My Darling Mayhem
: Chapter 4

I’d never been one to spy on my neighbors…until now.

My life had always been too busy to care or even notice what others did with their free time. This helped me never line my life up next to someone else’s and play the comparison game. The less I saw of happy families headed to soccer practice or playing in the yard, the less I envied them.

But, after last night and how I offended my new neighbor, I wanted to apologize.

Part of me wanted the divide because he was a part of a motorcycle club, and while I didn’t entirely know what that meant, I knew it wasn’t good. I should keep my distance, stay away…and let him think I didn’t give two shits about what I called his band of misfits…but the part of me that still existed deep down in my heart that had been called names merely because of my association to a group, made me want to apologize.

I knew how it felt to be judged merely based on an affiliation to something. In my case, that affiliation was terrible, but I still remember how much it hurt.

“Are we going to give it to him?” Cruz asked, peering up at me from his place at the window, where I watched Archer’s house.

I had made a pie.

It seemed so simple and so stupid. I’d told Cruz we would give it to him because he was new to the neighborhood, and that’s what people did when they moved in.

I’d bought a tin foil pie pan, so I didn’t have to worry about him returning a dish, and now it was covered in foil. I had no idea if he was gluten-free or allergic to anything, so I printed the ingredients out on a small piece of paper and taped it to the top foil piece so he wouldn’t kill himself by eating it.

“Yes. We’ll go over right now and give it to him.” Archer would have to be nice to me if I had my five-year-old son with me, right?

God, I was pathetic.

Sliding into my shoes, I opened the door before I could think any more of it, slid my hand under the pie, and stepped out.

“Shut the door for me, Cruz,” I said over my shoulder as we both began the walk down the drive. My nerves were shot, and even my breathing was all over the place as we got closer. His garage was shut, and no bike or any other vehicle was parked out front, so I had no way of knowing if he was home.

Cruz walked behind me, tipping his head back to take in the second-story and pitched roof of the house. “This is big.”

He’d never lived in a second-story home, much less even been inside one. My mother had bragged about how my brother had become wealthy. If I had any respect left for him, perhaps I’d take my son to see how the other half lived, but I’d rather we live humbly than expose ourselves to the wolves.

Without another thought, I stepped onto Archer’s stoop and pressed my finger to his doorbell.

Cruz smiled at me, and I gave him a silly look while we waited.

Nothing happened.

“Can I press it again?”

I nodded, slightly shifting so Cruz could access the button. There was no doorbell cam or any other security system set up that I could see, but I decided after Cruz pressed the bell for the second time and Archer didn’t appear, it was time to go.

I turned to leave when Cruz tugged on my hand. “Let’s leave it for him.”

I had no idea why my five-year-old wanted this man to have a housewarming gift, but it melted my heart the tiniest bit. Enough that I crouched down and gently set the pie on his step.

“Okay, bud. We’ll leave it.”

Cruz smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling me back toward our house.

“Now he’ll come over and thank us for it!”

There wasn’t even a note regarding who it was from, so he’d have no idea unless he had a camera set up somewhere.

But I just smiled and returned home to start dinner.

The interaction with Archer regarding my tattoo had snuck in and planted roots of suspicion and fear.

I was sorting through the various books in my son’s bedroom when my thoughts finally got the best of me, and I pulled my phone out to call my mother.

‘Buena?’

Her confused tone made me smile. “Hola mamá. ¿Cómo estás?

She paused as the sounds of the clanking dishes began to fade from her speaker.

“¿Mi amor?” I could practically hear her begin to grin as she connected the dots on who’d called her. It was always like this with her.

“Yes, mamá. It’s me, Wren.”

“Is everything okay?”

The E.B. White book fell to my son’s bed as I let it go and stood. “We’re okay, everything is fine. I just wanted to call and ask you a question.”

Her silence had me rubbing at my temple as I tried to take a step back.

“How are you…and Leo?”

“Fina pero gorda.” She sounded exasperated as she spoke, and her smile made me laugh in a way that made me remember happier times—her smile, my brother’s, Leo’s.

“Mom, Leo is not fat. The last time he was here, he was rail thin.”

Her tongue clicked. “No, he stopped cooking in the restaurant so he’s become bored and lazy. He has a panza now.”

