by BJ Wane
“Great. Thanks for coming in.” Pivoting, she ran into Barbara for the third time that evening. “Sheesh, I’m so sorry, Barbara!”
With quick reflexes, the other waitress righted her tray before anything slid off. “I’ve got it, Avery.” As they stepped away from the table, Barbara whispered, “Is everything okay? You seem distracted, and a little upset.”
Avery stifled the urge to confide in her co-worker. If she couldn’t figure out why Grayson had entered The Barn last night appearing pleased with her company and interested in continuing her introduction to his proclivities and ended the evening with an abrupt coolness and displeasure in his eyes, then Barbara wouldn’t be able to make her feel better. His change of attitude had kept her from going through with her plans to reveal how they’d first met, but she still ached to get everything out in the open between them.
“I… I didn’t get much sleep last night, is all. I’m sorry, I’ll try to do better.”
“Foods not going to get to the tables by itself,” Gertie snapped as they stepped up to the counter. Flicking Avery a shrewd glance, her boss added, “Deputy Jase was in this afternoon, said as how Sheriff Grayson gave him the night off from patrol, took his place instead. Now, quit dawdlin’ and git back to work.”
Barbara giggled and winked at Avery. “You heard her. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Oh, Avery had plenty to fret over, but thanks to Gertie knowing everything that went on in Willow Springs, and, it seemed, with her, her sly comment lifted part of Avery’s unhappiness. At least she could quit wondering if Grayson was spending the evening with someone else at the club. She knew she didn’t have a personal hold on the sheriff, or any right to expect him to forgo playing with others just because he’d befriended her. Even though it pained her to admit it, there was no future with him, or for her here, and she needed to remember that.
But that didn’t prevent Avery from continuing to agonize through the night over the way Master Grayson had driven her home in silence last night and left her at her door with a cryptic, “Lock up,” as a goodnight. If only she could figure out what she’d done to displease him, then she wouldn’t have spent another sleepless, restless night and woken to the gray-cast dawn with a sense of foreboding. Stumbling out of bed Sunday morning, she rubbed her tired, gritty eyes, wishing she hadn’t volunteered to fill in for one of the waitresses this morning.
As soon as Avery entered the diner’s kitchen from the back door, she knew something was wrong from the looks on Clyde and Gertie’s faces. Her stomach cramped and a cold chill crept under her skin as Gertie slammed a pot down, mumbling, “Damn fool boy, going and getting himself shot.”
Avery gasped with the painful talons of fear gripping her insides. “What? Who’s been shot?”
Gertie’s silver-haired head whipped toward her with both concern and anger swirling in her blue eyes. “Connor Dunbar, the idiot. Out all night by himself and then tries going after those shit-faced rustlers. He’s damned lucky they didn’t blow his fool brains out.”
“Now, Gert, young Connor was just trying to protect what’s his,” Clyde put in, his face lined with worry despite his words defending Connor.
Conflicting emotions of relief and concern muddled Avery’s thinking. She couldn’t help the surge of gladness at hearing they weren’t talking about Grayson while bemoaning the thought of Connor injured in such a way. He’d always been so nice to her and she could see why so many at the club found his easier going, sexy dominance tempting.
“Where is he? Will he be okay?” The need to check on him and be there for Sydney and her family pulled at her. A quick peek out at the dining room showed few customers had ventured out this cold morning, but Gertie beat her to it before she could ask to take off to be there for her friends.
“Go on, girl. Weather’s coming in this afternoon, which is keeping people home or tending to chores early before it hits. Heard they took him to All Saints Hospital in Billings. But,” Gertie shook a finger at her, “don’t you be gone long. That rattletrap you drive won’t get you back here on slick roads.”
“I won’t. Thanks, Gertie.”
After looking up directions on Gertie’s office computer, Avery pulled into the hospital parking lot an hour later and found Sydney in the emergency waiting room, sitting with several people she recognized from either the diner or the club, including Nan. Wondering where Grayson was, she tried to push aside the ache to see him as she gave Sydney a brief hug before asking, “What have you heard?”
