Chapter Three

Bethany

It was midafternoon and this had been the slowest day we'd had in a very long time. I liked staying busy because it made the day go faster. Maybe it was childish, but the highlight of my day was another delivery of miniature helium tanks. Reggie found a good deal on them and ran an advertisement on the local news website and in the free local newspapers. Now, these tiny units were flying off the shelf. So, I was happily spending the afternoon creating a display of them. I was on my knees reaching all the way to the back of a shelf when the door chimed, alerting me that we had a customer.

I shoved the last box in place, calling out, "I'll be right with you."

A deep, familiar voice responded, "I'd recognize that fine ass anywhere."

I jerked back, shocked to find that Lucas of all people was standing over me. Something about me being on my knees before him felt like old times. I can't count how many times he put me on my knees for his pleasure. I loved it every single time too. Glancing away, I asked, "How did you find me, Lucas?"

"I didn't come here looking for you. I came because of this."

When I looked up, he was holding a flyer for our event's business. He leaned forward and offered me his free hand. When I slid my hand in his it felt like I was giving myself to him, like before.

He tugged me gently to my feet and I fought back tears because it reminded me how kind and gentle he had always been with me. "Thank you," I murmured as I dusted my hands on my pants.

Lucas' eyes were laser focused on me. I could see heated interest, the same as I was feeling. It would have been all too easy to step out and wrap my arms around him. But I couldn't do that. Too much time had passed, putting too much distance between us. He was probably married with kids by now—married to someone who wasn't a walking magnet for every kind of depraved lunatic that walked the earth. And he was clearly still a biker, if his cut was any indication.

Lucas deserved a good woman, not a fallen one like me, "It's nice to see you again. You've put on some weight."

He lifted one arm and jerked his chin at me. "It's all muscle, too."

Smothering back a smile, I responded lightly, "Still talking yourself up I see."

"Always. I have to, because no one else is going to."

He'd said that before. "Well, the extra weight looks good on you."

His eyes trailed over my body. "You're looking nice yourself, like you've blossomed into a woman."

"I was a woman before," I insisted.

"Yeah, but you've got more curves and something's different, but I can't put my finger on it right now."

I gathered up the boxes the helium tanks had been mailed in, turned and headed for the cash register. I was feeling all kind of things for this man. I needed to put my sales counter between us. Unfortunately, when I passed him, I could smell the scent of his body, it was a scent I knew well, one I loved. This man was too tempting.

I unloaded my boxes and asked, "What were you looking for today, Lucas? Maybe I can help you find it."

He put the flyer on the counter and stated, "I'm opening a business account for my new auto repair shop. I'm interested in support for a grand opening and any other events that might help grow my business along the way."

Happiness filled every corner of my heart. "You're finally following your dream. That's really good to hear."

"Yeah, Callie is helping me decorate. She thinks blue and black should be my company colors because blue is a color associated with trust and black is gives everything a more professional look."

It was wonderful that she was helping him with his business start-up. "I can't believe how decisive and detail-oriented she's being about this."

He shot me a wry grin. "Yeah, I thought the same thing but her ideas sound good to me. She's already got furniture picked out for my waiting room, so I'm going to let her run with it."

I relaxed because our conversation was just like old times. "I'm sure it will be lovely. What name did you pick for your new business?"

"Coyote Auto Service and Repair."

I was confused for a moment, wondering what coyotes had to do with anything, then my eyes dropped to his cut, and I saw he had a patch with his club name, "You're Coyote now?"

"Yep!" he said, then gave me a smirk, "I'll have to save the tale of how I got called that for another day."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was due to your harebrained schemes and inventiveness making you sound like the cartoon character."

He laughed at that, "You know me well."

"I know you'll be successful because you're so organized and hard-working. You deserve all the good things in life," I said.

His eyes were practically shining with happiness. "Yeah, things are really looking up in my life right now."

We stood staring at each other for a second before I reminded myself he was here to open a business account and talk about his business needs, not to converse with me. So, I asked, "What are you thinking of in the way of an event? Do you have a main goal in mind?"

"I gave some thought to that on the way over. The main thing is just making people aware that we're open for business and get my name out there. It's becoming obvious that I can't be successful if people don't who I am and where to find me, right?"

I nodded, "We can definitely help you with that. Did you have a particular theme you wanted for the event? Entertainment and catering I mean."

He grinned, "Like inflatable castles and a taco truck?"

Still the joker. I laughed as I told him, "Well, that sounds good, but maybe we can tailor an opening to your client base."

"Lay it down for me, sweetheart," he said while leaning on the counter. His eyes were on my lips, and I was trying to fight the urge to pull him close.

I quickly got myself back into professional mode and ran down the list of event draws that came easily to mind. "Were you thinking of something along the lines of a cookout with red checkered tablecloths, maybe a rockabilly event with music or something more elaborate to draw people in, like an antique car show. You might be interested in something a little simpler, lemonade and finger cookies for anyone wanting a tour."

"To be honest all of this sounds good. I love everything you just said, the car show and the rockabilly event with music especially."

"I would be happy to plan out a couple of choices and work up estimates for each."

