Unraveling Him: A Small Town Family Romance (The Bailey Brothers Book 3)

by Claire Kingsley

  “What are those?”

  “Myra and Blanche.”

  I blinked at her. “What?”

  She smiled. “I know, I named them, it’s so dorky. My dad never let me have pets growing up, and my roommate was allergic. So I have Myra and Blanche.”

  “You’re bringing plants on a road trip?”

  “They can’t stay here. Who’ll water them?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  She smiled again. Why did this girl smile so damn much? “They can just sit at my feet. And they’re not toxic to dogs. I looked it up.”

  I looked at Sasquatch. “Is she serious?”

  Sasquatch scrambled into the back seat.

  “What a good boy,” she said, cooing at my dog. “You’re such a gentleman, Sasquatch. Thank you.”

  “Jesus.”

  Fiona spoke softly to her plants while she settled in the passenger seat. I talked to my dog all the time, but these were plants. Ignoring her—and the implications of trusting a woman who held conversations with plants that had old lady names—I went around and got in the driver’s seat.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  I didn’t know if she was talking to me or her plants, so I didn’t answer. Just started the truck and eased it down the road. I had to be careful with the trailer on this hill.

  “Since you’re driving, I’ll be the navigator and road trip coordinator.” She pulled out her phone. “How far do you think we’ll get today?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She pulled her legs up onto the seat and crossed them. “That’s fine, I’ll keep an eye on the map and find us a good place to stop for the night.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you have any food allergies?”

  “No.”

  “What about hotel preferences? Anything I should know?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know how to give answers that are more than one word?”

  I turned to look at her. “Yes.”

  She laughed. Because of course she did. Apparently everything was funny.

  My phone rang and I glanced at the screen. Gavin. I answered through the truck’s Bluetooth. “What do you want?”

  “Come down to the gym. I need a sparring partner.”

  “No.”

  “Dude, don’t be like that. No one’s around and I need someone good to practice with. Plus I really want to tie you into a pretzel.”

  “No.”

  “Fine, I’ll go easy on you. Actually, that’s a lie, I won’t. But it’ll still be fun.”

  “Can’t.”

  “Why not? You work for yourself. Take a break.”

  “I’m not home. I’m on the road.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Road trip to look at a car. I’ll be back in a few days.”

  “Are you out of town yet? Can I come?”

  Fiona glanced at me, amusement dancing in her eyes.

  “No you can’t fucking come. Jesus, Gav, leave me alone.” I jammed my finger on the button to end the call.

  “Who was that?”

  “My brother.”

  “Is it just the two of you or do you have other siblings?”

  “There’s five of us.”

  “Do you have any sisters?”

  “All boys.”

  “Wow. Your parents were brave.”

  “We were raised by—” I paused, gripping the steering wheel. Why was I telling her things? “By our grandparents after our parents died.”

  “Oh. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize.”

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to have to sit here and soothe her feelings. “It’s fine.”

  “I’m an only child. Sort of. I didn’t grow up with my other siblings, so I suppose it would more accurate to say I was raised as an only child.”

  “Are you going to talk the entire way there?”

  Her lips twitched in a little smile. “No.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you always so charming?”

  I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “What you see is what you get, sweetheart.”

  “Good to know.”

  Three hours later, I already had regrets.

  Lots of regrets.

  All the regrets.

  She was, in fact, talking the entire drive. Not necessarily to me. She’d asked me a few more questions, but I’d shut her down with one-word answers. But did that stop her mouth from spewing an incessant stream of chatter? No, it did not.

  She talked to her plants, telling them about the things she saw outside. Cows were very exciting, apparently. She talked to my dog, reaching back and spoiling him with attention while she praised him for being a good boy.

  She would not shut up.

  Finally, she settled down and was quiet for a while. My shoulders relaxed, the tension easing with the hum of the tires on pavement, the scenery flying by. Sasquatch liked music when we drove, so I flipped on the radio.

  Big mistake.

  She sang.

  Not only that, she sang wrong.

  Her voice wasn’t terrible, and she wasn’t loud. But she sang along as if she’d forgotten anyone else was around, and she obviously didn’t know the words. She mumbled through the verses, sang the words to the chorus, then mumbled again.

  This girl was driving me crazy.

  Of course it was my own damn fault for agreeing to this stupid trip in the first place.

  A new song came on and she hummed the tune, throwing in words here and there.

  Okay, so I didn’t actually hate her singing. It was sweet and sort of… calming.

  Until she sang into the beehive instead of follow the straight line—seriously, how did she get that wrong?—and completely ruined it.

  “You know you can look up lyrics online.”

  She just laughed. “Do you like road trip games?”

  “No.”

  “What about twenty questions?”

  “No.”

  “Alphabet game?”

  “No.”

  She sighed. “You’re really no fun, are you?”

  “Nope.”

  “What’s your favorite car?”

  I side-eyed her.

  “I probably shouldn’t have asked that question because now I’ll have to tell you mine, and you’re definitely going to make fun of me for it.”

  Okay, she kind of had my attention. “What is it?”

  “Nineteen sixty-five Plymouth Belvedere.”

