I looked around Jenny’s Diner this morning, a steaming mug of coffee in front of me, soaking in the faces of the community, a few I even recognized from yesterday. I peered into their eyes, wondering which ones knew what Green was doing.
Did they all know?
Were they all complicit?
Or, did Green have them in his clutches, too?
By all appearances, they looked like nice people, but I knew you couldn’t judge a book by its cover. This town has secrets, you could feel them as much as you could feel the cold hovering over it.
I heard the boys before I saw them. The window next to me began vibrating, the loud rumbling sound of their engines approaching from around the corner caused everyone in the diner to look up from their breakfasts and out the window. I repressed a smile when I saw Ryder and Fury round the corner and park their bikes on the corner.
Heads turned and stretched to get a look at the strangers as they removed their helmets and paused to look up and down the streets. They spoke to each other quietly as they made their way to the front door of the diner. When they entered, a hush fell over the room and Jackie, who was standing by the counter with a pot of coffee in her hand, looked almost star-struck, her eyes wide and her lips turning up into a delighted smile.
When they saw me waving, they walked over and joined me, their heavy boots shuffling across the scratched linoleum floor. Fury slid into the booth across from me while Ryder sat next to me, planting a kiss firmly on my lips.
“Hey, babe,” he said, his warmth enveloping me. I couldn’t help but smile as my heart fluttered, my body’s usual reaction to the love of my life.
“Hi, guys,” I said, smiling over at Fury. I’d grown quite fond of him in the short time he’d been hanging around with us at the clubhouse. He was the strong, silent type, with tattoos covering every inch of his skin that was visible. His broad shoulders gave him the look of a linebacker, even though he’d insisted he’d never played the game. His hulking frame and quiet demeanor lent an edge of mystery to him, but when his ruggedly handsome face broke out into one of his rare smiles, you couldn’t help but wonder if it was all a facade.
I’d caught him, late one night at the clubhouse, all alone on the front porch with Oliver and Olivia — the two owls that hung around our place that had become the unofficial mascots of the club over the years. Oliver was sitting on his knee and Olivia had snuggled up close to his thick, black beard as he gently stroked her head. She was blissed out, as always, but the look on Fury’s face had stopped me dead in my tracks. His usual sharp features had softened, his eyes gazing lovingly at the two of them, his huge, rough hands lightly running across Olivia’s feathers.
Everything I thought I knew about this rough and tumble man flew out the window in that moment. And when he looked up at me as I approached, he didn’t flinch, he didn’t change his expression because someone else was watching, he didn’t puff up his chest to display his tough masculinity — he simply let me see the vulnerability and humanity in his eyes as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a hardened man like him to be so open and gentle with such fragile creatures.
In that moment, his strength shined through more than any other.
That’s what I’d learned after spending years with the Gods. There was strength in their vulnerability. There was strength in their kindness, in their ability to love and feel and relate to every other living thing around them. I’d witnessed it first hand with Ryder. I’d seen the way the Gods looked at the women they loved with awe and respect, the way they treated them as partners, not possessions.
These were the kind of men the world needed more of. These were the traits that made a man, a man. Not how much they could bench press, or how many women they could convince to drop their panties on cue, not how quickly they could take down an opponent.
It was their simple, honest humanity that made them men. Their desire to be kind and gentle and loving and stand up for people who couldn’t stand up for themselves. The men who knew that doing the right thing might not always be lawful, but when someone needed help and love, no matter who they were, no matter their gender, or the color of their skin, or whatever else sets us all apart from one another — we all need love.
The ability to live in that knowledge was what made them good men.
As I stared at the two of them, here with me now, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of appreciation.
“Thank you for coming,” I said.
“I missed you,” Ryder said. “We haven’t spent a night apart in a while.”
“And look, we survived!” I teased him.
“Barely,” he grumbled.
“Fury, how are you?” I asked, beaming over at him.
“Couldn’t be better,” he said, his voice quiet and serious. “Happy to be of service, Grace.”
“I reserved a room for you at the bed and breakfast around the corner. We might be here a few days. I’m not sure how to approach this situation, but I have some ideas.”
Ryder looked around at the diner, repeating my trick from yesterday by meeting the eyes of each of the gawkers, instantly causing them to turn away.
“Small town, huh?”
“Eerily small,” I nodded. “Green seems to have his thumb in everyone’s pie.”
“Have you seen him yet?” Ryder asked.
“No. I think I might go to his house soon. See if I can get a meeting with him.”
“Seen Molly yet?”
“Nope, not yet. The principal at her school was no help, though. She talked about Green like he was some sort of God or something.”
“Well, maybe it’s time to show them what a true God looks like,” Ryder said, winking at me.
I laughed softly and nodded.
“Thanks for leaving the cuts at home. Like I said,” I nodded, “everyone’s staring enough already.”
“They sure are,” Fury said, just as Jackie walked up with a huge smile on her face.
“Hello, gentlemen. Coffee?”
Fury and Ryder nodded as she sat two cups down and began pouring from the antique percolator in her hand.
“Grace, I didn’t know you were bringing such handsome men into our town. I like you even more now.”
