“Can I help you?”
Kade stuck his hand out. “Kade Marshall. Was wondering if you had any work you needed done.”
The man shook his hand as his eyes assessed Kade. “Law Santiago. Are you a mechanic?”
And here was where Kade’s lack of skills was going to shut any job proposal down. He didn’t know the first thing about motorcycles or anything mechanical. He had been hoping that the bike shop would need somebody to work the register, but it seemed they needed someone to fix bikes.
That was not a skill he possessed. “No, I’m not a mechanic. I just came in to see if you needed any odd jobs done around here.”
The man rubbed at his chin as he glanced around the shop and then looked back at Kade. “Marshall…you’re Bishop’s baby brother, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am.” Kade wasn’t sure how well Law knew Bishop. Did this guy know where Kade had just spent the last decade and a half? It was a funny thing that Kade couldn’t wait to get his freedom, but now that he was finally back home, he wasn’t sure freedom had been the best thing for him. His worst fear was not being able to make it on the outside.
If it hadn’t been for Bishop, Kade didn’t know where he would be right now.
“Welcome home,” Law said. “I honestly wish there was something around here I could give you to do. But I already hired an ornery coyote.”
“Thanks.” Kade took a step back, ready to get out of there. He really wished that Bishop hadn’t told anyone about Kade serving time. He didn’t know Law, but it seemed the guy was pretty good friends with Bishop.
“You’re welcome here anytime,” Law said as Kade walked out. Even though he had been turned down, Kade was not going to give up. He stood on the street, glancing around and wondering where he should go next.
He began to walk through Brac Village, cutting down a few streets and seeing just how much the town had grown. Kade stopped walking when he saw a place called Jammin’ Juice Hut.
What an odd name.
Curious, Kade crossed the street. There was a neon sign in the window that read Organic Juice Bar. The sign advertised that they served shakes, smoothies, and coffee. Kade had never tried anything organic.
Just thinking the word
organic
and his leopard was turning up its nose. Kade ignored his cat and walked inside. His eyes zeroed in on the big display case that had trays of fresh fruit that was sliced up and sitting out for all to see. Above the counter was a menu, and Kade saw that they also served food. What in the hell was a bean sprout salad?
He started feeling out of depth. He had no clue what hummus was or what it was used for. There were a lot of soy items on the menu as well. He read the word
falafel
and was clueless.
“You need something to drink or are you hungry?”
Kade’s eyes drifted down from the menu to stare at a man with eyes the color of sapphires. They were dark and so blue that they almost looked like they held a mixture of purple as well. Kade’s leopard was going nuts as he took a step back. “I’m just looking right now.”
The man gave a nod of his head, his shoulder-length blond hair swaying slightly forward. He was smiling at Kade, totally unaware that he was looking at his mate. Kade moved over when another customer walked up to the counter, but his eyes never left the handsome face that he was drinking in.
Kade wanted to tell the guy who he was and that fate had decided to pair them together. He had scented human. Therefore his mate was clueless. Kade wanted to keep him that way. What did he have to offer anyone? Kade did not have a place of his own or a way to support the man who had the sweetest, most innocent eyes that he had ever seen.
As his mate gathered some fruit out of the display case, Kade took that opportunity to check out the slim lines and light contours of the man’s body. He was thin and—his mate locked eyes with him, peering through the glass.
Kade didn’t smile, didn’t nod, or do anything but stare. The guy gave him a generous grin before closing the sliding glass door and turning, giving Kade his back. He heard a whirling sound and assumed a smoothie was being made.
Taking a step forward, Kade peered through the glass to check out his mate’s backside. He should leave.
He really should.
Lingering around was only torture, but Kade couldn’t seem to turn around and walk out. As badly as he wanted to forget that he found his mate and had no way to take care of him, he couldn’t seem to move.
“Have you decided yet?” his mate asked as he handed the drink to the customer and then turned toward him, still wearing that boyish grin.
Kade cleared his throat. “I’ll have a strawberry banana smoothie.”
His mate gave a light laugh, the sound flowing through Kade like silken ribbons. “Dude, you are way too buff to drink something that fattening. Our smoothies have a lot of cream in them.”
The corner of Kade’s mouth twitched. He liked the fact that his mate had complimented his body. “Then what do you recommend?” Kade moved closer, although he knew he shouldn’t.
“I’ve been trying some new blends. How about I surprise you?” The sapphire sparkled, his smile never wavering. “I promise not to poison you.”
Kade gave a light chuckle. “You’re on.”
This seemed to please the guy as he grabbed a small basket and began to fill it with fruit from the case. In all honesty, he hadn’t a clue what the guy grabbed. Kade was too busy appreciating his mate’s good looks.
The guy was what some would refer to as a surfer dude. He had a bunch of bands around both wrists, some plastic, some made of thin leather. There was also a necklace around his slim neck, also made of thin leather, but there were a few beads decorating the front. In the tone of his mate’s voice, Kade could hear the inflection of someone who didn’t take life all that seriously.
If only he could be that carefree. He envied his mate that.
“Okay, try this. Now be totally honest, dude. I need to know if I’m blending correctly.” A small cup was passed over the case, Kade’s fingers grazing the blond man’s. The contact ignited Kade’s blood. His snow leopard yowled loudly, damn near making Kade purr.
Sapphire-blue eyes watched him as he took a drink. Kade’s hand flew to his mouth as he stuck his tongue out and shook his head back and forth. He couldn’t stop the reaction. Whatever this was, it was disgusting.
His mate laughed once again, but Kade was too busy trying to brush the taste off of his tongue to appreciate the musical tone. “Okay, okay. I take it I put too much whey in there.” His mate turned around and the machine began whirling again.
What the hell was whey?