  “Seriously?”

  She laughed. “I know, it’s kind of boxy and it doesn’t look nearly as badass as a lot of muscle cars. But give it a hood scoop and put that chrome stripe down the side, and it’s a hot car. Plus, you know, hemi. Those things can haul.”

  I glanced at her again. Sounded like she really knew her cars.

  Interesting.

  “It’s hard to pick a favorite,” I said. “But I own a ’68 Camaro because it was the first car I fell in love with.”

  “That’s a hot car.”

  My mouth twitched in a smile. She was a hot car.

  We stopped at a diner for a late dinner—the food was pretty terrible, but Fiona didn’t complain—and she found us rooms at a motel a couple of hours away. If I’d been alone, I would have driven farther, but getting a decent night’s sleep wasn’t a bad idea, so I didn’t argue with her choice of rest stop.

  It was after eleven when we pulled into the parking lot of a run-down motel. We got our keys from the office and found our rooms.

  “Okay, well, goodnight.” She had her backpack slung over one shoulder and carried her houseplants in her arms.

  I watched her set one of her plants down while she unlocked her door, feeling oddly unsettled. Her room was only three doors down, but for some reason, it bothered me that there was more than one wall between us.

  Sasquatch looked up at me with judgment burning in his brown eyes.

  “What? This place isn’t too bad. Her door locks.”

 
He blinked.

  She disappeared into her room, taking her plants with her.

  “Do you want to go sleep in her room with her? I didn’t think so.” I cast another glance at the empty space where she’d been standing. “She’ll be fine.”

  Of course she’d be fine. What was I worried about? She was a grownup. It wasn’t like I was responsible for her.

  Still, I resolved to make sure we had rooms closer together tomorrow night.

  8

  Fiona

  I woke up with a smile on my face.

  The bed was lumpy, the pillow flat, there was no way I was walking barefoot on the carpet, and I didn’t want to think about what I’d heard the people doing in the room next door. But I’d never felt as good as I did waking up in a crappy roadside motel in the middle of nowhere. Because for the first time, I was living on my terms.

  Today, I wouldn’t have to cover for Simone or pick up the slack because she’d come in late again. I wouldn’t have to feel the rush of anxiety as I went through my dad’s books, worrying about what I might find.

  “Good morning, girls,” I said to Myra and Blanche. Despite all the travel, they were looking lush in their spot near the window. “Ready to get moving again?”

  They were. I could tell.

  I took a quick shower and put on some makeup before Evan texted to see if I was ready. I grabbed my things and met him in the parking lot.

  It wasn’t as cold here as it had been in the mountains, so I’d stuffed my coat in my backpack. I had a comfy sweatshirt on, along with a pair of leggings, so I was warm enough.

  Evan stood outside his truck looking crazy hot with damp hair and sunglasses, his well-muscled physique filling out his t-shirt and jeans like nobody’s business. How was a guy like him still single? Assuming he was single, which I actually didn’t know for sure. It seemed like he was. He hadn’t mentioned a girl, or texted anyone, or—

  I needed to stop worrying about whether he was single. Was he hot? Dear god, yes. He exuded a potent aura of masculinity that made strange things happen in my lower regions. But that wasn’t why I was on this trip with him. Enjoy the view? Sure. Get tangled up with a man right now? Absolutely not.

  Plus, he wasn’t into me anyway.

  “Hurry it up,” he said. “We have a lot of ground to cover today.”

  “I’m coming.” I set Myra and Blanche down so I could open the truck door while Evan went around to the other side to get in. Sasquatch was already in the back seat. “If you’re in such a hurry, you could help me with all this.”

  “You’re the one who brought plants on a road trip.”

  I sighed and finished loading them into the truck. “Yes, but—”

  He turned on the truck. “I know, who would water them? You said that yesterday.”

  “So what should we do for breakfast?”

  He made a low growly noise. I’d already learned that meant he was annoyed or frustrated.

  “Aren’t you hungry?” I asked. “I thought after last night’s mediocre dinner you might be in the mood for a big breakfast to make up for it.”

  His jaw tightened, but I could tell he was thinking about it. “All right. If we see a place that looks good, we’ll stop.”

  We hadn’t gotten far when we spotted a truck stop. He agreed it looked decent, so he pulled off the highway and found a place to park.

  He took Sasquatch to get a little more exercise while I went inside and sat in a window booth.

  The waitress came and handed me a menu. She was probably about my age, with dark hair swept up in a high bun, a few tendrils falling around her face.

  “Coffee?” she asked.

  “Please. What do you recommend ordering? Do you have a favorite?”

  “The pancakes are good,” she said. “You can get them with blueberries if you want.”

  “Yum, I love blueberry pancakes. But my friend is still coming, so I’ll wait to order.”

  “Okay, I’ll come back.”

  “Thanks so much,” I said with a smile.

  The waitress left and I stirred cream into my coffee. I wondered if Evan liked cream or sugar. Or coffee. I had no idea. Although when I thought about it, he seemed an awful lot like a black-coffee guy to me.

  A man in the next booth turned around. He had light brown hair and striking blue eyes. “Hey, sorry, I’m not trying to be a creeper, but your voice sounds really familiar.”

