Spider

by SJ McCoy

  Spider wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side then spoke close to her ear. “This is my buddy, Rocket. I told you about him. He’s been running the place in the evenings while I’ve been away.”

  Frankie nodded and held her hand out to shake with him. Rocket smiled and nodded as he took her hand. Instead of shaking it, he brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of it. She only watched in fascination. Even his hands were covered in tattoos. His beard felt surprisingly soft against her skin.

  “You have no idea how happy I am to meet you.”

  She raised her eyebrows. She was surprised that he even knew who she was.

  He grinned. “Don’t look like that. He hasn’t been able to shut up about you. I call him every day to let him know how things are going here, but I don’t think he hears a damned word I say. He’s too busy telling me all about you.”

  She couldn’t hide her smile as she looked up at Spider. He shrugged but he didn’t look embarrassed. “What can I say? I have my priorities straight.”

  “Well, it’s good to meet you, too. I’ve heard a lot about you – ” The expression on his face stopped her from continuing.

  He turned an angry scowl on Spider. “What the fuck, man?”

  Spider blew out a sigh. “She means that I’ve told her some about when we were kids.” He gave his friend a small smile. “And that I’ve been bragging about you, saying how lucky I am to be able to leave this place in such good hands.”

  Frankie was relieved when Rocket relaxed. He wasn’t the kind of guy she’d want to be around if he lost his temper. He gave her a wry smile. “I’m kinda touchy about people knowing that I’m an ex-con.”

  She smiled. “Yeah. I can see why you’d want to give people the chance to get to know you first. I mean, if you only hear the words, they paint a certain picture. But when you meet the person, you get to see the truth.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “And meeting me doesn’t paint a bad picture?”

  She laughed. He was obviously talking about his tattoos and his build. “Maybe before I met Spider, I would have been more judgmental. But you’re a good guy, aren’t you?”

  He grinned at her and nodded. “I am.” He looked at Spider. “You were right. I love her.”

  Spider chuckled. “You wouldn’t have, if you’d met her first.” He landed a kiss on Frankie’s lips and then looked back at his friend. “She pulled a shotgun on me the first time she saw me.”

  Rocket laughed out loud. “Why?”

  She shrugged. “We were out at the ranch. Just me and my friend and a little boy. All I saw was the back of some big biker dude wandering around.” She made a face at Spider. “I’ve told you. I’m not going to apologize. And if I had a do-over, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  Spider laughed. “I know. I love it.”

  “I do, too.” Rocket grinned at her.

  She grinned back. She liked him. “I’m glad to meet you, too. You should come up to the valley.”

  He nodded and looked at Spider. “I might just do that. You going to need any help in the new place?”

  Spider surprised her when he laughed. “I think I will. And I think you’d love it up there.”

  “It’s a deal then. Whenever you want me, you let me know.”

  “How will that work?” Frankie asked. “I mean, aren’t you covering here?”

  “I am. But from what he’s told me, Spider will have an easier time finding someone to help here than up there, right?”

  “Yeah. The girls were pissed at me for bringing you in.”

  Rocket laughed. “And don’t I know it. They have a point, though. They can take care of themselves and this place just as well as I can.”

  Frankie glanced over at the two women again. There were, she realized, a couple more staff behind the bar. But the two blondes were the ones who stood out – especially to her.

  “Are you guys going to stick around?”

  “No.” Spider’s answer surprised her. She’d thought they were here for the rest of the night. He smiled at her. “I’m going to show Frankie around. Do you want to have lunch before you start tomorrow?”

  “Sure. Here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. Say one-thirty?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Rocket reached for Frankie’s hand and kissed the back of it again. Spider gave him a warning look. “Get off. She’s mine.”

  Frankie laughed. She felt like she should be mad at him, but she loved it.

  Rocket let her go with a smile. “You don’t need to say it. I can see it. I love it.” He nodded at Frankie. “You’ve got yourself a good ‘un there. Best man I’ve ever known.”

