The Key West Anthology (52 page)

Chapter Seven

Callie

“Jett, she has to go. I’ve had four complaints in the last two hours,” I said as I walked into his office, interrupting the powwow he and Easton were having. “I’ve had to cover half her section because she’s so damn slow, and she continues to get people’s orders wrong.”

They both just stared at me as I continued to vent my aggravation with Georgia, the waitress from hell. “I told her to spit out her gum at least four times, because I’ve caught her blowing bubbles while taking orders. She dumped a soda in some poor guy’s lap and then proceeded to pat him dry while his fiancée looked like she was about to murder her. She gave her number to another guy because she said, and I quote, ‘He has hands that I’m sure would feel great gripping my ass.’”

Easton choked on his water, and Jett’s eyes almost bugged out of his head.

“Yeah, I know,” I said in a horrified tone. “So can we fire her now?”

Easton broke out in laughter, and Jett shot him a glare. “I’m sorry, but that shit is funny.” He shrugged it off and went back to drinking his water, doing his best to control his laughter.

“Yeah, tell her I need to talk to her. I know you’ve been covering her area, but can you do it for another couple hours? Rita comes in at three.”

“Yeah, I got it,” I assured him as I spun around to find her.

“Thanks, Cal,” Jett hollered, and I just waved it off over my shoulder. Anything was better than dealing with Georgia. I was barely holding it together. She had to go.

I rounded the bar and spotted Georgia but stopped abruptly when I saw who she was talking to. Jude was sitting at her table with Matthew and Zoey across from him. I didn’t like the feeling I got as she openly flirted with Jude. But when she reached out and touched Matthew’s cheek, a sense of possessiveness ran through me, and I felt like bitch-slapping her skanky ass. I knew they were not my family, but damn if I would let her taint them.

I forced my feet to move and closed the distance as Jude looked up to meet my stare, the side of his mouth tipping upward in a cocky smirk. I quickly looked away from him.

Zoey turned around then, and the moment she saw me, she jumped up from her chair and ran in my direction. I lowered to my knees just in time to catch her as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “Callie,” she squealed.

“Hey, sweetie,” I said in return as I hugged her close, choking up. “I’ve missed you.” I didn’t know just how much until I saw her.

“We missed you too. That’s why Uncle Jude brought us here,” she said as she released her hold on my neck.

To say I was shocked that he willingly brought them to see me was an understatement. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.” I couldn’t help grinning as I got a closer look at her face. I knew I had left my makeup bag at Jude’s, but I couldn’t get up enough courage to go back to get it. I remembered how Zoey would watch in amazement when she found me in the bathroom applying eye shadow.

“My makeup looks good on you,” I said. Her cheeks reddened, and she looked down like she was embarrassed. “You can have it.”

“Really?” she asked as she lifted her head, and that smile I adored had returned. I nodded, and she hugged me once more.

Looking over her shoulder, I found Georgia staring at me as if I had just interrupted some intimate moment she was having with Jude and the kids.

“Jett needs to see you in his office,” I told her, and she narrowed her eyes at me. “Now.”

“But I have tables to take care of.”

I closed my eyes tightly, relishing Zoey’s hug before I had to face the ugliness once more. I released Zoey, and she made her way back to the table as I stepped closer to Georgia. I was doing my best to keep our conversation as quiet as possible. The guests did not need to see or hear it. “Now you and I both know I’ve been waiting on over half your customers since you got here today. So you stepping away to go to Jett’s office won’t matter. I have it covered.”

Georgia huffed in frustration and pushed past me. I had the urge to yank on her hair as I stumbled, but I took a deep breath instead.

“Rough day?” Jude asked. He had heard me bitching about the waitress’ laziness and clumsiness on more than one occasion.

I turned around to face him and nodded. I was still pissed at him and had no intention of letting go of my anger so easily. Even though he had brought two very special people to see me, that didn’t fully make up for how rude he was when I was just being generous.

“What do you two think about making your own chocolate shakes?” I asked as I looked directly at Matthew and Zoey. “With whipped cream and sprinkles.”

Their eyes lit up, and my heart fluttered in my chest. This day had started out to be shitty, but it had just become one of the best I’d had in almost a week.

I linked hands with the kids as I led them away from the table and toward the small bar area just off the kitchen that held all the tools to make the perfect shakes. I looked back over my shoulder and found Jude watching us with a look I’d never seen before. He looked almost happy.

One at a time, I placed Zoey and Matthew onto a stool at the counter. Once I was sure they were safely seated, I stepped behind it and put two child-sized shake cups in front of them.

“Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?” I asked.

“Chocolate,” Matthew said with excitement. His little feet hung over the edge of the stool, and he was caged in by the arms of the chair. An uneasy feeling stirred within my stomach at the thought of him toppling the chair from bouncing around.

“Okay, but no wiggling. You sit very still in that chair. Okay?” He nodded, still wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen on him.

I turned to Zoey. “What about you?”

“Vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.” Her eyes grew wide, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Okay, one chocolate and one vanilla. With rainbow sprinkles,” I said before turning around to get to work.

“And a strawberry too.”

My body froze and my heart lurched as Jude’s deep voice sent chills over my back and arms. I hadn’t expected him to join us, but I was secretly thrilled he had. I wouldn’t tell him that, though. I took in a deep breath as I nodded without turning around to face him. I needed just a few more minutes to calm my nerves and stop my hands from trembling. I stood with my back to them as I slowly mixed each shake and only turned around long enough to grab the cups to pour the mixtures into.

