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“I’m just overwhelmed.” She sniffled, her eyes going to her baby.

“I had him three months ago, and today I made an appointment with my doctor because I think I have post-partum depression. I went, and she said that I indeed do have PPD. When I got home, I went to tell my husband, but I found my baby sitting beside him crying his eyes out, smeared in poop, with my husband playing his video games with his headphones on. I’ve asked him so many times for help, yet he says that ‘I’m on maternity leave, and he still has to work, and this is my responsibility.

’ I don’t know what happened, though. He was great before we had the baby.

But the moment we had Holt, it’s like my husband just flipped a switch.

He works from home all day. Then when he gets off at five, he immediately puts those stupid headphones on and starts playing his video games.

And I’m left to do it all. I finally broke down today and just had to leave so I wouldn’t smash that stupid computer of his into the ground. ”

Anger rose within me, and I was hot for a woman I barely even knew.

What an asshole!

“And he keeps saying that I’m not giving him sex, and that I should be fulfilling his needs if I want his help in the middle of the night.” She sniffled some more. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“You got family?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “But if I tell them how Joey has been acting, they’ll lose their shit.”

“This is heartfelt and all, but can I get the fuckin’ check?”

Taryn.

The ass.

He was standing directly behind me, and I nearly throat punched him when his raised voice startled the baby that I’d just laid down.

I gritted my teeth when he started to cry.

Poor little guy.

I turned and said, “You come in every freakin’ week and order the same thing. It has been eleven seventy-five since before you started coming here.”

Taryn narrowed his eyes just as the jingle started on the door again.

I looked up to see Tony walking toward the coffee pot to fill up his own cup.

I turned away and said, “If you truly need a handwritten ticket, I’ll write you one.”

He curled his lip up at me. “I do.”

I picked up the baby again and tried to soothe him as I went to write a handwritten check.

Which, of course, Taryn had cash ready.

Eleven seventy-five exactly.

“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes, thinking of all the stupid refills I’d gotten him.

I should’ve just delivered his food and nothing else.

I mean, it wasn’t like he was going to tip me anyway.

“She needs a tip.”

I looked up to see Scottie giving Taryn the stink eye. “The check is for eleven seventy-five. Standard tip is usually fifteen to twenty percent. You left her zero percent.”

“What?” Tony asked as he came over.

“Dad…” Taryn said.

“I taught you better than that,” he said. “How long have you not been leaving a tip for?”

Taryn stayed silent, but it was my lucky day.

Though I would’ve never brought this up on my own, I would always defend myself.

“He never leaves a tip,” I chirped as I got the large group a set of refills.

They smiled just as their order came up in the window.

I took their orders one by one as I listened idly as Tony berated his son.

Just as I got back for the last plate, Taryn angrily slapped down a lottery ticket and said, “Here. Maybe you’ll win the lottery.”

Then he stormed out.

I picked the lottery ticket up and placed it in my apron, patting Tony’s shoulder as I passed.

“Sorry, Searcy,” he apologized. “I think his mother ruined him. Wish I would’ve divorced her before it got that bad with our son, though.”

I smiled and handed over the last plate of food, then went back to talk to the haggard looking mother.

“So,” I said casually. “What’s the deal with your husband? And why are you worried about your family?”

She spent the next twenty minutes explaining everything that there was to know about her family history, not leaving a single thing out. Then she moved on to her husband, and how he’d changed over the last three months since their baby was born.

“The doctor suggested that maybe he was suffering from post-partum depression, too. But I don’t think that’s it.

The week or so leading up to Holt’s arrival, he started getting really weird about me being in the same room with him.

Though, if I’m honest, it’s been even longer than that, but I just refused to see anything but hearts and flowers. ” She sighed.

The large group stood up and I realized that I might’ve been neglecting the rest of the diner—not that I really cared, what were a few more bad reviews?—and sighed.

I laid the baby down again and said, “Let me go get them checked out and make some rounds. I’ll be back.”

The large group tipped extremely well—likely because of Taryn the asshole—and headed out.

More people came in and I got them settled, then I waved goodbye to Tony and went back to Scottie.

She was idly playing on her phone, snacking on the odd fry here and there.

She must’ve gotten her food from the window, too.

If I had the money, I’d offer her a job.

“You doing okay?” I asked her.

“Yep,” she said. “I’m trying to decide which college I want to go to.”

“You should talk to your brother,” I said. “He’s probably pretty knowledgeable and might be able to help you out with where.”

“That’s the problem,” she sighed. “Originally, I told him I was going to go to A&M to study agriculture, but I just learned that one of my school bullies is going to go there, and now I’m not so sure that I want to go.”

“Who?” I asked. “And are you telling me that you have multiple bullies, including my sister?”

She sighed. “Unfortunately. When you’re poor, and you’re a bookworm, you tend to get singled out.”

“Y’all are poor?” I asked.

I mean, Posy didn’t look poor.

Then again, some people wore poor differently than others.

“Well, not anymore,” she admitted. “My mom and dad didn’t tell Posy how bad it was before they died.

When he got to looking at paperwork for the ranch, he realized that it was leveraged to the hilt—something that even I didn’t know that much about.

Anyway, long story short, he came in and paid off all the debt with their life insurance policies.

And he’s been making bank because of some of the Truth Tellers’ business pool—don’t ask me about that.

I don’t know anything more than there’s an MC-wide pool that they all skim some money out of. Legally, I’m sure.”

I wasn’t so sure.

I had to inwardly laugh at that.

“Anyway, now I’m trying to decide whether I want to go somewhere else and skip A&M.” She sighed.

I leaned my elbow against the counter and said, “Listen. Eventually you’ll get to this point, but you need to download a new attitude when it comes to people.

Fuck ’em. That’s it. They don’t get to make decisions in your life.

They don’t get to force you to go to a different school.

If it gets to the point where you’re having issues with her, call me.

I’ll go down there and kick her ass. It’s much more acceptable for a woman to do the ass kicking than a man. ”

Her smile was brilliant, and her eyes, so much like her brother’s, sparkled with happiness.

“You’d do that?” she asked.

“In a heartbeat,” I said as I pulled out my phone. “What’s your number?”

After giving out my number, placing a food order for the new arrivals, and busing a few tables, I went back to the mom that seemed to be doing a little better now.

Her kiddo was still sleeping, but her eyes were hopeful when she saw me coming.

“You could always start messing with him,” I said as I took the seat across from her.

“If you’re not ready to leave him, or tell your parents about it.

I just watched a video about microaggression.

Pretty much, you do small things that are not super harmful to piss him off, but do it in a way that he won’t know that it’s you. ”