Making You Mine

Chapter 2 - Part 1

The bus rolled through the picturesque streets of downtown La Jolla and out into the beat-up neighborhood of Chula Vista. Grace stared out the window, mentally going over her last interview. She'd thrown the stupid glasses away as soon as she walked out. Wearing them that whole time had been torture. Her headache had just begun to subside.

She exited the bus two streets before her usual stop. She had to swing by the meat market and pick up a few drumsticks. Chicken soup was on the menu for tonight's dinner.

She hurried into the small mom-and-pop market, trying to snap out of the mood she'd fallen into during the interview.

"Buenas tardes, Señorita Zendejas." Armando, one of the butchers behind the counter, smiled brightly.

"Buenas tardes." She didn't even try to match the smile.

She pointed at what she wanted and let him know how much. Taking deep frustrated breaths, she grabbed an onion and a few carrots while Armando bagged up her drumsticks.

The disappointment weighed heavily—another interview gone south before it even started. Grace had seen the way he looked at her before he even knew anything about her, only that she was way too young, which meant inexperienced. She was so sick of the assumptions.

So much for younger meaning open-minded. The brother she spoke with dismissed her experience as unprofessional. It was infuriating. For him to deem her experience as unprofessional just because it was in her grandmother's restaurant in Mexico was reprehensible. Where did he think all of his authentic dishes originated anyway? The more she thought about it, the angrier it made her.

The only thing the girls in her class had been right about was his looks. He certainly wasn't hard on the eyes. But even his heavy lashes and perfectly dimpled smile didn't erase the fact that he'd been just like all the other presumptuous hiring managers. That unattractive quality alone was enough to ugly any man in her head, no matter how good-looking he was on the outside.

She purchased her items and walked out into the fading sunlight. The damned buses were so undependable. She didn't bother waiting for one. Instead, she hurried along the few blocks to her apartment.

Ruben, her stepfather, was passed out on the sofa when she walked in. She winced, closing the door as quietly as possible. The keys in her hand jingled as she made her way past him. Damn.

Ruben shifted on the sofa, grunting. One lazy eyelid lifted. When he saw her, he sat up. "Did you get the job?"

Grace set her bag of groceries on the small kitchen table and began to pull things out. "I don't know yet." She focused on the bag, not wanting to face him. "They're supposed to get back to me."

She wouldn't mention that morning's flat out no in her first interview. The sofa rattled and squeaked, and she knew he was getting up. "Well the rent's not gonna pay itself. Your mom's piddly check, from the few hours she puts in at that cafeteria, ain't cutting it anymore."

He came up behind her, and she walked around the table. He had a habit of standing too close to her, and it repulsed her. "Well, maybe you should start looking for a job."

He cackled. "No way, and give up my unemployment check? Don't be stupid."

"You're not gonna be able to collect that forever. It's been almost a year."

"Yeah, well when the checks stop coming, I'll start looking." He walked around the table in the small kitchen. "In the meantime ... " He paused when he saw her make her way around the table again. She didn't care if he noticed her obvious disgust for him.

"What the hell's your problem?" The smirk on his unshaven swollen face was teasing. "I ain't gonna bite you."

Grace said nothing. She grabbed her purse and headed to her room down the hall. She could still hear his cackles even as she closed the door behind her. The small room she shared with her sister was a complete contrast to the rest of the apartment. While the front room and kitchen were always a cluttered mess, her room was immaculate.

She couldn't stand clutter. Though she did her best to try to keep the rest of the apartment as tidy as her room, it was impossible with both Ruben and her mom being slobs.

A few stray rays of paling sunlight seeped in through the blinds as she walked to the closet. Lately, she'd been checking and double-checking the wooden box tucked up behind her sister's stuffed animals. In it was all the money she had—money she'd worked long and hard to earn. She'd sooner trust a stranger than her own stepdad. He'd be out of money soon, and just like before he started collecting unemployment, he'd come sniffing around her room.

Ruben knew she'd been saving up for years to move out. She was this close to moving in with Joey and Taylor. They had an extra room in their apartment and could use the help with the rent. She was more than anxious to, especially since her younger sister Rosie confessed to her that their stepdad had been giving her the creeps. The depraved animal had been sizing up a fifteen-year-old girl. It was disgusting. Joey had actually offered to let her sister stay with them as well for only Grace's share of the rent. Then of course, she lost her job.

Knowing she had no choice but to stick around, Grace had decided they'd tell her mom about her stepdad. She took a deep breath, trying to shake off the pain of her mother's reaction when they'd told her. She dismissed them immediately, calling them both liars and accusing them of hating Ruben to the point they'd make up outlandish accusations. When they tried to argue their case, she tried to make them feel guilty by crying and saying they were ganging up on her.

That was months ago, and both she and Rosie had agreed not to bring it up again. It was pointless. Their mother was intent on keeping Ruben around, at least for now anyway. Her mother hated work of any kind. The only reason she'd taken the job at the school cafeteria was because it was only two hours a day. But Grace knew the minute her mother was able to, she'd quit. Her only chance of that was if Ruben, or any man, would be there to support her. So until she found a replacement for Ruben, he wasn't going anywhere.

Grace had already threatened to move out just before she lost her job. Now she was forced to suck up her pride and hang around at least until she could afford to not only get her own place but to take Rosie with her. Her mother wouldn't object to Rosie leaving. She'd never made it a secret that both Grace and Rosie were nothing but a burden to her, especially after their dad died.

She'd just tucked the box back behind the stuffed animals, when the bedroom door opened. She flung her hands behind her, not wanting whoever it was to see where they had been.

"What happened with the job?"

Her mom was done up again. Grace knew she was making every effort to find a replacement for Ruben already. Ruben was husband number four since her dad died. But since Ruben was laid off and showing no promise in finding another job anytime soon, her mother had gone on the lurk. Grace recognized the signs immediately: the sexier clothes, heavier makeup and perfume. Yep, Ruben had one foot out the door already.

"They said they'll get back to me."

Her mom stepped all the way in and closed the door behind her. "Have you applied as a bartender anywhere?"

Grace looked away without answering.

"Graciela, I asked you a question."

"Not really." She pulling a bag out of the closet. "But it's on my résumé that I'm certified.

"It damn well better be. I didn't pay for that bartending course for nothing. Why haven't you applied? I thought you said, as soon as you turned twenty-one, you would?" Her mother crossed her arms. "Your birthday was over a month ago."

Grace sat down on her bed and pulled her notebook out of the bag. "The restaurant I applied to today has openings for bartenders. They said they'd call me."

Ruben yelled out from the front room. "What's for dinner?"

Her mother peered at her. "C'mon, Ms. Chef. Show us what you got."

Grace closed her notebook and stood up. Just before opening the door, her mother stopped and turned to her. "Just so you know. I quit my job today. I couldn't stand that damn manager. Things are gonna get really tight around here, so I'd stop being so picky about where you apply if I were you."