Caden: Ride with Me

19. 19

Caden had a hard time getting the encounter with Olivia’s mom off his mind all day. No matter how frequently he pushed it from his head, it kept creeping in. It made work more challenging, but he managed to make it through with no major issues.

As he walked out of work, he dug out his phone and dialed Olivia, hoping she wouldn’t be asleep already.

“Hey,” came her voice over the line. “I was wondering if you’d call.”

“I said I would.” He looked out across the parking lot, wondering if continuing to see her would be the smartest idea. “You still up for me to come over or have you decided you just want a quiet night on your own?”

“I want you here, if you still want to come.” She sounded uncertain that he would want to be there.

That note in her voice, the one that made him think she wasn’t so sure he would still want to be with her, made him want to pull her into his arms and tell her how much he did want her. How much he needed her.

“I’ll be over in a few. I’m going to make a quick stop at my place.”

“Okay.” Her voice seemed small, unsure.

Caden hated hearing that in her voice. He assured her he wouldn’t be long, then rang off, put his phone away and stepped onto the bike. Had a couple of things to pick up at home, then he’d go make sure she was okay. He wasn’t sure what he would tell her about how he felt, hell, he wasn’t sure how he felt yet himself.

He did know that her mama wasn’t going to scare him off. Not from what Olivia made him feel. He liked that feeling, a lot. And it was worth a lot of grief to feel it more often. At least to him. Tomorrow he needed to reach out to the Kings, at least Cowboy and let him know what was going on. He might have brought more attention to the Kings from the Dickenson Police Department. Caden didn’t think it would be an issue, but he wanted to let the president know, just to be sure.

He made his stop by his house, gathering clean clothes and a few toiletries, as well as making sure everything was good there and nothing needed attention, then headed to Olivia’s. There was something, or rather someone, who needed attention there. And Caden couldn’t wait to see exactly what she needed.

It only took her a couple of moments to answer his knock. She stepped back and let him in without a word. Once he was inside though, she pushed the door shut and turned to him. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to see she needed a hug at least. Caden held his arms wide, and she stepped into them, her own arms wrapping around his waist as she buried her face against his chest. He wrapped his own arms around her and held her a moment as she relaxed against him.

“Rough day?” he asked after a moment.

She shook her head, face still buried against him, but didn’t speak for a moment, then picked her head up and looked up at him.

“Not too bad, not really. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I needed that. A lot.” She started to pull away, but he didn’t loosen his hold on her.

“I needed it more than I knew too.” He bent and dropped a soft kiss on her forehead then let his hold on her ease. She leaned against him for a moment longer, watching him, then stood.

“How was your day at work?” she asked, catching his hand and tugging her into the kitchen with her.

“Fine. Nothing worth comment really. It was work.” He lifted one shoulder in dismissal. “How about yours?”

“Same.” She quirked one corner of her mouth in a token wry smile, then released his hand, waving hers toward the table and chairs, indicating he should sit. She didn’t join him but went to the fridge. “Hungry?”

“I could eat, but only if you’re fixing something for yourself. I’m not starving and can wait. Don’t think you need to wait on me.”

“I don’t.” She looked up to smile at him. “I usually eat after I get home. I’m cooking for me too. I’m just trying to decide what sounds good.”

“I’m not picky. I’m sure whatever you decide on will be fine.”

“That’s the thing. I hate deciding what to make day after day after day. It would be worlds easier if someone would just tell me what they want, and I could fix it.”

“Fine then, how about scrambled eggs?”

“I thought you don’t like eggs?”

“Scrambled are tolerable. What I really don’t like is when they look like yellow eyeballs staring up at you from the plate.”

She glanced at him for a moment, wondering at his description then stared into the fridge, tilting her head to one side then straightening and nodding. “Eggs it is.” She pulled things from the fridge and put them on the counter before pulling down a bowl. “Do you like cheese in your eggs? And how do you feel about meat in them?”

“Just make them however you like them. I told you I’m not picky.”

She turned and looked at him a moment, then went back to what she was doing. He watched her, enjoying being in the same room with her, even if they weren’t touching or talking. Just having her nearby made him feel good.

Olivia worked quietly for a few minutes, then after she’d poured the eggs into the skillet, spoke.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“Work, of course. But before that I need to swing by Cowboy’s shop and talk to him. I’m not worried about your mom and her thing about the Kings, but I need to warn him that I may have stirred a bit of trouble. Not that she’ll find anything on the club, but I want him to know that we may be under some extra scrutiny for a while as she looks into what I said.”

Olivia didn’t reply, just nodded.

“What do you have going on tomorrow?”

“Not much. I have to do some chores around here. Wednesday is my laundry day and I try to get it all done before work, then I don’t have to waste a day off with it. So if you’re going to go to see Cowboy, I’ll probably go ahead and do that.”

She finished cooking and they sat together at the table and ate, talking about their day while they unwound.

“Tell me again why you think I care if you’re seeing the Chief of Police’s daughter?” Cowboy glanced up from the sketch of a bike he was working on, then looked back down at the page. They were in the office of his shop and Caden had spent the last five minutes explaining yesterday morning to his president.

“Because it may bring more scrutiny to the Kings from them.”

Cowboy sat up, laid down his pencil and leaned back in his chair. He watched Caden for several seconds, until Caden had to fight the urge to twitch or stretch, but resisted.

“Do you think the Kings have anything to worry about if the police department watches them more closely than they have been?” Cowboy’s voice was even but something in his tone set off warning bells in Caden’s head, but he couldn’t say why.

“No, not really, but I wanted to let you know. I’m not unaware that a large part of why Tank and the others were stripped of their patches was the things they were keeping from the club. I don’t want any thought that I’m trying to do anything similar.”

“I see.” Cowboy wove his fingers together and rested his hands on his stomach. “Do you think you’ve done anything wrong in any way here?”

Caden frowned. “You mean in seeing Olivia? No. Not at all. I haven’t even tried to keep it quiet or hide it from her mother. Hell. Our second date was her sister’s wedding where I met a good chunk of her family.”

“Wow.” Cowboy’s brows shot up. “That’s moving fast.”

“I didn’t see it that way. She thought it would be a lot of pressure for someone you’d barely started seeing, I saw it as less. I wasn’t personally invested in wanting them to like me, not yet.”

“And now?”

Caden lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Now? At least her dad and I get along. I think her mother will come around when she sees that there’s no more trouble coming for her from the Kings. At least that’s my hope.”

One corner of Cowboy’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “You know, a couple of months ago I probably would have given you shit about it, but now I’ll say that I hope she does. If you like this Olivia as much as it looks like you do, then I hope to hell her mother comes around. But it may be a long time before she does. Just be prepared for that.”

“I am. But if things go the way I think they’re going, I’ll be there to see it. And I’m looking forward to it.”

“Have you told her yet?”

“Told her what?” Caden frowned.

“That you love her.”

Caden opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out. Did he really? How had Cowboy known before he had? Caden shook his head not sure what else he could say at the moment.

“Need anything else from me?” Cowboy asked.

“No. I just wanted to let you know we may have more police attention for a while.”

“Thanks for that.” The tone was a little wry and Caden wasn’t sure if the sarcasm was for the warning or for earning them more attention. “I need to get back to this, if we’re done here?”

“No, that’s all. I’ll see you for the ride Saturday then?”

“See you then.” Cowboy turned his attention back to the design he was working on.

Caden left the shop, thinking about what his president and friend had revealed to him. He loved Olivia. But how to tell her? And he knew he had to tell her, it was just a question of when and how.