She shook her head. “Cousin, you are so stuck on the fact that you aren’t good enough for Ruby that even when the solution to you getting her back is right in front of you, you still manage to knock down any idea for you to be with her.”
I stabbed my pen into the paper. “I’m not good enough for her, Maud. Nothing I can do about that. Let’s try to get a song written. I wanted to have this album done by the new year, but that shit isn’t going to happen.”
Maud let the topic of Ruby drop but that didn’t mean I stopped thinking about her.
Would Ruby want to go on tour with me? Half of the time we were crammed into a small car or hotel, and there wasn’t enough room to think let alone work. It wouldn’t work.
At least I didn’t think it would.
*
Chapter Twenty-One
Ruby
Nose butts and sloppy kisses.
Mookie barked at the front door and I stared through the peephole.
It was Maud.
Not my first guess of who would be knocking on my door.
Mookie woofed again.
“Shush, big guy.”
“Ruby?” Maud called through the door. “I just wanna talk for like two seconds. I’m kind of in a hurry.”
I looked down at Mookie. He wagged his tail excitedly and waited patiently for me to open the door. I pulled open the door and Mookie lunged at Maud.
“Hell, Mookie Wookie,” she cooed. She got down on her knees and let him lavish her with nose buts and sloppy kisses. “Hello, Mookie,” she cooed over and over.
“Did I tell you his name at Christmas?”
She shook her head and stood up. “Uh, no. I’m friends with Jonas. I’ve been over here a time or two.”
“Oh, okay.” Jonas had never mentioned Maud before, but it wasn’t like I loved her when he was home. “Did you need something?”
She nodded her head. “You need to get dressed and come with me.”
“Uh, what?” It was half past eight on New Year’s Eve, and Maud was wanting me to come with her with no questions asked.
“Look, I don’t know what hell happened between you and Harrison exactly, but I know Jonas’s dumbass had something to do with it. I’m sure he painted Harrison as some bad boy rocker because of me.”
“Say that again?” I was with her but then I was lost when she mentioned herself.
She waved her hand. “Forget I said that. Just come with me and talk to Harrison. He’s a freakin’ mess right now.”
“I didn’t go anywhere, Maud. He’s the one who stopped coming around.”
“He’s a guy, Ruby. Also known as an idiot who has no idea what to do with his feelings.” She leaned against the door frame. “You’ve heard his new songs, right?”
I nodded my head. “Yeah, I thought they were really good.”
“They are, and you are the reason that they are good.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “I don’t know, Maud.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just come with me. If you want to leave, you can whenever you want. I just know from where I stand you two are perfect for each other but then your brother opened his mouth enough to make Harrison to run for the hills.”
I dropped my chin to my chest and closed my eyes. Maybe I could just get closure from this. I still didn’t quite think he needed to run when we were both adults and could make our own decisions without the opinions of my brother butting in.
“I’ll come with, but I’m leaving if he ignores me.”
She held her hand out. “You got a deal.”
We shook hands and she waited in the living room while I got dressed.
If this was my only chance to talk to Harrison, I was going to take it.
He was wrong about us, and I was going to let him know exactly how I felt.
*
Chapter Twenty-Two
Harrison
Go, Rockstar…
“Encore.”
I shook my head. “I’m good.”
Malik pointed to the curtain. “Can you not hear them fucking chanting encore?” he asked.
I wasn’t in the mood to play. I didn’t even want to be here, but I knew I needed to get out of my head and do what I needed to for the band. That didn’t make it any easier to stay here though.
“Hold on,” Maud said. She jogged to the side of the stage and motioned to someone in the crowd.
“What the hell is she doing? Pulling a new lead singer for the band?” Darius laughed.
“She’s coming,” Maud announced.
“Who?” My question was answered when Ruby climbed the side stairs to the stage.
“Right on,” Darius laughed. “It was about time she came around to get you out of this funk you are in.”
“You got two minutes,” Maud said.
They band faded to the side and Ruby slowly walked over to me.
“I’m sorry.” The first words out of her mouth were an apology she didn't need to give.
I shook my head. “Nothing you need to be sorry for, Vixen.”
She pursed her lips. “I hated when you first called me that, but these past few days I missed it more than anything.”
“Dammit, Ruby. I don’t know how we are supposed to work.”
