Mule

Chapter Four: The Return

Jared swore loudly in the kitchen, and Ana laughed as she walked in. He'd gotten up before her, which was normal for their routine. He stood at the stove and had failed to flip a pancake the old-fashioned way. While Jared knew how to cook, he never made anything fancy in the morning since he was always rushing off to work. As a higher-up for The Red Lion, it was up to him to handle all complaints and claims toward the branches in his district.

"What's all this?" she asked, hugging him to her side.

"For you, beautiful." He kissed her cheek. "I took the rest of the weekend off. Couldn't take anymore of their bullshit, so I told them to see me next week."

She raised an eyebrow. "Uh oh. What happened?"

He successfully flipped the second pancake then began frying some bacon. "One of the employees at the branch on Sigmund accused the manager of sexual harassment. Apparently, this isn't the first accusation and corporate failed to tell me that before I rushed to defend the guy and make an ass out of myself."

Ana hugged him tighter. "I'm sorry, babe."

"Ah, well. It's work. Work sucks." He smiled. "But now you get me all to yourself for a few days before our vacation. What should we do with our free time?"

She ran her fingers through his black hair. "Well, a trim for starters."

He laughed. "Oh, no. Not just yet. You know I like it longer."

"You're a district manager, babe. You can't be looking like Kurt Cobain."

Ana left his side to get some plates and thought of what they could do. She only had to work Saturday then she was off until the following Monday. It was rare to have just her and Jared in the apartment since they either had the kids or he was working long hours.

Then she thought of the flowers.

"Thanks for the flowers, by the way."

He loaded her plate first. "What flowers?"

Her stomach sank. She had been praying he was the culprit behind the surprise gifts. To hear he wasn't made her a little terrified. Someone had left a rose in their house without either of them knowing it. It couldn't have been the same one since she'd thrown it out while on the highway.

"The pink roses? I found one in my locker and one on . . . the kitchen table." She hated lying, but she didn't want to alarm him if it was nothing.

He took a bite of bacon. "Nope, wasn't me. You have a secret admirer that I need to chase off?"

"No, I doubt it." She sat down and began eating. "Probably just Britney messing with me."

Jared set his fork down. "You sure? Last night you were on edge, and now you're concerned about these roses. Maybe . . . should I call Doctor Talbot?"

She quickly shook her head. She'd spent enough time seeing therapists and psychiatrists after Derek went missing, and she refused to become a mental patient. Sure there were times that were harder than others, and she still had anxiety attacks, but it was manageable. She hadn't had a breakdown in years.

"I'm positive. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

He nodded but didn't comment further. She happened to glance at her laptop and remembered the missing money. Since he was in a good mood, she figured she could bring it up without him getting huffy. She just had to be casual about it.

"I did all our bills last night. We're all caught up, so we won't have to think about it on the trip."

"Good. Look at you, adulting for the two of us." He winked.