast Carson entered.
The rest of the shift went by without much incident. The men ate. Her boss looked shit scared, and she had to serve them since no one else would.
Not bothering to change out of her uniform, she pulled out a jacket and headed outside, stopping when she caught sight of Beast, alone. He leaned against his car, and he was smoking a cigarette.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I rarely do anymore. It just seems like the night for a smoke.” He offered it to her, and she shook her head.
“I don’t smoke.”
“You don’t party.”
She stared at him. Dwayne had invited her to his party, something about a pool house, and it being a rare occurrence for him to allow people to his place. She’d declined, as it wasn’t really her scene.
“I’m going to keep my brain cells active while I can. Last I heard I kind of need them to get out of town.”
Folding her arms beneath her breasts, she stared at him. At the table surrounded by men, she’d been afraid of him. Now, she wasn’t. She felt drawn to him.
“Why aren’t you at the party?” she asked.
“Kids don’t appeal to me.”
If words could hurt, that sure did, and she didn’t know why. “I better get going.”
She made to turn away, but he spoke, stopping her.
“Why do you want to get out of town?” he asked.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw he’d turned to look at her. “Didn’t you get the memo? I’m a freak.”
“I know about your past, Hope. You just don’t strike me as the kind of woman that runs.”
She took a deep breath. “There’s nothing here for me, Mr. Carson. No one at school or at home. I’ve got … nothing. I’m just waiting to graduate high school, get the hell out of town, and away from the memories. The whispers.”
“The whispers?”
“People know what happened, and even though I can pretend for a time that it doesn’t bother me, I get tired of it. My dad killed my mom, and I’m what’s left.” She held her arms out. “Not a lot really going for me here.”
He moved toward her, staring into her eyes. “You’re eighteen.”
“I know.”
“I have to keep remembering that.”
She tilted her head to the side, watching him. He didn’t look away from her. The warmth seemed to radiate off him, and if she could, all it would take was putting her hand against his chest.
He’s older.
Much older.
She didn’t care.
There was something about Beast Carson that had her thinking about him at really inappropriate times. One of those being when she was standing in the shower, water dripping down her body, and she imagined him there with her, holding her, touching her.
She took a deep breath, knowing she had to get out of there. None of the guys at school had ever made her feel this way. Beast looked at her as if he really saw her.
He’s an uncle.
Still, as she tried to think of all the reasons she should probably be grossed out, nothing came to mind. He was older, but again, she didn’t care.
She didn’t want to think about what his words meant. “Dwayne is doing really well with his studies. I think a few more lessons and he’ll have cracked algebra. Yay!” She did a little fist pump, and saw his lips quirk a little as if he was suppressing a smile. “You can smile. It’s good. Your nephew is doing great.”
“That’s good to know. Why don’t you make new memories?”
She paused, hoping he’d forgotten about their little conversation. “Memories are hard to make. I miss my mom.”
“Find someone to make new memories with.”
She chuckled. “You make it sound so easy. Like it’s not difficult to find someone to share your life with.”
“Everyone has a price.”
“I’m not going to force someone to share memories with me.” A gust of wind rushed over her, pushing her hair onto her face. She went to move it out of the way. Beast’s touch stopped her. He pushed her hair off her face, and she couldn’t move, not that she wanted to. Staring up into his eyes, she was struck once again.
She loved that shade of blue more than anything in the world.
You’ve got a crush.
Yeah, just to add to another of her freakish tendencies, she had a crush on a guy’s uncle.
“Why are you walking home?” he asked, holding her hair to her face.
His touch felt so good, his hands warm against her skin.
Licking her lips once again, which she couldn’t seem to stop doing, she shrugged. “I, erm, I always walk home.”
“I’ve told you before these streets are dangerous.”
“It’s late, Beast. I’ve got to be getting home.”
His jaw twitched. Was she pissing him off? She didn’t mean to. Was he worried about her? He’d be the first guy who worried about her in a long time.
“You’re not walking home. Come on.”
He released her hair, and she missed his touch, wanting him to hold her again, or at least touch her.
Get a grip, Hope. Nothing is happening here.
It’s all in your pathetic imagination.
He opened the door, and she climbed inside.
Beast leaned in, securing her seatbelt in place and pulling back. “You need to start learning to take care of yourself.”
He was so close, his breath fanning across her face.
Sitting back, she closed her eyes, waiting for him to get in the car. She had to get a grip. This wasn’t good for her at all.
Opening her eyes, she stared out as he climbed in.
“You know, everyone is afraid of you,” she said.
He started the car, and she chanced a look at him, seeing the smile on his face. “Fear can be a great motivator.”
“It can also cause a lot of people a lot of pain.”
“I’m not here to hold anyone’s hand,” he said.
“Are the rumors true about you?” she asked.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
Did she want to know the truth? Was she ready to go down that road?
No, she didn’t want to know. For once she wanted her little bubble to remain intact, and that was exactly how she was going to leave it.
****
Beast should have left. He shouldn’t have gone to see her, or stayed behind to wait, knowing she didn’t have a ride.
With Dwayne having his little pool party, the house was off-limits, every single door and window locked. Beast didn’t mind his nephew using the pool house, but he wouldn’t allow any little shits into his home. They weren’t invited.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hope twisting her fingers together, and he wondered what she was thinking about. He liked the way she looked at him. The haunted look in her eyes, the way she held herself, in her mind and body she was a lot older than her eighteen years.
“Have you ever been back to your old house?” he asked.
She tensed up. She shoved her hands between her thighs, pressing them together. He turned on the heat, not wanting her to be cold.
“No, I’ve not. My stuff was packed and the house sold. I don’t know what happened to it. My aunt took care of that.”
“She doesn’t take care of you though, does she?” he asked.
