Chapter 14 Profess Undying Love
Profess Undying Love
Savannah
On the way home, I struggled with my thoughts and feelings. Ted had done his best to nudge me to the end of the checkout lane so I wouldn’t see the grand total of our massive grocery haul. It tallied up to just under two hundred fifty dollars. I didn’t know the best way to thank him.
“You’re really quiet over there, Smythe.”
“Thank you doesn’t seem adequate for the insane amount of money you spent on groceries for me and Cat.”
He glanced at me and back to the road. We were in Rita’s company vehicle, so I was glad he kept his eyes on the traffic.
“If it weren’t for the beer, wine, and sodas, it would have come up to around one-thirty maybe one-fifty. From what I can see in your kitchen, you don’t shop often. This will stock you up for at least a week and a half.”
His math checked out, but it didn’t keep me from feeling like a charity case.
“I appreciate it, and so does Catalina. Actually, she’ll profess undying love to you considering the cornucopia of cookies you picked up.”
He chuckled. “What about you? Do the cookies get me your undying love?”
I arched a brow at him. He was not after my undying love. “I have to watch my figure so I can earn the best tips.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need to be dancing if you don’t want to, Savannah. I was serious last night. I’m getting rid of Frank Darren for you.”
I kept quiet at that because while I had faith in Ted and the Riot brothers to handle problems, something about Frank struck me as being far and away more stubborn.
Punc turned into our neighborhood. “Do you like working for Rita? This is a nice car she provides. I’m guessing her business does well.”
“Yeah, she’s a great boss.”
“How so?”
“She’s diplomatic. I figure most people would tell me to suck it up it when I ran into a problematic client, but she understood and reassigned me.”
He pulled into the driveway, but didn’t turn off the car. “How were they problematic? There are only so many ways to scrub a toilet.”
His energy had shifted into protective mode, and I knew he wouldn’t let this go. “It was over two years ago, Punc, but this client liked to, um, watch me.”
“Watch you. What does that mean? Make sure you didn’t steal their jewelry or some shit?”
I held up my hands. “Don’t worry about it, Punc. It was uncomfortable, and Rita took care of it.”
He shifted in his seat, and gently put his hand on my neck. “Don’t make me go to Rita about this, babe.” He dipped his chin and shot me a sly grin. “Shouldn’t tell you this, but she said she likes me for you.”
I closed my eyes and ignored those words, though I had no doubt Rita didn’t like him for me, she loved him for me. “He liked to watch me in his house. It didn’t get to the point where he harassed me, but my instincts said that day was coming soon.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “You sound almost broken up about it.”
I twisted my hands up. “Not really, it’s just that Rita keeps her employees in the same area for efficiency.
When I got reassigned, I lost two other clients out in Ponte Vedra, and they were really great tippers.
Though, to be fair, if I hadn’t switched, I’d never have met Muriel… so it all worked out in the end.”
Punc’s lips twisted with cynicism and his eyes slid to the garage door. “Let’s take the food in through the garage.”
We put the groceries away, and it surprised me how well we worked together. Then again, putting food away wasn’t exactly the height of teamwork.
My phone rang with a familiar looking number on the display.
“Who’s that?” Punc asked.
I didn’t want to tell him I thought it might be Frank.
I shrugged and took the call. “Hello?”
“Did you hook up with a biker? Or did your sister?” Frank asked.
“Why would you ask that?” I asked.
“Saw the Harley in your driveway earlier. You got a biker boyfriend all of a sudden?”
“That’s none of your business,” I said.
“I disagree. Your daddy tells me there’s an insurance policy paying out soon.”
Oh, my God.
In the weeks since I got out of the hospital, I’d left tons of messages for Dad and got nothing in return. Catalina left him a message, but then he returned her call at two in the morning without leaving her a voicemail.
Now, my worst fears had been confirmed. Dad was somehow tied up in all this.
“Why would you talk to my dad?” I asked.
“I’m taking that settlement in full,” Frank hissed.
My temper got the best of me, and I blurted, “No, you aren’t, Frank. I don’t even get the full payout - her creditors get paid first.”
Suddenly, Punc stood in front of me, his eyes blazing with anger.
He snatched the phone from me. “Listen up, asshole. She doesn’t owe you shit.”
There was a pause, and I wished the phone was on speaker.
“I’m part of the Riot MC and she doesn’t exist to you, and neither does her sister.”
I heard the beep of the call dropping.
Punc stared at me seething. “Block his number.”
