Chapter Ten
CHAPTER TEN
“ Let’s get your keys.” Owen unlocked the back door of the bar, flipping on lights. The lockers were along the wall of a short hallway to the kitchen. Keeley went to hers and opened it. She held up her keys like a prize. “This makes me feel like such a loser. The keys were on the shelf when I grabbed my purse and I didn’t even see them.”
“ You found them now. Let’s go.”
As they exited the building again, he asked her, “Is Josie still bothering you?”
Keeley shrugged. “Tonight was my first shift since ‘the incident.’” She used her fingers to make air quotes. “She’s giving me the silent treatment. That’s a whole lot better than how she was Sunday.”
“ She’s giving me the silent treatment too, because I didn’t let her give me a blow job when I gave her a ride the other night.” He stopped under the wash of light from the lamppost. “She pulls anything with you again, tell me right away. First time it happens, not after you’re bruised and ready to take her down.”
Owen jammed his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching for her. The urge to pull her into him and hold tight had him biting back an expletive. He was losing his fucking mind if he was fantasizing about hugging her.
As if sensing his tension, she suddenly looked dispirited. Her usual sunny optimism being replaced by sad eyes was a kick in the balls .
“ Thanks for letting me back in for my keys. Um, listen, Owen, I’m sorry I’m a pain in the butt. I know you feel obligated to keep an eye on me. You’ve been really kind to my parents, and it seems that’s put an extra burden on you concerning me. I’m grateful as well as sorry.”
“ That’s bullshit.”
“ No, it’s not. Friday night Mom asked you to leave your business to get me and you did that. Saturday you took care of my car. Then you gave me a job when I needed one. At least working for you means I’m giving something back. But tonight you risked your life and injured your arm protecting me when a kid tried to steal my purse.”
Her lips moved into a ghost of a smile. “That’s a lot when you’ve never had particularly friendly feelings toward me to begin with. You don’t want my gratitude, I know that. But like I said once before, you have it anyway. But you’ve gone farther than needed to satisfy any kind of obligation to my parents. Going forward, I can take care of myself. You don’t have to look after me, and I won’t be a pain in your butt.”
“ That’s still bullshit.”
“ You have a charming way with words.”
Goddammit. He tipped his head back briefly to stare at the night sky, his jaw clamped shut to keep the string of profanity from spewing from his mouth.
She thought he didn’t like her. The irony wasn’t lost on him.
He was looking out for her in more ways than protecting her from physical danger. By keeping his hands off her he was saving her from heartache and misery.
If he was a lucky enough bastard to find she could love him, it wouldn’t last because he’d destroy that love.
What Sawyer and Walker had that made them good husbands? He didn’t have it.
He’d been a husband, been a father, and fucked up so badly he’d destroyed two lives. The gut-wrenching failures he’d left in his wake were huge red-letter evidence he posed an innate threat to any woman willing to risk a relationship with him.
He couldn’t explain any of that to her, and it didn’t matter. Nothing would stop him from continuing to watch after her as he’d been doing. She’d just have to deal.
They crossed the parking lot to her car. “How was the pie?”
“ Gone.”
“ Right.”
He sighed. “It was good, princess. Really good.” Best pie he’d ever tasted.
She raised a brow. “You called me Keeley earlier.”
“ I’ve called you Keeley lots of times.”
She shook her head. “Not before tonight. For some reason you think I’m snooty and snobby.”
“ What the hell? I don’t think that.”
“ A princess is snooty and snobby. You might have said my name when talking to someone else, but I don’t remember you ever actually calling me by my name. Until tonight.”
“ Don’t read anything into it.”
He thought he heard her mumble “heaven forbid” before he took the keys dangling from her fingers to unlock her car before handing them back. “Get in. Don’t leave until I’m behind you in the Bronco. I’m following you home.”
He didn’t miss the eyeroll as she slid into her seat and shut the door. The window rolled down. “Didn’t you hear a word I said? You don’t have to look out for me anymore.”
“ I heard. Now you hear me. I’m not only following you home, I’m waiting until you get in your house, and then I’m testing the fucking door to make sure it’s locked.”
She opened her mouth to reply. Owen braced his arms on the door frame and leaned into her space. His was coming off too intense, but he couldn’t help it.
“ You’ve had your tires slashed. Your dad saw someone outside your house in the middle of the night, and tonight a punk kid, whom you knew, pulled a knife on you. Something is going on, Keeley , and until we figure out what that is, and all threats associated with you have been neutralized, I’m not standing down. Deal with it.”
***
Keeley parked her CRV on Main Street and spotted Delaney across the street. She waited for a break in traffic to cross. A few shop owners had planted clay pots with pansies of deep purple, blue, and yellow, an optimistic decision since spring still hadn’t fully sprung. But today was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly, so maybe the warmer weather would stick around this time. One of her favorite views, the still-snowy peak of Payback Mountain, gleamed against the deep blue sky.
