Collide

by Juliana Stone

  Betty arched an eyebrow as she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the back end of the closest chair. “Off to work?” Her forehead wrinkled and she pursed her mouth. “Oh, wait. That would be wrongedy-wrong-wrong, since Gerry fired your ass last week.”

  Bobbi’s perfect manicured nails bit into the palm of her hand painfully. She’d been riding a tightrope all weekend, ever since…

  Heat surged over her face as she thought of Shane.

  And all the things they’d done together.

  All the things they’d done together, over and over…and over again.

  “Are you going to hit me, Bobbi?”

  “Someone needs to do more than that,” Herschel muttered as he grabbed eggs, bacon, cheese and milk out of the fridge.

  Betty ignored her grandfather and slid into a chair, resting her elbows onto the table as she gazed at her father. “You want to do something today?”

  Travis shook his head, his fingers picking at the edge of his cardigan. He was getting nervous. And why wouldn’t he with Betty’s intense eyes focused on him like he was an insect or something.

  “I’m sorry, Bets. I’m not feeling up to much.”

  “Oh,” Betty said softly, turning her attention to the table as she flicked away invisible crumbs. “I just thought, you know, we haven’t really hung out and—”

  “And what?” Bobbi said quietly. “You’ll treat Dad to an afternoon at The Grill, where you’ll drink yourself into oblivion or snort something illegal? And then you’ll leave him behind once he gets in the way. Once Matt Hawkins walks through the door and all rational thought flies out of your pretty little head because some guy is paying attention to you?”

  “You’re such a bitch,” Betty ground out.

  Bobbi heard her grandfather sigh and took a moment to control her emotions. Now wasn’t the time to get into it with her sister. “At least I’m an honest bitch.”

  She kissed Herschel on the cheek and whispered, “Sorry,” before giving her dad a quick hug. About to leave the kitchen she nailed Betty with a no-nonsense look. “There’s laundry to be done if you can fit it into your day.”

  “I’ll check my schedule,” Betty retorted.

  “You do that.”

  “You didn’t tell us where you’re going,” Betty said swiveling around to watch Bobbi near the door. Her gaze moved up and down as Bobbi smoothed her hands over her hips, her fingers trailing across the pale grey wool skirt. Form fitting and cut to the knee, it was offset with classic black pumps, a plum colored turtleneck and a silk scarf around her neck in a deeper plum with slivers of black and grey running through it.

  “I’ve got a job interview,” Bobbi said dryly. “Something you might want to think about.”

  She grabbed her long, black dress coat from the front closet, and her purse and leather gloves before heading out into the crisp, cold morning. Thankfully, the sun was warm enough to have melted the frost and white stuff from her windshield.

  Sunglasses lessened the brilliant play of sunlight on the snow and after letting the vehicle warm up for a few moments, she left. Her interview was for ten o’clock in the city—nearly forty minutes away—and she’d given herself an extra half an hour for traveling time.

  Traffic was heavier than usual due to road conditions, but she reached her destination with ten minutes to spare. The Barrel & Chadwick law firm had an opening for a junior law clerk. Bobbi was hoping that with her experience she would be a shoo-in.

  As it was, she was more than a shoo-in, however, the pay wasn’t nearly enough and when she factored in driving time and the expense that went along with that, she wasn’t sure it was worth it. They were desperate for someone to start right away and after a great interview she was offered the job on the spot, with the caveat she would give an answer by evening.

  Driving back into New Waterford took nearly as long as the drive into the city and by the time she pulled into a parking spot at the old arena, Bobbi was not in a good mood.

  It was noon. She was hungry. And it would seem, still jobless.

  Bobbi entered the arena that now housed her sister Billie’s hockey school. Cold, she shivered as she strolled through the lobby, her eyes on the ice. Billie was running a drill with a bunch of young men and a smile tugged at her mouth as a wave of pride rolled through her.

