Chapter Eight
James had been right. His mother’s clothes fit April almost perfectly. She still felt a little strange, wearing the clothes of a woman that was no longer alive, but James insisted it was perfectly okay with him. April, begrudgingly, accepted his words.
Less than an hour later, thanks to James, April was bursting through the doors of Jesse’s diner. Lisa was at the counter, ready to offer a wave. Her expression fell from a bright smile to a look of confusion when she spotted James a step behind April. He was wearing his usual Stetson, making him look taller than he already was.
April turned to James once they were inside the building, smiling up at him as brightly as she could muster.
“Thanks for everything, James,” she said. “I took the afternoon shift, so I’ll be here for a while. I’ve got work tomorrow, too.”
James tipped his hat to April. “I’ll make sure to stop by and see you tomorrow morning, then.”
April turned to go to start her shift, but James caught her wrist before she could walk away. April looked back at James, a question on the tip of her tongue, but he cut her off, and sealed his lips over hers. April’s eyelids fluttered closed as James kissed her, softly, possessively. He pulled away with a small bite to her lower lip, and winked at her. She knew it was a promise of more.
He leaned in and wrapped his arms around April, drawing her in for a close hug. Behind the two of them, unbeknownst to either, Lisa was gaping with her eyes wide open, like something horrific happening in front of her.
“Your car is still at my place,” James murmured. He nuzzled at the crook of her neck, scenting her before they wouldn’t see each other for a while. “Do you want me to pick you up when you’re done with your shift?” he asked. “You can stay the night,” he offered.
April nodded enthusiastically as she circled her arms around James and tightly hugged him. “I would love that!” she agreed. “I’ll be done at five, right before the dinner rush. Does that sound good?”
James murmured yes against her neck as he nodded. He released April, though she could see the hesitance in his features. Before he backed off, James gave her another lingering kiss. April smiled dreamily. She never would have pegged James as the type of guy to display affection in public or be as affectionate as he was, but it was better than she could have ever expected.
“I’ll see you then,” James said.
James trailed the tips of his fingers down April’s arm. Goosebumps erupted on her skin where they touched. He backed out the door a moment later, and tipped his hat at April one last time before he turned and got in his truck.
April sighed dreamily, watching as James’s truck pulled out of the parking lot and took off down the road. She barely had a thought to spare on how she might normally be embarrassed by such open PDA, but truth be told it was endearing. April rubbed at her cheek, willing her blush to go down before she started work.
April turned on her heel, and was met by Lisa behind the counter. Her coworker was still gaping at her like a fish out of water. April sucked her lip between her teeth. This was going to be hard to explain to Lisa. She barely knew how to explain it. There was no way she could tell Lisa about the connection the wolf inside James felt with April. That would not go over well at all, April knew it.
“April,” Lisa began. She pushed a hand through her hair, bringing some stray strands that had fallen loose from her ponytail up and away from her face. She cracked her bubblegum loudly three times in a row. She only did that when she was agitated. “You had better start talkin’,” Lisa demanded, her accent growing thicker. “Because I know that I did not just see James Sullivan walk in here with you and kiss you on the mouth like it was old news.”
April laughed nervously as she approached the counter. “No, that was exactly what you saw,” April replied.
Lisa gasped so loudly, April was sure James could have heard it all the way from the Sullivan Orchard.
“April!” Lisa shrieked. “When did this happen?” she snapped, but there was no anger in her voice or expression. “What are you doin’, goin’ around and kissin’ James Sullivan? Last I saw, he was makin’ doe eyes at you and you seemed friendly enough with him, and now this?” she guffawed. Her voice steadily rose in volume, drawing a few concerned stares from the dining patrons.
“Lisa, keep your voice down!” April hissed.
“I will not keep my voice down!” Lisa retorted.
From the kitchen, Jesse laughed loudly.
“You need to tell me everything, April,” Lisa ordered. “I want to hear the long and the short of it, and don’t leave out any of the juicy details,” she added, wiggling her eyebrows at April suggestively.
April groaned. “Let me get my apron on first,” she said. “After all, your shift lasts for a few more hours and I’ll be back tomorrow. I’ve got more than enough time to explain everything.”
Lisa’s hands snapped to her hips, and she jutted her left hip out dramatically. “You had better tell me everything,” Lisa repeated. “I need to know how this happened, pronto.”
“I got it, I got it.” April sighed.
She moved passed Lisa and into the back, grabbing a spare apron hanging on the rack in the office. She tied it around her waist, cinching it off with a nice bow in the back. April then headed back to the front of the diner, and set the coffee machine to work, so she could help Lisa keep an eye on coffee mugs and keep them full at all times.
“Hey, Jesse,” April greeted, peering at the older man through the open window to the kitchen.
Jesse whistled as he flipped his eggs with a flick of his wrist. It was as astounding to April as it had always been. “Hello, April,” he said. “Nice to see you this morning.”
April’s expression fell. “Jesse, I’m really sorry about missing my shift. I didn’t mean to, it just slipped my mind. I won’t make a habit of it,” she added. “This was a one-time thing. I really want to keep working here, and I know that I need to make it up to you.”
