by Jayne Blue
“What?”
“Craddock or Zeke?”
“I’m not with either of them. I work for Craddock and I am friends with Zeke. And it’s not really your business.”
“That’s not what I hear. Well I give you credit. They’re both hot as fuck.” Sunny turned and walked away on that comment. Cassidy was very wary of Sunny. She felt having someone around “documenting” everything could be very dangerous.
Dylan was back and they put their order in.
“Twice as many?” Cassidy asked Dylan.
“Does that mean 400 shirts?”
“I guess it does. We’ll have them delivered to the next gym.”
“And get a few more kid sizes. They ran out first!” Dylan said.
“Good thinking. You are getting very good at being Craddock’s merch guy.” Dylan puffed up with pride.
“You riding with us?”
“Nope, G-Man has The Expendables Part 2. I’m in their bus. Jessie’s also making my favorite cheesy popcorn.”
“Okay, but can you maybe flip on over after the first stop so you actually get sleep?”
“Depends on where we are in the movie.”
Cassidy raised an eyebrow at Dylan as he finished packing Craddock’s stuff. Cassidy thought if everyone could have a Dylan in their lives the world would be a much happier place. Everything he did he did with joy.
Cassidy made sure Dylan was all set with Jessie and G-Man, and then she popped back into Craddock’s bus. She was bone tired as she sank into the couch. They still had five hours on the road to their next hotel after what had been a long day.
In two heartbeats, she had fallen asleep.
She was jerked out of that sleep buy a sudden swerve. She had nearly been thrown from the couch but two strong, familiar hands held her in place. Craddock was kneeling next to her and had kept her from being chucked to the floor of the bus. She blinked her eyes and tried to orient herself.
“Okay back there?” Ted slid the plexiglass window and called back to them.
“We’re okay.” Craddock’s eyes were locked on hers. His hands still at her hip and shoulder.
“Sorry, guy swerved into my lane a bit.”
“No problem.” Craddock’s eyes did not waiver from hers, but he began to move his hands slowly away from her. She felt their absence keenly.
“We’re watching me sleep?” She wondered at how he was right there when the bus swerved.
“Any chance I get. Yes.” He stayed right there by her side. His eyes were gorgeous, and within them, she saw his desire for her. She knew she should look away. She knew she should push him away. Every cell in her body wanted him. She wanted his hands back on her body. She wanted him.
Craddock had promised she would soon be begging him to touch her. She could not ask that, and she wouldn’t. Her pride, stubbornness, or hurt was getting in her way. However, she could touch him without asking and did.
She reached her hand out and ran it against the stubble along his jaw. She had wanted to do that all day. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. A moan escaped his lips as she let her hand go further and brush through his hair.
On impulse, she leaned up and touched her lips to his. They were warm, soft, and exactly right. A current of energy passed between them. She pulled back slowly and watched as he opened his eyes. His breath was audible in the moving bus. His expression changed from desire to distress. If she had to put a name to it, she would call it agony. The look worried her.
“You look like you’re in pain. Did you get hurt today?” It was easy to forget, with all his size and his muscled armor, that he was a man of flesh and blood. Blows did damage. Even in an exhibition.
“No. It’s that you’re beautiful. It hurts me to look at you and not touch you. All the time. I promised I would not touch you unless you asked. If you kiss me again I will have to break that promise. And I’ve never broken a promise, ever.” Craddock stood up and slowly walked to the back of the bus to the door to his room. He went in, but he left it open.
Chapter Four
Craddock
She did not follow him. He waited, but maybe it was not quite time for her. It took everything he had not to drag her forward, deepen that sweet kiss she gave him, a kiss that was almost painful.
He knew what to do to make her moan, to make her cry out. She had once said that he was not fair. That the chemistry they shared made it not fair. Even when she wanted to resist him, he could overwhelm her.
Craddock vowed he was not going to win her that way. He’d done everything he could to be sure she was physically near him but she had to come the rest of the way, into his bed, into his life, on her own. She had to trust that it was safe to let him have her heart. He knew he could take her body. But he wanted her soul. That meant waiting. That meant lying in bed alone with an open door and her only a few feet away. A few feet that sometimes seemed like miles.
They rolled into their motel and a few of them decided to get a midnight bite before turning in. The kiss she had given him was still on his mind.
Cassidy, Dylan, G-Man, Jessie and Craddock, the old GWG gang descended on the restaurant. He did not share their plans with Zeke and his crew, Sunny either. He did not need any of that aggravation right now.
They ordered a round of Mi-Hammy and Egg plates and Cassidy’s laughter at the name was nearly maniacal.
“You mean to tell me you’ve never eaten at a Donny’s?” G-Man and Jessie flanked Cassidy. She looked like a kid between them.
“Gullich, I would have if I’d known how amazing it was.” Cassidy tore into a short stack of pancakes.
“You got that right.” Jessie was working on some bacon
“If I wasn’t watching my weight I’d have dessert too.” G-Man said as he popped an entire whipped cream covered pancake in his mouth. Cassidy put her head on his shoulder. Craddock could see her body shake with the effort of holding in another fit of laughter.
