Honka Honka (Honk Series Book 1)

by Krissy Reynolds

  She hadn't talked to Rosita in weeks and she now felt immensely guilty for that. But everything with Yuriel – this newfound happiness – it had taken over her mind, it seemed, and now Alison hated herself a little for letting it do so.

  The tears began to fall though she did her hardest to stop them and they streamed down her cheeks. Why had she allowed herself to get close to Yuriel? She should have just kept her distance and watched him from afar as she had been doing. But there was just something about him that pulled her in. He didn't treat her like glass. Isn't that how she kept explaining it to herself? But now, she saw the truth. He didn't treat her like anything. He was obviously sorry he had kissed her if he had blown her off tonight after saying he would come and everything that had happened before – the gifts and the dinners and asking her out on a date – maybe he had just been bored or he wanted to show the guys at the garage that he could get something the others couldn't get close to.

  None of that felt right though. It didn't make any sense. And she couldn't believe that Yuriel had done any of those things over the past few weeks just because he had been bored. She was still getting to know him but it just didn't seem like him at all.

  Just as she had stepped into the woods, she heard it and her ears perked up as if she was a dog perking up at the slightest sound. A motorcycle. A familiar motorcycle. She nearly gasped and she instantly turned around. She squinted her eyes in the fading sunlight and sure enough, coming down the dirt drive, still a bit in the distance, was a bike. She didn't have to see who it was to know it was Yuriel. Yuriel had come. He hadn't blown her off. He was here.

  She wanted to laugh and burst into song and dance and her heart began fluttering as she began walking quickly back across the field, not quite running but walking so fast, her feet would skip together every few steps. Yuriel must have spotted her because once he was closer, he began to slow down and his bike stopped just outside the front gates. She didn't stop and came hurrying right to him. She wiped at her cheeks and gave him a smile and he looked at her, not taking his eyes from her as he climbed off his bike. He was wearing jeans – no holes, she noted – and a clean flannel shirt. Without a word, she went right up to him and standing on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him.

  He hesitated only a moment before she felt his hands – one at her elbow and one on her back and his scruffy cheek was against her temple.

  "Hey," he greeted and his voice rumbled against her. "'m sorry I'm late."

  And Alison felt like crying again but for a whole other reason but she made sure to stop herself before she could. She didn't want to cry in front of Yuriel for any reason. She never wanted to appear weak in front of him. More than enough people already saw her as nothing but.

  "It's alright," she said, pulling back from him, her arms falling down to her sides. "I'm glad you're here. I thought…" she trailed off and he looked into her red eyes and it was pretty obvious what she had thought.

  He shook his head a little. "I had stayed late at the garage," he said. "And by the time I got out of there… I couldn' come covered in grease and oil," he explained and Alison felt her lips turning upwards in a smile. He looked down to what she was wearing and her own eyes fell down to her appearance. A simple black lace dress but she had made sure it wasn't too fancy and had put her Converse sneakers on her feet. "I didn' know if you wanted me wearin' a tie," he then mumbled.

  "No," Alison finally found her voice to speak again. "Definitely not. That's not you."

  "Didn' bring you flowers either," he said and she noticed he had a hard time keeping contact with her eyes all of a sudden.

  "Why would you bring me flowers?" She asked, truly perplexed and not hiding it.

  He shrugged and swallowed, looking back towards his bike. "I did bring somethin'…" he said, trailing off as he walked to the bag at the side.

  She couldn't see what it was as he dug around for it but when he turned back towards her and she saw the Hershey chocolate bar in his hand, she burst into a smile. Without a word, he handed it to her and she took it, clutching it in both hands and hugging it to her chest. She beamed at him and he smiled a little, too.

  "Yuriel, I love it," she smiled. "Thank you. So much better than flowers."

  The tips of his ears turned red and she was clearly embarrassing him but she didn't care because he had come and he was still looking at her and she stepped forward, her arms sliding around his waist this time as she hugged him.

