Chapter Seven
Cathy glanced around the bar, and she loved the atmosphere. There was a large Christmas tree in the corner, and so many fairy lights hung around the main bar. There were several people there from town, and a lot of bikers.
She sat at the bar, where Brick had left her, to take care of some business. Willow had already gotten her a beer, and she’d been sipping at it for the past ten minutes. It was strange, as she felt incredibly festive.
Cookies filled the plates that were dotted around the bar, and across the tables. Everyone always seemed to be on their best behavior. She knew Storm’s Bar had gone through many changes over the years, some of them good, some of them not so good. There had been rumors of the place being sold or shut down.
Willow’s dad had been the one to keep it going, and Cathy had no doubt he’d be so proud of what Willow was doing with the place. It felt warm and cozy.
“You can enjoy the cookies,” Willow said, coming back to the bar. “One of Rebel’s pet peeves is men and women who do not wash their hands. If you use the toilet, you’ll see someone waiting, and they’re going to tell you to wash your hands.”
Cathy couldn’t help but laugh, and she reached for one.
“Also, they are changed every night.”
“What brand are these?”
“I don’t buy them, I bake them.”
“You bake?”
Willow nodded. “There are a lot of things I do now that I didn’t do before.”
Cathy frowned.
“I had a kid, a baby girl, and it’s like your channel. I never used to watch it. Don’t be upset.”
This time, she chuckled. “I’m not upset. I know not everyone wants to watch a woman talking about makeup and the latest hot beauty product.” She took a bite of the cookie, and it tasted better than she thought it would.
“Yeah, well, I’ve had a daughter, and I want to be able to tell her everything and teach her.”
Cathy didn’t know the whole story, just the gossip and rumor about Willow’s parents. Her mother left abruptly, and it was the divorce papers that sent her father over the edge, drinking heavily. He’d been known to always be drunk and rarely had time for his daughter.
She was not going to ask questions about the other woman’s past.
“These are good,” Cathy said.
“Thanks. For Christmas, I figure overload them with cinnamon and chocolate chips.”
Cathy laughed.
“So, how are things going with you and Brick?” Willow asked.
“They’re, uh, they’re going good, I think.” This had to be the longest conversation she and Willow ever had.
“Look, I don’t know what the deal is between the two of you. I don’t know if it’s a good time you’re both after, or something else. Either way, I want you both to be happy.”
She wasn’t exactly sure what Willow meant.
“Brick’s looking to settle down,” Willow said. “He’s not after a good time, at least not with what he told me recently. He’s wanting the wife, the kid, the married life.”
“Oh,” Cathy said, and she tried to glance around the bar, but she couldn’t see him.
“He hasn’t told you?”
She shook her head.
“Crap. Look, I don’t know what this means, but don’t play with him, okay? I know you’ve got your own shit going on with your sister and your family, and that ex of yours. Brick’s a good guy. He’ll be there for you no matter what.”
“It’s nice to hear you care for him.”
“But?”
“There’s no but. I’ve got nothing else to say.” She held her hands up in surrender. “It is what it is, but I guess Brick is not looking to settle down with me, because he hasn’t said a word about it,” she said.
Cathy tried not to let that upset her. Brick could do what he wanted. If she wasn’t the woman he wished to spend his life with, then that was fine. She’d been through a great deal of rejection in her life, and experiencing a little more was not going to be a problem for her.
She stood from the bar. “I’m just going to the ladies’ room. Don’t worry, I’ll wash my hands.” She tried to keep it light and easy. At that moment, all she wanted to do was run and scream, but she couldn’t do that either.
There were so many men from the club, Brick’s club, and she didn’t want any of them, or Willow, to give him a message that his date was having a meltdown. Walking to the bathroom, she stepped inside, and sure enough, there was a guy near the door, but with perfect sight toward the sinks to force everyone to wash their hands.
Cathy was sure to give him a smile and quickly rushed past him to go into the stall. She didn’t need to use them, but she closed and locked the cubicle door, took a seat, and then looked toward the metal door.
Brick was looking for someone to be with full-time. He’d not mentioned anything to her about settling down or being with her longer than through Christmas. They hadn’t talked about the future. They hadn’t even talked about the fact they were having unprotected sex, and now she didn’t know what to do.
Did she talk to him? Did she warn him there was a chance she could get pregnant? She didn’t want to be one of those women accused of trapping him in a relationship he didn’t want.