“G-Man you’re wasting away, no doubt.” Craddock was glad his buddies were here for this weird experience as a professional MMA fighter and product of the 21C. He had faith that Jessie was up next when it came to a 21C contract. It was only a matter of the right high profile fights. He wanted Jessie in almost as much as he had wanted it for himself.
Craddock put his warm thoughts on pause and looked around. Shit, Dylan had wandered off. Then he heard him.
“I’m sorry. Sorry, SORRY! I didn’t mean it. I.. I.. I..” Shit, something had happened. Craddock made his way to the cash register and found that an entire rack of postcards from a display had been knocked down. Dozens of them were scattered everywhere.
An angry man in his forties, with a thin wisp of hair and a potbelly was yelling.
“I told you not to spin it but you did. What are you retarded?” Craddock did not know what to handle first, the white-hot rage he felt at that word and the way this asshole hurled it at his sweet big brother, or should he go to Dylan and try to help him calm down.
That is when Cassidy swooped in, all calm and business-like.
“Sir, we’ll clean it up.”
“And pay for any damage this re-”, Cassidy interrupted.
“Sir, I’d advise you to never utter that word again about this sweet man or anyone.” She was inches from the manager’s face.
“Or what?”
“Oh it's really easy to spread the word these days when a business is managed by an insensitive jerk. I am sure your bosses would agree that is not a word to be used in their restaurant. Unless you own the place? I’m sorry do you own all the Donny’s Restaurants in the country?”
Craddock’s muscle was not needed, neither was Jessie or G-Man’s. They showed up in the lobby, arms crossed, with an extra show of the guns for fun. Cassidy had this handled without them.
After ripping the manager a new one and leaving him momentarily speechless it appeared, Cassidy turned her attention to Dylan.
That is when the asshole restaurant owner realized who they were.
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“Holy shit! You’re The Fighting Flynn and G-Man. Are you on the way to the title fight? Oh my god. You sure you’re ready for Kane Broadman? Shit I need my phone.”
While he fumbled for it, Craddock kneeled down with Cassidy and Dylan.
“I didn’t mean for it to knock down. I didn’t. There was just one card that I liked and I was trying, I was trying to get it.” Dylan was on the floor wringing his hands. The big man never looking as vulnerable as when he was careening toward a meltdown.
“It’s okay.” Cassidy said in her most matter of fact voice, “but it’s time to pick these up.”
“Yes, we need to pick them up. But there’s too many.” Dylan’s panic was rising again.
“We just have to go one little card at a time. One step at a time. Let’s look for the ones with the cow on them.” Cassidy organized Dylan’s actions and which helped him organize his raging emotions. All over a postcard rack.
“What about with Craddock? I need one with him.” The douchebag restaurant owner was in selfie heaven with G-Man.
Craddock came over, and Cassidy had Dylan handled so well and was moving him in the right direction that he was afraid to distract her, or him. It was no small thing pulling Dylan off the cliff of chaos.
“I’m your biggest fan. I loved when you didn’t back down against Gustavo.” The manager went on about Craddock’s fighting stats.
“That’s my brother. If you ever use that word again, I am going to find out and I am going to beat the shit out of you. How’s that for not backing down?” Craddock grabbed the rack and put it upright. Damned if he was going to do a selfie for this jerk.
“It’s bent.” The manager pointed out as Cassidy kept Dylan focused on the task of the cards.
“Here.” Craddock put a one-hundred dollar bill on the counter.
“We’re all set Craddock.” Cassidy said, as they put the cards that they sorted in the rack.
“Let’s go.” Cassidy and Dylan followed his command.
“I didn’t mean. I’m so sorry.” Dylan leaned around Craddock to get to the manager.
“It was an accident. He’s the one who should be sorry.” Craddock and Cassidy walked Dylan out. Craddock looked back to see that the dingle berry manager was trying to snap a picture. Craddock lifted a middle finger.
“Take that home to your mother.” Craddock said and G-Man and Jessie followed close behind him.
They walked the short distance to the motel where the busses were parked for the night. This night they were all sleeping in rooms to recover from the busy day and to get a break from the bus. They had another long stretch of road ahead.
“You were incredible with Dylan. As usual.” Craddock said.
“Thanks you were pretty amazing too.”
“What I do?”
“Well not killing that asshole was impressive, saintly even, for someone with the word fighting in his name.”
“I don’t want to be in jail when you finally decide to let me in.”
She was going to let him in if he earned it. Seeing Cassidy with Dylan drove it home. She was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Craddock let his comment hang there and caught up to Dylan. It was not a good idea to let Dylan’s emotions have time to re-fire. He had given Cassidy something to think about.
Cassidy
Cassidy watched as Dylan found an even keel again and Craddock gave him a strong home base that he needed.
Cassidy was not sure if taking Dylan away from his home and the things he knew so soon after their mother died was a good idea. Watching them walk together right now convinced her that these two brothers would be okay. It was a big responsibility for Craddock. One he would have the rest of his life.
Jessie and G-Man caught up and flanked her.
“You didn’t kill the manager or anything did you?” She asked the pair.
“No but he did offer to give us a pie just to go away,” G-Man said, and then talked across her to Jessie, “So are you going to tell her?”
