by Joanna Wylde
Except there hadn’t been a next time.
Here we were, two days later, and I hadn’t seen or heard from the sexy Reaper, which was exactly what I’d wanted, except it was also one hell of a blow to the ego.
There’s something broken in your brain, idiot. Obviously, he’s a lot less hung up on you than you thought. This is a good thing. It’s what you wanted. Now get over yourself.
Grabbing the plastic grocery bag carrying our lunch, I gathered up the girls and herded them out the door. At three years old, the twins were big enough to walk, but it made things a lot easier if we took the stroller, so that’s what we did. Violetta’s one small park was just over a mile away, located right in the center of town across from the grocery store. It was an interesting place—possibly one of the last parks in America with a merry-go-round (made of rusty metal, naturally) and wooden slides.
The girls and I had made a habit of meeting Hannah there for lunch when the weather was nice. Her break ran from twelve-thirty to one, which gave her just enough time to wolf down a sandwich and then push the girls on the swings for a while. By the time we made it back to the house, they’d be tired and ready for their naps, which was a win for everyone.
Hannah was already there when we arrived.
“Thanks, baby doll,” she told Callie, who handed her a peanut butter and jelly that’d somehow gotten smushed along the way, despite my best efforts.
“I made it with extra love,” Callie insisted. “And some Rice Krispies, so it’s crunchy. Can I go play now?”
“Sure,” Hannah said, and the little girl took off, followed by her sisters. I leaned back on my hands, watching as they attacked the monkey bars. “So, still no word from the sexy biker guy?”
“Nope,” I replied, refusing to look at her.
“And the money is still just sitting there at the bar?”
“Yup.”
“I realize that you’re being all noble and principled,” she said slowly. “But five hundred bucks would probably be enough to get the van up and running. We’re going to need it once the weather turns.”
“It’s going to take more than that to get that thing running again,” I muttered. “They said at least a thousand, with a miracle thrown in for good measure.”
Hannah reached down, twisting her finger in the grass thoughtfully. “I talked to Heath about it. His family has a farm shop and he’s a pretty decent mechanic. He thinks he could help us out if I had the money for parts.”
I turned to stare at her.
“Heath?” I asked, raising a brow. “I thought you and the good deputy were just friendly acquaintances.”
She shrugged, refusing to meet my eyes.
“You insisted,” I continued. “You swore to me that there was nothing going on between you guys. It was a pinkie swear.”
“I didn’t want to freak you out,” she admitted, blushing. “I know you aren’t a big fan of cops.”
“No, I’m not a big fan of jail,” I said. “And if you remember correctly, that’s exactly where I’m headed if someone decides I violated my probation. The last thing I need is some sheriff’s deputy watching everything I do. If we get the van running, I’ll run a light or something, and then he’ll arrest me and I’ll go to prison and be someone’s bitch. Someone named Rhonda or Kaleee with three E’s. I can see it now.”
“The probation’s just a formality and you know it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You aren’t even being supervised. They gave you the minimum because you were as much a victim as anyone. They didn’t even have a problem with you moving here.”
“You’re not the one who went to jail.”
“You were there for three days, and the only reason it was that long was because you didn’t have bail money. Get over yourself.”
I glared at her.
“I can’t believe you’re falling for a cop.”
“I can’t believe you aren’t taking that five hundred bucks and fixing the van,” she snapped. I looked away, feeling pissy because she was probably right. We really did need to fix the Kia and Shade obviously wasn’t in a hurry to get his money back. He also wasn’t in a hurry to see me.
So much for “this isn’t over yet” and all that smoldering, sexy intensity of his.
This is about your ego. Snap out of it.
Stupid men.
As if summoned by my thoughts, a sheriff’s car pulled into the parking lot. I could all but smell Hannah’s excitement.
“You’re a slut,” I told her glumly.
“Yeah, well, you’re just jealous,” she replied, sounding perky. “And he’s a nice guy. Exactly the kind of guy we never date.”
“That’s why we shouldn’t be dating at all,” I reminded her. “Mom was shit at it, I’m shit at it and so are you. You just wait and see—he’s going to strap you to the train tracks while a train is coming, then stroke his mustache and cackle. It’s our destiny as McBride women.”
“He doesn’t have a mustache.”
A clump of grass hit me in the side of the head. I turned on her, grabbing my own clump to throw as she screamed. Callie and the little girls came running, jumping on their mom in excitement. She managed to send me a death glare and I knew I’d pay for making her look silly in front of her new boyfriend. Too fucking bad.
“Totally worth it,” I mouthed at her, then I looked up at Heath Andrews and smiled.
“My sister’s crazy,” I told him. “You should run away while you still can.”
The twins were sound asleep in the stroller by the time we got home, exhausted from playing with Callie, Hannah and Heath. My sister and her deputy looked so adorable together that I could’ve barfed. Even worse was the way he watched her—the man was crazy about Hannah.
Obviously, he was a secret serial killer.
Only possible explanation.
