Chapter 18
__________
Lily
Helping Nana in the clubhouse kitchen wasn’t as bad as it first sounded. No, I’m not a good cook. Far from it. Jack’s grandmother has made it her personal mission to help me learn. Cooking for such a large crew takes a lot of planning and preparation. Pancakes were my job today. It was the only thing I couldn’t really mess up.
The meeting with Jack’s father wasn’t comfortable. In fact, the entire clubhouse has been on edge all morning. Jack was quiet during breakfast. He left me with Nana and disappeared. It’s lunchtime. Hopefully, things will be better soon.
Nana knows what’s going on. As outgoing as she is, she’s also tight-lipped when it comes to serious matters about her family. She’s also kept me in the kitchen all morning and all the guys out.
“Hey, Nana.” A woman with sandy blonde hair walks into the kitchen. “Pops wants a cheeseburger and fries. You cooking lunch today?”
“Might as well. Got nothing else to do.” Nana gets a package of ground chuck from the fridge and sets it on the preparation table in front of me. “This is an easy one. Make us a hamburger patty.”
I’m not a total idiot in the kitchen. I can make a burger. Mine never seem to have the best flavor, though. Pops is going to be very disappointed. While I make the patty, Nana drops a basket of fries into the fryer.
“Lily, this is Kayla. She bartends for us sometimes.” Nana pulls spices from the cabinet and sprinkles them on the patty I just made. Okay. That’s what I was missing.
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” I offer Kayla my hand.
“Likewise.” Kayla’s handshake is firm. I’ve read that you can tell a lot from a handshake. “I also work at JB’s. It pays more,” she adds with a grin.
“The bar in town?” I think Maci mentioned it.
“Hello, ladies.” Jack walks in with his friend Rodeo right behind him.
“Hey, Jackie.” Nana flips the burger as Jack kisses her cheek.
He looks better than he did this morning. He’s still dressed all in black, black boots, black jeans and a black t-shirt. The man just loves black, I guess. The only thing he wears with color is his vest. No, wait. He called it a cut. Rodeo’s eyes instantly lock onto Kayla and never leave.
“See ya around, Lily.” Kayla holds her head high and goes back through the door to the bar. Rodeo follows behind her. Something’s going on with them.
“Hello, angel.” Jack leans on the counter next to me. “Wanna get out of here for a while?”
“Really? Can we?” I’m so tired of sitting around.
He lightly laughs. “Well, I did promise to show you the town.” He takes my hand and pulls me toward the side door. “Let’s go, angel.”
“What about Nana?”
“I’m fine, dear.” Nana waves and continues cooking.
He leads me to a side parking lot. This isn’t the same one Shepherd and I went to. Just how big is this place? We stop beside a motorcycle. It’s all black, too. It matches its owner’s perfectly.
“Uh, Jack. I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle.”
“Never?”
I shake my head. He leans close. His eyes practically dance as they bounce between mine. I haven’t seen this side of him. I’m instantly pulled in.
“What do you say, angel? Wanna live on the edge today?” His deep voice sends shivers all the way to my toes. His eyes move to the black Chevy truck a few feet away. “Or we can play it safe.”
“Safe,” I barely whisper the word.
Going anywhere with this man, no matter what vehicle we take, isn’t safe. I’ve never been interested in the bad boy type, and bad boy is written all over him. My attraction was for business suits. Suits turned out to be a huge mistake. Bad boys can’t be my thing, either. I need to break whatever’s pulling me to this man. I’m just not sure I want to yet. One day with him couldn’t hurt. Right?
He opens the passenger door. “In you go, angel. Maybe we can live dangerously tomorrow.”
I place my foot on the running board and climb inside. No need to wait for tomorrow. Today’s already dangerous, so so dangerous.
“Where are we going?” I ask as we drive through the front gate.
“We’re going to the bakery. Mom talked to Emily. You start work in the morning. Thought you might like to meet her first.”
