Chapter Eleven
The bell above the door rings as someone walks in.
“Hi, welcome to Saint’s Garage. I’ll be with you in one moment,” I call out to them from my open office door.
“Take your time,” the woman says softly.
Quickly, I hit send on the email before getting up to greet her.
As soon as I see her, I can’t help but suck in a deep breath.
She’s gorgeous. Her hair is done in waves that hang past her shoulders, her makeup is done perfectly, and she’s dressed like she’s about to enter a board meeting and not get her car serviced.
For a split second, I wonder if she’s lost.
“How can I help you?” I ask, feeling a little insecure.
“I’m just here to see my man.” She smiles.
Her man?
Before I can ask her who, Smoke walks out of the other office here. He isn’t in it much anymore, but still claims it as his own.
“Dollface, I thought I heard you out here,” he murmurs as he walks toward her.
As soon as she’s within reach, he pulls her into his arms and kisses her. For some reason, I feel like I should leave the room, like I’m witnessing something private.
Out of all the men she could have told me was hers, I never would have expected Smoke. They look like polar opposites.
That’s what you get for assuming.
“Introduce me,” the woman says to him as she tips her head toward me.
Smoke pulls back, but still holds her close.
“Kelly, this is Jane. She’s a friend of Mac’s. Jane, this is my old lady, Kelly.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jane,” Kelly says.
“Nice to meet you too,” I tell her quietly.
“I have a couple of things to finish up before we take off. Do you have time to wait?” he asks her as he brushes his thumb along her jaw.
She smiles up at him sweetly. “Take your time. I don’t have any showings this afternoon, so I’m yours.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he mutters before he kisses her again.
I tear my eyes away from them and close my eyes as envy rushes through me.
A man has never looked at or talked to me the way that he does to her.
In fact, I didn’t even know it was possible.
Smoke isn’t a small man, and he’s intimidating as hell, but seeing him with his old lady—whatever the hell that means—makes him look, well, human.
“Look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say what Smoke dragged in?” Sloane teases as she steps into the lobby.
Smoke groans. “Go away, Sloane. I don’t need you rubbing off on my girl any more than you already have.”
Sloane touches her chest. “Me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Kelly chuckles as Smoke rolls his eyes. “Please, we all know you’re a terrible influence.”
“There’s a reason her old man calls her Trouble,” Kelly teases.
Sloane perks up at the mention of Gunner. “He does, doesn’t he?”
Kelly pats Smoke’s chest. “Go finish up so we can go get lunch. I’m hungry.”
Smoke frowns. “Do you want to go now? I could always come back and finish what I’m working on when we’re done.”
Kelly starts shaking her head before he can even finish. “I can wait a little bit. Now go finish up while I talk to the girls.”
Smoke grunts and kisses the side of her head before he walks away, back to his office.
“That man is obsessed with you,” Sloane tells her.
“I know,” Kelly says with a dreamy look on her face.
“Do you have something for me?” I ask Sloane.
“Oh, here you go,” she says as she hands over a ticket.
“I’ll get this entered right away, and I’ll call the customer,” I tell her as I scan the work ticket.
“You’re the best,” Sloane tells me before turning back to Kelly. “Is everything a go for the party?”
“Yes. I dropped off four coolers of meat at the clubhouse before I came over here. While I was there, Tank was accepting the alcohol delivery.”
As the two of them talk, my heart begins to ache. The two of them are close. You can tell they have a solid friendship. As fucked up as it is, I can’t help but be a little jealous.
I want that.
I want someone I can just talk to openly, that I can be close to.
I haven’t had that in years. Hell, I used to before I married him.
When Evan and I got together, it was great.
He had no issues hanging out with my friends.
Then slowly but surely, he convinced me to stop going out with them, that we should stay home and save money.
When my friends voiced their concerns, I thought they were crazy.
When I told him about it, he convinced me to cut them out completely, leaving me well and truly isolated, with him being the only person in my life.
Looking back, I should have listened to my friends, but I didn’t. I didn’t know any better. Then again, what eighteen-year-old does?
Watching Kelly and Sloane interact…I want that.
I want that kind of friendship again. I just don’t know how to go about it.
Yeah, I have Bertha and Mac in a roundabout way, but it’s not the same.
She isn’t here, and well, Mac is Mac. He’s a man, and to be honest, I think I need someone to talk to about these conflicting feelings I have been having for him.
“Jane,” Sloane says.
I shake my head, pushing my depressing thoughts to the side.
“Sorry, I zoned out. What’s up?”
“We were wondering if you have any plans this weekend. We’re having a barbecue at the clubhouse and thought of you. You could meet some people, maybe make some friends. I know how hard it is when you’re the new person in town,” Kelly says.
“I-I don’t know…”
Yeah, it sounds nice, and I know I was just thinking about how I want to make friends, but would it really be smart to get any more involved with these people? Plus, the kids.
“Come on, you know you want to…” Sloane drawls.