“Boys, this is Jackie,” I said, smiling up at her. “Jackie, this is Ryder and Fury.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, nodding at Ryder quickly, then turning her big blue eyes on Fury. “Fury, huh?”
“That’s me,” he said, his voice gruff as he nodded.
“Are you angry?” she asked, a slight teasing lilt to her voice.
“Not at the moment, ma’am,” he replied. She laughed, a little too loudly, causing all those eyes to turn back our way.
“Well that’s good to know,” she said, putting menus in front of them. “Let’s try to keep it that way. I’ll be back in a few minutes to get your order.”
I watched as Fury’s eyes trailed her around the room curiously. There was a sparkle there I’d not seen before but I kept quiet about it.
You never know when or where romance might bloom.
CHAPTER 9
BENJI
“They always cook my eggs too soft,” I said to my Dad. We sat in a corner booth at Jenny’s and as usual, Dad gave me a weary look for complaining.
“You should be thankful you have food to eat, Benji,” he said.
“I know, I know, starving children all over the world,” I replied. “But is it too much to ask to get my eggs right?”
“Jim’s old, cut him some slack. And, besides, they’re very busy today,” Mom said.
“Can’t we send them back?” I asked. I hated to complain, and they were right, of course, I was lucky to have food. I’d seen a National Geographic special on cable just last week about childhood hunger around the world, and I felt the guilt, but that didn’t make me hate runny eggs any less.
“Just eat everything else,” Dad said.
I was about to speak up again when the front door opened a
nd the two biggest men I’d ever seen in real life walked in the door. My eyes widened in shock. They were bigger than Thor, bigger than Batman, bigger than The Rock, even.
I wasn’t the only one looking. Everyone’s eyes turned to take them in and when they sat down at the table with the lady I’d seen at school yesterday, my eyes grew even wider. I’d suspected she was Grace, the lady on the phone, but now that she had these two guys with her, a thrill ran through me.
My hands started shaking, and I shoved them between my legs under the table as I watched the men with curious, wide eyes. I wanted Molly to be safe, but these two looked like they’d rip Molly’s dad’s head right off his shoulders. I didn’t want to get in trouble for getting Molly’s father killed.
“Don’t stare, Benjamin, it’s rude,” Mom whispered, nudging me. But I couldn’t help it. They sucked all the air out of the room and it was impossible to tear my eyes away. I watched them talk and laugh with each other and with Jackie, and I wished we were sitting closer so I could hear their conversation, even though I knew eavesdropping was rude, too.
“Do you know who they are, Will?” Mom asked Dad.
“Never seen them before, although the woman was in here yesterday about this time.”
“They’re not from around here, obviously,” Mom said.
“Probably just passing through,” Dad replied.
“You’re right,” she said, turning back to me. “Benjamin, how’s Molly?”
Another pang of guilt pierced my heart as I heard Molly’s name. I’d already told Mom about her arm being broken, and I’d repeated the story that Molly had told everyone, but I was pretty sure Mom knew it was a lie. All I could do was wonder why it was okay for me to lie about that, but if I lied about anything else, I’d be grounded for a month.
Grown-ups sure are confusing sometimes.
They put so much emphasis on ‘telling the truth’ but as soon as they were faced with a truth they didn’t like, then the rules changed. It didn’t make sense to me, just like it didn’t make sense that nobody was helping Molly.
“She’s okay,” I mumbled, my eyes still focused on the group in the booth by the front window. “I drew a picture on her cast.”
“Poor thing,” Dad said. “How long did Dr. Nelson tell her she has to wear the cast?”
“A few weeks, I guess,” I shrugged. I really didn’t want to talk about it, not if I had to keep up the lie. What was the point? I was grateful when Mom started asking Dad about work, and I tuned them out, stealing glances at the two huge men and the pretty lady when they weren’t looking.
A while later, as we were leaving, we walked by their table and I couldn’t help but flash the lady a huge smile. She smiled back and I wondered if she knew I was the one who called her. I wanted to tell her, but that would mean giving away my own secret.
Mom and Dad would never forgive me for getting involved in the Green’s family business, even if it was to save Molly. Dad was Mr. Green’s accountant and he never uttered a bad word about him.
At least not in public. I’d overheard a few hushed conversations between my parents in the privacy of their bedroom and I knew, as Dad had said, that Mr. Green could be ‘a real selfish jerk’.
For some reason, Dad felt some sort of allegiance to him but I hadn’t figured out why just yet. I think it had to do with something that happened when they were younger, in high school, but Dad wouldn’t talk about it at all the one time I’d gotten up the nerve to ask him. In fact, he said, it was best the past stay ‘buried’, whatever that meant.
I could tell by the look on his face he didn’t want to talk about it and when my Dad didn’t want to talk about something, he didn’t talk about it. All I knew now, was that what was going on with Molly was wrong and I wanted so badly for her to get out of there.
Next time, she might not be so lucky to get out with just a broken arm. Next time, it might be a lot worse, just like the nurse at Dr. Nelson’s office had told Josie it could be.