When another cup was handed to him, Kade was almost too terrified to take a drink. His left eyebrow slid up as he looked across the case. “Are you sure you’re not trying to poison me?”
His mate twisted the side of his mouth and cocked his head to the side. “Just try it.”
Sending up a prayer, Kade tossed the drink back as if he were taking a shot of alcohol. He was ready to ask for a chaser but the fruity taste wasn’t half bad. “A little too much strawberry.” He handed the cup back.
“Would you like to be my guinea pig? I’ll give you a free lunch for letting me torture you.” His mate grabbed the cup out of Kade’s hand.
Why on earth was he sticking around? Finding a job should be his first priority, but the thought of leaving felt like a weight had settled in his stomach. “You have a deal.”
“All right!” His mate practically bounced as his smile grew wider. “By the way, my name is Keaton,” he said as he held his fist over the top of the display case. Kade reached up and tapped it with his own.
“Kade.”
“Get ready to be tortured, Kade.”
His skin tightened when Keaton said his name. Kade picked up an accent. It was barely detectable, but he caught the way his mate pronounced the
A
as if it were an
I
. It sounded like he was saying
Kide
.
“I’m going to give you something I’ve been working on. Now remember, Kade, you have to be honest about how it tastes.” Keaton began to gather more fruit. Kade groaned when he saw kiwi being tossed into the basket. He really didn’t care for that fruit, but hoped that the taste would be disguised with the others fruits it was being blended with.
“Just don’t give me anything that tastes like the first drink you gave me,” he teased and wondered why he was flirting with Keaton. Until he had a job and a place of his own, Kade needed to stay away. He should not be flirting, and he should definitely not be enjoying the man’s company.
“I call this Suicidal. Don’t let the name fool you. I only call it that because so many fruits are blended in.” He handed him another cup. Kade took it, careful not to make contact with the man’s skin.
He sniffed the drink, wondering if it really was suicidal to drink it.
“You’re not wussing out on me, are you?” Keaton actually looked disappointed. Kade didn’t like that look on the man’s face. He wanted to wipe it away, erase it and see that innocent smile once more.
Blowing out a breath, Kade swallowed a mouthful. He shuddered and coughed. “Way too much kiwi.”
Pearly-white teeth appeared, dazzling and straight. “I take it you don’t like kiwi.”
“Not a real big fan of it.” Kade set the cup on the counter, tired of reaching over the case. He also knew there was a small part of him that wanted to get closer to Keaton. Although they had a counter between them, it wasn’t as high as the display case.
“Okay, dude. I’ll give your taste buds a rest. Have you eaten breakfast?”
Before Kade could answer, Keaton was walking over to a steel refrigerator that Kade hadn’t seen behind the counter. He watched as Keaton pulled something out, and then opened the microwave, tossing it in. “I’m making you an egg white wrap with spinach and goat cheese.”
The man was killing him. Didn’t this place have any meat? What Kade wouldn’t give for some bacon or maple sausage. He had run out of the house this morning without breakfast. What Keaton was making him did
not
sound appetizing at all.
“How did you get such a buff body, dude? Are you one of those guys that was born with it or do you spend most of your day in the gym?” Keaton opened the microwave and pulled out a small white wrapper. “Okay, let me know if you like this. If you don’t, I’ll make you something else.”
Kade scratched at his chin, wondering if Keaton always subject jumped. The man hadn’t even waited for Kade’s first answer before asking another question. When Keaton set the sandwich on the counter, he turned and walked away, Kade still not giving him any kind of an answer to either question.
Leaning over the counter, Kade glanced to see that Keaton was washing the containers he had used to make the drinks.
Okay
, then. Keaton was a little strange. It was almost as if he couldn’t stay in one place, like had to move around. It was exhausting watching him.
Kade took the offered food and grabbed a seat at one of the small tables inside the shop. He could hear Keaton whistling as he worked. Chuckling to himself, Kade unwrapped the paper and took a bite.
Damn, this was pretty good. Who knew he would like egg whites, spinach, and goat cheese combined? Although Kade had never tasted goat cheese in his life, he found that he liked it.
Customers traveled in and out of the juice hut for the better half of the morning, He sat there slowly eating his food as he watched Keaton work.
Keaton was a nervous wreck. He was surprised he was able to talk at all. He usually clammed up around drop-dead gorgeous men. He knew he had been babbling, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
He hated that he didn’t have the ability to be smooth when it came to talking to hot guys. He had lacked that skill his entire life. Shrugging to himself, Keaton scrubbed out the utensils he had used. The pulp from the oranges was already trying to stick to the sides of the plastic.
He really was trying to come up with some new flavors. That hadn’t been a come-on line…although he liked the fact that Kade had agreed to hang around.
“That was pretty good.”
Keaton smiled to himself as he dried his hands off on the towel. He turned to see Kade leaning against the counter. The man’s eyes were a cross between blue and green. Keaton had never seen anyone with those color eyes before. They were a gorgeous teal.
“Dude, you look too buff not to eat healthy. How is it you’ve never tried half the stuff on the menu?”
“How do you know I haven’t tried half the stuff?” Keaton knew he was blowing it when he heard the irritation in Kade’s voice. He hadn’t meant to offend the man. What he said was true. Kade looked like he worshiped the gym. Most guys like that survived off of protein drinks and lived in places like the one Keaton owned.
Keaton had never stepped into a gym in his life, but he liked eating healthy. He believed his body was his temple and he was very careful what he put in it. “I didn’t mean anything by that. No offense.”
Grabbing some fresh fruit from the basket that was sitting on the counter, Keaton began to slice mangoes. The hut always became crowded at lunch. He would need to get things ready. Besides, it looked like he had blown his chance with Kade.