Broken Road Café 1 - The Broken Road Café (13 page)

“Good idea. The closing is at nine. The movers are supposed to be there at noon.” Looking around, then leaning in. “Hmm. I plan on getting the bedroom set up first thing. Maybe I should ask Gary to help Saturday instead, and you can help me break the bed in Friday?”

A slow smile lit up Nick’s face. “Sounds like a plan. Now, go mingle. These good folks took time out of their busy day to come welcome The Broken Road Café’s owner to town.” Slapping Dan on the back, he pinched his ass as he walked past and out into the crowd.

After the party was over and everyone left, the café settled back down and the lunch crowd started. Dan was excited; the people in Blue Ridge really seemed to like him, and business was going gangbusters. Of course, some of that was due to him being the new owner—the new out-and-proud gay owner, but that novelty would soon wear thin and it would be business as usual. But for now, Dan was determined to bask in it.

“Hey, bossman, how you doing today? Enjoy yourself?”
Dan turned to find Amy, the waitress he’d met his first night looking at properties in the area. “It was a wonderful party. Looks like lunch is going well too.”
She looked him up and down. “It is, and we’re short a busboy. Charlie’s dog is sick, and he can only take him to the vet now, so he’ll be two hours late, and we need someone on the floor.”
Dan smiled. “I guess I get to start at the bottom, huh? Where’s an apron and a tub?”
Before he had the words out of his mouth, Amy produced a clean white apron with the new BRC logo, a chalkboard with colorful chalk lettering, and put it over his head. She reached under the counter and handed him an empty tub. “Start with table fourteen and work your way toward the register. Then start the other side. Welcome to the blue collar world, Mr. O’Leary.”
Laughing, Dan grabbed the tub and headed toward the back of the café. “That’s Dan. Mr. O’Leary was some tight-assed lawyer in Atlanta.”
An hour or so later, Dan was in the kitchen up to his elbows in soapy water, wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. From now on, it would be jeans and a Broken Road Cafe tee shirt, and Dr. Scholl’s sneakers with gel insoles. His feet hurt, his back ached and his fingers were wrinkled prunes.
And he loved every minute of it.
This was his dream. He didn’t know it, but more and more the time spent in his mother’s kitchen was coming back to him. The love and care that feeding people meant. The rituals of food preparation, the concentration of cooking, and how after even such a short time, moving around the kitchen became a dance with all the others who worked there. There was such a comfort, even if it was only in his own heart, to cooking.
“Need some help with those dishes, sir?” Dan looked over his shoulder and a thin, geeky looking teenaged boy was standing there, shifting his weight back and forth between his two feet. “I’m Charlie, and I was able to get Boomer to the vet and get back.” Something about the way the boy…winced when he said his dog’s name told Dan something didn’t go well with the visit.
Shaking his head, Dan motioned the boy to come around where he could see him as he loaded the dishwasher. “I’d shake your hand, Charlie, but I’m all wet and soapy at the moment. I’m Dan O’Leary, the new owner.”
“I know, sir, and I promise I won’t be late again. I usually just work some nights and weekends, but we were out of school—teacher’s workday or something—and I needed a little extra money so I asked to be put on the schedule, and—”
“Slow down, buddy. It’s okay.” The machine was full, so Dan pulled the lid down and started it. He hoped he’d gotten it right, and when the soft humming noise started, he smiled triumphantly. “Is Boomer okay? That’s the important thing.”
The boy wilted like a flower. “I had to have him put to sleep. Somebody”—Charlie was looking down, but his eyes came up and his gaze was defiant— “poisoned him. He was just a dog. Why would somebody do that?”
Dan stopped what he was doing and leaned back against the sink. “Here’s the deal, Charlie. Most people are good. You know that, right?” The kid nodded. “But some…well, they don’t have the sense God gave a stump, and they do stupid things. Then there’s a few that are just, well, evil. Those are the ones you have to watch out for. Is anybody bothering you? Bullying?”
There was a pause, then Charlie shook his head. Dan didn’t buy it for a minute, and he’d ask Amy and some of the others at the café about him. And who might be out to hurt him for some reason. Something about this young man hit his hot buttons, and he’d try to remember to bring it up with Nick too. He worked for Dan, so now he was one of his own. And he’d look after his own.
“How about this? You take the rest of the day off and do what you need to do, and I’ll pay you for the whole day.”
Shaking his head, Charlie put up his hands. “No, sir. You pay me to work, I’ll work.”
Dan liked this boy. “Nope. You get bereavement leave. This Boomer, he was family, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah. I don’t have any brothers and sisters. Jake, he kind of is like a big brother”—he blushed, and Dan knew a crush when he saw one—“but it’s just me and my dad.”
“Then you take today and bury Boomer. You need some help with that?” If he couldn’t do anything else, Dan could dig a hole. After he rested his feet for a minute. And let his hands re-hydrate.
“Jake’s coming over, and he’s gonna help me. Are you sure, Mr. O’Leary?” The hope on Charlie’s face about did Dan in.
“Positive. And it’s Dan.” Dan bent close and whispered, “Amy thinks I think I’m too good to wash dishes and bus tables. Well, I’m gonna show her!”
Charlie smiled and stuck out a hand. “Thank you, Mist—Dan. If you need me to come in, just call me. My number’s on the board.”
“You just take care of Boomer. I can handle this.”
Dan watched the boy walk away and wondered who would want to hurt a poor dog like that.
“That was really nice of you, Dan.” Amy laid a hand on his shoulder. “Charlie’s a good kid, and we all try to watch out for him.”
Nodding, Dan looked thoughtfully out as Charlie greeted the cook and snatched a french fry before he left. “If you hear anything, please let me know. Do you think someone did it to get to him? Or was it maybe just an accident?”
Amy shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s some bullying going on, and poor Charlie, well, he’s a bit of a nerdy-looking boy, so he catches some hell from the football jocks. You know how it is.” Yeah, Dan knew.
“Well, the rush is over, but there’s a few tables that need bussing. Get busy, hop hop.”
Dan leveled a glare at her. “You, madam, are an evil woman.”
“So my kids used to say. But the tables don’t clean themselves and the dishes won’t wash themselves either.”
He sniffed. “I may hate you a little.”
“Sweet talker.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dan grabbed a clean apron and his tub and went out to the dining room. His dream. Yes, this was his dream.

