by April Lust
“Hey there.”
She gasped and spun around quickly, startled. The man who’d walked in so quietly gave a short bark of laughter. It wasn’t exactly a friendly sound. She thought that there might be a smile playing around his lips as she pressed her back to the case and tried to catch her breath, but his beard and mustache made it hard to tell. If there was a smile in that salt and pepper tangle, it sure as hell didn’t reach his eyes.
He was just as big as Ethan, but there wasn’t any warmth coming from him. In short, he was an intimidating presence and she found herself shrinking even further backwards. Should she call for Ethan?
“I’m not gonna hurt you, girlie,” he assured her, his voice cigarette rough and his tone slightly sarcastic. “I’m William. The Sergeant at Arms for The Angel’s Keepers. That’s my buddy’s jacket you’re eyein’.”
“Oh, you knew Ethan’s dad?” Amelia asked, feeling herself relax slightly. She gave the man a smile, hoping to make up for the way she’d practically screamed for help a second ago. She really didn’t want to offend anyone here.
Anyway, it should have been obvious that he’d known Ethan’s father. He wasn’t exactly old, but he was clearly a good bit older than Ethan. He also had that dangerous air she’d teased Ethan about earlier. She slightly regretted it now and she found herself glad that Ethan was easier going.
“Yep,” William said, hooking his thumbs into his belt loops and looking at her appraisingly for a moment. “I’m guessin’ you know Ethan, too.”
There was a hint of suggestion there, but Amelia decided not to take offense. Not just yet, anyway. She’d see how the rest of the conversation progressed first. “I do,” she said evenly. “I’m Amelia Stratton.”
His expression changed so rapidly that she was tempted to take another step back. With her back to the glass case, though, there was nowhere else to go.
“State Representative Stratton’s daughter?” he asked, his voice low and furious.
She swallowed hard and pulled herself up as tall as she could, trying not to look as intimidated as she was. “Yes,” she answered.
“Goddamn it,” he muttered under his breath. Then in a louder voice, he asked, “Where the hell is Ethan?”
“He’s in the garage,” Amelia answered quickly.
She was sorry he was mad and she wished there was a way she could redirect the man, but she was too eager to get him away from her to think of anything believable. Her knees began to feel shaky. She’d never been looked at with such venom before. “He’s going to take the bike back to—” But William was already turning, heading for the garage. When the door closed behind him, Amelia walked over and sank down on the couch, trying to catch her breath.
# # #
“Hey, William,” Ethan said, wiping the grease off of a wrench and then dropping it down into the tool bag he planned to put in his saddle bag. “I was wondering if you--”
“What the hell is that jackass politician’s daughter doing here?” William demanded, cutting him off.
Ethan sighed. He’d known William wouldn't take Amelia’s presence well, but he’d hoped for better than this. “I’m--”
“An idiot,” William cut in fury burning in his tone. “What in the fuck were you thinking? Jesus Christ, Ethan, she--”
“She’s pregnant,” Ethan said flatly.
William’s jaw dropped. Ethan went back to packing up his tools, trying to calm his heart rate. Getting into a brawl with William wouldn’t help anything. He had to keep reminding himself of that. This really wasn’t the way he’d wanted anyone to find out, but what else could he have said? William was never going to let it go.
“Are youshitting me?” William demanded after a few moments of silence.
“No,” Ethan answered, zipping the back closed. “I’m completely serious.”
“And you...hell I don’t even know. What are you doing? Gonna play knight in shining armor just because you took her home one time?” William stared him. When Ethan didn’t deny it, he slammed his hand against the wall. “Jesus, do you even know if it’s yours? She left the bar with you after a whiskey and a dance!”
“Watch it.”
“Then make some damn sense! Her father is trying to destroy us. Everything your dad worked for! Everything I fucking worked for! And you’re playing goddamn house with some whore you--”
Ethan dropped the bag on the floor and stepped over, getting in William’s personal space and staying there, looking the other man directly in the eyes. “I said to fucking watch it, William. Do not test me on this.”
William fell back a half of a step. “Maybe you should watch it, too,” he said. “I think it’s about damn time for you to figure out what’s more important here.”
Ethan stared at him. “What are you talking about, man? Are you saying I need to choose between this club or my kid? Jesus, are you really asking me that?”
“I’m asking you what your dad would have thought of you just letting all of this die. Especially just so you can play around with some woman who’s going to leave you the fucking minute the fun of disobeying Daddy runs out.”
“Why the fuck would she do that?” Ethan demanded.
“Why the fuck wouldn’t she?” William bellowed. “What do you think you have to keep a woman like her interested?”
“We’re having a kid together!”
“Yeah, your old man had a kid, too,” William said scathingly. “And look what happened with that. Get your head out of your ass and pay attention!”
