Chapter Two
Bars of prismaticlight wavered against the wall as sunbeams shone through the chandelier’s crystals. Raven had fallen in love with the vintage light fixture the minute she’d seen it at the antique store. She loved the way it sparkled when the sunlight hit it, and it lent an air of elegance to her studio.
She rented the front part of a duplex that had two bedrooms and one bathroom—plenty of space for her and Sooty, her tortoiseshell alley cat. The moment she’d seen all the windows in the house, she signed the year lease and the management company handed her the keys. She knew she’d make the back bedroom a studio, and she went to work sprucing up the place with both bold and pastel shades of color.
Raven stretched her arms over her head for several seconds, then brought them down and began rolling her head around to stretch out the kinks. Sitting for three hours hunched over while making jewelry played havoc with her neck and shoulders. When she worked on an order, she usually forgot to take stretching breaks.
She picked up the necklace she’d just finished. It was a silver chain filled with eclectic charms she’d picked up at various thrift stores, garage sales, and antique stores. She made junk jewelry and, much to her surprise and delight, there was a real market for it. She’d get into her car and scour the neighborhoods in Alina and other towns in the county looking for garage sales. Used dominoes, dice, old keys, Scrabble tiles, prizes from Cracker Jacks or vending machines, marbles, scratched medals, spools of thread, buttons, and many more trinkets were the bread and butter of her business. She made charm necklaces and bracelets, earrings made out of pop tabs, refrigerator magnets from vintage jewelry, and so many other things. She’d intersperse beads and semi-precious stones with her more expensive creations, but she mostly created beautiful pieces with things people threw away.
She sold her jewelry online, at craft fairs, through word of mouth, and to some boutiques in the larger cities and towns in Colorado. Tourists loved her bracelets and keychains, and she actually made a decent living selling them. The jewelry paid her expenses and funded her first and ardent love, acrylic painting. She was able to buy canvas, brushes, paints, and sketch pads thanks to her jewelry business. She’d sold a few of her smaller paintings at a Christmas craft fair in Denver the past holiday, and she’d decided that her dream was to own an art gallery one day.
Standing, she shook out her stiff joints and went to the kitchen. She walked over to the sink and her bare feet stepped in a puddle of water. “Shit!” The last thing she wanted to deal with was a plumbing problem. She pursed her lips together and opened a drawer by the stove. Flipping through a stack of cards, she picked up her phone and dialed the management company.I hope that bitch isn’t the one to answer.
“Hello?”
This isn’t my fuckin’ day.“Hey, Deanna. This is Raven. I just stepped in a puddle of water in front of the kitchen sink.”
“Did you put something down the garbage disposal you weren’t supposed to? Remember how I gave you a list of things that can’t go in there?”
Patronizing bitch.“Didn’t put anything down there.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
She gritted her teeth. “I don’t know. I’m not a plumber. Can you send someone out here to fix it?”
“I’m just trying to troubleshoot.”
“That won’t work since I don’t know crap about this. Please call the plumber and send him out.”
“I’ll have to call the owner for approval first.” She laughed. “I’ll get on it right away.”
“You do that.” Raven slipped her phone back in her shorts pocket and sat down at the kitchen table. She glanced around her small kitchen, smiling when her gaze landed on the colorful planters housing various herbs and flowers in the garden window. When she’d seen the window, she’d been thrilled. She’d always wanted one, and it seemed like it was a good sign. After she’d signed the lease, she’d gone directly to the nursery to pick out her plants. She loved the brightness and taste of basil and cilantro, and the pop of color from the begonias and geraniums made her smile every time she walked into the white kitchen.
A car backfiring made her jump, and Sooty meowed and hopped up on the table, nuzzling her face against Raven’s. “It’s okay, girl,” she said, scratching her cat under the chin. “I freaked out too.”
Raven had been jumpy since the previous night when that goon Cory got in her face about hustling him. She’d acted indignant even though the idiot had been right; she was a pool shark. “I may have overdone it last night,” she said to Sooty as she purred. “We needed the money and it was so fuckin’ easy to take it from him. The macho guys are all alike. They think a woman can’t possibly win a game.” She laughed and scooped her cat in her arms, tucking its head under her chin.
The owner of the bar wasn’t too pleased with her, but it didn’t stop him from blatantly checking her out. She threw in a few peeks at him as well, but she’d at least had the decency to not be so obvious about it.And who the hell is called Muerto? Did his mom seriously name him Death?She doubted it. His dark, intense eyes flashed across her memory. She had to admit sexiness oozed from him, and he exuded untamed masculinity and confidence. He was definitely hot, and his dark hair, strong jaw, and well-built body made her catch her breath. She loved a tatted guy, and Muerto wore his ink well. Even though all the images of demons, skulls, and daggers were a bit off-putting, the way they curled around his taut biceps and forearms was mighty fine.
His nose was a bit off center like it had been broken a couple of times, but it was overshadowed by his full sensuous lips, perfectly arched brows, and high, sculpted cheekbones.I bet he doesn’t have a shortage of women. And he knows he’s hot. He’s cocky as hell, but he had on the coolest earrings.She’d noticed them right away and was pretty sure they were handcrafted. Made of silver with turquoise and onyx accents, she’d admired the crosses and demonic skulls that had dangled from his ears.
The phone ringing stopped her musings about the pool hall’s sexy owner. “Hello?”
“You got a problem with the sink? I’m the owner of the place.”
“Oh, yeah, I do. There’s a puddle of water on the floor in front of the kitchen sink.”
His exasperated breath pricked her nerves. “Did you plug up the garbage disposal?”
“What’s up with that question? Deanna asked me the same thing. No, I didn’t plug the garbage disposal. I rarely use it. I know what I can and can’t put in it. I’m not stupid.”
A pause. “You’re kind of defensive about it, aren’t you?”
Frowning, she replied, “No I’m not. It’s just that it seems like you all keep think—”
“I’ll be over to check it out when I can,” he said gruffly, and then the phone went dead.
She held the phone to her ear, not believing that her landlord had just hung up on her.What a fuckin’ asshole!She pushed the chair back and jumped up, the sudden movement making Sooty dart away. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of root beer. Carefully taking off the top, she placed it in a large paper bag on the counter that was filled with bottle caps. She envisioned the orange and brown cap with red beads hanging down from it.Perfect for earrings.She took her drink and went back to her studio.
