“Oh, pish. Once she was okay, she was able to help the boys.”
I left them to their argument and went to fetch their meatloaf and mash. When I got back, they both were armed and ready with their forks and knives.
“You two enjoy.” I went about my cleaning duties. The floor was in good shape. Despite the storm, Dex was thorough in his mop job.
I closed my eyes and saw him. Eyes the color of a summer sky. A body as big and solid as a mountain. A liquid voice that oozed sexiness. My body shivered at the memory of him.
“Earth to Hannah,” Grace’s familiar voice called out.
I swung around to find her and Ana tucked into a booth with their babies, Wren and Blue. It was hard to not let the green shade of envy consume me. They had everything I wanted. They had Ryker and Silas and two adorable little boys. What did I have? Zilch.
“You okay?” Ana asked.
Mona craned around. “She’s daydreaming about some young man who showed up last night.”
“After we left?” Grace asked.
Ana turned to Grace. “I told you we shouldn’t have left.”
“It’s not like she wanted us here.” They continued to argue while I grabbed the coffee pot and two cups.
“I was fine. Some guy had an accident. He used the phone and left.”
The girls looked at me like a booger hung from my nose. I swiped at my face just in case. “You let a strange man in after what happened to you?” Did some mothering switch flip on the minute a woman gave birth?
I poured the coffee. “It was raining, and I couldn’t let him bleed all over the floor.”
It was a rare moment when both Grace and Ana were silenced. They sat with their mouths open. “Blood?” they said in unison.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Grace groused. Even Blue started at the gruffness of her tone.
I slid into the booth next to Ana, pushing inch by inch until one of my butt cheeks was all the way on the bench.
“I was thinking someone needed help.” I glanced at the counter I had cowered behind, remembering how my initial reaction hadn’t exactly been welcoming. “It wasn’t the smartest choice, but I’m glad I did it. I met a guy who wanted nothing from me but a bandage and a phone.”
“He must be the owner of the motorcycle that crashed into the big oak at the end of town.” Ana brushed Wren’s hair from his forehead. For a two-month-old, he had a full head of dark hair. There was no questioning who his father was; Wren was a mini-me of Ryker from his dark locks, to his blue eyes, to the dimple on his chin.
“Silas and Ryker picked it up and brought it to the garage, waiting for the owner to claim it. Do you know how to reach the guy?”
I pulled my phone from my pocket. “I’ve got the number of the person who picked him up. I think he said his name was John.” I scrolled to the number I didn’t recognize, tore a page from my order pad, and scribbled it down.
“Odd that he’d leave it abandoned.”
Inside, I felt an overwhelming need to defend Dex. “He was hurt, and it was raining. I’m sure he plans to come back and claim it.” I tried to discipline my voice, to keep it calm and even-keeled, but the lift of Grace’s brow proved I’d failed.
“Do I detect some attraction to this stranger?”
“I’m not talking about a man I don’t know.” I popped up from the booth. “Are you going to order or what?”
“I sense some deflection going on here, don’t you, Grace?” Ana had her tell-me-the-truth face perfected. Poor Wren didn’t have a chance when he grew up.
I jutted out my hip and pasted on a bored face. “So is that a no to the food?”
Grace ripped the menu from the holder. She pointed to the grilled cheese sandwich. “Fries too.”
I turned toward Ana. “Soup and salad, please. Still trying to take this baby weight off my ass.”
The woman looked amazing for having pushed out a kid eight weeks ago. It was another thing that pissed me off. She got the guy. She got the baby. And I’d be damned if she didn’t get her pre-baby body back. Some girls got everything. I wasn’t one of them.
“Don’t forget the old people.” Mona held up her empty soda glass, and I went back to work. A full diner meant lots of tips, but an empty diner gave me a moment of peace. And peace was something I didn’t get much of these days.
Ten minutes before my shift ended, the door opened, but I couldn’t see the person’s face through the flowers they were carrying.
