“What’d he order?”
“A burger with the works, fries, and chicken wings. Mavis gave you his order, probably to make me feel better. She’s good like that.”
I grin at her. “So does that mean Mavis sees me as the fatherly type? Or am I someone she can flirt with?”
“Honey, I’m gonna flirt with you. We don’t get too many muscly, tattooed bikers in this town, and I’m going to make the best of it,” says Mavis as she places a tall glass of soda in front of me.
“Fair enough,” I reply on a chuckle.
“Where you from, honey?”
“I live near Washington, DC. I came out here to visit Thomas. We served together. I guess I left it too late.”
“No, honey… seems to me you came at the right time. And thank you for your service. Dinner’s on me.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Oh, hush. Don’t you argue with me now. Bethy, do you want a soda or a coffee? I forgot to ask you I was so blinded by this big hunk of a man here.”
Another chuckle escapes me, and I shake my head. “Mavis, I appreciate you wanting to pay for me, but a man doesn’t let a woman pay. Ever.”
With her hand to her forehead, Mavis pretends to swoon. “Oh my… Bethy, if you don’t snaffle this one up, I will.”
Beth laughs. “Soda! I’ll have a soda.”
Mavis winks at me and walks away.
“You said I was to buy you dinner, and I aim to,” states Beth.
“Yeah, not going to happen, country. We city boys like to pay. Deal with it.”
With raised eyebrows and a shocked look on her face, Beth says, “No, you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t what?”
“You just dissed me.” Beth leans across the table.
I lean in too. “Yeah, I did, country. What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m paying.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Country, Mavis gets it. Why can’t you?”
As if on cue, Mavis arrives and puts our food down in front of us. “Hells, yes, I get it. Oh, Bethy, let the man pay. Now, eat while it’s hot.” Mavis pats my arm. “I like you.” Then she looks at Beth. “I like him. He’s going to be good for you. Eat, Bethy, before you turn to skin and bones.”
“Like that’s ever going to happen,” quips Beth.
Mavis smiles and moves away.
“I like her,” I say to Beth.
“I heard that,” yells Mavis as she keeps walking, waving a hand in the air.
We both burst out laughing.
“Mavis has perfect hearing,” whispers Beth.
I look over my shoulder, and Mavis nods at me. “Yes, I do.”
Laughter erupts from me as I turn back around to eat my dinner. It all tastes good. For a while, we eat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Well, I thought we were until Beth clears her throat and looks uncomfortable.
“What?” I ask.
“Myles,” begins Beth.
I hold up a hand. “Not my business. One day, when you get to know me better, you can tell me all about it, but I understand what you were saying before… sometimes we don’t want those who hurt us to have any more ammunition to use against us.”
Beth goes quiet and nods once. “Yeah.”
I smile. “Yeah.”
Beth chatted easily after our meal and walked me up and down Main Street, pointing out the different shops. She made a point of introducing me to everyone who said hello, and although I appreciated it, it still grates that she didn’t introduce me to Myles Graham. And even though I told her it was none of my business, it irks me that she dated the guy.
I shouldn’t care.
I’m not staying here.
Beth doesn’t belong to me.
The ride back to the ranch takes no time, and when I pull up and stop, Beth makes no move to get off the bike. When I turn the bike off and swivel sideways, I look at her. She has a grin on her face, her hair is a tangled mess, but she seems happy.
“Country, you going to get off?” Beth nods but doesn’t move. “Tonight?” Surprising me, she leans forward and kisses my cheek. “What was that for?” I ask with a grin.
“You made it easy. Thank you. You’re a rare breed, Sean MacKenny.”
A warmth sneaks its way from my cheek to my cock, and right there and then, I want her.
Beth nods once and climbs off, not looking back as she jogs up the stairs and into the house. It must be a good five minutes before I realize I’m still out here while Beth is long gone. I climb off, and my cell begins to ring. The caller ID says Angus, my brother. I hit accept, put the cell to my ear, and say nothing.
