Tequila Blues: A Second Chance Romance (Serrated Brotherhood MC Book 3)

by Bijou Hunter

  My face, head, and ass throb in pain. The bar is too loud, and I’m overheated. Nothing is going the way I wanted, and I need to end this date before I make my situation worse.

  I grip Dayton’s shirt and tug, so he’ll look at me. “Take me home, or I’ll never go out with you again.”

  “Threatening me is never smart,” he says, rubbing his thumb over my swelling cheek.

  “Dayton, please, please, please take me home. I don’t want to be here. I’ve made a fool of myself, and my face hurts.”

  “How about your pretty noggin?” he asks, reaching around to run his fingers over the back of my head. “Don’t want you forgetting my name or the best sexual positions.”

  “Is this your way of saying you won’t take me home, and I’ll need to bum a ride from someone else?”

  Dayton gives me a nasty little smile, and I’m ready for him to make me do more squirming before he gives in.

  “Let’s ditch this place before JJ’s stalker-staring drills a hole in the back of my head.”

  I peek around Dayton to find his cousin indeed still watching us.

  “He’s probably pissed about me starting a fight with his girlfriend,” I say.

  Laughing, Dayton takes my hand and tugs me out of the bar. “Girlfriend,” he snorts. “So fucking romantic.”

  We arrive at his Harley where he surveys the intersection where Baltimore Street connects with Vine Road. This part of town isn’t safe for average people at night. Too many bars liquoring up losers before sending them into the world to act out their drunken frustrations.

  A guy like Dayton doesn’t need to worry about angry drunks, but he still scans the night looking for trouble. With his hawk-like gaze, he’s a predator in search of prey. He might want to hunt, but I only want to go home, cuddle up on my couch with Keanu, and watch Finding Nemo. Instead I’m nursing a growing headache on a dangerous street with a guy uninterested in calling it a night.

  Nine - Dayton

  I return Harmony to the Lush Gardens Trailer Park, even if I’m nowhere ready to call it a night. After climbing off the back of my Harley, she pats my shoulder in the way my grandma did when she felt sorry for me.

  “Tonight was a disaster,” Harmony announces, holding a hand to her eye. “Let’s take this clusterfuck as a sign to end things now.”

  Climbing off the bike, I shake my head. “Nope. Do you think you could ride my girl on your own?”

  Harmony frowns at my question, immediately grimacing in pain. “I’m going inside.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I begin to follow her, but Harmony stops me with the palm of her hand against my chest.

  “You’re a bad influence, and I’m too old to be a wild child.”

  “I’m a bad influence?” I challenge, capturing her hand against my chest. “Don’t put this on me. I’m not the hellion who started a fight and then flirted with my dad.”

  “I did not flirt.”

  “That’s not what people were saying.”

  “What people?”

  “The ones living in my head.”

  Harmony smiles slightly, wanting to find the humor in tonight’s clusterfuck. She doesn’t give into her desire, though. “I want to put ice on my face and crawl into bed and sleep.”

  “Should you sleep with a concussion?”

  “I don’t have a concussion.”

  “What, so you’re a doctor now?”

  Harmony rolls her eyes and walks away. I follow her because there’s nowhere I want to be besides with my woman.

  “Dayton, go home,” she says over her shoulder while never slowing down.

  “You have peanut shells stuck to your butt.”

  Harmony stops, wipes the back of her jeans, and then walks again without looking at me. “Tonight was a mess.”

  “I blame the pink-haired whore.”

  Even without seeing her face, I know Harmony rolls her eyes. I think she might be grinning too, but her face is stony when we arrive at her trailer.

  “Keanu is still up.”

  “It’s only eight, so that seems about right.”

  “I can’t mess around with you tonight.”

  “You really like the word ‘mess,’ don’t you?”

  “Will you please leave?” she asks, dodging my hands running up her arms.

  “No.”

  Harmony wants to glare at me, but her eye is swelling, and she likely hears her mom coming.

  Sally Slater opens the trailer door and scowls at us. “What’s this?”

  “What’s what?” I ask.