  Frankie didn’t know what to say to that, so she just smiled.

  As they drove away, headed for the beach, according to Spider, he reached over and took hold of her hand again and rested it on his thigh as he drove. She loved the way he did that.

  “What did you think of Rocket?”

  “He’s awesome.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Do I need to worry? I hear he’s a good-looking guy. Can’t see it myself but …”

  She laughed. “He’s good-looking, all right. But no, you have no worries. He’s not a patch on you. At least, not to me.”

  “Who then?”

  “Jane would melt in a puddle at his feet.”

  “We should introduce them. When he comes up. What do you think?”

  She sighed. “I love the idea. But it wouldn’t do any good. She wouldn’t even be able to make herself talk to him.” She was pleased that Spider had made the suggestion – that he hadn’t immediately dismissed it. Some guys did that. They didn’t see Jane as the type any of their friends might find attractive.

  He frowned. “I didn’t think she was like that. She’d judge him? Because of the way he looks? Oh, or do you mean because of what he said – about being an ex-con?”

  “God, no! She’s not judgmental like that. She wouldn’t be able to talk to him because she’d be tongue-tied. She doesn’t date much.”

  “Why not?”

  She loved again that he didn’t immediately assume that he knew why – that not many guys found her attractive. “She doesn’t think men would be interested in her. Because of her looks.”

  “That’s crazy. She’s a sweetheart. I don’t know her that well yet, but you can tell she’s a great person. She’s fun and warm and kind. And she’s smart. She’s a veterinarian. She has to be all kinds of smart and have a big heart to work with animals.” He grinned. “Now that I think about it, I really want to introduce her to Rocket. He loves animals.”

  Frankie laughed. “Don’t get carried away. I can see her having a crush on him, but that’s as far as it would go.”

  “You don’t know Rocket. Women love him.”

  “I’d love to think that you could be right. But you don’t know Jane.”

  He shrugged. “We’ll see. And I’m thinking we might find out sooner rather than later. Alan told me that once the sale goes through, he’s out. And Monica told me that she relies on him whenever she’s not around. So, I’ll need someone to replace him, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have there with me than Rocket.”

  “Good. I like that you’ll have a friend there with you.” She wanted to ask about the girls as he’d called them. She didn’t like that after talking to Rocket, he’d said that they were leaving. Not that she’d wanted to stay, just that she found it weird that he hadn’t introduced her to anyone else. It was probably dumb. He wouldn’t have even taken her there if he had anything going on with one of them. But she wished that he’d introduced her as his girlfriend, like he’d done with Rocket.

  Chapter Twenty

  Spider looked over to where Frankie was sitting next to Terry. The two of them had clicked right off the bat, which didn’t surprise him in the least. He’d brought her to the center this morning. He wanted her to see the place; this trip was about letting her see his life – letting
her get to know him better, and the center was a big part of who he was.

  Grace elbowed him in the side. “I never thought I’d see the day, but you’re a goner, aren’t you?”

  He turned back to her, smiling through pursed lips. “What makes you think that?”

  She laughed. “Err, the way you can’t keep your eyes off her. The way you light up when you talk about her. They way the two of you are together. You might not have realized it yet but you, my friend, are a man in love.”

  He couldn’t hold back the grin that spread across his face. “Thanks for the heads up, but I’m one step ahead of you. I already figured it out.”

  Grace’s eyes widened. “You did? You are? You love her?”

  He nodded happily. “Yeah. And I told her.”

  Grace gripped his arm. “And?”

  He chuckled. “And she loves me, too.”

  “Holy shit, Spider! That’s awesome.”

  “Thanks. I think so.”

  “But wait. What does it mean? Is she going to move here with you?” Her smile faded. “Are you going to move there? You can’t move there. I mean I know you’ll want to spend time there if you’re buying the bakery, but this is home. We need you here.”