“No! If something happens to Cat, I’ll need that for the cops or to find out what’s going on.”
“Nothing is happening to Catalina,” he said, his voice laced with venom and steel.
I took a deep breath. “Give me my phone, please.”
“Why?”
“Because I need my phone.”
“Why, baby?”
Calling me “baby” threw me and bugged me for some reason. He’d made himself rather clear last night, but I hadn’t made up my mind yet. I decided to let it go - both the endearment and my demand for him to hand over my phone. Once he put my phone down, I’d call Dad.
I took another deep breath, shook my head and turned around. “Never mind.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, and hurried around me to block my way.
My eyes darted to his hands. He wasn’t holding my cell phone, and I glanced over my shoulder. The phone wasn’t on the counter either. My best guess was that he’d tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans.
“You’re way too tweaked to drop it like that. What aren’t you telling me, babe? I know there’s something because otherwise you wouldn’t be so adamant about your phone.”
I shook my head. “No, I overreacted.”
The way he stared at me, it was like he could peek inside my mind. “Do you want to call your sister?”
Catalina wouldn’t have her phone on, but that was a good point. “Yeah, I should at least text her or leave her a message.”
He pulled my phone from his back pocket and handed it to me. “Have at it, but I know there’s something else going on here, honey.”
That wasn’t an attempt at giving me a guilt trip, but hell if I didn’t feel horrible for keeping this from him.
“You’re right. Frank spoke to Dad, who let it spill that there’s an insurance payout coming.
Which is true, but Cat and I have to split it after the other creditors are paid.
This verifies what me and Cat suspected all along.
Dad is at the crux of this bullshit. I’ve called him repeatedly before and after I got out of the hospital.
He hasn’t returned any of my calls. Cat called and he called her back at like two in the freaking morning. ”
He shoved his hand through his hair. “Christ.”
“So, I’m calling Dad, again, and hopefully this time he’ll freaking call me back.”
“Don’t,” Punc said.
My eyes widened. “What?”
Punc’s lips twisted to the side before he frowned. “Don’t call him. I’ll get in touch with him.”
“You don’t have his number,” I muttered.
Punc dipped his chin. “Does he still live off McGlothlin Street?”
I didn’t respond.
His lips tipped up. “Yeah. He’s gonna hear from me.”
“Punc, really, I don’t want—”
He grabbed my hands. “I didn’t pressure you at breakfast, but are you interested in giving this a shot?”
I pressed my lips together. I wanted it more than almost anything, but… My life was a train wreck. “Can I take a rain check? The timing’s really bad, Ted.”
He brought one of his hands up and slid it behind my neck. “Savannah, life doesn’t wait for good timing. The bad shit happens out of nowhere, and often great shit happens when you least expect it, too, which means you can’t plan for decent timing.”
I stared into his blue eyes. “When did you become so sage?”
He smirked. “Fuck if I know.”
“This isn’t pity, is it?” I asked, and immediately wished I hadn’t.
His face came closer. “Are you shitting me?”
I arched my brows. “It’s a valid question, Punc. I mean, part of me thinks you’re only interested because you wanted to keep me from dancing and then I got beat up, and you’ve been blaming yourself for that.”
He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him. “Savannah, the moment I handed you a contestant number, I wanted to haul you to the parking lot so you couldn’t dance because I wanted you right then and there. But I resisted—”
“So you could keep your job,” I said.
He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. When he opened his eyes, they shone with patience. “No, because I wanted to talk to my sister. Not gonna do something that could ruin what you have with her, and I don’t want to have ill will with her either.”
“Really?”
He widened his eyes. “Yes, really. You’ve met Kyra, Dalton, and Nina. They’re the shit. I love spending time with them, and I’m not fucking that up.”
“Okay, I can see that.”
“The night I brought you pizza, I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t have a fuckin’ choice. Today… I got the day off—” A concerned look came over his expression. “Do you work tonight?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then, if you’re willing to give this a shot, I’m spending the day with you, and I want you to spend the night at the clubhouse with me.”
“That sounds like fun, but I should be here at night for Catalina.”
His head moved in a couple of short nods. “Okay. If we’re doing this, then sometime soon, I want you to spend the night with me there, because it’s a big part of who I am now. If you aren’t cool with that scene, I need to know that.”
“Are you breaking the law? I don’t want to become my mom and marry my Dad.”
His gaze sharpened. “Savannah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your Dad, but do you seriously think I’m anything like him?”