  “You’re back early,” she says and then looks closer at Harmony’s face. “Did he hit you? Do I need to get my gun?”

  Harmony opens her mouth to respond, but shuts up once her kid appears next to Sally.

  “Mama’s home!” he announces and reaches for her.

  The next few seconds are a blur. Harmony bolts under Sally’s outstretched arm, takes her boy, and hurries into the trailer. I try to follow, but Mama Bear Slater decides to cock-block.

  “Go home,” demands the dark-haired beauty.

  “Are we throwing down, Sally Slater?”

  “You couldn’t take me,” she growls between clenched teeth.

  “I’ve taken down tougher women than you.”

  “Name five.”

  As much as I admire a woman calling my bluff, I’m not leaving.

  “Crap, is she bleeding?” I ask, looking over Sally’s head to where Harmony stands in the kitchen.

  Sally takes the bait, turns away to check on her daughter, and I use her distraction to gain access into the trailer.

  “Oh, must have been the lighting,” I say to a frowning Sally.

  Harmony sits on the couch, kicks off her shoes, and smiles at Keanu.

  “Mama got in a fight,” Harmony says when he points at her face. “Fighting is bad.”

  The boy climbs on the couch next to Harmony and stares at her. She smiles for her kid and tries to make light of her swelling eye. Keanu’s little mouth turns down, and I know he’ll wail soon. I can’t handle him crying and then Harmony crying. Tears aren’t my deal, so I shove a handful of ice from the freezer into a clean kitchen towel.

  “Here, kid,” I say, sitting next to Harmony and handing the wrapped ice to Keanu. “Put it on her eye and make your mom feel better.”

  The nearly crying boy looks at the towel for only a second before grabbing it. He surprises me by smiling.

  “Like this?” he asks Harmony and presses the ice on her face. “Better?”

  “Yes, baby. You’re a great helper.”

  Keanu watches her expression to make sure she isn’t lying. I watch her too, but I’m waiting for a sign that I’m not in the doghouse.

  “Who did you fight with?” Sally asks from the doorway.

  “A girl from school.”

  “And you just stood there and let it happen?” Sally asks me.

  Stretching my legs, I look around the trailer and notice the drapes, pillows, and couch cover. “It’s purple in here.”

  “I like purple.”

  “Do you like purple?” I ask Keanu who glances between his mom, grandma, and me.

  Though the kid nods, Harmony frowns at me. “Why are you still here?”

  “You said we could hang out tonight. Did you lie?”

  Harmony looks to her mother for help, and Sally instantly glares at me. Her angry stare would have more power if women weren’t always giving me dirty looks.

  “How’s your head?” I ask, reaching over to run my fingers down her soft hair.

  “I’m absolutely fine. I plan to spend the rest of my evening watching a movie with Keanu and Mom.”

  “I like movies,” I say, refusing to take the hint.

  Ignoring me, Harmony turns on Finding Nemo and cuddles with her kid. Sally watches us for nearly an hour. I ignore both the pissed mom glaring at me and the fish movie. My only interest is Harmony, who I stare at unflinchingly.

  Occasionally, she glances
at me and frowns at how I’m gawking. I only smile because she has no idea how many nights I’ve spent wishing I could look at her like I am now.

  Keanu conks out around the time the father and son fish have their reunion. Watching the little man drool on his mom’s lap, I’m more than a little jealous. I’d love to slobber all over Harmony. In fact, I start thinking about how close her bedroom is to where we’re currently sitting.

  Once Sally carries the kid to bed, I scoot over and wrap an arm around Harmony.

  “We’re alone.”

  “In this particular room, but my son is in the very next room.”

  “I don’t get why you’re mad at me. I helped you out when you got in over your head with that dumb bitch. I’m the hero here.”

  “I’m not mad at you,” she says, turning to look at me. “I just can’t pretend that you and I make sense as a couple.”

  “Attraction is primal. Nothing about it needs to make sense.”

  Using her good eye, Harmony studies my face. Her other eye hides under the towel even though the ice long ago melted.

