Chapter Four

Banks

“Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya,” I sang happily to the Beach Boys’ song “Kokomo”, as I pulled up in front of Beth’s coffee shop.

Today was going to be the best day ever!

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Carnage was finally the public school’s problem! With the demon behind bars until three in the afternoon, I could finally concentrate on Kai’s hot little momma.

Right after I snagged myself a steaming cup of hot joe from Beth.

Walking into the coffee shop, I heard the bell above the door ding and sighed when the wonderful smells of freshly baked goodies and the rich aroma of java hit my nose.

If there was ever heaven on earth, it would be Beth’s coffee shop.

“Good morning, Banks!” Beth smiled at me as she walked behind the counter carrying a full tray of freshly baked chocolate scones. “Give me a second and I’ll take your order.”

Moseying over to her, I leaned against the counter and smiled. “No rush. I’ve got all the time in the world today.”

Beth chuckled. “I heard. Everyone in town is incredibly happy today.”

“Best. Day. Ever.”

“The first day of school generally is.” Beth grinned while she stood looking at me. “For the adults, at least. So, what can I get you?”

Looking around the display, I rubbed my chin, frowning. “Hmm, I’ll take a raspberry and cream cheese Danish, a bear claw, and one of those freshly baked chocolate chip scones, oh, and a Pumpkin Amaretto with a splash of cinnamon.”

Shaking her head, Beth muttered, “You are going to rot your teeth out, Banks.”

“That’s what dentures are for.” I grinned, showing her my pearly whites.

Taking a look around the shop, I noticed it wasn’t really busy.

“Kinda slow this morning, huh?”

“Parents are dropping their kids off at school. They will be here shortly. So, what do you have planned for the day?” she asked while she made my coffee.

“Oh, nothing special. The next shipment of Hell’s Breath isn’t due to go out till next month, so I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands. So, I thought I’d check out the new Comic Center that’s opening this weekend. I heard from a reliable source that the owner is hot.”

Beth handed me my coffee, shaking her head. “She is and she’s a mother of two, Banks. So, tread carefully.”

“Copy that.” I winked before taking a sip of the hot brew.

Reaching into my wallet, I slapped a twenty on the counter as Beth handed me a bag with my sweet treats. Taking it, I walked out of the coffee shop and smiled. I looked around the cute town of Rosewood and said, “Yep. Today is going to be the best day ever!”

“Well, this sucks.”

The fucking place was locked up tight.

Where the fuck was she?

Looking at my watch, I knew fucking school started already, unless Carnage had already started an uprising, but I shook off that thought quickly because I didn’t hear any screams, police sirens, fire trucks, or ambulances.

Sitting on the curb next to my bike, I stretched out my legs and opened the bag of goodies I got from Beth’s and took out the bear claw, shoving half of it into my mouth. Enjoying my morning coffee with the best breakfast treat in the world. I watched the little town of Rosewood come alive.

God, I loved this town.

It was the best.

Nestled deep in the Shenandoah Mountains, the town of Rosewood was the quintessential cookie-cutter town and one of the biggest tourist destinations around these parts. With beautiful mountain views, some of the best hiking and riding trails for miles, not to mention the oodles of fairs, carnivals, festivals and ski slopes, the town of Rosewood had it all. But what made this town the best of the best was this was the only place on earth where everyone liked everyone.

Well, most of the time.

Out of all the places I lived growing up, Rosewood was the best.

Now, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

Not that I could, even if I wanted to.

From as far back as I could remember, I never stayed long enough to put down roots. Not that I didn’t want to, but because it seemed no matter where I hid, my past always found me.

You see, I grew up in WITSEC. Not very conducive to a growing kid, but hey, I worked with what I had. In the beginning, I just went with the flow, thinking it was all an adventure, but as time passed, it became less of an adventure and more of a pain in the ass. And when the fucknuts in the suits were waiting for me at home after I dropped Laurel off, I’d had enough. The second they secured me in my new domicile, I fucking took off and never looked back.

I managed to hide under the radar, doing odd jobs and shit for a warm place to stay and a hot meal for a while, until they found me again and threatened to put my ass in juvie if I didn’t fucking stay put. But when I turned eighteen, I told those bastards to fuck off, packed my bags, and walked away from the only thing protecting me from my past.

I traveled around for a few years before I found Hawk.

He was my best friend. I met Hawk in Chicago in some underground fight club. Fucker was damn good too. He was making a name for himself and was headed for the big leagues when shit went sideways with him. With no other place to hang my hat, I followed Hawk to his hometown of Rosewood, Virginia.

I instantly fell in love with the place.

Hawk, not so much. He hated everything about the small town. But with no other place to go, we soon found ourselves prospecting for the Sons of Hell and I never looked back.

I loved everything about club life. I loved the brothers, the bikes, the freedom of just being me. I didn’t have to look over my shoulder here. I could do anything, be anything I wanted. In time, I got my patch and that was all she wrote.

No more running for me.

Nope. I found my people and my home.

Now, if I could find Laurel.

I knew I had the right place. Carnage told me she bought the empty building next to Sugar’s Creamery and that she was opening a comic book store. Which I thought was funny, considering all the times I would bore her to death with why DC was better than Marvel. She and I would spend hours discussing and arguing the differences between the Marvel and DC universe.

I was totally a DC man.

Hands down.

Superman, Batman, and The Flash.

‘Nuff said!

Laurel was a Marvel girl. She loved Black Widow, Wanda the Scarlett Witch, and Captain Marvel. I tried to get her into Wonder Woman, but she flat-out refused, saying that Marvel had the best female heroes. That and none of her boys ran around in a gawd awful yellow and turquoise sequenced suit, riding a seahorse.

She had a point on that one.

No one liked Aquaman.

“Banks?”

Looking up, I smiled. “Hey, Sugar.”

“What are you doing sitting there?”

“Um, I’m waiting for the new owner of the comic book store to show up.”

“The Comic Center doesn’t open till this weekend. Are you planning on camping here until then?”

“No,” I groaned, getting to my feet. “I was kind of hoping she would be here. Wanted to ask her something.”

“I see.” Sugar smiled, shaking her head as she unlocked the front door to her store. “And does this question have anything to do with a date in the near future?”

Smiling broadly, I blushed. “Maybe.”

“Well,” she said, walking inside her store, flipping lights on as I followed. “She’s a single mom, Banks, opening a new business and helping her mother plan a wedding. I think she may be too busy.”

“Mother?”

Sugar nodded, dropping her bags on a table. “Yes. Her mother, LeeAnne, is marrying Mr. Munson in a few weeks. The entire town is talking about it. Apparently, Laurel’s mother wants the biggest wedding Rosewood’s ever seen, and I get the wonderful honor of making a seven-tiered cake with sugar magnolias all over it.”

Gulping, I backed away toward the door.

“Um, maybe I’ll pass then. Weddings give me the heebie-jeebies.”

Just then, the door opened behind me and someone ran right into my back. Turning, I came face-to-face with Laurel and her crazy-ass mother.