8.

R OOSTER

I took a deep breath and steeled myself for rejection before I lifted my hand and knocked on the front door of Rosie's cabin. It had been a risk leaving her alone right after I invited her to lunch, giving her too much time to think of all the reasons that hanging out with me would be a bad idea. Before I walked away, I could see the panic on her face, and I really wanted to know what caused that.

The woman I met at my friend's wedding didn't seem like the type to panic about anything, and even though we'd spent most of our time enjoying each other's bodies in various, and very satisfying, ways that night, I had had some time to talk to her. Granted, we didn't have long and meaningful conversations about our hopes and dreams, but I remember thinking that she was a strong and capable woman who wouldn't let anyone run her over - that was especially true after I witnessed her interaction with her ex.

However, sometimes when feelings became involved, people reacted differently. There had been many times in my life when I was uncertain or acted impulsively because my emotions had been out of control. That was apparent when you considered why I went to prison.

I was going on instinct here, but I had a feeling that if Rosie didn't want to have anything to do with me, she'd say that directly- not just give me some sass and slam the door in my face. I hoped that was just avoidance rather than outright rejection. If I was wrong, I'd admit that and leave her alone, but my gut told me she was on the fence about how she wanted to proceed, so I was going to do my best to push her toward my side of things.

The problem was, I wasn't exactly sure what my side of things were. I didn't know her well enough to start planning family vacations and retirement options, but from what little I did know, I could imagine a future together lasting beyond the month or so that she planned to stay in Red River.

How that would work, I had no idea. My family, home, and business were all here in Red River, and I wasn't willing to give any of those up, even for love. I didn't know Rosie well enough to say that she'd be willing to give up parts of her life to move closer, but I found that I'd like to see.

I knew how crazy that was. One wild night didn't mean that we had anything in common other than compatibility in the bedroom, but there was just something about her that made me think I wanted more. No, it made me know that I wanted more - more time, more laughter, more smiles, more sarcasm . . . and definitely more naked fun time like what I'd been dreaming about since the night we'd spent together.

Not just the sex, which was phenomenal, but in all my years, I'd never joked and laughed with a woman while we were naked together. I realized that night there was something about Rosie I wanted to explore and was angry at myself for not waking up when she was making her escape.

And if I was completely honest with myself, I had to say that I was angry at her, too, for leaving before I woke up so she could avoid speaking with me. It actually hurt my feelings, which was fucking crazy considering the number of one-night stands and short-term flings I'd had in my life. Not once had I ever regretted going on my way without so much as a look back.

I wasn't exactly the kind of guy that was big on self-reflection, but since that night, I sure had done a lot of it. Was there really something about her, or was I just pissed that I'd been dismissed so easily?

The answer was both, which didn't help me at all.

When Rosie flung the door open, I saw panic and excitement in her eyes and wondered what that was about.

"Is everything okay?"

"You came back."

I lifted the basket Clark had packed for our lunch and said, "I told you I would."

"With lunch."

"I told you that too."

"Why?"

"Because I said I would?" I asked, not really sure how to answer that question.

"Let's get something straight, mister," Rosie said as she poked her finger into my chest and narrowed her eyes. "I will not be toyed with."

"Not even a little bit?" I blurted, remembering our night together and how much fun we had. I shook my head and said, "Sorry." I cleared my throat and schooled my expression before I asked, "What exactly do you mean?"

"I'm here for a short time, and I'm not sure I'm cut out for any kind of relationship that starts with an end date."

"Is that why you ran that morning?"

"Yes. No. Okay, maybe, but I had breakfast plans and then had to haul ass home for an appointment, so I thought it would be easier to just leave before we had that uncomfortable goodbye situation."

"Goodbye situation?"

"Do we kiss goodbye? Should we do a fist bump? Do we exchange phone numbers and then wonder if we should call or get irritated when the other person doesn't call? Should we walk each other to the elevator and shake hands like it was a business arrangement? There were so many scenarios, and I didn't want to deal with any of them."

"I would have liked a goodbye kiss. I'll only bump knucks with you when you do something funny like insult one of my friends or yell at some asshole in traffic. I'd like your phone number so I can text you funny memes and call when I want to hear your voice. I'm always gonna be the one to text because I'm that kind of guy. If you had tried to shake my hand like we had a business arrangement, I would have felt a little dirty and wondered what the fuck I did wrong."

"Oh."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You snore."

"Bad enough that you had to run like your shoes were on fire?"

"Well . . . no."

"Okay then. Next time my snoring bothers you, tell me to roll over, or better yet, remind me to take my allergy medication because that's usually the problem."

"Next time?"

"Oh, sweetheart, there will be a next time. I guarantee it."

◆◆◆

"My parents met at a party. He held her hair while she got sick from drinking too much and then married her anyway. Talk about getting some of the uncomfortable stuff out of the way right off the bat, huh?" Rosie's eyes lit up when she talked about her family, and I was gaining good insight into what she thought was most important just by listening to her. "How did your parents meet?"

"They were on a double date with other people and ended up hitting it off with each other more than their dates. By the end of the night, they knew that their lives had forever been changed, and the rest is history."

"It's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure there was much more to it than that."

"Of course."

"Dianna said you have siblings?"

"I do, but unfortunately, the only one I'm close to is Mads."

"Why is that?"

"I have a nephew who is only two months younger than me, so if my sister had been around very much when I was young, she would have been more of a parental figure. Same with my brother - he got his driver's license the month before I was born."