She looked around. “I don’t know how to answer that. There isn’t really a manual on how to make a relationship work. Especially one with a rock star.”
“And that is the problem, Ruby. Neither one of us know what to do.”
“You’re right, Harrison, but I thought we were figuring it out just fine together.”
“What in the hell is going on? It’s four minutes to midnight. You guys need to get out on that stage right now,” Mick called.
“I want a chance, Harrison. You didn’t give us one before. You just left without telling me what was going on in your head.”
“It’s not just my head, Ruby. Your brother doesn’t think we are a good idea either.”
She took a step closer to me. “Last I checked my brother had absolutely zero say in my life, especially my love life.”
“He just wants to make sure you don’t get hurt.”
“I know that, Harrison. But he’s also wrong thinking you are going to be the thing to hurt me.”
The crowd chanted encore louder and louder. The shouts were almost deafening.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Ruby,” I shouted.
“Then you won’t,” she insisted.
“Harrison,” Maud called. “We gotta get back on stage for the countdown.”
I closed my eyes. “I gotta get back to work, Ruby.” I opened my eyes and she had taken another step closer to me.
“Okay.”
A simple word.
A simple answer.
She made it so simple that it made me wonder if us being together could be as simple as us just being there for each other.
“I don't wanna leave you, Ruby. When I have to go on the road, I want you to come with me.”
“Okay,” she quickly replied.
“Harrison!” Maud yelled.
“I gotta go.”
She nodded her head. “Go, Rockstar. I’ll be here waiting.”
I grabbed my guitar Malik was holding and draped it over my shoulder. I walked out back on stage and looked to the side of the stage where Ruby had moved to.
“You guys want some more?” I asked the crowd. They roared even louder and I played a few chords. “I wrote a few new songs this past month, and they all come back to one person.” Some of the crowd awed while a few cheered. “Now, I was an idiot and ran away from her, but you wanna know what’s fucking crazy?”
I turned from the mic and motioned for Ruby to come out on stage. She shook her head but Mick gently grabbed her hand and pulled her over to me.
She clung to my side and tried to hide behind my back.
“Countdown,” Mick shouted.
“10… 9… 8… 7…” the crowd chanted. With each number Malik hit the drum and I pulled Ruby closed.
“You wanna give it a shot, Ruby?” I asked.
“6… 5…”
She looked around then nodded her head. “One hundred times yes,” she shouted.
“4… 3…”
A huge grin spread across my face and I wrapped my arms around her. I spun her around and dipped her low. “You got any plans for the New Year?” I asked
“2… 1.. Happy New Year!”
She nodded her head and winked. “Just kissing the bad boy.”
I pressed my lips to hers and knew I was right where I was supposed to be.
Twenty Nineteen was going to be the Wild Preacher’s Club year, and I knew as long as I had Ruby with me everything was going to be just fine.
After all, they said whoever you kissed at midnight on New Year’s would be the person you spend the rest of the year with.
Ruby was mine this year, and definitely for the next fifty or so.
*
About the Author
Winter Travers is a devoted wife, mother, and aunt turned author who was born and raised in Wisconsin. After a brief stint in South Carolina following her heart to chase the man who is now her hubby, they retreated back up North to the changing seasons, and to the place they now call home.
Winter spends her days writing happily ever after’s, and her nights with her hubby and son. She also has an addiction to anything MC related, her dog Thunder, and Mexican food! (Tamales!)
Winter loves to stay connected with her readers. Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact her.
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Coming Soon
Redlight
Nitro Crew Series
Book 3
January 29th
Catch the first chapter of Burndown from the Nitro Crew Series.
Burndown
Nitro Crew Series
Book 1
Chapter 1
Remy
“You need to call your mother.”
“I talked to her last week.”
Lo cleared his throat. “We are talking about the same woman, right?”
“The woman who treats me like I’m thirteen and not twenty-six.” I sighed and dropped the wrench on the workbench.
“Okay, we’re talking about the same woman. So, you should know you need to call her, because if you don’t call her, then I have to deal with her, and while I love the hell out of your mother, I don’t want to deal with her like that.”
“I’m well aware of the ways you like to handle my mother.” I shook my head, still trying to remove the image of what I had walked in on the last time I had been home. Thank God I had only seen Lo’s ass and my mom’s hand waving frantically. “You guys really shouldn’t do that on the kitchen table. People eat there.”