A large vase of roses was plunked down on the counter, and the young delivery boy peeked his head around the arrangement and smiled. “Delivery for Hannah.”
I turned a finger toward myself. “Me?”
“Are you Hannah?”
I spun around as if some other Hannah was hiding behind me. “I’m her…I mean, that’s me.”
“Then these are for you.” The kid pressed a clipboard into my hands. “Sign here.”
Once I signed, I handed it back, but he didn’t leave. I’d never had anyone send me flowers; what the heck was he waiting for? It only took a second for my mind to function and my cheeks to redden. It had been a slow day at the diner, and I’d only made ten bucks, but I pressed half of my wrinkly bills into his palm. “Thank you.”
For minutes, I stared at the red roses, smelling each one individually, trying to decide whether one smelled better than the next. My fingers brushed up their velvety petals to the card.
The flowers thrilled me and scared me. I hoped they were from Dex, but they could very well be from Cameron Longfellow. It was like him to take something beautiful and destroy it. His threat of seeing me soon was never far from my thoughts.
With shaking hands, I pulled the card from the tiny envelope.
You and me
Dinner
Tomorrow night
Seven o’clock
Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse
See you there, Hannah
Dex
The card fell from my hands to the checkered floor.
I had a date. A real date. With Dex Riley.
When Rosemarie arrived at the diner for her shift, I literally ran out the door. There was so much to do before tomorrow night.
Chapter 6
Decker
Diane, the clerk at the rental agency, happily accepted my check. I was now the proud new owner of a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. The damn thing might never run again, but it was mine.
Thank God I had my own money because I couldn’t imagine asking my father for the sixteen thousand dollars it cost. Dad was already close to death, and this situation would have finished him off.
I tucked the receipt in my pocket and hurried to my Range Rover. To the average person, I looked like I had it made. I was the sole heir to a multimillion-dollar company. I was rich. I had a loving mother and a successful father. Life should have been golden, but somehow mine was tarnished.
My phone rang just as I climbed into the Rover. It was John. He must have picked up my bike.
“Hey, John, did you find it next to the tree?”
“Nope, it’s at The Nest. A garage owned by those brothers you met.”
“The Savage brothers have my bike?” Disbelief colored my words.
“They got my number from Hannah and called to tell me they picked it up and took it to their shop.”
“You’re shitting me.” My laughter couldn’t be contained. Life was full of surprises.
“I told them you’d be in touch.”
“Thanks, man. I’ve got it from here.”
A turn of the key and the engine purred to life. First stop was The Nest. What were the chances that the brothers I met yesterday would end up with my newly purchased bike?
The forty-five-minute drive flew by because my head was full of Hannah. Had she gotten the flowers yesterday? Did she like them? Would she show for our date tonight?
When I pulled into The Nest’s parking lot, Ryker and Silas were pulling my bike from the bed of their truck. I hopped out and started their wa
y. Their eyes went from the bike to me, then to the Range Rover.
“Dude. Is this really yours?” Silas yanked on the back tire and pulled the mangled heap to the tailgate edge.
Now that I saw the damage, I considered myself lucky to have survived.
They left it hanging partway off the back of the truck and walked to me.
“You walked away from this without a scratch?”
I pulled up the sleeve of my Henley and showed them Hannah’s fine first-aid job. “Nope. I’m missing a few layers of skin and probably a few brain cells, but I’m mostly intact.”
“You want us to try to fit it in the back end of your car?” Ryker walked around my SUV, sizing things up. “It isn’t going to fit.”
“I’ve heard you specialize in fixing Harleys.”
Silas stood a bit taller like pride had lifted him an inch or two. “We do, and it looks like you could use our services. Care to tell us how you wrapped this bad boy around a tree?”
“Not really. Let’s just say it was a solid learning experience. Check the weather before you ride.” I walked to the bike and ran my palm over the tire. “Can it be fixed?” I’d never been a quitter, and I wasn’t going to let an oak tree dissuade me from my next ride.
