The following scenes were ones I added during critiquing rounds that follows the chapter where Thane is wrongly arrested. I decided to remove the new scenes from the story because they weren’t really needed, but because they feature Letty’s adoptive mother, I want to share it for readers who may want to spend a little more time with Letty and Thane.
Enjoy!
DELETED SCENES
LETTY:
The door to Let It Charm You opened, and the bell jingled. Letty looked up to welcome the newcomer. Her eyes widened. “Mom?!”
A young customer whipped around, camera at the ready.
Ever smooth, Lydia pulled her jacket back to reveal the gold badge clipped to her belt. “Don’t even think about it.”
The young customer stowed their phone and hightailed it out of there.
Amused, Letty walked around the counter. “This isn’t your jurisdiction, Mom. You can’t arrest anyone here.”
“They don’t know that.”
Letty threw her arms around her mom. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you kidding me?” When they parted, Lydia took her no BSing stance with her hands on her hips, her feet hip-width apart, and her right brow lifted. “My daughter called me needing a cop’s advice and told me that she’s been receiving threats. I’m not going to stay in Georgia and leave my daughter to deal with this alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have Thane.”
“The same man who was wrongly arrested and had a knife thrown at him?” Her mom gave her a look that said, “Come on now. You know better than that.”
“The two of you need my help.”
That meant her mom wouldn’t be leaving until she felt good and ready.
Lydia gazed around the shop. “It looks bigger than I remember it.” She inspected one display and then another. “You have great pieces.”
“Coming from you, that’s high praise.”
Lydia faced her. “I’ve always been extremely proud of you. You took a hobby I passed on to you and made a career out of it. That passion and dedication is special.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Lydia peered around again. “Where’s Yawanda?”
At the mention of her name, Yawanda came barreling out of the backroom. “Here!” She tackled Lydia into a hug. “I was waiting for you to ask about me.” Grinning, she faced Letty. “Yup. I have an eavesdropping problem, and I aint apologizing for it.”
Letty smiled. “I’m not asking you to.”
Yawanda nodded. “Mm-hm.” She turned back to Lydia. “Now what’s all this about Thane being wrongly arrested and Letty receiving threats, because this one over here”— she pointed a long, purple nail at Letty—“has clearly been keeping things from me.”
Letty winced. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
Yawanda cocked her head and pursed her lips. “And how has that worked out?”
“Not well.”
“Uh huh.” Yawanda crossed her arms. “You’ve also been keeping things from Mama Bear, and that obviously didn’t stop her from worrying, so…what do you got to share with us?”
Letty sighed. “Pull up a stool.”
They crowded around the counter, and Letty shared everything with them during their three o’clock lull. Some of it, Yawanda knew, but not all of it. Letty watched their eyes widened and then their expressions go blank as they heard more and more.
“Shit,” Yawanda said.
Lydia shook her head. “You should’ve told me about those things as soon as they’d happened.”
Guilt washed over Letty. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve done a lot lately that has hurt the people I care about. I’m not going to make those mistakes again.”
Yawanda met Letty’s eye. “You’re one of my people. Thane is now, too. I want to know when something or someone threatens one of my people.”
“Understood.”
“So, how do we get these assholes? They can’t just get away with this shit.”
Lydia looked up at the ceiling, and a slow smile came over her face. “While I’m here, I’ll stay at your apartment. Thane’s bodyguard can drive me there, as if he’s dropping you off after work or after seeing Thane. If they think you’re home, and alone, they may come around to deliver more threats or to escalate matters, and if they do, they’ll find a trained law enforcement officer and a pissed off mother waiting for them.”
“Hell yeah,” Yawanda said and lifted her hand to Lydia’s for a pound. “I like that plan.”
Letty held up her hands to put a pause on the celebration between two badass women. “Before we go forward with anything, I want to bring Thane into the loop. He’s not going to like putting you in a potentially dangerous situation like that.”
“And I respect that,” Lydia said. “But it’s my job, not only as a cop, but as a mother, to put myself into potentially dangerous situations. And I’d rather be in one than you. I’ll talk to him about it myself.”
Letty felt the blood drain from her face.
“What? You didn’t think I’d come all the way here and wouldn’t meet him, now did you?”
“Of course, I want you to meet him, but you have your badge and your cop face on.
He was just arrested by two white male cops who accused him of abusing me. He was put in an interrogation room and questioned by detectives who wouldn’t listen to a thing he said. I love you, but I don’t need my cop mom grilling him.”
