by Jayne Blue
A packed Honky-Tonk bar on a weekday at noon, check. These dudes were in full vacation mode.
I walked into the bank and up to a teller with no one at her window. The entire bank layout was open. A throwback to a 1970s arrangement. The teller looked me up and down and then I saw her eyes dart to a glass office that took up a huge chunk of real estate in the back corner.
At first, I thought maybe the teller was eyeing security. I didn’t exactly look like I was checking on my stocks and bonds. But she was watching something else. I followed her eyes.
A blonde man in a business suit was behind the glass. He had his tanned manicured fingers all over, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She had masses of maple colored hair and long, lithe legs that led up to a perfect ass, covered, just barely, by white shorts. And maple-colored hair. Wouldn’t you fucking know it? Maybe that was my wench.
Her white short-shorts were not exactly an outfit that worked in a bank setting. Even if it was a bank in a tourist town. I wondered what the story was with her. I knew I’d like to find out.
The man was touching her, caressing her hands, and his eyes were hungry.
The woman was clearly upset, she was stiff, and she was doing everything but run away. I had the urge to break the window and get her out of there.
“Can I help you?” The teller finally realized she had a job to do. But it was too late. I was mesmerized by the strange little play going on behind the glass.
“What’s going on in there?”
“None of my business or yours. But, if you ask me,” which I had, “he’s going to get her, and her island. Poor thing. She’s so young.”
“Uh, yeah, well is that legal? He’s not so young.”
“Oh, Kara Ross is 21, but 21 and never been kissed they say. Her daddy saw to that. But now he’s gone you know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Just good local gossip. What can I do for you?” Maybe she remembered she was telling tales about her boss and finally get back to business. I looked at her tag.
“Carleen, I need to get to the safe deposit boxes.” I produced the key that Sawyer had given me. No need for i.d. when you had the key. I worried over security cameras for a second. But then there was no all-points bulletin on me or anything. Hopefully, they’d straighten this out before my face was plastered all over the internet.
“No problem. Let me just lead the way.” She gave me a wink and a wiggle. I might have been interested, she was cute if I hadn’t first seen that beauty behind the glass. That little beauty had me thinking about those shorts and about putting my fingers in that maple colored hair as I walked down the hall through a vault area and to several rows of boxes.
“Just leave it locked on the table when you’re done.” And Carleen the teller left me to my business. And she left me to wonder what would happen to that pretty thing in the bank manager’s office. It wasn’t my town or my problem I guessed.
Getting an infusion of cash had brought me here. Not a pretty little virgin. Though she was very tempting.
I matched the key and the number and slid out the safety deposit drawer.
Inside the box was another phone. I traded the one Sawyer had given me for the new one. There was also a key at the end of an anchor-shaped key chain, more cash, mine, stuff I hadn’t had a chance to get before I ran, and stuff I wouldn’t risk withdrawing myself.
Sawyer had arranged for the Emerald Coast currier to make sure I had a stash here.
The box had a stack of fifty-thousand dollars in hundreds. Plenty to wait out a long stretch here. I grabbed ten-grand. It fit in one fist. This would be enough to get some food, and start bike repairs.
There was also a note from Sawyer. I opened it.
“Hope you took your time getting here. I think you’ll like the boat I got for you to hang out on for a while. I figure your legs are getting tired of riding about now. It’s docked at Cutter’s Marina. It’s big enough to live on, fish, whatever. No hotels to rent or credit cards to scan brother. Enjoy the beach.
I’m almost jealous.”
Sawyer
I shook my head. Sawyer was still taking care of me. Even out here. And he was right I wouldn’t have to find a hotel or deal with a front desk person. It couldn’t be more perfect. I could get my bike fixed and float a while.
I needed to rest my bones, and Sawyer made it easy for me to do in Gold Cross. I palmed the key. Bike repair and Cutter’s Marina. That would be the plan today.
That was until I heard another bank patron opening a nearby deposit box.
They were one row over, closer to the exit. I wasn’t too interested in anyone seeing me other than the bank teller so I paused. I packed up my box and locked it tight.
I heard a sniffle. It was a woman. It sounded like the woman was crying.
I slowly got up and looked around to her row. The cute little thing from before, Kara, was that her name? Well, Kara was wiping away tears and pulling something very old out of the bank box.
She looked at it a moment, her eyes lit up, and she wiped away her tears. Oh, did I want to go do that for her.
She was lost in her thoughts. I could see why. The item in her hands looked very much to me like a map. An old map.
I decided to give her a chance at privacy. She’d already been on display with that bank manager. I pushed a chair out of my way, loudly. I’d meant to give her a heads up. Instead, I’d scared the shit out of her.
She knocked her deposit box to the ground.
“Crap,” she muttered and went down to the floor after the contents.
“Didn’t mean to startle you miss.” She was on the ground, scooping things into her bag, and I could see that the paper very fucking much was a map. Old as shit. Interesting.
She looked up at me.
“You were built to startle people,” she said. And that was probably right. Leather, dirt, hair, and size put people on edge it didn’t lull them into a nap.
“Can I help you pick something up?”