“It’s not her job to take care of me. I’m old enough to take care of myself.”
“You’re not used to it though, are you? Being alone. I heard your aunt is from your dad’s side?”
“She’s my dad’s sister.”
He wondered how that went.
“We … tolerate each other.”
He pulled up outside of her aunt’s house, and he saw the lack of desire to go inside. She didn’t want to go home. He watched her, waiting.
“You hate her?”
“She hates my mom. Says that everything that happened is her fault. She wasn’t there.” Hope snorted. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Sometimes strangers are the best people to tell our secrets. It’s why some go to confession.”
“I have no intention of telling my fears or my memories to a priest. Aunt Tay … hates me because I remind her of my mom. I was there, and no matter how often she tries to blame everything else, it was her brother who pulled the trigger.”
He noticed she placed her hand on her stomach. “You were shot as well.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I was bleeding out. I think the doctor said I died on the table for a few seconds. I don’t remember anything.”
Beast gripped the steering wheel tighter, not liking the thought of a world without her in it.
“Everything happens for a reason, right?” she asked. Her gaze moving from the house to land on him. “Why do you think I had to lose my parents? Why did he kill her?”
“You hate him?”
“He killed my mom. Took away the one person in the world I could talk to. I didn’t have to put on a happy face. I miss her more than anything.” She wiped away the tears, and laughed. “I’m sorry. You’ve got more important things than talking to me.”
“Would you move out if you could?” he asked, stopping her from leaving as she reached for the door handle.
“What do you mean?”
“If you had somewhere to go that meant you didn’t have to go home to that.”
She stared at the house, and he saw how tempting his offer was.
Plans began to draw up in his mind. “I’d move out in a second. I really would. I … I’ve thought about it. I’ve got a trust fund, but the more of that I save, it means I can go to college. I don’t want to spend too much. It won’t be much longer, you know. Just a few more months.” She smiled at him. “Thank you for the ride.”
He waited for her to leave.
She gave him a little wave, which he returned before he headed back toward his home. Cars were parked in his driveway, which only served to piss him off.
Yes, parties for teenagers bored him. Climbing out of his car, he made his way inside, and found Caleb standing at his office window, staring out toward the garden.
“I think we should get Dwayne tested for some kind of STD, or even STI. I’ve seen those skanks he’s got on his lap making out with three other boys.”
Moving toward the window, Beast watched his nephew. Dwayne was living the life a high-schooler should be living. He was getting laid, flunking his classes, but also making up for lost time.
He’d seen the transformation in just the few weeks that Hope had been tutoring him. She was good at what she did. Patient, talented, and … beautiful.
She saw herself as a freak, but he saw her as beautiful.
She’s eighteen.
That was his only problem. At thirty-seven years old, he was too old for her. Nearly twenty years her senior.
Yet, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. Even when he was away from her, he thought about her. Tonight, he’d gone to the diner because he knew she’d be there. He also knew she’d walk the streets alone because she didn’t have a car, and he fucking hated that. She shouldn’t be walking alone, not now, not ever.
The streets were dangerous. She had absolutely no care at all for her own safety.
“There’s something I want to do,” he said.
“Are you telling me to ask for my advice, or because you just want me to hear it out?”
“I want to bring Hope Miller here to live while she finishes out her high school days.”
“Is this because of the gun?”
“This is because she doesn’t deserve to live with a first-class bitch.” He turned to look at Caleb. “You can make that happen?”
“I’ll call our lawyer tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll draw the papers up.”
“When she goes to the diner to work, I want you to keep an eye on her.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to see her aunt. I think she and I have a lot to discuss.”
He watched as Dwayne picked up both girls and threw them into the pool. Turning his back on the party, Beast went back toward his desk, wondering what it was about her that wouldn’t let fucking go.
****
Armed with the necessary papers, Beast parked his car outside of Tay Miller’s house. She’d never been married, and was known for being the sister of a murderer. She also had a reputation for being a bit of a slut.
“Do you want me to go in for you, boss?” Donny asked.
“No. Stay here.”
Climbing out of the car, he saw most of the houses in the neighborhood needed some kind of care. Buttoning up his jacket, he made his way toward the house, lifting his hand to knock.
“I’m coming. I’m fucking coming.” Tay opened the door. Curlers were in her hair, and the scent of cigarettes hung heavy in the air.
The moment she caught sight of him, she paled. He liked that.
Fear.
He could do whatever he wanted. People were so easily controlled by fear, by the unknown, and he loved to do that.
As he stepped over the threshold, she backed away, and he pulled the papers out of his pocket.
“I’ve done nothing,” she said. “I don’t have anything to do with your type.”
He held out the pen for her to take. “Read it.”
She took the pen and glanced down. She started reading through the emancipation order he’d drawn up. “What has Hope done? We had an agreement!”
“You should have been grateful that you had another person to share your life with. Your brother took away a great deal inside her. Made her have to deal with what a small town does to an outsider. You’re a despicable human being. Sign her over, and you get this.” He held up some rolled-up notes, seeing the greed in her eyes.
Hope wasn’t thriving here. She deserved better, and he was going to make sure she got it. “Where’s her room?”
“First bedroom down the hall.”
He went to the room, seeing that she didn’t have that much in the way of possessions. Picking up the picture frame beside her bed, he saw her mother. The only person who really mattered to Hope. The one person he couldn’t bring back.
After packing up her stuff, he made his way downstairs and checked over the signed paperwork. Seeing that it had Tay’s signature, he handed her over the cash. She took it greedily, and he smiled. Heading toward the house, he heard her shout.
“You bastard.” Spinning around, he shot her with a glare. “You … it’s one-dollar bills.”
“I know. Next time maybe your greed won’t get in the way.” He’d put a large bill around one dollars to make it look like they were all the same.