“Who do you think I am? I would never do that to him, but I do want to get to know him, and I have every right to be the protective mom.”
Yawanda slung an arm around her. “You have that role down pat, Ma.”
Letty came around the counter and flanked her mom on the other side. She put her arm around her and laid her head against her shoulder. “I’ve been blessed to have such a protective mom.” She paused. “But maybe take off the badge before you see him.”
Lydia laughed. “Fine.” She made a show of unclipping the badge from her belt and dropped it into her purse. “Better?”
“Better.”
Letty texted Thane. —I had a surprise visitor at the shop today.—
Thane texted back immediately.
—Please don’t tell me it was Sasha.—
She tapped on the screen of her phone quickly to ease Thane’s worry.
—No. My mom. She wants to be here for us. Give us a hand.—
She sent that and bit her bottom lip. Before Thane could respond, she sent another.
—She’d really like to meet you.—
The three dots appeared. And then:
—I’d love to meet your mom. Dinner tonight? Just the three of us?—
She smiled.
—That’d be perfect.—
—I won’t have time to make anything nice, but I have a personal chef on standby for situations like this. What’s your mom’s favorite meal?—
His words melted her heart. He was the kind of guy who would want to cook a special meal by hand for her mom, and want to make up for not being able to do that with the next best thing. Smiling, she looked up from her phone. “Hey, Mom, you want lobster?”
***
Letty and Lydia arrived at All Heart Tech and rode the elevator up to the first floor. Rebekah was there, ready to greet them. “Mom, this is—”
“Rebekah,” Lydia finished and held out her hand. “I’ve done my research.”
“Of course,” Rebekah said. “I don’t blame you.”
Even so, Letty eyed her mom.
“I’ll let Thane know you’re here.” Rebekah activated the com that connected to Thane’s office. “Letty and her mom have arrived.”
A moment later, the door opened and Thane stepped out. He wore a blue suit with a matching vest, white shirt, and a gunmetal-gray tie with tiny white polka dots. And he looked damn good. As he always did.
He immediately held out his hand to her mom. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Remis.”
Her mom accepted his hand and studied him. The tension in the room was palpable. Letty glanced behind her mom at Rebekah, who gave her the slightest of shrugs.
Finally, her mom said, “Please, call me Lydia.”
Thane nodded and released her hand. “I hear you like lobster.”
“I do.”
“Well, I’ve got Maine lobsters at home with our names on them, if you’d like to accept my invitation for dinner, that is.”
Lydia’s shoulders lowered, and her face softened. “Invitation accepted.”
THANE:
Dinner went smooth. Good wine, succulent lobster, warm cornbread, hearty clam chowder, and a fresh green salad. Thane was in the kitchen, rinsing the plates, when Lydia approached. “Could we talk privately?”
Thane dried off his hands. “Of course.”
As they left the kitchen, he caught the look Letty gave her mom. It said, “You better not do anything I have to apologize for later.”
Her mom gave Letty a look in return that Thane could only decipher as, “I know what I’m doing.”
He led Lydia to his home office and directed her toward the sitting area surrounded by bookshelves. She sat forward in a wing-backed chair, with her elbows on her knees, her fingers linked together.
Nerves vibrated inside him. He was about to talk to the mother of the woman he loved. The need to prove he was worthy of her daughter—and that he loved her with the very breath in his body—made his hands sweat.
“I’m going to stay at Letty’s apartment, see if I can trick the people threatening the two of you to strike.”
Thane’s head snapped up. “What?” Out of all the things she could’ve said, he wasn’t expecting that.
“I’ll wear her clothes with a hoodie over it as if she’s trying to cover up her face from paparazzi. I’ll follow her schedule to the tee. The only difference is that when she stays here at night with you, I’ll make a show of leaving with your bodyguard. I already spoke to him about this plan. He’s in.”
Thane clenched his jaw. He didn’t like that a plan had been made without him.
“It’ll look as if she’s going back home to her apartment every night,” Lydia continued. “If they think Letty is at home, alone, they’ll come. I can pretty much guarantee that.”
“And when they come, she won’t be there. You will be.”
“Me and my sidearm.”
Thane shook his head. “I can’t let you do this.”
“You don’t have a say. I’m her mother. I was there that night. I was there years later to see the damage caused by foster care and the Danes and the Cabots. I couldn’t protect her from those things, only comfort her after, but I can protect her now.”
