Crowned (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 2)

by Christina Coryell

  Pressing his hands to his thighs, he slowly rose from the couch. “I guess I should probably go. No worries about getting cold, since you practically lit a fire under me.” She extended her hand, filled with forest-green knit, and he pulled his head covering from her fingers with a smile.

  “It’s snowing,” she said almost inaudibly, returning her attention to the window. “You can’t ride your motorcycle home in the snow.”

  He took a step closer to the window, staring out into the dark night, catching a glimpse of snowflakes dancing past the street lights on Wonder Lane.

  “It’s snowing,” he repeated as she stood next to him. Reaching out to pull her into a hug, he brushed the hair away from her face with the back of his hand. “Hopefully it’s not too slick yet.”

  Shaking her head, she looked up at him. “You can stay. On the couch, I mean. I wouldn’t want to tempt you to be anything less than a gentleman.”

  Staring back into her amber eyes, inspecting every fleck and color highlighted by the Christmas lights, he tried to think clearly.

  “I don’t know, Harley. It doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

  “I’ll go upstairs right now, and you’ll have the place to yourself. Please? If something happened to you on the way home, I’d never forgive myself.”

  Deep inside, a gut instinct told him to kiss her the way he desired and see what happened. Who knows how long Harley would want to be with him, especially if she decided to choose New York. She wanted him to stay the night? Why shouldn’t he try to use that to his advantage? He was pretty certain most able-bodied young men his age wouldn’t waste an opportunity to be with Harley, in every sense of the word.

  Not that she was propositioning him. Far from it, if he was being completely honest with himself, but how much convincing would it take? Her vulnerability was staring him boldly in the face, daring him to see if he could push her over the edge. Her touch on his bare skin while she inspected his tattoos was still fresh in his mind, and he felt his breath thicken in his throat.

  “Yeah, I’ll stay,” he heard himself saying, mouth suddenly dry. Moistening his lips, he hesitated, waiting for her to make the first move. She inched toward him, and he wondered in that instant if he could make any attempts at resistance, wanting every piece of her that she would give him. Her cheek touched his, warm and soft, and his anticipation heightened as he felt her shallow breath near his ear.

  Do you really want to start your relationship this way? Maybe a forever kind of relationship?

  Every muscle in his body tensed, and as though she sensed the change, she paused with her hand on his arm and her mouth near his ear.

  “I love you.”

  The words were so quiet, he was confused for a split second whether he thought them, or whether she breathed them.

  Harley stepped back, offering a shy smile. “Good night, Ryan. Sweet dreams.”

  “Love you, baby,” he managed through his throat as he watched her retreating back disappear through the dining room door. Plopping down on the couch, he pressed his elbows to his knees and ran his hands through his hair, marveling at his complete lack of self-control. Letting out a frustrated breath, he looked around the room. He had the comforter and the decorative pillow from the couch, so he’d be fine, if he ever managed to drift off to sleep. There was the fact that he needed to use the restroom, though, and the only working one he’d seen while they were moving Annie’s things was the one upstairs. He was definitely not going up there in his state.

  Resigned, he rose to his feet and headed toward the back of the house, determined to do his business from the back porch. No chance of anyone seeing him in the darkness, and to be perfectly honest, the cold night air might do him a heap of good at the moment.

  “Annie?” Harley whispered, holding her pillow to her chest and standing in the doorway of her friend’s bedroom, looking nervously out into the hall.

  “Hey, did Ryan leave?” Annie wondered, straightening up from the book she was reading as she reclined on her side against the bed.

  “No, it’s snowing, so he has my comforter and he’s sleeping on the couch.”

  “So…what are you doing?”

  Biting her lip, she glanced over her shoulder again. “I just… Can I sleep in here with you? He’s probably going to come up here to the restroom any minute, and… Well, I’m having a bit of a self-control problem.”

  “Psst, Ryan.”

  Ugh, just when I had finally fallen asleep.

  Peeling an eye open, he was surprised to find Annie kneeling in front of him by the couch. Jerking his other eye up, he bolted up on the couch, inexplicably worried that something had happened. Where was Harley?

  “What time is it?” he asked, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

  He tried to focus on Annie, whose purple curls were sticking out every which way from her head, the look completed with what appeared to be Hello Kitty pajamas.

  “It’s 5:30, hon. What time do you have to be at work? I want to make sure I get you back to town in time.”

  The Christmas tree was still lit up, and there was no light to be seen outside, so he shook his head, trying to clear out the fuzz. “Are you sure it’s 5:30? I feel like I didn’t sleep at all.”

  “Join the club,” Annie muttered. “Harley kicked me all night.”

  He gave Annie a puzzled expression as he shifted on the couch. “Harley?”

  “She left at 4:00. Said she had a ton of work to get done for her big day. Interviews to line out and stuff.”

  Her big day. Interviews to line out. None of those words helped to ease the anxiety forming in the pit of his stomach. Unwilling to speak his fears to Annie, he managed a slight nod.

  “I have to be at work at 7:00, but I can take the bike.”

  “In four inches of snow? Best to let me take you, okay?”

