Free Phantom Scars by Rose Von Barnsley Page A

momma wasn't around to hear him swear. "We should visit him when he's in prison and ask him how his butt buddy, Bubba, is doing."
    "Can you say that five times fast, Clayton? That's a lot of B's."
    "Butt Buddy Bubba, Butt Bubby Bubba…"
    I started laughing, because Jennifer had just walked in with another order and was glaring at Clayton. "Say hi to your friend, Bubba," she said as she left, and Clayton punched my shoulder.
    "You jerk!"
    "Hey, I didn't know she was coming in."
    She came back a moment later with another order, but handed it directly to Eli. He saw it and smiled, and I thought that was weird. Jennifer winked at him and walked out, leaving Clayton speechless and jealous.
    I walked over and looked down at the order. It looked like any other. "What's with you and Jen?"
    Eli looked up from the order and shook his head. "Nothing, get back to work," he snapped, pointing to a tray of food waiting for me to serve. I usually didn't work out front like this, but we needed me to be visible to the jerks after my girl.
    When the order Jennifer gave Eli directly came up, I was sure to snag it, taking it to the table in question. I also noticed this was an extra-large helping and had fancy garnish on it shaped like a butterfly.
    I was surprised to see the plate went to Faye Yates, the owner of the candy shop Clayton lived over down the boardwalk. "Hello, Ms. Faye," I said smiling, as I placed the dish in front of her. "Will you be needing anything else?"
    She looked down at the plate and smiled widely. "Oh, Devin, you tell that sweet chef of yours that he's the best. I just wish I could get him to come out and meet me one of these days," she said pouting a little.
    I looked back at the kitchen door. I knew now why Eli smiled. "He's shy, Faye," I said sliding in across from her. "Has Jen told you anything about him?"
    She shook her head no. "Just that he’d noticed me one day getting a morning coffee and told Jen to take me one of his pastries on the house. I've tried to get him to come out to meet me, but he won't," she pouted and let out a sigh. "Every time I come here, he makes my order special," she said a little wistfully, as she poked at the pretty butterfly garnish. Eli had really outdone himself this time. He used different berries for designs on its wings. It really was beautiful, which just seemed to prove that he really was smitten with Ms. Faye.
    "Ms. Faye, I'm afraid he hides in the kitchen, because he's afraid you won't like what he looks like."
    "Oh, silly Devin, don't you know the best part of the candy is the center?" she said and gently ran her finger down the butterfly’s wing. "I can see his center is the sweetest in the world."
    I wanted to introduce Faye to Eli, but if she flinched or looked away from him even once, he would be crushed. "Faye," I said low in a whisper, "He was burned pretty badly."
    Her eyes watered. "Is he okay?"
    "Yes, he's fine now, it happened a long time ago, but he doesn't like people looking at him," I explained.
    She threw her napkin down and stood up. "You take me to him right now."
    Jennifer glared at me. I suspected she knew what I was up to and thought Faye would be too shallow to love our friend like we did. I looked at the kitchen door and then back to Faye, trying to think of something to say. Before any words came to mind, she was marching through the kitchen door by herself.
    I ran after her and saw Eli's shocked face at her appearance.
    "I'm tired of waiting." She walked over to him and pulled him down. "Now give me some sugar," she demanded, kissing him full-on, shocking us all.
    Eli dropped his spatula, and Clayton let out a whistle. When they finally pulled apart, Faye was smiling widely. "You're coming to my place for dinner tonight. It's time I returned the favor," she said and kissed his scarred cheek without hesitation.
    "Yes, Ms. Faye," he answered her a little stunned.
    She headed for the door, but then turned around last minute. "Back to work, my boy has a