by Elle Aycart
He walked around aimlessly until he got a call. Mike. “Talk.”
“Yo, the kiddo is with my sister at my parents’ place,” Mike informed him. “I think he’s going to stay there tonight. Just calling to let you know.”
“Thank you,” Adrian said, relieved.
His voice must have given him away, because Mike laughed. “You’re on a roll, man. A ray of sunshine. Making friends left and right.”
Adrian grunted. “Tell me about it.”
“Those gang members won’t let it stand,” Mike said, now serious.
“No, they won’t.” Not for long, anyway. Tito wouldn’t risk gunning down the kids. Too bad for business. Those three were great assets for a chop-shop setup. Rachel and the rest at the garage were free game, though, especially if they got involved again. “But Tito’s busy at the moment. And he’s going to be busy for a while.” Adrian had pulled all the strings he had at the Boston PD and called in some favors. Tito and his gang were up to their necks in the many cases they had open, treading water on all sides.
“Good. That kiddo has grown on me. Not to mention my sister will have our balls if something happens to him. Oh, and speaking of Sara—avoid her for the time being. She’s very fond of Rachel.”
No shit. “The whole town is fond of Rachel.”
“Damn right. And you better not forget it.”
As if they would let him.
After Adrian ended the call, he started to walk home but, somehow, ended up at Wilma’s, standing across the street. He missed Rachel. Which bugged the shit out of him, because he’d promised himself he would never have anything to do with anyone with a drug habit. Past, present, or future, it didn’t matter. An ex-junkie was just one bad decision from becoming a full-blown junkie again. He’d seen that. He’d suffered because of it. And yet he missed Rachel like he’d never missed anyone before.
He wasn’t ready to acknowledge it to anyone else, but he might, just might, have lost his shit and jumped the gun, saying things he shouldn’t have said. XL was right; everyone deserved the benefit of the doubt. A second chance. Maybe he and Rachel should sit down and have a calm conversation. He was probably owed an explanation, and she was probably owed an apology.
He was staring at his cell, at her number, pondering whether to press call, when he heard the low rumble of Josh’s bike. Fuck. Twice in a day. How unlucky could he be? Plenty, apparently.
Adrian took a step back, hiding in the shadows. Jesus Christ, he should arrest himself. For stalking. And for being pathetic.
Rachel got off the Harley, talking and laughing with Josh.
Adrian clenched his teeth. Business, his ass.
He turned around and left. He couldn’t stay around for the goodnight kiss; he wouldn’t survive it.
Rachel returned the helmet to Josh. “Thank you for today. For coming with me.”
“It was my pleasure, princess. Besides, it was the first time I saw you in action. You rock.”
She smiled, pleased. “You think? It was complicated, and I was a bit jittery.”
“Pfff. You managed perfectly. He’ll thank you yet.”
“Not anytime soon.” Rachel laughed at the memory of the afternoon. “I knew he was a runner.”
“That he was,” Josh answered. “Sure you don’t want to go somewhere for a bite? Celebrate a job well done and a certain graduation?”
She tried not to, but her smile fell. She lowered her gaze. “Nah. I’m tired.”
“You haven’t talked with Adrian yet, have you?” he inquired after a pause.
“No, and I have no intention of doing so.” Or so she told herself, ad nauseam. She should keep at least a shred of pride.
Josh studied her for a long while. “If you’d taken him with you today, all his misunderstandings would have been cleared up.”
She shouldn’t have to. Adrian should have let her explain herself, and he should have believed in her. “Taken him how? Gagged and bound? He wouldn’t go with me anywhere otherwise. You didn’t hear him that day.” His lack of trust ran deep.
“Probably better I didn’t, I might have beaten the shit out of him,” Josh muttered.
She’d been tempted to as well. Adrian had been so lucky the baseball bat hadn’t been in the break room. Or the shotgun.
