Mabe's Burden (23 page)

“
Wow, it got busy there for
a while, but it’s slowing down. The game’s over, so people are
starting to leave.”

“
Yeah, I should be able to
handle it from here.” He frowned, concerned about her faded color
and tired eyes. “Thanks, Meg. Go on home, get some rest.” His head
swiveled to Mara. “Both of you.”

“
Don’t order me around like
I’m some kind of line cook. This is
my
family’s restaurant. I’ll leave
when I damn well please,” she snapped.

“
Mara,” Meg chastised.
“Don’t be so hateful. He was just saying he can manage it. I have
to admit, I’m out of steam.” She pulled the apron over her head,
hung it on the peg. “Do you want to come with?” she asked her
sister.

“
I’ll clean up my mess here
and meet you at home in a little while.”

“
Okay. Don’t you two start
picking at each other. You can hear it in the dining room. I’ll go
tell Susan I’m leaving.”

Mara glanced at Jake. He shrugged. “As
you so aptly put it, it’s your restaurant. You can do what you
want.”

She stamped her foot. A sigh escaped
her lips. “Okay, I’m sorry. You do a good job. We all appreciate
you being here.”

He leaned moved next to her, placing
one hand on the counter. “But I’m still the hired help,
right?”

She squared her shoulders, lifted her
chin. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“
It’s
exactly
what you meant,” he
challenged, leaning closer. “From the time you stepped foot in
here, it’s been more than clear what you think of me. It’s okay,
though. I don’t give a damn what your opinion of me is, but I love
that little lady upstairs like family. Her father, son of a bitch
he might have been at times, gave me a chance when no one else
would. This pub is a part of me too, and you’re going to have one
hell of a time pushing me out of it.’

She gave an indignant snort. “Well…I
guess you’ve pissed on your territory, but let me tell you
something. I might not have been around very much in the last ten
years, but she’s my sister, and I love her. She needs help, which
I’m going to give to her. If you get in my way, I’ll mow you over.
I haven’t worked in multiple diners with a bunch of cocky male
chefs, and not learned how to piss on my own territory. Don’t test
me. I’ll win.”

“
Damn it. I’m not here to
fight with you. We just worked for over an hour in complete
harmony. All I’m saying is don’t treat me like someone you drug in
off the street. I’ve got as much right to this kitchen as you do.
Not long before Shane died he asked me to look after Shenanigans
and Mabe if anything ever happened to him. He knew he was in
trouble, that he’d crawled into bed with some bad people. I’ve a
responsibility, and I’m going to live up to it.”

Mara wiped her hands with a nearby
towel. “Fine. I apologize for my comments, but not for who I am.
These are my sisters. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them,
too. If it means mowing you down, don’t think I won’t hesitate to
do it.”

He sighed. This little standoff wasn’t
getting them anywhere. She was right about one thing—he only worked
at Shenanigans. Ultimately, it would be her decision if she decided
to let him go, so he decided not to push it. He’d said what he
wanted to say. He turned to sink, running it full of hot
water.

Someone pounded on the rear
door.

“
What the hell?” Mara
exclaimed.

Jake put a hand on her arm. “Let me get
it.”

She opened her mouth to protest. He
gave her a pointed stare, and she snapped it shut. She moved to the
side allowing him to pass in front of her.

He went to the door, peered out the
tiny hole. “It’s Shaw.”

“
Oh, boy.” She joined him at
the door. “Is he drunk?”

“
Hard to tell.”

“
Let him in before Mabe
hears him.”

He nodded, pulling open the door. Aaron
rushed in past him.

“
Where is she?” he
demanded.

Jake raised an eyebrow. He took in the
man’s disheveled appearance, his red-rimmed eyes. He was taking
this hard, poor sap. Jake sniffed but didn’t smell alcohol. He had
to give the guy credit for not going somewhere to get soused before
showing up on the bar’s doorstep. His gaze rested on Aaron’s face.
He struggled to stifle a grin.

