Chapter Two What’s In A Name?
Briget
Everyone at the long table stared at me.
Glancing around at them, I looked up at the tall man who had stood from his seat, Talon Walker. “It was a few weeks ago,” I told him. “I was walking my dog and this SUV came out of literally nowhere. And I really mean nowhere . There is nothing in that alley. Never has been.”
Talon slowly shook his head. “And where did this happen?”
“Downtown near the old shops.” I shrugged. “Was a freaky thing and that asshole almost ran me over.”
“Deacon,” Fate said.
I looked over at him. “What?”
“Had to be Deacon or his men,” Fate told me. “That’s who was in the SUV.”
I agreed. “Yeah, I figured that out. But since he knows me, I don’t understand why he didn’t stop and at least apologize.”
Fate laughed and asked, “Apologize?”
I nodded at him. “Tell me he was sorry for almost running me over. I mean he does know me and who I am.”
Liberty joined Fate’s laughter and said, “Yeah Talon, Deacon has manners, ya know?”
“What do you mean you know him?” Talon asked as he ignored their banter.
I shrugged. “At the time, he was friends with Belle. You know, helping to get her sister back. So, a couple times when she first met him, he would come by her apartment and I met him in the hall.”
“You’re lucky to still be alive,” Talon stated with a growl in his voice.
“I wasn’t important enough to him to bother with, I guess? I mean he had no reason to hurt me. Why would he do that?”
“Wow. Haven't you heard anything we all have been telling you about this guy?” Fate asked me.
I now looked over at him. “I heard some of it, but I’m nobody, why would he even care about me?”
“You aren’t a nobody,” Belle said as she shook her head at me. “You are a wonderful person, my best friend and my hero. You saved my life, remember?”
I rolled my eyes at this. “It was perpetrated by fear, Belle. Don’t be giving me some kind of credit for bravery that I don’t deserve. I’m no hero. Swinging Betsy at that fruitcake wasn’t brave.”
“Betsy?” Fate broke in. “You named your bat?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure, why not?”
Fate chuckled. “So have you named your toaster, microwave and your phone? Do they all have names?” he teased.
I narrowed my eyes at him. He seemed to be having quite a bit of fun at my expense. “Sure, Teddy the toaster, Mac the microwave and Chelly the Celly.”
He stared at me with a stunned expression on his face.
I had to hide my grin. Of course, I’d made all that up just now. I didn’t add that I only named important things. Betsy Bat was a weapon and that made it an important item. Like old timers naming their shotguns, this was commonplace here in the South. Some men even named their cars and so on.
Now Fate laughed. “That’s damned cute.”
“Cute?” I asked and shook my head.
“Yeah, naming things like that. I think it's pretty clever too.”
“Clever?” I asked.
“Sure,” Fate replied. “You never have to feel like you’re alone.”
He had this large family and they were all very lively, so I felt doubtful about his knowledge of loneliness. “What do you know about being alone?” I asked but I instantly regretted doing it. I shouldn’t even be talking to him. I needed to avoid Fate altogether. Yeah, I noticed he had been flirting with me ever since we met through that door in my apartment building.
“Everyone knows what being alone feels like, Briget,” he replied.
“You have a huge family,” I said. “Like even before you came here where all the Louisiana Walkers are.”
“Being in a crowd doesn’t mean that you do not feel alone,” he stated without that joking tone in his voice.
His answer really surprised me and I actually looked over at him this time.
Our eyes met and we seemed to have a moment as you might call it. Nah, maybe not as I wouldn’t admit to having that with this guy. I looked away again. Damnit, I had to. The man was magnetic along with being hot. But I couldn’t fall for this act. I prided myself on being a smart girl. He reminded me of the too-cute type of guy I knew in high school. The really good looking ones and they of course, took nothing seriously. Like they wanted to get into your panties, then after they accomplished this, they moved on to a new set of panties. You were good enough to fuck but not good enough to be serious with. Besides, I wasn’t that kind of girl. This entitled asshole could get his jollies elsewhere.
“BB,” Belle called to me.
Her voice broke into my thoughts. I raised my gaze and looked over at her.
“Talon asked you a question,” Belle said.
I looked over at him now. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Too busy thinking about a guy I am supposed to be avoiding.
“Do you remember exactly where you saw this SUV?” Talon repeated his earlier question.
“Yeah,” I replied as I took my cell phone out and typed in the name of that little pet shop Daisy and I always went to. “If you will give me your number, I can send you the nearest business address to that alley.”
Talon shook his head. “That’s ok. Ace will get it from you.”
I didn’t care how they got it, but it did surprise me when this guy I never saw before suddenly stood behind my chair. I gave a small startle and stared up at him.
Peering down at my phone, Ace gave me a nod. “Got it,” he said, then he turned away to head down along the dining room table to sit down next to Liv Walker.
I laughed and looked over at Belle. “How did he just appear like that?”
She shook her head at me.
“He’s ex-military,” Fate answered. “Like, it’s in his training.”
I glanced at Fate to see him smile at me. I immediately turned my head away.
Belle leaned in close and whispered, “Why are you being so rude to Fate, BB?”
I blinked as I realized she had picked up on my attempt to avoid any conversation or real contact with him. I whispered back, “Remember Dillion, Rich and that whole group?”
Drawing her brows together, as she looked confused, Belle asked, “Yeah? What does that have to do with…” Her voice faded away as she now seemed to get it. Then she shook her head and said, “He’s not like that, Bridge.”