  Shaking his head, he tried to rub the effects of sleep away from his eyes. “Sure, sounds good.”

  “I’ll go get dressed.” Annie rose to her feet and crossed the room, leaving him alone once again.

  Leaning his head back to look at the ceiling, he swallowed past the lump in his throat. He felt a bit more comfortable as he went to sleep last night about Harley deciding not to go to New York, but Annie had just thrown him for a loop. Reaching for his cellphone, he knocked a slip of paper to the floor where it found a resting place by his boots. Gazing at the partially folded paper, he couldn’t miss the simple word RYAN printed on the outside. As he spread it open with his palm, illuminating it with the light of his cellphone, a curious tightness possessed his chest.

  Morning, baby. Sorry I had to leave so early, but I have a big day. I hope you don’t mind that I asked Annie to take you home. You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.

  After studying your incredible body of art last night, I’m actually trying to have a little faith today. Will you pray for me, that I’ve made the right decisions? Please?

  My very own gentleman. I didn’t even know those existed anymore. Until I see you…

  Yours Alone,

  Harley

  Pressing the paper to his chest, he closed his eyes and smiled. “God, do you see this? Harley’s trying to make the right decisions. I’m not really sure I can be trusted to pray about that with a clear conscience, because she just called my body incredible. By the way, thank You for the fact that she wrote that in a note and didn’t stand here telling me that face to face, because I’m really not sure what to do with that. And she thinks I’m a gentleman! I guess I should be glad that You didn’t make her a mind reader, because I was anything but a gentleman last night, right?”

  Taking the paper in his fingers, he leaned forward and put both fists against his forehead, shaking his head slightly. “If she wants to make the right decisions, I’m asking You to ignore me here, because I’m not sure I’m on board with her best interests. I want her, completely and forever, so my own interests are winning out on my end. Please, give me Harley.”

&nb
sp; Pausing, he let the stillness of the room wash over him, sitting in the quiet.

  “Um, Ryan? If you’re finished wanting Harley, I’m ready to take you home.”

  Poised with her pen over her open notebook, Harley rested her elbow on the desk, phone shoved against her ear through the assistance of her shoulder. “Can I quote you on that, sir? Of course I agree with your analysis, but the words will have a lot more clout if they’re attributed to a constitutional lawyer rather than a reporter.”

  Scribbling on the blank page, she hefted her purse up on her free shoulder, balancing it against the desk using her knee and her hip.

  “Can I help you?”

  Holding up her index finger, Harley motioned to the woman with dark-blonde hair that she would only be a second.

  “Thank you very much. I’ll be speaking with the judge later today, and I’m grateful for your assistance.” Punching the button on her cellphone to end the call, she turned her attention to the woman in front of her. “So sorry. I’m trying to get everything lined out, and it’s proving to be a challenge.”

  Taking a deep breath, she dropped her phone into her purse and stood resolutely in front of the reception desk. “Harley Davidson. Dr. Ramsey sent me over. I’m here for my first injection.”

  C hapter Twenty-Five

  “I would feel infinitely better about the situation if you were going with me. I know it’s silly, but I’m nervous. Not to mention the fact that those injections have given me a five-day headache, and I am completely ready for this to be over.”

  The minute the words left Harley’s lips, she felt like a complete and total heel. How could she say such a thing to Kelsey, who was battling illness every day? As though she should feel sorry for Harley for having a simple headache.

  “I’m so sorry,” she breathed into her cellphone, glancing around at the other busy travelers who were sitting near her at the airport, their laptops open or reading on their tablets. “Of course having a headache is nothing, and I shouldn’t have even mentioned it without considering your feelings. You must think I’m completely self-centered.”

  “Right now I just think you’re crazy. How could you think that I would be anything other than super proud of you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, I guess it’s just the assumption that you have brains in your head.” Glancing at the gentleman closest to her, who was wearing a tailored business suit and kept glancing in Harley’s direction, she attempted to lower her voice. “You’re not allowed to be proud of me. And besides, I think you know I definitely wouldn’t be doing this if it hadn’t been for you.”

  “Ryan told me about New York.”

  Feeling her chest constrict, Harley glanced at the businessman again, who gave her a flirtatious smile. Turning her body the other direction, she tried to swallow around the lump in her throat.

  “Yeah, it’s really no big deal.”

  “The thing you want more than anything is no big deal?”

  Staring at her fingernails, Harley fought the tension rising through her body. She had spent the last five days convincing herself that she made the right decision, but part of her still wished she had boarded the flight to New York the day before and spent the morning trying out her banter with Trent Bauer. So much so that she hadn’t had the nerve to tell Mitch the truth. When he called her wondering about her audition, she was prepared to tell him simply that things didn’t work out like she planned. That wasn’t a lie, in and of itself. As far as how the details would pan out…

  “Sometimes the timing isn’t right, and our dreams get put on hold,” she attempted to convince herself along with Kelsey. “And the things I want are changing a bit, admittedly.”

  “You’re talking about Ryan?”

  The mere mention of his name caused goose bumps to form on her arm. Of course, there was Ryan. She had never loved anyone as ferociously as she loved him. It was exhilarating, but also slightly confusing.

