Chapter 10
Out in the side yard, Alex shivered hard against the chills that blasted up her arms and had her swallowing hard against the itch at the back of her throat that warned her she was coming down with something.
To thwart off any illness, she’d spent her meager tips on Zicam swabs and vitamins instead of groceries, and now she was really feeling it.
Standing fully erect, she leaned the rake she held against one shoulder and zipped her jacket up all the way to ward off the crisp bite that hung in the air.
It’d been almost a week since she’d seen Recker. He’d failed to show up at her place as promised, and Alex couldn’t even try to pretend that it didn’t hurt like a motherfucker. Again, she’d been found so lacking that she didn’t even warrant a phone call letting her know she hadn’t made it past the initial interview. Part of her wanted to call Stoney and find out for sure, but she knew she’d break down and she didn’t want to put that type of burden on Stoney. If the Skin Walkers didn’t want her at StoneCrow, they didn’t want her at StoneCrow. No amount of whining or crying would change that. Still, she was embarrassed that she’d even gotten her hopes up.
Even now she remembered how she’d gotten home from work the night after she’d found Recker breaking into her apartment. He’d said he’d come by, so she got cleaned up and had even reapplied her makeup and fixed her hair before tidying her apartment. She’d had no intentions of letting him in to see it, but it didn’t stop her from straightening it up, just in case. She had planned to take him to the bookstore, where she could offer him coffee, and they could sit and talk in a warm place. It hadn’t happened. Worse, she’d checked out her front door at least a dozen times that night until, deflated, she’d gotten ready for bed and pretended not to cry into her pillow as disappointment and humiliation tore through her.
Alex fisted the rake in both hands and heaved a sigh before she started gathering more leaves that had been buried under feet of snow for most of the winter. Her arms were shaking from the exertion, and she was chastising herself for doing the landlord any favors. The guy was a certified prick, but it was her day off, and she needed something to do besides sit up in her apartment thinking about food and Recker Rhodes and not necessarily in that order.
She was like this on most of her days off. Without the free meals from the restaurant, she was forced to rely on the rations in her cupboards and fridge, which right now weren’t much. Her energy was sapped, and the only thing keeping her going right now was the knowledge that after she finished her chore and cleaned up, she’d be heading to the bookstore for a good book, free coffee, and warm atmosphere.
She raked until her arms were too shaky and she felt like she was going to puke.
Storing the rake, she tromped her way tiredly up to her apartment and planted herself at the kitchen sink where she chugged two large glasses of water, knowing from experience that it was the best she could do to stifle the grumbling in her stomach. Palming one of her vitamins, she popped it into her mouth and took another long swallow of water.
She had one egg in her fridge and about a cup of milk left in the carton that sat on the shelf beside the egg, but she was saving those for tomorrow. It’d be her third day off in a row, and she’d be sick with hunger by the time mid-day came round. Shaking her head, she pinched her eyes shut as the old familiar hunger headache began throbbing behind her eyes.
She hated this. She hated every fucking second of it. She hated that she was trapped in her lease and that she’d ever agreed to the exorbitant amount of rent. At the time, she’d been employed at a higher end restaurant and had no way of knowing that the owners would retire and leave their staff floundering to find work. She hated that she hadn’t planned better when times had been easier. As it was, she had no breathing room. Hell, she’d be at work right now if the restaurant was even open, but nope. The diner was closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, which was stupid as shit! Alex had been unable to secure a second job, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. She’d applied at every single eatery in the town and most of the bars. She’d long ago given up hope of finding any employment in the field of her degree, which was technology management. StoneCrow had been her last hope, and when they hadn’t contacted her, she hated herself for wasting years and thousands of dollars even bothering with a degree. Stupid!
Her belly grumbled again, and she slapped a hand over it and yelled, “Oh, knock it off!”
A sudden pounding at her door had her tensing a moment before her brow furrowed and she made her way to the door.
She opened the door a mere crack and peeked out to find Recker looming in her doorway. His timing couldn’t have been worse. She was tired, starving, getting sick, and she was outright pissed at how he hadn’t even bothered showing up or calling.
“What?” she snapped, not opening the door.
Recker’s brows speared down as if he didn’t expect her mood. His eyes lifted over her head before dropping back to hers. “I’m here for…” his eyes went over her head again, and she swore she saw his nostrils flare. “Your, uh, second interview.” He seemed distracted when he asked, “Are you not alone?”
As if it was any of his business. Alex kept the door creaked only a fraction. “I thought my interview was over.”
“It’s not.” He looked at her intently. “Alex, do you have company?”
Annoyed, she rolled her eyes. “No, a-hole. I don’t.”
He frowned hard. “Why so hostile?”
“You blew me off,” she accused before she could even check her words. She felt her cheeks singe when his eyes narrowed on her. “You told me I had a second interview and you’d be by,” she tried to cover. “You left me hanging. No word. No reason. You could have at least called. It was fucking rude! I had other things to do besides sitting around waiting for you.”
“I apologize.”
She didn’t believe he was sorry though because he wasn’t even looking at her. He was trying to peer through the crack in the door over her head. “Hey!”
“I heard you talking to someone,” he pressed, and now Alex was good and pissed.
“And if I were, it’d be none of your damn business. I’m allowed to have guests, this is my apartment!”
