706 Sugarbush Lane by Penelope Wylde

Chapter 4

Trinity

Iblinked. What the fuck just happened? And why did the look on Sawyer’s face as he stalked out of here cause my chest to ache?

A red-tipped nail wagged in front of my face. “That’s the last straw, Trinity.” Birdie’s snotty voice shook me from my shocked stupor. “I can’t have someone like you working here. It’s bad for business and for Sawyer. You’re fired.”

My heart stuttered in my chest. I needed this job. It’s why I kept my mouth shut and took what the old coot dished out. Why I didn’t say shit when she accused me of being like my mother.

But, you know what, this time I let her go too damn far with her verbal jabs.

My plans depend on me keeping this job. I’d obviously failed to escape this town before Sawyer’s return, but even if I went back to my original timeline, I’d been depending on my tips from this part-time job to help me pay my tuition and living expenses once I got to Syn City.

Despite the heaviness in my chest, I stirred up a smile. I’d been looking forward to seeing the last of Birdie fucking Holt since the moment I took this job. And I’d be damned if I gave her the satisfaction of seeing that she’d struck a blow.

“Fine by me,” I said. I yanked my apron from around my waist and tossed it to her. She fumbled for it and almost fell over. “And let me be perfectly clear.” I raised my voice.  “I’m not the one hitting on every swinging dick in this joint. A man can’t walk through those doors without you slathering on more of that God-awful puke pink lipstick and you making them feel there’s more than one way to pay for their meal. Just sayin’. Toodles, biatch.”

Well, there goes the last bit of respect I had. But the look on her face would fuel my feel-good dreams for years to come.

Birdie stumbled back like I’d struck her across the face.

Nothing would have made leaving this place better than seeing the woman who lorded my mother’s reputation over me for years fall on her ass, but she righted herself just in time before eating the hard wood.

Bummer. I never wished anyone harm, but just this once...just this once.

I sighed heavily. I guess I had to settle for walking out and never returning.

Good thing I had kickass bitch heels to do it in. I turned on my spiked heel and marched to the break room to get my stuff. In less than a minute I was stomping toward the door, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead, more than ready to put this place behind me for good. I’ve been fine without Sawyer Becker in my life until now and just because he wounded my heart a little tonight didn’t mean I would spend an ounce of my time crying.

Then why did my eyes sting so damn hard?

“Trinity!”

I didn’t recognize the male voice calling my name just as my feet hit the gravel of the parking lot.

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of Sawyer’s brother Mac, walking in my direction.

Great. Just what I needed. One more Becker hassling me. I picked up my pace and all but jogged past a couple of rows of parked cars, not an easy task in heels.

I tugged the collar of my denim jacket tighter around my neck, bracing myself against the cold breeze that stung my cheeks and nose. Cursing Mother Nature again, I hurried through the lot, more than ready to go hide out in my apartment and lick my Sawyer Becker-inflicted wounds while I figured out how to replace the income from my job at this stupid bar. The Sugarbush Hot Cocoa and Coffee didn’t do nearly enough for my pocket.

“Trinity, damn girl, hold up. I need to talk to you,” Mac called out.

While Sawyer went off and did God knows what, his brothers and best friend had stayed in the service, coming home on leave every so often until they finally all got their discharge papers a couple of months ago. It was big news in a town this small. I should have known Sawyer wouldn’t be far behind, but I’d missed all the signs.

I slowed to a stop, my shoulders dropping, tilting my head up to the sky as if the answer to my question could be found there.

“You okay?” Mac lugged his big frame to a stop at my side. I didn’t know why but the men in this town seemed larger than normal. Every single one of them looked to have shoulders made for carrying timber and arms thicker than my thighs. And that’s saying something. Curvy, tall and ample were words my best friend, Madison, liked to use to describe me and aptly so.

I slid my eyes his way without moving my head. He stood at my side, his head tipped back, studying the sky as if he was trying to figure out what I was looking at.

I twisted my head to look at him. “You’re not going to find any answers up there. I already looked. Millions of times. Trust me. Don’t waste your time.”

Mac turned toward me. “Huh. Well, that depends on the question in my experience. But since you didn’t find anything up there, maybe I can help you with those answers down here.”

He offered me a grin that invited me to share his joke. I couldn’t help but smile back. I’d always liked Mac. He’d graduated from high school before I got there, as did Sawyer.

Mac always seemed to have a joke to tell and a smile to share. He’d never been anything but kind to me. That had always made it easier to talk to him than most of the locals. I figured a bit of honesty couldn’t hurt at this point. I’d be leaving town as soon as I could manage it. What could it hurt to tell him what was on my mind?