The sidewalk disappeared once I passed the railroad tracks, which made pushing the stroller a hell of a lot harder. Nothing quite like tiny plastic wheels on gravel for a smooth ride. That’s probably why I didn’t notice the old pickup truck parked next to the trailer until we were nearly on top of it.
“Daddy’s here!” Callie shouted, her little voice full of joy. I felt sick to my stomach because I remembered those days from my own childhood. My father had been in and out of our lives until I was about six. Then he was out for good and I never saw him again. It took another few years before I realized he wasn’t coming back, and even longer before I understood it wasn’t my fault.
Now I was watching the same scenario playing out with my nieces and Randy, Hannah’s loser of an ex.
A loser of an ex who was apparently waiting inside the trailer, despite the fact that he didn’t have a key. I must’ve forgotten to lock it when we left for the park.
Hannah was gonna kill me.
Callie took off running and I pushed the stroller faster, wondering why the hell he’d finally decided to visit. He lived nearby but we never saw him, even though it would take less than ten minutes for him to swing by and see his own kids.
I’d love to say I’d been surprised by how things had turned out, but I really wasn’t. Randy had never been a winner. The first time I’d met him, he’d gotten drunk and made a pass at me, but Hannah was pregnant and in love. I wasn’t going to be the one to burst her happy little bubble.
Right after Callie was born, he’d been arrested for possession. He’d gotten less reliable after that and started cheating on Hannah with Vera Blount. Vera was ten years older than him and had gotten money in her divorce. Six months ago he’d taken off to buy a pack of smokes and never came back. Hannah had finally acknowledged reality and changed the locks when she learned they were living together.
Better late than never.
“You’ve been growing!” Randy was telling Callie, all smiles as I walked in with the twins. He glanced up at me and his expression was a lot less friendly. Fair enough—the feeling was mutual.
“What are you doing here?” I asked bluntly.
“Stopped by to see my girls,” the bastard replied, his voice so sweet I wanted to vomit. “You know I’ve been missing you, don’t you baby?”
Callie hugged him hard, although I noticed the twins didn’t seem the slightest bit interested. Probably couldn’t remember who he was.
“Callie, can you go into your room for a few?” I asked, forcing myself to stay polite. The little girl frowned, but she followed my instructions. The twins followed as usual, muttering in their own little language. I waited until they were out of earshot and then laid into him. “You aren’t supposed to be here, Randy.”
“Last I checked, I owned this trailer.”
“No, your parents do,” I corrected. “And they’re as sick of your shit as the rest of us. Unless you’re here with a child support check and your balls in a jar, you need to get the hell out.”
“I have a right to see my children,” he said, taking a step toward me. His stance was anything but friendly, and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t be picking fights when there weren’t any witnesses.
Little late for that now.
“Hannah has a lease from your parents,” I reminded him. “It’s all official. You’re trespassing, and if you don’t leave I can call the sheriff and have you thrown out.”
“The sheriff spending a lot of time here these days?” he asked, the question a snarl. “I hear things. Hannah’s fucking a deputy, isn’t she?”
“Hannah’s working hard to support her children,” I countered, his visit suddenly making sense. He didn’t want Hannah, but he didn’t want anyone else to have her either. Typical. “And what she does in her private life is none of your business. You need to leave. Now.”
“Or what?”
“Try me and find out,” I bluffed, because I had no idea what the hell I’d do. Bite him, maybe? You’d probably catch something. Randy locked eyes with me and I held my ground, praying desperately he’d back down. Finally, he shook his head slowly, laughing.
“You’re fucking pathetic, Mandy,” he said. “But I was leaving anyway. Tell Hannah not to bother changing the locks again. There’s nothing she can do to keep me out of here. Those kids are mine, this house is mine, and she’s mine, assuming I want her fat ass, which I don’t. Make sure she knows it, too.”
He started toward the door and I held my breath, praying he’d actually leave. When it shut behind him I ran over and tried to lock it, only to discover he’d broken the deadbolt. The metal had held, but the door frame itself was so weak and rotten that it’d crumbled like cardboard.
Fucking hell. At least I hadn’t forgotten…
Pulling out my phone, I sent Hannah a quick text.
Me: We got a problem. Randy was here. I made him leave but I think he’ll be coming back soon. He broke in
Hannah: Shit
Me: Pretty much. I fucking hate this town. For the record.
Hannah: We’ll figure it out. Heath might be able to help
Me: Sure and I’ll just give Shade a call too. Maybe Rebel. If we get enough men here that’ll totally solve the problem.
Hannah: Don’t be such a bitch
Me: Sorry
Hannah: Its ok. We WILL figure this out. Just hang in there. Love you
Me: Love you too. Gonna go check on the kids now. Be careful walking home.
Hannah: I think Heath is giving me a ride
Of course he was. I still didn’t like the idea of the guy, but better him than Randy. Of course, best of all would be us figuring out a way to get through this on our own.
Yet another thing to add to Future Me’s to do list. Poor thing was going to be crushed under the weight of it at this rate.
Chapter Eleven
It was almost a relief when I clocked in at the bar that night. I’d been dreading going in to work for two days because I didn’t want to see Shade.
Randy’s visit had offered me some perspective.