“
Wow,” he commented. “Mabe
wasn’t kidding when she said she took a swing at you.
Ouch.”

“
Funny, asshole. Where is
she?”

He placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder.
“Calm down, man. You know she doesn’t want to see you right
now.”

“
I need to talk to
her.”

“
Aaron,” Mara spoke up.
“Just give her some time. She’ll come around eventually, but she’s
feeling betrayed and hurt. Go on back to Hope’s. I’ll call you
tomorrow once I get a chance to talk to her. She doesn’t want to
see me any more than she wants to see you.”

“
She didn’t give me a chance
to explain. The situation is not what she thinks it is. Damn it.”
He struck his thighs with his fists, then drew himself to his full
height, chin up. “I’m not who she thinks I am.”

Mara raised an eyebrow.

“
I mean, I’m not connected
to the mob. Toreni is my uncle, but I’ve spent the last several
years of my life trying to protect some of the people who get into
his debt. I’ve also been working on keeping my mother separated
from the likes of him. I need to explain. She needed to hear this
from me.”

“
Well, that ship has sailed,
boyo,” she stated.

Jake frowned, putting a hand on her
arm. “Hang on, Mara.”

She whirled to face him, but he only
shook his head at her. Aaron’s expression depicted a man who was
hurting in his own right. The man was miserable. If Jake didn’t
know better, he’d say the guy was in love with their Mabe. He
wasn’t sure how the situation would turn out, but if there was any
hope for the guy, he’d have to get her to listen to him. From what
he’d seen earlier, when he’d held the crying woman in his arms, it
wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

“
Aaron, look.” Jake placed a
hand on the man’s shoulder. “The only thing I’ll say is you
should’ve come clean earlier.” He dropped a glance at Mara. “All of
you should’ve. What’s hurt the most is she was the last one to
know. She’s never trusted easily, and this was probably the worst
thing you could have done to her. But—” He held up a finger when
Mara started to protest. “—our girl has a big heart. She can
forgive. She’s just not in any shape to even think about it right
now. Go home. Give her some time. When she’s ready, she’ll hear you
out.”

“
You don’t understand. I’ve
got to explain to her I didn’t lie. I want her to know I’m trying
to protect her, not hurt her.”

“
I believe you, dude, but I
promise you if I let you up those stairs, she’ll throw everything
I’ve got in my apartment at you. I really value my stuff too much.
Just go home. I’ll talk to her, and maybe in a few weeks, she’ll be
ready.”

“
A few
weeks
?” Aaron was incredulous. “It
can’t wait a few weeks. There are things she needs to know about my
uncle. Things which could hurt her. Damn it, why is she so
stubborn? If she’d just sold the damn bar to me, this would be
over. Then it wouldn’t even matter who I really am.”

“
It always matters who you
really are,” Mara spoke softly. “Don’t ever fool yourself on that
one. You should have told her early on, even before we found out.
This is a big deal.”

He hung his head. “I know. No one has
ever mattered that much to me before. I didn’t want to lose her,
but I guess I’ve screwed it up anyway.”

She guided him to the back door. “Go
home. I’ll call you if things change.”

His shoulders slumped. Without another
word, he exited into the alley and walked away.

Mara went back into the kitchen,
pushing the door closed. She glanced at the stairs.

“
Don’t even think about it,”
Jake warned.

She spun to face him. “Look, you
Neanderthal, she’s my sister. If I want to go up to see her, I
will. And there’s not a bloody thing you can do to stop
me.”

“
Watch me,” Jake ground out
between clenched teeth.

Her eyes widened, but she kept her
mouth shut. She set both hands on her hips. “Let’s get back to
work. Someone’s got to serve those people out there.”

Chapter
Nineteen

Aaron entered the inn’s kitchen. Hope
was there, baking for the next day’s arrivals. She stopped slipping
the spatula under the warm cookies to study him.

“
What’s wrong with you? You
look like you’ve lost your best friend.”

