Mine.
I guess it’s true that you never really appreciate what you have until it’s gone.
I want her back more than I want to breathe. I think I might have a shot until I see the beach boy waltz in and take a seat at one of Harley’s tables.
My heart sinks when I see her face light up when she spots him. When she practically runs over to greet him I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone as much as I want to hurt Max Elliot. I’m sure he’s a great guy, even if he sticks out like a sore thumb in Old Town. But I hate the way Harley looks at him, and I hate the way she smiles at him and I hate the way she’s touching his arm as they talk.
“Is everything okay?” Tucker asks.
I turn to my brother and frown. “Why would you ask that?”
“Gee, I don’t know. You seem awfully interested in watching Harley and the beach boy.”
“I don’t like him.”
“You don’t like him or you don’t like the fact that Harley likes him?”
“Both.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“You mean besides killing him?” I say it as a joke, but Tucker isn’t laughing. He doesn’t even crack a smile.
Then to my complete and utter surprise my brother Cooper hurries into Haymakers. Unless there’s some kind of emergency he only hangs out at Haymakers on the weekends because he lives in Manhattan and works on Wall Street.
He’s obviously not working today because he’s dressed in casual clothing and he’s at the bar in the middle of the day.
“Is there something wrong?” I ask as Cooper heads over to the bar. He’s not someone who smiles very much anyway, but today he’s looking particularly grim.
“Why don’t you tell me?” he fires back. He’s obviously not in a very good mood.
When Cooper and Tucker exchange glances it occurs to me that perhaps Tucker’s responsible for Cooper’s little surprise visit to Old Town. Tucker probably phoned him to tell him he was worried about me.
“What did Tucker say?” I stare at Cooper.
“He told me he was worried about you. You look like shit, by the way. He wasn’t exaggerating at all.”
“Thanks a lot,” I glare at Tucker.
“We’re all in this together,” Tucker shoots back.
He’s right. Even though I’m the one who managers Haymakers each of the Wilde brothers is a co-owner of the bar.
“It’s obvious things have gone too far,” Cooper says. “So one of two things is going to happen. You’re either going to tell Harley you love her, make some kind of commitment to the girl and finally stop the parade of women through the back room for good, or you’re going to fire her and tell her never to come back to Haymakers.”
I wipe the sweat that is beginning to trickle down my temples. “I’ll take care of it.”
Cooper narrows his gaze at me. “When?”
“Tonight. I promise.”
“What are you planning on doing?” Cooper looks unconvinced at the veracity of my promise.
“I really messed things up,” I admit. “I’m going to have to make a grand gesture. Something I know will win her back.”
He holds up an index finger. “You’ve got one night. If things aren’t worked out Tucker is going to fire her and forbid her from ever stepping foot in Haymakers again. Got it?”
I swallow. I can tell by the stern looks on both my brothers’ faces that they’re both dead serious.
“I got it.”
“Good.” Cooper takes a seat at the bar. “Now get me a beer. That was a really shitty bumper-to-bumper ride through the tunnel.”
The rest of the afternoon goes by in kind of a blur. When we get slammed with a busload of retirees doing some kind of antique tour through rural New Jersey Cooper rolls up his sleeves and gives us a hand serving.
“Are you planning on hiring anyone else?” he asks as he pours several beers.
“Eventually,” I reply.
He glances over at Gracie, who’s taking a break with her feet up.
“She’s getting awfully big. She may not be able to work too much longer.”
I nod. “It’s really hard to find good help.”
“Maybe if you didn’t screw everyone you hired,” Tucker says. “We’d be able to keep some people.”
“I’m done with that.”
He purses his lips at me. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Have you ever thought about hiring some guys?” Cooper suggests. “I can guarantee you won’t be taking any of them into the back room.”
“Do you have any suggestions where I might find some of these guys? They’re not exactly beating down the door to work at Haymakers.”
“You still talk to Coach Stanley? Maybe he knows some former football players who didn’t end up going to college and are looking for work. They’d probably jump at the chance to work with Jake Wilde. You’re still a legend at Old Town High.”
I have to give Cooper credit. He does put every bit of his intelligence to good use.
“I’ll give the Coach a call and see if he has some suggestions.”
He gives me a nod then takes a tray of beers over to one of the tables.
It’s well past the dinner rush when Cooper’s better half finally arrives. He certainly hit the jackpot when he got Riley to accept his proposal. Not only is she a beauty, she’s got the brains to match. The only woman I’ve ever met who’s as gorgeous and brilliant as Riley is now standing next to me trying to get me to take a food order for her.
“Extra pickles. No ketchup. Got it?” Harley looks at me like I’m completely stupid.
“I’ve got it,” I tell her.
“You don’t look like you’ve got it.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You haven’t been yourself lately.” She actually sounds concerned.
When our eyes meet there’s a surge of energy between us and my heart swells. I wish she knew how much I miss her. She will very soon.
“You can count on me, Harley.”
