Chapter 8
Chapter eight
Shane
Still thinking about Melissa’s cryptic text from earlier, I cautiously pressed the metal edge of the gouge against the wood spinning on the lathe.
This was the fourth table leg I had machined today, and I moved with practiced efficiency, shaving away big layers of wood to get the approximate shape I needed.
As the shavings fell away, I brushed aside thoughts of Melissa’s text and focused instead on the dangerous piece of machinery spinning just millimeters from my bare fingers.
I hadn’t had an accident in years, but all it took was one moment of carelessness to send me back to the ER.
Knowing how much Melissa loved every bit of me, I wasn’t in any rush to scar up even the smallest part.
Movement in my periphery interrupted my workflow.
I finished what I was doing and then back away from the lathe, making sure to keep my tool and hands clear.
I glanced in the direction of the movement and found my new apprentice patiently waiting.
I turned off the lathe and set aside my tools before removing my safety glasses and ear plugs. “Yeah?”
“You’ve got a customer in the office.”
I frowned and checked my watch. I had an appointment on the books for three, but that was hours away. I didn’t usually get walk-ins so it must have been something important.
I brushed wood shavings and sawdust from my arms as I crossed the shop.
I wrenched open the door that connected my larger workspace to the smaller front office space.
Joanna, my longtime receptionist, was still on her lunch break.
She took an extra hour on Fridays to enjoy her grandkids, and I looked the other way when she came back an extra thirty minutes late.
When I walked into my office, I stopped short as I recognized my visitor. White hair. Deep brown skin. Thick handlebar mustache. Eddie Barajas. Melissa’s dad.
Well.
Shit.
“Eddie?” I greeted him with a smile and held out my hand. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.”
The older man gripped my hand like a vise. He had spent his entire life working on engines and cars, and his body showed it. Even nearing seventy, he was all muscle and meanness. Part of that was a holdover from his years in the Marines.
“The fundraiser for Mike’s grandkid,” Eddie said, releasing my hand. “You rode with us.”
I nodded. Like most bikers, I was part of the wider community and came together anytime someone needed help. “How’s that kid doing?”
“Really well,” Eddie said, his attention returning to the design on the draft table in the corner of my office. “He’s finished his chemo. He’s going back to school, but from his house. Homebound or something like that. Melissa explained it to me when I asked.”
At the mention of his daughter, I held my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Eddie stared at the drawing of the table I envisioned in Melissa’s dining room, and I knew that he would recognize Melissa’s house from my sketch. There was no hiding it now.
“I’ve been telling her to replace that awful dining room table for years,” Eddie remarked, using his rough old hands to move the designs around and get a better look at them. “I’m shocked it didn’t come with termites.”
“I’m going to try to incorporate some of the salvageable wood in the new table.”
Eddie nodded. “That’s thoughtful.” He turned slowly, pinning me in place with that soul-burning dad stare. “It’s what I would expect from a boyfriend.” He let the word hang in the air. “Which I assume is what’s happening here.”
“It is.” There it was out in the open now. “We’re dating.”
“I thought so.” Eddie clicked his teeth. “Is there a reason you’re sneaking around with her?”
“I’m not sneaking.” I bristled at the insinuation. “I’m not hiding it, and neither is she.”
“That’s true,” Eddie allowed. “Your truck and bike have been parked in front of her house most nights this week. Her car has been parked in front of yours the other nights.”
I frowned. “Are you following her?”
Eddie huffed. “If I was, that’s my prerogative. She’s my kid. My only kid.” He ran his fingers through his full white hair. “I drive by her place on my way home. I usually stop in if she’s there, but she’s had company, so I kept driving.”
“Oh.” Guilt soured my gut. “Well, don’t let my presence stop you from visiting your daughter.”
Eddie made a face. “We’re both grown-ups here. I think you know why I’m not keen on dropping in unexpectedly.”
The tips of my ears burned. He had a point there. In fact, if he had any idea of the absolutely filthy things I had been doing to his daughter, he would probably drag me into my woodshop and grab the first heavy tool he could find to beat me black and blue.
“Is that what this is?” Eddie asked guardedly. “Just some fun the two of you are having?”
“Not to me,” I answered without hesitation. “It’s real for me. She’s it for me, Eddie. The one. The only one.”
Eddie’s mouth settled into a grim. “Well, you’re not the man I would have chosen for her—.”
“I know I’m not the man any father would want for his daughter,” I interjected, fully aware of my shortcomings. “I’ve done some terrible shit, but I paid my dues. I’ve made amends and—.”
“If you’d let me finish,” Eddie cut in gruffly.
I shut up and nodded stiffly.
“You’re not the man I would have chosen for her,” Eddie repeated, “but the man I approved of before you was a monster.” Pain crossed his face.
Regret. Guilt. “I should have seen it. I should have recognized Cade was cruel and nasty and mean. I didn’t see it because I was so fooled by the face he showed the world.
Smart. Polished. Ambitious. Driven. I thought she couldn’t do any better than a doctor.
” Eddie sadly shook his head. “I couldn’t have been more wrong. ”
“I won’t hurt her, Eddie.” I needed him to know that. “I won’t let anyone else hurt her either.”
