by Jade Kuzma
“You know, Brash is really something.”
I slowly turned my head up from the equipment I was looking down at. Gina stood in front of me, her arms crossed underneath her breasts. There was no point in denying it any longer. We weren’t going to get any work done if I kept this up.
“Brash?” I said.
“Yeah. Sean. I saw you standing with him over at the bar. He was keeping you company.”
“Oh, yeah… Sean… How do you know his name?”
“It’s a small town. Once you’ve been here long enough, you see everybody often enough to get sick of ‘em. Besides, everybody knows who the Black Reapers are.”
“The Black Reapers?”
“Motorcycle club. Sean’s been a member for as long as I could remember. I think he just got out recently though…”
“Just got out? Got out from where?”
“He did some time. I figure he got out recently because that’s the first time I’ve seen him in a long time.”
“Right…”
I had no idea what to make of Sean. The tattoos, leather, and his general demeanor should have told me something. I suppose it shouldn’t have surprised me that he spent some time behind bars.
“…What was he in for?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I wasn’t there. But I heard he killed someone.”
“He killed someone?” I exclaimed. “Oh, God…”
I closed my eyes and put a hand on my forehead.
My first night in Ivory and I spent my time with a convicted murderer. A hand on my shoulder didn’t console me.
“Relax,” Gina said. “All of these biker guys have done time before. You have to expect that. It doesn’t mean they’re dangerous or anything.”
“Doesn’t it? I mean, you just said he killed a guy.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t there. And he served his time. Are you really gonna hold it against him?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Whatever. It was just one night. I’m sure you had a lot of fun with him, didn’t you?”
As the memories came back to me, the heat in my cheeks made me blush. I turned my head down and couldn’t look back at Gina. If she knew exactly what happened, I’m sure even she would start to blush.
“It was just a one-night stand,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Great! You’ve got it all figured out.”
“Huh?”
“There’s not much to do in this town. And there aren’t many people either. You’re gonna hear a lot of gossip and now you’re a part of it. No one cares though. So you slept with Brash? Who gives a shit?”
She shrugged her shoulders. Gina’s carefree attitude made me feel a little better.
“Right,” I sighed. “Who gives a shit?”
“That’s the spirit!”
“Let’s get to work. I’m not sure Amy would appreciate us standing around and gossiping when we should be working.”
“It’s not busy. Amy understands—”
The bell in the front rang. Gina and I made our way back out to the front of the bakery and saw Sheriff Sutton walking in.
“Hello, Gina,” he said with a nod. “Hello, Lydia. I’ll have my usual.”
“Yes, sir!” Gina said with a sort of fake enthusiasm.
I poured Sutton a cup of coffee while Gina bagged a donut for him. At the same time, Sutton was busy scrolling through his phone.
“How are things looking out there, Sheriff?” Gina asked.
“As good as they can be, I suppose,” he said. “There’s still a lot of stuff going on out there.”
“Anything we should be worried about?”
Sutton looked up from his phone and smiled politely at the both of us. The way the old man smiled was reassuring in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Nothing you two ladies need to concern yourselves with,” he said. “The Sheriff’s Department is on top of things.”
He spoke to us like my grandfather would have, kind and patient.
“You two take it easy,” he said. “Don’t work too hard now.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Gina said to him.
Sutton tucked his phone away and gathered his late breakfast. Just then, the door opened up. As the bell rang in my ear, I looked forward at who it was.
Is that…
I narrowed my eyes and blinked, trying to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
That can’t be.
The man was already in view. I knew who it was. And as he got closer to us, I started to realize it was definitely him.
Sean. Brash.
Somehow he’d ended up in the same bakery I was after just seeing him last night.
My eyes wide as I stared at him, I felt a sudden tap on my arm.
“Hey.”
Gina whispered to me.
“Are you all right?”
I turned to her and noticed the slight smile on her face.
“That’s him,” I said. “That’s—”
“Brash. Yeah, I know.”
I stared in disbelief at him while Gina smiled at me.
Sean didn’t immediately walk up to the counter, instead noticing that the Sheriff was right in front of him.
“Sheriff Sutton! Good to see you!”
“Mr. Scott. What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? I’m here for the same reason as everybody else. Amy’s donuts are the best in town.”
“Aren’t they? I just can’t get enough of them even though I should really cut down.”
“Hey, nobody will blame you if you have one too many. That’s why she makes ‘em.”
“Right…”
Watching the interaction between Sean and Sutton was strange. I’d only spoken to Sean once before but I’d never seen him so friendly. Maybe he was just trying to get on the Sheriff’s good side.
“How are things with you?” Sutton said. “You’ve been on your best behavior?”
“I sure have. Scout’s honor.”
Sean mockingly held up his hand to show his fingers crossed.
