by SJ McCoy
“Come on, Frankie,” said Ford. “You know what gossip’s like in the valley. We’ve heard everything from some biker dude dragged you out of Chico on Saturday night to you’ve shacked up with him down on the ranch.” He met her gaze again in the rearview mirror and frowned. “I don’t believe either, but I do believe that there’s something going on.” He gave her a small smile. “And when Mav calls asking what the fuck it is, I want to be able to tell him the truth. We both know that if I can’t, he’ll back here in no time, to find out for himself.”
Frankie blew out a sigh. “And you wonder why I don’t stick around?”
None of them answered her. She didn’t expect them to. No one spoke at all for a long while. She knew they were waiting for her to tell them what was going on between her and Spider. She stared out the window, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get out of the truck without telling them something, but it was a two-hour drive home, and she was in no hurry.
Wade turned in his seat and smiled at her. “I heard he’s buying the bakery. That true?”
She shrugged. “He might be.”
She could feel Tyler glowering at her. “I don’t like the sound of that. I think the sooner he’s out of town the better.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “What do you know? You haven’t even met him.”
“I’ve heard enough to know that I don’t like the idea of him sniffing around you.”
She laughed out loud at that. “Seriously, Ty? Since when are you my keeper?”
He rolled his eyes at her and smiled through pursed lips. “I’m not stupid enough to think I get a say about anything you do. I just …” He shrugged and looked out the window before turning back to her. “I care, okay? We all do.” He looked around at his brothers. “Right?”
Ford, Wade and Tanner all muttered their agreement, making Frankie blow out another sigh. “As if I didn’t know that already. And I appreciate it, you know I do. But my point is that you don’t get to make my decisions for me, and you don’t get a say.” Three of them scowled at her, and Ford shot her a quick look in the mirror.
“Jeez, guys! Don’t look at me like that. I said I appreciate it and I do. I love you guys. I love knowing that you all have my back. I just wish that you’d have a little faith in my judgment. He’s a good guy. I like him – a lot. Okay? So, I don’t need you giving me a hard time. And I sure as hell don’t need you giving him a hard time. How about you try being enthusiastic that I met a decent guy for once?”
“It would be a nice change.” Wade grinned at her. He was always easier to win over. He and Tanner, they were the lighter side of MacFarland clan. Ford and Tyler were darker. Not that they were bad people or anything, they were just – darker. That was how she’d always thought of them. Kolby, Tyler’s twin, was on the light side. And then there were the girls. Jane was light and Laney was darker.
Thinking of Laney made Frankie smile. “You’d never give your sister this kind of crap about a guy. Any of you.”
Wade nodded rapidly. “Hell, no! But then Laney made it damned clear that that was why she left – and why she’s never coming back.”
“And we all wish that Jane would even meet a guy. You can bet your ass that we’d love to give her this kind of crap,” said Ford.
“Yeah.” Frankie felt bad. Jane had never had a boyfriend. She didn’t date. Though, Frankie knew that she’d like to.
“Anyway,” said Tanner. “Unfortunately, we don’t get to interfere with either of them, so we’re taking out all our frustrated big brother tendencies on you.”
She smacked his arm. “You mean you’re trying to, but it’s not working.”
“Ford’s right, though, you know,” said Wade. “Word will get back to Mav and he’ll call us and want to know the score. If we can’t tell him what’s going on, then you’ll be facing the big guns.”
“I’m sure Mav already knows about him. Ace has met Spider – and he likes him.”
Tanner laughed. “At least, you hope he does. I see you quaking in your boots at the thought of having to explain yourself and your Spider to the big guns.”
She pushed at his arm. “Just because you’re scared of our big brothers, doesn’t mean to say that I am, too.”
Tanner reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Who should I call first then? Mav or Cash?”
Frankie snatched his phone out of his hand. “Neither of them, asshole! We’re not little kids snitching on each other anymore.” Even though she was a grown woman, the thought of having to defend herself – and Spider – to Mav, or to their eldest brother, Cash, wasn’t one she was looking forward to.
“Maybe not,” said Ford. “But are you going to introduce us to this guy?”
Frankie folded her arms across her chest. She didn’t like being strong-armed like this by the guys, but she didn’t really have a problem with them meeting Spider. She kind of wanted them to. They might be making a big deal about him being an outsider, someone different, but she knew they’d like him. They’d only judge by appearances until they got to know the man. She was more concerned about Spider. How would it feel to him to be under the scrutiny of her family? It’d be bad enough for any guy to have to face her crew, but she was less concerned about that than she was about forcing her big, loving family in his face when he had no one and never had. That didn’t feel good.
“Is that a no?” asked Tyler.
“No. It’s an I will but I don’t know when yet.”
“How about you bring him out to our place on Saturday? I’m cooking.”
“Hmm.”
Wade laughed. “It’s hard to turn down Tyler’s cooking, right?”
“It is. What’s happening? Is everyone getting together?”
“I have a big group at the lodge this week. They’re good people. They’re leaving on Sunday, and I wanted to put on a spread for them.” Wade smiled at Tyler. “And since I’m hoping to convince this guy to stick around and chef for me permanently, we wanted to give it a trial run.”
