When it didn’t after a minute or two she finally walked out of the room, but headed for the kitchen instead of the bedroom. She knew the rush of adrenaline she just experienced would make it difficult for her to settle down again, so she decided to make herself a cup of hot milk. Getting the carton from the fridge, she poured some in a pot then put it on the stove. She went to sit at the table to wait and pondered who the call might have been from. It meant she didn’t pay attention and it was only when she heard the sound of the hot milk bubbling up that she sprang to her feet. She was too late to stop it spilling over.
“Shit,” she cursed as she grabbed the pot to lift it from the heat.
The pool of milk left on the stove top make her grimace and she couldn’t just leave it. She searched in the closet below the sink for a cloth and cleaned the mess before pouring what was left in the pot into a cup. Dumping the pan in the sink, she went to sit at the table again and waited for the milk to cool a bit before starting to drink it. The warmth spread through her veins to help her relax, but her mind was now fully alert and she couldn’t stop herself thinking about what she should do.
Building a life with Crash was what she wanted, but she knew that wouldn’t come without its complications. Convincing the man himself that it was what he should do was the first hurdle, but it was one she was sure she could get over once he understood how good they could be together. After that there was her family and the college course to worry about. She suspected her mother and sister would be happy if she was happy. Her father was a different matter altogether, and she knew for a fact that he would try to dissuade her from giving up college for a man that was thirteen years her senior.
The fact that he’d been Crash’s commanding office for so long gave him some sway over the man she wanted to be with, and there was also the not insignificant matter of his fearsome reputation. It wasn’t something that particularly bothered Carrie, although she couldn’t say the same for Crash. Her new lover was no longer in the army and under the command of her father, but she knew that his mindset was probably still of the order that Staff Sergeant Samuel Nelson was someone to be obeyed.
“Why does life have to be so fucking complicated?” she let out under her breath and tried to put the situation out of her mind.
She picked up her cup then got to her feet and walked over to the window. The scene outside was dark and deserted and it made her wonder what time it actually was. A glance at the clock on the wall showed that it was just after one in the morning, and it made her wonder more about who actually called the apartment.
“It’s too late for you to find out now,” she told herself.
She continued staring out of the window as she finished drinking her milk and put the cup in the sink beside the pot when she was finished. Returning to the bedroom, she lay down on top of the covers and closed her eyes. Sleep didn’t come easily and the remainder of the night was spent in restless contemplation of her life. She dozed off a couple of times, but for no more than thirty minutes before waking up again, and she got up when she saw the hands of the clock on the bedside cabinet showing six o’clock.
She showered and dressed quickly then went to the kitchen. There wasn’t really much in the fridge to make any breakfast, so she decided to head out of the apartment and have a look around the neighborhood. Her plan was to just buy something in a store and eat at home, but when she saw a café already open, she decided to go in. The place was empty and the woman behind the counter smiled as she spoke.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked in a pleasant voice.
Carrie laughed and nodded her head.
“There was too much on my mind,” she admitted.
“A pretty young thing like you shouldn’t have any worries,” the woman went on. “Are you new to the area?”
“Yeah,” Carrie replied. “I came to see someone a couple of days ago. It’s my first visit to the city.”
“Well, you’re very welcome,” the woman went on. “What can I get you?”
Carrie checked the menu on the wall.
“I’ll have a coffee and a bacon sandwich,” she replied and paid for it.
“Take a seat and I’ll bring it across when it’s ready.”
Carrie nodded her head and walked across to a window seat. She sat looking at the scene outside as she waited, but brought her gaze inside the café when her order was about to be served.
“There you go,” the woman said and put a plate and cup on the table.
“Thanks,” Carrie replied and asked the question she was thinking about. “How come you open at six in the morning?”
The woman pointed towards the chair opposite and Carrie nodded her head.
“Same as you, to be honest,” the woman said as she sat down. “I usually have too much on my mind and can’t sleep. Opening at six also means I have everything ready for the early risers. It allows me to catch some customers before the other cafes in the area open.”
“Have you been here long?” Carrie asked.
“Around four years now,” the woman answered. “It’s a good place to do business and a great area to live in. You’ll enjoy it.”
“Yeah, hopefully I’ll be around for a while.”
“He must like you then,” the woman said with a smile. “He’d be crazy not to.”