“And most people knock before they walk into someone's house.”
I ducked out the side door of the shop and leaned against the brick wall. “This is what you called to talk to me about?”
“When did you become such an asshole?”
“Got that from you,” I mumbled.
“Humph. You might wanna tone that down when you’re talking to me. I could kick your ass.”
“I always do enjoy these talks, Lo.” He was an ass half of the time, but he was a good guy. Plus, he kept my mom happy, so I couldn’t really find any fault with him.
His deep chuckle traveled through the phone. “Just call your mom when you get the chance. And by that, I mean call her today.”
He disconnected the call before I could say any more. That was his way. He said what he needed to, and that was it.
“Don’t you think you should be working on the car instead of gabbing on the phone?”
I shoved my phone into my pocket and twisted around to see Roc walking across the parking lot with a cup of coffee in his hand. From talking to one asshole to another.
“Just talking to Lo.”
“Should I care who Lo is?” He stood in front of me with his hand in his pocket, looking like the asshole he was—ripped and tattered jeans, black boots, and a tight shirt stretched across his chest. I don’t think I have ever seen him in anything other than what he was wearing today other than the color of the shirt varying. Today, he had on the same blue as the main sponsor for the Brooks Cummings Racing Team. Also known as the race team I was finally part of.
I shook my head. “Probably not. Just my mom’s husband.”
“Well, you can chit-chat on your own time. Right now, I need that new engine dropped into the car before five. We have time at the track tomorrow afternoon to see if it’ll run well enough for the first race of the season.” Roc nodded to the shop. “Once the engine is dropped, you can help with the clutch.”
Roc wandered off around the building, leaving me stewing.
This was my dream job, but I fucking hated it because it wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined my dream job. I was working for a top five NHRA team, but all I did was assist the clutch and driveline specialist. That was the job I really wanted. A specialist.
I needed to be grateful for the job I had since I was one of the youngest pit crew guys out there, but damn if I didn’t want more. I could do the job. I just needed to put in my time and prove that I was here to stay.
“Get to work, Grain,” Roc called.
Son of a bitch. That guy was on me like white on rice. I looked around but didn’t even see Roc. How the hell did he know I was still standing here if I couldn’t even see him?
“You need me to talk to him? Ask him to go easy on you?”
Fucking Frankie. “Still think you showed him your tits to get on his good side.”
She stuck her head out the side door and laughed. “He’s too old for me. I’m more into guys who couldn’t pass for being my dad.”
“That picky attitude is what’s keeping you from finding a guy, Frank.”
She shook her head. “Probably has to do with the fact people call me Frank, and I always have grease under my nails.”
I grabbed the rag out of my back pocket and tossed it at her. “That’ll help.”
She rolled her eyes. “A dirty shop towel sure is going to fix all of my problems.” She held open the door. “You helping me get the computer hooked up would actually help me more.”
“You really think they are going to let me help you? Roc thinks the only thing I’m good for is standing over Ronald and handing him a wrench now and then.” I hadn’t been as lucky as Frankie. We had both gone through High Performance Engine Building in school, along with ten other courses that had prepared us to be on the Cummings Racing Team, but Frankie had stood out with her natural ability with computers and her eye for detail.
“If Roc wants to get out of here before nine, he won’t mind you helping me.”
I rolled my eyes and slid past her into the shop. “You can argue with him over me helping you.” My eyes fell on Ronald, who was bent over the engine. “I’m sure ol’ Ronald is almost done, anyway. He even thinks it’s dumb for me to watch him.”
Frankie clapped me on the shoulder. “Ronald is old. Ronald will not be doing this job two years from now. When Ronald races off into the sunset, you and I both know this job is as good as yours.”
“Two years, Frank? I don’t wanna have to wait that long to do a job I can do right now.”
We watched Ronald slowly stand up from the engine with his hand on his back. “I’m thinking you might just have to wait one season.” She laughed and headed to the other side of the garage.
“Grain, you wanna come over here? I want you to make sure I got those nuts on tight enough,” Roland called.
I sighed and hung my head. This is what I was getting paid for—tightening nuts. Not like I was making some grand salary, but I had hoped to be doing more than this.
Patience.
The only problem with being patient was, I wasn’t.
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Kissing the Bad Boy Page 10