He stared into Lydia’s determined, fierce eyes and understood that need, because he felt it deep down. All the way to his toes he felt the intense urge to protect Letty from the demons set loose upon her following Constantine’s death. Still, his mind screamed objection.
Not taking his gaze from hers, he said, “I still can’t let you do this. She already lost her biological mother because of my father. I can’t let her lose you, too, the only mom she has left.” He shook his head more vehemently. “I can’t.”
Lydia jolted straight, as if shot in the middle of a bulletproof vest. “That’s not going to happen.”
“We don’t know that. We don’t know what they’re capable of. We don’t know how many people are behind this.”
Lydia released a breath. “You’re right, and I understand your resistance to it, but I’m willing to do this, which means I am going to do this.”
Fuck. Thane looked away. He didn’t want anything to happen to Lydia, and the only way he could ensure that—aside from making sure she did not follow through on this plan—was agreeing to it and doing whatever he could to keep her safe.
“Can we bring Letty and Abbot in on this conversation?”
“That’s fine with me.”
Letty sat down beside Thane and took his hand. Lydia leaned back in her chair, and Abbot stood to the side, arms crossed.
“I need to make something clear,” Lydia said to the room. “I don’t just want to do this because they’re threatening my daughter. Although, yes, that is a huge part of my driving force, but I’m also doing this for you, Thane.”
He met her eye.
“You were the one who had a knife thrown at him and who lost blood.”
Beside him, Letty flinched. He slipped his other arm behind her to hold her close.
“They’ve targeted Letty with notes and objects. Now, I’m not downplaying that at all. I know how troubling those things can be for survivors of trauma. But they’ve targeted you with physical violence, Thane. They’re proving that they’re willing to do anything. Even to the son of the man who they’ve sworn loyalty, too.”
Abbot nodded. “Agreed. That’s why I’ve already agreed to whatever’s required of me.”
Thane shifted to see Letty’s face. “What are your thoughts?”
“I don’t like involving anyone else in this, which is exactly why I had kept all this from my mom for as long as I did, but there’s really no stopping her.”
“No, there isn’t,” Lydia said.
“And if she goes ahead with it, so will I,” Abbot added. “I’m not going to leave a mom, law enforcement or not, out there without backup.”
Thane bent his neck. No, Abbot wouldn’t. And neither could he.
“Okay,” he said and turned to Lydia. “But how do we ensure your safety when you’re in Letty’s apartment?”
“Could Abbot stay with her?” Letty asked and looked to Abbot for an answer.
“If they see me go in and not come out, they won’t approach, which is what we want them to do.”
“So, she will be alone.”
“Not exactly. I had an idea. There’s an apartment building across the road from your building. I called them after your mom told me about her plan, and the place right across from yours is vacant.” Abbot looked between Lydia and Thane. “We could rent it, and I could stay there to keep an eye on things.”
Thane nodded. “I like that idea.”
“Me, too,” Letty said.
They looked to Lydia.
She grinned. “What are we waiting for?”
So, they set everything into motion. They secured the apartment with a perfect view of Letty’s place, and they moved in the necessary equipment Abbot would require for all-night stakeouts—a chair, 144X Zoom Binoculars with a telescope tripod, a coffeemaker, flashlight, and Abbot’s carbine rifle, just in case.
The first day and night of their plan, Thane was on edge, and so was Letty. But
nothing happened. Day two was quiet, too, making Thane’s anxiety only grow like a rubber band about to snap back. Day three, he started to breathe a little easier. Day four, he began to think that they were in the clear and nothing was going to happen. Day five confirmed that for him, but day six proved they couldn’t relax.
Letty’s phone rang in the middle of the night, jolting them awake. She snatched up her phone from her bedside table. “It’s my mom.”
Thane’s phone went off, too, and he grabbed it. “Abbot.”
They shared a second’s look before answering their calls and activating speakerphone. “Mom, are you okay?” Letty asked.
“Yes.”
A banging noise sounded from the speaker of Thane’s phone.
“Abbot, what’s going on?”
“I’m running to Letty’s apartment.”
“What happened?”
“A black SUV pulled up in front of Letty’s building. Someone got out of the passenger’s side. I couldn’t see them, but I did see them throw something. It took out Letty’s window.” He was panting as he spoke. “At first, I thought it was a grenade.”
Letty gasped. “Oh my God.”