Carrie laughed as she picked up her cup to take a drink.
“Do you want to come and tell him that?” she joked after putting the cup down. “I’m not sure he’s so convinced.”
“What’s his name?” the woman asked.
“Carl McCallister,” Carrie replied. “But he goes by the nickname Crash. Do you know him?”
“The name doesn’t ring a bell,” the woman replied. “But a lot of people come in that I say hello to and I have no idea what their name is, to be honest. Why isn’t he convinced about being with you?”
“Age difference for a start,” Carrie replied. “I’m twenty and he’s thirty-three.”
“That’s nothing,” the woman said.
“My crush on him started when I was twelve,” Carrie admitted. “I guess he still views me as the cheeky, flirting teenager I used to be around him. He’s ex-army too and my dad was his commanding officer, which doesn’t exactly help matters, to be honest.”
“Your dad is a formidable man then?” the woman asked.
“Oh yeah,” Carrie said. “Crash probably doesn’t want to get on the wrong side of him, and I guess he thinks that might happen if he’s with me.”
“Your father doesn’t approve of the relationship then?” the woman asked.
“He doesn’t know about it,” Carrie said. “At least… I don’t think he does. I skipped college on a whim to come chase my teenage crush, which is why I’m here.”
“Good for you,” the woman said. “You go after what you want.”
The sound of the door opening caught their attention and they looked to see a man walking in and heading towards the serving counter.
“Duty calls,” the woman said. “I hope to see you around, and if you need anyone to knock some sense into your man, just come calling. I’d be glad to help you.”
“Thanks,” Carrie said and smiled. “I will.”
The woman stood to get on with her work and Carrie took her time with the breakfast she was eating. She wasn’t sure when Crash would return, but suspected it wouldn’t be until later in the day, so she saw no point in rushing home. When she finished eating, she walked out of the café and decided to keep exploring the neighborhood for a while longer. It was almost eight when she got to the store close to the apartment. She went in to buy a few provisions for the day then walked the short distance to get home.
Once she was inside, she packed away what she just bought and settled in to wait for the return of Crash. The next few hours passed slowly and boredom set in when there was no sign of him. She switched on the television to try and make the minutes pass quicker, but she couldn’t really concentrate on any of the channels she flicked to. The smile
spread across her face when she heard the sound of the knock on the door, and she was on her feet in seconds to run to it.
“Why didn’t you use your keys?” she said as she opened it, but her face went pale when she saw who was standing there.
“Where the hell is he?” her father barked when he brushed past her to walk inside the apartment.
The shock of the completely unexpected intrusion wore off after a few seconds and Carrie slammed the door shut and went after her father.
“He’s not here,” she said when she walked in the lounge to see him looking around.
“What the hell are you playing at, Carrie?” he said as he rounded on her. “You use your family as an excuse to walk out of college and travel to San Francisco without telling anyone. Have you lost your mind?”
The slight awkwardness of having been caught out played on Carrie’s mind, and the flush of heat spread across her cheeks. She wasn’t about to be cowed by her father, though, and in seconds the irritation of his appearance grew stronger than the embarrassment.
“I’m not a kid,” she replied in an irked tone. “I…”
“Then don’t act like one,” her father cut in to stop her going on. “Do you think it’s responsible behavior to lie to your college counselor then just walk out of the place and not tell anyone where you’re going? Anything could have happened to you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied. “I came to see someone I know… someone you know, and Crash wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”
“Who the hell is Crash?” her father demanded.
“Oh yeah,” she went on as she realized her father wouldn’t know the nickname. “It’s Carl’s nickname now.”
“His Roadrunner nickname?” Samuel asked.
It was Carrie’s turn to be confused.
“Huh?” she let out as she frowned. “What’s a Roadrunner?”
Her father eyed her suspiciously, but she genuinely seemed surprised by his words and it took away some of his annoyance.
“Look…” he said in a quieter voice. “Where is Carl?”
“He’s at work,” Carrie replied.
“Doing what?” Samuel asked.
“He’s a mechanic.”
“Is that all he told you?” Samuel went on.
“Why?” Carrie said. “What exactly should he have told me?”
Samuel let out a sigh.
“When will he get home?”
“He left yesterday morning for an out of town job and said he would return today,” Carrie told him.
“So… you were expecting to see him when you opened the door,” her father said.