There wasn’t anything Ethan could say to that argument. Hell, what did he have to offer a woman like Amelia? It wasn’t like she’d jumped at his proposal. Maybe she was already having second thoughts. Suddenly, he was exhausted. “We need to talk about this later, man,” he said tiredly. “There’s no point in doing this right now.”
“There’s no point in any of this,” William corrected. “I’m takin’ a break.”
Ethan felt winded, like he’d been sucker punched. “What do you mean, you’re taking a break? You’re a founding member! You’re my Sergeant--”
“Yeah, and you probably just put the last nail in this coffin.”
“William!” Ethan called after the other man when he turned and walked out. “Come on, man, this is insane!”
He didn’t even turn back. He just shoved his hands into his pockets, hunched his shoulders into the wind and walked over to his bike. Ethan pushed a hand through his hair, wondering what else could go wrong and what the hell he was supposed to do now. Then he saw Amelia standing in the doorway. Tears were seeping down her cheeks and dripping off of her chin.
“Shit,” he growled. He’d known that she would be able to overhear some of what was said, but he hadn’t known that she was there listening. “Were you there the whole time?”
She shook her head, trying to wipe her cheeks and succeeding only in smearing her tears around. “Only since he called me a whore.”
Ethan walked over and pulled her against his chest. Her body began to shake as she cried harder. He really wanted to chase William down and rearrange the other man’s face for him. “I’m sorry, Amelia.”
“Is that what they’re all going to think of me?” she asked between sobs. “Are they all going to be like that?”
“Not if they want to keep all their teeth, they’re not,” Ethan said grimly. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”
“I thought you wanted to get the bike,” she whispered.
“I can get it later.” He didn’t feel like hooking the trailer up to the old but still serviceable truck they kept in the back. “Come on, we’ve gotta get the place cleaned up a little before your friend comes over. Also, I thought that you might wanna go shopping.”
She followed him out quietly. “You don’t have to buy me stuff.”
“Maybe I just want you to quit wearing my shirts,” he said, trying to keep it light. When she didn’t react, he tilted her chin up. “Hey. It’s just one guy and his one jackass opinion. I’ll hunt h
im down and kick his ass if you want.”
A hint of a smile played around her lips. “No, that’s okay.”
“You think I can’t take him?”
“That’s not the problem.”
“If you change your mind, let me know,” he said, only half joking. “I’m definitely in the mood for it.”
“It’s okay. You still stood up for me,” she realized. “You always do.”
“And I always will,” he promised, realizing that he meant every word of that. “Now get your helmet on and we’ll go get you something to wear. And maybe we can get some Chinese food for lunch, too. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth.”
She slid onto the bike behind him and moved in close, letting herself be comforted by his heat. William’s words had stung, but Ethan’s had been like a healing balm. It would be a long time before she wasn’t hurt by it, but he’d done exactly the right thing. She was just sorry that she’d complicated his life so much.
Chapter 21
Ethan
“Hey, you must be Aubrey,” Ethan said, opening the front door in response to the brisk knock.
“That’s me. And I guess you’re Ethan.”
“You guessed right.”
He stepped to the side so the woman could walk inside. He and Amelia had only just gotten back from a day of wandering the town aimlessly. Amelia had picked up a few outfits, but he’d been able to tell her heart wasn’t in it. His anger at William burned brighter.
“Amelia wasn’t looking for you to get here until around five,” he went on.
“I’m early because I didn’t stop anywhere for lunch,” Aubrey said. “So I seriously hope that having dinner is a big part of the plan for the evening.”
Ethan gave Aubrey a swift appraisal as she stepped into his house. Fluffy pink and blonde hair stood straight up on top of her head, leaving no distractions from her oval face. She had a direct gaze that seemed to take everything in at a glance and a mouth that looked like it normally curved easily into a smile.
She was wearing a plain green t-shirt and a pair of worn in jeans. The red converse sneakers on her feet were even more worn than the jeans. She surprised Ethan, but it was a pleasant surprise. There had been far too few of those lately and he felt a surge of gratitude as he looked at her.
He’d been afraid that he was going to be inspected by a flighty socialite. The woman was about as far from that description as a person could be and he found himself warming to her immediately.
“We can do that,” he assured her. “Anything you want in particular?”
“Lots and lots of pizza,” she answered promptly. “Every pizza place I drove past called my name on the way here.”
When Amelia appeared, Aubrey gave her a smile and opened her arms. “You’ll figure out pretty quickly that I’m not fancy like this one here,” she finished as the two of them hugged.
“Oh, bite me,” Amelia said, but Ethan was pleased to see a bit of the sparkle return to her pretty green eyes.
