Free Standing By: A Knight's Tale #2 by Claudia Y. Burgoa

the night… but then again, there won’t be a second cake to cover my ouchies—”
    “You’re talking too fast,” I put my palm in front of her trying to bring her to a halt. “I was the one who said no . From this moment forward, that specific request has to go through me. The answer won’t change. Now can we go back to the kitchen? We were about to start kneading, remember?” I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
    “Kneading the dough, Mitchel. You make it sound so dirty, if you say something like ‘ Apply more pressure, baby. Use the balls of your hand and squeeze it tight, Babe, ’ I’m going to kick you on the balls.”
    “You had me at ‘ squeeze it tight, Babe ’, then you lost me at ‘ kicking balls’ , Muffet.”
    The damn bell rings at that moment, I turn around and spot a woman in her mid to late thirties wearing a short skirt with a pair of fuck me high heels, a top that barely constrains her breasts, platinum blonde short hair and dark olive skin. She pats her hair and swags her body as she walks towards us.
    “Well, hello there,” the woman places the tip of her tongue on her upper lip. I get it, she’s flirting but she’s not that hot and now that I look at her closely, she’s at least ten years older than me. The whiff of her strong perfume makes me want to cough, but I control it. “Who is your friend, my darling girl?”
    “Mom.” The low tone sigh is followed by a body slump.
    What? The lady is too young, and they look nothing alike. Not to me, well, I guess if she takes those shoes off, she’ll be the same size as Hayley. The woman’s skin tone explains why Hayley has a pretty tan that looks custom made just to highlight her pale green eyes.
    “Mitchel Knight.” I extend a hand; she does the same and after shaking, she rubs my wrist with her thumb. I feel as if I’ve touched dirt and I need to scrub my hands.
    “Caroline Roth,” she purses her lips. “Hayley, sweetheart what’s on our agenda today, other than entertaining your handsome friend.”
    “Are you flirting with him, Mother?” There’s a snarl, followed by a huff and the usual bottom lip fidgeting.
    “How many times have I told you that you have no right to judge me?” The woman’s voice goes up in volume. “I’m being pleasant with your friend, Hayley. I taught you manners, didn’t I? This is how one behaves when trying to be social.”
    “Yeah, the last time you were pleasant with a friend of mine, you had sex with him.”
    “Ted was just a fling.” The woman lifts a hand and waves it, as if Hayley is blowing things out of proportion.
    “No, I was talking about my friend, Bob. Ted was my boyfriend, Mom.”
    The cheap comedy that unfolds in front of my eyes seems to have no end as the newcomer continues talking. The Mom slept with her ex?
    “Bob.” The woman tilts her head and taps her chin a couple of times. “Was that the lanky blond with glasses?”
    Hayley doesn’t answer, instead she covers her eyes with the palms of her hands. I look above Caroline Roth and see that Augustine Welsh is walking towards the bakery.
    “I take Chinese Torture ,” I hear Hayley whisper. “ One cut, I need one more.”

Chapter 9
    Hayley
    “M r. Knight,” Dad’s dominant tone comes out at the same time my bell rings.
    I slide my hands down from my face to find Dad looking pristine in his three piece black pin striped suit with his white shirt, gold cuffs and black tie. Certainly, I want to die, since I know things will turn ugly if Mom continues flirting with Mitch. Not because Dad cares about my mother, but because Mitch is younger. That’ll open the door for Dad to call her a cougar and her to call him other names. Where is the fire extinguisher? A water hose or at least a pitcher with cold water to stop them from killing each other?
    “Good morning, Mr. Welsh,” Mitch takes a step beside me and places his hand behind my back drawing soothing circles around it and making me want to purr like a kitty cat.