“Just watch what you’re doing,” Sutton said. “You know the department has got their eyes on you.”
“I’m not about to do anything crazy. Not after I just got out.”
“I hope not. For your sake… Ladies…”
Sutton bowed his head to Gina and me before excusing himself from the bakery. As soon as he was gone, Sean turned his attention to us. More specifically, he was looking right at me.
“Well, well,” Sean said, his eyes widening. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s quite a coincidence. What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? I’m here for the donuts.”
“Oh… Right…”
“I’ll take a dozen.”
“One dozen coming right up!” Gina said.
Gina got busy boxing Sean’s order. I stood there and tried not to stare at Sean. Looking him in the eye only made me remember what happened the other night. And doing that made me blush. From the corner of my eye, I could see the sly smirk on his lips.
“You’re not following me, are you?” I said.
“Um… Lydia?” Gina said.
“Following you?” Sean said with a laugh. “I’m just here for the donuts. I didn’t know you were working here.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I just started.”
“Oh… Then I have even more reason to come here.”
Oh, God…
Sean was doing everything he could to make me blush. It didn’t help that Gina was standing right there, egging him on without saying a word.
I sighed a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“That’ll be five bucks,” Gina said.
Sean put the money down on the counter. My eyes open, I could see that he was still staring right at me.
“So… Lydia,” he said. “You’re gonna be working here regularly.”
“That�
��s the plan,” I said. “That’s why I came to Ivory.”
“You’re still new in town though. I still have to show you around, as my responsibility as part of the welcoming committee.”
“The welcoming committee… Right…”
“You got any plans tonight?”
“I…”
I looked over at Gina as if she were going to help me out. All she did was widen her eyes at me with that obnoxious grin on her face.
“I… No,” I said. “I don’t have any plans.”
“Good,” Sean replied. “What do you think about going out with me tonight? We’ll have a few drinks, I’ll show you around town.”
“How about dinner?” I said. “Nothing fancy. Just… any nice place in Ivory.”
“I know just the place. I’ll pick you up here around seven.”
“I’ll be here.”
“All right… Take care now… Gina.”
He winked at the girl standing next to me then picked up his box of donuts. Gina and I watched him the entire way as he left the bakery. The door closed and the bell jingled.
“Holy shit…” Gina muttered. “He is so fucking hot.”
I looked at my coworker and raised an eyebrow at her.
“I mean, I knew he was hot. But that time in prison must have done something to him.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he got some new tattoos. Maybe it’s the way he’s styling his hair now. But you don’t see studs like that in Ivory very often. And he’s wearing that hot ass leather cut… I can’t believe he asked you out on a date. You really lucked out.”
Gina was so blunt with her admiration for Sean but I still wasn’t sure what to make of him.
“Didn’t you say he killed a guy?” I said.
“Yeah, so? He’s still hot.”
“Yeah but… I don’t know…”
“Listen, Lydia.”
She reached up and put her hands on my shoulders. Even though she was a few inches shorter than me, Gina spoke to me like I was her little sister.
“Stop worrying about what he did,” she said. “You can’t let shit like that concern you. Not in this town. What you need to do is focus on having a good time tonight. I mean, you had a good time last night, didn’t you?”
“Sure, but—”
“No buts!” she cut me off. “The only thing you need to worry about with a man like that is how good he can make you feel.”
I couldn’t deny how much fun I had with him last time. Gina seemed more enthusiastic about it than I was. But I was going to keep an open mind. Maybe getting to know Sean better was what I needed to settle into my new surroundings.
“All right,” I said with a shrug. “I’ll enjoy myself. But enough talk. Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 6
LYDIA
It seemed like every place in Ivory was grassroots. I hadn’t seen much of the town, but it appeared most places were family-owned and operated. Everybody knew who each other was like they’d been friends their entire lives.
The small restaurant Sean took me to later that night wasn’t much different from everywhere else.
It was a quaint restaurant I wouldn’t have looked twice at if I were driving by it. Considering the only other place I’d been to was a rowdy biker bar, it was a nice change of pace.
I looked around the room while Sean sat in front of me.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“It’s… nice.”
He wasn’t wearing the leather vest I saw him in, just a plain v-neck t-shirt that hung over his broad shoulders. His blond hair was slicked back over his head. He was still handsome, in a rugged sort of way.
“This must be different for you,” he said. “Coming down here from the big city… It must be some kind of change.”
“It’s different. Definitely. But it’s something I’m open to. I wouldn’t have come here if I weren’t ready for it.”
“What’s it like?”
“What’s what like? The city?”
“Yeah.”
I was puzzled by his question. But from the look in his eyes, I assumed he was serious.
“You’ve never been?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Ivory, born and raised,” he said. “I’ve spent all my life here. Sure, I’ve been to different spots but never up north. Not for too long, anyway.”