He looked genuinely excited at the prospect. "That sounds pretty amazing. If it fits within my budget, I'd love to do something like that."

A little voice in the back of my head whispered that he wasn't wearing a wedding band so that must mean he wasn't married. Though, the lack of a ring didn't matter at all. He was an amazing catch. It didn't make sense that he would be alone. He was definitely involved with some lucky woman. Even if he wasn't, he didn't need a cursed woman like me messing up his life. That thought brought me down a little, but I quickly realized that just being able to work with him on making his grand opening special would make me happy. It was something to look forward to in this lonely life of mine—also I harbored a not insignificant amount of guilt for running out on him. It would be nice to make it up to him somehow.

As we hashed out the issues of budget, event size and came up with a few target dates for his event, I couldn't help getting more excited. Lucas called himself Coyote now. I'd have to get used to him going by a club name. While he was pouring over the paperwork I'd given him, I watched him intently. He'd lost the boyish look he'd had back when we were together, and he was much more rugged. His longish, dark brown hair was shorter now, cut close at the sides of his head and longer on top, and he had a neatly trimmed beard.

He must have sensed my eyes on him because he looked up and gave me a grin, showing the dimples on his cheeks that mirrored Nessa's. I'd read somewhere that dimples were inherited, and for the millionth time I hoped that he was her father and not that other bastard. Though with that thought, I got another wave of guilt. If Nessa was his, then surely, he had a right to know?

I returned his grin with a pasted-on smile of my own and got out a notepad to take down his details. We might be in the twenty-first century, but Reggie was old school, and you'd have to pry his Filofax out of his cold, dead hands.

As I scribbled down the last of his information, he asked, "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No, I think I have everything I need for now, Coyote.

His head came up hard and fast when I used his club name. A slow grin spread over his face. "Thank you, Bethany. I appreciate you working with me on this."

I opened his business account using his business credit card, and he put down a thousand-dollar retainer without blinking an eye. I guessed he must be doing okay for himself, and I was happy for him. Lucas had had a hard start in life, with his asshole stepfather who beat on him and preyed on his sister. He and Callie both deserved a break.

We said our goodbyes and all too quickly this man I'd cared about for so long was gone. To be quite honest, I felt quite conflicted seeing him again. All the same old feelings were bubbling away just under the surface. Him commenting on my ass, was vintage Lucas behavior. He saw that the store was empty and decided to be edgy. He was normally all kinds of quiet, but when it came to me, he was bold. I remember thinking it was because he felt more comfortable around me than other folks. I wondered again if he had a partner—if he had, then I don't know how I felt about him commenting on my ass, though the Lucas I knew was a good man, and I couldn't see him hitting on a woman if he was with someone else.

When five PM came, I turned over the store to our evening employee and headed home, stopping only long enough to pick up Nessa. Unless there was bad weather, she was always waiting outside for me with one of Reggie's nieces. The girls loved taking care of Nessa and I loved how attentive they were, and that they didn't cost me a fortune. It was a win-win for now.

When I parked up and stepped out of the car, Nessa came running to me, her face lit up with a dimpled grin, looking so much like Coyote that it broke my heart. I wanted her to be his so damn much. Unfortunately, wishing wouldn't make it true. I stooped down to pick her up. Her dark hair was all over the place today. It had come out of the neat braid I made this morning. It looked like she might have spent time in the kitty pool.

She showed me a noodle necklace, one that she'd carefully colored every single noodle with a marker. This daughter of mine was so precious, I hugged her close and dreaded the day I had to let Coyote know she existed. Because if she turned out to be his, then she wouldn't be mine and mine alone. There would be someone else there wanting to make decisions about her life, wanting to teach her about the world and someone slowly scooting me over to make room for himself. I knew that I shouldn't be greedy with her, but I couldn't help it. She was all I had in the world.

I also had a fear in the back of my mind that he might not want a child. He'd told me when he first met me, that he didn't want kids for a long time because he wanted to focus on his club and his own dreams. Maybe it was for the best that he didn't know about my sweet little daughter—at least for the time being.

A memory came floating to the surface of my mind. It was when we first met. He told me that the one thing he would never tolerate in a partner was lying. I couldn't remember what prompted that conversation, but I distinctly remembered him saying that lies of omission counted as lies in his book. This man was very clear on his boundaries, right from the start. I held my daughter close, knowing that not telling him about Nessa would be a lie of omission in his book, a serious one that he would never forgive.

Sammy, one of Reggie's twin nieces, brought Nessa's little backpack over. "I put her lunch box in there, she ate everything today, even the carrot sticks."

"Thank you, Sammy. I appreciate you watching her."

Sammy reached out to touch Nessa on the top of the head and my daughter tilted her head back to nudge Sammy's palm with her nose. We both laughed at her antics. Sammy said, "She's a great kid, I'm always happy to watch her."

I drove the short distance from Sammy and her sister's place to mine. Nessa chattered the whole way about kittens, puppies, frogs, and flutter bys, which was her way of saying butterfly. I could tell she mostly spent the day outside, which means she was going to conk out early. I would have to really hustle to get her fed and bathed before she fell asleep. But that was okay, taking care of Nessa was the best part of my day.