  He shrugged. “We haven’t figured it out yet. It’s only been a couple weeks, Gracie.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “I know you too well. Don’t brush me off. The look on your face … Are you saying she doesn’t want to move here?”

  “It’s not a hard no. Not yet anyway. But she’s not exactly a city girl; she’s a cowgirl.”

  “But you’re no cowboy. You’re a city guy.”

  He ran a hand over his head. “I know. We’ll figure it out. Once the sale goes through on the bakery, I’ll have to spend most of my time up there for a while. I’m hoping that’ll give us time to get to know each other better. To get more comfortable with each other.”

  Grace frowned. “For her to get comfortable with the idea of moving here?”

  “I dunno, Gracie. She might never want to do that.”

  Grace folded her arms across her chest.

  “Don’t give me a hard time, okay? I’ll figure it out.”

  “You’d better. She’s awesome. I really like her. And of course, it’s up to you. I’m not going to interfere. But if you can adapt to life up there for her, I hope she can adapt to life here for you.”

  Spider nodded. He was hoping the same thing.

  At that moment the door to Grace’s office opened and her fiancé, Oscar, came in. He grinned at Spider and wrapped his arm around Grace. “The transfer’s taken care of. You can go ahead and buy yourself a bakery any time you feel like it now.”

  “Thanks, man.” Spider reached out to shake with him, but Oscar grasped his hand and reeled him into a one-armed man-hug.

  “No thanks needed. That’s what brothers are for.”

  Spider closed his eyes and swallowed. First, Reid had called him a brother, now Oscar was doing it, too.

  Grace caught his eye and nodded. She knew how much it meant to him.

  Oscar stepped back with a grin. “You can slice it any way you like, but there’s no denying that we’re family. In everything except blood, you’re Grace’s brother. That makes you my brother-in-law.” He narrowed his eyes at Grace. “Or it will, just as soon as we finally tie the knot.”

  Grace laughed. “Can’t you just call me wife and be done with it?”

  Spider grinned as Oscar narrowed his eyes at Grace again. They’d been engaged for a long while now, and Oscar was impatient to make her his wife. It wasn’t that Grace didn’t want to marry him, but she was looking forward to the being married part more than to the wedding.

  She landed a kiss on Oscar’s lips as she slipped past him. “I’m going to check on Frankie while you two talk money.”

  Spider had been planning to go check on her himself and leave Grace and Oscar to talk about whatever they wanted. But she was right. He should at least thank Oscar again.

  He watched Frankie smile at Grace when she reached her. Terry said something that had both women laughing. It made his heart happy to see three of his most favorite people in the world laughing together like that.

  Oscar stood beside him with a big grin on his face. “It knocks you off your feet when it hits, doesn’t it?”

  Spider glanced at him.

  Oscar laughed. “Love.”

  “Yeah. It’s knocked me on my ass, that’s for sure.”

  “I was concerned at first. I don’t know Frankie that well, but …” He shook his head.

  “What?”

  “Now that I’ve seen the two of you together, I can tell.”

  “Tell what?”

  “That she’s your person.”

  Spider had to laugh. Jean, Oscar’s mom, had said that about Grace when Oscar first met her. Then about Dani when TJ met her, and about Tara, when Reid met her. “Have you been taking lessons from your mom?”

  “Yeah. She’s a smart lady.”

  “She is.” Spider’s smile faded when he remembered his chat with Jean and Johnny when he and Frankie were going out on their first date. “Do you think your dad’s just as smart – when it comes to that kind of thing?”

  “Oh, he is. Possibly even smarter. He doesn’t say much, and he tends to be more cautious.” Oscar pulled his gaze away from Grace and Frankie and turned to look at Spider. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because your mom was all enthusiastic about Frankie and me, and your dad kind of was too but he was concerned.”

  “About?”

  “He said that we come from similar backgrounds and that we might hurt each other.”