  “I like you, Dayton, and I have for a long time. But I’m a mother, and Keanu is everything to me. I also have my job and family to take care of. That doesn’t leave time for anyone else.”

  “I’m not anyone else.”

  “I can’t date you.”

  “Fine, then marry me. That way, I’ll have access to you whenever I want.”

  Harmony drops my hand and stands up. “You’re impossible. Get out of my trailer.”

  Standing up, I take the cloth out of her hand and throw it into the kitchen sink. I smile at my perfect shot and then at Harmony’s perfect face.

  “What’s this really about?” I ask, forcing her hand back into mine.

  “I am not a wild woman. I don’t drink and party and go crazy over men.”

  “Good. Men are awful. You should only go crazy for me.”

  “I can’t fit in your life, and I know you don’t fit in mine.”

  “Then change your life, and I’ll change mine.”

  Harmony gets a stubborn frown on her face. “You need to leave.”

  “You don’t think I can be good with your kid, but I was fine with him tonight.”

  “You spoke to him once.”

  Cupping her jaw, I smile. “Yeah, I kept him from bawling like a baby when he got spooked about your eye. That was some good parenting there.”

  Harmony fights a smile, and I watch her struggle to remain serious. “Keanu is a baby, and he saw his mom with a messed-up face because she got into a fight that never would have happened if she hadn’t gone out with a wild man she should have kept at a distance from until her kid was in high school. Or maybe college.”

  “Wild man, huh?” I ask, caressing her plump lips.

  “Yes.” Harmony steps out of my reach and walks to the trailer door. “Thank you for taking me out tonight. I’m sorry things didn’t work out. Maybe we can have fun again some night, but dating makes no sense.”

  “What did I tell you about attraction and thinking?”

  Harmony presses on my chest and shoves me out of the door. I let her pretend she’s strong enough to make me do something I don’t want to do. Well, just until she tries to shut the door on me.

  “If you kiss me goodnight, I’ll leave. If you don’t, I’ll stay out here and howl at the moon. What’s it going to be, Miss Sensible?”

  Harmony exhales loudly in the same way my mom used to when I got in trouble at school. Just like back then, the pissed woman relents under the power of my charming smile.

  Leaning forward, she plants a kiss on my lips. A quick kiss. A pity kiss. Harmony has it all planned in her pretty head.

  Except I have plans too, and my hands are ready to keep her from fleeing. Holding her in place, I deepen the kiss and remind her tongue what mine offers.

  Harmony doesn’t struggle. She kisses me back while her hands slide across my shirt. I feel her teasing my chest hairs through the fabric. Before I can enjoy her seduction, she pulls at them hard enough for me to let her go.

  “Why are you always so quick to violence?” I ask, licking my lips.

  “You bring out the worst in me.”

  Smiling, I stretch my arms in the air. “I’ll work on that before our next date.”

  “There will be no next date.”

  Shuffling backward, I shake out my arms before adjusting my hard dick in my jeans. “Can’t deny the attraction. Don’t even try.”

  Harmony opens her mouth to complain about how I’m not listening. Or maybe she wants to tell me another thing I don’t want to hear. Whatever she intends, I wave at her and head to the parking lot.

  Nothing she says will change the fact that she’s mine. I know it, and sooner or later, she’ll know too. I just need to find a way to make her stop thinking so much. Oh, and keep her away from bitches in bars. As problems go, I’ve faced worse.

  Ten - Harmony

  Walking into a new group home is always nerve-wracking. The average client doesn’t care if it’s my first day. They expect me to stick to their routine, so I need to hit the ground running as soon as I enter the house.

  With this group home, I’m not walking in blind. I’ve picked up shifts here on occasion. I know enough about the three girls to feel semi-comfortable. That doesn’t mean they’re comfortable with me.

  All three young women have autism, but they’re as different as I am from my sisters. Ava wants to eat constantly and will ask for cookies every five minutes. Jaylee will spin for hours if no one distracts her. She’s also a bit of a klepto, so I need to keep an eye on her entering the other girls’ rooms. Then there’s Millie.