  In the space of a few months her sister had built up a solid reputation as a great teacher. Her obvious skills, combined with her experience playing on two Olympic winning teams, as well as the pro league she’d played for in Europe, made it an easy win for the burgeoning school. Billie was busy all the time, with both private power skating lessons, groups sessions and team sessions for local junior players.

  A ringing phone caught Bobbi’s attention and she crossed the lobby, heading toward her sisters office. She tossed her coat onto an ancient green and plaid sofa and silenced the shrill rings by picking up. She settled into the chair to wait for Billie to finish up with her session while she dealt with the call.

  By twelve thirty she had fielded four more phone calls—three prospective students, an overzealous mother of a current one—and had placed an order for takeout Chinese. Thirsty, she checked Billie’s small fridge and winced at the sight of four bottles of Gatorade and nothing else.

  Great.

  She hated the stuff and her sister chugged it like it was the best thing ever. She grabbed a pink bottle figuring it had to taste better than the green one and returned to the chair behind the desk.

  She’d just sat down when her sister walked into the room.

  Billie whistled. “Wow, you clean up good. Looking a whole lot better than last week.”

  Bobbi leaned back in the chair. “I had a job interview.”

  “Oh?” Billie grabbed the green Gatorade and flopped onto the sofa. Dressed in a plain black track suit, she adjusted a towel around her shoulders and took a long drink, before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Where?”

  “In the city.”

  Billie made a face. “That’s a shitty commute.”

  “I know.”

  “Law office?”

  She nodded. “Yes. It’s a pretty large firm and could be a great opportunity.”

  “Are you going to take it?”

  “How do you know I was offered the position?”

  “Well, you’re the most organized person I know and they’d be stupid not to offer you a job.” She paused. “Did they?”

  Bobbi sighed and nodded. “Yes, but I’m not sure what to do. The pay sucks because the position is entry level. And then there’s the drive which in the summer months won’t be bad, but in the winter...”

  “Huh,” Billie said slowly. “So…”

  Her voice trailed off as a glint of mischief lit her eyes. Here we go. Bobbi was surprised her sister had waited this long to ask the question that had probably burned a hole inside her head since Friday night.

  “What?” Bobbi asked carefully, considering how much she was going to share.

  “So, you and Shane.”

  “Yep.”

  “You and Shane, Friday night.”

  “Me and Shane, Friday night,” she repeated, her cheeks flushing as she squirmed in her seat, adjusting her skirt.

  Billie’s eyes widened. “So it’s true.”

  “What’s true?”

  “You and Shane had sex.”

  “Sheesh,” Bobbi’s eyebrows shot up. “Let’s just cut to the chase already.”

  “Well?” Billie was grinning and practically bouncing up and down on the sofa. “Did you or did you not have lots of hot, sweaty, hot…really hot sex with Shane Gallagher?”

  A throat was cleared and the two girls turned to the doorway where Charlie Cho, owner of King’s Chinese stood with their takeout bag.

  “Hello girls,” the old man said jovially. “Here’s your food. I’ll just take my money and you can carry on with your interesting conversation.”

  Bobbi’s face flamed to a vivid red as she dug through her
purse for some cash. After paying Mr. Cho, who winked before he left, Billie wasted no time. As Bobbi was digging into her chicken fried rice, Billie’s mouth was flapping.

  “I want details, Bobbi. I want to know how and why and how many times and—”

  “Holy hell, Billie. I’m not going to give you a play by play. Besides, with all the action you’ve had lately I’m sure you can figure it out.”

  “Well you at least owe me the highlights.”

  With a sigh, Bobbi picked at her fried rice. “It was…” she began and then glanced up at her sister, her chest tightening, her heart pounding. “It was amazing.”

  Billie’s mouth hung open, her spoonful of noodles held still, in mid-air. After a moment of silence she frowned. “The details would be good right about now.”

  Bobbi chewed her food slowly and then took a long, exaggerated drink from the god awful pink Gatorade, ignoring the stink eye directed at her by her sister.