“Everything is fixable,” Ryker said. “Let’s go inside. We can have a drink and talk bikes.”
They led me into the garage where they offered me an upside-down bucket as a chair. I liked their style. There was something pure and honest about the way they did business. No pretense. No ten-foot conference table. No refrigerator full of Perrier.
Silas grabbed a six-pack of beer from a cooler in the corner. He pulled a can from the ring and tossed it to me. I caught it midair. It would be so easy to pop the top and relish the cold carbonation, but then I’d have to call my sponsor. He’d talk to me until two suns had risen and set, and I’d miss my date with Hannah.
“No thanks.” I tossed it back. “Do you have a soda? Even water would do.” I wasn’t going to come out of the gate with I have a drinking problem. I wasn’t dating these guys, merely doing business with them.
Ryker yanked the beers from Silas and shoved them back into the cooler. When he turned around, he held three bottles of water.
“You don’t have to abstain because of me. I just have to hit the road in a bit, and drinking and driving aren’t a good combination.”
Ryker looked at Silas and grinned. “He’s smart.”
Silas slid down the wall and sat on the concrete floor. “How long have you been working for your dad?”
“My whole life.” Dad had had me wearing suits and taking notes since the day I could walk and hold a pen in my hand. There were pictures to prove my claim. Me at two sitting in his chair at the office. Me at eight drawing on a whiteboard in the conference room. Me at twelve standing in front of a sold sign. It was my first commission. Of course, I wasn’t old enough to work, but the couple loved the way I showed them the finer qualities of the house through a kid’s eye. They signed the contract right then, and Dad put the commission into my savings account.
The first sale was fun, but the pressure to perform was not. While most kids played T-ball, I learned about market trends.
“You like real estate?” Ryker asked. He sat on a crotch rocket and relaxed against the gas tank.
“It’s a job. It pays well.” Dad pressured me to step up when all I wanted to do was step down. I didn’t mind the work, but I didn’t find it fulfilling. Each commission wasn’t the be-all and end-all to my life. I wasn’t motivated by money. I’d never been without it, so it wasn’t a driving force in my life. And when Dad died, I’d be in charge of Riley Realty. That alone made the acid churn in my stomach. Not only would I be responsible for my own existence, but an entire company would depend on me. That was too much damn pressure for a guy my age.
“As long as you’re happy. You are happy, right?” Silas took aim and shot his bottle cap toward the steel drum in the corner. He sank his shot with ease. It was such a carefree action, and yet I didn’t think I’d ever done it. From my perch on the bucket, I tried for a three-point shot and missed. The cap hit the wall and rolled to the center of the garage.
“Remind me to put him on the other team the next time we play hoops,” Silas teased.
I didn’t mind Silas’s jab at my skills. At least it stopped me from answering the question regarding my happiness. The only time I could remember being truly happy was two nights ago when I sat in an empty diner and ate pie with a stranger. She didn’t know me. She didn’t judge me. She didn’t want anything from me.
“What do you do for fun?” Ryker asked. He pushed off the bike and hopped up on top of an old metal table.
“Fun?” A laugh busted from my gut. I looked at the Harley in the bay next to where we sat. “I ride motorcycles.”
“You suck at that too.” Silas looked at Ryker. “Bro, he needs us more than he knows.”
Some would be offended, but I wasn’t. I did suck at riding a motorcycle. “Maybe you guys can show me a few things. What do you ride?”
The two brothers exchanged glances, and Ryker spoke. “Nothing right now. We had to sell some stuff for a family situation, but we do love our Harleys.”
“You got a girl?” Silas leaned forward like he was truly interested in getting to know me. The brothers were weirdly friendly. They asked a lot of questions, but not the normal questions I usually got.
“I’ve had lots of girls.” It was the truth. Someone like me didn’t let people get close. Growing up, all I seemed to get were friends or girlfriends who were attracted to my family money, not me.
