All the Broken Pieces: (Broken Series Book 3) (12 page)

After the delivery guy came and went, the entire kitchen was polished to a high shine, and the walk-in was cleaned out and restocked, we all sat at the bullshit table sipping coffee and talking about everything in the world except Teach. We discussed Milly’s Mountain and the rigorous build schedule we’d need to keep to have it finished by spring. We talked about the weather, how it was still warm some days but mostly it was starting to feel like fall. The girls shared favorite moments from the bullshit table gang, a rowdy bunch of oldsters from the sound of it. There was lots of laughter and easy conversation. It was nice.

Eventually, we ended up talking about Talia’s pregnancy and all the baby plans that go along with that. Talk of burp cloths and gas drops and something called a diaper genie was enough to make my eyes glaze over. Lauren had been fairly quiet throughout the baby chatter, so when I heard her soft voice chime in, I took notice.

“Are you going to find out the sex? Which are you hoping for?” She watched Talia rubbing her belly with rapt attention.

Spencer shrugged. “We haven’t decided whether or not to find out. The doctors already know but we asked them to hold off telling us for now. We really don’t have a preference either way, as long as he or she is healthy. That’s all that matters.”

Talia’s smile was tinged with sadness but she nodded along with Spencer’s answer.

“Have you picked out names yet?” Lauren asked, watching with kind eyes as Spencer placed his hand over Talia’s.

They looked at each other for a moment, then turned to Lauren. Talia hesitated, eyes darting around the table. “Actually, we’ve been discussing something the last few days but we’d like to get your blessing first.”

Lauren glanced around, waiting for someone else to answer before realizing who Talia was speaking to. “Me? You’re asking for my blessing? I don’t understand.”

Talia smiled softly. “Well, since you’re basically Teach’s daughter, we thought we should check with you first in case it was something you’d like to do someday.”

“Do what someday?”

“If it’s okay with you, we’d like to name the baby after Teach.”

Everyone was silent for a moment as they watched Lauren’s eyes fill with tears. “Really?”

Talia nodded, two fat tears running down her face. “But only if you say it’s okay. We discussed it and decided that we like the name Parker for either sex, but if you’d rather save that name for your own son or daughter…”

“No.” Lauren’s voice was thick with emotion. “I won’t ever use the name. You should take it. Teach would like that.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to answer just yet. There’s plenty of time before the baby comes.” Spencer interjected, watching her curiously. “If there’s any chance you might regret it later, don’t hesitate to say so. We won’t be upset.”

“I don’t need to think about it.” Lauren told them, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I won’t be needing to name any children. I can’t have any.”

I could feel the heaviness in the air as we all processed the admission and tried to figure out how to react.

My first instinct was concern over her health, followed quickly by a string of questions I knew I’d never have the balls to ask. Sitting there, a hair’s breadth from her side and still feeling like she was a million miles away, I vowed again to get as close as she would allow. Something told me she needed it as much as I did.

Lauren broke the silence first, shrugging it off like it was no big deal. “Besides, it’s fitting. I mean, Teach was the reason Talia and Ali came here to Denson. Without him, Ali and Clay wouldn’t be married. Talia, you and Spencer wouldn’t be having a baby. Milly’s Mountain wouldn’t be under construction. God only knows where I would have ended up if it weren’t for him.” She paused and I watched a shiver run through her body before she turned a bright smile to our assembled friends. “He was the catalyst that brought it all together. I think it’s a perfect way to honor him.”

She played it off well, but I saw the tremble in her hands as she raised her mug of coffee and waited for the rest of us to follow suit. “To Teach, for making all of our lives better just by being in them.” She looked pointedly at Talia’s abdomen. “And to little Parker Erickson. May he or she be as full of love and light as their namesake.”

“Here, here!” We all called out, clinking our mugs across the table.

The couples began to chatter amongst themselves, giving me the opening I was waiting for. I leaned in close to Lauren’s side and nudged her with my shoulder. “Hey, Red. You feeling a little better about things?”