  She felt like she could breathe again.

  …

  Yuriel was a quiet man but that didn't seem to bother Lawrence as he took over most of the conversation at the dinner table, telling stories about church and the farm and stories of Alison when she was younger that had her blushing and telling her daddy to stop. Of course, that only encouraged him more and Shawn joined in. Lawrence sat at the head of the table in the dining room as Alison and Yuriel sat on one side and Vicky and Shawn sat on the other. They had roasted chicken and potatoes and fresh green beans from the garden and Alison looked at Yuriel every time he answered one of Lawrence's questions – usually about the garage or cars in general or hunting. She wondered if Yuriel was puzzled about Lawrence knowing he hunted. Alison wasn't going to tell him that she had told her daddy all about him already.

  "Get enough to eat, son?" Lawrence asked as the meal neared the end.

  "More than enough. Thank you, sir," Yuriel said.

  "Lawrence," he reminded him for the fifth time that evening. "And what about you, Alison?" Her daddy turned his eyes on her.

  Alison gave a small smile and nodded. "Yes. I'm comfortably full."

  "Good," Lawrence reached over and patted her hand. He then looked to Vicky. "I do believe we have dessert?"

  Vicky, who had been silent the entire meal, sighed and looked to Shawn, who was grinning beside her, before looking back to Lawrence. "We did have dessert. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, daddy. Your favorite. But then someone helped himself to the whole dozen."

  "In my defense," Shawn spoke up. "Otis helped me."

  "How is that a defense?" Vicky frowned at him.

  "Well, I figured, you all were tired of the I'm-just-an-idiot defense," Shawn said and from the corner of her eye, Alison could see Yuriel smirk a little at that. "And what about you?" Shawn frowned back to Vicky. "Who leaves cookies just sitting on the counter like that?"

  "They were cooling, you idiot," Vicky said, standing up and taking hers and Lawrence's plates. "You could have at least saved one for Alison."

  And there it was. Alison felt terrible for being a little grateful that her sister hadn't said a word during dinner, not wanting her eating habits on full display in front of Yuriel, knowing that Yuriel was reminded enough about them every day. But with one comment – a seemingly innocent comment – Alison felt the back of her neck prick with hot pokers and she suppressed a sigh.

  "Why for me?" Alison asked, trying to sound light. "They're daddy's favorite cookies."

  Vicky just blinked at her as if she didn't understand what Alison had said. "You know why," Vicky said.

  Alison sighed softly but didn't say anything.

  "I brought Alison a chocolate bar," Yuriel suddenly spoke up and Alison couldn't help but look at Yuriel with surprise in her eyes. "Maybe you can sit and watch her eat that if you want," he shrugged.

  And suddenly, she wanted to just grab him and kiss him and she had to remind herself that she couldn't do that in front of her daddy. But she felt a warmth start in the center of her chest that spread throughout her entire body within seconds.

  She looked back to Vicky and saw her sister visibly stiffen, her fingers tightening around the plates she held in her hands.

  "What do you know about it?" Vicky said, clearing ready for a fight.

  "Vicky, stop," Lawrence jumped in. "Yuriel is our guest."

  Vicky snorted but didn't say anything and she spun on her heel, going into the kitchen. A second later, they heard the dishes clang in the sin
k.

  "Alison," Lawrence said, his voice gentle. "Why don't you take Yuriel outside? Show him some of the farm?"

  Alison nodded, instantly getting to her feet, and Yuriel followed. She tried not to make it obvious that she was hurrying from the house even though she just wanted to take Yuriel's hand and run out the front door. Out on the front porch, she stopped and looked at him and Yuriel stood there, his hands in his jean pockets and he looked at her in return, not saying anything.

  "Thank you for doing that," she said softly.

  "Didn' do nothin'," he shrugged and she took a step towards him.

  "Yes, you did, and thank you," she said again, tilting her chin and looking up at him.