“
Yeah, that’s close
enough.”

Hope scooped three chocolate chip
cookies on a plate and handed them to him. “Here, sit down. I’ll
get you some milk. You can tell me all about it.”

“
Thanks, Hope, but that’s
okay. I’d rather be alone.” He set the plate on the counter, but
Hope picked it up, shoved it into his stomach.

“
Nope. I won’t take no for
an answer. Sit down,” she ordered.

He smiled. “Yes ma’am. Wow, these are
still warm.”

Hope grabbed two glasses, poured the
milk, and joined him at the table. She snatched a cookie from the
tray. “Okay, spill it. Does this have to do with Mabe?”

Aaron nodded. “I’m afraid I’ve really
screwed up this time.”

Hope placed her hand on his. “Tell me
what happened.”

“
She found out who I really
am. I’d planned to tell her everything tonight at dinner, but
somehow, thanks to her sisters, she discovered who my real family
is. Boy is she pissed.”

Hope drew her brows together, frowning.
“This sounds bad. Who are you?”

“
Rocko Toreni’s my uncle.
He’s the man—”

“
Mabe owes money to,” Hope
finished with him.

He nodded miserably. “Yep. I’m the
nephew of a mobster.”

Hope took a bite of cookie, chewed
thoughtfully. “Wow. Okay, I can see where that’s a problem. Why
didn’t you tell her?”

“
I wanted to tell her. I
really did. But it just never seemed like the right time. If she’d
just sold me the pub, I could have saved her a lot of heartache.
This would all be over. I’d be gone.”

“
Really? Would you have just
left if she’d sold the pub to you?”

Aaron held her gaze with his.
“No.”

“
You love her, don’t you?”
It was a statement, not a question.

“
Yeah. I know we’ve only
been together for a short time, but no one has ever reached right
through to my soul the way she does. I know it sounds corny, Hope,
but I can’t stop thinking about her. I know I’ve hurt her, and
believe me, I so didn’t want to. But how do I tell someone I’m
falling in love with the very man who’s trying to take her pub away
from her is my uncle, the loan shark? No matter what I might have
done or not done, I was still going to lose on this
deal.”

“
True,” Hope agreed. “But I
will say had she found out from you, it might have hurt but not so
much.”

He shoved a hand through his hair.
“Don’t you think I know that?” He chomped on a cookie. The warm
chewy chocolaty goodness melted in his mouth. “Hey, these are
awesome.”

“
Nothing cures a hurting
soul better than a chocolate chip cookie.”

He smiled. “I hate to tell you this,
but it’s not working.”

She laughed. “Give it time.” She rose
to finish dishing cookies off the sheet pan. “Listen, you need to
go write her a love letter. Write down all your feelings for her
and why you kept your identity a secret. Tell her the absolute
truth. Give it to me in a sealed envelope, and I’ll take it over to
her in a few days. I’ve loved having you as a guest, but you need
to go on back to wherever home is to give this some
time.”

“
I really wanted to hang
around to see if her loan goes through. If she doesn’t, Rocko’s not
going to be happy. If they don’t have the money in another week and
a half, I don’t know what he’ll do. He enjoys hurting
people.”

Hope shivered. “I’ll try to find out
from Mabe what happens with the loan. I promise I’ll call you. She
doesn’t want to see you anyway, and if I know her, she can stay mad
for several weeks. You need to just be out of sight to give her
time to settle all this in her mind. I’m sure she’ll see the truth
soon enough.”

“
I hope you’re
right.”

“
Can I ask you
something?”

“
Sure.”

“
What’s to keep your uncle
from coming after you, if he thinks you’re trying to help
her?”

“
As long as he gets his
money, he doesn’t care, but what worries me in this case is she
won’t let me help her.”

Hope put another sheet of cookies in
the oven. “I warned you she could be stubborn.”

“
Oh, she is,” he agreed,
shoving another cookie in his mouth. He chewed and then took a
swallow of milk. “I just pray she gets her loan.”