  “Lots of things are changing,” Harley countered, not wanting to divulge her innermost feelings to Ryan’s sister.

  “I hope I feel okay the day you get married, because I want to stand beside you.”

  Even though no one else in that terminal could hear her conversation, Harley felt the heat creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. “Or maybe I can stand next to you when you’re marrying Zac Efron.”

  “He’s too old for me. I wouldn’t mind having you for a sister, so I could beat you in Scrabble all the time. And, Ryan pretty much thinks you’re a princess. He told me that you love him.”

  Allowing a quick laugh to escape, Harley slid down in her seat and tried to make her situation a little more private. “I do. Very much.”

  “When I found out about you and Ryan, I thought it was weird. You just don’t seem the same, you know? But after hanging out with both of you, I think you’re perfect.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, mostly. I still think it’s kind of strange that you’re interested in my brother, but I’m happy about it.”

  Harley attempted to hide her grin behind her hand as she heard a call being made for boarding, and she glanced down at the carry-on bag by her feet. Since she was only staying one night, she chose to pack very light and only had one piece of luggage, which would save her time later.

  As she drew her eyes back up, her gaze shifted to a small foil-wrapped, pyramid-shaped lump of silver on her knee. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a Hershey’s Kiss. With a heightened feeling of anticipation, thinking perhaps Ryan was there after all, she brought her eyes up to her right.

  “Duke?” Her surprise at seeing her bearded friend was so sharp she could almost taste it. “Kelsey, I have to go.” Slowly dragging the phone away from her ear, Harley pushed the end button and held it in her lap, reaching for the piece of chocolate.

  “Hey, little lady.”

  The simple phrase nearly sent Harley into laughter. She knew next to nothing about John Wayne, but that certainly sounded like something he would say. While that Duke would have likely been wearing some combination of chaps, spurs, and a cowboy hat, her own Duke settled next to her wearing a black T-shirt, a leather vest, and a black doo-rag with flames shooting across the sides of his head. Taking note of his dark rolling bag with the Harley Davidson logo emblazoned on the front, she focused on the piece of chocolate in her hand.

  “Did you come all the way to the airport just to share chocolate with me?” she asked mischievously.

  “Come on, now. That would be crazy.” Fishing in his pocket, he pulled out his own silver-wrapped piece of candy. “Just taking a little trip, that’s all, and thought I’d come over and say hello.”

  “Going home for the holidays?” she wondered right before popping the chocolate into her mouth.

  “Nope.” He unwrapped his chocolate and sat quietly, as though he was savoring the flavor.

  “So where are you going?” She made a point of rolling the silver foil into a tiny ball and staring at it between her fingers.

  “Popping on down to Dallas.”

  “Dallas,” she repeated dubiously. “You have family in Texas?”

  “Nope.” He focused his steely-gray eyes across the terminal, and she fought the urge to grow frustrated at his non-responses.

  “So…why are you going to Dallas? Motorcycle convention? You want to catch a Cowboys game?”

  “Just so you know, not everything needs to be dissected for the evening news.”

  Hearing another boarding call, Harley rose and reached for her bag on the floor, narrowing her eyes at Duke. “Just so you know, every time I ask you a question, I’m not necessarily trying to make it into a news story. Sometimes I’m just trying to make small talk. Turns out that’s hard to do with a clam.”

  “Watch it,” he said, giving her a stern look.

  She carried her bag to the gate and waited, preparing to board the plane. To her surprise, Duke rose and ambled up behind her, standing with her in line.

  As she was being told to enjo
y her flight, Harley hoisted her bag to her shoulder and began walking slowly, intrigued by Duke’s presence. Within just a few seconds, he was by her side in the jetway, looking ahead as though they were strangers. Unable to remain in suspense, Harley stopped abruptly and stood like a statue, causing Duke to glance over at her.

  “Mr. Fletcher…Marion. Will you please tell me what you’re doing, as a friend?”

  Releasing a hint of a smile, he nodded his head. “A friend of mine is having a medical procedure, and I want to be there to help.”

  “What type of medical procedure?” she asked, softening her voice.

  Appearing a bit uncomfortable, he reached up with his right hand and scratched his cheek, running his fingers across his beard. “I don’t suppose I rightly know, but it doesn’t much matter. See, I’ve got this friend…real nice guy, would do anything for you. Know the type? His girl is going to the hospital in Dallas, and it was just killing him that he couldn’t get off work. So, here I am.”

  Shifting her bag, she moved to the side as another traveler made his way past her. “You’re going all the way to Dallas because your friend couldn’t get off work? And what about you, you don’t have work to do today?”

  “Mondays are my day of rest, so to speak. I don’t have any group activities to organize at the shelter or with the church, so I generally take it easy. Besides, the way I see it, my friend is good people. He’s a motorcycle man, just like me. If he’s in a bind, the least I can do is keep an eye on his Harley on my day off.”

  Glancing at the floor of the jetway, Harley sniffed and tried to take a deep breath.

  Duke reached out and touched her arm, causing her to look in his direction. “Suppose the first thing we need to do is make sure you get on that plane, right? And that won’t happen if you’re standing here sniveling.”