“I’m sure you’d like it just fine. There are a lot more people there.”
“What’s different?”
“What’s different? Hmm…”
I looked around the room. The atmosphere of the small restaurant wasn’t like any other place I’d been to but it was hard to put my finger on it.
“…I’ll put it to you this way,” I started. “If this were a restaurant up north, all these people around us would be on their phones. They’d be having conversations, text messaging, taking selfies. That sort of thing.”
“People still take selfies here,” he said, chuckling softly. “Ivory’s a small town but we’re not a bunch of backwater hicks.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I just—”
“I know you didn’t. There’s nothing quite like Ivory-folk. There’s just no way to describe it.”
“Yeah…”
He winked, his smile revealing white teeth behind his lips. Just a smile was enough to make my cheeks redden with embarrassment. I looked down at the ground for a second to try and maintain my composure.
Sean was a mystery that I was still trying to figure out. Every second I spent with him, I found myself wanting to know more about him, for one reason or another.
“What about you?” I said. “You’ve been here all your life. I’m guessing you enjoy life in Ivory just fine.”
“It suits me. This is my life. It’s all I’ve ever known. The people. The places. The weather. The club. I’ve got everything important to me here, so there’s no reason for me to leave.”
“The club… Right… What is that exactly?”
“They have motorcycle clubs back where you’re from?”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “I never really looked into it. It wasn’t something I paid any attention to. Out here, it seems like a big deal.”
“Big deal…”
He burst into laughter. Sean chuckled so heartily that some of the other tables took notice of him.
“I guess that’s one way of putting it,” he said.
“What’s it all about? Just a bunch of guys riding around in motorcycles?”
“It’s more than that. To get patched in… It really means something. You become part of a brotherhood. Bikes are important but it’s more than that. It’s a lifestyle. When you get your patch, you wear that thing with honor. And the people of Ivory understand just how important it is.”
“You’re not wearing it now though.”
He gulped a sip of his beer then set the bottle back down. I could almost see the gears churning in his head. The smile on his face was gone and I worried that I might have offended him.
“I know,” he said. “I figured I wouldn’t wear it tonight. Not around you.”
“Why is that? You said you were proud of being in a club.”
“I am. But you’re different. You’re not like the other girls in Ivory. That shit wouldn’t work on you. No, I want you to see the real me. I want you to see who I really am.”
I slowly nodded in understanding.
Despite his demeanor, I could tell Sean was being sincere. There was something about the way he looked at me that made me want to believe everything he said to me. It felt like I constantly had to be on guard around him.
“Thanks,” I said. “I appreciate that. Honesty is always a good thing.”
“What’s a man if he’s not honest with his woman?”
“His woman? Getting a little presumptuous, aren’t we?”
I raised an eyebrow at him, taking a sip of my beer at the same time. He grinned. For a second,
I almost thought he was blushing at me.
But a man like him? Blushing? Not likely.
“In due time,” he said. “Still, I really do want to get to know you better. If you’ll give me a chance.”
“I’m giving you a chance now.”
“I’m glad. So…”
He leaned forward and propped his elbows up on the table.
“Tell me more about Lydia,” he said.
“Lydia is just a girl from up north who came to Ivory to work at Amy’s Bakery.”
“How did you end up there?”
“I used to work at a restaurant in the city.”
“You didn’t enjoy it?”
“I did. I made ends meet. But the city… It just didn’t really vibe with me for some reason. I looked into it and Amy was willing to take me on. I love cooking but baking is a real passion for me.”
I wasn’t looking at him when I was talking, my gaze focused on the table in front of me. When I turned my head up, I noticed that he was just staring at me while listening to every word I said.
“That’s great,” he said. “That’s… amazing.”
“Amazing,” I said with a giggle. “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just trying to do my part to help Amy. It seems like her business is struggling a bit.”
“Is it? What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know. That’s part of the reason I came down here. For whatever reason, Amy’s sales are down.”
“It’s like that all over Ivory. The economy isn’t what it used to be. Amy’s a good woman though.”
“She is. I’d hate to see her lose her business. Especially when she’s been a fixture in this town for so long.”
“Maybe I can help.”
“You?” I said, my eyes widening. “What can you do?”
“You say that like you don’t believe me.”
“N-no,” I stuttered. “It’s not that. It’s just—”
“It’s all right. But the Reapers are looking to invest in the city. Maybe I can talk to the club and see what we can do to help Amy out. She’s got the best donuts in the city. Our boys go out there for breakfast when they get the chance.”
“Right… The Reapers…”
I considered what he said. Sean was still a stranger to me but he seemed open about everything so far.
“The Reapers,” I said. “How did you end up with them?”