I could hear him yelling at her in the background, and the two started to argue. I sat there, listening and missing them, just like I always did…until I heard a distinct voice cut into their argument, which stiffened my spine.

“Is that Juan?”

She must have covered her phone or something because suddenly, the room went quiet, and when she spoke again, no one else was with her.

“He stopped by to check the oven. It keeps making a clicking sound.”

My heart raced as I processed that I’d heard his voice through her phone. It was muffled, and I couldn’t make out what he’d said, but I knew it was him.

“You called to ask me something?”

“Right…” I didn’t need to know why he was there or ask how he was. She gave me updates every time we talked, whether I wanted them or not.

“Cruz is in a bilingual program in school, and his teacher suggested we read more books written in Spanish. I was going to see if you had any suggestions.”

She was a grandmother, but I had no idea if my brother had more kids than the one he’d adopted. That little girl had to be in her twenties now and probably didn’t have her abuela reading story books to her.

“I will send you some, mi amor.”

My head shook as I considered refusing because I didn’t need her spending money, but I knew it was futile. She loved spoiling Cruz when she could.

“Okay, thank you, that would be great.”

“Everything else okay?” she asked gently and protectively.

I wanted to bring up the tattoo and ask if she knew why a man from a motorcycle club in New York City would recognize it. I wanted to know what that meant for me and if I should be worried about it.

Instead, I asked what new TV shows she was binging, and she spent the next hour talking trash about TV couples.

The following day was Sunday, which was supposed to be my day off, but Denise had called and asked if I would come in. Packing Cruz a bag of activities for the day, I loaded him up, and we headed to my job.

The town of Atlas flew by in three blinks. There were two traffic lights, the gas station, the library, and an oil shop. Then, there was a vast park, which led into a newer development area where Encore Homes had started building. The model home was set on a block with a few houses already built and the cutest cherry blossoms. I parked along the curb, seeing the big, blue banner waving, encouraging weekend buyers to stop in to talk to us.

“Okay, Cruz, get your bag.”

We walked inside, and my spine immediately stiffened.

“Hello, Wren.” Brian sat in my desk chair, reclining like he’d been waiting for me. His gaze flicked down to Cruz like I’d tracked in leaves or mud with me.

“You brought your kid to work?”

Cruz frowned, glaring at Brian while hugging his bag to his chest. He always knew when he wasn’t wanted somewhere, and while I tried like hell to make sure he never went anywhere that made him feel that way, occasionally, it happened.

“Yes, as it’s supposed to be my day off.”

I placed my hand on Cruz’s shoulder and encouraged him to walk toward my desk.

“Can you please move out of my desk space?”

Brian sighed as if this was highly frustrating, then moved around so he was sitting in the client chairs we had arranged in front of my desk.

Cruz found his way to the same spot he always tucked into when he came in with me. I made a small fort between two filing cabinets with pillows and a blanket. All I had to do was pull it out and set it up for him.

“Does Denise know you bring him in?” Brian asked snidely.

Cruz’s little mouth turned down again as if he hated the idea that I might get in trouble. I never wanted my son to feel like an inconvenience or a burden. I was two seconds from throat-punching Brian.

Once I set up Cruz and ensured his headphones were in place, and his show began on his tablet, I spun in my chair.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Brian leaned forward. “Wrong with me? You’re the one who had your new neighbor assault me.”

“I didn’t have⁠—”

“Wren, hi, darling.” Denise walked in, interrupting our conversation. Her white hair was styled perfectly, and her makeup was minimal.

“Hi, how are you?” I plastered a fake smile while she peered around me, looking for Cruz.

“Is my little guy here?”

Cruz looked up and saw Denise and waved. He liked her, but only so much. She occasionally gave off fake vibes that he could see right through. That’s why I never asked her to babysit or accepted any invites to her house.

She waggled her fingers at Cruz, then regarded me.

“Thank you for coming in, honey. Brian emailed me this morning to tell me that his clients, the couple you two helped the other day, are considering backing out.”

My brows dipped. “Haven’t they already paid their lot premium?”

Brian smirked, and I knew he’d done something. I just couldn’t prove it.

My laptop was out as I brought up their file.

“They were actually on the cusp of paying this weekend but decided they might go with Phurline Homes instead.”

