Page 2 of Refurbished

“My little friends?” I assumed she meant the people from the bar.

“You mean West, Tyler, and Spark?”

“Yeah. You know how much I like them.” I loved my mom, and she was the only one who would call the adults I hung out with my ‘little friends’.

“I work all weekend, Mom.” She sighed. “You need to get out. I’d love to see you with a partner.”

My mother worried about my happiness, and it was sweet. The reality was, I agreed with her. I really did want someone in my life. The problem was, I could find plenty of men to have sex with, but someone who understood who I was and accepted my past proved to be difficult. I was also picky about who I brought into my world. A few weeks with Dr. Mars could be fun, but I already knew it wouldn’t be more than that, and I wanted more.

I took my plate to the sink. “Just leave it there, Honey. I’ll wash everything after I make some muffins for you to take to the bar with you.”

“You don’t need to feed my friends, Mom.”

She beamed at me. “They are family, Angus, plus they love my treats.”

Mom wasn’t wrong. Several times a week, I would take something she made to work with me. They always devoured her offerings and sent my mother notes of thanks. It was adorable to watch her preen as she read each one. A few times a month, she would come into The Dapper Duck, and every member of staff would treat her like the queen she was. It didn’t matter if she was there for work or a date; they would give her the full VIP treatment. I knew how much she enjoyed it, and that made my heart happy.

“Don’t forget the trash.”

I laughed. Her reminder was the same as it had been when it became my chore—I was ten. I think she had assigned it because she knew my bandit friends were in the shed. I’d cared for families of raccoons in our storage building for as long as I could remember. It started before I was responsible for the trash. And when I lived in town, I would come feed them and clean up their beds a few times a week. One of the things I had always made sure of was never being far from this house, and one reason was my furry friends. I had seen the female I called Storm wandering around a few days ago, and she had been very pregnant. Many litters of kits had been raised out there, and I knew that she would have her babies any day now.

I shoved the bags into the bins. Ramsey danced near the wooden boxes I had made into nests. When I looked inside, there were four eyes that looked at me expectantly. “Oh, your mama must be moving you in.” They were cute little buggers. It hadn’t been more than a day since I was out here last, so I was guessing Storm had the babies somewhere else and moved the family inside, which was safer than a den in the woods. “Okay, you two. I’m sure your mama will be back soon, so stay out of trouble.” Ramsey continued to bounce around but never got too close to the kits. He knew better.

I didn’t have to be at the bar until 4:00 p.m., which meant I had time to work on my hobby. As I walked back into the house, my mom smiled. “Going to the study for a bit?”

“Yeah. I’m on a critical part.”

“Can’t wait to see it. Join me for a late lunch before you head to work?”

“Sure, Mom, I’d like that.” She was the best person I knew. I watched her stay strong through my father’s entire illness, never complaining. They had loved each other until his very last day. After he passed, she was a mess and forgot about me. Even though I knew she had to be in pain, it was still hard to be so alone. Years later, when her mom was sick and went into a nursing home, she would drive an hour every day to spend time with her. Always the rock, but you could see she was tired and lonely. I hated that the lines around her eyes got deeper every month.

Losing my dad had destroyed her, so after I left for college, she thought moving to the city would heal her. It didn’t help as much as she thought it would.

Once I got myself moving forward, it was easy to see how she still struggled. I moved back to the house, then invited her to move in after I finished the remodeling. Convincing her to move home was what she needed, and I had seen her finally release the pain and start living again. The woman was my hero. She never stopped her successful career or stopped managing the family trust, but she had been sad. It was good to see that burden lifted. She had even gone out on a few dates, which weirded me out a little. She should be meeting men—she was in her fifties—but she was still my mom.

When I entered the ‘my study’, I smiled. The house originally had eight bedrooms plus a library, formal dining room, and whatever else mansions in the 1800’s offered. When I bought it, I turned the library into my study, but that was a misnomer. I created a LEGO room. My current project was one of the bigger sets. The shelves of the old library were lined with different finished items. In the middle was my pet project, a diorama that started from under the sea to outer space and everything in between.

Ramsey curled up in one of the overstuffed chairs while I sat at the worktable putting plastic bricks in their proper locations. Several hours later, I had lunch with my mom, then went to check on the raccoons in the shed. It had been about four hours since I had last seen them, and I hoped Storm had come back. My heart sank when I looked, and they were still alone. The nest hadn’t been built up at all, which meant she hadn’t been around since I looked this morning. They were twins like Weston—my boss—and his twin, Easton. In my head, I named them North and South just to be a smart ass—nobody would know. Back in the house, I searched for my mom. “Have you seen the mama raccoon around the shed today?”

“No. She usually comes around before sundown.”

She was right. I’d have to check when I got home. I was sure North and South would be reunited with their mom by the time I got off shift. “I’m getting ready for work, then heading out.”

“Okay. I have a date tonight. Don’t worry if I’m not home.”

“You will not be out all night until I meet this guy. Do you understand me?”

She turned and looked at me, her eyes narrowing. Without a word, she waited for me to take back what I said and change my tone. I wasn’t going to back down on this one, so I glared right back at her. “Fine.” She huffed, and I did a victory dance in my head. “You are off on Sunday. You’ll be having dinner with Tom and me. Then I can get your approval and maybe get laid.”

“Mother! You can not say things like that.”

“I will. Since you insist on treating me like a teenager, I will talk like one. Now go get ready for work.” She shooed me toward my room. “Don’t forget to take the muffins.”

Ramsey watched me from the bed as I got dressed. Our uniform was pretty simple: black jeans, black boots, and a black, dark burgundy, or dark green long-sleeve button-down. Since I was my team's lead and the owner’s best friend, I could make a few changes to my attire. I placed the corset on the bed and made sure the lacing was where I wanted it. I pulled it on and, as I hooked it together in the front, I enjoyed how tight it was from my chest to my waist.

When I looked in the mirror, I loved what I saw. I knew my body was chiseled. My muscles had been built with hard work, leaving me with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and solid abs, including an eight-pack with a V-line to match, and my jaw was sharp with a tightly groomed beard. Men saw all that and hit on me all the time, but I never understood what they saw until I put on a corset vest and cinched it tight—only then did I see what they did.

I looked in the mirror. The binder I chose today—I had a dozen or more—was dark purple filigree, with a black background and gold lining. It looked sharp, and I looked good. Turning back and forth, I made sure everything was in place, pulled on my blazer, took one more look, and headed to work with the muffins my mom had made.