She reached over and gripped my bicep, leaning against my side and dropping her voice. “I never thought I’d say this, but yes.” She gave my arm a squeeze. “Thanks to you.”

“I told you. That’s what friends are for.”

She gave me a quick peck on the cheek, casting a glance around afterward to be sure no one saw before laying her head on my shoulder and whispering, “You know what, Weirdo? After today, I think you may have been promoted to best friend.”

Ali winked at me from across the table when I caught her looking our way.

I didn’t even bother hiding my huge, goofy smile.

A few weeks later, fall had most definitely set in. The cool evenings facilitated the use of actual blankets some nights, rather than the thin sheet I usually slept under. The leaves had turned and fallen nearly two weeks ago, an event that brought Lauren’s grief back into full swing as she went through the seasonal rituals without her uncle. Wanting to help, I’d offered to go on the annual drive through the mountains with her and was pleasantly surprised when she readily agreed.

We made a day of it, taking a cooler filled with drinks and snacks, stopping at overlook after overlook and appreciating the beautiful patchwork of color that covered the mountains. Every time we stopped, Lauren shared a memory of her and Teach together. Sometimes they were things that happened during the fall drive but often times it was just some random memory that popped into her head. She said she liked talking to me about Teach because, since I didn’t know him all that well, it was like she was telling me who he was, making me see what she saw without having to worry about it conflicting with my image of the man.

Her voice was fast becoming my favorite sound in the world. Especially when she spoke of her uncle. The soft, reverent way she recounted those memories… it was like poetry.

Occasionally, she would share a new tidbit of her past during one of her stories—mostly without realizing it—but I’d become attuned to those inadvertent admissions and was filing them all away—as my analytical mind tended to do. I wanted to figure her out. She fascinated and enthralled me like an intricate puzzle just begging to be solved. And if I had to do it one tiny piece at a time, that was what I’d do.

It was nearing the middle of October when I stepped into the diner and took a seat at the counter to wait for Lauren. I was immediately greeted by the smells of southern cooking and the sounds of clinking cutlery and soft conversation. I came in every day, now. With construction underway on Milly’s Mountain and lots of crews trying to coordinate, we’d found it easier to call in lunch orders and have them brought to the site. With only four restaurants in town—three of which being drive-thru type fast food—the options were limited. So, we’d all fallen into a sort of routine. Around eleven o’clock each day, four of us set out to do pickups, one person for each restaurant to keep things expedient.

I, of course, volunteered to pick up at the diner each day.

Sometimes—like today—Clay came along and we would discuss the build’s progress at the counter while Lauren and Miss Fay got our orders boxed up, but oftentimes it was just me. I kind of liked those days better, not that Clay was poor company, but I much preferred chatting with Lauren as she worked.

She and I talked every day at lunch and got together to hang out several times a week, or as much as my work schedule would allow. Our one night together aside, we’d kept it just friends. Not that the urge didn’t hit me every damn time she and I were together. How could it not? She was the sexiest, most mind-blowing lover I’d ever had.

Did I want to take her to bed again?

Um… hell yes.

Did I still think about what it felt like to be inside her?

Damn right, I did.

But, would I risk our friendship to fuck her again?

Not a snowball’s chance in Phoenix.

It wasn’t every day that I found someone I could relate to the way I related to Lauren. She was an outsider, like me. Maybe not for the same reasons, but she was. We both stood apart from the crowd, looking in like spectators at how damn easy it seemed for everyone else. It wasn’t easy for us. Either of us.

But we had each other.

Weirdo and Pariah against the world.

“Hey, doll. Lauren’s bringing out the boxes right now,” Miss Fay offered as she stepped behind the counter, tearing a ticket from her book and sliding it through the opening to the cook line. She spun back to us. “I pulled my back moving patio furniture yesterday so I’m afraid she’s stuck dragging it all out here by herself.” Her eyes cut to me.

“I’ll help her.” I offered, jumping up and leaving Clay to chat up the elderly server.

The swinging door to the kitchen squeaked softly as I pushed my way in and glanced around. “Lauren?”

