by SJ McCoy
Frankie relaxed and smiled back. She loved that Tara and Reid seemed to have thought of every eventuality that might disrupt his routines and throw him off course, and that they’d given him clear expectations of what he could do if any of those eventualities came to pass. She’d seen it before when kids had teased him at school. He’d looked up at her and said, “Sometimes, people think that they don’t like me just because I’m different. If that makes them say mean things, I don’t have to listen. They might not even mean it, but even if they do, I don’t have to listen.”
She nodded back at him now. “That’s right. I’m just going to get Libby’s phone so we can see if they’ve left a message.”
She walked quickly back to the office to get the phone. Once she’d rounded the corner and was out of sight of the arena, she stopped dead at the sight of someone disappearing around the corner. It definitely wasn’t Reid or Tara, and they weren’t expecting anyone else out here this afternoon. All she’d seen was a leg clad in leather pants with a big boot on the end – the sight sent visions of biker thugs racing through her mind. Sometimes whole gangs of bikers rode down the valley on their way to visit the park, but they were mostly fifty and sixty somethings reliving their youth, not the kind of scary thugs that that boot had conjured up.
Her heart raced in her chest. She might be letting her imagination get carried away, but she’d rather be safe than sorry. She edged to the corner of the barn where the leg had disappeared and peeked around it. Shit! It wasn’t just her imagination. The guy’s back was to her as he walked. He looked scary as hell from the top of his head – his head that was mostly shaved with just a strip of hair running down the middle – down through his muscular torso and bulky tattoo covered arms, to his – jeez! That was quite an ass! – covered in black leather pants that stretched over muscular legs and ended in the offending biker boots that had been her first introduction to him. That right there was one badass. For a moment she wished she’d invited Ace down to watch Owen ride. But then she pulled herself together. She didn’t need another guy to help her run this one off. She could do it herself – and she knew exactly how.
She pulled back around the corner and ran at a crouch to the office. She went in the back and took the shotgun from the rack. Once she had it loaded and ready, she made her way back out, stopping on her way to get Libby’s phone. If this turned ugly, she wanted to be able to reassure Owen that his folks were on the way – if they were.
Feeling a lot more confident with the shotgun tucked under her arm, she strode back out of the office, set on finding the intruder before he found Libby and Owen.
Chapter Two
Spider ran a hand over his head and looked around. Reid had been right that the navigation was spot on. He’d found this place without any problems. It was only dawning on him now that he perhaps should have asked for directions on how and where to find Owen when he got here. He’d parked right next to the first building he’d seen and gotten out. He didn’t have much experience around animals – well, cats and dogs maybe, but not big animals like the horses and cows that seemed to be everywhere up here. He’d parked the Range Rover rather than keep driving just in case he went somewhere he shouldn’t.
He was all turned around now, though. He’d walked past what he thought was a barn, judging from the sounds and smells coming from inside. There were a couple other buildings, too, but nothing that looked like the kind of open space where Owen might be having a riding lesson. When he reached the end of the building that he’d been walking beside only to find a gated fence at the end, he stopped and turned around. He blew out an exasperated sigh. He wanted to be right there when Owen got finished. The last thing he wanted was for his little buddy to get all upset because he didn’t know what was going on.
“Stop!”
He stopped in his tracks and looked up in surprise. A woman was standing about thirty feet ahead of him, pointing a shotgun right at him. His heart started to race, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was looking right down the barrel of a gun or because he was looking at what had to be the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in real life. She was tall and slender, a straw cowboy hat sat on top of her head, her long, dark, almost black hair flowing around her shoulders – shoulders that were bare and tan and strong looking. She was wearing a black tank top with some kind of red pattern on it, and faded, skinny jeans disappeared into a pair of well-worn, black cowboy boots that looked as if they’d once sported the same red pattern as her shirt.
He brought his gaze back up to her face and finally realized that checking her out probably wasn’t the best use of his time right now.
She came toward him, still pointing the shotgun right at him.
“Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here? What do you want?”
As she got closer, he could see that her eyes were blue. He’d always been a sucker for blue eyes and long dark hair. Jesus. And why the hell was he even thinking that right now? He made himself smile and didn’t miss the way her eyes widened when he did. Damn. He didn’t think his smile was scary.
“Hey. I’m—”
“Shut it!” She took another step toward him.
“I thought you wanted to know—”
She scowled at him. “I changed my mind. All I want you to do is get the fuck out of here. Got it?” She cautiously made her way around him and then jerked her chin for him to start walking. “Go. Get out of here, you hear me?”
He turned back to her. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m here to …”
“The hell you can’t!”
Spider started walking in a hurry when she prodded the barrel of the gun between his shoulder blades. He headed back toward the barn. He had to tell her he was here for Owen. Whatever her problem was, he was hardly going to leave without the little guy.
He started talking again, this time not daring to look back over his shoulder. “I’m here for Owen. I—”
He stumbled forward when she prodded him again. “Like hell you are! Where are his folks? What have you done with them? You’ll get your hands on Owen over my dead body.”