  “Hmm.” Oscar frowned. “I know a little about Frankie’s background. I’m sure you know more?”

  “Probably. I know she didn’t have it easy as a kid.”

  “Hmph. That’s an understatement.”

  Spider frowned. She’d told him her dad was a bastard, but she hadn’t ever elaborated.

  Oscar shrugged. “I don’t know what Dad was thinking. I can ask him, if you like. But he’s always more cautious than Mom. That’s probably all it is.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure.” Spider didn’t want to go looking for problems that didn’t exist.

  “Anyway. Are you all set to push the sale through on the bakery?”

  “Nearly. I wanted to talk to you about it. I’ve never bought a business before. I think I’ve done my due diligence, but I wanted to run everything by you, if you’re cool with that? Especially since it’s your money.”

  “It’s your money now. I told you. The transfer’s complete.” Oscar smiled. “But I’m more than happy to go through everything with you. I’m honored that you want me to.” He glanced out through the office window. “But I don’t want to hog your time right now. How about you call me when you’re back in Montana, and we can spend a couple of hours on Skype together. That way we can share screens and get into all the nitty gritty details.”

  “That’d be awesome. Thanks, man.”

  Oscar smiled. “Not a problem.” He looked out the window again. “What do you say, should we take Grace and Frankie to lunch? Take Terry along, too?”

  “Yeah. Let’s do that. The way those two are getting along, I think Frankie might want to bring Terry home with her.”

  Oscar laughed. “If she wants to keep him, she might have to stay here. Between running the center and letting the rest of us think that we’re the ones in charge, and his friendship with Barbara Holmes, there’s no way Terry would leave the city for long.”

  Spider blew out a sigh.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Nah. It’s just that I don’t see Frankie ever staying in the city for long.”

  “Ah. She doesn’t like it?”

  “She’s trying. For me. But …” Spider shook his head. “I’m just hoping I can find enough for her to like about the city that she’ll be okay to at least spend some time here. I mean, I’m going to have to split my time. I don’
t want to give this place up, or the coffee shop.”

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  Spider could only hope so. On the one hand, it was perhaps, like she’d said, getting ahead of themselves. On the other, it was valid to question what their future would look like.

  ~ ~ ~

  Frankie couldn’t believe how quickly the weekend had gone by. Spider had given her a whirlwind tour of everything he thought she might like about LA. He’d been right about all of it, too. She’d loved the beach. The Santa Monica Pier was kind of cool – even though it was swamped with hundreds, maybe thousands, of people.

  They’d been back into the coffee shop in the morning, and she was determined that he should introduce the bourbon vanilla latte to the menu at the bakery when they got home. He blew out a sigh. Except, to him, this was home.

  She went to the window and stared out. The view from his apartment was … well, it was something. Not something she thought she could ever get used to. She preferred to see mountains out her window than skyscrapers. She looked back over her shoulder. He was in the shower, getting ready to drive them back to the airport so they could go home – again, to her version of home.

  She blew out a sigh. She’d figure it out. When she first met Spider, she wouldn’t have believed that he was someone who could ever feel at home in the valley. He wasn’t all the way there yet, but he was making an effort – and he was doing something about it. He was buying the bakery. Setting about building a life for himself.

  It wasn’t like her to sit around and think about possible problems. Her usual MO was to power on through, too busy actually living life to worry about what might come up. And too caught up in forward momentum to do anything but steamroll right over any speed bumps that appeared.

  So, if she were living her life here, if she’d landed in this city somehow, under other circumstances than as Spider’s woman – she had to smile at that, she should hate the term, but she also kinda loved it – if she were here under her own steam, what would she be doing?

  Well, in the city itself, she doubted there was much call for her equestrian talents. So, that left kids – special needs kids. She didn’t like the idea of getting involved with the school district here. The red tape in Livingston almost drove her nuts. She couldn’t even imagine what it’d be like in LA.