Her narrowed eyes are filled with uncertainty.
“Trust me,” I tell her.
“I wish I could.” She doesn’t wait for me to respond. She just heads toward another table.
Riley looks surprised when I grab her arm. “I need your help.”
“Okay.” She sounds hesitant.
“I’m sure Coop mentioned that things with me and Harley are—um—strained.”
She nods.
“I’m going to give her a song.”
Her eyes widen. “You are?”
“Please make sure she sits down right next to the stage.”
“Sure. Of course. But aren’t you missing something? Like a band?”
“I’ll be doing this alone. Just me and my guitar. Get Gracie to sit with her too.”
Riley doesn’t waste any time gathering up Harley and Gracie and the three of them move chairs next to the stage.
There are quite a few patrons in the place for a week night and they’re all looking at the stage when they see the girls sit down on the chairs.
Tucker and Cooper both come up next to me. “Need a little back up?” Cooper offers.
“I’ve got it.”
I normally don’t play guitar when our band, Wilde Riders, gets together. I leave that up to Tucker and Cooper. But that doesn’t mean I can’t play. I know my way around a fretboard.
I hurry into my small office and grab my old Fender acoustic guitar. I leave it here for those rare occasions when I have a few spare minutes to play around with it.
I strum a few bars just to make sure it’s still in tune.
“You can do this,” I tell myself. I’ve been singing with Wilde Riders for nearly ten years. We’ve played in front of packed houses hundreds of times. But I’ve never felt so nervous. I actually feel like I’m going to puke.
I take in a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. “It’s now or never.”
W
ith guitar in hand I head back out into the bar.
Harley is nervously looking around the bar, no doubt wondering what’s up and where I disappeared. When her eyes catch mine her face turns from anxious to confused.
She whispers something to Riley but Riley just shakes her head in response.
When I glace over at my brothers who are now standing near the corner of the stage Cooper gives me a thumbs up sign.
The stage lights have already been turned on and I assume the microphone has been turned on as well. I hurry towards the stage before I change my mind or throw up.
As I look out at the small crowd that has now gathered near the stage my attention is drawn to Harley. She truly is the most amazing person in the world. And the fact that she once loved me seems like a miracle. One that I didn’t appreciate enough.
If I can make her fall in love with me again it won’t be something I take for granted, that’s for damn sure.
“This Dan Fulton song is dedicated to Harley Davis. It’s called Count On Me."
It'll be alright, I say
When you start to cry
But I know damn well that it's not true
Your fingers in my palm
I fight to keep you calm
But I know keeping calm's not what you do
And the words I choose are a useless few
You can count on me to let you down
'Cause I'm a cracking ledge
And I'm a broken bridge
I'm the tearing rope that you hang from
And you're a stranded soul
I leave beside the road
And throw a callous wave as I roll on
Or at the best I'll drive you half way home
You can count on me to let you down
You can count on me to let you down
I'll be the one to watch you slip and fall
I'll be the one to watch you hit the ground
I'll be the one who doesn't move at all
You can count on me to let you down
Once I finish singing the song the audience is eerily quiet. It’s as if they’re all wondering what just happened. Maybe Harley is too. She’s staring at me with her mouth wide open.
Time feels like it’s running at super-slow speed, like in action movies when they slow everything down enough for every movement to be seen.
I’m relieved when Cooper starts to applaud and the rest of the onlookers follow his lead.
I jump down from the stage and grab Harley’s hand. I pull her into the back room with me and shut the door behind us.
She still looks dazed and confused. “You gave me a song.” It’s almost like she can’t believe that I sang a song for her.
“I did.”
“Why?”
It’s not a question I was expecting. I’m not sure how to respond. “Because I want you, Harley. I want to be with you.”
As I pull her close my heart is beating so fast I feel like it’s going to beat right out of my chest. I gently stroke her cheek with my hand and it immediately calms my nerves.
Then I kiss her. Softly at first giving myself time to get reacquainted with her luscious lips. Then I deepen the kiss. I missed her taste, a hint of cherry like the lip gloss she always wears. I quickly lose myself in her presence. Just being near her again, smelling the scent of her shampoo and feeling her soft skin under my hand, it’s my own personal Nirvana.
My dick has completely sprung to life, something I haven’t felt in a while, not since I’ve been in my break-up funk. I want her to know how badly I want her. How much I’ve missed being with her. I grab her and push my throbbing erection against her.
“I want you,” I whisper into her ear. “I need to be inside of you.”
To my complete surprise she pushes me away. “No.”
Now I’m the one who looks dazed and confused. “No?”
She shakes her head. “No. This isn’t right.”
Before I can say another word she opens the door and hurries out of my office.
I stand there for a few minutes in shock, trying to figure out what I did wrong.
Cooper and Tucker are standing at the bar waiting for me when I approach.
I do a quick scan of the place, but I don’t see Harley anywhere. I don’t see Riley or Gracie either. “Where’d the girls go?”