  "Tired of how she's always suffocatin' you and I ain't even around for most of it," he then said gruffly.

  Alison wasn't too sure what to say to that. Her first instinct was to stick up for and defend Vicky but it was true. She did suffocate her and everyone knew it. She knew that if Vicky could forcibly shove food down her throat, she would.

  "You should come stay with me," he said suddenly, blurting it out, and Alison felt her eyes instantly widen at the suggestion.

  And he seemed to be just as surprised and stunned by his own words because he stared at her with slightly wide eyes.

  A part of Alison told herself to just ignore what he had just said but how on earth could she just pretend that he hadn't said what he had just said? She felt her heart race up a bit as she continued looking at him. He didn't mean it. She told herself that there was no way he meant it and yet, he wasn't taking it back. Why wasn't he telling her to just forget it; that he didn't mean it or something along those lines?

  "Stay with you?" She asked barely above a whisper and she sounded breathless for some reason.

  He shrugged, glancing at her before looking away. "Just for a few days. Just so you can breathe easier. 's just an idea."

  "It's a really good idea," Alison was quick to say and her heart was beating even faster.

  She didn't know what else to say because suddenly, staying with Yuriel for a few days was the best thing she had ever heard. Being in his trailer in the middle of the woods with no one else around except just the two of them sounded as close to Heaven as she had imagined it would be on this earth. To not have to think about her eating or be so conscious of everything she was putting in her mouth or worry about upsetting or angering Vicky, it all sounded almost too good to be true. And being alone with Yuriel… that was what really was making her heart fly and her stomach flutter. Just her and Yuriel. And she wasn't even imagining anything between them. Just the idea of being with him and spending time with him, she almost felt herself suddenly ache, she wanted that so badly.

  There was no way her daddy would ever let her go. Stay with a man she wasn't married to? No way was Lawrence going to give her permission. But then again, did she really need it? She would like it yes, but she technically was an adult and again, technically, she could do anything she wanted.

  "Yuriel," she said softly and he finally, slowly, moved his eyes back to her. "I…" she shook her head slightly. "You don't have to save me. You don't… you don't have to feel any sort of obligation towards me."

  The words felt thick in her throat and she did her past to swallow past them. She was tired of so many people in her life thinking she wasn't capable of anything and though she knew that Yuriel didn't look to her as if she was his responsibility, still, it was something she worried about. She supposed she would worry about that if it was anyone offering to open their home to her but with Yuriel, it was different. Everything with him was different because he was different.

  Yuriel frowned a little as he looked at her. "I know you can take care of yourself, Alison... And I'm not lookin' to do that for you. I jus'…" he trailed off because already, he had said so many words and Yuriel definitely wasn't a big talker like this. She didn't push him to say more and watched as he shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'm jus' lookin' to help if you let me."

  Alison looked at him. She didn't see a white knight in shining armor. She just saw a man who seemed to genuinely like her. And he was giving her place where she could just be. With him.

  She said his name softly, as if saying it in a prayer, and Yuriel looked at her again. She didn't say anything else and he had already said more than enough. She rested her hands on his shoulders, stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

  Chapter Sixteen.

  It was unexpected to say the least but as soon as the suggestion of her staying with him for a few days left his mouth, he didn't try to take it back because, he realized, he wanted her to come and stay with him. The trailer was too small and neither of them would probably be comfortable but he could only imagine it would be alright.

  Lawrence took it better than Yuriel would have ever thought. He had looked shocked and surprised at first when Alison had told him that she was going to be staying with Yuriel for a few days but after a few minutes of silently sitting there and staring at Yuriel in such a way, he felt like squirming, Lawrence then looked to Alison who looked at her daddy with those big blue, sad eyes of hers and they seemed to be communicating with one another without ever speaking a word.

  "Go on then," Lawrence said, tilting his chin towards the stairs. "Go and get yourself packed. I need to talk with Yuriel for a moment."