“It’s not bad, at least not as bad as it could have been,” Sydney answered, her eyes red-rimmed, her lips trembling. “The bullet went through the fleshy part of his shoulder but may have damaged the muscles. They won’t know until it heals and they can do physical therapy. Caden is so pissed.”
“Not to mention Grayson,” Nan injected with a grimace.
Dan came strolling in from the hall carrying a tray of paper coffee cups. “He’ll catch the bastards,” he said, handing out the steaming brews to the girls first.
Avery shook her head. “I just got here. I can go get…”
“Take it.” he stated, holding out the cup, his tone as hard and implacable as if he were at the club.
“Sheesh, are all you guys always so bossy?”
“Yes, always,” Grayson said from behind her.
She whirled around, sloshing the hot liquid over her hand. He swore, snatched the cup and pulled her red, stinging fingers under the water fountain. “Damn it, can’t you be more careful?” he demanded without looking at her.
“It’s fine, it wasn’t that hot.” Avery pulled out of his grasp and dried her fingers on the napkins Sydney held out to her with a compassionate look.
“We’re all on edge, isn’t that right, Sheriff?”
Sydney’s cool rebuke bounced off Grayson as he turned from Avery with a shrug. “Just watch yourself.”
Feeling both chastised and left out as the small group huddled and began trading stories about Connor, Avery took a seat and waited in quiet solitude. It was so easy to see the closeness they shared, hear their fondness for not only their injured friend but for each other as they joked around to ease the tension of waiting. That is what I want. Not just to be friends with a few women, but to be considered part of them, and their community. Her refusal to divulge anything of a personal nature about herself had kept her at arm’s length from fitting in, and from getting too close to anyone, including Sydney and Grayson. The tightness clutching her chest was of her own doing, her reticence possibly the result of Grayson’s disfavor with her as well.
The question still remained; what to do about it? By the time Caden brought Connor out, his brother’s face ashen, his right shoulder bulky from the bandaging under his shirt, Avery had come to a few conclusions. She yearned to get back into Master Grayson’s good graces, see that probing, intent gaze focused on her again, hear that deep voice commanding her to let go, and to trust him. Past disappointments taught her not to expect anything more from this relationship or the interest and time he had gifted her with, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try for more of both.
She needed to confide in Sheriff Monroe about what she knew about Darren and his partner and take him up on his offer to help her. Her safety and future depended on seeing them punished for what they had done.
And she longed to find a place for herself among these people, far away and so different from everyone she knew and everything she’d grown up with.
But before any of that could be even a possibility, she wanted to shove her cowardice aside enough to help herself first. Pushing to her feet on legs gone rubbery with her decision about taking the next step toward those goals, she ran shaking hands down her thighs and sucked in a deep breath as Grayson moved toward her.
“He can go home?” she asked, her eyes lingering on Connor’s disgruntled, pain-lined face.
“Doctor finally agreed after realizing how stubborn the son-of-a-bitch is,” Grayson grumbled, warming Avery�
�s insides with a direct, heated look that curled her toes until he issued an order that rubbed her wrong. “Go back to Willow Springs, Avery. A storm is blowing in soon that’ll turn the roads slick, and we’re warning people off them until tomorrow.”
Stepping back, she averted her suddenly watery eyes, wishing his concern was for her rather than just another citizen in his county he’d sworn to protect. “Don’t worry, Sheriff. I know what I need to do.” She started to turn and happened to glace over at Connor as he looked her way and winked. Nothing could have hardened her resolve to take this first step as much as that silent gesture of gratitude and friendship. Feeling Grayson’s eyes following her, she left the hospital; first stop, the library.