“But there wasn’t a bang. The car sped off. I didn’t shoot. I wanted to get a license plate, but they’d covered it. They were prepared.”
“I heard the glass shatter,” Lydia said. “I ran to the window, but the car was already
gone by the time I got there.”
“What did they throw into the apartment?” Thane asked.
“I’m still looking for it.”
A knock sounded.
“I’m here,” Abbot said.
Thane and Letty stayed on their lines while Lydia and Abbot searched the apartment for whatever had gone sailing through the window.
“I’ve got something,” Abbot said.
A scraping noise came from their speakers as furniture moved.
“It’s a brick. There’s a note attached to it.”
Letty glanced at Thane. “What does it say?”
Paper crumpled, and then Lydia’s bitter laughter filled the room. “It says, ‘Nice try, bitch.’ I guess the jig is up. They know.”
Thane exhaled. “That’s it then. Secure the window. I’ll call someone to fix it tomorrow. And, Abbot, bring Lydia here right away.”
“I will.”
They ended their calls.
Letty instantly burrowed into his side.
“It’s okay.” He kissed her temple. “It’s done.”
“No, it’s not.” She leaned back. “They made it clear that we could get comfortable and they’ll do something the moment our guards are down. They’re far from done.”
Thane held her until Abbot and Lydia arrived. The whole time, even after seeing they were safe, his mind repeated Letty’s words.
They’re far from done.
LETTY:
At the airport, Letty wrapped her arms around her mom. “Thank you for being here.”
“I only wish I could’ve done more.”
“Having you here was enough. Believe me.”
Lydia squeezed her harder before pulling back. “Whenever you need me, all you have to do is ask.” She pointed at Thane. “Same goes for you.”
He nodded. “I will.”
“Good. Now come here and give me a hug.”
Smiling from ear to ear, Thane stepped forward and embraced Lydia.
Letty watched her mom whisper something in Thane’s ear. Thane let out a breath of a laugh. When he stepped back, his eyes were sparkling. “Thank you.”
With a parting wink to Letty, she picked up her luggage and walked through the airport’s doors. Letty watched her mom through the glass until she couldn’t see her anymore. Then she turned to Thane. “What did my mom say to you?”
Thane grinned. “That’s between me and your mom.”
“Fine. You two keep your secrets.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Let’s go.”
***
After showering and dressing, Letty rushed to work. She gabbed with Yawanda while they prepped to open for the day. Humming to herself, Letty walked past the cabinet that housed the music boxes and came to a halt. The Reuge was gone. She scanned the shelves to make sure it hadn’t gotten put back in a different spot, but no, it wasn’t anywhere in the cabinet.
“Hey, Yawanda,” she called out toward the backroom. “Did you sell the Reuge?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right!” Yawanda bounced out of the backroom. “I forgot to tell you. Someone bought it from our website yesterday and paid for overnight delivery. After the payment cleared, I boxed it up and brought it to the post office during my lunch break. Whoever had ordered it should be enjoying it right now.”
Letty tried to disguise the pang she felt in her chest with a smile. “I hope so.”
“I know so. No one could own that music box and not be utterly delighted.”
Letty agreed. You were always going to sell it, she told herself. That was why it was in her shop to begin with. She couldn’t be surprised when someone bought it, and feeling disappointed that it served its purpose was ridiculous. They’d sold a Reuge! That was huge. And now someone owned a Reuge. Possibly their first and only. That was also big. My customers are more important than my sentimental attachments.
Turning from the cabinet, she considered if she should try to hunt down another
Reuge, in case the customer who’d bought it told others where they’d found such a treasure and they came hoping to buy one of their own. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do that. Why set herself up for another pang to the heart when that one sold?
While scrutinizing the shop an idea came to her for what they could sell in the shop. She bit her bottom lip. “Hey, Wanda, what do you think about adding a charm bracelet station to the shop?”
Yawanda faced her with raised eyebrows.
“We could have clear organizers full of popular stainless steel and gold charms and catalogues in case a customer is looking for a specific charm we don’t have. They could make a bracelet for themselves right here or make a gift for a loved one.”
“Popular charms?” Yawanda eyed her. “Like itty bitty knives?”
Letty returned the glare. “No knives or guns or handcuffs, but definitely the letters of the alphabet.” And there it was, the thing that’d sparked this idea—D-E-A-D. Someone was sending her charms because of the name she’d been given at birth, and everyone knew who she was now, so why not capitalize on that? Why not use this marketing gold nugget to her advantage? And if it pissed off whoever was targeting her, all the better.