Dan stood in the den, looking at his shelves, satisfied with how his books fit into the room. After the sale of his condo, he’d managed to close on the house the next day. It was tight, and one more time he swore this was the last time he’d ever move. The movers had shown up a little early, and he’d gotten a lot put up and in order already. His new house—the one next door to Nick—was truly the best of the lot and suited him so well. The kitchen had been recently upgraded and was ready for him to cook in. The dishes and small appliances fit like they’d been made for the place.

The movers had set up his bedroom and the spare, and all he had to do was load the drawers and closets with his clothes, and put fresh linens on the beds and set up the bathrooms with new curtains and liners. He thought it would take days, but Dan was amazed at the amount of work he’d been able to get done in just a few hours.

Thank God all the boxes were in the right rooms, and all he had to do was put things in their right spot then break down the boxes. He wondered if there was a recycling place, and if he could get Nick or one of the customers at the café with a truck to help him move them. His Mustang was built for speed and looks, not utility.

Breaking down the last of the cardboard boxes, Dan grabbed the stack and moved them out to the garage. He bent over to bundle the stack when someone grabbed him from behind and, putting their hand over his mouth, slid their other hand down the front of his sweats. He could smell Nick’s aftershave lotion—Old Spice, of course—and pretended to struggle, rubbing his ass against the hard lump he felt poking him in the rear.

The hands pulled him into the dark corner near the hot water heater, and the fist on his cock began to move faster, the grip tighter. As tired as Dan was, the excitement of knowing they could be seen if someone walked into the garage and flipped on the light had him hard and ready to come almost immediately. He reached back between them and managed to unzip Nick’s pants, careful not to bump against the gun and cuffs, and released his cock from his briefs. Dan slid his sweats down and positioned Nick’s head between his thighs and clamped down.

Nick groaned and took the hint. Beginning to pump between Dan’s thighs, he matched his thrusts to his strokes on Dan’s shaft. The bump-bump-bump of against his balls and the callouses on Nick’s palm were driving Dan crazy. He leaned back into Nick’s strong arms and fucked himself back against the cock between his legs and the hard grip in front of him.

A thumb slid into his mouth, and he swirled it with his tongue. The gasps and sudden frantic movement between his legs had Dan sucking it like a cock. Nick’s rhythm began to falter, and with three hard shoves, Dan felt Nick’s release, warm and sticky against his balls. Nick sped his strokes on Dan’s shaft, and within seconds Dan followed, shooting hard against the wall. He bit down on the thumb in his mouth to stop from shouting with pleasure, and a small part of him heard Nick grunt.