“So you do have someone inside?”
Irritated, Alex shoved her door open wide. “No, Recker Rhodes.”
Without waiting for an invitation, he brushed past her and stepped into her small apartment looking around. “You were talking to someone.”
“I was,” she sighed. “To myself.” She threw her hands in the air before dropping them to her hips. “You caught me, Recker Rhodes. I talk to myself.” She wanted to maintain her ire, but she was just too damn tired and hungry. Hell, she was too wiped out to even be embarrassed that Recker was studying her crappy little apartment.
“Why were you talking to your…”
His words halted when her stomach suddenly growled so loudly that heat stole across her cheeks. Attempting to mask it, she stepped to her small one-seater table and motioned for him to sit.
“Can I offer you a glass of… water?” She refilled her own glass and took a long swallow before wiping her lips on the back of her arm and staring at him with eyebrows raised waiting.
He eyed her and her glass of water then studied the kitchen. With a shake of his head, he offered, “No, thank you.” His nostrils flared, and his brows speared down as he looked around again. “Where’s your food?”
Glass once again to her lips, Alex choked on a swallow and sputtered in her glass, holding up her free hand, palm pressed to her lips, as she continued to cough up the water she’d sucked into her lungs.
Once her throat was clear, she coughed just a bit longer, stalling for time before sniffing. She looked at the kitchen herself and tried to see it from Recker’s point of view. It was tiny but clean. White tile floor, white cabinets, with white subway tile backsplash, the place was pristine. Ugly as sin, but pristine. Spotless probably because she wasn’t afforded the opportunity to use the kitchen as often as she’d like.
“I…have…food,” she lied. “I just like a clean kitchen is all.”
Recker’s brows speared down. Before Alex could guess at his actions, he leaned over in his chair and jerked her fridge door open.
“Hey!” Alex lunged for the door, placing her body between Recker’s eyes and the two contents the fridge held. “Nosey much?”
Recker’s scowl didn’t break when he released the door and pointed at her two cupboards. “And let me guess. Those house dishes and cleaning supplies?”
She blushed, “No!” How in the hell did he know?
Recker stood and jerked one cabinet door open revealing that it did in fact house dishes.
Alex slammed the cupboard closed. “Do. You. Have. Manners?” She planted hands on hips and frowned up at him.
He turned on her. “Why don’t you have food?”
She pointed at the fridge. “There’s milk and eggs in there.”
“There’s one egg and a swallow of milk!”
“I thought you were here to interview me!” She waved her hand toward the table. “Stop snooping and ask what you need to ask.”
Turning his head toward the door, Recker said, “It’s nice out. Let’s walk and talk.” Without waiting for her to agree, he stood and grabbed her coat from where it hung on a peg by the door.
One of Alex’s brows quirked. “Walk and talk?”
“Yeah! You know get out of the house. Go out in the world. Carpe the motherfuckin’ Diem!”
Alex snorted a laugh, but let Recker help her into her coat. “Alright, walk and talk, but not too far.” She was exhausted, but having Recker’s nosey ass out of her apartment would be worth the energy.
“Why?” he asked, and she stalled on an excuse because saying ‘I’m so damn hungry I feel like I’m gonna blow away’ didn’t seem like a good idea.
“It’ll be dark soon,” she finally responded.
Recker snorted and let her lead them out of the house.
When they got to the bottom of the stairs though, Alex tried to head toward a walking path that led into the thick woods behind the house. Recker apparently had other ideas because he steered her toward the side of the house and when he escorted her to his truck, she stopped and looked up at him confused. “You said walk and talk.”
He shrugged and tilted his head back to look up at the sky. “It’ll be dark soon.” Opening the passenger door, he turned and lifted Alex in, closing the door on her protesting, “Hey!”
Alex wondered what Recker was up to as she watched him skirt the front of his truck before climbing into the driver’s seat. He started the vehicle, and it lurched forward as he pulled out of the driveway.
He didn’t immediately ask any questions, so Alex leaned toward him to get his attention. “Well? You gonna interview me or what?”
“Oh!” he said like he’d forgotten why they were together. “Sure. Ummmm, tell me about your family.”
Falling back against the seat, Alex sighed. “I already told you.” She rubbed her temple in an attempt to stave off the oncoming hunger headache.
“No,” he countered. “You told me about your mom. I’m sorry about that, by the way. I know how much that hurts.”
Her eyes snapped open as she glanced at him. “You do?”
“Yeah,” he gave the steering wheel a squeeze. “I do.”
Quietly, Alex asked, “Is your mom gone too, Recker Rhodes?”
A corner of his mouth twitched, and he didn’t answer for a long time. When he finally spoke, his tone had gone all hard to match his eyes. “We aren’t discussing me. We’re discussing you. Now,” he demanded, “tell me about your family.”
And that fast, Alex’s anger was back because fuck him! If he didn’t want to answer personal questions for her then she sure as shit wasn’t answering any for him. Job or no job, she wasn’t pouring out her soul to some damn stranger. Crossing her arms over her chest, Alex leaned back and let her eyes close again, ignoring the loud growling of her stomach as she sat in silence wondering how long it’d take Recker to realize she was defying him and what he planned on doing about it once he did realize it.