Adrian began to heave an exasperated breath, then stopped, taking in his appearance. He was walking, head down, hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. Though she couldn’t make out his expression clearly, she saw that his mouth was drawn into a deep frown. Something about his posture, the slump of his back and shoulders, and his slow, aimless gait made her steps hitch, made her wait for him to get closer and lift his head to see her.
When he did, she sucked in a breath. His eyes were lost even as they found hers, his expression crestfallen. Her hand rose halfway to her mouth before she dropped it and walked the rest of the way to meet him. “Hey,” she greeted. “What’s wrong?”
He scanned her face with eyes that looked not just lost but hurt. Her heart rapped because he looked like that boy she’d seen at his father’s funeral, fighting against the tide of grief, sinking under the brunt of reality. She watched his Adam’s apple bob once before he lowered his eyes to her shoulder and asked in a voice that was unwavering but hoarse, “Did you know that my mom has cancer?”
Adrian’s mouth dropped. “Dr. Irvington...has cancer?”
“Yeah,” James said after a moment’s pause. “Stage four. She has to go through aggressive chemo. My stepdad...Stephen, he doesn’t know if it’s going to do her any good at this point...”
She said nothing as she watched the muscles of his face twitch and he trained his gaze on the ground.
He licked his lips. His voice lowered a fraction. “I thought she looked thin. She was always thin, but this was sick thin and I should’ve known. I should’ve seen it.”
Adrian shook her head. “How could you have known, James? You’ve been—”
“Gone,” he said, disgusted. “Yeah.”
“Oh, God.” Adrian felt the quaking inside her because it was occurring to her that inside the bearded, tattooed man, the boy she’d fallen in love with was still there and he was hurting all over again. Over the years she’d wished him several ills. A pox. Something itchy and incurable. But this...she hadn’t wanted this.
The pain fighting for purchase on his face was too much. She stepped to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, using her hands to pull his head down into her shoulder and cradle him there.
Cars whished by on the street. Birds cried overhead. Adrian didn’t know how long she held James. It didn’t matter. He breathed against her, into her, deeply, evenly. He wasn’t breaking down. Still, he didn’t straighten, didn’t pull away, and she held on as if both their lives depended on it.
She didn’t know when she started caressing his neck or combing her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. He smelled like lumber again. She caught herself touching her lips to the place just above the neckline of his T-shirt, the warm skin there that tasted just faintly of salt and sun.
Stiffening, she sucked in a breath and lowered herself from her tiptoes to the heels of her flats. “She’s going to be okay,” she told him when he finally lifted his head from her shoulder. Keeping his head lowered, he reached up to run the back of his hand under his nose. “She’s tough. She’ll fight it.”
James dragged his gaze back up to hers at long last. “I thought I might get her something. I wasn’t sure what, exactly. The first person I thought of was you.”
“Of course,” Adrian said. Fighting through her own hesitation, she took his hand and led him into her shop.
CHAPTER TEN
THE GARAGE WAS hopping with activity during opening week. Since James had neglected to hire anyone but Dusty before the grand opening of Bracken Mechanics, he hardly had time to sit and breathe, much less think about everything else that was going on in his life.
However, as he stripped engines and patched tires, ordered parts and chatted up customers, his mind was never far away from Adrian, Kyle, or his mother and Stephen.
A great deal of turmoil roiled around on the underside of his skin and threatened to usurp everything else, but James kept his hands busy. He wouldn’t let Bracken Mechanics and the dream he had shared with his father slip away. Beyond that, he knew if he was going to convince Adrian that he could be a real father, he’d need a solid and preferably local business to back him up on that point.
As for his mother...whenever James dwelled on his fears on that score, the turmoil began to burn the back of his throat. When he thought of how much time had gone by, how much time had been lost, and what might happen if his mother’s chemo didn’t work, he felt sick.
Part of the reason he’d put Fairhope in his rearview mirror when he was seventeen was to get away from the memories and all the unsaid things that had remained after his father’s death. Before he knew about the cancer, he might have continued avoiding his mother. But now, if he lost her, too...living in Fairhope knowing he’d thrown away eight years with her might be too much to take.
And he wasn’t leaving. He had a business here now. He was a father and he intended to be one. And his mother hadn’t seen the last of him. Just as he would for Adrian and Kyle, he would find some way to make up for all those misplaced years and hurts.
Around midweek Bracken Mechanics got an unexpected visitor. James was leaning against the wall, phone pressed to his ear while he filled out a towing request. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walk into the garage. Glancing over, he started to lift his chin in greeting, then stopped.
It was the cop. Briar’s husband. He glanced around briefly before his dark gaze fell on James. Then he stopped, crossed his arms and braced his feet apart, waiting.
James cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the phone conversation. “Yeah, I’ll call Dusty right away to see if he’s en route. We’ll get you fixed up in no time, Mr. Bremen...No, it’s no trouble. That’s what we’re here for...All right. You’re welcome...’Bye.”
