Chapter Twenty-Seven
Samantha
“Jack, we talked about this, and you agreed to let her go. It’s been two weeks. There has been no sign of Carrie or Derek. I am not keeping her locked up anymore.”
“Sammy, we don’t know where Carrie is. She could just be biding her time,” Jack pressed.
“And what if you never find her? Are we supposed to just keep Charlie locked up forever?” I asked him, my hands on my hips.
“No.” He sighed. “But—”
“But nothing,” I interrupted. “I’ll take two brothers with me. I have already talked to Tank, and Mimic offered to go, too.”
Jack just glared at me. It was obvious he didn’t trust Mimic. He still hadn’t gotten over how Mimic spoke to me. He apologized, and I forgave him. That wasn’t good enough for Jack.
“Mimic—”
“Stop it, Jack!” I hissed. “I have told you repeatedly to let it go. He apologized. He has been nothing but sweet and helpful to me since.”
“Well, maybe if you told me what he said when he apologized, I would feel better about it!” Jack shouted, waving his hands in the air.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I looked at the man I was in love with, yes, right at that moment I needed to remind myself I loved him.
“I told you, I will not betray his confidence.”
“Well, King—”
“King what?” asked his president from behind him.
I raised one eyebrow, waiting for Jack to answer him. “Go ahead, Jack. ”
Jack turned around to focus on King. I am sure he expected King to order me to tell him what he wanted to know. Only problem was, I didn’t answer to King. I wasn’t an old lady yet.
“I was explaining to Sammy that if I knew what Mimic said to her when he apologized, I would feel better about him protecting her and Charlie while they went to town,” Jack explained.
King looked around Jack at me. I crossed my arms and waited. I had been living in the clubhouse for almost a month now and had gotten used to the many scowls of Kingston O’Rourke. He didn’t scare me anymore.
Much.
“Samantha, are you satisfied with the apology Mimic gave you?” King asked.
I stood up straighter, my arms dropping to my sides. “Yes.”
“And you trust him to watch over you and Charlie?” he asked.
“Yes.” That was all I was giving him. He nodded.
“Did he share something with you about his background?”
I eyed King carefully. I didn’t know where he was going with this, but I was sure I wouldn’t like it.
“King, I’m not—” I started.
He lifted his hand up, silencing me.
“Yes or no, Samantha.”
I stood there, looking at the club president. Knowing that he could ban me from the compound. I licked my lips, deciding how I wanted to answer. He eyed me sternly.
“Yes, but—”
Again, he cut me off.
“Did he ask you not to share that information?” King asked pointedly.
I smiled. I knew where he was going now.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Jack, let it go. Unless you don’t trust your woman’s instincts?” He knew that would piss Jack off. He didn’t care.
“King, what the fuck?” Jack whined.
I walked over, lifted onto my toes, and kissed King’s cheek.
“Thank you,” I told him .
Turning around to face Jack, I added, “You are welcome to come with us if you like, but Charlie and I are going to The Bookstore today. Tank and Mimic are waiting outside. I am going to get Charlie and then we are leaving.”
As I walked away, I heard King’s chuckle, followed by Jack’s muttered curse. Then heard King say to him, “You wanted an old lady, Jack.”
I smiled and gathered up my daughter.
We were going into town.
The girls were so excited when they saw me and Charlie walk into the bookstore.
“CHARLIE!” Chrissy yelled as she and Tabby came running over.
“Chrissy, no yelling in the store, honey,” Ryder reminded his daughter.
“Sorry, Daddy.” Chrissy grabbed Charlie’s hand and the three girls ran over to the children’s section, followed by Mimic.
Shaking my head at the little girls, I walked over to Ryder.
“Hey, how are you?”
“I’m good. Avery has the day off, so I’m glad you could make it in today.” He looked over at our girls digging through the books. “It will help keep the girls out from underfoot for a while.”
“Ryder, I just wanted to apologize again. I never expected Carrie to act the way she did,” I said, biting my lip.
“Sam, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t even invite her.” He walked over behind the counter.