Yawanda nodded slowly. Then her lips pulled into a smirk. “I think it’s your best damn idea since you hired me.”
Letty laughed.
“Can you just imagine the word of mouth? Let It Charm You, run by Charm Ambrosia, now Letty Remis, with a charm bracelet station? That’s genius.”
“Or morbid, considering it’s not just a clever play on my given name but that I’d had an actual charm bracelet that I’d lost the night I’d…” Her voice trailed off.
Yawanda waved a hand in the air. “I don’t think anyone knows about that. It wasn’t ever mentioned in police reports or on the news, was it?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Then it’s fine.” Yawanda took a step back. “We could put the table right here, in front
of the counter.” She held out her arms, indicating the space. “There’s enough room for a
long table to fit a few people, and there’d still be room for people checking out. We’d be able to keep an eye on the people making bracelets, too, considering charms are easy to pocket.”
“Good idea.”
Yawanda picked up a notepad and pen. “I can start bulk ordering charms.” She bounced with excitement. “So, the letters of the alphabet. What else?”
Letty considered that. “A sun, daisy, rainbow, butterfly, cloud, and star.”
Yawanda scribbled down each one. “Those were oddly specific.”
“That’s because those are the charms I’d had on my bracelet.”
“So, you are making a statement.”
Letty shrugged. “Possibly. Maybe more to satisfy myself since, as you pointed out, no one knows I had a charm bracelet. Let alone what charms were on it.”
Yawanda tapped the end of the pen to her mouth. “Okay. What about animals? Elephant, sea turtle, whale, giraffe, and obviously cat and dog charms.”
“Sure.”
“And hobbies? Like ballet slippers, an old-fashioned camera, and music symbols?”
“Of course.”
“Memories, too. Hmm…” Yawanda tapped the pen against her mouth again. “Plane, hot air balloon, the Eiffel tower, snowflake…” Yawanda’s eyes lit up. “Zodiac signs!”
Letty laughed.
“Can we have all the planets, too, since you want the sun?”
“That’d be cool. We could have a couple on display. Like the full zodiac for one bracelet and another featuring our solar system, Pluto included.”
“Yes, yes, I like it. What else?” Yawanda twisted her lips to the side. “Symbols are popular, like an anchor, infinity knot, peace sign, four-leaf clover, and wishbone. Definitely religious charms. All religions. A pentacle, the Star of David, a cross, the Hamsa hand, the Buddhist Ohm, and all the rest. Oh, and can’t forget the evil eye.”
Letty smiled.
“We should probably cater to the couples, too, and get some sappy charms.”
“Probably,” Letty agreed.
“Okay. Engagement rings, key and lock. Should we be all cliché and offer heart-shaped charms?”
Letty stiffened, remembering the heart charm Constantine had given her as a so-called gift when she’d met him.
“What?” Yawanda laid down the pen. “Heart charms are silly, aren’t they?”
“No,” Letty croaked. She cleared her throat, tried again. “No. People will want them. Add them to the list.”
“Are you okay?”
“Fine. You can take care of the charms. I trust your taste.”
Yawanda picked up the notepad. “You can trust my taste, but don’t trust me entirely. I may go overboard. I’ll try not to spend our entire budget on charms.”
Letty smiled. “Remember that we can specially order any charms a customer may need.”
Yawanda waved a hand in the air. “Got it.” And she disappeared into the backroom.
Letty’s fingers circled around her wrist. The memory of her bracelet there, jingling with each movement, flooded back to her. Her skin became hot. Her throat constricted. She closed her eyes a moment and sucked in a desperate breath. As she took in oxygen, she begged the memory to leave.
Go away. I don’t want you. Go away. Now.
She focused on her breathing. In and out. In and out.
In.
Out.
In…
Out…
After a moment, calm returned.
She opened her eyes and lowered her hands. Her gaze went to the place where they’d set up the charm bracelet station and nodded. She wanted that, needed to embrace who she had been when she was a child and meld that little girl with who she was now. For far too long she’d kept that little girl locked up in a dark room. Shackled. Imprisoned. How was that any better than what the Danes and Cabots had done to that child? She didn’t think it was, and she owed that child for secluding her for so long.
Letty had to make it up to Charm.
***END TO THE DELETED SCENES***
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Chrys Fey 