Chapter 4

Drak releases me and holds the back door open, waiting for me to climb in before closing the door. He walks around to the driver’s side, slaps palms with Karden, and walks back to the clubhouse without a second glance back at us.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, turning wide eyes to Sylvie, who stares back at me with a knowing grin. “Did you hear what he said?”

“I caught some of it.” She waggles her brows.

“Who knew men like that really existed?”

She raises her hand and points to Karden as he takes his place in the driver’s seat. “I did.”

“Everything okay back there?” Karden turns around and slides his hand on Sylvie’s knee.

“Right as rain.” She winks. I’m not sure why she’s sitting in the back with me, but I suspect it’s because she thought we might engage in a bit of girl talk. Not likely with the two meatheads in the front seat.

The ride home along the deserted highway is boring, and the conversation consists of the three Coloradans discussing what there is left to do before hitting the road bright and early in the morning. Saint is itching to put Rizona in the rearview and get back home to his beloved Janey. There was a time when I had the biggest crush on him, but he never gave me a second glance when we were kids. Seeing him like this now—all in on one woman—makes me like him even more.

It also makes me a little jealous of Janey. Whoever she is, she’s a lucky woman.

I’m inside my head and barely listening when I check my phone and reread what I wrote from Drak to myself.

The things I want to do to you should be illegal.

But there”s a message under it—this one actually sent by Drak—that he must have sent minutes after we left.

You have no idea, babydoll. I’m a patient, yet intense man, but something tells me you can take it.

That was sent twenty minutes ago, and I somehow missed my phone buzzing in my purse.

Thanks for the party.

I send the lame reply, because I’m unsure how to respond to his note. Is he warning me away from him? If so, he’s going about it all wrong. I’d kill for a man to be protective over me the way Karden is with Sylvie.

You’re welcome.

Are you really riding all the way to Rizona to take me on a date? I can meet you halfway, if you want.

I’ll come to you.

That’s over an hour commute each way.

I’m sure you”re worth it. Besides, I want to check out your town before taking you on a sunset ride.

Biting my lip, I debate on telling him my awful truth. He might change his mind about coming to pick me up, or about taking me out completely. He wouldn’t be the first man to bail on me given my living situation.

I should tell you something.

What’s that?

I live with my grandmother. So there’s no privacy. Nowhere to…

Nowhere to…?

Are you really going to make me type it out?

No. Although I’m interested in where this sudden bout of shyness is coming from. You didn’t show an ounce of it on the dance floor tonight.

Maybe you make me nervous?

Do I?

No. Not really.

Well, maybe a little.

I bet you’re used to guys backing down from you, but I’m not that kind of man.

What kind of man are you?

That’s a conversation for tomorrow night. Send me a note with your address when you get home. Gotta go break up a fight, babydoll.

I sigh wistfully and bring my eyes up to catch Sylvie smiling at me. She reaches out and squeezes my hand, telling me she’s excited for me without saying a word.

I’m excited too, but meeting a decent guy at this point in my life seems almost too good to be true.

* * *

“Look who’s finally up.” Ma smiles over her cup of coffee and plate of biscuits.

“Nice bedhead,” Melanie adds. She’s always here with her three rugrats, taking over the living room with toys and blankets. Her husband is one of the few remaining deputies in this area and he’s been taking extra shifts now that Doyle and a couple of others have left town. Jerry is never home, but at least they have extra money to remodel the kitchen.

I flip her off and grab a coffee cup from the cabinet.

“How was the party, Missy?” Ma asks. I told Drak I lived with my grandmother, but technically my mother lives here too. Only she is hardly ever home. She works in San Antonio, which is over an hour’s drive from here, and stays most nights with her boyfriend. With Melanie popping out a baby every two to three years and my mom out of the picture, I feel like I have no choice but to stay behind to take care of Ma.

“It was good.” I lift a fresh cup of coffee to my lips to hide my smile. “I met someone. He’s taking me on a date tonight.”

“You met someone? What’s his name?” She looks up from her well-worn romance novel. I really need to remind Mom to bring new books from the San Antonio library the next time she ventures home.

“His name is Drak.” Sitting next to her, I grab a biscuit and break it up into bite-sized chunks.

“Drak?” Melanie’s lips curl. “Like Dracula? What’s his real name?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure.”

“You don’t know his name?” She stands with her hands on her hips, giving me the same judgmental look she always gives me. Just because she married her high school sweetheart, the only man she’s ever been with, she treats me like the whore of Babylon because I’ve slept with a few guys.

Maybe more than a few, but considering I have needs and most guys aren’t interested in dating a woman who lives over an hour away from them, I take my good times when and where I can. They haven’t all been one-night stands, but expecting anything more than friends-with-benefits seems foolish when I can only make the drive once a month.

“He’s ex-military, so assume it’s short for his last name.”

“Which you don’t know,” she points out.

“Cool it, Melanie,” Ma interrupts. “What do you know about the boy, Missy?”

“Uh, he’s not a boy. I’m pretty sure he’s in his thirties and he’s all man.” I bite my lip to suppress the grin threatening to split my face while spreading a dollop of jam on my biscuit.

“How far into his thirties?” Ma presses.

I shrug again.