Swearing under his breath, Grayson watched Avery walk out of the hospital, her eyes bruised with fatigue, reflecting both uncertainty and hurt that ate at him, and pissed him off. He didn’t believe in coincidence, at least not of this magnitude. There was no doubt in his mind she was his troubled mystery woman, the soft voice over the phone who had haunted his nights these past weeks, driven here because of his offer to help her. So why hadn’t she revealed herself to him? Was she feeling him out, getting a sense of how much she could trust him? Possibly. Even likely. But that didn’t mean her subterfuge sat well with him, only that he could understand her reserve. Now, what to do about it?
“We’re heading back. It looks like that storm is moving faster than predicted,” Caden said as he and Sydney stood on each side of Connor, waiting to help him if he needed assistance.
“Are you sure you don’t want to bunk here tonight?” Grayson didn’t like the gray cast to Connor’s skin or the grimace of pain when he moved despite the meds he’d been given.
“I’m sure. All I need is a little recovery time and I’ll be back up.” The younger by a year Dunbar nodded to his well-meaning friends as they all headed out to the emergency room parking lot. “It wasn’t necessary, but thanks guys.”
“It was necessary,” Sydney told him, squeezing his forearm. “You’ll be staying with us for now. I hope you’ve learned your lesson, though, about chasing after these guys by yourself.”
Dan snorted as he grasped Nan’s elbow. “I doubt it. Our Connor may be easy going most of the time, but he’s also the most stubborn.”
“Bite me,” Connor returned, his voice clipped, but his lips curled up at the corners.
Laughing, Dan slapped him on the back as they reached their vehicles. “I’ll save that for the subs you will enjoy tormenting right back. Grayson, give me a call once this storm passes and I’ll ride out with you. I lost three head last night, despite Connor’s best efforts.” He opened the passenger door for Nan and ushered her in, out of the cold wind.
“I’ll take you up on that next time you’re at the club, Connor.” Nan smiled and gave them a finger wave as Dan shut the door.
Grayson nodded, wrapping his gloved hand on the door handle of his cruiser. “Will do. Let’s hope this weather keeps the bastards from returning any time soon.”
Shoving aside worry over his friend now that Connor was in good hands with his brother and over-protective, soon-to-be sister-in-law, Grayson’s thoughts switched back to Avery. He would make her wait one more day and then confront her about her identity, he decided on the drive back to Willow Springs. Tonight, he would be busy monitoring weather and road conditions. After returning to the office and logging in a report on Connor’s shooting, he planned to spend the evening in front of a blazing fire with a good book until his duties required him to ensure crews were out clearing the roads and no one had gotten stranded by the storm once it passed.
It was going to be a long, unpleasant night with only his irritation and thoughts for company.
Avery huddled in front of the library computer, her finger shaking as she hovered over the send key, her stomach churning with nausea over what she was about to do. Even though she’d set up a temporary, dummy e-mail account to use this one time, she didn’t doubt Internal Affairs would eventually suspect her of sending them these conflicting reports. Pressing that button would start the ball rolling on an investigation, but where it would lead, or who it might end up pointing to was up in the air. Darren and Chad were cagey enough, smart enough to have gotten away with their evidence theft so far, and she’d bet they had amassed a sizable sum from their lucrative crime spree. Enough money to get them out of the country and leave her the one in the hot seat, answering all the questions.
But what other choice did she have? If she hadn’t heard that conversation in the parking garage, if she had been brave enough to stay and come up with a plausible excuse for her snooping that would have kept her safe from their threat instead of running like the coward she was, she wouldn’t be stuck in limbo right now, sweating this decision. After sending a message to her landlord to rent her furnished apartment to someone else following his message threatening eviction because of non-payment, she now had no home or job to return to in Chicago. She knew Marci would help her, but there was no way she would repay her kindness and support by embroiling her in this mess or risking her safety.