These guys, along with Hannah, didn’t seem to care who I was or what I was worth. It didn’t seem to influence them. They were the coolest people I’d met in a long time.
“No girlfriend?” Ryker’s legs swung back and forth and beat out a rhythm on the metal legs of the table.
“Nope, but I met some chick at the diner the other night.” I raised my injured arm. “She bandaged me up and fed me pie.”
“The diner here in town?” Ryker asked.
I nodded. Just the thought of Hannah made me smile. “Hot little blonde. Do you know her?”
“Hannah?” Silas’s eyes grew wide.
“That’s the one.” I couldn’t tame the racing of my heart. Odd since most girls barely affected me beyond a hard-on. “I’ve got a date with her tomorrow night.”
The trill of my phone ended the conversation. I sighed when I looked at the screen. “It’s my dad. Excuse me, I have to take his call.” I stepped outside to answer. “Hello.”
“I need you in the office now.” The abrupt demand of my return to the office wasn’t abnormal; his calls rarely started with hello.
“I’m an hour outside of town.” I pulled my phone from my ear. It was three o’clock. Plenty of time to get to Boulder, get my ass chewed for some unknown infraction, and make reservations at the Dushanbe Teahouse. “See you then.” I didn’t give him a chance to interrogate me. That would come soon enough.
When I walked back into the garage, the brothers were wheeling in my broken bike. Handlebars bent. Spokes missing. Tank caved in. It was a mess.
“That was work. I’ve got to go.”
They set the bike down and walked toward me. “You coming back soon?” Silas asked. “We can teach you how to ride this beast.”
“I’ll be back. I’ve tasted the pie, and I want more.” They were guys and knew I was talking about more than the pastry. If things went my way, I’d get my fill of Hannah soon. If not, I’d definitely be back for her pie another day.
“He’s in his office,” Rose said when I walked in. She’d been working for my dad since I could remember. “He’s not in a good mood.”
“What’s new?” I shook my head as I walked past her desk. The long hallway to Dad’s office was like the green mile. Every step forward was a step closer to misery and the death of hope and happiness.
Mom was standing in the office when I arriv
ed. She was the glue that bound our family together. My father was hard and had a Hades-hot temper. My mother was soft and saintly.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” I pulled her in for a hug.
“I can’t have my favorite men at each other’s throats.” She pushed me back and looked at me with the kind of love I’d only seen from her. Pure unfettered love.
I was happy to see her here, but I felt guilty too. I was a grown man and should have been able to deal with my father by myself.
I turned to my father, who held a tumbler of brown liquid. Tea it wasn’t. He’d been self-medicating for years, first to numb the fact that his life was all about work, and then to numb the pain of his cancer. He was using the very thing that was killing him to get through the day.
I wanted to tell him to stop with his drinking, but who was I to give advice? I’d been sober for nearly three years, but once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. In fact, it was my father’s cancer diagnosis that helped set me straight. I didn’t want to be like him in any way. His blood ran through my veins, and that meant a very real risk of pancreatic and liver cancer for me. There were things I couldn’t change and things I could. One was staying sober. Another was making Mom happy by apologizing to Dad.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I always seem to be a disappointment, but I’ll try harder.” I didn’t really want this company, but as Rip Riley’s only child, the company was my birthright and responsibility.
This was one of those times when I wished I wasn’t an only child. To share the burden with another sibling would have been heaven. Too bad Mom wasn’t able to have another kid after I was born. The hell it took to bring me into the world, or so I was told, made that impossible.
Dad sucked back his tumbler and grabbed for the near empty decanter. The same decanter that had been filled to the top yesterday. “Where have you been?”
“I took a ride to Fury.”
“Let it go, Decker. I only let you have the meeting so you could see the difference between potential clients and poor choices. Those boys are poor choices. They have nothing to offer you.”
Delivering Decker Page 4