Page 25 of Just This Once

When she flicks her eyes open once again, I lift my coffee to my mouth. “You’re gonna have to define that one for me.”

“Unable to be reformed.”

I waggle my eyebrows. “Accurate.”

She can’t hide the tremor of her lips, and I take it as a win, moving to step into the room, but I hear a muffled yell from downstairs. “La migra!”

Taryn whips her head toward the window, before running past me. “You know all the workers?”

I follow her down the hall. “Yeah.”

“You know who’s undocumented?”

“No.”

“Get anyone out of here who might be,” she says, flying down the stairs, catching the two officers before they can enter her building, one hand on the door, the other on her hip. All the panic in her voice is gone as she straightens her spine and lifts her head. “Hi there. How can I help you today?”

I rush back to the kitchen, noticing Raf is gone, but a handful of other workers are jockeying for space to see what’s going on with Taryn. I turn, interested myself, and silently pump my fist as she blocks the door. “Rafael Parilla? I don’t know who that is.”

I don’t hear what the ICE officers are saying, but she stands her ground, a spine of steel.

“No, I’m sorry,” she says, loud enough that I think anyonein a three-block radius can hear. “You gentlemen cannot come in without a warrant.”

Behind me, the workers murmur. They’re proud of her too.

“We need to look around,” one of them says, but Taryn doesn’t budge because she’s a fucking rock star. Although I can’t merely stand here anymore when they shift, attempting to get inside.

And, no. Nope. Not happening.

I clomp across the floor, making each step in my work boots heavier than it needs to be, so I pull their attention. It’s two older white guys, decked out like they’re going to war as opposed to standing on the porch of a century-old home in the middle of West Chester, PA, “a charming small town with a historic downtown,” according to the pamphlet on Taryn’s desk. I fold my arms over my chest, making myself as big as possible behind her. “You heard the boss. No warrant, no entry.”

They look me up and down and back away, narrowing their gaze on Taryn. The taller of the two juts his finger at her. “We’ll be back. With a warrant.”

My first instinct is to jump in front of her, but she wiggles her fingers at them, a sarcastic smile gracing her face. “Nice seeing you, fellas. Have the day you deserve.” Then she slams the door on them, muttering, “Motherfuckers.”

A moment passes before she lifts her focus to me. “That was…”

“Fucking awesome,” I finish for her, grinning. “You were incredible.”

She laughs, a shaky sound, and walks past me to the check-in desk, and I tell all the guys in the kitchen to take five, leaving Taryn and me alone. She plops down in the chair and yanks open a drawer to find a bag of mixed gummy candies. She rips it open and plucks out two gummy worms. She sticks onebetween her teeth, stretching it until it breaks in half, and I don’t know why I find that so hot.

She’s welcome to bite me and break me in half anytime.

Catching me staring, she holds out the bag. “Want some?”

I shake my head. I don’t really feel like eating at the moment, too nauseated about what just happened. “You’ve got your own candy drawer.”

“For emergencies.” Then she stuffs another worm into her mouth and takes another three. “I have a bad habit of eating without thinking, so I have to hide it. Otherwise, I’d eat a pound of this a day, and I don’t have the money to support a candy addiction.”

I make a mental note of the Gray’s Candy label and decide I’ll stop by to make sure she’s always stocked up. I check my phone—for what, I don’t know—but my nerves are jangled.

Taryn seems okay, at least, going ham on the poor worms. But I can only guess it’s her stress relief. After a while, she turns to me. “You know Rafael well?”

I nod and sit on the edge of the desk, close enough that her foot rests against my calf when she crosses her legs. I don’t move. Neither does she.

“I’ve known him for years. He’s in his forties, married with kids. His wife, Carla, works in healthcare. She’s a home care nurse, I think.”

Taryn nods, swallowing another piece of candy. “He’s the guy doing the electrical work?”

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