“No, no. I got it.” She put the contents of her safety deposit box in her bag. And then I watched as she slid her fingers in between her breasts and pulled out the key that she wore on a chain around her neck.
It was exactly like the key Sawyer had given me.
She leaned over the box and her gorgeous tits fell forward and so did her long silky maple hair. She probably could have taken the chain off to lock the damn thing, but this was so inadvertently sexy I was glad she’d decided on this method of securing her stuff.
Twenty-one and never been kissed? I wondered how that was possible. Her lips looked full and made for it.
I passed her by and got another glimpse of the map she’d put in her bag, the top peaked out, something like Ross Island was scrawled on the top in old fashioned script.
Ross? That named kept popping up.
I walked out of the vault and let her finish her business, but she followed me out of the vault. Kevin Potter, that handsy bank manager was there to intercept her one more time. I had a gut instinct to protect her. To keep her behind me and punch this fucker in the face. The sight of this guy just made me clench my jaw.
This wasn’t my business. She wasn’t my woman. She was a stranger. But something about this asshole and the way he treated her made me think there was a situation here that needed fixing.
“Let me drive you back to your brother’s shop Kara honey. I know you took a cab here, and that’s wasting the money you don’t have.” The condescending asshat placed his fingers above her elbow and squeezed.
“Uh, I can walk, uh, it’s really no big deal.”
That’s when the name clicked, Ross. I wondered if that was the same, Ross. If it was, I might be able to help her at least spend one less car ride with Keven Potter.
I decided to make a move. Sometimes when you fight bobbing and weaving is just as important as striking.
I decided to weave. And I hoped this sweet smelling woman would take my lead and weave r
ight along with me.
“You’re not talking about Ross’s Bike Rental and Repair?” I looked her in the eye.
“Yes.”
“I’m headed that way. My ride needs work I was told he was the man to see. I can give you a lift if you lead the way.”
Kevin Potter was about to interject. His face turned immediately red. He was not used to anyone going against his plans. Ha. I’d pissed him off so easily. It made me happy for some reason.
“She doesn’t need a ride from, uh, what’s your name??” He pulled her forward and tried to shelter her from me. Like I was contagious.
“Stone,” I replied and put a smirk on my face to match his fake smile. He was about to say some bullshit I suppose but to my surprise Kara jumped right in.
“Actually, that’s perfect. You’re so nice Stone, thank you. Kevin, no need to leave work. God knows Jason needs the repair business. Let’s get moving Stone, don’t want to keep Kevin from the bank any longer.”
Nice. She called me nice. There’s a first time for everything.
Her mouth moved a mile a minute. She was looking for a way out.
I was happy to provide it.
Kara
Stone, his name was Stone. Of course, it was. He’d looked me straight in the eye when Kevin’s slimy hands were on me in his office. I know he saw me flinch.
His eyes were blue, bright blue. They were the only light thing on him.
His hair was long, skimming the scruff of his leather collar and his hard jaw was shadowed with rough stubble. He was tall as hell. How’d they find a leather jacket to stretch across his shoulders? I wondered.
Stone was the biggest badest looking biker I’d ever seen. And I was born in Gold Cross, Florida. Home to Bike Month. Every spring of my life my town was Mecca to bikers.
But they were domesticated. The bikers that played in Gold Cross were weekend warriors. It was a hobby for the most part.
This was a biker like you find them in the wild. For Stone, it looked like a lot more than I hobby. I felt my blood speed up when he looked at me. Those blue eyes. I wanted to keep looking into them. But that would be weird. So I had to look away.
It was ridiculous. I wasn’t into bikers, bankers, or boyfriends. But I’d never seen anyone that looked like him.
Getting to the safe deposit box was my goal, though. I endured the meeting with Kevin. I let him twist the screw on me again just so I could get to that box.
I was still so mad at Daddy for this whole situation. He’d left me an island, his dream, his hope, but he’d left it to me in deep debt.
I had no way out. I was in debt for the land and in debt for my college degree. I envied my college friends who had government student loan debt. Daddy put me in the crosshairs of Kevin Potter.
Daddy had never seen past his own dreams. He’d always thought he’d find his gold and no one would have to pay. He swept me up in it. I thought it was a grand adventure, but actually, he’d put me in a cage lined with tall tales that lead to an ultimate captivity with Kevin. God help me I had to find a way out.
Unless I found a way to fulfill Daddy’s dreams, I’d lose the island and I was getting more and more worried about what else I’d have to give to Kevin Potter.
When I was a kid, he was a creep, but he’d never crossed the line. He might have enjoyed looking as I grew up but he never did anything to me. So I didn’t think much of it. A lot of guys like to look.
But Kevin Potter had crossed a line the minute Daddy died.
It had been one month. At first, I was in shock. Jason and I were now without parents.
Sure he was 25, and I was 21, it’s not like we are babies, but still. Burying Daddy was almost as hard as losing Mama. She’d bolted and never come back.
To me, Daddy’s dreams were magical when we were kids growing up. He’d take us out to Ross Island, and we’d live in the shack for sometimes three days! He’d tell us the old pirate stories. And we’d search the deserted sandy beach. As the years passed the search began to consume him. The fun story turned obsession.