Running fingers through her hair, she dropped her head to her knees and took several deep breaths. This was hard. She didn’t know what to do or say next. What did Brick want? Nothing made any sense to her.
“Hey, babe, are you okay?”
She lifted her head at the sound of Brick’s voice.
“Brick?”
“Yeah, I went to the bar and you weren’t there, and Willow said this is where you’ve been.”
“Oh, uh, yeah, hello.” She got to her feet, slid open the lock, and opened the door. Part of her expected the words to just flow right out of her, to come out and ask him, but instead she struggled. She didn’t know what to say to him.
He looked so sexy with his hair slicked back from where he’d been running his fingers through. His dark eyes stared back at her intensely.
“Is there room for two in there?” Brick asked.
She stepped back and he slid into the cubicle.
“Willow said you looked a little upset?” he asked.
“I’m not upset.” She folded her arms beneath her chest, trying to give herself some comfort. In the back of her mind, she was trying to figure out what to say to him, if she should tell him the truth. “How was your club … thing?”
“Good, it’s all good.” He reached out toward her, grabbing her hips. Cathy knew she should stop this, that she should get them to talk about what they were doing.
Instead, it was so easy to be pulled into his warm embrace and not even think about the future, to just live in the now.
****
A fresh layer of snow had fallen overnight and through the next morning. The Christmas festival was still on, but it did advise everyone to walk into the main town. Brick was excited as he left the bike, and he held out his arm for Cathy to take.
He’d hoped to go to the festival the previous night, but Rebel had called and club business had needed to be resolved, and he’d taken care of it. Now, he was back to focusing on Cathy. He didn’t like the fact that she was a little different. It wasn’t in a nasty bitch way, just subtly, where he could tell something was very wrong with her.
She didn’t stop kissing him. She didn’t stop being with him. That hadn’t changed.
Her smile was still the sweetest, but years of having to survive, he’d been able to read body language, and Cathy’s was screaming, badly, but he didn’t know why. And he didn’t know if he should ask her or not.
“How was your day?” he asked.
After spending the night with her, he did have to leave this morning, and they’d missed breakfast. Cathy had said she was going to film today.
Glancing at her face, he saw that she wore a small amount of makeup, which she had declared was her “no makeup, makeup look.” He didn’t know what to say to that. It was her thing, and he found when he wasn’t in her company and dealing with shit, he’d be watching videos from her channel.
He saw why she was popular, thoroughly entertaining, and above all else, she told the truth. Whenever a product didn’t work, she was open and honest about it. The truth was, he didn’t give a fuck about blush or bronzer, or something called a primer. Again, these were words that flew right over his head, but Cathy knew it all.
“Are you sure you want to go to this thing?” Cathy asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” He also wanted to be there when her parents turned up. Brick had listened to the message they had left yesterday, warning her about being mean to her sister, or cruel, and that she should be happy for Tiffany.
He was done listening to all the bullshit. Brick didn’t know what world they were in, but Cathy was the victim in this. Her sister had stolen her boyfriend, not the other way around. He was tired of listening to the crap, and he was going to put an end to it tonight. No one was going to mess with his woman.
Cathy was his woman and he wasn’t going to let her go. The truth was, he’d pretty much decided this a few minutes after she walked into the bar, less than a week ago. Brick still couldn’t believe he’d known this woman less than a week and was already willing to do whatever necessary to protect her, to be with her.
Running his arm across her shoulders, he pulled her in close. He pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Do you really think I would give up the chance of enjoying some eggnog? Possibly winning you a big, cuddly teddy bear? The advertisement promised games. It promised festivity and fun.” He pressed his lips against her ear. “And I intend to start here and end back at your place. You and me, having a bit of fun and games. What do you say?”
“Well, when you say it like that, how can a woman refuse?”
“That’s the spirit.”
They walked into town, and Brick was not surprised to see it busy. Willow had warned him that the Christmas festival could be a lot of fun, but also very busy every year, which was why she stayed at the bar.
There were multiple games, some of them Christmas themed, that you saw at regular fairs, but the stands had been changed. Lots of food and alcohol were on display. There were also small stalls for homemade trinkets.
The town was buzzing. Festive music was in full swing.
“Wow,” he said.
Cathy giggled. “It’s a lot to take in. I tend to start from one side and work my way up, and then back down. Trust me, it is so easy to get distracted.”