When he could focus again, Dan loosened his grip on Nick’s thumb and both men slumped forward.

“Fuck.” “Yeah. Gotta get cleaned up before my boyfriend gets home.
Ouch!
What the hell?” Dan reached back and rubbed his ass where Nick popped it.
“Not. Funny. You of all people should know better than to joke about cheating.”
Well. Fuck. The man had a point.
“Sorry. Tell you what. We’ll get cleaned up, order a pizza, then you can put that thing in me in my new bed.”
Nick laughed against his ear, slowly licking his way around the lobe before nibbling down on it. Dan shivered and cursed. “Sounds like a plan. I need to slip over and get some clothes. You order and I’ll be back in a half hour.”
“Solo showers? If I must.” Dan sighed.
“If we don’t, we won’t answer the door, and then nobody gets fed, and we’ll be so tired nobody gets fucked.”
Pushing Nick off him and reaching down to pull his sweats up, Dan nodded. “Hate it, but I can’t argue with your logic. Go.”
As he turned, Dan saw Nick tucking himself back into his tighty-whities and zipping up. He felt the gooey remains of both their loads on his cock and balls, and had to smile. This was nice. Fun. Everything he’d been missing in his life for way too long.
Just as Dan moved to go inside and strip down to shower, he heard Nick’s cell phone go off, and his own ringing inside the house. He waved to Nick and jogged inside, sliding the
Answer
bar just before it stopped ringing. “O’Leary here.”
“Well, well, well. Dan O’Leary. My former boss. And who’s your favorite female in the world?”
Dan smiled. “Patsy, you know it’s you.”
A long silence greeted his joke, and he waited. “One more try, little man.”
“Charity, you know I adore you and there is no other.”
“Liar. But I don’t have time to argue the point. Listen”—her voice suddenly went low—“the FBI has been here since noon. They’re taking files, computers, thumb drives. And guess who got a call and tore off like Lindsay Lohan after a bottle of tequila?”
“Greg?” Dan had been wondering how long it would be before the feds went after the firm.
“Bingo was his name-o. And said dog hasn’t been seen nor heard from since. He isn’t answering his cell—work or personal—isn’t at home, and he and Abe both have dropped off the face of the planet.”
“Charity? I can’t go into details, especially now, but here’s what I want you to do. Keep your eyes open, give them anything they want, and keep a very low profile. And if you hear from either of those assholes, let me know. It’s trouble, with a capital T.”
“Yes, oh wise one. Now, let me go. Some hot boy in a suit is coming this way.”
Dan hit
End
and tapped his phone against his lips.
“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”
Almost jumping out of his skin, Dan whirled around to see Nick leaning in the doorway to the garage. “What are you talking about?”
“I got a call too. Don’t play innocent with me, Dan. This is serious. Both Simkins and Goldenburg went off the grid about six hours ago. There’s a warrant out for both of their arrests.”
Dan tried to look surprised. “What? No, what happened?”
Nick rolled his eyes and walked over to where Dan was standing, and nudged him backward until his knees hit something and he dropped into a seat. “I’m not kidding. Let the feds do their job.” He leaned down and put a hand on each side of Dan’s chair. “This is dangerous. You got in the way of a bullet meant for me once already. They destroyed your career and wanted to take your good name too. Promise me you’ll leave this alone.”
Dan thought quickly. “I promise I won’t get in the way if I can help it.” When Nick started to argue, Dan shut him down. “I used to work at the firm, and one of the idiots running is my ex. I won’t go looking for trouble”—Dan crossed his fingers and hoped Nick didn’t notice—“but I can’t help it if it comes to my door.”
After a tense moment, Nick nodded. “I’m surprised I got that much out of you. Now, order the pizza and I’m going to jump in your shower. I’m not going to run across the way now—I can wear something of yours for a while.”
Dan eyed him up and down. “Or you can wear nothing.”
Nick blushed, and turned to go into the bathroom. “We need to get a gun safe for when I need to leave my gun here.”
Almost falling off the chair, Dan pointed toward the guest bedroom. “I have a locking filing cabinet in there. It’ll do until I can get one.”
“Good enough. After I shower.” Then he was gone.
Dan waited a moment, then picked up his phone. He’d heard it beep while Nick had him making a promise he had no intention of keeping. He had a text waiting.
From Abe.
We need to talk.
No. Fucking. Way
.