Spider stopped walking and turned around to face her. “Listen. I don’t know who you think I am, or what you think is going on here, but I’m a friend of Reid and Tara. I—”
“Ha! Like I believe that!”
Spider was getting kind of pissed that she wouldn’t let him finish a single sentence. But while she still had that damn shotgun pointed at him, he thought it best not to show it. He spoke in what he hoped was a calm and reassuring voice. “I can see why you wouldn’t believe it. I mean, I know I don’t exactly look like them, or even like I’d be friends with them, but I am. And with Owen, too. If he’s here, just let me see him and he’ll tell you himself.”
The woman scowled at him. “No way am I letting you near him.”
At that moment, a yell tore through the air.
“Spider!”
Spider turned to see Owen running toward him. Forgetting all about the woman and the shotgun, he grinned and bent down to greet the boy, who flung himself into his arms.
“Owen! It’s good to see you, little buddy.”
“Up!”
Spider shook his head. He was honored and thrilled that Owen wanted him to pick him up, but there was no way that he’d risk it while that woman still had her shotgun. She could shoot him if she wanted, but there was no way he’d put Owen in danger.
“Move away, Owen.”
The kid turned to look at her with a scowl on his face. “No! Guns are dangerous. Spider’s here now.”
Spider was relieved to see her lower the shotgun. As soon as she did, Owen turned to look up at him again. He held his little arms up, and there was no way Spider could have refused when he once again requested, “Up,” with a look of longing on his face.
Spider scooped him up and risked hugging him. The little guy hadn’t always been comfortable with physical affection, but Spider’s heart melted a little bit and started to return t
o a normal rate when Owen hugged him back tightly.
“I missed you, Spider.”
“I missed you, too, little buddy. I told you I’d come see you.”
Owen nodded and turned to look at the woman. “Owen loves Spider.”
Spider could see the struggle on the woman’s face. “Spider?” she asked eventually.
Owen patted his cheek and said “Spider” at the same time that Spider decided that the danger had passed, and he was safe to introduce himself. “That’s me. My name’s Spider.” He held his hand out in the hope that she’d shake with him and introduce herself, too.
Instead, she stared at his outstretched hand for a few moments before looking up at him and asking, “Spider? What the fuck kind of name is that?”
Owen giggled at the same time that another woman rounded the corner of the barn and stopped dead.
“Frankie!” she exclaimed.
Owen grinned up at Spider. “Frankie said a bad word.”
Spider couldn’t help but grin back at him.
The other woman was looking at him now. “Who are you?”
He held his hand out to her. “As I was just telling Frankie, I’m Spider.” He glanced back at Frankie.
Owen wriggled happily in his arms. “It’s the kind of name you get called when your real name is Paul Webster.”
The other woman shook with him and smiled but still didn’t look like she understood. “I’m Libby.”
“Reid sent you a text to explain that I’d be collecting Owen today. Tara’s car broke down on the pass and he had to go and get her.”
“Ah. Okay.” Frankie stepped closer and offered Libby a phone.
Spider watched as both women leaned over it to check Reid’s text. “Reid sent you a photo of me, so that you’d know what to expect.” He caught Frankie’s eye. “I know I don’t exactly look like I’d be one of their crowd.”
“Okay.” Libby smiled up at him. “Well, sorry you didn’t get the best welcome.” She glanced at Frankie, who didn’t look in the least bit apologetic.
“No, I get it.” Spider wanted to reassure them both. He smiled at Frankie. “I mean, it’s not every day I get held up at gunpoint, but since it was in the interests of keeping Owen safe, I get it.”
Her blue eyes flashed as she narrowed them at him. “Good. Because I’m not going to apologize. All I knew was there was some big ass scary dude wandering around.”
“You’re not scary.”
Spider tried to hide his smile when Owen piped up. It was what Tara had told the little guy when they’d first met and become friends back in LA. She’d told him that Spider wasn’t scary, and he’d repeated it like a mantra every time Spider was around at first, as if he believed that if he said it enough it would be true. Now, it seemed that he knew it was true.
He smiled at Spider and then at Frankie. “He’s not scary. He’s painted.” He ran his little hand over the ink on Spider’s arm and then traced the lines on his throat. A smile spread over his face. “He’s painted, just like Bucky.”
Frankie still didn’t look impressed, but Spider was relieved when Libby laughed beside him. “That’s right, Owen. Just like Bucky.”
Spider gave her an inquiring look.
“Bucky is the pony Owen rides. He’s a buckskin paint.”
Spider had no clue what that meant but nodded as if he understood. He didn’t get away with it, though. Frankie made a sound that might have been a snort.
“Buckskin is the color. Paint means that a horse has white patches – as if someone threw a bucket of white paint at them.”
“Ah. Okay.” He continued to stare at Frankie’s face. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.
She slowly looked up and met his gaze. “I won’t apologize. You can see how it looked. Some big ass, scary, biker-looking dude …”
“Spider’s not scary.” Owen was scowling at her this time.
Spider was relieved to see her smile. “Believe me, little dude. He is when you don’t know him.”