She joined Delaney and they meandered along the wooden boardwalk past an eclectic mix of shops. The boardwalk was a relic from the town’s early gold mining days. The city maintained them as well as the historic buildings to preserve the old-timey atmosphere.
Keeley needed a distraction. Images from the night before kept buzzing around her head: the knife gleaming in Fernando’s hand, Owen looking like the wrath of God as he’d taken down her attacker in a flying tackle, and the feeling of his warm skin against her lips when she’d kissed his cheek.
Then there was the realization nothing had really changed between her and Owen. While she worried she had hearts in her eyes whenever she looked at him, he still saw her as an obligation.
How was she going to kill her crush with Owen throwing himself into danger to protect her?
No matter that he was predisposed to being a protector and would have done the same for anyone, she had the sinking feeling that her crush was on a fast dive into something deeper. She wasn’t too eager to examine the full extent of her feelings when Owen insisted on keeping his distance .
Except… There’d been that brief moment when he’d cradled her face in his hands, when his eyes had burned with a hunger that had made her heart yearn.
She didn’t know what to make of that moment.
Maybe it’d been her imagination creating what she wanted and ignoring reality. He hadn’t denied her assertion that he was looking out for her as a favor to her parents, but there’d been something about his touch that made it hard to extinguish all remnants of hope.
The grapevine worked fast and news of the night’s events had reached Delaney. Thankfully her friend had restrained herself and let Keeley sleep until nine before calling.
Finally satisfied after Keeley’d gone over every detail of the evening, they’d agreed to meet in town.
Their destination was Retro Days, the shop run by their friend Mateo’s mom, Antonia, which carried an eclectic mix of late mid-century furniture, housewares, toys, and miscellaneous other items.
Delaney stood with her hands on her hips. “What is it we’re looking for?”
“ Vinyl records. Dad grew up in the late sixties and seventies when rock music was big. There’s an old turntable in the attic, and I thought if I found vintage albums he’d enjoy listening to the music.”
“ You know any of the streaming services would have all the music from that era he could want.”
“ I know, but according to Mom, when they were dating he’d pull out his records and play them for her. She gave me a list of some of his favorites. His doctor said tapping into solid old memories is sometimes helpful with Alzheimer’s patients.”
“ I can see that. Okay, we’ll look for record albums. What happened to his collection?”
“ I guess when CDs debuted, he embraced the new technology and got rid of his records. Too bad.”
Delaney pulled open the door, the bell above it making a tinkling sound. Speakers played The Doors intoning that this was the end. Entering Retro Days was like stepping onto the set of an old TV show.
At the counter with a customer, Antonia waved with her usual smiling friendliness. “Hello, girls,” she sang. “We’ve got a lot of new old things in. Have a look around.”
“ Oh, my gosh, look at this, Delaney.” Keeley pulled her friend to a display of vintage toys and books. “Nancy Drew books with the yellow spine. My mom has the complete set.”
“ We spent that one summer reading nothing but Nancy Drew, remember?” Delaney picked up a doll with bright orange hair. “Do you remember Trolls? I wonder if they still make these.”
They were browsing through bins of action figures when Antonia approached.
“ Good thing you two came in, because I thought I’d have to hunt Delaney down.” Antonia looked amazing in a top with a vibrantly colored flower-power design paired with bell-bottom jeans and chunky boots. Her long black hair was shot with streaks of silver.
She stood with her arms crossed but couldn’t hold the stern look. She broke out in a beaming grin when she took Delaney into a hug. “I heard the news. How are you feeling?”
“ I’m fine,” Delaney shrugged, “except for my now tender boobs. I swear they grew a size overnight, which, by my husband’s behavior, is a fascinating development. Other than that, I wouldn’t know I’m pregnant.”
“ You and Walker will be the best parents,” Antonia assured her. “This whole town is abuzz with the news you and your sisters are all pregnant at the same time. Do we have due dates?”
Delaney shook her head. “Nothing official. None of us has gone to the doctor yet, but by our calculations we’re all due in the weeks before Christmas.”
Antonia put her hands to her cheeks. “Holiday babies. Oh, that will be wonderful. Clara must be over the moon. ”
“ She is. We FaceTimed her with the news. She’s got another two weeks on her trip. I think she’s a little anxious to be home and assure herself that we’re all well.”
“ Of course she is. That’s only natural.” Antonia turned to Keeley. “And what’s this I hear about you, young lady?”
“ Me? I’m not having a baby.”
