Page 27 of Brew
“Like what?” I whisper.
She shrugs. “He wanted to settle down.”
I’m shocked to my very core. Playing along, I tuck my hair behind my ears as I lean closer to her. “No way?”
She nods. “Yeah, you’d never think it, right? But he always wanted a bunch of kids. Brew may not look it, but deep down inside him, he’s a family man. Look at what he’s done for his brothers, the MC, forme.Not that I deserve it because I have thrown it back in my cousins’ faces on more than one occasion.” Her cheeks flush slightly. “The point is, Valencia wanted to travel and see things, and he thinks if he’d gone with her, she never would’ve been kidnapped.”
Oh, my god, the torture he must still be going through. And then the realization thathe always wanted a bunch of kids?
I gape at her. “Nobody could have known that.”
“Try telling him that. Not sure if you’ve realized, but he’s a little pig-headed.”
“I’ve noticed,” I say. “But he is an extremely generous boss. He may be a little… on the grumbly side at times, but he’s been good to me.”
Nova narrows her eyes. “Uh-oh.”
My eyebrows rise in surprise. “Uh-oh, what?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just I’ve seen that look before when it comes to Brew.”
“What look?”
“That cow eyed look.”
I snort. “I don’t have cow eyes, I just feel bad for him. That’s natural after what you just told me. I respect him for taking care of his family, and the MC, that’s all.”
“Right.”
Great. This is all I need — another person teasing me about Brew. Nobody really knows the extent of my little crush, and that’s all it is. A crush. Stupid. Juvenile. The way I don’t even shudder when I imagine him taking someone’s life for hurting his girl. I see reason. I see justice. And for that I should go to church and pray. It isn’t natural. My faith may have been questioned in recent years, but have I really fallen so far that I’d overlook him killing people? Even if it isn’t cold blood, it’s still murder.
“Respectfully, we probably shouldn’t be talking like this anyway. Brew is my boss, and I respect him and Haze for what they’ve done for me. Without this job, I don’t know where I’d be, and the club found me a place to live.” They’re a real family, not like the family I thought I belonged to years ago.
“That I can agree on. If they like you, they’ll help you. If they don’t, you’d be at the bottom of the bayou by now.” I balk as she laughs and adds, “just kidding.”
I don’t want to go into all the jokes about what the MC does with the people who cross them, or who have wronged the club. All I know is the alligators are well fed, and that’s all I need to know.
“So,” I say after a few moments. It’s time to get off the subject of her family and the MC. “Do you plan on sticking around for a while?”
She sighs. “I don’t know. I could probably find a job easily enough with Brew and Haze’s help…”
“Or you could be proactive and give them a reason to hire you?”
Her eyebrows raise. “What do you mean?”
I don’t believe in handouts for free, not when a girl like Nova is clearly smart, headstrong and looks like she has a good heart. But relying on her cousins to keep bailing her out is an excuse. One she seems to be using when things go bad. “Well, they’ve been talking about hiring someone else to take the load off here. I don’t know how that would go down, but by standing on your own two feet and showing them you’re capable might make them take it seriously.”
Instead of getting annoyed and telling me to mind my own business — which she has every right to do — she looks away and begins to think. “You’re right. They don’t take me seriously because they’re always bailing me out of my messes. I mean, I could start fresh in NOLA. I can see myself here.” She brightens, looking hopeful as she smiles and hugs herself. “I could be your assistant?”
I chuckle. “Heck knows I could do with one. Maybe it would sound better coming from me? I could suggest it to them, rather than you asking for a job. Sometimes it’s better to let them think it’s their idea. In the meantime, you could help out around here and show you’re committed.”
She blinks. “You’d put in a good word for me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’ve kept me company today, and helped me out with those files and tidied up the lunchroom without even being prompted. You saw how buried I was and didn’t hesitate to jump in.”
“Thanks, Erica, I’m glad someone around here sees my worth.”
I smile. “Others will, too. You just have to keep showing up. Put the past in the past.”