Our biggest competitor. Fuck. This was on me if it fell through, and Denise would get shit from her bosses too.

“What can I do to help?” I glanced at Brian, then Denise.

“Work with Brian. Hopefully, a good brainstorming session between you two will help.” My boss turned, leaving Brian smiling and tilting his head as though he’d just stolen my queen in chess.

I wanted to scream at him.

“What will it take to make this go through?” Because we didn’t need a brainstorming session. He merely wanted to punish me for what happened the other night.

He leaned forward so his voice was low. “An apology for starters.”

My mouth snapped shut, a million words desperate to fly at him.

Calmly and quietly, I said, “For what exactly? You arrived at my home uninvited and then refused to leave.”

“For leading me on.” His sharp chin lifted while his green eyes pinned me in place.

Fuck this guy.

“I’m sorry, Brian if there was anything I did that gave you the wrong impression.”

“Good. Also, I want a date. One where I pick you up, you wear something nice, and you don’t rush home the second it’s over.”

I scoffed, sitting back in my chair. “Not a chance.”

Brian’s nose flared while he leaned in closer. “Then you can say goodbye to this sale.”

“So can you. You know for a fact our homes price out higher. Your commission will be bigger if you stick with us.”

Brian smirked. “Not if I made a deal with the sales agents on what they’ll tell the clients the listing price is.”

I laughed. “Do it. Please. I’d love to see your face on the news for scamming someone. You know that shit’s illegal, and you’ll never get away with it.”

Brian took a second to consider what I said, then sighed. “You used to like me.”

I rolled my eyes because that was over a year ago, and that was a mistake.

He clicked his tongue. “Then let’s start with something small…coffee?”

His backpedaling was insane, but I’d do it if it got him out of my face and the house sold.

“Fine.”

“Tomorrow.” Brian offered, but I shook my head.

“Tuesday. Tomorrow, I have to volunteer at Cruz’s school for something.”

Brian considered it, then let out a sigh. “Fine.”

Leaning forward, I narrowed my gaze on him. “Let’s be clear. That is all you’re getting from me. The sale gets pushed through by tomorrow afternoon, or our coffee date is off.”

Brian nodded his understanding and then stood up.

“One of these days, you’re going to introduce me to him.” He gestured down toward the filing cabinets.

He was wrong. Today was the one chance he had to make an impression on my son, and he failed. He’d never really meet my son, not where Cruz shook his hand or knew his name.

Instead of saying that, I turned and started typing on my laptop.

I was running late to Cruz’s school.

Our morning was more chaotic than usual. Cruz heard Archer’s motorcycle drive in and wanted to ask if he’d gotten our pie.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that if Archer had been gone all weekend, the pie would have been left out, meaning he’d have to throw it away. It didn’t matter. I wanted the pie situation to never resurface for as long as I lived.

Once I finally got him to school, I had to rush to work and help finalize the sale of the Mathews home. Brian had come through, which meant I was getting coffee with him the following morning. I’d have to reconcile that and have him take me somewhere with good coffee, but I had to shove it to the side for now. I was drafting an email to my boss to have Brian work exclusively with Gwen, the other sales associate, from now on.

Denise wouldn’t like it because Atlas was small, and I was the senior agent who secured more deals than Gwen did. However, I couldn’t work anymore with Brian. In fact, I refused to. By the time two in the afternoon rolled by, I was running late to volunteer at Cruz’s school.

I was snapping my volunteer nametag in place over my blazer when the sounds of the kindergarten class echoed around me in the hall. I slowed down and tiptoed into the back of Cruz’s class, seeing a few parents helping with other kids. I smiled at another mom and then looked for Cruz.

I scanned his desk, not seeing him or Kane, his deskmate. In fact, several of the desks were empty, with a large portion of kids gathered on the reading rug near the tree wall.

‘Ms. Vasquez.’ Mrs. G found me, giving me a broad smile.

I smiled back, ‘So sorry I’m late.’

‘Oh, no problem, but we’ve started storytime. I was hoping you could alternate with Mr. Green and read your story, which is in Spanish, to the kids, and then he’ll read the English version.’

She was walking away, and I was supposed to follow her, but I was stunned when Archer was mentioned.

He was here?

Why?