Shade I understood. He was a bad guy, definitely. A threat. But he was a threat to me and me alone—I didn’t need to worry about him hurting my sister and her family.
I couldn’t say the same about Randy.
Me and Hannah had talked more once she’d gotten home, trying to figure him out. We were both confused about why Randy had come to the house because he sure as shit didn’t give a damn about her or the kids. Her theory was that he’d hidden some money there, which made as much sense as anything. I had a bad feeling, though. The same kind of feeling I’d gotten while I was waiting for Trevor in the liquor store parking lot, when the cop knocked on my car window.
The fact that she was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about Deputy Hottie didn’t make me feel any better, either.
I’d seen his kind before.
Heath was a good guy, but he walked a straight line. He’d follow the law, and I knew all too well how easy it was to find yourself as an accessory to a crime, especially with a guy like Randy hanging around. It’d been one thing for me to get wrapped up in that, but if Hannah got arrested, what would happen to the kids? They’d probably haul me off with her, seeing as I lived there and was already on probation. That left Randy’s parents to watch the girls, and they weren’t exactly qualified.
Loving grandparents they might be, but they’d created him in the first place. Throw in the health problems and they were essentially useless. Sad but true.
Randy needed to go away. Preferably Heath, too, because the last thing we needed was a lawman sniffing around. I didn’t care how cute he was.
Fortunately, tonight should be busy enough to distract me from worrying about it. Bone was expecting a decent crowd because he’d brought in a band, something we didn’t see that often in Violetta. That meant both Sara and Suz were working with me.
This turned out to be a very a good thing because right after the second set, the Reapers showed up.
All of them.
Nearly thirty guys, plus their women, liquored up and ready to party. Now we’d be busting ass until the wee hours. Bone didn’t believe in shutting down the bar when there was still money to be made, no matter what the law said. The liquor control board didn’t exactly have a branch office in Violetta.
In a way, this was a blessing.
I hadn’t seen Shade since the night he’d left me the giant tip, and now I could pretend I was too busy to talk to him, which was sort of the truth. It was embarrassing to admit, but I halfway expected him to play the same game that he had before and refuse service from anyone but me. Then Suz went over to take their order and he didn’t even glance in my direction.
He didn’t glance in my direction when the music started, either, or when a group of college girls who’d come slumming went over and started chatting him up.
Nope, Shade was having a grand old time.
Bastard.
You wanted him to leave you alone, I reminded myself. You told him to find someone else to pester because you aren’t interested in him. You even insisted that he take back his five hundred bucks and forget you ever existed, remember?
Except the longer I watched him with those little bitches, the harder time I had remembering why I’d been so hell-bent on keeping him out of my bed. Things got even worse when Sara gave me a pat on the shoulder, along with one of those little sympathy smiles girls offer each other when a relationship falls apart.
“I need a break,” I told Bone.
“We got a full house in here,” he reminded me. “You sure it can’t wait?”
I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Okay, I guess you’re due,” he said, although I could tell it pissed him off. Tough shit. By law I was allowed a break every two hours, no matter how busy we were. The fact that we usually let those slide in exchange for more flexibility on slow nights didn’t matter to me—I needed to get the hell away from Shade and his harem.
Tossing my apron down behind the bar, I headed out back for some fresh air. There was a small covered porch out there for the staff, along with a few battered chairs and a picnic tab
le that’d seen better days. Slamming the door behind me, I boosted myself up onto the table and pulled out my phone.
That’s when the door opened again and Shade stepped outside to join me.
“What the fuck do you want?” I demanded.
“What’s the matter—you on the rag?” he asked, smiling even though he had to know that’d piss me off.
“You’re such a fucking pig. Where the hell do you get off, coming out here and talking to me like that?”
“You’re the one who bit my head off,” he said, leaning back against the door and crossing his arms. He cocked his head at me, studying my figure. “So what’s the answer?”
“To what?”
“Are you on the rag?”
My mouth dropped and I stared at him, stunned.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I finally managed to ask.
“Nothing,” he replied, giving me a slow grin. “Just trying to figure out how sloppy it’s gonna be.”
Oh, no way. He didn’t just go there…except he had. He totally had.
“Get the hell out of my sight,” I hissed. “Go fuck one of your college girls if you’re horny.”
“But I don’t want to fuck one of them. I want to fuck you.”
“Not happening.”
“We’ll see,” he said, taking a step toward me. “Is that what crawled up your butt and died? Seeing all those girls in there? Or are you pissed that I didn’t make you serve me? Mixed signals, baby. You should really work on that,” he added with a grin.
“I don’t give a shit what you do,” I told him, which was a damned lie. Asshole.
“Yeah, I think you do,” he said, stepping in to me. He put one hand on either side of my body and I leaned back to avoid contact. Shade pushed a knee between my legs, taking advantage as he gave a low laugh. “You can’t stop thinking about me, can you?”
“I’ve been thinking about all the reasons I hate bikers,” I said. “And I’m not for sale. Bone has your five hundred bucks—you can pick it up on the way out. Use it for one of your cheap whores.”