At the very first stand, festive hot dogs were on offer, and he was more than happy to sign up for the cranberry ketchup. He bought them both a hot dog, and then they made their way up the first side of the fair.
Every now and then, he stopped to buy a few items for the guys, a little something for Willow, and Rebel. Something for the bar. He then bought himself and Cathy a large cookie with festive sprinkles all over. They got to the end of the row and the scent of chestnuts was overpowering. Brick bought them some chestnuts.
Each time he pulled out his wallet, Cathy offered to pay, and each time she did, he turned her down. There was no way his woman was paying for a damn thing. This was all on him.
Just as they were making their way down the other side and toward the end, he got the opportunity to win Cathy a large teddy bear. It was a shooting game, aiming the water at Scrooge’s mouth. The cocky little shit manning the stand didn’t know who he was dealing with.
Throughout it all, he loved that he got Cathy to laugh. Of course, she won the biggest prize, and he was more than happy to carry it.
They’d been at the festival for over two hours, and now it was time to leave. Not once had they encountered her parents, which pissed him off. He was more than happy to give them a taste of their own medicine.
“Now, that was fun. Is it odd that I suddenly feel like getting back to your place, unloading all of this, and starting my wrapping? I fucking hate wrapping. This is why I don’t get gifts.”
She burst out laughing. “You don’t like to wrap?”
“Hell, no. What is the point in wrapping a gift with paper, when Christmas morning, it’s going to be torn off? Have you ever spent time looking over your wrapped gift, thinking, ‘oh, look at how beautiful and delicate that wrapping is.’”
He loved her laugh and the slight chuckle to her voice as she responded.
“Now that you mention it, no, I don’t. I never even thought of it, but you’re right.”
“I bet this is why they invented gift bags. You just slip that gift right inside and don’t even have to worry about a fucking thing. It’s ace. Shit, when does the gift bag shop open?”
“Tomorrow—”
“Cathy Newman! It is about time you decided to show up.”
At the high-pitched sound, Brick looked toward that general direction in time to see two older people, as well as Tiffany, and there was also a guy dressed in what appeared to be a very expensive coat.
Tiffany looked smug.
The guy looked bored and a little uncomfortable.
Her parents looked pissed off.
Brick looked at Tiffany, and she had not seen him immediately, but when she did, she paled. Clearly, she didn’t expect Cathy to have backup.
“Mom, Dad,” Cathy said.
“Ah, so here are your parents,” Brick said.
They had their hands full, and rather than look like idiots at the fair, they’d decided to wait for Cathy right outside her home. Bastards!
“I wondered when I was going to meet you,” Brick said, looking from the mother to the father. “I mean, once Tiffany came, trying to talk shit to Cathy, she did warn me that the tale would get turned.” He tutted. “I better warn you to expect an invoice from Cathy as well for that engagement party. You know, the one she paid for, organized, and was kicked out of.”
He looked at them, and then he turned to the guy that had dumped Cathy, and he simply shook his head.
“What the fuck, dude?” he asked. “You would seriously pass this treasure for a two-bit whore?”
The gasps were audible.
“What’s the matter? The truth hurts?” Brick asked and snorted. “You want to tell them, or should I?” He looked at Tiffany. “Your precious older daughter decided to pay me a visit today.” He turned to look at Cathy. “The call I got this morning was down to an emergency, because your sister decided to show up at the clubhouse at the back of Storm’s Bar. She demanded to see me and wouldn’t leave. Threatened to call the cops and accuse the brothers of rape. Don’t even try to lie, we’ve got it all caught on tape. Anyway, I went to see what the trouble was, and your dear, darling daughter decided she wanted to fuck her sister’s man. You see, I do belong to her sister.” He tutted. “Like I told her, I don’t mess with nasty pussy, and besides, I’m claimed by her sister now, and this is not going to happen.”
He took a deep breath as he allowed that to sink in.
“And as for you two, treating your daughter like a fucking bank. Making her pay for her ex and her sister, all the time accusing her of being difficult. You fucking pieces of shit. You, your daughter, and that fucker are in the wrong. Now, unless Cathy wants to speak to you, I suggest you do so when I’m not around. Cathy can be nice to you. You’re her family and she loves you, but I sure as fuck will not. Also, if you even try to threaten me, I’ve killed people for less, so I suggest you get gone.”