Rachel smiled at Josh, who looked totally offended on her behalf. In spite of all his fame, he was an angel. The kind of person one could level with without fear of being harshly censured. Exactly like Adrian. Ha! “He’s not like you. He’s not understanding or open-minded.” No. He was prejudiced and judgmental and an ass of the highest magnitude. And yet she still kept thinking about him. Wishing things had been different. If only she’d managed to explain before, maybe they could have avoided crashing and burning. Maybe they could have salvaged something.
“His loss,” Josh declared and turned the engine on. He kicked the stand up. “See you at XL’s birthday party?”
She nodded and watched him leave. As she walked up the driveway, she heard a sound coming from the bed of her grandma’s pickup. She peeked over the side and saw the three OGs lying there on top of a thin air mattress, their fingers interlaced over their stomachs.
“What are you doing, ladies?”
“Looking at the night sky,” Wilma said matter-of-factly. “We wanted to try it after we saw you the other night. You want to join us?”
Rachel didn’t even have to think twice. “Scoot over.” She climbed into the bed of the truck and squeezed between Wilma and Rebecca. “Wow, the air mattress is a great addition.”
“Too great an addition,” Rebecca muttered. “I’m not sure I can get up.”
“Don’t worry,” Rachel reassured them. “After we finish stargazing, I’ll drive you home. Delivery, mattress to mattress.”
Wilma patted her granddaughter’s hand. “Great idea, honey. How was your day? Successful?”
“Successful,” Rachel admitted.
“We knew. So, did you officially graduate?”
“Not officially, but I completed the internship. All that’s left is getting the diploma.”
“We’re very proud of you,” Wilma said while the other two assented. “You worked very hard. You deserve this.”
“Thank you, ladies.”
They were quiet for a while until Greta spoke. “Do you think this is the feeling you get when you’re lying in the coffin?”
“The views are going to be significantly worse,” Rebecca replied.
“True.”
“Open or closed casket?” Wilma asked suddenly. “At the wake, I mean. Open or closed?”
Her friends seemed to ponder. “Open,” Rebecca decided.
“I think I prefer closed,” Greta said. “I don’t want anyone to see me the worse for wear.”
Wilma tsked. “Don’t worry. Nowadays they Photoshop you and you look fantastic.”
“Ah, okay then. Open casket,” Greta concluded.
Rachel was trying to contain her giggles, but she didn’t succeed. “What?” Wilma asked, misunderstanding. “These things are important at our age. And you should take notes. You’ll be the one in charge of making sure our last wishes are respected.”
“Okay, ladies. Open caskets and Photoshop for everyone. I’ll keep it in mind.” One could always count on the OGs to make one laugh, even in the face of utter misery.
“Flying was so fun,” Greta said on a sigh. “So exciting. A pity the windows of the plane were closed and we couldn’t feel the wind in our faces.”
“Your faces would have frozen on the spot,” Rachel explained.
They ignored her. “There have to be ways to be up in the sky but without being so confined,” Rebecca said.
Oh no, no, no. Rachel knew where this was going. Straight into the LOLO list. “No parachuting. No paragliding. No bungee jumping. No base diving. No skydiving,” she stated, checking off everything air-related she could think of. “Not even flying kites or drones.”
“What’s a drone?” she heard Greta
ask Rebecca, who shrugged.
“When Connor comes back, you can ask him if he’d be interested in carrying each of you in a tandem parachute drop with him. If he agrees, I’m up for it. Deal?”
“Deal,” they answered grudgingly.
Good. She was going to speak with Josh, ask him if he’d mind taking them for a ride on his bike. They would love feeling the wind on their faces. And they used to love bikes. Rachel had seen a picture of the OGs riding a motorcycle with a sidecar when they were young and Audrey was alive.
“By the way, how are the preparations going for XL’s birthday party?” Rachel asked, hoping it would divert the grannies’ attention from the subject of flying. It did, thankfully.
The OGs were quite excited about the party, and they did have everything ready. No wonder they’d been keeping out of trouble lately. Too much to prepare.
“Is the sheriff… aware of the time and place of the party?” Rebecca asked, her tone careful. “I mean, is he taking part in it?”
Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know.” Pretty much everyone knew, so Adrian ought to know too.
Silence.
Wilma broke it. “We think you’re the best, you know, don’t you?” Wilma and Greta, at either side of Rachel, held her arms tight. Rebecca was farther away, but she patted Rachel’s head. “No one is better than you. No one. This last year, you juggled online courses with seminars, meetings, the internship, and your day job at the garage. You even had time for us, the kids, and that ingrate sheriff. You’re the best.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“We aren’t,” Greta insisted, “and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You’re far from the Rachel who came to us ten years ago. You overcame terrible odds, and you’re still standing. Well, now lying, but proudly.”
“Thank you,” Rachel barely got out. Thank God it was dark and they couldn’t see her tears falling.
“The stick up the sheriff’s ass is apparently more deeply inserted than we’d imagined,” Rebecca mused.
“Someone should set it on fire,” Wilma suggested.
Rachel smiled. She’d probably done that without realizing. The news of her being something he hadn’t imagined had been too much for such a stickler. Being with him had been fun while it’d lasted, though.
Maybe Josh was right. Maybe she should give Adrian the benefit of the doubt and explain everything. All her comings and goings. If after that he still didn’t believe her or couldn’t accept her, then that was it. They’d be done.
He would have to grovel and apologize to her, though. For his assumptions and his insults.
She wiped her eyes and sat up. Enough sulking. That never helped anyone. “What do you think about starting Operation Delivery, mattress to mattress, with a quick stop for ice cream?”
“Graduation ice cream.” Wilma gave her the truck keys. “Lead the way, dear. Drive carefully. We don’t want to bounce out of the truck bed.”
Chapter Thirteen
Adrian put on his suit and looked at himself in the mirror. Not bad, if one could ignore the signs of tiredness on his face. He wasn’t sleeping well lately. He was pissed with himself and the whole world, and that didn’t bond with a good night’s rest. Bumping into Rachel here and there wasn’t helping either. Taking a peek while she’d been at a pole-dancing class at the Dance Factory had been a huge fuckup too, messing with his mind and his cock and everything in between. His walking boot was history, though, and thank God for that. He wasn’t supposed to exert himself or run, but except for that, everything was back to normal. Which was good, because his arms were dead from doing pull-ups.
He’d considered skipping XL’s surprise birthday party. Turning eighteen was a big thing, Adrian knew, and he ought to be there, but the party was at Wilma’s, and he wasn’t in the best of relationships with the inhabitants of that particular house. Although it was Adrian’s birthday too, he’d kept that to himself. Aside from Rachel, no one knew. And no one should. The party had to be all about XL.
He’d considered taking the kid somewhere to celebrate a day or so earlier, but those damn grannies were mind readers, because they’d come to the office and, with curt smiles, had steamrolled over every one of his objections and all but ordered him to come to the party or else. “Or else” was a very serious threat coming from the OGs; no fucking way was he risking it. And he’d have a chance to steal a peek or two at Rachel.
Rachel. His sweet, always smiling Rachel. The more time passed, the more he realized he’d fucked up. Gone all balls to the wall, running his mouth, giving free rein to his rampant paranoia, and topping everything off by shutting her down and not allowing her to explain. XL had been right, damn it. How he hated when the kid was right.
Adrian was on his way out when the doorbell rang. Strange. Ash and Monti had taken XL away, and they would be bringing him to Wilma’s later on. Besides, he had keys; he wouldn’t ring the bell. Whoever it was, whatever they wanted, it would have to wait.
He opened the door and saw Jade standing in front of him, dressed to kill in a figure-hugging sparkly gold gown, holding a bottle of very expensive champagne.
“Hello, cutie pie,” she greeted him. “Happy birthday.”
It took a second for Adrian to find his voice. “Jade? What are you doing here?”
“I came to celebrate your birthday with you,” she said suggestively, her trademark sexy smile doing nothing for him—which was weird, because he used to melt at the sight. Once upon a time, he’d have done anything to have her look and smile at him the way she was doing at this moment.