“Harley said she had to leave early,” Cooper informs me. “And Riley and Gracie went with her.”
“I need to find her.” I know I sound a little frantic, but I can’t help it. I feel completely out of control.
Tucker shakes his head and blocks my path. He knows there’s no way I’ll be able to get by him. “You’re going to stay here and close the bar with us. All hands on deck with the girls gone.”
“But…”
Both my brothers shake their heads.
“Now tell us what you said,” Cooper demands.
I heave a sigh and try to remember exactly what I did say. I was so excited to have Harley in my arms again it’s all kind of a blur.
“I told her I wanted her,” I admit.
Cooper raises an eyebrow. “Anything else?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. I’ve never been able to break the nervous habit. “I think I said that I wanted to be inside of her.”
Both of my brothers are now looking at me like I’m stupid.
“Please tell me you said more than that,” Tucker urges.
I shrug. “She didn’t give me a chance. She ran out of my office.”
Cooper and Tucker both cross their arms over their chests at the same time and I get the sinking feeling they’re going to start grilling me.
Tucker eyes me. “After your grand gesture of singing her a song that’s the best you could do?”
“That’s what I always say,” I admit. “I guess it was just habit.”
Now Cooper joins in. “You couldn’t think of anything else to say? Something more appropriate for trying to win her back?”
I rub my temple. “I screwed up again, didn’t I?”
“Majorly,” Tucker says.
“You’ll need to go all in,” Cooper suggests.
“What do you mean?”
“I asked Riley to marry me. That’s how I sealed the deal.”
“I saved Gracie from her psycho ex-boyfriend and almost got killed in the process,” Tucker adds. “But I wouldn’t recommend that strategy.”
“And considering I’m looking more and more like the psycho ex-boyfriend every day, it’s probably best I pursue another tactic.”
Cooper pats my back. “You’ll have all night to think about it. The girls are staying with Harley tonight.”
Great. Another sleepless night.
Eleven
Harley
“How is it possible that you’ve never had a sleepover party?” Riley asks as she pours the freshly popped popcorn into an extra-large bowl.
“Let’s just say I was never very popular with the girls when I was in school. I was more of a tomboy and most of my friends were guys. Not very conducive to sleepovers.”
“I think we now have everything we need.” Riley inspects our comfort food. “Popcorn with extra butter; freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with extra chocolate chips and vanilla milkshakes with extra ice cream.”
I take a sip of my milkshake. “This is really good. I think you missed your true calling, Riley. You should open an ice cream shop.”
She laughs. “Maybe when Cooper and I get sick of life in Manhattan we’ll retire to Old Town and open up a little shop in the town square.”
“You need to make your first million first,” I remind her.
She nods. “Do you want to grab the popcorn? I’ll get the cookies and we can talk in the living room?”
“Sure.” I grab the tub of popcorn and my milkshake and head into the living room.
Riley and I crash on the coach and Gracie takes the big chair my dad usually sits in when he watches football.
“Spill,” Riley says between bites of popc
orn.
“I’m not sure what to say.”
“How about telling us what happened with Jake and why you ran out of Haymakers like the place was on fire.”
“After he sang that song for you,” Gracie adds.
I take in a deep breath and try my best not to cry. “I was over the moon when he sang that song for me. I thought it really meant something. But then when he took me into the back room, everything came crashing down around me. He treated me like I was a just another fifteen-minute fling. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.”
Riley pursues her lips like she’s giving it some thought. “I’m not trying to defend Jake. I know he can be a womanizing asshole. But I really do think he loves you. Maybe he just doesn’t know how to say it. I get the feeling he doesn’t have much experience in that department.”
I blink back tears. “Do you really think he loves me?”
She nods. “Obviously I haven’t known him as long as you have, but something has changed. And I’ve never seen him look so—I don’t know—defeated. Even when he was in danger of losing the bar, he didn’t look like he looks now.”
“He looks like a little boy who lost his one and only friend,” Gracie interjects.
That strikes me right in the gut. It’s the same thought I had the night Jake saw me on my date with Max.
“My parents want to sell the house,” I admit. “I have to make a decision whether I want to stay here and buy it from them, or leave Old Town and do something else with my life.”
“You can’t leave.” Gracie looks panic-stricken.
I never even considered how leaving would impact the rest of Jake’s family, particularly Gracie and Riley, who have become the closest thing to sisters I’ve ever had.
Gracie and I have talked about me being there with her and Tucker when the baby is born since she doesn’t have a mom to support her. Not that Tucker won’t spoil her rotten, but it’s not quite the same thing as having another female in your corner.
“I don’t want to leave,” I admit. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted was to be married to Jake and help him run Haymakers. It’s been my dream since I was a teenager. It’s the only thing I could ever see doing with my life. It’s the only thing that makes me truly happy. I’m just not sure that I’m what makes Jake happy.”
Wilde Times Page 10