How does someone find a job in just a few hours with no experience in the field? These people are insane. I’m a nurse, not a baker.
“I’m going to work at a bakery?”
“Yep. I work at the shop with Jay, so I can drive you to work.” He’s perfectly fine with this.
The drive to town takes fifteen minutes. Jack talks about all the places we pass along the way, which seemed few and far between to me. Willow Creek isn’t as small as it sounds. It’s a really charming town. Jack pulls into the parking lot of the bakery downtown. The gray building with the pink cupcake sign is adorable.
“I work at The Cupcake Cottage?” This can’t be real.
He laughs and points to a side street across from the bakery. “I work at Jay’s Garage around the corner.”
“That’s simple enough. I like it.”
“Jay is simple and easygoing most of the time. His work, however, is amazing. I’ll show you sometime.” He sounds really proud of his cousin.
He’s out of the truck and at my door before my foot touches the running board. He offers me his hand. “Always wait for me.”
“I can get out of cars and open doors for myself. No one has ever helped me before.”
He doesn’t move, and there’s no way I can step around him. His eyes seem to pin me in place. “Then they were doing it wrong.”
He has no idea just how wrong things have been in the past. I just got out of the worst relationship in my life. Everything about the man in front of me should instill fear. Nothing about his appearance says sweet. Yet, here he is, showing me kindness. And surprisingly, his bad-boy qualities draw me to him. My mind’s so messed up.
He steps back and walks beside me to the front door. The bakery has another parking lot on the other side. Four bikes sit in two of the spaces closest to the door.
“Friends of yours?”
“No.”
We look through the huge front window. A bike glares at us from the other side of the glass. Another leans on the front counter near the cash register. He either knows the lady behind the counter very well, or he’s harassing her. Two more bikers wander around the shop. Jack moves me behind him and reaches for the door.
I grab ahold of the back of his cut. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I most certainly do.”
Jack opens the door and walks up to the counter like he owns the place. “Emily, how’s it going?”
Emily glances at the four bikers one by one before replying, "Seen better days. Can’t remember when."
Is that some kind of encrypted code? I already need a biker’s manual. Might as well add a bakery one to the list.
Jack leans on the counter and faces the other biker. “Trace, what brings you to town?”
“Passing through, McLeod. Won’t be here long, so don’t get your panties in a wad.”
Jack doesn’t take his eyes off Trace. “Emily, are these guys bothering you?”
“Not exactly bothering. Not helping either.” Emily doesn’t flinch.
I feel the other three men move closer. Two behind me, one on my left side. I turn to face them and walk backward to the glass display case. There’s another on the other side of Jack and the fourth biker.
Jack looks at the three over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t take another step toward her if I were you.” He turns back to Trace. “It’s time for you to leave.”
Trace straightens. He looks around Jack and grins at me. “So this is the woman to get you off your ride.”
“Should we call the cops?” I ask.
Everyone looks at me like I’m insane, Jack included. Yeah, I kind of am, but okay. I get it. No cops.
Trace drops his head back and laughs. “Look at you, McLeod. Stooped so low you got a cop lover in your bed. I was going to say she was gorgeous, but I’ve changed my mind.”
Jack straightens and places a palm on the counter. “Emily, you wanna call Nathan?”
“Not if they buy something or leave peacefully.” Emily reaches for a set of tongs next to the other display case.
Trace huffs. “Think I’d rather have ice cream.”
Jack crosses his arms. “Good. Get that on the other side of the mountain in your time zone.”
“Come on, Trace. Let’s go.” The biggest man pushes the door open. The other two follow him out. Trace is the last to leave. He pauses at the door and places a finger on the side of his forehead.
“Next time, Ghost.” He gives an odd one-finger salute before walking out.
The tension in the bakery slowly fades. Two young girls come from the backroom. I have no idea what just happened. The only thing I know is I don’t belong in this world.