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“Excellent!” He clapped his hands together and started licking his chops So, ht not be that much of a surprise But I couldn’t tell him no when he asked me so directly

I liked to bake pies Fruit pies,into savory pies, too But apple, cherry, blueberry, strawberry, those were er, my version of defiance When your parents were the ones out partying, as a teen you rebelled by staying ho At least I had

I baked for fun, but Ro pies from me, as many as I could make, whenever I could er kitchen, I thought row it into a business Maybe even open my own shop one day But for now, I contentedwith new recipes whenever I could

“Let o check and see if the coast is clear I have to doit up to your roo the stealthy creep of my movements toward the hallway

Sweets weren’t exactly verboten in the retirement community, but they were seriously frowned upon by some of the stricter nurses and doctors I understood the harar, especially for diabetic residents, but I also understood the joy thatAnd froar Candy bars manufactured in some factory that would survive a nuclear holocaust did not belong in the saar, but I also used real ingredients and a whole lot of love That had to make a difference

My wrist ached Stepping out into the hallway, I snuck aback ry purple and blackish-blue Da sleeves for the next teeks It was late January, but that didn’t mean much in Southern California Where I lived, people ran around in tank tops all year round Unless they were trying to hide bruises

“Hey, girl!” My friend and fellow nurses’ aide Maria rounded the corner, sain, but not before she’d noticed Scowling now, she shook her head “Why you with that Pendejo?”

I laughed as if she’dI also couldn’t pretend like I didn’t knohat she was talking about I didn’t speak Spanish, but I’d grown up with and noorked with enough Mexicans to know all the best sords And I knew exactly who she thought was a dumbass idiot: my husband

“I haven’t gotten to Carl yet” I pointed down three doors to his roo that way” See how skillful I could be with a subject change?

She glanced down again at ht into ht?”

“I’ain at Carl’s room

“Yeah, I got it” She exhaled heavily, disappointed in me Then she headed away

I walked in the opposite direction, relieved, upset, confused and indignant all at once Maria e atHer ex had beaten her so bad she had perht he’d smacked around their four-year-old son had been the last straw She’d packed her and her son up and filed for a restraining order and a divorce all in one She’d moved back in with her mom and never looked back

That wasn’t h and tough guy, but he wasn’t that bad He was a big brute, but you could say that about any of the Skulls When I’d first met him at 21, I’d been star-struck He’d shown up at a county fair near my hometown outside Bakersfield I’d been there witharound, bored He’d ridden up on his chopper, looking so badass, talking about how he lived down in LA, telling me I looked so pretty I should be a movie star He told etting people’s secrets If he grilled a guy, the poor SOB didn’t stand a chance

When he’d asked if I wanted to ride off on his chopper with hi other than “hell yeah!” What did I have going forWhat did he offer? I couldn’t wait to find out

Three years later, there I ith one ofthat ht that description went too far Mike got physical fro, but he had almost a hundred pounds on me It didn’t take much to leave ame how much he loved me, how he never meant to hurt me Souy do that?

I grabbed an extra blanket froht it to Mrs Grover in roo cold She had mountains of blankets and throw pillows, but her de like she was in a bare hospital roos thata blanket

“Finally, so to me!” She welcomed me with relief as I tucked the blanket around her in her chair, telling her about the sunshine outside andI could think of to connect her to the reality of day-to-day life Then I folded up the extra blanket I’d brought her the last time I’d visited and took it with me when I left

S aa wohter’s visit, I bustled around, never stopping for a moment I honestly loved my job I’d never felt so useful, so appreciated Some of the residents were cranky, of course, but I had to empathize They were in pain They were lonely I was only 24, and pain and loneliness made me cranky, too

Finally catching a moment, I retrieved my pie from the staff roo if Jax would still be visiting But I was

“There’s irl!” Ace welcomed me after my knock

“Don’t get up” I tried, to no avail He had a buttery-soft leather reclining armchair and if he was in his room he was almost certain to be in it, positioned so he could keep one eye on the TV and the other on the sliding glass door to his front patio and the community courtyard But both he and Jax stood as I entered The two of them made quite a pair, Ace with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and Jax, six-foot-three inches of dark, netic sin I could see some resemblance in their faces, but Jax stood a full head taller and had to have at least 80 extra pounds of muscle

“Hey there” I set the pie down on the counter, wishing I could control ht think I was about to go into cardiac arrest

“Let’s take a look” Ace puttered over, rubbing his hands together like a little kid as I took the pie out of the bag “Apple!”

“Your favorite, right?” I s pies, how happy they made people

“You remembered”

“You made Ace a pie?” Jax started over to us in that slow, controlled wa

y of his All power and confidence, he didn’t just walk He prowled He’d taken off his jacket and his shoulders and biceps bulged through his T-shirt He didn’t look dangerous so erous, if necessary, at a moment’s notice

“It’s apple!” Ace proclaimed it like he couldn’t believe his luck

“That’s going be good” Jax stood a mere foot or tay “I had one of your apple pies last week, you know”

“Really?” Surprised, I looked straight up into his eyes Mistake He looked atexactly the sa had ever happened, and nothing ever would We’d never even been alone together, always just saying a few friendly words to each other with his granddad as our chaperone

“I bought one of your pies at Romi’s,” Jax explained

“How did you know I sold them there?”

“Ace toldtheood”

“Thanks”

“When did you cut your hair?” Jax didn’t ask if I had, he asked when, as if he re I usually wore it His hand moved, as if he were about to reach out and touch it But then he dropped it again to his side

“A few days ago” Self-conscious, I rakedI must look awfully plain in my scrubs with the front of my hair back in a clip I barely had on any make up I’d been in his bar I knew the kind of women he usually had all around him Compared to them, I must look like a nun