Chapter 17
EVER
I prepare for the long drive with my hands clasped in my lap. It’s quiet as we drive out of the neighborhood and pass by the campus.
The parking lots are empty, and a few students are going in and out of the library. Bobby hasn’t turned on the music. That was the first thing Carlos did. I stare out the passenger-side window and sneak peeks at Bobby. The silence is comfortable, and he’s smiling.
I reach inside my little bag for my lip gloss, put some on, and press my lips together. My throat is dry. It’s sunny out, it’s cool in the truck, and I forgot my water bottle on the kitchen counter in my rush to get to the door, excited to see Bobby again.
“Temperature good?”
“Yes, thank you.” I put away my lip gloss and stare ahead. I’m parched. “I didn’t get you in trouble, did I?” I fidget with my bag’s zipper.
“By changing the day of my arrival?”
“Yes.”
“It’s all good, Ever. I texted my host. I’m fine with skipping out on a hunting party.”
“Hunting party? Like for wildlife?”
“Nah, baby.” He takes my hand from the zipper and kisses my fingertips. “It’s like a game of paintball, but instead of paintball guns, we use knives and arrows.”
“What?!” I sit up straight in my seat. “What kind of business meetings are these?”
He chuckles. “The kind with high stakes.”
I snort. “Would you like me to tag along? I’ll be the villain of your story.”
“A man doesn’t need a woman to burn the world for him. It’s the other way around.”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“I am.”
“What if you’re in a life-or-death situation?”
“One, I wouldn’t make that mistake. Two, if I did, that’s on me and I’ll get myself out of it.”
“You are not an island, Bobby. None of us are.”
“We’re not talking about asking others for help. We’re discussing how it’s the man’s job to rescue his woman. I wouldn’t want you in harm’s way. Promise you won’t come between me and a dangerous situation. Let me handle it. Let me be the villain, Ever.”
How can he ask that of me? If I have a chance to save him, I will. Forget his male ego.
“Ever.”
I inhale a deep breath and exhale before I answer. I am not happy with where this conversation is taking us. “It’s all about your male ego, isn’t it?”
“It’s about keeping you safe.”
“If you . . .” My throat tightens. Tears prickle the corners of my eyes. “If you’re—” I wave my hand. “If you’re gone and I could’ve done something to stop it, I’d never forgive myself.”
“Aw, baby, it won’t come to that.”
He’s avoiding using the word never.
“Promise me?” I dab at my eyes with my knuckles. Why does this man have me close to tears more than anyone has since Carlos’s death? I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
“I can’t make that promise.”
“But you can ask me to make a promise that could get you killed because you’re all about your male ego?”
He heaves a sigh, and it’s heavy. “If that’s how you see it, then yes.”
“Would you like to get out of your truck and thump your chest like a caveman before you grab me by the hair and drag me inside your man cave?”
“Ever.”
“It’s a legitimate question.”
“You’re pissed.”
“Stating the obvious.”
He reaches for my chin. I turn from him and scoot closer to the door. His booming laughter, straight from his core, surprises me.
I glower. “What’s so funny?”
“You. Us.” His eyes sparkle. “We’re arguing like an old married couple.”
He’s right. I smile back and move closer to him.
“Can we agree to disagree?” he asks.
“Does that mean not making promises to the other?”
He sighs with resignation. “To keep the peace, yes.”
He turns off the road, drives right up to Sweet Creations’ door and parks in front of it. My smile slips. Alarm bells ring in my head. “Bobby, we should park in the lot.”
The truck is blocking the door. Customers will have to walk around. They’ll be unhappy and make a complaint. The regulars know me.
Bobby takes my cold hand in his warm one. “This won’t take long.” He squeezes. My panic doesn’t go away.
The door opens. Maggie is walking toward us, carrying a drink carrier that holds an iced drink and a coffee. In her other hand is a brown bag we use for the pastries. I roll down the window. Maggie hands me the carrier and the brown bag.
“Your favorites, plus a coffee, black, for your man.”
Bobby gives her a two-finger salute. “Thank you, Miss Maggie. Say hi to Evan for me. Let him know I’m available when he’s ready to shoot the breeze about starting and owning a business.”
Bobby grabs the drink carrier from me and sets our drinks in the cupholders. He hands it back to Maggie. “I get that a nightclub isn’t what he was thinking when he said small business, but I’m happy to give him tips and pointers.”
Her face softens. “Thank you, Bobby. That’s nice of you.
” Maggie rubs her pregnant belly and steps back.
She’s thin and of my height, with bright-pink hair, a nose ring, and a pierced brow.