“But she was my friend,” I said, biting my fingernail. “I feel responsible. Beck wouldn’t have invited her if I hadn’t brought her around.”
“Listen, Sam.” Ryder leaned his arms on the counter. “Beck told me about what the guys learned about Carrie. There was no way you could have known what she had done. Unless, of course, you planned on running a background check on everyone you befriended,” he said with a smirk.
“I know. Logically, that makes sense. But then there is the mom guilt. That overrides the logical side of my brain.”
“Yea, I get that,” he replied wistfully. “There is a lot of dad guilt too when you are doing it alone. Thank God for my parents.”
“You are lucky to have them. My parents have never met Charlie.”
“You have the club, though. And the women. That’s a lot of people that have your back.”
“That’s true,” I agreed. “So, have you given any thought to joining the club?” I asked carefully.
Ryder scoffed. “No. That ship has sailed.”
“How come? From what Jack told me, the officers seemed pretty interested in having you. Jack said it was Gunner who asked why you hadn’t been approached.”
“You were there the night of the party, Sam. Micah doesn’t want me there.”
“That’s not true, Ryder,” I argued.
“It is,” he insisted. “Besides, with the girls, I can’t do the prospecting thing. When they first set up, and I was still married, I could have worked around it.”
“You have Avery and your parents,” I noted.
“Nah. It would be too much time away from my girls.”
“That can all get worked out.”
Ryder and I both turned toward Tank when he spoke. He was sitting by the front door, watching the street.
“Maybe. Still doesn’t change the other issue.”
The door opened and a beautiful young woman walked in. She had blonde hair pulled back in a bun; her blue eyes were framed in with black glasses. There was a gracefulness about her that captivated me. Her tailored suit was expensive, and her red soled shoes told me she came from the kind of money you didn’t make from selling books.
“Hi,” she said .
“Hello, can I help you?” Ryder smiled at the woman.
“I hope so. I am an author. I have a couple of books out but am hoping to garner more interest. My friend suggested talking to some small bookstores about maybe doing a signing.”
“What is your name?” Ryder asked.
“Rayne Perry.”
“OH MY GOD!” I screeched.
“Mommy, Uncle Ryder said no yelling in the store,” Charlie scolded.
I heard Ryder laugh, but I kept my attention on the woman in front of me.
“I love your books! I’ve read all five of them.”
“Thank you,” she replied shyly.
“Ryder, you have to do this,” I exclaimed, turning to him. “You have to have her come. People will come to the store for this. I can help you set everything up. Please. Please. Please.”
“So, Sam, I was thinking about having an author’s book signing event here at the store. Think it’s a good idea?”
“Asshole,” I said, shaking my head.
I heard Tank laughing at his post by the door.
“Miss Perry, I have heard of you. In fact, I have a couple of your books here in the store.”
Rayne smiled at Ryder’s acknowledgement.
“Did you have a time in mind for when you would like to do it?” Ryder asked.
“Well, the next book is coming out at the beginning of November, so I was hoping to do it the week of the release.”
“Can I ask why you want to do it here? If I’m not mistaken, you are from New York. Why not hold a signing there?”
“I am from New York, yes; however, I no longer reside there. I have always been drawn to small towns. Maybe that’s a byproduct of being raised in the busiest city in the country. I also do my own marketing. I know my books are popular, so I want to bring something to the small towns in America. I have a pretty big following on social media, so by letting people know where I am, it will bring a lot of business to whatever bookstore I’m signing at.”
“She’s not lying, Ryder. I have seen pictures from some signings she has done. People will flock here. It will be great for business. Don’t be stupid, tell her yes!” I urged him.
This would be huge for his store. Rayne Perry was an upcoming romance author. Her characters ranged from sweet cinnamon rolls to alphaholes. Even with only five books released, she was well on her way to becoming a household name.
“The beginning of November doesn’t give us much time to get the word out.”
“Ryder, we can put the information on your Instagram and TikTok,” I explained.
“I don’t have either of those. I don’t have time for that shit.”
“Oh my God. Let me set them up. You won’t have to do a thing. I will take care of everything,” I said. “Miss Perry, I am so sorry. Give me just a minute to get him to agree and we can work out all the details.”
