“All right, it’s right in here.” He led the way around a short, false wall into the kitchen.
There was his bike. In the middle of the kitchen.
His motorcycle.
“This is the bike?” I asked incredulously.
“Yup. She’s a beaut, isn’t she?”
“She is at that.” I stared in awe at the ‘bike’ in the kitchen. No wonder he couldn’t lift it up onto the wood blocks next to it. Even without a sprained wrist, it would take two people.
“So...it’s in your kitchen.”
“Yeah, safest place for it.”
“How—how did you get it in here?”
“Up the steps. That’s how I sprained my wrist.”
I stared at the brick of a man in front of me. I’d written him off as an overweight, middle-aged man. Now that I looked at him, that barrel chest did look pretty solid. That man had muscle. He’d probably snap someone like me in two like a saltine cracker.
I moved to the front of the bike and scooted the wood blocks closer to the bracing point. I didn’t know much about motorcycles, but I’d seen a few mounted in shops before. I was more of a Jeep and truck man. My brief interest in motorcycles had been curbed by my mother, who made me watch a two-hour compilation on YouTube of motorcycle wrecks. By the time I was sixteen, I couldn’t look at a motorcycle without imagining my brains being scrambled across the side of the road. My mom’s methods might have been extreme, but it had definitely cured that daredevil side of me.
“So, you and Riley, huh?” Jim asked as he moved to the other side of the bike. He latched on with one hand. “You dating that girl?”
“I’m trying to,” I said as I grabbed on the other side. We lifted together, and I nudged the wood block beneath it with my foot. It wasn’t nearly as heavy as I was expecting, or Jim was lifting more than me. I couldn’t be sure.
“Help me with the back end, would you?” he asked.
“Sure thing.” I grabbed the second wood block and moved it to the back.
We lifted together; he did most of the lifting again.
Jim turned around and dug in the toolbox next to the kitchen sink. He set down a hammer on the worktable he had set up next to the bike—his message coming in loud and clear.
“You’ve known Riley long?” I asked him.
“For a few years now, ever since she moved in here.”
“You seem a little protective.” I nodded toward the hammer that had no use in his tire changing.
He grinned. “You’re not as dumb as you look.”
I chuckled, not sure what to say about the backhanded compliment. “My mom always said I was surprisingly smart.”
“My mom never said that about me,” Jim grunted.
I decided not to grace that comment with a reply. “So, you seem to like looking out for Riley.”
He shrugged and pulled out the tools he would actually be using. “She’s a good girl. So is that Wren. They’re good people. We look out for them.”
I nodded. “Has anything happened to them since they’ve been here?”
He tapped a wrench against his palm as he tried to remember. “She got in a bad car wreck a couple years back. She was driving to pick up Wren from school. Someone T-boned her in her small car. Ended up in the hospital for a few days. We all took turns visiting. Sam and Elise took care of Wren. When she came home, a lot of us kept chipping in to help her. We’ve felt like she’s been ours ever since. So, when a stranger comes in here sniffing around, you can believe we’re going to look out for her. Doesn’t matter if he’s a young guy like you, or like that annoying guy who’s always stopping by.”
I straightened up. “What guy are you talking about? Has someone been bothering her?”
“It’s the kid’s dad. Always stopping by, taking things. He stole all the blueberries off my bush last time he was here. Took a cold beer out of Sam’s cellar, too.”
Riley hadn’t mentioned anything about a man bothering her. But now I wondered if there was more to her hiding out here than I realized. Something didn’t add up. Even if she were scared of losing my family, she wouldn’t have left the way she did. Something had to have scared her into running. Besides, why would she stay in Burnside? Why would she stay in a place so close to Riverly, where my family had lived during our high school years?
“You don’t let him bother her, do you?”
“He’s harmless enough, I guess. Just a nuisance. And worthless.”
“But he keeps coming around.” I studied him as he scowled.
“Yeah, I think he likes to say hi to the kid every once in a while. Not that he’s ever helped them out. Sometimes I think he takes more from them than he helps.” He turned the screwdriver over in his hand. “I wanted to mention him to you so you could keep your eyes open. I’ve decided I like you. And I think you might do a good job of looking out for Riley and Wren. That guy...well, he’s the kind to take a dying man’s last dollar.”
He had to be part of the reason she didn’t want me here.
Jim set down the screwdriver. “If you see him coming, make sure to tie down anything you don’t want taken.”
I headed to the door. “Thanks for that. I’ll keep my eyes out for him.”
I said goodbye and hurried out of the trailer.
So, Wren’s dad was hanging around, making a nuisance of himself. I wondered if that played a part in Riley running away at all.
Had there been anything more sinister going on? I was going to have to find out.
I pulled out my phone and texted Riley.
Nate: Date tonight?
I stuck my phone in my pocket and walked down the street, past Gunrunner Gabe’s. Past Johnny’s.
My phone buzzed.
Riley: Busy tonight.
I texted her back.
Nate: Are you avoiding me?
Riley: Yes.
I was almost back to my trailer.