He hung the phone back on the cradle on the wall, tore the towing sheet off the clipboard and pushed off the wall. He picked up his cell phone and quickly got in touch with Dusty through the truck link. He told him the name and location of Mr. Bremen’s pickup truck, then hung up. Only then did he address the other man in the room. “Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Savitt?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Cole replied. “You got a minute?”
James lifted a brow as he turned to look tellingly over the line of cars in the garage. “Not really. Could it wait ’til after six.”
Cole jerked a thumb toward the sign outside. “That says you close at five.”
“Officially,” James said. “I’ve been staying a little later every night to handle the workload.”
“This will only take a second,” Cole said. He closed some of the distance between himself and James so his voice would carry over the clash of the radio coming from the work area. “Briar told me she visited you the other day.”
“She did,” James nodded. “Brought me pie. It was nice of her.”
“Yes, it was. That’s Briar.” Cole’s head lowered by a fraction but he didn’t take his eyes off James. “She told me that you’re aware that I’m a retired law enforcement officer.”
“Narcotics detective,” James said, trying not to feel ill at ease. The guy rubbed him the wrong way—wary leftovers of his misspent youth. “Real impressive.”
“She happen to mention where I spent my years with the police?” Cole asked.
James reached back to scratch his neck and pulled a face. “You know, we really didn’t talk about you that much—”
“Huntsville, Alabama,” Cole said without further ado.
James’s forced, good-natured expression froze. He measured Cole’s stare, saw the knowing gleam there. Ah, shit. “You don’t say,” he replied for lack of anything better.
Cole gave him a grim smile. “Quite a coincidence, huh...Ghostrider?”
Ghostrider. Now there was a name James hadn’t heard in a long time. “I’m not su
re I know what you’re talking about.”
Cole chuckled darkly. “Yeah. I’ll bet.” The smile slowly melted away. “I didn’t work grand theft auto cases, but I remember the headlines. I remember how many cars disappeared into the mountains. My partner had worked the GTA circuit for a while. We used to talk about it. I called him after we were introduced at Olivia’s tavern, wondering where exactly I’d heard the name James Bracken. I never forget a name.”
“Good for you,” James said.
Ignoring the offhand comment, Cole went on. “You were Ghostrider. My buddies in Huntsville were sure of it. All they needed was the evidence to convict. Then you up and disappeared, too.”
Luckily James had gotten out of the GTA game. He’d left his life of crime and the name Ghostrider far behind him—neither were part of his life anymore. So why was Savitt shoving it all back in his face again? “If what you say is true...” James lifted his shoulders in an indifferent gesture “...you’re retired. What’s it to you?”
“Adrian,” Cole said.
The name all but snapped James’s head back. “What about her?”
“You’re trying to force your way back into her life,” Cole surmised. “And from what I’ve gathered, she doesn’t have a clue what kind of trouble you got yourself into when you left Fairhope. Not really.”
James sucked in a long breath. “I take it you’re not going to let that slide.”
“She’s important,” Cole told him. “Adrian and Kyle—they’re family to Briar and me.”
“You have no idea how important Adrian and Kyle are to me,” James retorted.
“Then you know what I think, Ghostrider?” Cole asked, once more tossing the moniker in James’s face. “I think you’ve got some explaining to do to her about the more illicit details of your past.” He jerked a thumb toward his own chest. “Or I’ll do it for you.”
James ground his back teeth. “You stay out of this, Captain Rogers. I’ll handle it.”
“For their sake, I hope you do, sooner than later,” Cole told him. “I’d hate for her to find out who you really are from, say, Briar or Olivia before things get any more serious between the two of you. If you really know Adrian so well, you’ll know she values integrity above all else. If you hurt her or Kyle, I won’t be able to stand on the sidelines and let you walk away unscathed again.”
James threw Cole’s menacing stare right back at him, measuring one eye and then the other. “Consider me warned,” he said, fighting back every urge he had to throw the guy out of his garage. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”
“You do that,” Cole said, backing up. Before he turned and walked out, he added, “And have a nice day.”
James scowled as he watched Cole exit. He reached over and switched off the radio that was still pounding classic rock music through the garage speakers.
He didn’t like the guy. But Cole was right. James had to come clean with Adrian. He had to tell her about Ghostrider...and everything else.
* * *
“YOU’VE GOT TO be kidding me,” Adrian said over the phone the following weekend. “Mom, please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Why in God’s name would I joke about this?” Edith Carlton demanded.
No, Adrian thought, closing her eyes as she touched her brow to the cool wall. Joking would require humor, a quality Edith sorely lacked. Breathing deeply for calm, Adrian said, “Every other Saturday Kyle and I come to The Farm. Dad told me two days ago that he was looking forward to it.”
“Your father is losing his mind,” Edith said dismissively. “We’ve been scheduled for the festival in Foley for weeks. You should have confirmed with me, not him. But you’ve been avoiding me.”
“No, Mom,” Adrian lied smoothly, glancing at the breakfast table where Kyle was downing his morning bowl of Cap’n Crunch and pretending not to listen. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”
“Ever since that James Bracken got back into town, you have,” Edith pointed out.