“So, it’s not just you guys?” Frankie asked. “There’ll be guests and other people too?”
Ford let out a short laugh. “That’s right. You and your Spider will be able to find cover among the guests. You won’t be the main focus of attention.”
She grinned at him. “Okay then. I’ll ask him.”
“I almost feel bad for the guy,” said Tanner.
“Why?”
“Because if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t want to go. But you’re going to have to tell him that your cowboy cousins will all think he’s a pussy if he doesn’t show.”
Frankie laughed. “I don’t think that’ll worry him.”
Tyler raised an eyebrow at her. “What, does he think he’s some kind of hard ass?”
“No! The opposite in fact. I don’t think it’d occur to him to even think that way because he’s fine with himself. He doesn’t worry what other people think about him. Like, he genuinely doesn’t give it a thought – until they make an issue out of it.”
“Bullshit!” Tyler pretended to cough around the word, and Frankie hit his arm. “If he doesn’t give a shit what people think of him, why does he have that stupid haircut and all the tattoos? If that isn’t a cry for attention, I don’t know what is.”
“You’re such a child, Ty.”
He scowled at her, but she’d said it deliberately. Tyler and his twin Kolby were the youngest in the family and he hated to be reminded of it. “If you knew the first thing about him, you’d understand that the way he looks isn’t about asking for attention. It’s about making a statement, proclaiming who he is. It’s obviously not about getting people to like him or understand him, it’s about making sure that the kind of people who he wouldn’t have time for stay the hell away.”
The cab of the truck was quiet when she’d finished, and she realized that she might have gotten a little heated. She wasn’t going to apologize, though.
It was Ford who eventually broke the silence. “I never though
t of it that way before. I mean, I always wondered why anyone would want to cover themselves in ink like that, but I never came up with an answer – and I never knew anyone to ask them. I guess I thought like Ty, that it was maybe a way to draw people’s attention, but not in any good way.” He smiled at her in the mirror. “I have to say, it’s a pretty smart way to keep people away. At least, like you said, the kind of people you wouldn’t want to have to waste time on. And I bet it’s pretty damned effective at that.”
Frankie smiled back at him, pleased that he got it, and that the others were nodding, too.
Her smile faded when Ford continued. “I’ll look forward to asking him about them when you bring him on Saturday. I bet it was an interesting story that got him started with all that ink.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “It is, but I’m not sure that it’s one he’d share with you.”
They all turned to look at her again. Shit.
Wade laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll get it out of him.”
“No!” She said it way too forcefully and she knew it.
“Why not?” asked Ford.
“Shit! I’m not going to tell you his story. But I will tell you that he has the same kind of scars you guys do and his first tattoo was to cover some of them.”
None of them spoke, but she could tell by their faces that they were thinking about Spider in a different light.
“Was his dad an evil bastard like ours?” Tanner asked.
“Worse than that. He never knew his dad. His mom was an addict who was beaten to death by one of his many uncles. Shit. So much for not telling you his story.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when she died, when he was seven, he was put into foster care – and that’s when the scars started.”
“And he’s still a good guy?” Tanner asked eventually.
“He is. I know what he looks like. Jeez. I pulled a shotgun on him the minute I saw him.”
They all laughed at that, but she pushed on.
“But he’s a good person. He’s kind, he has a good heart. I mean, come on. The reason he’s here is that he wanted to visit his little buddy, Owen. Would he come a thousand miles to visit a little autistic kid if he were the kind of guy you think he is? He’s friends with all the Davenports, too. Dr. Johnny and Jean love him. And if you’re still not sure, I can tell you that Monica, Jane, and Ace all like him.”
“Be sure to bring him over on Saturday,” said Ford.
She raised an eyebrow at him, but he smiled. “Don’t look at me like that. I want to meet him for his sake. If he’s going to buy the bakery and stick around, he’s going to want some friends. Especially when the wind blows you back out of town.”
Frankie nodded. She didn’t know what to say. She was glad that Ford, and by the looks on their faces, the rest of them, already saw Spider in a different light and wanted to welcome him. At the same time, she didn’t like the thought of him getting close with them, becoming a part of the valley, while she drifted on and was … excluded. It was a crazy thought. No one had ever excluded her. No one but her.
Tanner bumped his shoulder against hers and gave her a knowing smile when she turned to him. “When your roots are strong enough, the wind won’t blow you away.”
Her breath caught in her chest as she stared back at him. He was right of course, but she’d never thought of it that way before.
He winked at her while Tyler mocked him. “Jesus, Tanner! Did you read that in a fucking fortune cookie or something?”
Tanner just shrugged. “Nah. It’s an old African proverb. You might want to think about it for a while – you know, before you leave town again, too.”
Tyler rolled his eyes, but Frankie wondered if Tanner’s little nugget of wisdom might touch him as much as it had her.
