Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
“ D id you see that blue carpet on the walls?” Ink asked, chuckling.
Breaker laughed. “How could I miss it? It was godawful. I’ve never seen anything so hideous in my life.”
Rock jerked his attention toward the two prospects who were sitting at the bar in the clubhouse, tipping back a few beers. He was standing behind the counter, looking for the box of snacks he’d stashed there a few days ago, hiding it from the Littles.
Grabbing the edge of the bar, he cleared his throat. “What did you say?” His voice squeaked.
Ink glanced at him. “Oh, man, you should have seen it. Breaker and I are doing a bit of work on a house in town. We’re tasked with gutting a basement, and, man, does it need it. Some fool covered an entire wall with navy Berber carpet. Probably been there for decades. Whoever it was did a good job because it’s a bitch to remove.”
Rock’s heart started racing, and it had nothing to do with the heart attack he’d had two years ago. He knew that basement. He knew it better than any other basement in town. He’d spent countless hours in that basement, studying with his friend, playing music, and hovering as close to his Little girl as possible.
The fool who’d stapled that carpet to the wall had been Jackson Sealock. Rock had been head over heels in love with his younger sister, Lyla, though he’d never once told Jackson that.
Breaker chuckled. “Some guy in the eighties probably put the carpet on the wall to help with the basement’s acoustics. Guy probably played the drums too loud or something and drove his family nuts.”
Rock was frozen, unable to move. Jackson had never played the drums, but he’d sure enjoyed his music, and he, indeed, had played it too loud. The carpet might have helped, though Rock had always thought it was a crazy idea.
“You okay, man?” Ink asked.
Rock finally managed to pry his fingers off the edge of the bar and nod.
Breaker laughed again. “What’s even funnier is that the woman who’s selling the house seems reluctant to have us take the carpet down. She hired us to do the job, but this morning, she paced in front of it, wringing her hands as though it was going to be physically painful for us to remove it.”
Rock’s breath hitched as his spine stiffened. “Woman?”
“Yep. Her parents own the place, and they’ve sent her to get it ready to sell.”
Was it possible that Lyla and Jackson’s parents had never sold the house? The idea was preposterous and farfetched. Wishful thinking. Rock needed to get his head out of his ass and straighten it on his shoulders. But a strange feeling crept up his neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “How old is this woman?”
Ink shrugged. “About your age, I’d guess.”
Rock grabbed the edge of the bar again. He hated leaning toward the prospects, but he couldn’t help himself. “Did you get her name?”
Ink glanced at Breaker, frowning. “Hmm. Do you remember? I think it started with an L. Lisa… Lyra…”
Rock stopped breathing. Holy fuck. “Lyla?” he managed to whisper as though just saying her name was somehow reverent.
Ink snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Do you know her?”
Rock swallowed and shook his head. “I did. Years ago. Decades ago.”
Breaker grinned. “Well, she’s a looker, that one. For an old gal. Want me to tell her hello for you?”
Rock shook his head. “No. Please don’t. I’ll…” He had no idea what he might do. He needed time to wrap his head around this development.
He was stunned as he walked away, heading for his private apartment in the clubhouse. He owned a home a few miles from here, but he maintained this apartment for nights when he didn’t feel like riding home.
As soon as Rock was alone, he shut the door and dropped onto his favorite recliner. He leaned back to stare blankly at the ceiling. Holy mother… Lyla was in town.
He’d never realized her family had kept the house. They’d been renting it out for nearly four decades?
Rock’s heart was still beating fast. If a doctor saw him right now, he’d lose his mind.
Lyla … My God …
After all these years, she was here in Shadowridge. Would she look him up? Probably not. She was probably married with four kids and a dog. Grown kids. After all, Rock had been married and had two grown kids.
Kathy had died twenty years ago. Rock had loved her dearly, but she’d been gone longer than he’d known her by now. That seemed so strange. He’d never put himself back out there after Kathy had passed.
As far as Rock was concerned, he’d loved two women. The first had left town when he was twenty. The second had died too young. He’d never had any intention of loving another woman. It hurt deeply when they left him. It didn’t matter the reason.
Rock had thought about Lyla often over the years. He’d wondered what had happened to her. Had she finished college? Gotten a teaching job? Had she married? Hell, he hadn’t known if she’d even been alive until today.
She’s here. In Shadowridge. Holy fuck .
One of the last things he’d told her was that he would always be here in this town if they ever lost touch. He’d never heard from her, and he’d never left town for any length of time. He’d lived here his entire life. She knew his name. It wouldn’t be difficult to reach him.
Rock closed his eyes and let himself go back to that night nearly forty years ago. He would never forget the tears in her eyes when she returned home after her prom. She’d overheard her date and his buddies speaking crudely about fucking her.
Rock had wanted to strangle those little assholes in the moment, but Lyla had needed him to keep a level head. She’d needed a hug, and then she’d needed a lot more than a hug.
The next six hours had been the best in his twenty years of existence. He’d never forgotten a moment of it. The timing had been shit. He’d left town for a summer internship two days later, and she’d left the state for college two months later.
He’d thought they’d had something special that could withstand the test of time and distance, but he’d never heard from her again.