“April, April,” Jesse soothed, waving his free hand at April. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone misses a shift, or is late, at least once in their life. If I fired everybody who pulled one no-call, no-show, I’d be out of employees before you could blink. Do you know how many times Lisa has been late?”
“You talkin’ about me?” Lisa accused.
Jesse playfully rolled his eyes. “Speak of the devil.”
Lisa pointed her finger at Jesse. “Without me, this place would fall apart.”
“I think it’s the other way around, Lisa,” Jesse corrected. “Without me, none of you would get paychecks and there wouldn’t be a cook on the schedule for half the time. Then what would you do?”
Lisa was at a loss for words. With that minor argument behind her, she turned her attention to April, and her eyes narrowed. Lisa took a step forward, and April took a step back.
“Get talking, girly,” Lisa ordered.
“All right, all right.” April groaned. “But can we maybe step away from our boss, who doesn’t need to hear this conversation?” April asked. She gave Lisa the most pleading look she could manage.
At first, Lisa didn’t look too convinced, but then nodded. She and April walked over to the front counter, coffee pots left behind to brew as they talked.
“So,” Lisa began, holding the one syllable out for far longer than was necessary. “James Sullivan?”
April nodded. “James Sullivan,” she agreed. “He’s a very sweet guy once he’s been talking for a while. Nothing at all how he is when he’s just visiting for breakfast. And he can cook, too. He just can’t make the eggs, and that’s why he comes here.”
Lisa nodded slowly. She looked over April with a glint in her eyes. “Is he a wolf?” she teased.
April maintained a neutral expression. “No, Lisa, he’s not a wolf.”
Lisa groaned loudly. “I was so hoping that he was!” she pouted. “Maybe he just hasn’t shown you, yet. He’s gotta make sure that you’re trustworthy, and all that.”
April chuckled. “He trusts me enough to let me stay over at his house.”
Lisa gaped at her. “You did not!”
“I did,” April countered. She glanced at Lisa, who was at a genuine loss for words, for what April assumed, was the first time in her life. “I didn’t think it was possible to stump a girl like you, but here we are.”
“What did you do?” Lisa asked, after a few moments of silence. “Were you there the whole day, or just the night?”
April smiled. “I was there the whole day. It started with him giving me a tour of the orchard. It’s a beautiful place, Lisa. It feels like it goes on forever, and his house is massive. At the end of the day, we hiked up a hill at the edge of the orchard and sat looking out over it for a long time. It was really sweet.”
“Aww.” Lisa smiled. “Sounds like you’ve got a crush.”
April laughed. Lisa knew exactly how to get her to smile. “It might be a little more than that at this point,” April admitted. “There’s lots of things about him I’m dying to know. What his family was like, and how he takes care of the trees all by himself.”
Lisa’s expression turned sour at the mention of James’s family. “I don’t suppose you two got to talking about what happened to his family, did you?”
April shook her head. She felt bad for lying to Lisa, but she didn’t want to betray James’s trust. The man had put a lot of faith in her, showing her his wolf, and telling her about his family. There was no way that she could break his heart and spill his secrets to people that didn’t need to know them.
“No, we didn’t,” she replied. “I did see his cousin’s room, though,” she said. “Just a peek, but that’s it.”
Lisa frowned. “I wasn’t born when the family died. I wish I could tell you more about them all.”
“That’s okay,” April said. “I can ask James about his family one day. Maybe he’ll feel comfortable enough to tell me more.”
“I wonder how he made it on his own,” Lisa mused. “There was no way a little boy grew up all on his own. You think maybe a nana or someone like that survived to keep an eye on him?”
April hummed. “I’m not sure about that,” she said. April wanted to drop the conversation about his family.
Lisa opened her mouth to ask another question, but the little bell above the door stopped her. Both girls turned immediately to greet the people who walked through the doors. April sighed, relieved the conversation had ended.
“Good morning!” they both chimed at the same time.
“Morning, ladies,” a man with a deep voice greeted.
April was taken aback by the man. She stared at him, and looked him up and down. He had an all-too-familiar straight nose, and thick brows. His hair was slicked back, and peppered with gray strands, but the rest of it was a striking red. He was far older than James, but that didn’t draw away from their resemblance.
April glanced at Lisa. She looked to be thinking the same thing.
April looked over the man and his company. “Just the four of you today?” she asked with a smile.
The man, dressed to the nines in a suit and dress shoes, nodded. It was an oddity to see men dressed so formally in Aconitum. Other patrons were shooting the man strange looks. His companions were not as well-dressed as he was. They wore form-fitting black jackets. Both had brown hair cropped short; they had the same brown eyes as the man in front of them. As April stared into the man’s eyes, she realized they were the same color as Jesse’s eyes, when shadowed by the brim of his Stetson. Her blood ran cold. He may have looked like Jesse, but he didn’t give off the same friendly air that Jesse did.
“That’s right,” the man said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in Aconitum. Thought I would bring my sons by Jesse’s. I hope it hasn’t changed too much.”
The man approached the counter, but stopped mid-step. He lifted his nose to the air just so, and paused for a moment. April saw the slight dilation of his nostrils, and the way his chest twitched. It wasn’t strange for people to stop and smell as they entered Jesse’s, after all it always smelled like sizzling bacon and baking waffles, but this man did it differently.
