Page 41 of The Devil's Scars

Chapter Eight

Zoe accepted a cup of coffee from Willa, set it carefully on the kitchen table, beyond Keira’s reach, then carried on spooning mashed bananas into her daughter’s sweet little rosebud mouth. Zoe hated bananas with a passion, and fervently wished that Keira would develop a love affair with applesauce. So far, no luck, so Zoe breathed through her mouth and avoided looking directly at the bowl.

“So,” Willa said, plunking herself down at the table with a yawn, smiled at Keira. She sipped her coffee, yawned again and glanced at the clock. “Why the actual heck are you up so early? The place opens at noon, Zee, and you’re the darn boss, and part-time to boot. Nobody to impress on your first day, girl, so why in the name of all that’s holy and right, are you getting ready to roll out of here at seven-oh-four a.m.?”

Zoe nodded at the stacks of paper on the living room coffee table. “Paperwork.”

“What about it?”

“Wolf gave me all that stuff when I took the job. It’s employee records, time tables, client lists, price lists, order forms, suppliers, projections, budgets, expenses… and so on and so on. It’s not impossibly hard, most of it, but it’s all new, and from what I can see, the parlor’s short on tons of stuff. Nobody’s done a proper inventory, either, so I want to get there early and take a look at the stock. Place some rush orders if I have to.”

“Oh, gotcha.”

“And I have a client coming at noon, and I haven’t seen the sketch they’ve left of the tattoo they want. I called Saint yesterday, and he said that it’d be in the file cabinet next to the entrance, so I need to go take a look. It could be a tiny fifty-buck job, or a full sleeve that needs eight sessions. No clue. If it’s really complex and has to be free-hand, then I need to get ready.”

“OK, boss lady.” Willa extended her hand. “Gimme the spoon. You drink your cup of energy, and haul a-s-s.”

With nothing but joy, Zoe handed the spoon towering with mushy bananas over to her friend, who made a face at Keira as she fed her. The baby giggled, made a cooing sound, lightly slapped the tray on the high chair. Zoe was full-on certain that she’d never stop being grateful for Willa’s love for Keira, for her unflinching friendship and support, for her tireless help. The truth was that if not for Willa, Zoe would have gone under a long time ago, back there in North Dakota… and as much as she hated to think about it, she’d quite possibly have dragged that sweet baby down with her as she’d done so.

“OK, so.” Zoe drank her coffee like the answer to her salvation was at the bottom of the cup. “I finish work at about three, and in between stuff, I’ll meet a few potential babysitters. Fingers crossed I find an awesome one who can maybe come over tomorrow to meet Keira. You and me can see how they are around each other, see if we trust her.”

“Huh.” Willa scowled and narrowed her angelic blue eyes. “She’s gonna have to be something amazing, Zee, for me to hand this baby over to her.”

“You know it, girl.” Zoe scowled herself. “No way I’m giving Keira to some moronic stunted twit who spends all day staring at her phone, taking duck-faced selfies, and dreaming of getting rich and famous quick with a makeup tutorial vlog.”

“Right?”

“So, yeah, I’ll keep looking until I find someone great, but it may take a while.” Zoe hesitated. “You sure you can stick around until then? I mean, I know it’s Fargo and all – but you do want to have a job to get back to.”

“It’s all sorted out.” Deftly, Willa scooped a bit of banana mush that had dribbled down Keira’s face, leaving a slimy trail down her chin. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You keep saying that,” Zoe protested. “But how is it all sorted out? Why shouldn’t I worry?”

“Because.” Willa popped the last spoonful of bleuch into Keira’s mouth, handed over her sippy cup. “I have a – ummmm – a kinda special relationship with the Costco manager.”

“No.” Zoe damn near choked on her coffee. “You mean Jimmy?”

“Yeah.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“For how long have you had this special relationship?”

“About – what? Four weeks?” Willa took the bowl over to the sink and rinsed it. “We’re just dating, Zee, nothing to get all excited about.”

“‘Just dating’?” Zoe echoed. “You haven’t ‘just dated’ anyone in… Jesus, what is it now? Like… two years? Nobody since Randy, right?”

“Argh,” Willa muttered. “Freaking Randy. And he sure as heck was, wasn’t he? With eight different women, last I heard, the lying, cheating scumbag.”

“I know, babe. He was the worst.”

“Hands down,” Willa agreed. “The worst of the worst. The worstest.”

“No argument from me, and can we get back to Jimmy now?” Zoe wiped Keira’s hands and mouth, then lifted her squirming little ray of sunshine into her arms. “And you can begin by telling me why you didn’t so much as breathe one word about you seeing him.”

“Well…” Willa fidgeted a bit. “Because – well, you’ve met him.”

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