Page 15 of Fighting for You
I step around the desk and make my way over to where Hayes’ hulking form is bent over, tattooing Archer’s forearm. It looks like he’s doing some continuation of previous work to shade parts on a full sleeve. He catches me coming from the corner of his eye and stops the tattoo gun before looking up and gracing me with a small smile.
“Hey,” I say and then turn to the man in the chair. “Hi, I’m Margot.”
“Hey, Margot,” the blond says without the usual South Carolinian accent I’m used to. “That’s a pretty name. Can’t say I’ve seen you around here before.” Dimples. The man has dimples. And yet again, my cheeks are blushing, giving away every thought in my head.
My eyes swing to my brother as he grumbles out, “You really want to start flirting with my sister when I’ve got you under the needle?” Archer’s dimples disappear quickly as his flirty smile falls away.
“Ah, shit. I’ll shut up now,” he says, and Kori cackles from her stoop at the desk.
“He was just being nice, Hayes,” I say indignantly. “You can’t keep scaring people away from me. I’ll never make any friends.” Hayes goes back to his work, the sound of the tattoo gun buzzing back to life.
“Trust me, Booger, Archer’s not trying to be your friend,” he says with a glare at the man in front of us. “You said Thea wants to hang out. Go be her friend.” His tone is flat, and annoyance flares in my chest at his dismissal. Sometimes I feel like Hayes still sees me as a child he needs to take care of.
But then I consider his suggestion. “Hmm, maybe. It seems like she has a lot going on right now. I think Cary went back to Seattle, and she’s not in a good place.”
Archer looks up and asks, “Thea’s the one who works over at RED?” I’m surprised he knows her, but then I remember there’slittle to no privacy in a town this small. No one can keep a secret in Indigo Hill. Thank goodness I live in Southbury.
“Yeah.” I sigh. “Cary’s parents left the restaurant to both of them, and it’s been a difficult transition. There’s some history there.”
“Some present too,” the lady in the next chair pipes up, her eyes wide and sparkling with conspiracy. “I hate to gossip, especially when I don’t have all of the facts, just what I’ve heard in passing.”
“So, then shut it, Tiffany,” my brother snaps in his deep rumble as he sits back and wipes at the spot he was working on before hunching over again. “No need to start rumors. You know how this town is.”
I change the subject away from Thea, knowing I wouldn’t want anyone speaking about me like this. “Why did you send Brooks to my house yesterday?” Not that I’m complaining. I had a nice time with him. The shameless flirting, the slight vulnerability—seeing a new side to him yesterday makes me think people write him off too soon. He clearly has a soft spot for his brother, despite what he wants people to think. I have a feeling his devil-may-care attitude is all one big act, and something about the look in his eyes last night makes me want to find a way for him to drop it.
“Why? What happened?” His tattoo gun shuts off as his gaze snaps to mine.
“Nothing happened,” I say, trying to calm his overprotective side. “He fixed my sink. But you could have warned me.”
“Warned you about what? How do you know Brooks?”
“Through Thea, actually. She asked me to… help him once. Does he work for you or something?” Hayes looks around, avoiding my eyes, but he catches Kori’s gaze, and they seem to have an unspoken conversation.What isn’t he telling me?
“Yeah, he’s my… handyman,” he finally says, the last word almost coming out as a question. Then, his attention is back on Archer’s arm.
“Your handyman? I thought he… okay, whatever,” I say, shaking my head, not believing him but also knowing I won’t get any more from him. “Have you gone to see Dad recently? I’m worried about him.”
Hayes scoffs. “You’ve been worried about him for twenty years. He’s fine, I saw him last week.”
“Last week? Hayes, you know he needs our help. Every time I go over there, the place looks worse and worse. What if something happened to him? He wouldn’t even be able to call for help since he never charges his cell.”
Hayes shuts off the tattoo gun and places it on his work station. “Archer, go take a break. Five minutes.” He quickly covers his forearm with saran wrap and secures it with medical tape. Archer shuffles off the table and steps into the break room in the back of the shop. Hayes covers his station with saran wrap and removes his gloves.
“Can we not do this here? I don’t need the people who work for me knowing my business.”
“We could have talked about it over lunch, but you canceled on me. Again,” I singsong, teasing him. He opens his mouth to argue, but I continue, “And I get it, you’re busy and worried about the other shop.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Okay, sure. You’re not worried. You’re just working fourteen hours a day, seven days a week because you love it so much.” He grumbles something under his breath in response, but I can’t quite make it out. “I’m here because I miss you. And if this is the only way I get to see my favorite brother, then it’s what I have to do.”
“Favorite, huh?”
I smile sweetly at him. “Favorite. Only. Same difference,” I tease him, but he knows how much I love him. Hayes is my everything. He’s been the best brother to me my entire life. But he’s also been a friend when I needed it, a father when my own couldn’t handle the responsibility, and—quite unfortunately for both of us—a health ed teacher for a few very awkward conversations when I was in middle and high school.
When our mom died, I was only two, and my dad slowly shut down and checked out. Hayes was the one to step up. I don’t remember the early years, but I can’t imagine it was easy for him to be the most responsible person in the house at fourteen years old.
He also helped me get back on my feet when I came back from Charleston with no notice. He’d known I was having a hard time at work, but I didn’t give him a heads up when I showed up on his doorstep. He took me in without a second thought.
