Page 14 of Claiming What's Mine

“If we can make one to replace hers, why don't we just make one for ourselves? I have my mom's recipe, and I'm sure I have everything at home for it.”

“Because, it's not the same. You won't understand until you try it.” Waving her off, I went back to scouting the store. “It's fine, I do this all the time, I promise.”

Blue gave me a strained smile, her eyes saying she wasn't sure she should believe me. But I was pretty convincing, I knew that. I might not have been good at math or history, but the art of persuasion I could ace with my eyes shut.

“I don't believe you, if you did this all the time, we wouldn't be sneaking around. We'd be able to walk in and just ask.”

Damn it, Blue, just stop asking questions already!

“Will you just trust me, I know what I'm doing.” Taking a peek at the window, I whispered over my shoulder. “You're going to go in and start asking her questions about that dumb goat picture hanging over her cash register. All you have to do is keep her talking. Sound easy enough?”

“Wearegoing to make her another one, I don't like the idea of just taking it. I don't steal, and neither should you.”

“This isn't stealing, it's pie. It's not like it's money or something.”

Poking my side, Blue gave me a serious look. “Don't be a jerk, stealing is stealing. When it's not yours and you take it, it's stealing.”

“We're not stealing, it's more like borrowing. I promise, we'll make another one to replace it.”

Blue had book smarts, she could tell you all the presidents in order and what every symbol on the periodic table stood for, but sometimes, and mostly with me, she lacked the ability to read bullshit, even if it was staring her right in the face.

And there were a lot of times where I just talked with a mouth full of shit. Like right then, I had no plans on making another pie, but I'd tell her that later.

Or maybe she was just naive, maybe she didn't want to see me for the person I really was. It was possible she wanted to believe that I was a good person, that I'd do the right thing. I just wasn't that kid. No one gave a shit about me, so why should I care about anyone else?

“Jayden—” her voice had a motherly ring to it as she tilted her head and glared at me.

“Alright, I'm sorry.” Glancing at the window that looked straight into Mrs. Vicki's store, I could see her speaking with a customer and showing them the fresh donuts she had made that morning. “You know what, ask her about the apple donuts she made instead, she could talk for hours about those donuts.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“Don't worry about what I'm going to do, the less you know, the better. I just need you to focus on keeping her busy.”

Blue veered her stare, tipping her head to look up at me. “You're really planning on doing this, aren't you? You're just going to go in there and steal it?”

“What?No, I explained this all ready.”

“You know you're better than this, Jayden Henry, and you know it's wrong. I don't want any part of this, not if you're just snatching it.”

“What?”Flicking my eyes around hers briefly, I looked back at the buildings, trying to keep an eye on the strip of stores. “I'm not stealing it, we're going to replace it, remember?”

“Jay, I don't—”

“I promise you, it'll be fine, she won't even notice.”

“If we get in trouble—”

Holding up my hand, I cut her off. “If we get in trouble, I'll take the fall for all of it, alright?”

Blue nodded, standing up straight and adjusting her dress. “You bet your ass.”

“Did you just. . .”

“Swear?” she asked, cocking her head over her shoulder. “Yeah, you heard me right, I might have a pastor for a father, but I know a thing or two about cuss words.” Lifting her chin higher, she ran her hands over her head, flattening her hair. “Now don't make me regret this.”

Blue looked both ways, checking for cars, then darted across the road like a very proper young lady. She held her dress down with both hands so it didn't blow up, her feet skimming across the asphalt as if she was floating.

Giving me one last look over her shoulder, I heard the bell jingle as she pulled the door open and went inside. Mrs. Vicki was behind the counter, filling the glass display with fresh desserts and pastries.

---