“For fuck’s sake, Sean. Answer the phone like a normal person.”
“What?”
“What?” I hear his intake of breath. “What? That’s all you have to say? We only recently got Maddock back, and now you go missing? Did it occur to you we might all want to stay together and bond?”
Angus is an introvert and a genius on the computer. Our brother, Maddock, went into witness protection, but at the time, we all thought he was dead. Angus was like a dog with a bone, he was convinced Maddock was alive, and, of course, he was.
“Mad is in Paris with Cherie. So there’s no bonding to be had.”
“Come home.”
“I can’t.”
“Bullshit! Kyle wants you back. I want you back. Come home, brother.”
I’m VP in the Loyal Rebels MC, and Kyle, my older brother, he’s the President. Kyle rules with an iron fist, but he’s fair. I don’t always follow the rules, and it gets under his skin, but he mostly lets me slide.
Maddock came back to us a bloody mess, and when they kidnapped Maddock’s girl, Cherie, I couldn’t let it slide. Colin Lamond deserved it. He also killed our baby sister, Heather. In the Marines, I was good with explosives, so I blew the fucker to kingdom come. It grated on me that the others were prepared to let him live. I wasn’t—it went against my moral code, and it’s how I came to be here. I wanted to spend time with Thomas Trent, work out my demons, and then go home.
Now, I feel like I can’t leave Beth. It seems like she needs me, and I also don’t want to face the wrath of Kyle.
“Sean?” asks Angus in a softer tone.
“I disobeyed a direct order, Angus. Kyle will be pissed, and I don’t blame him.”
“Yes, he’s going to give you a flogging for what you’ve done, but Sean, he needs you home. We all do.”
I mount the stairs and sit on the top one, looking out over the ranch and into the night. “I’ve got things I need to do here. Brother, I need space.”
“Well, being in the middle of fucking nowhere, you must have plenty of that. How is your old army buddy, anyway?”
“He’s dead. His daughter is here, though, looking after things.”
“Oh, shit. Sorry, man. How’d he die?”
Angus is the best hacker I know, so if anyone can help me, it’ll be him.
“Angus, do you think you could look into it? Thomas was shot in the back, according to his daughter. She seems to think a Myles Graham had something to do with it. He wanted to buy the ranch, but Thomas didn’t want to sell. Beth thinks he paid people off, so he wouldn’t get blamed.”
“Beth?” asks Angus, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Thomas Trent’s daughter. Yeah, Beth. It’s not like that. She’s good people on hard times. I look at her more like a sister than someone I’m interested in. Actually, she’d make a good match for you. She’s quiet and likes to keep to herself.”
Laughter filters down the line. “Fuck you. Okay, give me a couple of days, and I’ll send you what I’ve got. Where should I send it?”
“Like you don’t fucking know. I know you, brother. Talk to you in a few.” I end the call, stand, and walk into the house.
Beth has her back to me. She’s in the kitchen with the coffee machine gurgling away.
“Ahh, you must have read my m
ind.”
Beth twirls around, her face is red, and she smiles fakely at me. “You took your time. And yeah, would you like a cup?”
“I’d love one. Are you okay?”
Beth turns back around and makes herself busy getting cups while nodding a little too profusely but doesn’t verbally answer. I touch her on the shoulder, and she jumps.
“Whoa, Beth, what’s wrong?”
“You know it’s been a long day, and tomorrow is probably going to go the same way, except, of course, I won’t be going into town. Thank the Lord it’s nearly Sunday, and we can rest. But you don’t have to work Saturday. It’s the day I do a tour of the ranch, check fences, and make sure all the livestock is fine.”
Beth thrusts a cup at me, spilling some on the floor. I take the cup from her and place it on the kitchen counter.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, of course not. I told you I’m tired.”
“I’d like to do a tour of the ranch with you if you don’t mind?”
Beth shakes her head. “Not necessary. You should explore the area, see the sights. I’m going to take my cup up to my room and read. I’m beat. Night, Sean.”