He’d been good friends with her older brother, Jackson, but they’d lost contact that summer, too. It hadn’t helped that their parents had moved away, which meant Jackson and Lyla would have spent holidays and vacations wherever the Sealocks had moved.
With a groan, Rock rolled his head forward, set his elbows on his knees, and leaned his forehead against his palms. “Jesus…” he muttered. “She’s here in Shadowridge.” He couldn’t wrap his head around that. He wanted to see her, if only from a distance. He wouldn’t disrupt her if she was married, but what if she happened to be single like him?
Ink and Breaker hadn’t mentioned anyone being with Lyla, but they hadn’t said she was alone either. Would she be staying at the house? Doubtful. It probably wasn’t furnished. It could be in serious disrepair. She’d obviously hired people to work on getting it ready to sell.
It was late. Rock pushed to standing. He’d considered staying here tonight but now changed his mind. He wanted to go home where he could be alone with his memories.
Even sliding his arms into his cut reminded him of the first time he’d met Lyla. She’d been sixteen. She should have been scared of him with his tattoos, torn jeans, black boots, and black leather Shadowridge Guardians MC jacket. She’d shown no signs of being leery of him, though. In fact, she’d met his gaze and stood toe-to-toe with him. She’d even asked about his Shadowridge Guardians logo.
Something about Lyla had drawn his attention and held it captive. She’d stolen his heart that day. He’d become good friends with her brother and hung around their home often from that day forward.
Rock had liked Jackson, but the real reason he’d cultivated that friendship was so he could see Lyla as often as possible. He didn’t dare mention his attraction or instigate direct contact with her until she’d turned eighteen, but those two years had been long.
The one night he’d spent with her had been heaven and not nearly enough. The memories lingered. They’d lasted four decades. He still held a place in his heart for her.
As he was leaving his apartment in the compound, he ran into Remi in the hallway. His daughter cornered him with her hands on her hips. Kade, her husband and Daddy, stood behind her, smirking. This was becoming a regular occurrence.
Fending off the questions he knew would fly out of Remi’s mouth, he got a jump on her. “Yes, Remi, I ate dinner. No, I didn’t have dessert. Yes, I ate the gross green things on my plate. Yes, I’ve taken my heart medicine. Yes, I walked today. No, I’m not in pain.”
She gave him a slow smile and then wrapped her arms around him. “Okay, then. Are you going home for the night?”
“Yes.” He kissed the top of her head before spinning her around and nudging her back to her Daddy. Kade would take care of her. He was a good man. “See you tomorrow.”
It was a nice night outside. Great weather for a long evening ride. But Rock wasn’t in the mood. He climbed on his bike, started it up, and pulled out of the compound.
He had no idea why he drove in the wrong direction and ended up on the street Lyla and Jackson had grown up on, but he slowed down as he went by the old house.
A light was on in the basement. He could see the illumination through the two small windows right at ground level. Was she in there? Surely not. It was getting late. She wouldn’t be sitting in the empty basement. There were no other lights on in the house. There wouldn’t be any furniture in there. She was probably at the motel on the edge of town. Maybe she forgot to turn the lights off.
There was a car in the driveway, but it was possible the neighbors used the spot since the house was vacant. That’s what he would do instead of parking on the street.
For a minute, he considered driving toward the motel next, but that would be absurd. It wasn’t as if he would know what car she drove or what room she would be staying in.
Granted, he did know the night manager for the motel, Sheila. He could go inside and ask her if Lyla was staying there. He had no idea what Lyla’s last name might be. Surely it wasn’t still Sealock. But that didn’t matter. A description would be all Sheila would need to confirm if Lyla had secured a room.
Rock shook the idea from his head. Don’t be a fucking stalker, asshole . It would be rude to ask Sheila to do something unethical. Besides, it was probably best that he not approach Lyla at all. She’d made a choice not to contact him after their one night together. He would respect her decision.
He drew in a deep breath as he aimed his bike toward his house on the outskirts of town. Anger bubbled up inside him, the same anger he’d felt that summer when she hadn’t contacted him.
Rock has been hurt and confused. He’d given her a note with the number of the place he would be staying, the number of the office he’d be working for, and a number for the Shadowridge Guardians’ clubhouse. She hadn’t contacted him at any location, and once she’d gone off to college, he’d had no way to reach her.
He could have asked her brother, but he’d never let on to Jackson that he’d had any sort of relationship with Lyla at all, plus Jackson had vanished after that summer, too.
Rock pulled into his garage, shut off the engine, and climbed off his bike. His heart was heavy as he entered his dark house. He didn’t even turn on any lights. He wasn’t in the mood to see. After aiming straight for his bedroom, Rock removed his boots, brushed his teeth, and dropped onto the bed without pulling the covers back.
He stared at the ceiling, willing the memories to stop bombarding him. Lyla had never contacted him or returned to Shadowridge for a reason. Maybe she’d met someone that summer. Maybe she’d decided he wasn’t good enough for her. Maybe her family had found out about the night she’d spent with Rock and demanded she sever contact.
He would never know why she’d vanished.
Unless he confronted her.
And that was a terrible idea.
Better to let sleeping dogs lie.