Chapter Six
“MainAttraction”—JeremyRenner
M y day had been one upheaval after another. Just when I thought there couldn’t be more, I got sucker-punched with something else.
New Orleans was a crazy city, but it seemed to be especially off the chain today. What made me decide to ride along with the sport bike guy that passed me on the outskirts of town? There had simply been something about him that called to me. There was a connection that I thought was just the thrill of an accompanied ride with a fun stranger.
“Ryian?”
With a sniffle, I tried to stop the tears from falling. It was a hopeless cause.
Today, I’d seen my son’s father for the first time since I left my home behind. My son met his father, who he acted like he’d known all his life. My son revealed that he’d been “seeing” his father in his head and was fully aware of who he was. I believed my mom was being blackmailed, or at the very least, harassed by possibly the mob. My mom was diagnosed with cancer. I ran into Dalton again while I was out riding my bike. I found out that the reason I left may have been a huge misunderstanding and an out and out lie. Then some Santa-looking dude stopped at our table with a cryptic message and a box that was full of more odd things.
I was left with so many questions—the least of which was how the hell did that man know us?
“I don’t know what is happening,” I practically sobbed out.
“Me either,” Dalton softly replied.
“I want you to know Anson. I want you to be a part of his life. It was never my intent to keep him from you or vice versa.”
“Thank you. It was never my intention to hide from you because you were pregnant. I hate that because of a series of unfortunate events I missed so much of his formative years. Yet if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that we can’t go back and change things. Regret for past decisions will eat you up if you let it. I’d rather revel in the now than wallow in the past,” Dalton said as he stared into my eyes.
“So now what?”
“Now, we do the best we can with our son. Have you told him he saw his father today?” he asked.
Uncomfortable with what I was about to say, I cleared my throat. “Um, so I didn’t need to—he knew.”
“Come again?”
“He said he has seen you.”
“But that’s impossible. You’ve been in Chicago, and I’ve been in Montana. Did you show him pictures?”
I shook my head. “He said he sees you like a TV in his head—like he has visions of you.”
His jaw dropped and he fell back in the seat. “Like I do?”
“I think so.” When we first started dating, Dalton had told me he would dream about things that would come true. He said that sometimes he would see things when he spaced out that also came true as well.
“It never occurred to me that something like that could be hereditary,” I admitted.
“I’ve never thought that it was something I could pass on to children,” he confirmed.
For a moment, I sat there looking at him. Time had been good to him. He’d filled out for sure, but there was a maturity that hadn’t been there before. The little lines at the corners of his eyes didn’t detract from his good looks one bit either. I realized then that I’d missed him.
Though I’d lived and maybe even thrived, in Chicago, a part of me had always seemed like it was missing. But what if he didn’t feel the same way now? A lot of years had passed. I hadn’t dated a lot because of Anson, but that didn’t mean Dalton hadn’t. It also didn’t mean he wasn’t seeing someone now.
“What did the note mean?” he asked as he leaned forward again, concern heavy in his tone. His brows pinched together as his fingertip traced along mine.
Though it was driving me to distraction, I had no idea if he was even aware he was doing it.
“My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer today,” I replied in a whisper. It was like if I didn’t say it too loud, that maybe it wouldn’t be true.
The soft brush of his finger was replaced with his warm hand engulfing mine. “Ry, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Damn, it really has been a day.”
“But that’s what’s so crazy. I just found out today. My mom just found out today. How did that guy know? How did he know Anson loves labradorite? And what’s that key for?” I rattled off question after question.
He lifted the key and read the tag. “I don’t have answers for any of that. But what if we took a little drive by this address? It’s not a bad area so it should be safe. You up for it?”
The thought of riding more with him appealed to me on a soul-deep level. I glanced at the time. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
His grin nearly sent me into a tailspin. I’d always loved his smile. He stood up, tossed a twenty on the table for the cocoa neither of us had drank, and gestured for me to go first.
“Thank you,” I murmured as I made my way to the door.
As we walked out into the cool night air, helmets in hand, I glanced his way. “When did you start riding?”
He chuckled and the sound made my chest clench. “The summer I moved to Montana. Dean had a bike he was selling because he bought a new one. I bought it and started riding. Those times we rode your dirt bike came in handy.”
I laughed.
“Though it didn’t stop me from wiping out a few times. That poor bike,” he bemoaned as he shook his head.
We put our helmets on, lifted the visors, and straddled our bikes. He plugged the address into his GPS, then put his phone on the mount he had on his handlebar He had me put the address into my phone in case we got separated. We both put our gloves on. He glanced over to me with a grin and said, “Here goes nothing.”
I followed his lead since he was actively using his navigation. It took us further into town and down into the Milan area. We stopped in front of a white house on Carondelet Street with a full-length front porch, tall, shuttered windows, and a little wrought iron fence along the sidewalk. There was a driveway, but we parked on the street, killed our motors, and sat there a moment. It was ten-thirty at night, and we were in a quiet area—no need to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.
“We have a key. Wanna go inside?” he leaned over toward me and asked with a mischievous grin.