“Okay, you want my questions. Here’s one. What is up with you guys tonight. Unless I’m serving beer or breakfast, most of the men around here ignore me. But tonight I can’t seem to turn around without running into one of you.”

Mac’s eyes filled with confusion. “Breakfast?”

“Yes, breakfast. You know. What you tend to eat in the morning. I serve beer at the Rusty Nail at night, breakfast with coffee and hot cocoa at the Sugarbush Hot Cocoa Stand in the morning and afternoon. ”

Mac’s expression cleared. “I had no idea you worked two jobs.”

I nodded. “Since I was in high school. I thought everyone knew that. But it’s not like we’ve had a lot of time to talk. You Beckers don’t stick around long enough to know much and hot cocoa really isn’t your thing.”

I shrugged away his stunned silence. “Forget it. A few more months and I’m leaving anyway.” If it killed me, I’d find a way to stick to my timelines. I didn’t think I’d survive if I had to postpone my escape.

“You’re leaving town?” Mac matched his steps to my stride, walking down Sugarbush Lane with me.

I shot him a look. “I don’t need an escort.”

“I don’t mind.” The amusement was back in Mac’s voice.

“Great.” I shifted my gaze straight ahead and kept going. The sooner I got to my door, the sooner I could shake the annoying mountain man at my side.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Mac said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

“Look, I don’t need an escort and I don’t owe you any explanations. And despite what your brother, Sawyer, might think because of Birdie or just sheer stupidity on his part, I’m not the town whore looking to land any man who will take me. So I really wish you’d go back to the bar and leave me the hell alone.”

My bitter words stung him as much as they did me from the shocked look on his face and the deep burn in my chest.

Mac grabbed my shoulder and stopped us both short.

I jerked back in his grip and whirled to face him. “What the hell?”

He dropped his hand as if he’d been scorched and then raised both hands, palms out. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Damn I’m screwing this up before I can get started.”

I pressed my lips together and fisted my hands at my side. “Okay. You’ve got my attention. What could you possibly want from me, Mac?”

“It’s about Sawyer.” He grimaced and pushed a hand through his short dark hair.

Under different circumstances, I might giggle at his obvious discomfort. It was so different from his usual wisecracking, confident self. But right now, it was all I could do not to burst into tears at the mere mention of Sawyer’s name. I couldn’t even begin to think about the throbbing grief that held my heart in its fist when he stormed out of the bar at what Birdie said.

Then again, I failed to stand up for myself out of fear of losing my job.

“Look, Sawyer’s going to be kicking his own ass when he comes to his senses. I’m sorry he acted like such a jerk, but you have to understand, he’s at his limit when it comes to you. There’s a lot of things he keeps bottled up. Dark moments he’s gone through in the last couple of years. Shit that has fucked him up in ways he’ll never talk about. But you and how he feels about you...” Mac shook his head as if gathering his thoughts. “Tonight is the first time in a long time that I’ve actually seen him smile and when it happened his eyes were on you.”

“How he feels about me?” For a second my insides started to flutter with hope. And then I remembered. Sawyer was here today gone tomorrow on whatever secret job that took him away for years at a time. And by the look of him tonight, when he did come back, he had new scars and a darker vibe about him.

I wrinkled my nose at Mac. I shook my head. “You know what, Mac? I’m not sure of much, but I do understand one thing. It really doesn’t matter whether Sawyer thinks I’m sleeping with every man in this town or not.” I somehow managed to hold back the humorless laugh his words brought to the surface. I definitely didn’t want to examine just how much it did matter to me.

“I’m leaving soon. I just lost my job at the bar. I’ll give my notice at the Sugarbush Stand as soon as I can afford it, and after that, I’m heading off to Syn City to get my degree in business while I show my portfolio of jewelry to the high-end shops there.”

Fear crossed Mac’s face. Actual real fear as though my plan caused him pain.

“Uhh, you can’t do that, Trinity. You have to forgive Sawyer.”

I stared at Mac, totally bewildered. “Why? Why could it possibly matter whether or not I forgive Sawyer?”

He turned away, blowing out a harsh breath before he turned back to face me. “It’s not for me to say. But trust me, you can’t leave town.”

“I’ve had these plans for a while now. I have no clue what’s going on tonight. Maybe it’s some moon phase that’s making all you men crazy or something, but Mac, I am leaving town. As soon as I have enough money saved, I’m out of here.”

“I have an offer for you.” Mac’s voice held a note of panic. “Sawyer, Dyson, Eeli and I are starting a business. We need to hire an office manager. I want to give you the job.”

I shook my head. “I just told you I’m leaving town. Not to mention, you have no idea if I have the skills needed to manage your office. Why would you offer me a job?”

Suspicion grew inside me and my temper grew along with it.