As she goes past me, I grab her by the arm. “Beth, I don’t understand what I’ve done wrong, but I’d like to come with you tomorrow, so I’ll be dressed and ready at sun up.”
Her hair falls over the side of her face as she nods and pulls out of my grasp.
Women, I swear I’ll never understand them as long as I live.
Beth
The skin where Sean holds onto me burns, and my body is wishing he’d do more, but I heard him, ‘I look at her more like a sister than someone I’m interested in.’ Sean couldn’t have been more direct if he’d tried, and really, why would someone like him be interested in me? Country, that’s what he called me, and he’s right. I am. He’s from a big city and probably has a girlfriend back home. I pull away from him and avoid eye contact as I quickly go up the stairs to my room and sanctuary. Once there, I shut the door and put my cup on the dresser only then do I let my tears flow.
I shouldn’t be upset.
He’s not interested in me.
Sean could never be mine.
Feeling tired, overwhelmed, and more than a little disappointed at discovering he thinks of me as a sister, I slump on the floor with my back to the door.
I must be missing my dad.
After all, Sean is a stranger.
A handsome, hard-working, muscle-bound stranger but still not someone I know.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I smile to myself. Maybe it’s my lot in life to have horrible taste in men? My track record sucks. And no wonder he’s not interested, he’s probably only staying here out of some obligation to my dad.
Not wanting to stand, I crawl to my bed and haul myself up on it. Then I kick off my boots and shimmy out of my jeans. Falling backward on my bed, I look up at the ceiling.
Today was a good day. I got the fences mended, and I thought Sean and I had bonded in town. How embarrassing those feelings only went one way. He’s not from here, so what did I expect? Did I think he’d leave his home and stay here with me? No, he called it when he called me country, and that’s exactly what I am.
Sean is also an old friend of my dad’s, so there’s probably some kind of guy code where he doesn’t mess with me. Yep, that’s it. Plain Elizabeth Trent wins again.
I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the ranch and the night, and within moments, I’m asleep.
I wake early, shower, dress, and go downstairs. I can hear Sean moving about at the back of the house, so I scramble some eggs, put on the coffee, and wait. Within ten minutes, he walks into the kitchen.
“Good morning! Do you want toast?”
Sean smiles. “Good morning, Beth. Yeah, toast would be nice.”
I push both buttons down on the toaster and go back to my eggs. Sean grabs two mugs and pours us both a coffee, then he leans over my shoulder and inspects my cooking.
“They look done.”
“Nah, they’ve still got a minute to go.”
“But you’ll burn them.”
“Who’s skinning this cat, you or me?”
Deftly, Sean guides me to my seat, places a cup in front of me, and pushes me into it. “You started it, country, now I’m going to finish.”
I giggle at him, and he grins widely at me. “You always this bossy? How does your girlfriend put up with it?”
Sean shakes his head and goes back to the eggs, turning off the stove. “I don’t have a girlfriend. My da made sure we all could cook, and it’s something I like to do.”
“Was that your father?”
Sean piles the eggs onto the two plates I’d placed on the bench and walks them back to me, and as he moves, the bread pops up in the toaster. He places a plate in front of me, and one opposite me then goes back for the toast.
“Da was my grandfather.” Sean points to a cross on his forearm. “This is for him. I miss him. He was like a father to us. Da was a great man.”
The cross is only about two inches in size. It’s very intricate with the words ‘In memory of KM’ in a circle around interlocking hearts.
“It’s beautiful.”
“All of my brothers have it. It’s a way to remember him and to bind us. The joke is we are bound in blood and ink.” Sean chuckles to himself and begins buttering his toast. “I think you would’ve liked my da.”
“What happened to your father?”
Sean’s lips turn down. I watch as he puts some of the eggs on a corner of the toast and then bites into it.