“Of course,” she replied. “It’s his home after all, and I certainly wasn’t expecting to see you. What exactly are you doing here?”
“We were worried about you,” he replied.
“Oh yeah, I just bet you were,” she said in a disbelieving tone and folded her arms. “How did you find out anyway?”
“Bella was trying to get you at the college to let you know a letter arrived for you at the house,” he replied. “She got through to your student counsellor and was told an interesting tale.”
“Shit,” Carrie let out under her breath then raised her voice. “It was nice of her to tell you and Mum.”
“Don’t blame your sister,” Samuel replied. “She didn’t know what the hell was going on or where you were. What did you expect her to do?”
Carrie let out a sigh. She knew her father was right and that if the tables were turned she most likely would have done the same thing.
“I got Bella to contact your friends at college,” her father went on. “One of them spilled the beans about what you were doing.”
“Darlene,” Bella let out and saw her father nod his head. “So…” she went on, “you used your army contacts to track down Carl.”
She dropped in a seat and watched as her father moved to the sofa to sit down.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“I needed to know if there was a chance,” she replied. “You know I liked him.”
“Everyone at the base knew about your crush on Carl,” Samuel said. “You didn’t exactly hide it, but that was when you were a teenager and you haven’t even seen him for four years. He left the base as a married man as well, so what suddenly put the idea in your head to go chasing after him now?”
Carrie shrugged her shoulders.
“I never really got him out of my system completely, to be honest,” she confessed. “I knew coming to San Francisco was probably a stupid thing to do, but once the idea was in my head I couldn’t stop myself. Like I say, I needed to know if things might actually work out between us and coming here was the only way to move on with my life… one way or the other.”
Samuel tightened his lips as he stared at his daughter.
“And what did you find?” he asked.
“I found out there was a chance,” Carrie answered.
“And what about your college course?” her father asked.
She shrugged her shoulders again.
“There are colleges in San Francisco,” she said. “I’m sure I could do something here if I wanted to carry on studying.”
She saw the expression on her father’s face and knew that her comment annoyed him, but it was her life and she was going to be the one making the decisions that affected it. If that irritated him, he would just have to cope with it.
“And Carl is happy with you being here, is he?” he asked.
“Well, he’s not married anymore and he’s not seeing anyone,” Carrie replied.
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question,” he went on.
Carrie was quiet for a few seconds as she mulled over the last few days.
“I think he has his reservations,” she admitted honestly. “But I’d say we definitely have a chance together. I know he has feelings for me and seeing him again made me realize how much I wanted to be with him.”
“He’s not what he seems, Carrie,” her father cautioned.
She narrowed her eyes as she glared at him.
“You would say that,” she accused him.
“Well, the information I found out got me more than this address,” Samuel went on. “As far as I understand it, he is part of a motorcycle gang called the Roadrunners.”
“No, that’s not right,” she let out, but hesitated as something Carl said came to her.
His words had been along the lines of him being a mechanic amongst other things. He never told her what those other things were, though, and that meant what her father was saying might very well be true. Crash certainly dressed like a biker and she recalled wearing his leather jacket the day before. On the other hand, he didn’t ride a bike, or at least she hadn’t seen him on one.
“When will Carl get here?” Samuel asked.
Her father’s words brought Carrie out of her thoughts and she looked at him.
“He said he would come home today,” she replied.
“What time is he due here?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “All he said was that he would return from his trip today.”
“Where was he going?”
Carrie was silent after the question was fired at her and it was her father who spoke.
“You don’t know?”
“No, I don’t,” she said in a voice that was more petulant than she intended.
She got to her feet and walked to the window to look outside.
“It seems like the man you want to be with might not have told you everything,” Samuel commented.
“I’ve only been here a couple of days,” Carrie protested. “It’s not like I know everything about him.”
“And if he’s a member of a motorcycle gang?” her father asked.
“So what,” she said in a determined tone. “It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.”
“And what if he doesn’t come back?”
Carrie thought of the night she and Crash shared together and couldn’t believ
e that he would just walk away from it. If he was a member of a motorcycle gang, then it was just something she would need to deal with. After making the effort to track him down and finding there was a chance for them, she wasn’t about to just walk away.
Club Property: Adults Only Motorcycle Club Romance: Roadrunners MC Page 10