“Over here, Brant,” she called, sounding exasperated.

The kitchen was exceptionally warm and humid from the recent use of the dish steamer. The air seemed thick, hard to draw in. “Damn, girl. It’s hot in here. You need bigger exhaust fans in this place.” I called, making my way to the cook line, which was partially obscured by dish racks, and spotting Lauren as she blew a strand of sweat-dampened hair from her face, rolling her eyes at me.

“Ya think?” She raised her brow sarcastically, slipping into the snarky banter we’d developed over the last few weeks. “You really are a genius, Matthews.”

“Right back atcha, babe.” I winked. “It takes a brilliant mind to decide to pack the food back here in the sauna rather than taking it out into the air-conditioned dining room.”

A pickle chip whizzed past my head. “Just grab a box, smartass, before I melt into a puddle and ooze into the floor drain.”

“Yes, boss lady,” I snickered, stacking the two large boxes and taking them both as Lauren picked up a thin plate and used it as a fan, following behind.

I slowed long enough to be sure the swinging door didn’t hit her, holding it with my foot until I was sure she had it before I stepped back to my spot at the counter and waited for Miss Fay to finish making change for Clay.

“So, you boys working late again today?” Lauren asked idly, not fooling me in the least. She was lonely. It had been three days since we’d spent time together and we were both going through withdrawals. I’d had to work well past dark all weekend and then spend an hour or two coordinating with the crew leaders so that we could get all the framing done at once.

“Hopefully, not. We have some stuff to finish up on the main building’s foundation today and then we will be able to dial it back for a bit while the framers do their thing.” I gave her a hopeful smile.

“Awesome. I’m sure you could use a breather. I know you guys have been working really hard.”

“Ali and Talia, too.” Clay interjected. “I think Spencer is going to give himself a damn stroke if Talia doesn’t slow down. He’s so busy following her around like she’s a toddler that he’s not getting anything else done. It’s driving us all crazy, especially Talia.” His voice dropped and he leaned in so that only Lauren and I could hear. “And I think she’s about to snap. I caught her glaring at him earlier with a hammer in her hand.”

Lauren’s laughter rang out, momentarily halting all conversation in the restaurant as everyone looked her way. After a beat, they all resumed their meals as if nothing happened but not before I saw a few judgmental looks cast her way. I knew it still happened, though Lauren rarely mentioned it anymore, but seeing it for myself was enough to make my blood boil.

Busybody motherfuckers.

For her part, Lauren didn’t seem to notice or maybe she was just used to it.

I told Lauren I’d call that evening and we said our goodbyes, filing away the incident to ask about later as Clay and I hefted the lunches from the counter. The bell over the door jingled as Clay and I were turning to leave, boxes in hand. An older guy, maybe mid-fifties with a wide scar across the right side of his face, held the door open as we passed. We offered our thanks and made our way out, heading to the side parking lot where I’d parked my truck.

We loaded the boxes in the back seat, taking our time to enjoy the cool fall breeze as we chatted for a few minutes over the hood of my truck and admired some of the classic cars in the lot—property of some of the bullshit table regulars. Knowing the crews were waiting, we grudgingly climbed into my rig, ready to get back to the site and feed the starving masses. Just as I was putting the truck into gear, a flutter of motion caught my eye. I watched with a furrowed brow as Lauren emerged from the rear door of the restaurant, sprinting toward the back of the lot before doubling over and emptying the contents of her stomach near the large metal dumpster.

“What the hell?” Clay muttered beside me, his eyes tracking her too.

I put the truck back in park and moved to climb out. “Take the guys their food; I need to check on her.”

Clay was already climbing out of the passenger side and coming around when I reached the front bumper of the truck. “How are you gonna get back?”

“I’ll figure that out later. Just go. I’ll be fine.” I didn’t even slow down, not giving a damn if I made it back to work or not. All I knew was something was wrong and I wasn’t leaving her.

I vaguely registered the sound of my truck idling as I closed in on Lauren’s crumpled form. Just like Clay to stick around despite my instructions.