Chapter 34 Taryn
taryn
I watched Gunner walk out, torn between fury and surprise, and something colder and darker that feels a whole lot like betrayal.
What. The actual. Fuck.
That man. Seriously, that man. One minute he’s telling me I’m not welcome here and the next he’s looking at me like I’m an angel on Earth and he can’t believe I’m actually real. Then he kisses me like his life depends on it... and then walks out like none of it meant anything.
And this is after I’ve found him asleep in my bed at least once. Twice, if my dreams are anything to go by.
I grit my teeth, edging toward furious at the situation.
I’m here in fucking Hawke’s Wood for the first time in years, and instead of the warm, homey welcome I was hoping for, I’ve found two men who barely talk to each other and can’t even be honest about their own fucking feelings.
Gabe changes his mind about me the moment his friends are around or we’re in public, and Gunner can’t even make his mind up in private.
Neither of them has bothered talking to me about any of this, of course, and though I want to be generous with them because they’re family–—sort of–—I’m suddenly feeling a lot more like saying they’re just like all men. Incapable of being emotionally honest or open. Or even grown up.
A voice in my mind reminds me that I just slept with one of them and thought that his arms were where I’d always belonged, and that I may have found Heaven, and I acknowledge that.
It’s true; I just slept with Gabe, and it may have been the most mind-blowing experience of my entire life.
But coming home and having this strange interaction with Gunner has overshadowed the joy and elation of feeling Gabe sliding into me, his eyes pinning me to the bed of the truck while he fucked me.
Something shifts inside me, and I realize that I’m still wet from Gabe, his seed soaking into my panties as it drips out of me. I’m sensitive and hot and a little bit sore, and my heart is still singing with the memory of how he felt.
So maybe Gunner hasn’t overshadowed his son as much as I thought. But that doesn’t change my anger at the older Hawke.
My phone rings then, taking my mind from both of my men, and I hold it up to my ear, grateful for the distraction.
“Yes?” I ask sharply.
The voice on the other end of the line pauses, probably surprised at the way I answered, but then proceeds to tell me that the things I’ve asked for are ready.
And this is even more a distraction than I thought.
I’ve been in communication with my lawyer in the city, trying to get some details worked out, and he said he would send things up here for me to sign–—specifically a plan to be free of my mother and Johnny Massimo sooner rather than later.
If the guy on the line right now is telling the truth, it means the attorney came through for me faster than he thought he would.
“You have everything?” I ask, breathless with excitement. Because if he has everything, that means I’ll be able to sign my way into a divorce from my mother. And make sure everything that belongs to me is secure before she realizes what I’m doing.
“Not everything,” the guy says. “We have the first documents, but these have to go to the judge for a ruling before we can file the rest. Still, it’s a step.”
Just a step. The joy rushing through my veins dies down a little bit at that, because this isn’t the answer I wanted. But a step is better than nothing.
I slant my eyes toward the window and take in the darkness outside. “Where should I meet you?”
“Penny Royal’s, in Wood,” he says quickly. “I’m only up here for the night and I don’t plan to stay, so the quicker you can get here, the better.”
I’m already on my way to the fixture on the wall where the Hawke men keep their keys. I select the key that belongs to one of Gabe’s sports bikes and smile into the phone. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
It’s dark out for a meeting with a lawyer’s messenger, and technically I’m not supposed to take any of the vehicles out. Gunner still hasn’t forgiven me for wrecking the truck.
But I need this paperwork done, and this messenger is only here for the night. I know Penny’s in town, and this shouldn’t be a long trip. With luck, I’ll get there, sign the papers, and get back before Gabe or Gunner have even noticed I’m missing.
And when I get back, I’ll be one step closer to freedom from my mother.
* * *
Penny Royal’s is on Main Street in town, and looks exactly like you’d expect a dive bar in a small town to look.
One corner is taken up by a pool table, another hosting an air hockey table.
The bar takes up one entire wall, and a stage is propped up on another.
The place is old and run down, but instead of looking trashy, the decline looks like it’s intentional.
Like the entire place was ordered out of a vintage catalog and came pre-built.
The bar itself is one huge slab of what looks like redwood, and I wonder for a moment if Gunner’s grandfather is the one who cut that tree up and shaped it.
This is, after all, the town that man founded. It would make sense if he’s also the one who built the bar.
The place is dressed up for Christmas, of course, so there are two Christmas trees in here, plus a truly staggering amount of holly, mistletoe, and pine boughs.
The walls are heavy with decorations and lights, and the ceiling has row upon row of fairy lights strung up.
More fairy lights drape through the bottles behind the bar, and the bartender is wearing a Santa hat.
This makes me laugh, because it feels like high schoolers came in here and went crazy with the decorations, and that makes no sense for a bar.
The people in here also don’t seem to notice the decor at all.
They’re all staring morosely into their beers like they don’t want to notice the world around them, and after a quick glance around the room, I start to build a mental picture of who’s here.
It’s 9 on a Tuesday night, a week before Christmas, and these people are in a bar, mostly by themselves.