"I'm the oldest, but not by that much!"

"And then there are fifteen years between me and Madison."

"Dianna mentioned that but . . . Wow."

Without analyzing it too much, I asked her something I'd been wondering about since I saw how she interacted with Kerrigan this morning. "Do you have any children?"

"No. I was married before, but way too young to consider children then. However, he was quite a bit older than me and had two kids already, so I got to be stepmom. I think Kerrigan would be sad to hear that I wasn't a very good villain since I keep in touch with them and we get along just fine."

"How old are they now?"

"They're both in college, one on each side of the country, so we video chat now and then."

"What happened to your ex? Do you still talk to him?"

"No," she said firmly. "Never."

"What happened?" I shook my head and said, "Sorry. You don't have to . . ."

Rosie shrugged and said, "It's okay. I could go with the usual platitudes about how we grew apart or whatever, but let's just say that he traded me in for a younger model." Rosie laughed before she added, "And then he traded her in for a younger model. Since I don't have any contact with him, I'm not sure how many he's racked up since our divorce."

"Wow. I can't imagine why you don't stay in touch," I said drolly.

"We can't all be like you and Dianna."

"Oh, I know! We've got a very unique circumstance that works for us. We know we shouldn't have ever gotten married, but I wouldn't change any of it for the world because I like where I am now . . . where we are now."

"It's nice that you can still be friends."

"We were friends before . . . You know I've been to prison, right?"

"I remember seeing the cut you were wearing, and it's common knowledge that to be a member of that MC, you had to have served time."

"Exactly. At one point, each of us have lived in Tenillo where our MC is based. We were part of a release program that Pop - the man who serves as our mentor and friend - started to help reintegrate convicts back into society by helping them with housing and job opportunities."

"How long did you live in Tenillo?"

"Dianna and I lived there until Kerrigan was about a year old. My mom's health was failing, so we moved back to Red River to help out with the cabins and to take care of Madison. Mom died a little over a year later, and we're still here today."

"Your parents started all of this?" Rosie asked as she motioned toward the rest of the property.

"They started out with just a few cabins they rented to skiers and vacationers. Dad opened the bar when I was just a kid, and I worked there with Dianna before I went to prison. When we moved back, I took over the bar, and she took over the guest services. Clark and Dianna started dating while they worked together to expand the restaurant, and a few years ago, we started the coffee shop with Madison."

"You and Dianna were together when you went to prison? How long were you incarcerated?"

"No, we weren't together before I went in. I was gone for eleven years. She stayed here and helped my parents, and then became Mom's right hand after Dad died."

"So you started seeing each other after you got released? But . . ." Rosie shook her head before she said, "It's none of my business."

"Ask whatever you want," I told her with a shrug. "I'm an open book."

"Why did you go to prison?"

"Three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."

"Oh."

"More questions. Come on, I know they're in there."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do that?"

"To put it simply, because they deserved it."

"Oh."

"Come on. Ask me something else."

"Who were they? Why did you assault them?"

"They were guests here and attacked a server. They waited until she got off work and grabbed her as she was walking to her car. They tried to drag her back to their cabin, but I stopped them."

"I don't think that's horrible," Rosie mumbled. "Should I think that's horrible?"

There was more to the story, but I didn't want to go down that path, so I just left it and said, "A jury did, but I obviously feel differently."

"I can't imagine what some of the men I know would have done in that situation," Rosie mused.

"The men you know?"

"My dad's friends and even all of their kids. He's sort of not quite part of an MC back home. I mean he is, but he's not as into it as the rest of them. I think it's because of his background."

"His background? What? Was he a priest at one point or something?"

Rosie laughed. "Not even close. He was an FBI agent." My blank look made her laugh, and then she said, "Then he retired and became a private investigator."

"Well . . . at least he retired. The only thing worse than that would be if you told me he was an IRS agent."

Rosie burst out laughing and said, "My dad wasn't, but Smyth is!"

"Who is Smyth?"

"My ex."

Rose was still laughing when I asked, "The douche from the wedding?"

"Yes!"

"Good Lord. I might be a convicted felon, but I'm still a step up from a tax man!"

"Most definitely," Rosie said as she wiped beneath her eyes to brush away the tears and inadvertently check her makeup. "You haven't asked the major burning question, Strange."

"I might not want to know."

"Know what?"

"What was the ex-husband? A used car salesman? A televangelist? The creator of an MLM scheme?" Rosie was laughing again and it was a beautiful sight, so I continued. "Shit! Don't tell me he was a lawyer!"

Rosie was laughing so hard, she snorted a few times before she hiccupped loudly and then started laughing again. "You weren't even close!"

"With which one?"

"He is an anesthesiologist."

"He puts people to sleep?" I asked with a grimace.

"Damn sure did it for me," Rosie said with an exaggerated yawn. "I think that's why he likes his wives young - they're not old enough to realize that the title doesn't make the man and the man does not make orgasms."

Now it was my turn to laugh, and I had to ask, "So, did I put you to sleep, Curious?"

"You know you didn't. Now ask me."

"Ask you what?"

"The one thing every biker is required to ask every woman they become interested in."

"I guess I missed that handout. What question is that?"

"Do you want to go for a motorcycle ride?"

"Hell yes, I do!"

Rosie started laughing again and said, "No, you're supposed to ask me that to see if I'm your kind of woman."

"Go put on some better shoes, Curious. I think I already know what kind of woman you are."