Once each had their shakes, I grabbed the whipped cream and assorted sprinkles and turned to fully face them. I could feel Jude’s eyes on me, but I concentrated on the kids instead. I tipped the can of whipped cream upside down, pressed the nozzle, and topped off each cup. Zoey of course got the rainbow sprinkles, just as she asked for, and Matthew and Jude went with the chocolate flakes. I watched as Matthew imitated Jude’s every move as his uncle shook the sprinkles evenly onto his shake. Once they’d added the sprinkles, the kids dug in.

Jude held his spoon over the top of his shake and twisted it around between his fingers. As the seconds ticked by, I became more and more nervous.

“I really am sorry for the way I’ve treated you,” he said in a low tone. The kids were so consumed with their sugary treats that they were completely oblivious to anything else. “I am grateful for what you did for my family. I know you didn’t have to.” He lifted his eyes to meet mine.

His stare always did things to my senses. I tried to swallow past the dryness in my throat.

“You didn’t have to put your life on hold to take care of them,” he said.

“I wanted to.” I shrugged and looked back at Matthew and Zoey. “Nothing I did while you were in the hospital, or even after you got out, was because I felt sorry for any of you. It wasn’t charity. It was because I care.”

Too many emotions were hitting me all at once, and I needed some space. “I need to go check on my tables,” I said in a rush and didn’t stick around long enough to wait for his reply.

Chapter Eight

Jude

I showed up for work three days ago only to be turned away. Jett was up to something, and it was pissing me off that he wouldn’t share what was going on. But that wasn’t the only weird thing happening. For two days I’d seen contractors walking around the apartment building, and when I asked what they were doing, they said the property had been purchased by new owners and they would be remodeling and renovating.

On day three when I was just about to flip my shit, I looked out my front door to find Easton standing next to two men, pointing up and waving his hands.

I threw the door open and marched across the front lawn, not caring that I was only wearing a pair of sweats.

“What the fuck is going on, Easton?” I barked. I was done with everyone’s elusive behavior, and I wanted some damn answers.

“Well, good morning to you too, sunshine,” he said with a smile, and if I knew it wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass, I would have wiped that fucking grin off his face. Instead, I arched a brow and waited for him to explain. “Well, I just bought this place, and now—”

“You what?” I snapped as I took another step toward him.

“You heard me.”

“Un-fucking-believable.” I ran my hand through my hair in irritation and turned around to walk back toward my apartment. I was two seconds from igniting, and I had to stop myself before I did something I could never take back. Inside, I slammed my front door and hung my head.

“What the hell, Jude? My head is killing me,” Katelynn groaned from the bed in the center of my living room. She looked so tired. Today would be a bad day because we were going to visit her doctor. Each time we went, her prognosis only became harder to absorb. You could be told that someone only had so much time left. You could hear it a million times, but nothing would ever prepare you for the day it actually happens. I knew that day was coming, and I also knew it would destroy me and the kids.

I walked straight over to her and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry, Kate,” I whispered, and she patted my arm. “I’m gonna finish getting ready, then we’ll head out.”

After I was dressed and the kids were ready, I took them next door to Mrs. Reames. Easton was still there when I wheeled Katelynn outside and started to load her in the car. He folded the wheelchair and placed it in the trunk before walking around to meet me at the driver’s door.

“I’m not sorry I bought this place. And I’m not going to apologize for wanting to make it livable. I also won’t apologize for adding on to the unit on the opposite end and making it twice its size.” When I glared at him, he didn’t even flinch.

“And when I hand you the keys to that unit, I won’t apologize then, either. So you can fight me on it, bitch and moan like it’s gonna make a difference, but it ain’t gonna mean shit. I do what I want, when I fucking want, because I want to. Not for any other reason. You can try to put a label on what I am doing here, but in the end, I did it because I fucking can.”

He slapped his hand on my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze before walking toward his own vehicle to leave.

***

“The last round of tests show that the radiation treatment didn’t do as we’d hoped,” Dr. Jess began. “In fact, the results show that the cancer has only—”

“—it’s only gotten worse,” Kate finished. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.

He nodded. “I’m afraid so. We could do another round.”

“No,” Katelynn replied without hesitation.

“Katelynn,” I said, turning to face her. She couldn’t be serious. I mean, we had to at least try.

“I can’t do it again, Jude. I got so sick—you remember, you were there. I can’t do that to the kids again, not anymore. I don’t want the last memories they have of me to be me being so sick I can’t even lift my head.”

“So you’re giving up?” My words came out in a whisper.

“No,” she replied. “I’m choosing to live. Whatever time I have left, I would rather spend making memories my children will have forever than being so damn sick I sleep every minute of every day.”

I couldn’t accept it. I refused to. I sat in the chair next to her as the doctor proceeded to give us her prognosis. Hearing him talk about how her cancer had progressed over the last few years only made the lump in my chest grow. I knew her time was limited, and I felt myself becoming more tense and agitated with each moment that passed.

When we left the doctor’s office, we drove home in silence. I was afraid to speak. I could feel myself breaking down and knew that when I erupted, I needed to be alone.

As we pulled up to the apartment and I hurried to get her inside, she watched me in silence.

Once I put her in the recliner and the controller was within her reach, I quickly excused myself to go next door.

Mrs. Reames opened the door, and her smile fell instantly. “What is it?” When her eyes filled with tears, it was more than I could take.

“I need some time.” My throat burned as I blinked back the tears. “Can you keep an eye on them? I just need some air.”

“Of course.” She nodded, and I wasted no time before turning around and breaking out into a jog.

The longer I ran, the more my chest burned. I wiped away the first tear angrily as it fell. But when they began to come harder and faster, I didn’t try to stop them as I fell to my knees in the grass. I was far enough away from the apartment that I knew I had privacy, so I gave in to the heartache I had been fighting since I heard the doctor say we should begin to prepare for the end.

The end. How the fuck do you prepare for something like that?