His eyes zeroed in on April, and she nearly jumped back.
Half a second later, and his expression softened once more. He smiled at April, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes.
“We’d like a booth please,” the man said. “Preferably one with a view outside.”
April nodded dumbly. She scrambled for four menus, though she was trying desperately to keep her composure. The man’s sons were watching her, too. The fourth man, behind the two with brown hair, looked nothing like the other three. April had her doubts that the man, with blond hair and blue eyes, was related to the other three.
“This way, please,” April said.
She took off to the right side of the diner. Her movements were stiff, but she couldn’t help it. The men behind her were hulking, almost as massive as James. It made her uncomfortable they were following her so closely.
April stepped to the side when she found a clean booth for the men. The blond one and the two with brown hair sat down first. The two with brown hair were all but smashed against each other in an attempt to sit next to each other in the booth, despite how spacious it was.
The fourth, older gentleman with red hair didn’t sit down. He stood in front of April, staring down his nose at her. April gulped and stepped back to try and ease the way he was looking down at her. It did little to help. The man must have been over six feet tall despite his age.
“My name is Corbin,” the man said.
He smiled again at April, but it reminded her of a snake. He held out his hand. Not wanting to be rude, April took it. April noticed the lack of accent. The man was not from around Aconitum.
“April,” she said. “Pleasure to meet you, sir. I hope the quality holds up to what you remember.”
“I hope so, too,” Corbin agreed. He squeezed April’s hand, and refused to let go of it. “Do you live at the Sullivan Orchard?” he asked.
April’s eyebrows shot up. “N-no, sir,” she stammered. She finally managed to worm her hand out of Corbin’s tight grasp. “My boyfriend does, though.” April briefly wondered if it was okay with James to call him her boyfriend. For the time being, she went with it. Perhaps having a boyfriend would deter the man from his strange advances.
Corbin’s head tilted to the side, in a way that very much reminded April of James when he was confused. Corbin, however, did not look confused. April couldn’t place the expression, but it was somewhere between furious and plotting.
“You smell an awful lot like the last lady of the house,” Corbin hummed. “She had a particular perfume that she wore. I remember it very clearly. Do you use the things the family left behind when they died?”
April felt sick. There was something about Corbin that made her want to run away and hide. How could he have known James’s family, or the intimate details of the Sullivan household? April didn’t think she smelled like anything in particular, but perhaps James’s mother’s clothes did still smell of her perfume.
“No, sir,” April said, warily. “I needed a change of clothes, and my boyfriend let me borrow these. They belonged to his mother, maybe that’s why you smell the perfume.”
It was Corbin’s turn to look surprised. His lips curled back over his teeth in a feral grin. “Do tell me, April,” he drawled, “what is your boyfriend’s name?”
“James,” April replied. She looked Corbin up and down. Her eyes darted to the other men, they were staring at each other and having a silent conversation with only their eyes. “His name is James Sullivan, he owns the Sullivan Orchard.”
Corbin glanced at his sons and the blond man. They all shared a look that gave April the shivers. She didn’t like this at all. She could only guess why Corbin was so interested. He was wearing a suit; perhaps he was a lawyer of some sort coming to buy the Sullivan Orchard. April frowned. James would never sell his property to a sleazy man in a suit.
“Thank you very much for telling me, April,” Corbin said. He finally slid into the booth next to the blond man.
April passed out menus, and filled their coffee mugs. She scurried away before any of them could ask anything more of her. April met Lisa by the counter, and grabbed onto her friend’s bicep in a desperate hold.
Lisa winced as she turned to April.
“What was with those guys?” she asked. Lisa dug her fingers under April’s, forcing her to take her hand away from its bruising grip on Lisa’s arm.
“Sorry,” April breathed. She shook her head as she stared down at the floor. “I don’t know, Lisa, but I don’t like them,” she muttered. “They were asking about James. He said he could smell James’s mother’s perfume on me. I’m wearing her clothes, but how could he have known that?”
Lisa raised an eyebrow at April. “You’ll have to tell me why you’re wearing Mrs. Sullivan’s clothes some other time,” she said. Lisa cracked her gum and peered over April’s shoulders at the group of odd men. They all looked away from Lisa and April at the same time. Lisa narrowed her eyes. “I’ll take them over for you, sweetheart,” Lisa said.
“You will?” April asked. She groaned. “Lisa, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
Lisa nodded. She continued to stare at Corbin’s table. He was the only one who refused to look away from her challenging stare. Lisa snapped her gum five times in quick succession, meaning she was incredibly agitated. It did nothing to deter Corbin from staring.
“I don’t like the way he’s starin’ at you,” Lisa grumbled. “You take the left half. Take over my tables, and I’ll take the right half.”
“Thank you,” April said again. “I owe you.”
Lisa stared Corbin down for a while longer before she cracked a smile at April. “Darn right you owe me,” she agreed. “You can pay me back by taking me to James’s orchard one day. I want to see what it’s like for myself.”
“I’ll make sure to talk to James about it,” April said.