I didn’t have time to ruminate on the idea as I moved halfway across the classroom and stopped on the edge of the reading carpet. At the base of the artificial tree, there was Archer, sitting on a small chair with his elbows on his knees and a book in his hand. He didn’t have on his leather club vest, but he wore his worn denim jeans, boots, and a dark hoodie.

‘Mr. Green, Ms. Vasquez is here now, so you two can begin your reading slot together.’

My smile was as fake as it always was at work. Archer didn’t smile at me, he just stared. I carefully stepped around the kids until I could get to my seat directly next to my neighbors. I felt his body heat and could smell his spicy, citrusy cologne. There was an undertone of leather and something else that tickled my nose in a good way. The sort of way that made me want to turn my face into it.

‘Nice of you to join us,’ Archer leaned over and whispered so only I could hear.

I snarked back as I reached for my book and started prepping it for reading. ‘How are you even here? Don’t they do background checks?’

His eyes snapped over, and instead of humor, there was more mirth—more of what I’d caused last week when I offended him by commenting on his club. My heart felt a little jolt of regret, remembering my peace offering and how I’d wanted to mend fences.

He started reading and kept the children’s attention by animating voices and changing the tone of his voice for certain characters. Listening to him read was enchanting in a way. His little brother was completely enraptured by him and clung to every word he spoke. When it was my turn to read the same story but in Spanish, all the kids turned to watch me.

I expected Archer to leave or hang out in his chair, but he shocked me by moving to the floor to sit beside his brother. Knees up, his arms around his legs, and those sharp blue eyes entirely focused on me.

Inhaling a sharp breath, I started reading through the text, doing the best I could to animate my voice like Archer had, but my nerves made my voice rattle a bit. It also didn’t help that my brain kept focusing on Archer’s intense gaze and how his jaw looked today. It looked the same as it did the other day, but for some reason, after a whole weekend of not seeing him, it was as though my brain wanted to examine it.

Finally, my face felt pink once I was finished, and my stomach was knotted up. Cruz ran to me and threw his arms around my neck.

‘Buena mamá,’ Cruz said excitedly, settling some of those nerves in my gut. My son was learning Spanish, and it was beautiful. It was not perfect, but he could say ‘good,’ and Mom, that was huge.

I squeezed him to my chest, which made him giggle before I released him. ‘Let’s go, bud. Your teacher said I could take you early.’

‘Okay, I’ll go grab my backpack.’ He ran off, and I stood, putting the book back and aptly ignoring how Archer was still in the area with his brother.

Cruz ran back toward me but stalled near his deskmate, Kane.

‘Did you get our pie?’

Ohmygod. My feet shifted faster than my brain, causing me to nearly trip on the carpet to stop my son from telling my neighbor about our peace pie.

Archer’s eyebrows shot up, staring down at my son. ‘Pie?’

‘My mom made it for you. We walked it over two days before yesterday.’ His head tilted until his eyes found mine. ‘That’s how you say it, right, Mom?’

My face was on fire, and I avoided Archer’s gaze while grabbing Cruz’s hand. ‘Yep. We better go, say bye.’

Archer moved with us. ‘Wait, you made pie?’

Cruz halted, turning back toward him. ‘As a welcome gift, it was cherry. You weren’t home, so Mom left it on your porch.’

Earth, please open and swallow me.

I felt my neighbor’s gaze but kept mine on my phone, shoes, and walls. Anything but him.

Finally, Archer crouched down to be at eye level with my son. ‘Did you help make it?’

Cruz nodded. ‘Mom, let me stir the cherry sauce and add sugar.’

Archer clicked his tongue. ‘Well, I’m super bummed I missed out on it. I love pie. Especially cherry pie. Thank you so much for thinking of me. It was very thoughtful.’

I felt he was trying to communicate with me by saying everything to Cruz, but I couldn’t be sure.

‘You’re welcome, but you should thank my mom. She’s the one whose idea it was.’

Archer stood, and my eyes finally lost the battle of avoiding him. He gave me a smile, and then his lips moved. ‘Thanks, Wren.’

‘It was nothing…just a way of saying welcome to our neighborhood. I do it for everyone.’

His eyes narrowed as if he knew I was lying, but before he could say anything else, Mrs. G. called the kids who weren’t returning to their seats. I left with Cruz without another glance behind me or to see if my neighbor was on our heels.