“Despite what Birdie Holt or anyone else in this town might think, I’m not like my mother.” I bit each word out. “If you and your friends think you’re going to pass me around your office like some fuck toy…”

“Trinity, no. God.” Mac stepped closer and put a finger under my chin, holding it there so I had no choice but to meet his gaze. “None of us think that. I’m offering you a job because you’ve always been smart and friendly and a hard worker. I have no doubt you can figure out how to do everything you need in order to get the job done.”

His voice was soft and earnest. I stared into his handsome face and blinked at his emphatic words. He seemed completely sincere.

As I stood close to him, his finger still under my chin, his warm, masculine scent filled my nose and I couldn’t avoid taking in every feature of his striking face. And for the first time, a thought hit me.

Mac was hot. I’d known him as long as I’d known Sawyer. But not once had his good looks or hard body ever impacted me the way Sawyer’s had.

Don’t get me wrong, I might have admired him. Maybe even ogled him a little when he walked past me wearing a certain pair of jeans. I’m not dead, after all.

But…I’d never felt like I couldn’t control myself around him. Never had the urge to throw myself into his arms. Never had the sense that he was anything but a nice guy.

Every once in a while, I’d catch a glimpse of the warrior beneath the man’s skin, but even in those moments, I wasn’t attracted to him with a craving I could barely control.

That feeling only surged through me when I was near one man.

I quickly squashed the thought and ripped my chin from Mac’s hold, taking a big step backward. No way was I going to stand here on the sidewalk in the cold and contemplate the wild attraction I had for this man’s brother.

“Trinity, I mean it. We never thought of you that way. If some of the guys in town kept their distance, well, we had our reasons. But those aren’t mine to share. What I can say is that most of the people in this town know you’re not like…”

He paused and the way his eyes shifted to the side and his mouth flattened, I knew he was uncomfortable saying the words out loud. Who wants to insult someone’s mother right to her face?

But I was under no illusions. My mother had always been blatant about her desire to trap a man into marriage. I sighed, suddenly tired beyond belief, and finished his sentence for him. “You know I’m not like my mother.”

He nodded. “You’re not. The guys and I, we’ve always known you were different. You’re sweet and kind to everyone and you have a good head on your shoulders. And that’s why I want to hire you.”

I staggered back a step, shaking my head as his words tried to find a spot to wiggle their way into my mind. Could what he said be true?

Sawyer’s face, as he pushed away from me in disgust earlier, flashed in my mind along with Birdie’s sharp words as she fired me. I squared my shoulders. Years of practice smiling in the face of my neighbors’ disapproval snapped into place.

I offered Mac a polite, closed-lip smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to say no. I’ll be starting school in the city in the spring semester so I won’t be in town too much longer. I couldn’t possibly put you to the trouble of training me only to leave you without office help.”

I moved forward, planning to step around him, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“What are you going to school to study again?” If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that was a note of desperation in his voice.

“Business.”

He smiled, a cat that ate the canary smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Perfect. Come work for us. You’ll have benefits. And we can give you tuition reimbursement so you can take some classes online and get a head start on your degree. Not to mention business experience you can put on your resume.”

My head swam with all the possibilities. That offer sounded too good to be true. I flicked my eyes over his face.

Mac looked deadly serious. But really, it would mean spending the next few months working with Sawyer. I was so close to escaping. I couldn’t take the risk of ruining it all now.

I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer. And as tempting as it is…”

Mac didn’t let me finish. “You didn’t let me tell you the salary.”

And then he said a number.

A holy shit kind of number.

A number that made my jaw drop and my eyes open wide. A number that meant when I left town, I’d have enough money to get me through college and have a good chunk more to set up a jewelry designing studio.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I wanted to turn him down, tell him I didn’t need his job. But the words wouldn’t come. I’d already had one setback when I lost my job tonight. Mac’s offer would allow me to take classes and escape Wild Ridge as planned. I’d be a fool to refuse.

Wouldn’t I?

As if he read my thoughts, Mac’s signature smirking smile twisted his lips. His posture eased and he stuck his hands in his pockets. “Tell you what. You give it some thought. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow and you can let me know then. Sound good? Please just don’t say no right now, okay?”

Before I could say a word, he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek before turning back toward the Rusty Nail. I stared after him until the night swallowed him whole.

I resumed my walk back to my place, my steps slow as Mac’s offer and the look of revulsion on Sawyer’s face played over and over again in my mind.

The decision I needed to make seemed obvious and impossible at the same time. I would miss not working at the Sugarbush Stand, but I couldn’t say no. The job, if Mac didn’t change his mind in the light of a new day, would have a huge impact on my plans.

But my plans would mean nothing if I couldn’t survive working side-by-side with Sawyer Becker.

Damn it.