“You two should get going.” She looks from me to Bobby.
Her hazel eyes gleam. “I hear rain’s coming.
Gotta get your pickings of flowers and produce at the farmers market and some dandy trinkets at the flea market before it hits. ”
A different panic grips my insides. “I thought it was supposed to be cloudy and no rain.”
“Nope. I checked. Maybe you need to refresh your weather app.”
“Thanks, Mags, I will.” We wave to Maggie.
Bobby drives out of the parking lot and waits for cars to pass before he gets back on the road again. I dig through my bag for my phone and refresh the app. Sure enough, it shows a cloud-and-raindrops image about an hour and a half away. “Maybe we should go on a different day.”
I leave my phone on my lap. The weather could change for the better or the worse.
“Don’t like the rain?”
“I don’t like driving in it.”
“I’m driving.”
I rephrase. “I don’t like being in a car on long, winding roads with no streetlights when it’s raining.” I cross my arms. My cell phone is heavy on my lap.
“Baby, you live near farm towns. The roads are long and winding with no streetlights, and it rains nine months out of the year here.” He glances at me for a heartbeat before he returns his attention to the road.
It’s clear skies, but panic rises inside me. What should I say or do so that he doesn’t look away from the road again? What if there’s a curve we don’t know about? Bobby lives in Alexandria. He wouldn’t be familiar with these long stretches of winding roads, would he?
“I know it’s crazy, but I really don’t like being in a car when it does.” My body goes cold. I clutch my stomach. “Please keep your eyes on the road.” I have to make my needs clear.
It’s the only way I’ll stop panicking. Bobby probably thinks I’m nuts. I bet he’s regretting ever having met me.
“I can do that if it’ll make you feel safe.” Bobby takes my hand in his and rubs his thumb across my knuckles. “I’m fine with going back to Dumas. We can hang out at the botanical gardens or go bowling. There’s also roller skating. Then we can have dinner at Gigi’s Diner.”
“You’d do that? You don’t think I’m crazy?” I’ve never been this open and vulnerable with someone.
“Hell yeah. Baby, if you’re crazy, I am batshit crazy. Don’t you know?”
“Know what?”
“Crazy and batshit crazy stick together like white on rice.” He brings our clasped hands to his mouth and kisses my hand.
My panic vanishes. I relax into the seat. “How do you know about those places?” Some of the students aren’t even aware there’s a skating rink in Dumas.
“My sister goes to DU.”
“Instead of the U of A?” I’m surprised his sister would rather attend a college two hours away from her brother.
“How often do you see her?”
“Should I turn around?”
We spoke at the same time.
“I haven’t been to Bryne.” I want him to myself.
If we’re at any of the places he mentioned, we could run into my friends. Worse is having girls my age salivating over him. Bobby is sexy in a button-up long-sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing his full sleeve of ink.
Bobby loosened the first three buttons when he got in his truck at my place, and it took every effort not to stare longingly at the dark chest hair peeking over the shirt.
And those black slacks . . . I hum low in the back of my throat.
They fit him well, like a second skin, hugging his tight ass and long legs.
“Is that a yes to flowers, produce, and trinkets?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s do it.” He sets his palm on my thigh and squeezes. Heat shoots to my sex. I clear my throat and stare at the passing scenery.
“Ask your questions, Ever.”
I sigh. Why am I so easy to read? “You’re very chummy with Maggie.”
“That’s not a question.”
“When did you see her? I thought you didn’t have friends.” Why am I upset that he’s made friends with my coworker and her husband?
“I ran into her and the hubby at the store yesterday after I dropped you off.”
That makes sense. Maggie and her husband live in Dumas. Bobby dropped me off long after Sweet Creations had closed.
“We got to talking, and her husband, Evan, had seen me park my motorcycle. He wanted to know more about riding.”
“He has a baby on the way.” I look away from the scenery at the same time Bobby turns his head to me.
Our gazes meet. Something passes between us, which is weird. I barely know Bobby. He squeezes my knee. “I commented on it.”
“And?”
He shrugs. “His decision, Ever.”
“If you had a baby on the way, would you stop riding your motorcycle?”
“I haven’t thought that far.”
“But you do want children someday, right?” My shoulders tense up while I wait for his answer. Why did I ask such a personal question? Kids never came up when Carlos and I dated.
“Yeah. You?”
“Yes,” I answer. “And have them closer in age. Like two years rather than the seven years that separate me and Ty. You?”
His next words are casual, but his grip on the steering wheel says differently. “Nah, I’m fine with the age difference. I was a man when my sister became a teenager. A man could protect his little sis. A boy? Not so much.”