She reached for his chest, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her. “How did you find this place?” She’d been in his house maybe twice, when he first moved to town, but he doubted she could have remembered. Jade didn’t remember things she didn’t like.
“Uber, duh,” she answered. “Then I asked around for the sheriff’s house. Alden is small. Everyone knows you.” She gave him a once-over. “You going somewhere? We seem dressed to match.”
Her voice was a drawl and her cheeks were a bit more red than usual. She’d started partying already.
“You should have called me first, Jade. I have plans. Birthday party. Not my own,” he hurried to explain.
“Let’s go together, then. I can be your plus one. Or do you have a plus one already?”
“No, I don’t, but now’s not a good time. Sorry.”
She blinked several times. Yep, she still wasn’t used to being denied. “Adrian, I came all the way here for you.”
“Sorry,” he repeated, doubting her claim very much. Jade only did things for herself. He looked at his watch. He was going to be late. “I’ll call you a cab. Walk with me.”
She pouted. “How important is that birthday party, cutie pie? We could blow it off and make our own celebration.”
On hold with the taxi company, Adrian didn’t answer, just hurried his step. Given what she’d already had to drink and her high heels, Jade had trouble keeping up, so he grabbed her hand. Soft and delicate, as he remembered, and yet it did nothing for him. He preferred hands with personality. Hands that told a story. Rachel’s hands.
When they turned onto Wilma’s street, he stopped a good twenty feet from the old lady’s driveway. Finally, he got through to the dispatcher and ordered a cab. “They’ll be here in five minutes. I’ll wait with you,” he offered.
“Go,” she said, pouting some more. “I can fend for myself.”
There it was: Jade’s trademark guilt-tripping making an appearance. In another life, he would have humored her, but not now. Either way, he saw the cab approaching, so he apologized again and left for the party.
He hurried to Wilma’s backyard, where everyone was waiting in darkness for XL’s arrival. His kids had grown on the locals, and the place was packed. All the Bowens and the Haddicans were there. So were the members of Amantis, including Josh, the asshole. And the guys from the garage and their families, Sara’s friends, and many regulars from the gym. The OGs a
nd Rachel had gone to town with the decorations. The lights were off, but he could see there were balloons and other stuff hanging around. On the table, there was a three-layer cake.
Wilma handed him a plastic hat and a noisemaker. Aside from that, he was ignored by the hostess. Half the town was pissed at him, so Adrian went to stand in a far corner. He searched for Rachel but couldn’t find her. Everybody was whispering, waiting for the hero of the day.
The OGs were together when Rachel’s brother arrived. Wilma squeaked and opened her arms wide, and the huge guy went to her, lifting her off her feet in a bear hug. Greta and Rebecca got the same treatment. Adrian got a nod. He couldn’t read T-Bone in the dark, but he was pretty sure the big man was there to beat the shit out of him. Bring it on. He deserved it.
Then there was a loud whistle and the crowd fell silent. XL was walking in, Ash and Monti behind him. Someone turned the lights on the second XL stepped into the backyard, and everybody screamed, “Happy birthday!” and then clapped and used the noisemakers. XL was laughing and cursing, his fingers interlaced at the back of his head. Being the tough guy he was, XL disguised it well, but Adrian knew the kid was touched. Not only that, he was overwhelmed. He looked around until he found Sara, then held his hand out to her. Amid cheers and whistles, Sara walked up to him and kissed him, which made the decibels shoot up even higher.
Finally, Adrian spotted Rachel near the light switch. She was smiling and clapping too. A thousand and one things were going on, but he only had eyes for her. She was keeping herself aside, looking pleased and so damn beautiful, Adrian almost forgot to breathe. She wasn’t wearing anything too special, just a summer dress, but she was gorgeous.
Before he even realized what he was doing, Adrian moved toward her. She glanced at him as he stopped in front of her. Neither one spoke.
He cleared his throat. “Thank you. XL will remember this forever.” Adrian would too, but that he kept to himself.
