Chapter 4 Laken #2
I figured he would just hand us a bag of take out and be on his way, but when I glanced in the truck, I saw that he’d basically made a picnic inside his truck. “Oh, my. You didn’t have to do all this.”
“It’s nothing. Just thought I’d keep you two warm while you ate.”
My chest tightened as we all climbed in and got settled. Baylor wasted no time tearing into the kid’s meal he’d picked up for her. She dug into the fries like she hadn’t eaten in days. “Hey, missy. What do you say?”
“D’ank you,” she muttered with her mouth full.
“Welcome, kiddo.”
Skid offered me my bag of food, and the smell of it made my stomach growl. It had been a minute since we’d had takeout, and the thought of it had my mouth watering. I opened the bag and pulled out my burger as I told him, “Thanks again. For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.” He waved it off like it was nothing, but it was far from nothing. This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me. “I owed you a warm meal after making you ride in my dirty pickup.”
“It’s far from dirty, and at least it’s running.”
“You’ve got a point there.”
He chuckled, low and rough, and for the first time that day, I didn’t feel so anxious. And it was nice. Really nice.
We talked between bites, sharing little things about ourselves.
I told him about Baylor’s love of rabbits and how she hated vegetables.
And he told me more about his motorcycle club and how they treated each other like family.
He told me that his father and a couple of the brothers taught him how to work on engines, and there wasn’t much he couldn’t fix if he tried hard enough.
At some point, Baylor held up a fry and offered it to him with a big grin. “You want one?”
“Absolutely.” He took it without hesitation and shoved it in his mouth. “Hey, wait a minute. Why do yours taste better than mine?”
“I don’t know.”
“You sure about that?” he teased. “You didn’t add some bunny magic to ‘em?”
“Bunny-B did it,” she giggled.
“Ah, so the bunny’s behind it. I see how it is.” Skid motioned his head towards the stuffed animal. “He and I are gonna need to have a chat.”
“Bunny is a she.”
“All the better.” He gave her a wink. “I can do some sweet talkin’ and figure out her secret.”
Seeing Baylor giggle at him hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It all came so easy, so natural, with him. There was no judgement. No expectations. Just warmth and kindness, and the low hum of his truck engine keeping us warm.
Overcome with emotion, I looked out the window and whispered, “It’s been a long time since anyone’s done something nice like this.”
“Then, it’s about time someone did,” he answered softly. “And I’m glad that someone was me.”
“Me, too.”
Baylor leaned forward and was smiling ear to ear as she offered him some more fries. Skid gobbled them up, and Baylor’s laughter filled the truck.
And for the first time in longer than I could remember, I felt a sense of happiness I’d forgotten existed. It was the kind that didn’t ask for anything in return. Just a man, a little girl and her bunny, and a night that somehow felt like the start of something I didn’t know I’d been missing.
When Skid started gathering our trash, reality edged its way back in.
The tightness in my chest returned as I stared at the front entrance of the hotel. Noting my hesitation, Skid asked, “Something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” I let out a breath. “I just had a bit of a run-in with a guy earlier. He said some pretty gross stuff, and I really don’t want to face him again.”
“What room number?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll get…”
“What was the room number, Laken?” he pressed.
“108.”
The words barely left my mouth, and he was out of the truck. I called out to him, “Skid! Wait!”
It was too late.
He was already through the front door. I didn’t move. I just sat there stunned. After a moment, reality set in, and along with it came the fear and doubt. I knew nothing about the man in 108. He could hurt Skid or worse. He could kill him. That thought had me scrambling to gather our things.
I was just about to get out of the truck when Skid came back out. He opened my door and announced, “He’s gone, and he won’t be back.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I did.” His brows furrowed. “If you run into anything like that again, you call me. You don’t ignore it. You don’t hide from it. You call.”
I glanced down at his hand, and my breath hitched when I saw his red, scratched knuckles. He’d fought for me. I couldn’t remember anyone ever doing something like that for me. I wanted to reach over and run my hand over his, making sure he was okay. But I was too overcome with emotion to move.
I nodded, because I couldn’t have spoken even if I tried. He held my gaze for a brief second, and the next thing I knew, he was following us up to the front door. He gave me a warm smile as he said, “Thanks for the dinner date.”
“No. Thank you… For everything.”
He gave me a nod, and then he was on his way. And I was left wondering when I would be seeing our hero in leather again. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long.