After overhearing their conversation, Avery wouldn’t put anything past her ex and his partner.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she hit send and then took down the e-mail. A good hacker could find it again and trace it to this library, but that would take time, and not necessarily lead to her. Shoving back from the computer, she prayed Grayson not only meant it when he offered to help her but could come up with a solution that would protect her.
The air held a hint of moisture with the darkening clouds as she dashed to her car and flipped on the heat, for what good it would do. She was still shaking when she reached the highway, whether from the inclement weather or fear, she didn’t know. Gripping the steering wheel, all she could think about now was getting to Grayson. She not only wanted Sheriff Monroe’s help but found herself needing Master Grayson, and what he could do to her in a way she’d never needed from another man.
The anonymity, her loneliness and stress had made getting off over the phone under his command easier. She appreciated Master Grayson’s slow introduction into the BDSM club scene, but now that he’d broken her through the ice and she had not only experienced the pleasures giving up control offered but witnessed the close bond of everyone she’d met that extended outside of the club, she wanted more. She craved everything he had to offer, desired everything he was willing to give her. If he was still willing to continue with her sexual education. His cool attitude at the end of Friday night and again today didn’t bode well for that, but now that she had unearthed a small iota of hidden bravado, she intended to milk it for all it was worth.
All he could do was say no, to either her request for help or to continue on with her, right?
The sudden shrillness of sirens coming up behind Avery caught her unawares, and a quick glance at the speedometer pulled a low groan from her tight throat. With her mind whirling in trepidation over so many things, she hadn’t been paying attention to her speed. To add even more misery to her day, the first spittle of sleet pelted the windshield as she pulled to the side of the road and prepared to face the consequences for her inattentiveness.
Five minutes later, she was back on the road, this time crawling at a snail’s pace, fighting both her nerves over getting a ticket and driving on the rapidly icing road. Since she intended to go straight to Grayson’s cabin, she wouldn’t have to travel all the way into Willow Springs, which shortened her trip by about ten miles. At this point, she would take what she could get.
Avery was less than a mile from the turnoff to his place and was priding herself on making it without further mishap when she hit an icy patch just right, sending the car sliding in a slow, uncontrollable glide toward the embankment. Never having driven in such treacherous conditions, she didn’t know to turn the wheel into the spin and did the opposite, compounding her situation until she came to a jarring stop with the front end of her car pointing down toward the small
ditch, the front tires spinning uselessly.
Tears of frustration and despair welled, blurring her vision as she looked around at the deserted road behind her and dense woods in front. If memory served correctly, and she prayed it did as she struggled out of the vehicle and freezing rain stung her face, Grayson’s home wasn’t far. Holding her jacket closed with her hands tucked inside and face down, she trudged up the road until she recognized the turnoff.
Ten minutes later, her face and feet were numb, her teeth were chattering, and she was so miserable, aching for warmth, she didn’t hear the SUV coming up behind her until Grayson pulled to a stop. Flinging open the passenger door, Avery had never been so glad to see his scowling face or hear his commanding voice.
“Get the fuck in here.”
Grayson couldn’t believe it when he spotted Avery halfway up the road leading to his place, her hair plastered to her face and neck in frozen tendrils, her face pale, her lips blue when she looked up at him. Anger warred with concern as she struggled to climb inside the cruiser until he leaned over and hauled her up himself. She should have been home two hours ago, not out in this weather, stranded without a car. He was so pissed he didn’t trust himself to say anything else yet. Flipping the heat on high, he sped down the road, anxious now to get her warm before hypothermia kicked in.
“I… slid o… off the… road…” She waved a shaking hand backwards, indicating the highway through her chattering. “I… w… was…”
“Quiet,” he bit out. “I already gathered you didn’t go straight home after I warned you about the storm. You’re really racking up the infractions.”
“B… but…”
“Avery, I swear to God, if you don’t shut up, I’ll stick a ball gag in your mouth the minute I get you inside. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to hear your explanation.” Grayson pulled into the garage and closed the door before cutting the engine, saying, “Wait there. I’ll help you.”