  Alison had hugged him and kissed him and smiled at Yuriel before hurrying past him and they heard her steps on the stairs, fading away as she disappeared upstairs. Yuriel looked at Lawrence and Lawrence looked at him and Yuriel was smart enough to feel nervous because even though the man only had one leg, Yuriel could sense that this man was a tough son of a bitch and could still kick an ass if he wanted to.

  "Alison is one of the most precious things to me in this world," Lawrence stated as if Yuriel hadn't already been able to figure that out for himself. "But my daughter has gone through something I still can't understand and never will be able to. She's still going through it." Lawrence's eyes were steady on him. "My daughter is still sick, Yuriel. But when she's with you, I am able to see a bit of the girl she was before."

  Yuriel wasn't too sure what to say to any of this. Yes, Alison was sick but Alison was tough and he didn't understand why no one in her family was able to see that, too.

  "I think spending time with you is good for her," Lawrence finished. "But Alison is a good girl and she better come home a good girl."

  Yuriel felt the back of his neck flush at what Lawrence was saying though he had been expecting the man to say something like that in regards to his daughter. How could he not? Lawrence was a church-going man and Alison was his youngest daughter who was going off to live with some mechanic in his trailer. And though he liked Alison – a hell of a lot – and felt fiercely attracted to her, Yuriel didn't know if he would ever get to that point of doing something like that with her.

  And what about her? She was a pretty young woman but he just couldn't imagine her wanting to do anything like that with him. There still seemed so many parts of her that seemed too young and too innocent and in his mind, Yuriel knew he didn't want to be the one to take that away from her – no matter how many times he had already imagined running his hands all over her.

  "Yes, sir," Yuriel said, nodding perhaps a bit too quickly.

  "Vicky, stop!" They suddenly heard Alison shout from upstairs. "I'm going!"

  Lawrence sighed and grabbing his crutches, he pulled himself off from the couch. He began walking towards the stairs but stopped himself beside Yuriel, looking at him. "It will be good for Alison to get away from Vicky for a few days," he said. "Ever since Alisony's mother passed and she got sick, Vicky has felt the need to take over the mother role."

  Yuriel had to practically bite down on his tongue before he blurted something out that he would probably regret. Like how could Lawrence just sit around and let Vicky practically take over every facet of Alison's life, making her feel miserable and so damn guilty nearly every damn day of her life?

&nb
sp; But he made sure to not say anything. He may have kissed Alison a few times but that still didn't give him a right to know anything concerning the Silver family. It wasn't any of his business. He just knew what he saw and what he saw was he had to get Alison the hell out of there so she could breathe for once.

  A moment later, they heard hurried steps down the stairs and it was Alison, her eyes wet but her cheeks dry and there was a gym bag slung over her shoulder. Yuriel reached out and took it, slinging it onto his own shoulder.

  "I already said goodbye to Shawn," Alison said and then hugged Lawrence tightly, the man hugging her in return and patting her on the back. "Bye, daddy. See you in a few days," she said and Yuriel found himself wondering just how many days were a few; how many days he wanted it to be.

  "Bye Alisony, love you," Lawrence said.

  "Love you, too," Alison said as she pulled back and after giving Lawrence one more smile, she looked back to Yuriel, her smile softening. "Ready?" She asked.

  "Definitely," Yuriel didn't hesitate in nodding his head and he felt the need to toss her over his shoulder then and carry her out of there. Instead, he stepped aside so she could exit the house first and he and Lawrence exchanged one last look and head nod before Yuriel followed after her.

  He strapped her bag down to the back of his bike and then climbed on, Alison immediately climbing on behind him with her arms around his waist. The ride back to his trailer was only a few minutes away and yet, it felt like he had just taken her far into another world; and it was exactly what she needed because when she stepped off the bike and he looked at her, her smile was lighter and easier and all signs of moisture in her eyes were now completely gone.