His searching got manic as he got older.
The difference between insane and never giving up on your dreams is a brittle golden thread.
As he lay dying and his voice was weak as he passed his obsession into my hands. Or his curse. I still wasn’t sure which it was.
I had to lean in close to hear him, and he put the chain around my neck.
“Kara, I’m so sorry about the debt. So sorry you’re going to be stuck to Kevin Potter. I had such big dreams for you. For the island. For Gold Cross.”
“Shh. You rest Daddy.” I took care of him by myself most of the time. Jason was the only one earning real money. He had to run the bike shop.
“Here, the number is on the key. Use those science skills and find our treasure. It’s the answer to everything.”
Free? It was either the key to my freedom that dangled between by breasts or just a chain around my neck.
I had one month to find out. Kevin made that very clear.
I didn’t know if Stone saw my map. If he had. That could be a problem. No one was supposed to know about the map. And here I was, first time out, letting a scary ass biker get a look. He also got a look at me. I felt his blue eyes on mine, and it made me blush, unlike Kevin whose eyes made me shudder as they traveled my skin it crawled.
Something inside me leaned toward this stranger and away from Kevin, a man I’d known my whole life. Stone reached out a hand, and I took it. If at the very least to get away from spending a car ride to the bike shop with Kevin.
Sliding out of Kevin’s arms was getting harder and harder. He had turned into a ninja octopus. I dreaded the fact that I’d promised to go to the town’s biggest fundraiser with him to keep him happy. I’d worry about that later. Right now, it was getting out of the bank and his fingers off me.
Stone and I stepped out of the bank and onto the sidewalk. He stopped and said in his low voice, “Where to, Kara?”
He indicated that the giant Harley, which looked dirty, imposing, and something way too big for me to try to straddle, was his.
“We’re going to go a mile down Hook Boulevard and then I’ll get you to Cove Road, then it will be right on Sunset.”
“Here put this on.” He had an extra helmet, and I did as he instructed. I imagined my hair blowing in the open air and instead he’d handed me the helmet. It was a little incongruous but safety first.
He held out a hand as I climbed on the back. It wasn’t an easy climb.
“Listen, that’s a lot of bike, and you’re a little woman. Hold on. Tap me on the side I need to turn to a few yards before we do it.”
“Sure.”
He climbed on and pulled out onto Hook. It was smooth and fast. And it was loud. Stone controlled this vibrating power between my legs, and that thought made me blush in the helmet. I was also afraid for a second I’d bounce right off!
So I leaned in closer and held on tighter to Stone’s waist.
He smelled of the outdoors, leather, and also of the machine we were on. I pressed my chest against his back. He was solid. And his smell! I inhaled again. Who cared? He couldn’t see me. I loved this man’s scent. I noticed smells, good and bad, and I couldn’t get enough of Stone’s. Kevin smelled bad to me. Even freshly showered he smelled like onions and dollar bills.
Gold Cross was a small town, and it wasn’t a long trip. Which I found myself slightly disappointed about.
We rumbled passed Pontiac’s, my Aunt and Uncle’s place, and right into Jason’s Bike Repair and Rental.
Thank God for Pontiac’s and Uncle Frank and Aunt Estelle. They owned the bar and restaurant on the beach, they owned the building that Jason ran his shop out of next door and the apartment above it. If it weren’t for them, we’d be way worse off money-wise. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have a boat to do my job with. I owed them too. But they’d never ask for a dime.
They could be collecting rent on all of it, but instead, they
were letting Jason try to make a go of the repair shop and me make a go of everything else.
Stone pulled in and cut the engine.
“You okay back there. Hold on.” And Stone easily got off the bike and lent me a hand.
“Thank you, I have gotten on and off a bike before.” I was trying to be cool and failing.
“Not my bike.”
“Jason!” My voice startled Stone as I called out as loudly as I could.
I needed to get to work. And figure out the map. This trip on the bike had me confused, and I needed to be clear-eyed.
Chapter Three
Stone
It was a shame the ride was so quick. I loved the feel of her thighs pressing into mine and her arms holding on. She was soft in all the right places and sweet. Too sweet for that banker.
“Jason!” She was also loud when she wanted to be. She was a woman on edge and woman with a secret. I’d bet my bike on that one.
“In a hurry to look at the map?” I said, and her eyes flew open.
“That is none of your business.”
“Just making conversation.”
“Thanks for the ride,” she said and looked around nervously at her brother’s shop.
“Jesus Kara, what’d you ride in on?” The slim man who appeared wore overalls and was grease monkey from head to toe. He appeared from around the corner and was shaking his head as he looked at my ride.
“This is my brother. I need to get to work.” Kara walked quickly out of the shop. I did like to watch her walk I discovered. But her brother was who I needed right now.
“Whoa? Your bike’s a monster. Fits the man eh?”
“You the owner?”
“I am, Jason Ross. I’d shake your hand but uh well.” And he showed me it was full of oil. The sign he’d been working all morning already.
“Bicycles and motorcycles?” I noticed a strange combo in the place.
“Scooter too. If it has wheels, I’ll deal with it. We also rent bikes for tourists.” And he pointed out back.