Nate: It’s way more fun to kiss me than avoid me.
Riley: I don’t have time for kisses.
I glanced at Riley’s trailer as I drew near. There was a lounge chair along the far end of the trailer. Riley lay face-down on it, wearing shorts and a crop top. Her eyes were glued to her phone.
I texted her back.
Nate: Baby kiss me one more time.
Riley: I’m in the middle of something right now.
I tiptoed across the pavement and leaned close to her, planting my hands on both sides of the chair.
“What are you in the middle of?” I asked quietly.
With a shriek, she rolled onto her back, staring up at me. Her sunhat rolled off the chair. I bent closer to her but didn’t touch her lips with mine.
“So, you’re too busy to kiss me?” I whispered, breathing in the smell of her perfume.
She visibly swallowed. “So...busy.”
Her eyes dropped from mine and focused on my lips that were close to hers.
“You don’t want to date me,” I stated. I dragged my index finger along the inside of her wrist, slowly tracing upward on the inside of her arm.
“No.” Her arm flexed when I reached her bicep. “I think—“
She cut off when I brought my fingers up to lightly caress her neck.
“Too much.”
“This is too much?” I whispered as I gently caught her earlobe in my hand and gently tugged.
She took a quick breath. “I have too much to do. I can’t. We don’t fit. I have to think of Wren.”
Her staccato words were out of place with the look on her face.
“So, no more kisses?” I asked as I leaned down to kiss her neck.
“Ung.”
“I couldn’t understand that,” I whispered against her skin.
A fist latched onto the back of my hair and pulled my head back up.
“You don’t fight fair,” she said right before she pressed her lips against mine.
I slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against me.
“What about
keeping your distance from me?” I grinned against her lips.
“Later.”
I’d have to find out about Wren’s father later, too. Riley effectively distracted me from what I meant to ask her.
A loud cheer finally broke us apart.
Riley sighed as I glanced around. I’d assumed we were sheltered, being at the back end of Riley’s lot.
I glanced toward the street and realized the trailer next to Eldon’s—two houses down from mine—had an unobstructed view from the deck into Riley’s “backyard.”
Marni sat on her deck, swiping on another unnecessary layer of lipstick.
Kristin stood next to her, drinking a coffee with a toddler on her hip.
Neither had the decency to pretend like they weren’t watching.
“Do you think we’re the only excitement in their lives?” I asked.
“I know we’re the only excitement in their lives.”
“Same time next week!” I yelled as I scooped Riley off the chair, tossing her over my shoulder and carrying her into the trailer.
Loud catcall whistles followed us.
Chapter Sixteen
Riley
Nate had made it impossible to break up with him. Again.
I was tired of fighting myself. Of lying to myself that I didn’t want the relationship to happen.
So, I did the only thing I could. I decided to accept it. To enjoy it. Heck, even embrace it.
I knew this would end with my heart shattered into dust. I might as well buy an urn to keep my future cremated heart in. But at the moment, I was going to enjoy being with Nate. To build happy memories with him that would endure a lifetime. Little memories I could frame next to that urn.
Which was why we were going on an adventure together. When Nate told me I didn’t live life, it hurt because he was, unfortunately, right. So, I was braving my way to try something new. Something for the fun of it. I wasn’t even going to add it to my social media. It was an adventure for the two of us.
After a day of working for both of us, we piled into my Jeep on an adventure of my choosing. Frank had stopped by at lunchtime to say hi to Wren. He ate my leftover pizza. But his visit had seemed to help lift Wren’s spirits, and she decided she was over her ex and would celebrate by spending the night at Macy’s.
“What are we going to do?” Nate asked from the passenger seat of my Jeep as I turned off the highway onto the same logging road he had taken me on before.
“I don’t know.” I stepped on the gas, drifting around the corner, spitting out gravel. “Isn’t it great?”
Nate grunted. “I take back what I said about you not living. I prefer you go back to the tame version of Riley I recently met.”
“It’s too late. You’ve released the beast.” I locked it into four-wheel drive and turned onto a narrow dirt road leading up the mountainside.
The tires dug into the mud, climbing with ease. We hit bump after bump. I laughed as I hit the gas at one particular rise.
Nate screamed as we crested the hill, landing into a muddy puddle of water that reached the frame of my car.
“You were so right!” I yelled. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years!”
I kept driving until we reached a small clearing on the top of the hill. I shut the Jeep off and looked around.
Nate clung to the handle. His green face twitched.
I unbuckled my seat belt and leaned over to pry his hands off the door handle. “We’re here.”
“Oh, so this is what heaven looks like,” he said in a staccato voice.
I laced my fingers through his and squeezed. “I think this Jeep needs a name.”
“Rocket of death? Canon of misery?”
“Aren’t you a funny one!” I let go of his hand and climbed out of the rig. “Come on. I want to get a closer look.”
“What, no selfie stick?”
I shook my head and slammed the door. He followed me to the steep side of the mountain. “I want to look. Just for myself.”
“You mean that?” His voice sounded so hopeful.
