Page 12 of Her Avenging Angel

She shrugged. “I didn’t say I wanted something hard to do, or something that would take both arms, but I need something. Sitting around here, not being allowed to come and go as I please, is driving me crazy.” She held up one hand before he could say anything more. “I know I’m not a prisoner here and that the restrictions on my coming and going are temporary, and to make sure I’m safe, but that doesn’t make them chafe less. I need something to call my own. I need the ability to do something to earn it. I need something to help take up my time, something that’s not sitting on my ass watching the TV.”

He tilted his head to one side, biting the inside of his lips as he watched her, thinking.

“What do you think you could do?” He could see this meant something to her, so he would do his best to accommodate her, as far as he could while still making sure she wasn’t wandering around waiting for one of the Demons to spot her and kidnap her. Because he knew it would be kidnapping. She would never go with one of them voluntarily. Raven knew that much.

“I could tend bar here.” she nodded her head to the far side of the bar where they sat. “There are parts of the job that I can’t do yet, like restocking and dishes, at least not until this comes off,” she lifted the cast on her arm, then set it back down on the bar, “but it’s something to do.” She looked away, focusing on something behind the bar as she continued. “It would be a way to feel like I’m not just a charity case.”

Raven watched her for a moment, trying to decide the best course of action. After a moment he nodded.

“All right. You can do it. But I have rules.”

Her face lit in a way that made his stomach flip. He wanted to see her like that more often.

“What are the rules?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“No dishes, no lifting, at least for now, and as long as you’ve got the cast, possibly longer, depending on what Freud has to say. I won’t keep you from feeling useful, but I draw the line at you over-tiring yourself or hurting yourself.” He had to fight to keep his usual commanding tone from his voice. He had to tread carefully with Taylynn, or he’d scare her off and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I can live with that.” She hopped off the stool, not even wincing when her feet hit the floor. At least that had improved. Then she made her way to the back of the bar. “I know there’s no price list, but do you keep track of who’s drinking how much or is it free for everyone?”

“We don’t keep track. Everyone pays a flat fee every month to buy alcohol, and we buy in bulk. But paying in advance means we don’t need a liquor license. You do need to watch inventory so we can replace whatever is needed, but other than that, it’s just a serve, restock and do dishes thing. You can cook if you want, but I don’t want any of the men to start ordering you about like they expect it from you. If someone wants food and you don’t want to make it, tell one of the prospects. They can do the cooking as well as all the stuff you can’t.”

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded as if he wasn’t giving her orders but giving her something she wanted instead. And in a way, he guessed he was.

“There’s no wage for this but you can put out a tip jar. I don’t know how much you’ll make, though.”

“That’s okay. I didn’t want to do this to get paid, but I will put out the tip jar. I wanted to do this to keep busy. And to not feel so guilty when you bring me things. At least I’ll feel like I’m doing something to earn them.” She turned to survey the contents of the shelves behind the bar, getting acquainted with what they kept in stock and where it was kept.

“Little one?”

She didn’t look up.

“Look at me ... please,” Raven had to remind himself to add the last. He wasn’t used to saying please. He was used to giving orders and having them followed. It took her several seconds to look up and meet his gaze. “You don’t need to earn the things I bring you. I bring them to you so I can see you smile.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. she looked away, turning her gaze back to something below the bar. “I don’t know what to say. But thank you.” She didn’t say anything for a while, as she continued to sort through things behind the bar, even going as far as to run a sink full of hot water and dip a rag into it.

“No dishes, remember?” he reminded her.

“I know. But I can run the water and use it and a cloth to wipe things down before calling one of the guys over to wash the dishes I decide need it.” She didn’t bother looking up from where she was using the wet cloth to wipe down nearly every flat surface she could reach.

Raven watched her for several minutes, wishing he knew what to say. How to set her at ease and get her to trust him but he knew that would take time. She hadn’t learned her wariness overnight and she wouldn’t get over it that quickly either. All he could do is be patient. He didn’t know if he’d ever waited this long for a woman in his entire life.

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