As we pulled out of our parking spot, I watched the woman in the window intently from the backseat.
She watched me through the window and she smiled, giving me a tiny little wave just as we rounded the corner and disappeared from view.
CHAPTER 10
JACKIE
Grace had a nice smile. And the man sitting next to her looked at her with such loving eyes that I thought I might melt right there on the floor of the diner.
But the other guy? Fury, he’d called himself…
Well, he was downright swoon-worthy. My hands trembled as I poured him another cup of coffee, the sexiness rolling off of his huge frame like a heat-wave.
He’d engulfed the huge breakfast he’d ordered quickly and I felt his eyes following me around as I worked. By the time I brought them their check, I was as flustered as a teenager.
I hadn’t felt like this since I first laid eyes on Hank in Algebra class in the tenth grade. Of course, he’d shown me his true colors not long after, and it took me many years to untangle myself from his web of lies and deceit, but in the beginning?
Those first feelings? They were powerful.
And now, the look in Fury’s dark, smoldering eyes?
Well, it was enough to bring this small-town girl to her knees.
Out of the blue, here I was again, my heart beating wildly, my palms sweaty and my eyes darting over to crash into his every chance I got.
It was ridiculous, I knew that. I didn’t even know this guy. And his name was probably a warning that I should definitely heed, but the butterflies in my belly weren’t listening at all. Not to mention the fact that an appearance by such ridiculously handsome men was not something that occurred very often in this town. Most of the guys who walked through the doors of the diner were people I’d grown up knowing.
A little fresh meat was intriguing, I had to admit.
My eyes locked onto his hands as I put the check on the table. They were quite large, with scarred knuckles and tattoos on each finger, spelling out ‘FURY’ on one hand and ‘FIRE’ on the other.
The word ‘fire’ got me. He was like a flame, heat continuing to roll off him like lava and now that I was this close to him again, I could feel tiny beads of sweat popping onto my forehead.
“Can I get you anything else?” I asked, using an opportunity to smile Grace’s way to catch my breath.
“No, thank you,” Grace replied. “Thank you for the recommendation yesterday, by the way. Ms. Dottie is delightful.”
“I’m quite fond of her myself,” I replied.
“We’ve decided to stick around for a while longer,” Grace said.
“Is that so?” I replied, my voice a little too high, my smile a little too wide, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering wildly.
“Yes,” she replied, just as Will and his family walked behind me. Benji flashed her the biggest smile and I couldn’t help but smile, too. He was a good kid, always hanging around with Molly, which made me happy. If anyone needed a friend, it was that little girl. They walked out and Grace leaned over after watching them get in their car.
“Jackie, what’s that little boy’s name?”
“That’s Benji. And his mom and dad, Will and Katie. Do you know them?”
“I thought they looked familiar,” Grace said. “But I was wrong, I don’t know them.”
My eyes trailed back to Fury and I quickly looked away when I saw how intently he was staring up at me. His knee jiggled up and down under the table and his fingers twitched around the coffee cup in his hand. He looked as on edge as I felt.
“So, I can take this whenever you’re ready,” I said, as I slid the check to the middle of the table and quickly walked away, panting as if I’d just run a marathon.
“Get it together, Jackie,” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head and smirking. It’d been years since I’d been attracted to another human being and it felt foreign and thrilling, all at the same time. Knowing they’d be sticking around for a while only filled my head with
possibilities.
I walked into the kitchen, grateful for a break from the chaos of the morning rush. Tara, my best friend and co-worker, was emerging from the walk-in freezer with a load of vegetables in her hands.
“Girl, did you see those guys?” she asked me right away, never the type to miss an opportunity to notice someone good-looking.
“I’m waiting on them, of course I saw them.”
She paused, looking me up and down and then shaking her head.
“You look like you’re having a hot flash.”
“I’m only twenty-four, Tara, I’m not having hot flashes. Not yet anyway.”
“You have a fever, then?”
“No!” I said, pulling away as she tried to place the back of her hand on my forehead.
“Well, you’re red as a beet, girl,” she said, wrinkling her brow before breaking out into a wide grin. “Oh, my god.”
“What?”
“The guy has you all flustered! Jacqueline Faye Stevens, I haven’t seen you look like this since you got felt up by Hank the first time!”
“Oh, hush, Tara, that’s ridiculous. It’s just busy. A little hot next to the griddle.”
She shook her head, convinced she knew better than anyone else. Of course, she was right. She was always fucking right. But I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of admitting it.
“Well, who can blame you?” she said, lowering her voice. “He’s the hottest thing to walk into this town since Jared Wolfe. Remember him?”
“How could I forget?” I asked, rolling my eyes at the mention of the last one night stand I’d had. Mentally, I counted the years and when I realized it had been three years since Jared had blown through Greenville, and my bed, like a flash of lightning, I realized my reaction to such a fine specimen of man that was currently sitting in booth three was entirely warranted.
“So, who is he?” she asked, peeking out the door. I pulled her back in quickly.
“Stop staring!” I whispered. “His name is Fury.”
“Fury!” she cried, her eyes widening. “Oh, girl!”
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