  “What do you want to hear?” she said sharply, suddenly not in the mood to share the details of a night she was still trying to process. A night that had been filled with both passion and tenderness. A night that had been about loud, boisterous ecstasy, followed by moments of stillness and silence.

  Bobbi wasn’t exactly sure what had transpired on Friday night, but she knew one thing. It hadn’t just been about the sex. It hadn’t just been about the physical. It had been so much more.

  And it was the so much more that had her running scared.

  None of that would be shared. Not even with her sister.

  “How many orgasms did you have?” Billie shot at her.

  This she could play along with. “Too many to count.”

  Billie grinned. “That’s good. Okay, how many positions did you try?”

  “Does hanging from the ceiling count?”

  “Excellent.”

  Bobbi shook her head at her sister’s enthusiasm.

  “Why are you so interested anyway?” she asked.

  “What happened between the two of you?” Billie ignored Bobbi’s question. “You know, back before, well, before Shane got into trouble and ended up in jail.”

  Bobbi’s mouth tightened a little. She knew that her sister had grown close to Shane. He and Logan were tight and the three of them had spent a lot of time together over the last few months.

  “What has he told you?”

  Billie shrugged. “Nothing. Not even Logan says much except that the two of you were crazy about each other. Too crazy, according to him.”

  “He’s right,” she murmured. “The only time we got along was when we were in bed.”

  “But you were kids,” Billie exclaimed jumping up. “You’re both different people now. Maybe this is your second chance.”

  “No,” Bobbi shook her head. “I thought I had changed. I tried to change but I’m still the same person and we’re still bad for each other.”

  “That sounds like a bunch of clichéd bullshit if you ask me. I see the way he looks at you…the way you perk up whenever there’s mention of Shane. You walked out on your wedding for Christ sakes—”

  She held her hand up when Bobbi’s mouth flew open.

  “And don’t tell me that had nothing to do with Shane Gallagher. You’re a shitty liar Bobbi, and I know better.”

  Bobbi stared at her sister but remained silent because Billie was sadly mistaken. She didn’t know the half of it. She didn’t know Bobbi Jo had secrets…secrets and lies that she’d held close for so long. Lies she’d used to hurt, to destroy…and there was no taking them back.

  There would be no second chance because deep down she knew Shane would never forgive her if he knew the truth.

  The phone rang, a shrill echo that had both girls jumping. Bobbi frowned when Billie swore and shook her head, but made no move to answer it. “I hate dealing with that stuff.”

  Amused, Bobbi answered the phone, glanced up at the schedule on the white board to her right and directed the prospective student to come out for a free skate on Sunday afternoon. When she hung up, she glanced at Billie.

  “Do you not have a website with this information on it?”

  “Sure, it’s just I have to do the updates myself and besides the fact that I hate doing that shit, I don’t have time.”

  “Uh huh.” Bobbi’s eyes moved over the desk, the top of which could barely be seen because there were papers, receipts and all kinds of stuff on it. Wait. Was that a check? Or two?

  “I don’t,” Billie said defensively. “Take today for example. I’m leaving in twenty minutes to drive to Michigan U to meet with the head coaches and trainers of their hockey program. They want me to work with them on fine tuning the existing program with some cutting edge training techniques.”

  “That’s awesome,” Bobbi exclaimed. She sat back and grinned at her sister. “I’m so proud of you, Billie. You know that right?”

  “Shit, Bobbi. Keep that up and you’re going to make me cry.”

  “Well it’s true. You never let anything or anyone get you down or get in the way of what you wanted. That takes balls.”

  “No, it takes an iron fisted vagina.”

  “Oh, god, the visual.”

  Billie grinned, but then her smile faltered and she chewed on her bottom lip the way she did when she was thinking way too hard.

  “Why don’t you work for me?” she asked suddenly. “I mean, I know it’s not your dream job or anything but I’ve known for a while I need to hire someone to run the business end of things. Logan helped me a bit in the beginning, but he’s busy with his shop. They’ve got orders for the next three years if you can believe it.”