I nodded. “You were right. I’ve been so caught up in faking it—creating a lie. I didn’t know how much I was believing my own lies until you came along.”
“It’s not all a lie,” he commented softly. “You’ve built a life for you and Wren. A good life. And that’s something to be proud of. But I don’t want you to get to the end of your life and regret that you never got to live it.”
“Stop it, or you’re going to make me cry. Why are you so good to me?” I leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“I imagine you know why,” he chuckled.
“But you’ve inspired me to stop faking it. No more lies. No more fake travel. From now on, I’m going to live the life I portray.”
He tugged me into his arms. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Of course, I might show me eating greasy nachos, but at least it’ll be real.”
“Come on, I saw a blanket in the back of your car. I’ll set it out for us—if it didn’t fall out on your crazy drive up the mountain.” He kissed me one more time then grabbed the blanket to lay out for us in the pretty meadow.
My first spur-of-the-moment adventure wasn’t action-packed as it turned out. But it was perfect. Lying on a blanket next to Nate in the grass. No cell service, no noise. It soothed my weary soul.
We chatted a little, but we mostly cuddled in the comfortable silence. It gave me time to sort out my frantic thoughts.
I propped myself up on my elbow and stared at Nate. I wanted to explain everything.
“Your dad kept his promise to me.”
“What?” Nate looked at me with sleepy eyes.
“He helped me. I think he understood how scared I was. I’d just found out that I was Wren’s legal guardian. I was trying to decide what to do.”
Nate stroked my hair gently as he listened.
“Frank stopped by my dorm. I’d only been around him a few times before, and when he came to talk to me about Wren, he suggested that we live off of the Merciers. He told me of all these business opportunities he could have them invest in that would support us. But that was not the kind of person I wanted to be. It made sense to cut off ties with your family. To focus on Wren and help her have some sort of relationship with her father, but I wasn’t going to be asking for handouts all the time.
“Your dad stopped by the dorm room that day. He was in the area and decided to surprise Nola and me. He surprised me, all right. I’d just finished the last of my packing. He demanded some answers. Then, he promised that he would keep my secret—only if I would take some money. I guess I ended up mooching off of you guys anyway.”
He shook his head slowly. “Why didn’t he just stop you?”
I stretched my fingers against each other, one at a time. “You know better than anyone else what happens when you try to stop me.”
Nate rubbed a hand against his jaw. “Yes...”
“I’d already made up my mind. Your dad tried to talk me out of it.”
“He knew where you went?”
“No. I told him I was going to Portland—which I was, to pick up Wren. But then I had to figure out what we were going to do. I’d just made it through college, didn’t have a job, and all I had to my name was the generous amount of cash your dad gave me. It was more than enough to buy a trailer to make our home and to pay the cheap rent in a trailer park. I took a job at the market close by. That way, I could walk to work, and I’d be close in case Wren needed anything. She spent her days at school and her afternoons doing sports.
“Then, my social media following grew, and I was eventually able to quit work at the market and focus exclusively on being an influencer. It gave me a lot more freedom to do things with Wren, like actually go watch those games she was playing. Meet her friends. Take her on day trips.”
Nate began massaging my neck as he listened.
“It became safe and comfortable. I felt like I could give her what I never had. I thought if I jus
t made enough money, we would be all right. Now that I’m making money as an influencer, I think I’m still scared. Scared to mess up. Scared that I’ll traumatize my baby sister.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight against his chest. “You’re not messing up. You’re the best person Wren could be with. But this pressure you’re putting on yourself? It’s going to make you snap if you’re not careful.”
“I know. But I don’t know how to make it stop,” I whispered against his chest.
He gently stroked my hair. “You take it one day at a time. And right now, today, your sister is having fun at her best friend’s house. Safe. And you are sitting on a mountaintop. With your boyfriend.”
“Why is ‘boyfriend’ such an annoying word?”
“Because boyfriends usually are annoying?”
“You’re so helpful.” I laughed at his suggestion. “But boyfriend is just so...boyish. You’re not a boy anymore.”
He cleared his throat and spoke in an extra-deep voice. “Thank you for noticing that.”
“There’s got to be something better than that. Man-friend. Man-partner. Man-love.”
“You know, I’m going to stop you right there and suggest you get over the word boyfriend, because I’m not responding to any of those.”
“What am I supposed to call you then?”
“Well, I always liked it when you called me Nate.”
“That’s your name, silly.”
“It has a nice ring to it.”
“My Nate. I guess I’m okay with it. As long as you know you’re mine.”
His arms tightened around me. “You’re not going to give me up?”
“Not a chance. You didn’t leave when you had the chance. You’re stuck with me now.”
I could practically hear his grin from where I lay against his chest.
I didn’t know how long we stayed that way. We sat staring at the sun until it was only a glowing ridge.
“Riley.”
I turned to look at him.
“Nola’s getting married.”
I had to fight the urge to vomit. Nola was getting married. It had only been a matter of time. But this...this was no warning. I routinely checked up on her social media to find out what she was up to. There had been no warning of anything.
Miss Trailerhood Page 12