I scoffed. “Sure, he isn’t.” She didn't know him well, did she? The group I mentioned had been the most awful guys in high school. They literally had made my life a living hell. Yeah, maybe these Walker men weren’t like that, but I’d learned my lesson back then. A man this good looking and well off would not want a serious relationship with a girl like me. I grew up distinctly poor, second hand clothes, family barely scraping by and we all shared everything. Three of us in one bedroom. Taking turns to shower in the one bathroom we had. Food was there but it wasn’t that great, just nutritional at best. My parents managed to feed, house and clothe us but anything beyond that wasn’t realistic.
I paused at my own impossible prejudice. I had never judged anyone so fast like I had Fate. Why? I usually accepted people right off. What was the big deal anyway? He was just being friendly right? I was probably getting all worked up over nothing. Who said he was actually interested in me at all. I released a sigh and admitted to Belle, “You’re right. I mean he is just being friendly.” I also knew my mom wouldn’t approve of me being rude to a stranger with no other reason besides the fact that he was too fucking hot for his own damned good.
Yep. With that dazzling smile, bright dancing eyes, beautiful skin, tall, wide shouldered, long legs, smooth walk and great sense of humor. Wow, Bridge. You never noticed him eh? I chuckled at the self delusion I had been trying to facilitate.
Belle smiled at me. “Gosh, if I didn't know any better…”
I raised a brow at her as I picked my tea glass up and asked, “What?”
“You like him, don’t ya?” she asked as she kept her voice at a whisper.
I snorted in disbelief of what she was implying. There was too much to like so really…she was wrong. “Well, I have two questions for you, Belle baby . Number one: are we in high school now? And two…Are you off your freakin’ rocker? I don’t even know him.”
“Yeah and I didn’t know Liberty when I was rude like you’re being.” She shrugged and chuckled. “Well, I was more than rude. I told him off whenever I saw him. Like I wanted to punch him in his smirking mouth, then drop kick him to the floor, just so I could laugh at him while he was down on his wise ass.”
I stared at Belle with round eyes. “Wow, you were really in love weren’t you?”
“Head over heels,” Liberty piped up. “She loved me so much that she wanted to do some real violence to my person.”
I swung my gaze past her to him. Oh shit, he had heard all of it.
The man wore a huge grin on his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” He then shook his head. “No, actually that is a lie. I did mean to.”
The man had a great sense of humor, so I snorted a little, then drank the last of my tea and set the glass down to look past Belle, over at him. “I can see why she wanted to punch you and I myself can get with the dropkicking part too.”
He burst into laughter. “Geeze, you both are pretty brutal. But do me a favor, will ya?”
I cocked my head at him and asked, “And that would be?”
“Give Fate the hardest time of it. He does like you whether you realize it or not. So, I am asking that you make this as hard on him as possible. The kid needs it.”
I stared at him. “For one, he doesn’t look like a kid to me. And two: aren’t you and he the same age?”
Liberty scoffed. “Bite your tongue, woman! I have always been the oldest.” He then laughed again. “I just feel like he needs some of what I got from Belle. You know, for humbling and all that?”
“So, you mean he needs a drop-kicking, smack in the mouth, ass whooping?” I asked.
Laughing, Liberty nodded. “Something like that. I mean Belle did the same to me and I sure as hell deserved it. My brother however, is even more smug and full of himself than I am.”
“Impossible!” Belle teased him as she grinned at him. Then she grasped his jaw and said, “You aren’t minding your own business, Liberty man. What have I told you?”
He smirked like he was thoroughly enjoying this little game and took a guess, “Not to burp so loud?”
“No…” She shook her head at him.
“Not to interrupt people when they are talking, especially you?”
“Nooo, but that’s a good one to remember.” She grinned at him. “Keep guessing.”
“Oh! Do not butt into other people’s biz wax?”
Nodding, she pointed at him. “Yes! That one.”
He kept chuckling and turned a bit in his seat to call down to another Walker, “Hey Hawk, did you guys put up another weightlifting station in the barn?”
With a self satisfied nod of her head, Belle told him, “Good shifting of attention there, Liberty.” She again looked over at me and whispered, “I see the look on your face when Fate talks to you. The man is so good looking that it makes you wanna puke, right?”
I chuckled and couldn’t help but agree, “Absolutely.”
“When he smiles at you, it is too dazzling. So you wanna make that grin go away immediately. Like even if you have to slap it away?”
I had to nod and smile as she was nailing it. “Well, I’m not one for immediate violence but yeah. The thing is…I don’t know him and I don't want to know him.”
“There it is!” She pointed at me.
I shushed her. “Too loud. There is nothing to shout about, ya know?”
“So you doooo like him,” she stated in a sort of sing-song voice, like a little kid would do.
“What are you? Two?” I snapped back at her while smiling. “But I will again say that I don't know him. So, I can’t really say anything about liking him, can I?”
“Seems like you aren't giving him a chance at all,” Liberty interjected yet again.
“A chance?” I asked. “For what?”
Staring at me, he slowly shook his head. “Damn, I never had to ask you to give him a hard time, did I? You are gonna do that anyways.”
I shrugged. “As far as I am concerned, both you and Belle just wasted the whole last half hour with this dumbass-never-gonna-happen subject.”
Liberty shook his head at me and said, “I can see why you and Belle are friends.” He chuckled.
“Compliment accepted,” I retorted as I grinned.