Eddie seemed taken aback. “I know you won’t, Shane.”
“I don’t know how long she’ll let me stay in her life, but until she tells me to get lost, I’m committed.”
“I don’t think she’s going to tell you to get lost.” Eddie smiled.
“She asked me if she could come over for breakfast tomorrow. She only does that when she wants to ask me for something or tell me something she thinks I won’t like.
I suspected it might be you that she wants to discuss.
I thought I’d come over here and get your side of things first.”
I didn’t think Melissa was going to be happy about that, but it was his funeral. “And?”
“And, if you need it or want it, you’ve both got my blessing.”
I relaxed for the first time since discovering Melissa’s dad in my office. “Thank you, Eddie.”
He waved his hand. Then, clearing his throat, he said, “Well, now that the awkward part is over and I don’t have to defend my daughter’s honor, can we chat about the other reason I’m here.”
“Okay?”
“You know the old fellowship hall behind our church?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“When was the last time you were inside there?”
I had to think about it. “Three years ago? Pancho’s funeral? After he laid down his bike and slid up under that eighteen-wheeler on 59.”
Eddie grimaced at that memory. “Bad wreck.”
The funeral had been closed casket for a reason.
“You remember how the hall was in pretty poor shape even then?” Eddie asked.
“It didn’t look good,” I agreed, remembering the aged facility. “Why?”
“Can you come by and walk through it with me and our committee? Give us a quote for outfitting the kitchen and pantry spaces? We want to renovate and expand those areas to better serve the congregation.”
“Sure.” I walked around to my desk and grabbed a yellow legal pad and a pen. “Tell me more about the project...”
We chatted for another ten minutes or so, set up a time to meet and then I walked him out of the office.
Eddie ran into Joanna on the way out, and I watched the two with interest. Joanna actually blushed as Eddie held the door for her, and he watched her with appreciative interest as she crossed the room to her desk.
I couldn’t wait to tell Melissa about that.
She had been complaining for the last week that her dad needed to get out more, needed to make some friends who weren’t part of the Knights of Columbus or his barbecue and chili cookoff buddies or the motorcycle club he rode with on Sundays. Well, did I have good news for her!
The amusing thought of setting up Joanna and Eddie rattled around in my head as I rode my bike over to her place after closing up the shop.
That morning, I had swapped out my usual Dyna Street Bob for the Road King I liked for longer trips.
It would be more comfortable for Melissa, and there was enough room for clothing and a few other necessities in the saddlebags.
When I pulled onto her street, I spotted Melissa at her little library, swapping out books.
That was her Friday routine, rotating her book stock to make sure she always had something new and fun and interesting for the kids and adults who stopped by the house.
There had been no issues with the neighbors since I had replaced the library post and repaired the library itself.
There hadn’t even been a scowl or ugly look when I put in the pink box that offered up pads and tampons, baby wipes and diapers and non-perishable food.
Melissa grinned at me as I pulled into her driveway and killed the engine.
I lowered the kickstand and climbed off the bike.
She finished what she was doing and then made her way to the mailbox that was next on my list to replace.
She had some really beautiful boxes on the Pinterest boards she had shared with me. I couldn’t wait to get her one of them.
As she gathered up her mail, I walked toward her. My arms ached to hold her again, and I wanted a taste of those pouty lips more than anything. She caught my gaze and blushed. “Oh, no. I know that look! We’ll never get to the beach house if you start kissing me and patting my butt, Shane.”
“I’ll just kiss and skip the ass pats,” I promised before claiming her mouth. She made a show of trying to escape, and I settled my hands on her lower back, keeping her right where I wanted her. She whimpered when I eased off the kiss and pressed our foreheads together. “I missed you.”
“We were apart for nine hours, Shane!” She rolled her eyes and whacked me with the stack of mail she held. “What are you going to do with yourself when I’m out of town at librarian conventions or book fairs?”
“Waste away in a depressive funk?”
She snorted. “Stop!”
“Maybe I’ll come with you,” I said, trying to imagine what a librarian convention was like. “I can be your personal assistant. Carry around all the books you probably buy at these things.”
Before she could reply to my offer, we both noticed a clunky silver Cybertruck rolling up the street. I hated those refrigerator-looking shit boxes and couldn’t understand how anyone with two brain cells thought it was a smart financial move to drop nearly six figures on one.
When the Cybertruck pulled into her driveway, I shifted my hold on Melissa and gently pressed her behind me.
I couldn’t explain it, but I had a bad feeling.
It was a sixth sense, I guess. An ability to sense trouble before it happened honed by all those years doing stupid, dangerous shit for my Calaveras crew.
I couldn’t have been more correct in my assumption.
The vehicle parked, and when the door opened and a man in a dark suit stepped out, Melissa actually gasped.
She dropped the mail she had been holding.
One of her hands gripped onto my forearm.
The other snatched onto the back of my jeans, clasping my belt as if she thought she might need to hold me back.
I didn’t have to ask.
I just knew.
This was him.
Cade.
The monster ex.