  “That’s funny. Does it?”

  “Yeah. Are you from around here, or…?”

  “No, I’m from the Seattle area.”

  “Huh. I’m not from around here either. But I swear I’ve heard your voice somewhere.”

  “Hmm, I don’t know. Where are you from?”

  “Little town in Washington called Tilikum. You’ve probably never heard of it.”

  My eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

  “No.”

  “I was just there.”

  “Were you really?”

  “Yeah, but not for very long before getting back on the road.”

  He shifted so his legs were in the aisle and his arm draped over the back of the booth. He was attractive in a rugged kind of way. Thick upper body. Strong jaw. “What’s your name?”

  “Fiona.”

  His mouth hooked in a slight grin. “I’m Luke.”

  “Wait.” I searched my memory. Luke from Tilikum? “Luke as in Luke Haven?”

  He blinked in surprise. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

  “I’m Fiona Gallagher, from Gallagher Auto. We’ve talked on the phone tons of times.”

  He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “That’s why I recognize your voice. Fiona? This is crazy.”

  “This is crazy. What are you doing out here?”

  “I’m going to check out a car.”

  I laughed. “That’s so funny. So are we.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “We?”

  “Yeah, you must know Evan Bailey.”

  His smile disappeared in an instant and a second later, his eyes caught something behind me.

  Evan stopped next to the booth and leveled a glare at Luke. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  The malice in Luke’s gaze matched Evan’s. “Eating breakfast.”

  Uh-oh. I’d thought Evan had looked mad when he’d stared down my dad. But the anger in his eyes then was nothing compared to the inferno that raged in his expression now.

  “I take it you two know each other,” I said, keeping my voice light in the hopes of cutting some of the tension. “What a fun coincidence.”

  Luke shifted his gaze back to me. “You’re with him?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I’m not with him with him. But we’re together. No, not together, like that kind of together. We just met. Except, no, that’s not what I mean. We’re going to look at a car together because I know the guy selling it.”

  Luke’s eyes moved back to Evan. “What car?”

  I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or Evan, but I answered anyway. “A Pontiac.”

  Evan didn’t move, his thick body tense, those veins popping in his forearms again. His jaw hitched and his eyes blazed.

  “A Pontiac GTO?” Luke asked, still staring at Evan.

  “No fucking way,” Evan growled.

  I didn’t know the specifics of what was happening, but two things were perfectly clear. Evan and Luke didn’t like each other, and both men were after the same car.

  “How do you know Mr. Browning?” I asked.

  The friendliness in Luke’s eyes had totally evaporated and his voice was flat. “He knows my dad.”

  “Don’t talk to her like that,” Evan said, his voice low.

  “Evan, it’s fine.”

  “Talk to her like what? I just answered her question.”

  “Go home, Luke,” Evan said. “You’re not getting that car.”

  Luke scoffed. “Fuck you.”

  “I’m serious. The car’s mine.”

  “Like hell it is.”

  The
waitress hesitated nearby, her expression drawn with concern, and the tension was palpable. Luke’s nostrils flared and Evan’s eye twitched. They were like two wild animals circling each other, waiting for the right moment to attack.

  “Guys, maybe we should—”

  “Stay out of it,” Luke snapped.

  Evan stepped forward. “Don’t fucking talk to her.”

  Luke stood. “Kiss my ass, dick. Can’t hide behind your brothers out here.”

  “Neither can you, asshole.”

  They were attracting the attention of everyone in the diner. Two guys with barrel chests and thick necks came out of the kitchen and headed toward our booth. This was a truck stop diner. It was probably not the first time they’d broken up a fight in their restaurant.

  “Um, guys—”

  Luke’s eyes flicked to me. “Kitten, why don’t you take your ass outside and let the men talk.”

  Evan grabbed Luke’s shirt at the collar. “I said don’t fucking talk to her.”

  Luke pushed Evan and they stumbled into the aisle. Some lady near the back screamed—which was ridiculous, it was just a little scuffle—and the two guys from the kitchen surged in. I scooted closer to the window to stay out of the way.

  Evan landed a punch to Luke’s jaw and Luke answered with a jab to Evan’s ribs. A couple of blows later, the men from the kitchen were on them, hauling them apart.

  “Let’s go,” one of them grumbled, forcing Luke toward the door.

  Evan growled as the other one stood between him and Luke. “Don’t even think about it, buddy.”

  He let the guy lead him out. It was clear from the look on Evan’s face, and the way he stalked down the aisle between the booths, that he was walking out by choice.

  I grabbed my purse, thinking I might need to make a quick exit. But Luke and Evan obviously weren’t going to keep fighting outside. Luke went straight to a truck and got in.

  The waitress came back to my table, casting preoccupied glances outside. “Do you still want to order anything?”

  I looked out the window again. Evan was pacing outside his truck while Luke pulled out of the parking lot.

  “Yeah, how about some sausage, bacon, and toast. Enough for two, and I’ll take it to go.” I didn’t know what Evan liked, but I figured he’d be hungry. I sure was. I didn’t want to leave without breakfast because of some silly tussle.