“What does Jane want to do?” Mac grumbles as he walks into the lobby, pulling all of our attention to him.
“We are trying to convince her to come to the clubhouse this weekend for the barbecue,” Kelly tells me without batting an eye.
Shit.
I was supposed to invite her, but I never got around to it.
I’m a fucking idiot.
The woman goes to three places—work, home, and the store. That’s it. She needs more social interaction than that.
“I-I can’t. I have my kids. Besides, it sounds like it’s a family thing,” Jane says weakly.
“It’s not just a family thing. Friends come too. As for your kids, they can come too. Smoke insisted it be kid-friendly. They will be well entertained, I promise,” Sloane tells her.
“It is completely family-friendly for the most part. At least it is until after dark, but I bet you’ll want to take them home to get them in bed. I promise you’ll love it,” Kelly amends.
“I don’t know…” Jane says, looking completely uncomfortable.
I clear my throat, making her look toward me.
“You should come. The kids will have a blast, and I think you will have a good time too. It’s time for you to start setting down more roots here,” I tell her.
“Are you sure?” she asks softly.
She’s not asking me if I’m sure she should come. She’s asking me if I’m sure it’s safe for her to do this—that she won’t be found.
I get it. The fear for her is real. This is all new to her.
Hell, it wasn’t that long ago that she escaped her prison.
I don’t blame her for being scared, but she needs this.
I don’t know why, but I want her to do this.
I want her to make friends and have people she can count on.
I want her to have people she can turn to when shit gets heavy.
As much as I hate it, I can only do so much.
I can’t force her to open up to me, and I’m sure there is shit she needs to get off her chest that she doesn’t want to talk to me about.
Things that she will only talk to a woman about, and right now, we have two in the room who I’m sure are more than willing to take that burden from her.
Hell, I know Sloane and Kelly wouldn’t blink twice.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I tell her after a minute. “It’s here at the clubhouse. You haven’t been back there yet, but it’s as safe as it is here. Safer even.”
We watch as Jane takes a shaky breath and then nods.
“O-okay, but only for a little bit,” she says reluctantly.
“Yay, I’m so excited!” Kelly says as she claps her hands together.
“You were totally a cheerleader, weren’t you?” Sloane teases Kelly, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’ll never tell,” Kelly quips back.
“Tell what?” Smoke asks as he comes in.
“Nothing,” Kelly says quickly.
Smoke’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t push. He looks over at Sloane and jerks his thumb over his shoulder.
“Your old man is looking for you.”
Sloane sighs. “Such a slave driver, that one.”
Smoke scoffs but turns back to his woman. “Are you ready to head out?”
“Yes. Feed me before I perish,” Kelly tells him.
Finally, when the room clears out, Jane looks at me.
“Can I help you with something?” she asks softly.
“Brought this in for you,” I tell her as I hand over the ticket.
“Thanks. I’ll get right on that. I have one for Sloane that I need to write up too,” she tells me as she looks it over.
Awkwardly, I stand in front of her and wait for her to look back at me.
She must feel my gaze on her because when she looks up, she frowns.
“Is everything okay?” she asks softly.
“Actually, I need to talk to you about something.”
I can’t help but mentally curse when her body tenses.
“Is it about rent?”
“No, it’s not that at all.” I frown.
Jane lets out a slow breath and nods. “Okay, what’s up?”
“How is the car running?” I ask.
“Good. The kids love it,” she tells me.
“Good. You’ve been here about two months now.
I know you said he would find you, but he hasn’t yet.
I want you to know that we are keeping an eye out for anything unusual.
You are safe here, so you don’t have to keep locked up.
It’s too cold now, but when summer comes, take the kids to the beach.
There’s even a little water park near downtown.
Or we can take them over to OWA Parks and Resort in Alabama.
You don’t have to keep living the life you once did. ”
She looks at me like I’ve called her out. I hate it.
“I’m sorry. I’m out of line. I shouldn’t have said all that.”
“No. You are right. I hate how right you are. He never liked to let us do anything. Everything was under his control. Hell, I’ve left him, yet I’m still living by his rules. I don’t want to be afraid anymore,” she tells me.
“Good. Let me know if you need anything else.” I take a step toward the shop door when she says my name.
“Yeah?” I ask as I look over my shoulder.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea if I go to this thing this weekend?” she asks softly.
“I do. I think we both know that it’s time for you to settle in. The kids have started school. They are starting to make friends and shit. This is your home, and it’s time you started treating it as such. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me.”
Unless you plan on taking off and haven’t said anything.
“Are you sure you’re okay with me hanging out with your friends? I-I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking over your life,” she says as she fiddles with the work order I handed her.
This woman.
After everything she’s been through, she still worries about everyone else.
“I’m sure.”
She nods. “Okay.”
Without saying anything, I leave her in the office and head back to my workstation. I know it shouldn’t, but it feels good taking the car thing off her plate, and it feels even better knowing that this weekend she will finally start to settle in.
I know I shouldn’t care this much, but I do. I really fucking do.