“Jesus, Missy.” Melanie rolls her eyes and plops down at the table with us.

“What else do you know?” Ma says calmly, ignoring my sister.

I rattle off the few facts I gleaned while sitting at the table with them last night. “He’s Karden’s foster-brother, ex-military, lives in Maplewood, and rides a motorcycle. I believe he owns a shooting range, and he’s picking me up for our date at five.”

“He’s riding all the way from Maplewood to take you on a date?” Melanie’s mouth drops open.

My stomach clenches, because now it’s public and if he stands me up, it’s humiliation on two fronts. “That’s what he said.”

“Where is he taking you?”

I shrug again, this time with a sigh as I stand and carry my tiny plate to the sink—my appetite ruined by the interrogation and my lack of information. “We’re going for a sunset ride.”

“He’s coming in and introducing himself,” Ma declares as she also pushes herself up from the table. All the women in my family are curvy, with thick asses and full breasts, and although she’s only in her mid-sixties, she carries herself like she’s older. I think it’s because she’s been the de facto authority figure in a dying town for the last fifteen years, and the wear and tear of taking care of everyone has aged her beyond her years.

There’s only a few old timers left keeping this town pseudo-breathing. Ma has the diner while Mr. Tom down the street has the hardware / general store. The Pritchers have the grocery store, the Daytons have the gas / service station, and the Jacksons have the clothing / thrift store. Sylvie had the bar, but that burned down six months ago. And there are a couple of two-star hotels lining the interstate on the edge of town for travelers. At this point, there’s not much left outside of the ranches and the church that functions as the town community center that no one visits.

“We’ll see,” I murmur before regrettably bringing my eyes up to Melanie, who at least has the decency to wait until Ma closes the bathroom door to start in on me.

“A sunset ride, huh?” She smirks.

“Shut up.”

“I’m just messing with you, Missy.” Melanie takes the spot next to me at the sink, grabbing a towel to dry dishes as I wash them. “Is he nice?”

“He’s…” Shit, I don’t know how to answer that. The truth is, I don’t know if he’s nice. I don’t know if he’s mean. What I do know is he’s got this fervency that makes my insides quiver. “Intense.”

“Intense?”

Sighing, I hand her a dish to dry. “I don’t know how to explain it. He practically vibrates with this raw, masculine energy. Even though I danced with a dozen guys last night, I was very aware of his eyes on me—watching me, ready to jump in and protect my honor should I need him.”

Melanie scoffs. “Honor? What honor?”

“Go fuck yourself, okay?” Hissing, I hand her the last dish and turn away from the sink, my hands dripping with suds as I stomp back to my room and slam my door shut.

My phone beeps with a missed message, but it rings as soon as I pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, babydoll. Did you sleep well?”

Smiling, I climb onto my bed and grab the giant panda bear one of our regulars gave me two years ago, clutching it to my chest. “Hi.”

“What’s wrong?” His voice deepens the slightest bit, and I can envision the downward tilt of his lips.

“Nothing.” I bite my lip as a touch of nerves hit my belly. Is he calling to cancel or ask me to drive to him? “Are you still coming today?”

“Five o’clock sharp. Now, tell me what’s bothering you.”

I shake my head, not that he can see me. “My sister’s giving me shit because I don’t know your name, age, or any of the basics she thinks I should know about a guy I’m going on a ride with.”

“I plan to tell all of that to you tonight, but if she needs to know now, I’ll send you a text with a picture of my license.”

“You’d do that?”

“I like that your family is concerned.”

Picking at a tattered corner of the bear’s paw, I shake my head again. “My sister isn’t concerned about me.”

“No? Is she jealous?”

I blink in surprise because it’s a possibility I never thought of before. “Maybe.”

“Hmmm. I’m not sure it’s your problem then.”

Good point. “I guess not.”

“I’m hitting the road in twenty minutes, so I’ll be unavailable until I get there.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“See you soon, babydoll.”

He hangs up and I lie back on my bed, a flurry of butterflies taking flight in my belly. In all my years of flirting and carrying myself like a confident badass, I’ve never had a guy go out of his way for me. Not one of them.

Every guy I’ve established a situationship with has benefitted from living in a big city—so it only made sense for me to drive to him. At least in San Antonio there are restaurants to go to, clubs to dance at, movie theaters to make out in and, of course, beds to fuck on.

Drak isn’t like any of those guys.

My phone beeps with a message and a picture of his driver’s license pops up on my screen.

Holden Drachmann, age 34, Maplewood TX, followed by a note:

Hope this helps put their minds at ease.

I roll off my bed, shed my PJs, wrap a towel around my torso, and grab my shower tote before exiting my bedroom.

From the kitchen, I hear Ma lecturing Melanie. “You need to adjust your attitude. The fact you met your one and only in a town this small was a miracle. Missy never had a chance going to a K through twelve school with only a handful of boys near her age. She’s doing the best she can with what she has and I can only hope she finds a way out of here someday, so she too can have a taste of happiness.”

Hearing this, I forgo showing them Drak’s driver’s license and turn to the bathroom to shower and get ready for my date because Ma is right, it’s about time I had a taste of happy and I’m going to nibble on a giant slab of it tonight.