10. The gift
CHAPTER 10
THE GIFT
TRINITY- 4 YEARS LATER
“Are you sure you want to go there?” I asked Reesa as she got ready to head outside. We had seen the man hanging around Paramour’s parking lot on the security feed as we closed up for the night.
“I’m positive.”
“I’m sure he just came to ask your fine ass out on a date, but I can hang around until he does, if you’re not comfortable being out there with him alone.” I’d been around all the boys from the clubhouse in Sierra High off and on since I was 13, so it wasn’t like I didn’t trust them. Still, I knew about Walker’s shady past with his ex-wife and the stories that maybe he stalked her for a while after they divorced and he realized what he lost. Unlike everyone else, I also saw the aftermath and understood that he had gone from drinking and whoring himself out to every available woman to being the quiet guy in the corner who sipped on water and watched everyone else live their lives from the fringes. I didn’t think he was dangerous, but Reesa was my friend and it wasn’t something I was willing to take chances on.
I checked one more time as we walked out of Paramour and locked up, but Reesa swore up and down that she didn’t need me to stick around, so I headed to my trusty old Jeep and climbed inside. As my friend made her way to Walker, I took off. I made sure to text Hollywood first though.
Trinity: Walker is with Reesa at Paramour. If she doesn’t make it home safe and sound, I will hunt him down.
Hollywood: Noted. Pretty sure he has the best intentions, but check on her tomorrow.
That was a weird thing for him to say, but I heeded his advice. It made me wonder if Walker had pulled her aside to tell her he wasn’t interested after all. If that was the case, then I’d feel bad because I convinced her that he wanted to go out on a date with her. I should have known better than to meddle in other people’s love lives, considering I’d never had a successful one of my own.
I thought back to the day everything finally came to a head between Trouble and me. Bishop later told me that he sent me there to see if any sparks flew between his club brother and myself. He never admitted to why he wanted to play matchmaker so badly, but when I told him how everything went down, and how I was thinking about selling the house and moving on, he promised to keep Trouble away from me if I stayed. Considering he was the last of my family, I agreed, but held him to that promise. The rare few times I had to stop by the clubhouse for Hollywood or Shaina when she was up to no good, were the only times I was there. Trouble always kept his distance, and I always kept my attitude firmly in place. I knew why he kept his distance. His patch might not have been on the line, but they threatened to transfer him to another chapter if he harassed me in any way.
I wasn’t even certain why, after four years, I still managed to hold a grudge. The man was gorgeous as ever. The years had only been kinder to him. I couldn’t say the same for myself. I wasn’t ugly, but most days I had dark circles ringing my eyes when I left work. I’d been given more responsibility at Paramour, especially after I decided to stay and told them about my degree and the work I had done at Renegade Rosy’s in South Dakota. After Tash called Spinner to verify, she bumped me to management. Something was going on within the girls’ club, because there had been a renewed sense of tension anytime they had to come into the club to check on things. Still, it was a decent place to work. We had phenomenal security, the men never tried to follow us home, and the money was excellent. I still filled in on the stage some days when we were short on dancers, and let the assholes I went to school with eat their hearts out when they saw me, but knew they could never have me.
It was the ultimate karma. I was now their fantasy girl and they were stuck with their high school sweethearts turned teen moms and later their frumpy, frazzled wives. The fact that they were at Paramour, spending their family’s money rather than at home helping their wives, so they could get a break and catch their breath, should have made me feel better about being rejected so often in high school. I could have been one of those girls who spit out three kids before I was 25 and wondered why my husband was cheating on me. Instead, I skipped all that bullshit and stayed single, for the most part. There had been a bartender who came to town a couple years ago. We gave it a go for a while and lasted just about a year before he skipped back out of town the same way he had come into it.
Sadly, the man who still rocked my world in my dreams was nothing but trouble. I chuckled to myself as I drove down the lonely mountain road and thought about him. If only he hadn’t fucked up at every turn. Then again, I don’t think he was ever interested in me in any way, so I guess he didn’t really care that he messed up. Judging from the angry scowl he wore whenever we were in the vicinity, I wasn’t that far off the mark.
I pulled up to the house I had inherited from my dad and sent out a silent thank you to him once again. It turned out Bishop did still have something to give me, even though his matchmaking scheme hadn’t panned out. When my mother died, it came to light that my father had owned the house outright. He had kept it in his name only so that my mom could never do anything stupid, like sell it out from under us. When she passed away, Bishop discovered that the house had been placed in my name. He claimed that he never spoke to my father, that all the necessary paperwork came through a third party, but I wasn’t sure if I believed him or not.
“Where are you, Dad?” I harbored a certain amount of hurt feelings and anger toward my father, but the minute my mother passed away, I knew that I would give anything to hear from him again. I always thought something my mother had done kept him away. In my mind, the minute she was gone, he would sweep back into my life to try to make things right. I suppose, in a way, he did just that by making sure I got the house free and clear. I wouldn’t even have to pay inheritance tax on it, since he was alive and well out there somewhere.
I stared up at the house and wondered again why he never came back. Why give me this wonderful gift and then never even come say hello? Nothing made sense.