Chapter Fourteen
Spider looked up when the back door to the bakery opened. Monica had told him to expect the rest of the staff to come in throughout the afternoon. Apparently, Friday afternoon was one of the busiest times of the week with people coming in to pick up bread and pastries they’d ordered for the weekend and to drink coffee and catch up with each other while they were there.
He was eager to meet the rest of the staff. The couple he’d met through the course of the week were great. The baker, Andrea, was a hoot. She was older, Spider guessed she was in her sixties. The one thing that worried him was that she kept joking about retiring. If he bought the place, he was hoping that she – and the rest of them – would stay on. At least, until he found his feet, in the bakery and in the community. He suspected that he might have an easier time with the former than the latter. He didn’t like his odds of finding someone else who’d want to come and work for him until he’d been here a while. Hell, they still called Monica a newcomer and she’d been here for twelve years.
A man who looked to be a little older than Spider stood in the doorway with a not too friendly look on his face. He must be Alan. Monica had warned Spider that he would probably be the hardest to win over.
Spider gave him a friendly smile and went to greet him. “Hi. Are you Alan? I’m Spider. I …” He held his hand out to shake, but the man just looked at it, then looked him in the eye.
“I’m Alan, all right. Is it true that you’re buying the place?”
“It’s not a done deal yet, but yeah, I’m hoping to.” As he said the words, Spider realized how true they were. All week, he and Monica had been talking in ifs and maybes. If he bought the place. If he could get the financing he’d need. If his accountant was satisfied after he’d been through the books. But telling the surly looking Alan that he was hoping to become the new owner was the truth.
Alan didn’t look impressed, and didn’t reach out to shake Spider’s hand, so he dropped it and waited to see what he had to say.
“I started working here when I needed a job and Monica was kind enough to take me on.”
Spider nodded. She’d told him that much herself.
“I got taken on part-time at the lumber yard up in town a while back. I stayed on here because she needed me. I stand in for her when she goes back to see her kids.”
Spider knew that, too. And he’d been hoping that Alan might do the same for him. He knew he’d have to be here a lot of the time, especially in the beginning, but he still had the coffee shop at home – and his life there. He didn’t want to have to spend all his time here. “I’d love to keep you on, if you’re interested.”
Alan gave him a once over then shook his head. “No. They’ve been asking me to take on more hours at the yard. It’s closer to home for me, too. I stayed on here out of respect for Monica. But I don’t know you. I don’t owe you anything.”
Spider nodded. He could tell that was the answer he’d get, but he’d hoped anyway. “Fair enough. I can respect that. Would you do me a favor, though?”
Alan raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t quit on her yet. Like I said, this isn’t a done deal. I’d hate for her to lose you because of me if this falls through.”
Alan mulled it over for a few moments before giving him a brief nod.
“Thanks.”
Alan finally came in and closed the door behind him, then went to the big sink and started to scrub his hands.
Spider turned back to the inventory list he’d been working down. Monica was organized to the point of being obsessive. She had all her systems and processes documented. Spider loved it, and it was making the job of doing his due diligence so much easier than he’d expected.
“Are you just going to be hanging around here the whole time?” Alan asked as he dried his hands.
“Not the whole time. And I’m not just hanging. I’m learning the ropes and figuring out if buying it is the right move for me.”
Alan nodded. “It’s a good business. I reckon you can see that for yourself. I don’t like you, but if Monica’s even considering selling to you, she must see something in you that I don’t. So, for her sake, you can ask me any
thing you need to know.”
“Thanks.” It was better than he’d expected. Alan’s dislike for him was apparent without him voicing it. But he could at least respect the man for being prepared to set that aside for Monica’s sake. He didn’t know enough to know what he needed to ask about running the place yet, but he didn’t want to let the chance pass him by. “I’d appreciate any pointers you can give me. I can figure the business out well enough by myself. What do you think is the most important thing I need to know?”
Alan continued to give him a surly stare.
“I’m not coming in to make any big changes. It’s a successful business, and I think the wisest move I can make will be to keep it going as it is. Is there anything you think I need to know that might stop me from doing that? I get that this place is part of the community, and I don’t want to let the community down by failing.”
Alan looked at little more interested at that. Spider could understand why. He was no doubt seeing him as some outsider who would make changes that wouldn’t appeal to the locals, when in fact, that was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Well, if you want to keep this place part of the community, you’d have to become a part of it yourself. And for someone who looks the way you do, that’s not going to be easy.”
Spider already knew that much, but he waited, hoping that Alan might give him something more constructive.
“You should probably get yourself a decent haircut, for starters. You stand out like a sore thumb as an outsider. And if you’re going to keep hanging out with Frankie, you should make it official. She’s one of our own and the rumors flying around about the two of you aren’t endearing you to no one.”
“Thanks.”
Alan met his gaze. “Thanks, but no thanks? Is that what you mean? You heard me but you don’t give a shit?”
Spider smiled. “I do give a shit, and I do mean thanks. But as far as the hair goes, people will stop seeing it after a while. And as for Frankie …” He chuckled. “She’s taking me over to her cousins’ ranch tomorrow to meet them all, so I guess that will make us official.”
