Page 5 of Healer’s Betrayal

I’m up early the next morning. Renee texts me when she arrives, and I let her in. “Thank you,” I tell her quietly. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I work the early shift. Renee comes over to watch Noah, so he doesn’t have to get up that early. I’m grateful for her. She was one of the first people I met when I moved here. Noah and I met her a few weeks after we settled here. She’s the only person I’ve allowed to see where we actually live, and that’s just out of necessity. She found out about my early mornings and volunteered to watch Noah; it was too good an offer to turn down.

She shuts the door quietly. “I brought donuts.” She slides them onto the table.

That solves the worry I had about what they’d eat for breakfast. I force away my worry about money and smile at Renee. “Thank you. Seriously.”

She simply raises a brow. “You’re going to be late. Seriously.”

I smile and wave. “See you. I’ll bring back lunch.”

“Go.”

I slip out quietly into the hallway and make my way down both sets of stairs. I crack the door open and breathe a sigh of relief when I don’t see the guys from last night. I walk the few blocks to where Jessie thinks I live and walk towards her as soon as I see her car. “Good morning,” she says in a sing-song voice as I climb into the passenger seat.

As soon as I’m buckled, she starts forward. “How do you have so much energy first thing in the morning?” I ask.

“Caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine. I already had two cups of coffee at home this morning.”

I smile despite myself and try to wake myself up to face this day. She turns on the music after that, and neither of us say a whole lot for the rest of the drive. She parks the farthest she can from the door, and we head toward the restaurant. It’s not actually open yet, so we knock on the back door and wait for someone to open it for us. Butch holds the door for us, and we hurry inside, ready to get to work. It will take us the entire hour to prep the restaurant and food to be ready to open at seven. The kitchen staff will already have been here since five, and the baking staff even earlier than that. “Morning, Butch,” I tell him as I follow him to the kitchen.

“Mornin’.” He pushes open the door to the kitchen and disappears. Jessie and I both grab one of Mama May’s flower aprons and tie them around our waists before walking out into the main part of the restaurant to prep for opening.

“Kayla,” Mama May calls out before I can get there. “My office.”

I stop and turn towards her, but she’s already disappeared behind the swinging door that leads to the kitchen. I face Jessie, but she just shrugs. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

The swinging door opens again. “Jessie, you too.” Mama May disappears as soon as she says the words.

Now, it’s Jessie’s turn to be surprised. “Guess we’d better go see what she wants,” I say as I start towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, I guess if we’re going to get fired, we may as well get fired together,” Jessie says.

“You’re not getting fired,” Butch says in a huff, but I’m not sure I should trust him. He’s as close to Mama May as anyone, but even he can’t control what she does. She's her own person. I lead the way to Mama May’s office and knock on her closed door.

“Come in.”

I open the door and step inside, and Jess follows me. I haven’t been in here since I got hired. I remember how nervous I was that day and how desperate. That was close to two months ago now. I so appreciate this job and really hope we’re not getting fired. “Sit,” Mama May says without looking up at us. She’s working on a bill or something she’s holding up in letter form. I feel Jess’s eyes on me as I sit, and I try to give her a reassuring smile. I absently wonder if this is about my car; I really hope not because I refuse to take Jessie down with me. Jessie’s been working here longer than I have, and I don’t want her to lose her job just because I have an unreliable car and she’s been helping me.

“If this is about my car, I’m going to get it fixed,” I finally say after what feels like forever.

Mama May lowers the paper she’s holding, so she can look over at me. “What about your car?”

“Just that it’s in the shop again. But like I told you yesterday, it won’t interfere with my work.”

Her eyes meet mine. “Good. See that it doesn’t.” Her words are verbatim from yesterday.

She moves the paper again, so that her face is covered. “So, are we good? Was that it?” I ask.

She finally lowers the letter to her desk and looks over at us. Her eyes bounce between the two of us before they land on me. “A man was here last night looking for you.”

Her words could not have shocked me more. Then, they register. A man. I’m already on my feet, panic coursing through me. “I have to get Noah.”

“Kayla, stop.” Mama May’s words are just shy of harsh. “Nobody told them anything.”

My brain stumbles over the words, and I turn around. “Them?”

“There were two men, actually,” she admits. My panic increases. “Neither of them match the description you gave me of your uncle.”

That manages to catch and hold my attention. “But they were looking for me?” She nods, and my panic returns. “Then they’re probably here on behalf of my uncle; I have to get to Noah.”