Adrian spoke up quickly. “So you’re telling me there’s no way you can watch Kyle today while I deliver flowers to the wedding at Oak Hollow?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
Adrian sighed, running a hand back through her short cap of hair. A headache was rapidly brewing underneath its roots. “Thanks a lot.” She hung up before her mother could say anything else. Rubbing fingertips over her temples, Adrian walked to the table and sat down next to Kyle.
He waited until she reached for the cereal box before asking, “Do I have to go with you to the wedding?”
Adrian looked at him, reaching up automatically to comb his hair when she saw that it was standing straight up in the back. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“Ah, Mom,” Kyle whined. “Why can’t I stay at The Farm? Granddaddy was gonna teach me to ride bareback.”
“Evidently, Grandmama and Granddaddy have an exhibition at the festival in Foley this weekend,” Adrian explained, topping her cereal with milk and stirring it. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“But I hate weddings.”
Adrian smiled at him. Typical boy, she thought. “They have horses at Oak Hollow.”
“Not that I can ride,” he pointed out. His eyes lit with promise. “Hey, maybe I could stay with James.”
Adrian’s spoon clattered into her bowl. “What?”
“Our neighbor, James,” Kyle prompted. “He’s really cool. And he’s nice. He could watch me for a few hours.”
“It’s an all-day event,” Adrian told him. “Even if Mr. Bracken knew anything about kids—which I’m fairly certain he doesn’t—he’s far too busy. His garage just opened.”
“I could hang out in town at his garage,” Kyle suggested, growing more and more excited by the possibility.
“No,” Adrian said and stuffed cereal in her mouth.
“Do you not like James? I thought you two knew each other, back then.”
“We did, but that doesn’t mean I trust him to watch you for an entire day.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “But he stood up for me in front of Radley. He could take care of me, Mom. I’m sure he could.”
Adrian fought the urge to mash her foot into the floor. “Kyle, my answer is no. Now drop it and finish your breakfast.”
* * *
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES of bickering later, Adrian pulled her Flora delivery van into the parking lot of Bracken Mechanics.
She’d pulled every last string she’d had to pull before breaking down and coming here. She’d called Olivia and Briar. Both of them had wanted to help but had to work. Cole and Gerald were both tied up, too. Kyle refused to go to Oak Hollow with her. She had one option left.
There were several cars in the parking lot, one attached to a tow truck with the garage logo on the side. She peered into the open building and saw no one.
Kyle piped up from the passenger seat. “Aren’t we going in?”
Frowning, Adrian unbuckled her seat belt. “I’m still not sure I like this plan.”
“It’s perfect,” Kyle said. “I can help James out in the garage and you won’t have to worry about keeping an eye on me while you work. This way, I’ll have more fun, too.”
Adrian eyed him doubtfully. “Being a grease monkey is fun?”
“Granddaddy lets me work on the truck and crop duster engines sometimes,” Kyle reminded her. “I like it. Everything’s got a place and a purpose, as Granddaddy says. Though he’s not very good at it. James might be able to teach me a few tricks to help Granddaddy next time we go to The Farm.”
“You really wouldn’t rather go to Oak Hollow with me?”
“I want to hang out with James,” Kyle said with a plaintive pout.
Oh, hell. Not the pout. Adrian looked away and swallowed as her eyes fell on Ja
mes’s black sportster. The man was definitely here. “All right. Just...stay here. There’s no guarantee he’ll say yes.”
“We won’t find out until we ask,” Kyle pointed out.
She stared at him, then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He gagged a little but smiled nonetheless. Opening the door, she planted her feet on the asphalt. “Sit tight,” she told him, then closed the door, took a deep breath and approached the garage.
Adrian’s nerves heightened with each step. She hadn’t seen James in several days, nor heard him doing any work around his house. Word around town was that his business had hit the ground running.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
Adrian looked around to find a man in a battered trucker hat and coveralls staring at her. She shaded a hand over her eyes. It was a small town. Recognition was nothing rare out and about on a daily basis. But sometimes recognition came with more than a flicker of unease. “Dusty,” she greeted him.
Dusty’s smile faded. “Adrian Carlton,” he said as if it had just struck him who she was. As he skimmed her from head to toe, the palms of her hands began to sweat. “Or do you still go by Kennard?”
Adrian frowned deeply. “It’s Carlton.”
“Oh, yeah?” Dusty asked, the friendliness dropping from his voice as he scrutinized her.
Adrian jerked a thumb toward the garage, shifting her feet toward the open door. “I was just looking for James. Is he here?”
“He should be inside,” Dusty told her. When she started walking, he called after her, “If I see Radley, I’ll be sure to give him your best, huh?”
Ignoring him, Adrian ducked her head and entered the garage. Damn it all to hell. She hated running into any of Radley’s old friends, particularly the Harbuck boys.
As her eyes adjusted to the absence of sunlight, Adrian scanned the green pickup truck inside the garage next to a Lexus that had been raised off the ground. Seeing and hearing no one, she cleared her throat and called, “James?”
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