Page 45 of Side Hustle
I pushed her hair behind her back and traced the shell of her ear. She was so tiny, and yet had so much strength. “May I take you to breakfast at Forty-Diner?”
It was a simple question, but loaded with meaning. You didn’t go out to breakfast at Forty-Diner as a couple unless you were officially a couple. Us going there this morning would mean being official in the eyes of the whole town.
Hazel’s mouth tipped up at the corners and her eyes came alive. “Are you trying to make me your girlfriend, Rip Bennett?”
I stepped in closer, my hand going to her waist, my gaze not leaving hers. Her warm coffee mug pressed against my bare stomach. “If you’ll have me.”
The smile faded off her face and my heart dropped. “Not dressed like that. Go in shirtless and all the women under sixty will want my boyfriend. I’m not in the mood to get in a fight today.” She poked me in the stomach and I flinched, heart soaring back up. She was teasing me.
“Yes, ma’am.” I kissed her, gentle and sweet.
She pulled back and smiled at me shyly. Fuck, she was perfect.
I ended up getting dressed in record time, not wanting to give Hazel too much free time to rethink her decision. We took my beat-up old truck into town and she waited for me to come around and help her down once we’d parked. I sucked in a deep breath and laced my fingers through hers. There was no going back now and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Hazel smiled up at me and my chest puffed up with pride. I tugged her down the sidewalk, kicking the fallen leaves that were scattered along every surface of Auburn Hill.
“Mornin’,” Clyde said as he passed us, dressed in his uniform of faded overalls.
It was just a regular morning in Auburn Hill and yet it felt so different with Hazel by my side. Like the sunshine had dialed up a notch. Chief Waldo came strolling by and I caught my breath. I didn’t want to have a conversation about my father yet. This morning was too good to ruin with talk about him. Thankfully, Waldo merely gave us a nod as he passed on his way to Coffee for his daily donut. Hazel squeezed my hand, her quiet encouragement everything I needed.
When we got to the door of Forty-Diner, I pulled it open and held it for her. She winked at me and went to step in when someone rudely rushed out, almost clipping her on the shoulder.
“Excuse me,” the guy grumbled as an afterthought.
All my good feelings about the day crashed and burned when I realized it was my father. He straightened and glanced back at us, doing a double take.
Keep walking, keep walking.
Nope. The bastard stopped in his tracks and whirled around. My insides froze. This couldn’t be happening. Not today. Not right now. My father’s face lit up in that way of his that spelled trouble. Hazel sucked in a loud breath and crowded into my side.
“What’s this I see? My son taking a girl out to breakfast and not even saying hello to his father?” He smiled and tilted his head, like he was waiting for a greeting. He’d be waiting a long time.
His face hardened in the silence. “Nothing’s changed, I see. Still just a simple boy. Too stupid to handle the gold you found. This town needs someone responsible and experienced to handle that kind of discovery.” He glanced between Hazel and me. “Not the town jokes.”
Anger like I’d never felt before made me feel like my head might blow right off. I stepped closer, only an inch of air between me and my father. He and I were the same height now, and while he’d always been strong, I had youth on my side. The flicker of doubt in his gaze was the only thing that held my fist back from crashing into his smug face.
“Talk about me all you want, but don’t you dare talk about her.” The words were ripped from my throat like shards of glass.
His eyes narrowed, but he swallowed hard. “You’re making a fool of yourself traipsing around with—”
My arm cocked back and I would have let my fist fly had Hazel not wedged herself between us, the top of her head barely coming to our chests.
“That’s enough!” Hazel shouted. She turned her steely gaze to my father. “What kind of man picks a fight with his son? How about you worry about your own relationships before you criticize Rip, huh?”
My father blinked repeatedly, not quite knowing what to do with Hazel.
“Everything okay here?”
All three of our heads swiveled to see Bobby, the prison guard, looking at us like we’d lost our minds. Hazel was the first to speak, her voice snapping with energy.
“No. We are not okay here. The mayor is antagonizing us while we were trying to enjoy a peaceful breakfast. Could you call Chief Waldo, please?” Then she elbowed me in the gut. Hard.
That’s right. Our plan.
Straightening up tall, I tamped down the anger and focused on the plan Hazel and I had gone over just yesterday. This was no time to fall into old patterns and slink away quietly. No more. Never again. I hadn’t intended to initiate the plan this soon, but my father left me with no choice.
“I suggest you stick around. You’re going to want to listen to what I have to say.” I winked at him, a surge of something powerful filling me with courage. “I know that’s a foreign concept for you, but I guarantee these ‘town jokes’ are worth your time.”