“ Not a baby but, ooh la la, you’ve got one handsome boyfriend. That Owen Hardesty is both a good man and a good-looking man. Three months ago, someone broke into my store. Do you know what they took? Legos. I had two vintage Lego sets and they stole them, as well as three G.I. Joe dolls still in their original boxes. Hunky Owen helped me put in a security system with an alarm and cameras. He suggested I put tracking devices on my more valuable inventory, which I’ve done. He looks after our community.”
“ They’re a cute couple,” Delaney added, her eyes dancing with delight.
Keeley held up her hand. She could feel her cheeks growing warm. “Sorry to quell the rumor, but Owen and I are not together.”
“ Oh.” Antonia looked deflated.
“ I wouldn’t write them off,” Delaney remarked. “Get those two together and you can practically see the sexy vibes bouncing between them. It’s only a matter of time.”
That perked Antonia up. “Sexy vibes are an excellent start.” The bell over the door chimed and two older men entered the store. “Let me see if I can help these gentlemen. You girls have fun poking around.”
A half hour later they walked out having found three classic rock albums from the list of artists Abby had provided.
“ Let’s go to Three Sisters. I’m jonesing for a cinnamon roll,” Delaney suggested. “Hey, do you think I’m having a pregnancy craving? Walker will have to run into town every other day if my pregnancy craving is Rico’s cinnamon rolls.”
“ Cam makes really good cinnamon rolls too,” Keeley reminded her .
“ True. Her apple pie cinnamon rolls are to die for. Once we open for the season, that’ll work. I have to plan ahead for these things.”
“ Okay, friend, let’s go. Even if it’s not pregnancy related, we can still get cinnamon rolls.”
“ True story.”
They walked the short distance down Main Street and stepped into the heavenly smells of Three Sisters Bakery with its wondrous blend of coffee, cinnamon, and baking bread.
As they stepped in, a dark-haired woman with a little girl was heading toward the door.
Delaney stopped short. “Melanie?”
The woman’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh my god. Delaney? And Keeley?”
Melanie continued to clutch the little girl’s hand as she gave the women one-armed hugs. “I can’t believe I ran into you two. I was trying to get up the nerve to call you.” She looked flustered. “This is my daughter Adelyn.”
She put a hand on Adelyn’s shoulder. “Addy, these are friends from when Grandma and I lived here before you were born. This is Miss Delaney, and this is Miss Keeley.”
“ Hi there, Addy.” Keeley smiled at the little girl. She guessed Addy to be around five years old. She had a sturdy little body, and shared her mom’s dark hair and brown eyes.
“ I love the sparkly unicorn on your shirt,” Delaney said.
“ It’s an alicorn because it has wings.” When she spoke, Addy showed a gap where she’d lost her two bottom baby teeth.
“ Really?” Delaney cocked her head. “I’ve never heard of an alicorn.”
“ They’re mythical creatures. I like reading about mythical creatures.”
“ Me too.” Delaney grinned.
“ Are you living in Sisters now?” Keeley asked Melanie.
Melanie ran a hand down her daughter’s braid. She cleared her throat before responding .
“ We’re visiting but are thinking about moving back to Sisters. Mom moved to live close by when Addy was a baby, but I know she’d like to come back here.” She shook her head. “I guess it’s the perspective of age, but when I was a kid, I didn’t appreciate that Sisters is truly a beautiful little town.” She glanced at Delaney and squared her shoulders. “I got your email, Delaney. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. I heard you and Walker got married. I’m so glad.” The words came out in a rush. “I hate that I had anything to do with separating you two or his wrongful imprisonment.”
“ I know we’d like to better understand what happened.”
Melanie seemed to give herself a shake. “I’ve got to get. We’re in town with my mom. Addy and I came in here while she’s meeting up with a friend. We’re heading back home to Stockton this afternoon.” She turned to address Delaney. “I know we need to talk. Maybe we can set something up, with Walker too, if he’d like. I think we all want to understand what happened back then. I can’t this trip, but soon.” She looked down at her daughter. “Mom and I both want to move back to Sisters, and if we can make that happen, it’ll be this summer so Addy can start kindergarten here in the fall.”
Delaney nodded. “Let’s exchange numbers so we can stay in touch.”
***
Keeley spent the afternoon hanging out with her dad. She brought down the turntable from the attic and they played the records she’d bought. They sang along with Mick and the boys while Iggy gave up watching squirrels in exchange for the spinning turntable.
Keeley enjoyed her dad’s laughter as Iggy’s head spun around following the record. She stroked the orange cat, making him purr, while listening to her dad’s story of him and three college friends driving through the night to attend a music festival featuring The Band. Which was great until he’d insisted he wanted to call one of those friends. Reminding him the friend had passed away was awful. It was like he was losing him for the first time.
Her mom came home from the library, which gave Keeley half an hour to change and get to Easy Money.