She had a point. Spider looked into Owen’s eyes. “She’s right, you know. Even your mom was scared of me until she got to know me. It’s better that women should be scared of a man than trust him before they know if it’s safe.”
Frankie made that sound again; it definitely was a snort. “Women don’t have to be scared of men, Owen.” Even though she said Owen’s name, Spider knew her words were aimed at him. “They just have to be careful until they know if he’s safe to be around.”
Owen nodded sagely as if he agreed, and Spider decided it was best to let it go at that.
“Where is Mommy? Is she at home? Are we going home now?”
“We are.”
Owen wriggled to get down and Spider set him on his feet. He immediately bent down to touch Spider’s boots, then looked up with a big smile on his face. “Those are your motorcycle boots. Are we going on your motorcycle?”
“No. Sorry, little bud.” He glanced at the two women, hoping that his words would explain his appearance to them – at least, he hoped that it would help Frankie stop thinking of him as a biker, though why it mattered, he wasn’t sure. “I only arrived at your house a little while ago. I rode my motorcycle here from LA. When I arrived, your dad needed to go and get your mom, and he gave me the keys to Uncle Oscar’s Range Rover and asked me to come get you.”
Owen nodded, accepting that as a perfectly reasonable explanation. Spider glanced at the two women. Apparently, they did, too.
Libby held her hand out to shake with him again. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Spider. I hope you enjoy your visit.”
“Yeah. Thanks. It’s nice to meet you, too.” He turned to Frankie. It was even nicer to meet her. But he knew he couldn’t say as much. He smiled, and to his relief she smiled back and nodded. She didn’t hold out her hand, or even say anything. But the way she nodded, and the way her eyes sparkled … damn, his heart rate was back up and hammering the same way it had been when she’d held a shotgun on him. The corners of her lips twitched, making Spider bite the inside of his cheek. He wanted to kiss her! What the hell was wrong with him?
Owen tugged at his hand. “Home now. Home with Spider.”
The woman in front of him might have aroused his interest - in more ways than one - but the little guy at his side was way more important. “That’s right, little bud. Time to go home.”
“Thank you, Libby. Thank you, Frankie. See you in seven days.” Owen waved at them before turning and heading back up the drive to where Spider had parked, tugging him along.
Spider couldn’t resist looking back over his shoulder one last time or smiling when he caught those blue eyes focused on his butt.
~ ~ ~
“What the hell was that all about?” Libby asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
Frankie shrugged. “I saw him disappearing around the side of the barn. All I saw was some big ass dude in biker boots.”
Libby raised her eyebrows and looked at the shotgun.
“Okay, so it was overkill. But wouldn’t you rather I made a fool of myself with a shotgun than have someone take Owen? We didn’t know where Reid and Tara were. We didn’t know anything. All I could think of was keeping you guys safe.”
Libby rested a hand on her arm. “Okay. You’re right. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Yeah.” Frankie stared at the corner where Owen and … Spider had disappeared.
Libby let out a low laugh. “But damn, girl!”
Frankie had to laugh with her. “I know, right? At first, I only saw the back of him, and all I could think was that he was big and built and looked like he could do whatever he wanted to us and Owen and there’d be nothing we could do to stop him. So, I went for the shotgun. Then when I came back with it, and I saw the front of him … Phew!”
“All you could think was that he was big and built and you wouldn’t mind letting him do whatever he wanted to you, and you wouldn’t want to stop him?”
“Libb!” Frankie could feel the hea
t in her cheeks, but she couldn’t deny that Libby had a point.
“Hey. I can’t say I blame you. I mean …” Libby fanned herself with her hand. “Wow!”
“Have you and Mav spoken lately?” Frankie wanted to kick herself as soon as the words were out. She was shocked at herself. There was no reason that Libby shouldn’t comment on how good-looking that Spider guy was – no reason except that Frankie had all of a sudden felt … what? Jealous? Possessive? Whatever it was, she certainly shouldn’t be throwing Libby’s strained relationship with Mav in her face to distract her.
Libby blew out a sigh. “We’re not going to get back together, Frankie. It’s over. I’m sad, he’s sad, I’m sorry that you’re sad. But it is what it is. We’ve tried so many times that I can’t even count anymore.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know. But don’t fret about it. I’m still your sister-in heart, sister-in-friendship, even if I’m not your sister-in-law anymore.”
Frankie shrugged. “You’ll always be my sister. I just wish …”
“You can wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which fills up first. And besides, that wasn’t even about Mav and me, and don’t think I don’t know it. That was you throwing up a diversion tactic because you liked that Spider guy, and you didn’t like the thought that I liked him too.”
“Yeah, sorry. It was dumb.”
“It was surprising, but not dumb. I think that’s pretty standard girl behavior when you like a guy and think your friend might make a move on him.”
“I can’t believe you just said that. For one thing, I’m not a standard girl and for another thing I didn’t for a minute think that you’d make a move on him.”
“But you’re not going to deny the other thing – the thing where you like him?”
Frankie glared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. “How could I? You saw him! The man is hot! I never understood how or why women ogled men’s butts before but, damn!” She chuckled again. “Did you see the ass on that?”