She smiled warmly. “By all means, work away. And please, call me Rayne. With your enthusiasm, maybe I should hire you to do my Instagram.”
“Oh my God, don’t tease me!” Turning back to Ryder, I asked, “Well?”
“Sam, I can’t pay you.”
“I am not asking you to pay me anything. Jack made me quit my job at The Diner because of all the shit going on, and I am going stir crazy. Let me do this, please.”
Rayne and I looked at Ryder expectantly.
“Fine, do what you need to do,” he said, waving his hand at me. He then focused on Rayne and declared, “Miss Perry, I would love to have you do a book signing in my store.”
“Wonderful. Shall we decide on a date?” she asked.
“I will let you work that out with my social media marketer here,” Ryder replied, pointing at me. “I am going to go check on the girls. Sam, here is the calendar. Anything that doesn’t have something written in is an open day at the store. ”
Ryder handed me his book and walked toward the children’s section to see how the girls were doing.
“This is so exciting. Who is the next book about? Please tell me it’s Christopher. I just love him. He so deserves to find his one.”
Rayne just laughed. “It isn’t Christopher. He still has a little growing up to do. This next one will be Samuel.”
“Samuel. Oh, he’s an asshole.” My hands flew to my mouth. “Oh my God, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. He is an asshole. I made him that way,” she said with a wink.
I loved this woman. I couldn’t believe I’d met Rayne Perry and was helping her set up a book signing.
“Let’s sit over here and we can work out the details,” I offered, gesturing to a small table and chairs set up in the corner. “Hey, Mimic, is Charlie ok?”
“She’s good, Momma, don’t worry about her. She won’t leave my sight,” he replied, never taking his eyes off my daughter.
Mimic and I had a rocky start. He apologized for the way he spoke to me, and I apologized for lying to him. When he told me what happened with his mom, my heart broke for him. He wasn’t a bad kid, he just needed a little love and care.
Rayne followed me over to the table, and we sat down and worked out the details for the book signing.
“Thank you so much. I will see you in a few weeks. I have some promotional items I can send to the store ahead of time. Some posters you can put up, stickers and pens etcetera that you can put out for customers for free. And can I call you as it gets closer to work out a few more last-minute ideas before the big day?” she asked.
“Of course. Oh my God, Rayne Perry is going to have my phone number.” I heard her giggle and I felt the heat of my blush cover my cheeks. “I’m so sorry. It’s just, I’m fangirling big time over here.”
“No, don’t apologize. It is great for my ego.” She laughed. “I’ll be in touch soon. ”
“Looking forward to it.”
Rayne left, and I sat there, bewildered.
I couldn’t believe I’d just met Rayne Perry. And she’d given me her phone number.
“Hey, Sam? You ok over there?” Ryder said with a smirk.
“Oh, shut up.” I laughed. “This is going to be huge for Diamond Creek. Rayne is sending me posters. We can put them up in every business in town. People are going to flock here for this. They won’t just come here, either. Every business will benefit. That’s why she does these small-town signings. It’s her way of giving back. She’s pretty.”
“Who?” Ryder asked, looking at something on his computer.
“Rayne,” I answered, leaning on the counter.
Ryder looked up at me. “No,” he said, shaking his head.
“You don’t think she’s pretty? Did you think she was pretty, Tank?” I asked, turning to see Tank still in his position by the door.
“Sure did,” he confirmed, smirking at Ryder.
Ryder glared at Tank. He ignored my question, instead changing the subject back to the book signing.
“You better be available that day, ‘cause I am not in charge of this, you are,” he warned, pointing at me.
I grabbed his finger and pulled him over for a hug.
“Thank you for trusting me with this. You won’t be disappointed.”
He hugged me tight and said, “Just make sure when Tank and Mimic tell Jack I hugged you that you tell him you hugged me first. I get enough shit from Cash,” he said with a smile.
I shook my head at him. When I got back to the clubhouse, I planned on setting up his Instagram and TikTok for the store. While I waited for Charlie to pick out her books, I used my phone to get a few shots of the store to start making posts and videos.