“Just because we have a key, doesn’t mean we can go traipsing inside! We’ll get the cops called on us! Someone probably lives here!” Wide-eyed, I glanced nervously up and down the street.
“Only one way to find out,” he countered with a shrug. “It doesn’t look like anyone is home.”
“Doesn’t mean no one lives here!” I whisper yelled. My heart started to beat double-time when he got off his bike, took his helmet off, and sauntered up to the stairs. Adrenaline raced through me at the fear of getting caught and I looked around again, sure we were about to get arrested.
“It’s empty!” he softly called out.
“Like no one’s home?”
“No. Like it’s completely empty. No furniture, no nothing.” He waved me up.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered to myself. I debated leaving, but finally figured what the fuck. This day was already crazy as hell. What was a little breaking and entering after all that had happened already?
I removed my helmet but carried it with me.
Dalton stood waiting at the top of the stairs in his worn blue jeans, a black hoodie with a Nirvana logo on it, and black and white Old Skools. A dimple appeared in one cheek as he watched me climb up. He was too damn good-looking.
When I got to the top, he grabbed my hand and brought me to the door on the far right of the porch. “I don’t like this,” I whispered.
“Stop worrying. It will be fine,” he assured me as he slid the key in the lock and turned it.
The door creaked as he swung it wide and I cringed, then looked up and down the street again.
“Come on,” he encouraged as he entered the uninhabited home.
When no one rose an alarm, I hurried inside after him. I squeaked when I caught our reflections in the mirror at the end of the entry way. I thought there was someone there at first.
He chuckled as he closed the door and reached for the light switch.
“Oh my God! Don’t turn on a light!”
“No electricity,” he said when the light didn’t come on.
I gave a sigh of relief.
Thanks to all the windows, there was actually enough light from the moon that night to see clearly. He started to move through the empty house. The polished hardwood floors shone, though they bore the scars of years of use. The house was old, that’s for sure, but mostly well kept.
The kitchen could use an overhaul, and the layout was a bit odd due to the obvious additions over the years. It wasn’t too bad though. Yet, I bet this house was still worth a pretty penny. I thought about looking it up on Zillow to see if it was for sale or if it was maybe just between renters.
We wandered room-to-room and even went down to the main floor to find built-in bookcases galore throughout which screamed to my little bookend heart. There was a plethora of fireplaces in the house as well. If I counted correctly, there were five bedrooms, three full baths, and two half baths. There was a ton of storage space. It was crazy.
“Whose house is this? And why did that guy give us a key?” I asked in a hushed tone full of awe.
“No clue,” he quietly replied and started back upstairs.
I quickly followed.
He went into the bedroom that we assumed was the master since it was the only one with its own connected bathroom. Of course, he went to check it out since we had only glanced in the room before. Then he stuck his head in the closet. “Hey, there’s a safe in here!”
“No way,” I said as I peeked around him to see. Sure enough, there was a metal wall safe that looked like it must’ve had a big full-length mirror in front of it at one time. At least, that was my guess by the shape of the discoloration of the paint around it. Unless it was a huge piece of art.
“How much you wanna bet this little key opens it?” He held up the smaller key triumphantly.
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go digging in someone’s safe,” I cautioned.
He snorted. “We’re already in here. I was given both keys. Besides, it’s unlikely there’s anything in it. There’s nothing here besides those massive mirrors over the fireplaces.”
Nervous, I wrapped my arms around myself and glanced over my shoulder.
Dalton was already inserting the key when I looked back toward him. My heart thudded against my ribcage and a chill ran down my spine. When a light breeze blew against my cheek, I jumped forward and grabbed his arm.
He grinned down at me, then opened the safe.
It appeared he was right. It was empty.
“Wait!” He stood up on his tiptoes and pulled an envelope from the top shelf.
We both froze when we saw what it said.
Last Will And Testament was printed on the worn paper.
“We can’t open that!” I spat out as I grabbed for it as he turned it over.
He waved it in front of my face. “It’s already open. It was never sealed, just folded in.”
“Oh Jesus. We’re gonna get in so much trouble,” I muttered as he pulled the flap free, and I held a hand to my forehead. “I have a child! And a nursing license to protect. What are we doing?”
“Ryian, you need to live a little,” he teased.
When he pulled the sheaf of folded papers out, he started reading out loud. The first page was all basic legalese until he paused, and his brows pulled down in the center. He read silently, quickly going from one page to the next.
“What is it?” I asked, but he was too engrossed in whatever he was reading.
When he got to the last pages, he fell back against the wall and slid down until he was seated on the floor. Through it all, he didn’t speak.
“Dalton?”
Still, he just stared.
“Hands where I can see them!”
I shrieked and my hands flew up above my head, my helmet with them, just as we were blinded by a very bright flashlight.
“Do you understand that you are trespassing?” the officer asked.
“I’ve never even had a speeding ticket!” I blurted out and the police officer lowered the flashlight to give me a droll stare. I winced and shrugged.
“No we’re not,” Dalton finally denied, his voice still full of disbelief. He held up the papers. “This is my house.”
“What?” I practically screeched.