“I just might if we don’t make some moves in the direction of the nearest pizza place,” Aubrey assured her, faking seriousness. “I want it cheap, fast, and greasy.”
“I could hook you up with a few of my mechanic buddies,” Ethan said without thinking about it. The minute he’d said it, he wondered how she would take it. The last thing he wanted to do was tick her off, too.
Aubrey grinned, revealing a cute dimple. “A few might be a lot to start with,” she replied in that same dry tone.
Ethan’s relieved laugh ended on a whoosh when Amelia smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand.
“Ethan! And don’t you encourage him,” she ordered, pointing at Aubrey. “He doesn’t need it.”
“I promise nothing,” the other woman said loftily. “I assume I’m driving?”
“Uh, I guess so,” Amelia agreed, looking at Ethan’s bike. “I doubt all of us would fit on that.”
“Yeah, because let’s face it, even if you have a side car, there’s absolutely no way I’m going to be getting in it,” Aubrey said. “Now, can we pretty please get this show on the road?”
“Sure,” Ethan agreed. They’d had Chinese not long before, but he could go for some pizza.
Soon enough they were sitting in a booth, chowing down on the greasiest pizza on Ethan’s side of town. Aubrey’s eyes were closed in abject pleasure as she chewed a mouthful of cheese, bread, pepperoni, sausage, onion, green pepper, and pineapple. Ethan was watching in fascination.
“You’ve gotta admit that is a weird combination,” he said to Amelia. She’d been totally calm about it and that was flipping him out.
She shrugged. “I’ve seen weirder.” She turned to Aubrey. “Where are the anchovies and the mushrooms?”
Aubrey swallowed. “I’m off anchovies now,” she informed them. “It’s no fun if you’re not grossing people out and--”
“Everyone got used to it?” Amelia guessed.
“Exactly.” Aubrey polished off her first slice and then wiped her mouth. “Okay, Ethan. Tell me all about yourself.”
She trained that intense gaze on him and he suddenly felt the need to tell her where he was the night of June 28th and everything else that he could think of.
“Aubrey,” Amelia said in a warning tone. “Don’t freak him out.”
“The pizza already did that,” Ethan said.
Aubrey waved her hand. “Oh, come on. We all knew I was going to grill the guy. That’s why I’m here. It’s the obligatory best friend, ‘you hurt her and I hurt you right back’ speech.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Ethan admitted. “But I’ve never seen it in action.”
“Then you’ve been dating girls with crappy friends,” Aubrey said flatly.
Ethan picked up his own slice, loaded down with all the meat the establishment offered. “It’s a possibility,” he acknowledged. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Job,” Aubrey said.
“I’ve got a steady job at a mechanic shop fixing everything that rolls in. I manage the place when they rope me into it. I do okay, money wise.”
“Anything crazy in the romantic past? Stalkers? Crazy ex-wives? Insane ex-lovers waiting to boil your pet bunny?”
“I avoid that trap by not having a rabbit.”
Aubrey nodded. “Smart man.”
“Also, I’ve never been married, and my stalker got bored and moved on to someone more interesting,” he added, reaching over for a slice of Aubrey’s pizza. He took a cautious bite. It wasn’t half bad.
“Okay,” Amelia said. “This conversation is getting weird. Why don’t you two get to know each other through normal human interaction instead of pointed questions and witty rebuttals?”
“Hey,” Aubrey protested. “He gets called witty and all I get is pointed?”
“Wittypointed questions,” Amelia corrected herself.
“I guess we could do that,” Aubrey allowed.
“So does that mean I get to ask what you do?” Ethan questioned, taking another bite of the pizza. It was really starting to grow on him. He wondered how it would be with mushrooms and anchovies and decided he’d chase that rabbit another day.
“I work at a crisis pregnancy center,” Aubrey answered.
For some reason that struck them all as very funny. The rest of the meal was much more relaxed.
# # #
“All right,” Aubrey said when they were back at Ethan’s house. “I know that this is your place, Ethan, but I need you to get out for a while so Amelia and I can talk about you. Go and do guy things.”
“Fair enough.” He’d figured he was going to get thrown out at some point. There just weren’t any real places to have a private conversation in his small house. He gave Amelia a kiss on the cheek. “If you two need me, I’ll be drinking with the guys and belching the alphabet.”
“Well?” Amelia demanded the minute the door closed behind Ethan.
“Well?” Aubrey repeated.
“Don’t mess with the preg
nant woman,” Amelia said emphatically. “Tell me what you think of him!”
“He’s okay. Tall, dark, and handsome,” Aubrey answered dismissively. “Let’s get something to drink. All this desert air has really dried my throat out. I don’t know how you stand it; I don’t remember it being this dry when I lived here.”