“My father was a drunk. Got himself and my mother killed in a car accident, so Da took us in. I have five brothers and a sister. Sorry, had, Heather has passed.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Sean shakes his head and takes another bite of his breakfast. “Don’t be. It’s been a while. I miss them both, but time marches on. Neither would want me sad for too long.”
“How did your sister pass?”
Sean stops eating and swallows, then takes a large sip of coffee.
“Someone tried to kill my brother, Maddock, and by mistake, they got Heather. A car bomb killed her instantly.”
I’m completely stunned. What a horrible way to lose someone you love.
“Oh, Sean, I’m so sorry.”
He waves a hand in my direction. “It was a long time ago. She was avenged.”
Wondering what he means by that, I cock my head to the side. I want to ask, but from the look on his face, there are demons hiding there, so I nod and eat my breakfast.
“Are we taking the horses or ATVs today?”
“ATVs are easier. I’d like to let the horses out into the left field, so they can run around and get some exercise. Titus will need it. He’s not used to being cooped up.”
“I know how he feels. I don’t like to be tied down either.”
“Ahh, hence, the no girlfriend. I get it.”
Sean looks at me quizzically. “It’s not that I don’t want a girlfriend, and I don’t mind being tied down.” Sean winks.
I laugh nervously as heat warms my face at his meaning. “Okay, but only for the right kind of girl.” And we both know that’s not me. I want to say this, but I don’t, I only think it.
He laughs and shakes his head. “Eat your breakfast, country, so we can get going.”
I do as I’m told, and when we’re done, I put both plates in the sink. There’s an old flask in the cupboard I fill with the remaining coffee, grab two tin cups and head for the barn.
Sean matches my stride. I glance over at him and realize he’s not wearing a hat.
“You can’t be out all day on the ranch without a hat. I think there’s an old baseball cap in the barn. You should wear it.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“No, you won’t. Either you wear the hat, or you’re staying here. Got it?”
Sean chuckles. “In case you didn’t notice, country, I ride a
bike without a helmet. I’ll be fine.”
“The heat out here can sneak up on you. It’s cool right now, but as the day wears on, you’ll feel it. Not that we’ll be spending all day on the ATVs.”
“You know, I’ve never ridden an ATV. They look like fun.”
“They are, but they aren’t toys. Watch yourself and watch out for me.”
Sean grins. “I’m always watching you, Beth.”
“Oh come on, city boy, you can do better than that,” I reply with a wink.
I toss Sean the cap and put on my stetson. With a sigh, he places it on his head, and I don’t think I’ve seen a sexier sight—black T-shirt, tight blue jeans, boots, and the cap. Damn, if my panties didn’t just catch on fire.
“You’re staring,” states Sean.
“It looks good on you. You should wear a cap more often. Okay, let’s walk these horses out to the paddock. Do you remember how to put the halter on?” Sean nods. “Okay, then, seeing as Titus likes you, you get to do him.”
Sean nods and gets the halter while I go and do the same for the other two horses. These two are eight and nine years old and have always lived on our ranch. They are as docile as you can get. Occasionally, the older one will get skittish, but generally speaking, they are good, solid, and reliable horses.
Walking them both outside, I wait in the early morning light for Sean. As soon as I hear him walking toward me, I begin to step over to the far paddock. It only takes ten minutes to get them in, and my two are happy to be able to run around all day. I unclip their lead ropes, and they both take off, galloping toward the far end. I turn and catch Sean with his face close to Titus’ head, whispering to him. Slowly, I walk up and stand near them. Titus throws his head a little when he sees me. Sean whispers something else, detaches the rope, and Titus trots past. It almost looks like the horse is giving me a knowing look.
“What’d you say to him?” I ask.
“Men talk, you wouldn’t get it.”
I scoff at him and shake my head. “Come on, city boy, the day’s a wasting.”
The ATVs are at the other end of the barn, away from the horse stalls. Dad built a ramp for them so they could easily be moved in and out. I get on my ATV and start it.
Spark of Vengeance: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 2: An MC/Band of Brothers Romance Page 4
