Jake (Demented Souls #16)

28

A fter eating in a small café, Heather enjoyed strolling down the street of the little town where they’d stopped for lunch. It was a pretty town, and she could tell, set up for tourism with a street full of trinket shops, cafes, and grills, all set up so you could park and hit them all without having to drive from one to another. It made for a great break from the road, whether on a bike or in a car.

“This is nice. How did you find it?” she asked, knowing he hadn’t been on the ranch all that long.

“Talon mentioned it when I suggested we take the Arizona chapter to Rushmore.”

“Is that why you had him lead us into town? Because it was his idea?”

“No, that was because he’s familiar with the town. He grew up not far from here. It just made sense for him to get us parked rather than have me wander around hunting for a good space where we would all fit.”

She nodded, watching the windows of the stores they passed.

“Seeing something you want?” Aaron asked when she stopped to peer in a window for a moment.

“Not really, just wanted a better look at something.”

“We can go inside and look.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m good. But thank you.” She didn’t have a lot of cash left and she didn’t want to spend it if she didn’t need to. She had taken Matt’s warning not to use her credit or debit card’s to heart and hadn’t touched them since that night in Tennessee when he’d had her get all the cash she could.

Heather didn’t know if Mitch or any of those jerks he’d been mixed up with were still looking for her, but just in case, she wasn’t going to make it any easier for them than she had to. If that meant not buying a few little trinkets she didn’t need anyway, she could do it.

As they made their way back to where they’d parked the bikes, she watched Aaron’s face and wondered what he was thinking. He’d been nothing but fun, nothing but great to be with and she wondered if he was always like this or was it a face he was putting on for her.

She had no doubts that he had a hard side, nearly everyone did. But was it something he only dipped into when he needed to, or was it something he worked hard to keep hidden?

“What you thinking, Lynnie?” he asked when he noticed her watching him.

His use of his twist on her middle name sent sparks of heat through her, though she couldn’t have pinpointed why. Could it be because he was the only one who used the name? or just because it was him? Things between them had moved faster than she’d planned, not that she regretted it. He’d made her feel things the night before that she couldn’t say she’d ever felt before.

“Just thinking about you,” she said, still watching him as they walked hand in hand.

He shot her a frown, and she wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t believe her or he didn’t think he was worth her thoughts.

“You ready to get back on the bike?” He watched her as he asked.

“I am.” She assumed he was looking for any sign she wasn’t being truthful with him, but she didn’t have to hide what she was feeling. She hadn’t lied earlier when she’d said his bike was more comfortable than Matt’s. She didn’t know if that was on purpose or not, but it made her wonder how many other women Aaron had on the back of his bike. She hadn’t wondered that about Matt’s not because of how uncomfortable it was, but because she’d been on the bikes for different reasons. Matt, she expected to have had several women and didn’t care. She was only there as a relative who needed help. But things were different with Aaron.

The more she thought about Aaron, his bike and who he might have had on it in the past, the more agitated she got so she did her best not to think about it.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” She shook her head. She didn’t want to get into it now. Maybe not ever. He wasn’t the kind to lie to her, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know if there had been others where she was now. Right now, it was too much. If there had been others, did that mean she would be just as short lived? Or if there hadn’t been, did that mean something else? She wasn’t sure which she wanted, or which she could handle at the moment, so better to put off the discussion she was sure was coming, but still wasn’t ready for.

“Come on, Lynnie. If you can’t talk to me, who can you talk to?”

She watched him for a moment then took a deep breath and let it out in a rush trying to push her worries out of her mind. “It’s nothing, really. Just me over thinking things. Give me a bit with it. If I can’t get past it on my own, I’ll talk to you, okay?”

“I can live with that.” He continued along the sidewalk beside her, swinging their joined hands between them. “How long?”

“How long what?” she asked with a frown.

“How long until you share it with me if you can’t figure it out?”

She blinked, not sure she’d heard him right, then playing it over again. He wasn’t asking just to make her feel better. He wanted to know what was on her mind. He cared. He cared enough to give her time and wanted to know when he could ask again.

“Can you give me until tomorrow?”

Aaron tugged her to a stop, turned to look at her before cupping her cheek with a free hand. She met his gaze and the world around them seemed to fade until the only things that mattered were the two of them.

“Lynnie, I’d wait until the end of time for you. Please try to be patient with me. I’m just a rough, crass biker, but if you let me, I’d set the world on fire to take care of you.”

Heather had to lock her knees to keep from falling as they wanted to go weak. When had anyone ever said something so freaking perfect to her? Never. That’s when.

Was she ready for this? Were her second thoughts, her doubts because she wasn’t ready to let go and trust someone? That’s what she’d have to figure out. Hopefully, before he asked again tomorrow. Because the last thing she wanted to do was lose the one person she’d been waiting on for most of her life.