  Bobbi glanced down at the desk once more. At the checks that needed to be deposited. At the pile of paperwork. At the phone that flashed with who knew how many unanswered calls…

  It was a complete and utter mess.

  “So, what do you think? I’ll pay you whatever Gerry did. I don’t care. I need someone and I need someone now and who better than my sister?”

  Bobbi was good at complete and utter messes as long as the complete and utter messes had nothing to do with her very own screwed up, personal life.

  “Okay,” she said glancing around. “Okay, I’ll start right now.”

  Billie squealed, lunged forward and grabbed her in a quick hug. “The bank deposit book is here someplace. Oh, and there are a bunch of credit card payments that still need to be processed and then there’s the website and—”

  “Hold on chicklet, I’ll get to all of that in good time but let me wade through this first.”

  “Cool, oh and you might want to give Mr. Talbot a call at his store.”

  “Why?” Frank Talbot owned the local sporting goods store. Talbot’s Sports had been around for more than a generation and was the go-to place when in the need for sporting equipment of any kind.

  “Well, I agreed to sponsor the Hockey Shirt dance this Saturday and there are a lot of details that he wants info on.”

  “Oh,” Bobbi glanced down at the mess on the desk. “And these details would be where?”

  Billie took a step back. “Well that’s the thing. I haven’t dealt with them yet.”

  “You haven’t dealt with them.”

  “No.”

  “And the fundraiser is less than a week away.”

  Billie nodded, her face open wide with a grin. “I guess you can add that to your list of things to get to.”

  Sure, Bobbi thought glancing down at the mess in front of her. I’ll get right on that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  By Friday Shane was in a piss ugly mood.

  It had been brewing all week, a culmination of many things, and for the most part the other techs kept out of his way.

  He’d been working on a custom bike for the last two days and had just pinched his fingers for the tenth time while working on the brakes when Logan approached.

  Shane glanced up at him, his face tight in a scowl. “What now?” He stood and rolled his shoulders, trying to l
oosen the tense muscles that stretched across them.

  “Can I see you?” Logan nodded toward his office and Shane’s scowl deepened.

  He tossed his tools onto the floor beside the bike. “Sure, boss.”

  Shane followed Forest across the busy shop, his mood dark, though he managed a half-hearted smile as Janelle waved to him from her office. Logan’s office manager, Janelle was married to Logan’s cousin, and newly pregnant with their fourth child. To say the man was a lucky son-of-a-bitch was an understatement. Janelle was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. She had a great sense of humor, loved a good practical joke, didn’t mind when the F bombs started to fly and looked damn good in plain old T-shirt and jeans.

  What would it feel like to have a woman like that standing beside you?

  Shane gave himself a mental shake and closed the door behind him, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his coveralls as he watched Logan help himself to a cup of coffee.

  “You want one?” Logan asked.

  “Nope. What’s up?”

  “I’m not sure if you know this or not, but Bobbi is working for Billie now.”

  Irritated, Shane’s eyebrows shot up. “And I should care because…”

  Logan took another sip of his coffee before placing it onto his desk. “I’m not exactly sure what happened between you two last week, though judging from your mood I have a pretty good idea. I just…”

  Christ, here we go.

  “What?” Shane asked. “You gonna warn me off? Tell me that she’s bad news and that I’ll end up a fucking mess again?” Shane ran his hands through his hair and shrugged. “You don’t need to do that anymore, Forest. I’m a big boy now. We laid down the ground rules before anything happened. We had sex. Just sex and nothing more. Just for one night. I got her out of my system and I’m good.”

  Logan leveled his gaze. “You’re good.”

  “Yep.”

  Keep saying and you might believe it.

  “So why the hell have you been such an asshole all week?”

  Shane was quiet for a few moments as the old anger rolled through him. His hands balled into fists and he had to work real hard to keep his breathing controlled.