  The tall, thin twenty-year-old looks at me warily when I first enter her room. If she remembers me from previous visits, she doesn’t show it. Millie scratches me when I help her in the shower. She smacks me upside the head when I get her dressed. Mostly, she squawks and stomps her feet, wanting me to leave her alone.

  I don’t let her upset me. She’s territorial about her room, not unlike most people about their private space. Millie just isn’t verbal enough to explain why I should fuck off, so she scares people away with her yelling and aggression.

  But like her housemates, she’s quite charming once she warms up to me. By Friday of my first full week, I’ve gotten Millie to smile. She also gives me a hug before I leave for the weekend. Knowing I’ve built a rapport with someone who rarely trusts people makes me feel like a superstar.

  Each night that week, Keanu notices the scratches on my arms and neck. His immediate solution to my ouchies is to put ice on them like Dayton showed him with my eye.

  “I’m helping,” he says, holding the cloth against my arm.

  “You’re the best helper.”

  Keanu smiles, but he doesn’t like the scratches and keeps expecting them to go away once he puts the cloth on them.

  “I still have my eye ouchie,” I say, and he puts the cloth on it.

  “Wait, do you have an ouchie on your knee?” I say, pointing to a scrape.

  Keanu looks at his knee and shows his LEGO toy, Carl. “I fell down.”

  “Well, let’s put a cloth on it.”

  “Band-Aid too,” he says, and I already know he thinks that’ll fix my scratches.

  Soon, I have a Band-Aid just under my eye along with those covering my scratched arms and neck. Keanu wears a few Band-Aids even on spots without injuries. Of course, Carl needs a Band-Aid too.

  In the quiet moments with my baby, I don’t think about Dayton. When I’m busy at work, I don’t think of him either. Not when I grocery shop or spend time with my mom and her friends.

  Until I climb into bed every night, Dayton remains absent from my thoughts.

  Then I swear I smell him even though I’ve washed my sheets. Resting in the dark, I sometimes hear his voice. When I close my eyes, I feel his hot breath on my skin. There are even times when I sense the bed shift as if his large, long body is moving on it.

 
; Opening my eyes, I am always alone, and I feel it down to my bones. I’ve never been a lonely person, but I can’t shake the urge to have Dayton in my bed. Worse still, I wonder if he’s with another woman but would rather be with me.

  But I don’t call him. I know how our story ends with me falling hard and Dayton walking away.

  Eleven - Dayton

  The way to a mother’s heart is through her kid. If Harmony plans to use her boy as a cock-blocker, I’ll need to get him on my team.

  Harmony once said Keanu likes animals and the zoo. She won’t let me come along on their outings because she figures I’m a bad influence. That’s her lie to keep me at a distance.

  I knock on Charlie and Billy’s door around noon. Lush Gardens is quiet except for an argument a lane or two over from this one. I hear the woman screaming at her husband over him being a deadbeat. He calls her a whore who never earned a cent in her entire life. I laugh at the stupidity of them arguing over who’s the bigger loser.

  “Camden?” Charlie says, appearing on the other side of the screen door. “Is something wrong with Daisy?”

  The woman is a decade older than her BFF, Sally Slater, and looks it with her gray hair and wrinkled face. Keanu’s babysitter might look like the average grandma, but she parties as hard as her friends. I also heard she’s quick to pull a gun, so I guess it’s a good thing she thinks I’m my brother.

  “I’m Dayton, but I won’t take that personal.”

  “Oh, what do you want?”

  “I’m taking Keanu to the zoo.”

  “Says who?” she asks, placing a hand on her hip like my grandma used to when I pissed her off.

  “Says the guy with the gun.”

  “Well, boy, everyone has a gun these days. You want to see mine?”

  “Sure, but I don’t think you’re going to shoot me. I can’t promise I won’t do the same.”

  “You’re not going to shoot me, Dayton Rutgers.”

  “No, maybe not, but I might wing that stupid dog of yours,” I say, gesturing to the yappy furry ball staring at me.

  “Bullshit.”