Chapter 5
She Doesn’t Hate Me
Tessa
This is the first solid night’s sleep I’ve had since Motown came into my life.
He’s consumed my dreams, and the more I tried to push him out of my mind, the more he came to me when I slept.
I thought I’d never see him again. I gave up hope weeks ago.
The last thing I expected was for Motown to show up at my shop.
When he told me he’d been watching over me all this time, I should have been freaked out.
It sounds strange, but I’ve felt his presence.
I kept looking around for him, but never saw him.
I thought it was because I wanted to see him again that I was having these thoughts.
It sounds like stalker behavior, yet instead of being scared, I’m relieved. He makes me feel safe.
I’m not a fool; I can see that he’s fighting his own personal demons. That doesn’t change what I feel for him, because I have my own insecurities. We all do. Motown will tell me about his past when he’s ready.
As I step into my car, the sun seems to be shining a little brighter this morning, and the birds seem to be singing a happy song.
Or I’m just feeling really good about riding on a motorcycle with Motown and having the evening end with a kiss that made my toes curl.
He makes me feel more than anyone else ever has.
I park in my usual spot and see Ruth waiting for me.
I glance at my watch to see it’s barely eight o’clock in the morning.
Ruth doesn’t normally get out of bed until noon, seeing as the bar is open until one in the morning and she rarely gets out of there before two and sometimes later than that.
She’s the hardest-working woman I know. She turned around a dying business and made it successful.
Her father ran that bar for years, but he drank most of the profits.
Her mother left as soon as Ruth turned eighteen, leaving her to deal with her alcoholic father and a pile of debts.
Her father was a biker, but shit went down, and they took off.
Ruth refused to go with them; she’d put down roots here.
I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to make the bar a success.
Dressed in her usual uniform of tight jeans and a scoop-necked T-shirt with black ankle boots, her shoulder-length blonde hair hanging loose, she waits for me to approach.
“Good morning, Ruth. This is a wonderful surprise,” I say. I move to unlock my door so we can both go inside.
“Good God, girl. Are you always this cheerful in the morning?” she grumbles, following me inside.
“Maybe you should go back to sleep and come back when you’re less ornery,” I tease, giving her a grin. Ruth rolls her eyes. I set down my bag and begin to turn on the lights. “What brings you out this early?”
Ruth doesn’t mince words and gets straight to the point.
“Bronson Sunderland is a bad dude. He’s into some pretty nasty shit.
You need to cut him off.” I try to interrupt to set Ruth straight, but she keeps at it.
“Yeah, he’s good-looking, but he’s also slimy.
His handsome face fools most people. He screws with women and tosses them aside like yesterday’s newspaper.
He’s as slick as a used-car salesman. Do you get me, girl?
” she huffs, leaning into me to make her point.
“I hear you. Let me reassure you that I have no interest in dating Bronson. I was surprised he showed up with flowers. Especially since I made it clear that I wasn’t interested in dating him.
” It dawns on me that Ruth wasn’t around yesterday morning.
How did she know Bronson came by? “Wait. How did you know Bronson was here?”
Being the forthright woman she is, Ruth doesn’t mince words.
“I’ve seen him sniffing around. I don’t normally get involved in other people’s personal lives, but I don’t hate you and was keeping an eye open,” she replies sheepishly.
“I don’t hate you” translates to “I like you,” and that makes me smile huge.
“I don’t hate you either,” I tell her.
“I know that!” she insists, hitching a hip and tossing her hair. “More importantly, do you understand what I’m telling you about Bronson? This guy is bad news.”
“I’m not dating him, Ruth.”
“Not dating who?” Motown stalks in with a coffee cup from my favorite coffee shop, Java Hut. He looks at me and says, “We straightened that out last night.”
Ruth looks from Motown to me, then back to Motown, then says, “Finally pulled the finger out of your ass, huh? About time. Maybe Bronson will get the hint and stay away from Tessa.”
“Tessa’s covered, Ruth. I’ve got eyes on her shop,” he tells her.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, getting their attention.
Ruth turns to Motown. “You did tell her about Bronson, right?”
Motown ignores Ruth and hands me my latte, then kisses me sweetly. “We’ll talk tonight, babe. And yeah, I got eyes on your shop because you mean something to me, and I want to make sure you stay safe.”
“I told Bronson the first time he asked me out that I wasn’t interested in a relationship with him.
He said he was fine with it, and we could be friends.
I was going to repeat the same message when he showed up with roses, but you came in before I could.
” I glance over at Ruth. “He said he understood.”
“He’s not the kind of man who takes no for an answer, girly,” Ruth answers. “He’s a predator. He hears what he wants to hear and ignores what doesn’t suit him. He’ll be back,” she warns.
Motown lets out a heavy sigh. “Probably. If he shows up, call me immediately. Hand me your phone, Tessa.” I take it out of my purse and give it to him.
He taps his information into my cell phone.
“With any luck, Bronson’s moved on, but either way, I’ll keep you safe, baby,” he says.
He puts the phone back in my hand, then caresses my cheek. “Don’t stress, okay?”
I wasn’t stressed, but after this chat, I’m beginning to think I need to keep my guard up. Still, I answer, “I’m fine.” Motown sees right through to my soul. He bends his head and brushes his lips over my cheek.
“You’re not, but you will be,” he says with steely determination. “I’ve got a couple of prospects outside. I made myself clear with Bronson yesterday, but if he’s stupid enough to show up again, I’ll make sure he understands not to come near my woman.”
Very caveman-ish, but also very sexy! I can’t help but smile.
“I can stick around,” Ruth says. I almost forgot she was here.
“You look beat. Go home and get some rest. I’ll bring Tessa by the bar tonight to see you and to meet some of the guys,” Motown replies.
She pokes Motown in the chest. “I’m leaving you in charge. Don’t screw it up.” Without waiting for a response, she sashays out the door.
Motown chuckles. “You made an impression on Ruth. She’s a tough nut to crack.”
I do a little shrug and say, “She doesn’t hate me,” with a giggle. Motown bursts out laughing, and it’s so contagious that I do the same.
He stays long enough to make plans to pick me up at my place tonight so we can go see Ruth and meet some of his buddies from the shop.
They’re also part of his MC. He had to explain what an MC is.
The Redemption Riders is a new club and very exclusive, from what he tells me.
Hawk, their president, is selective about who comes into the club, because this is more than a club; it’s a brotherhood.
It seems I have a lot to learn about the MC lingo.