“And how much shit can happen when you don’t know how to take care of yourself?” Deklan holds me tighter.
“So, your solution is to keep me in a tall tower? Shouldn’t I at least have a handmaiden for company?”
“Don’t tempt me.” Deklan steps back and places his hands on my cheeks. He stares at me as he inhales deeply. “You’re not a prisoner here. I’m not going to say I like it—I don’t—but I’m not going to stop you. If you want a job, go get one.”
Relief pours through me as I reach out and wrap my arms around his neck.
“Thank you, Deklan! You have no idea how much this means to me!”
“Enough for you to go all out with dinner and wear clothes you know I just want to tear off of you. I’m surprised you didn’t try to ply me with wine, too.”
I bite my lip to hide my smile.
“There’s a condition,” Deklan says.
“What’s that?”
“I’m teaching you to shoot.”
“A gun?”
“No—pool.” He laughs. “Yes, a gun. I’ll get you a small caliber one, teach you to use it, and you’ll keep it with you all the time.”
“Do I really need something like that?”
“Hopefully not, but if you are going to be out and about when I’m not around, you’re going to have one anyway. How badly do you want that job?”
“Badly.”
“Then you’ll learn to shoot.”
Chapter 16
“Kera, right?”
I look up into the smiling face of Terry, the barista who has made my coffee before.
“That’s me!” I give a little wave though I’m the only other person in the shop.
“Welcome to your first day on the job!” Terry smiles at me. He has one of those smiles that dance around in his eyes. It’s so genuine, it’s impossible not to feel instantly at ease.
“Thanks!” I smile back.
“I’m sure you’ll pick up on it all pretty quick,” he says. “It ain’t rocket science, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He’s right. It isn’t. Put coffee in the container, add extras, blend, and pour. Not a lot to it, and I figure it out without a lot of trouble. Within an hour, I’ve served my first customer.
“Once you get used to making the drinks, I’ll show you how to run the cash register,” Terry says. “You didn’t put anything down on your work history. Have you ever run a cash register before?”
“Never,” I tell him. “This is my first job, really.”
“Whaa?” Terry places his hands on his cheeks and makes a face like the kid in the Home Alone movie. “I thought you were like, twenty or something.”
“I am.”
“And this is your first job?”