“Not sure if she’d listen. She’s stubborn like that.” Jessie answered.
“You know I can hear you.” Cassidy said. Jessie and G-Man were performing this little scene for her benefit.
“Well she can hear, but we’re not sure about the eyesight.” G-Man shot that one over her to Jessie.
“In all fairness it did look bad to most people with eyeballs, both times.” Jessie replied.
“What in the hell are you getting at?” She was getting annoyed.
“We think you should forgive Craddock.” G-Man said.
“Oh, you do? You two are relationship experts now?”
“No, we’re not but I did go back to the hotel after Detroit and he didn’t go with either of those chicks.” Jessie said.
“He told me that and I believed him and then he was with that girl on the show so I smartened up.” Cassidy was feeling defensive faced with the tag team of Jessie and G-Man.
“You know he was drugged on the show? The producer was fired and Thompson himself apologized for what they did to Craddock.” G-Man blurted.
Cassidy had to take a moment to process what G-Man had just said. Craddock had been drugged on Tough to the Top?
“What are you saying? He was on drugs in Vegas?” She asked, not sure what G-Man was getting at.
“No I am saying that after he got that cut in the fight the producer slipped him sleeping pills not Tylenol. Which is what he thought it was. None of that was on camera.”
“That’s illegal.” Cassidy was livid.
“Craddock didn’t press charges. You will have to ask him about that. G-Man knows cause of his 21C connections. It would have been a big scandal but everyone kept it quiet.” Jessie elaborated for her. “Craddock won’t even talk about it when I asked.”
“Yep. They’re not even sure if Tough to the Top’s going to have another season, that’s how mad Meyer was at the production company.” G-Man said.
“But we’re getting off topic. The point is to forgive Craddock. He’s not as bad as you think.” Jessie said.
“Well he’s bad though,” G-Man added with a smile.
“Fine, thanks for telling me. I think.” It was the most confusing five-minute walk she ever had.
“We just thought you should know.” Jessie added and they peeled off toward their room.
The next room in the row was Craddock and Dylan she passed them opening their door. Cassidy looked at Craddock and did not have any idea what to say, think. Her perception of him was shifting again, out of nowhere.
“Good night, Cassidy.” Dylan said, shaking her out of the mental gymnastics she was doing.
“Night Dylan, don’t stay up too late with TV.”
“I won’t, I’m pretty tired.” Dylan was usually drained and had a headache after such an adrenaline spike like his meltdown today produced. He would sleep fast and deep, which was good. He needed it with all the travel.
Dylan went into their room but as Cassidy took her key out and put it in, she noticed Craddock lingering. She looked up at him. Was Jessie right? Was he drugged on that show? She actually had a ton of questions, but did not want to ask them in the hallway of a motor court.
“Just making sure you get in your room.” Craddock said as he lingered in the hall, always the protector.
“I know.” Her door opened and she pushed it. Craddock also began to enter his room. She started to walk in to hers and stopped.
“Craddock,” she called out to him, quietly, part of her was afraid he would hear her.
He popped right back into the hallway though at the sound of her voice and waited for her to speak.
“Can you come to my room later, after Dylan’s asleep? I have questions and I need answers to them.”
“Give me an hour.” Craddock said.
“Okay, I just have questions, I want to talk. That’s it. You get it?”
“Whatever you want.” They both went into their rooms.
She did a mental invento
ry of the facts and the reasons that kept her from Craddock.
In the past, he was unreasonable and did not trust her. Today, he had watched her fix Zeke’s neck and did not make an issue of it.
She had been holding it against him that he had given in to temptation on the show, but they were not together then, Bess had repeatedly pointed out. Now, if G-Man and Jessie were right, he actually had no blame for that heartbreaking scene. He was a victim of some asshole producer.
Then there were the blondes in Detroit. There was really no getting around that one. He did that to hurt her and out of spite. Even if he ditched them once they had served that purpose.
It felt like the longest sixty-minutes of her life. She paced, brushed her teeth, and felt like she was going to jump out of her own skin.
Cassidy also thought about the questions she had, and how she would react to the answers. She had invited Craddock into her room but did it really mean her bed? Her life? She didn’t know. She did know they needed to talk. Really talk.
Craddock knocked on her door, he was always on time, and it had been precisely an hour.
For a moment she was frozen to the spot, her feet unable to move, what was she afraid of? Him? Or the way she felt about him?
She willed herself to go to the door and opened it.
And there he was. Craddock Flynn at her door. Looking just as scared as she did and as sexy as ever. She had just seen him, but why did it always feel like it had been so long?
“Come in.” He ducked his head a bit to make it through the small doorframe.
“Maybe sit down over there.” There was a tiny table and chair in the corner. Craddock barely fit but he went with it.
Cassidy paced, she had meant to sit on the side of the bed but could not be still. All her plans to have a reasonable discussion went out the window and she unleashed a fury at him.
“Why were you with that Julie girl on the show? Why?”
“It isn’t what you think.” Craddock responded to her temper with calm.
“What is it then? You called her the same name you call me.” Cassidy was determined not to cry. She fought back hot tears.