They’re not at home decorating or wrapping presents.
They probably don’t have families. Or if they do, they’re not on the best of terms with them.
No wonder they all look so down at the mouth.
My eyes run across someone who doesn’t belong, then, and I start toward him.
He stands out like a sore thumb, all crisp black suit and shiny loafers, and it would be impossible to miss the scent of New York wafting off him.
I’m surprised my attorney sent an associate up here rather than just a standard legal messenger, but that’s not really my concern.
All I care about are the papers he brought here for me to sign.
By the time I get to the man he’s seen me approaching and has the papers out on the table in front of him.
“Taryn Matthews?” he asks. “Do you have some ID?”
I nod and pull it out of my pocket, too elated about how quickly this is going to even bother asking for his name.
The guy takes my ID and takes a picture of it with his phone, then slides the papers toward me.
I glance through them quickly while he explains what they are: petitions to the court, privacy requirements, a cease and desist for my mother and her new husband.
“And once these are approved, we can move to the rest?” I ask, my eyes flying up to meet this guy’s gaze.
Because this is all well and good when it comes to my mother not being able to touch what’s mine, but I want to be legally free of her.
I’m turning twenty-one in a few days and that should check all the boxes, but I don’t want her pulling anything tricky and trying to keep me under her thumb.
And I don’t trust Johnny Massimo. I don’t think he’ll even try to do it legally. I want to have the legal means to be able to stop him, though.
The guy in front of me nods once. “We’ll file these with the court tomorrow, and I already have a judge assigned to the case. I’ve been told they’ll hear my petition immediately. Once that’s done, I’ll be able to prepare the final docs for you, and...”
He makes an exploding gesture with his fingers, and I grin widely at him.
“And then I’m free,” I breathe.
They’re words I’ve been dreaming of for years, and I can hardly believe it’s so close.
“Will it be done before Christmas?” I ask, thinking of the other details I’m still trying to finalize.
He nods. “Absolutely. Everything should be in order for all your plans.”
The relief is so palpable it almost knocks me over, and my cheeks ache with my smile. This is the best news a girl could ask for at 9 at night in a dive bar in Hawke’s Wood.
“Perfect.”
I bend over the papers and sign my name to each, shuffling through them as quickly as possible. When I’m done, I slide them back over to the associate and shake his hand.
“Thank you so much for coming up,” I say, meaning every word. This guy could have made me go all the way to the city for this, and I’m beyond grateful that he came up here. “Are you really going back down tonight? In the snow?”
The guy laughs. “Don’t worry; I’m not driving. I hired someone who’s used to this sort of terrain. Keep your phone on you, Taryn. I’ll be in touch tomorrow with an update.”
I grin and watch him stand and walk out of the bar, feeling like I’ve just won the lottery, and for the first time I start to feel like everything might be okay.
If I can legally divorce my mother this easily and secure all of my assets in the process, while the snow bars her from coming up here to try to pressure me, I might finally be rid of her.
And after the second set of papers are signed, she won’t have any choice but to leave me alone. I mean, she can find me and try to threaten me, but I’ll have the legal right to push her back out again.
For the first time in my life, I’ll be in charge of my own decisions. And I’m nearly floating up to the ceiling with excitement at the thought.
Then I notice the man at the bar staring at me.
He’s got his eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted, and as I watch, his gaze travels down my body and back up again.
I tense, my instincts on high alert, because every girl understands what that sort of look means.
My eyes snap from one man in the bar to the next, looking for anyone safe, but I don’t know any of these guys.
Even the bartender is busy, his back to the bar.
I could go to the bar and start a conversation to try to gain some shelter, but that would mean passing the man staring at me, and I don’t want the drama I know that’ll cause.
I get up instead and walk for the back hallway, trying to remember if there’s a women’s restroom back here.
I don’t think a door will stop that guy if he decides to follow me, but a lock sure will.
I toss a look over my shoulder, praying that he’s still at the bar, but see that he’s not.
He’s four or five steps behind me, his strides quick and his eyes on my ass.
Because of course they are.
My heartbeat ratchets up and I increase my pace, desperate now for the bathroom. As I walk I fish my phone out of my pocket, hit my emergency contacts, and press the first name that comes up.
He answers on the first ring.
“Taryn, where the actual fuck are you?”
“Penny Royal, in town,” I say quickly. “I don’t have time for the lecture. I need help.”
“Shit,” he mutters. I hear something crash in the background and his breathing turns heavier. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Try not to kill anyone.”
I almost laugh, because I’m not the kind of girl who kills anyone.
Even when he’s nearly breathing down my neck, now, and I can smell the cigarette smoke on his clothes. Every hair on my body is standing up with the need to run, and my instincts are screaming at me that I’m fucking stupid for being here on my own and without a gun in my pocket.
God, I hope it takes Gabe less than the ten minutes he said. Because now that this guy is right behind me, I’m realizing that he’s a lot bigger than I thought he was.
And I’ve just walked into a hallway without an exit at the end of it.