Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Cal
Luke drops the envelope onto the workbench with a heavy thud. “That’s all of it.”
I glance down at the stack of cash before sliding it into my back pocket. “Thanks for grabbing that for me, man. Appreciate it.”
“Not a big deal. I was in the city anyway.”
My friend raises a brow. I know him well enough to know there’s a lot more he wants to say.
I sigh and lean back against the bench, crossing my arms over my chest. “What?”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“Bull shit.”
Luke chuckles and drops his head for a second before looking at me. “You really need me to say it?”
I shake my head, not that it’s going to stop him.
I know exactly what he’s going to say. I’ve been thinking it, too. Probably every second since Willow walked out of the Rusty Nail with me.
I’m in too deep.
And if I thought that before I took her to bed, then now I’m really fucked. Because as much as I’ve tried to keep distance from her, any chance of that has been blown out of the water now.
Way out.
“You know what you’re doing, Cal?”
I open my mouth to give my friend a sharp retort. Instead, I close it and shake my head. “Not a fucking clue.”
Luke answers with a low whistle.
“Thought I did,” I continue. “But…”
“Been a long time since you’ve gone for the damsel in distress, hey?”
He doesn’t say it maliciously, and I nod, because we both know exactly how long it’s been. He was there. He saw the fallout of that decision and everything that came after it.
“It’s okay, you know?”
My head snaps up. “What’s okay?”
“To let yourself feel,” he says simply. “History doesn’t have to repeat itself,” he continues. “It won’t.”
“You don’t know that.” I turn away and walk toward the truck I’ve been working on, pressing my hands on the hood and dropping my head. “I mean…I know it’s different now,” I say without turning. “We’re not at war. This isn’t a mission. But…”
“But?”
“Hatch.” It’s the easy answer, but it’s not the whole truth.
The part I don’t say is how I saw Willow's home. I saw with my own eyes what she’s come from.
The battle she’s been fighting all on her own.
I took her away from it all yesterday, but could I save her from it?
Could I keep her safe from her family’s choices and the life that threatens to pull her under?
"I have my opinions on using your money to pay for someone else’s debts,” Luke says behind me. “But it’s your money, and you can do what you want with it. If paying off that asshole is going to keep her safe, then I support it. This will be over soon.”
If only it were that simple.
I inhale another deep breath and finally straighten, so I can look at my friend. “Maybe you’re right.”
I’m full of shit, and he knows me well enough to know it.
Thankfully, he also knows me well enough not to call me on it right now.
“Take care of Hatch,” Luke says, clapping me on my back and squeezing my shoulder. “Then you can figure out the rest.”
I look at him and nod. It’s a good plan. One thing at a time.
“Now, why don’t we get up to the house so I can finally meet this woman who’s got you all twisted up?”
“She’s a real spitfire,” I say with a laugh, and together we move for the door of the shop.
“I would expect nothing less.”
Luke walks past me outside, and as I reach back to turn the light off, I pause, a strange feeling like I’m being watched has the hair on the back of my neck bristling. I wait a moment and scan the room, but there’s nothing there. Of course there’s not.
I shake off the feeling, certain all this shit with Hatch has me unnecessarily worked up, and close the door behind me before catching up with Luke as we join the women on the porch.
Willow
Murph stretches out on the floorboards at our feet with a dramatic sigh and drops his head on his paws.
I bend to give him a scratch behind his ears before pouring Lilly and me each a glass of lemonade. I don’t know the first thing about hosting a guest. I’ve never actually had one before, and technically, this isn't even my house or my porch.
Lilly is about my age, pretty, and put together in a way I could never hope to be.
Her long dark hair is pulled up in a bun on the top of her head, and she’s wearing a sleeveless blouse over linen shorts.
Her makeup is subtle, but pretty, and she even has a pretty gold necklace and matching earrings on.
Self-consciously, I tug on my messy ponytail and glance down at my ratty cut-offs and tank top.
At least I’m not still wearing Cal’s oversized clothes, having grabbed some before we left my house.
“You look great,” Lilly says, reading my mind. “I’m only dressed like this because we had a meeting with a client in town. I’m usually wearing leggings or shorts when I’m not working.”
“That’s right. Cal mentioned you and Luke work together.” I settle into the chair and take a sip of my lemonade. It’s way too sweet, and I quickly set it down. “Sorry about the lemonade. It was a powder mix I found in Cal’s cupboard.”
Lilly laughs and waves away my protests.
“It’s cold and sugary. Pretty good combination to me.
” She takes a sip and smiles. “Perfect. And yes, Luke’s daughter hired me to be his assistant a few months ago, but now we’re more like partners.
” A satisfied smile crosses her lips. “It’s funny how things work out, right? ”
My eyes dart toward the garage where Luke and Cal disappeared and where I’d told Bryson to hide.
“Right,” I say, my voice shaky. “I guess.”
“Are you okay? You seem nervous.”
The comment catches me off guard. I pick up my glass and take a sip, to give myself something to do.
“I’m fine.” I force a smile and glance over at Lilly. “I’m just…it’s been a lot,” I finish lamely.
At once, her expression softens. “Luke told me,” she says kindly.
“You’re so brave for putting yourself in that situation in the first place.
My friend Tessa told me how rough the Rusty Nail is.
I’ve been warned about it myself. Oh, you probably haven’t met Tessa yet,” Lilly says quickly.
“She’s a good friend—never mind. I don’t want to overwhelm you with a bunch of names.
Besides, I’m sure you’ll meet the whole gang soon enough.
” I don’t have time to think about what that comment might mean before she adds, “You must really love your brother to have put yourself in danger like that.”
I swallow hard, and my eyes dart toward the garage. “I do,” I say with a sigh. “Even though sometimes I wonder if…well… let’s just say he doesn’t always make it easy to love him.”
She nods like she understands. “Are you sure you’re okay? You really seem unsettled.”
Heat creeps up my neck. I don’t want to lie to my new friend, but it’s not like I can tell her the truth either.
"So you and Luke…he was your boss?”
She laughs and tosses her head back. “Oh yeah. Tessa is actually his daughter, and she hired me without telling him. Believe me when I say he was not happy about it.”
I can’t help but laugh along with her. “I believe that. These mountain men don’t really seem like the type to just go with the flow.”
“That’s the truth.” She takes another sip of her drink and studies me quietly, her laughter fading away. “Especially Cal.”
My stomach does a strange flip. I look away before she can notice.
Too late.
“Do you want to talk about it, Willow?”
I can’t meet her eyes. “Talk about what?”
“Whatever has you so twisted up right now?” she says quietly. “I’m a good listener.”
Even having just met her, I know that’s true. But there’s no way I can tell Lilly that the real cause of all my trouble, my brother, is hiding in Cal’s garage, only a few feet from where he and Luke are probably standing.
I can’t tell her how I’m keeping secrets from the only man who’s ever cared enough to help me. Cal’s the only man I’ve ever been able to picture a future with, and I’m risking it all.
Hot tears prick at my eyes, but I blink them back and blow out a breath.
“You know,” Lilly says softly after a moment of silence. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about these mountain men, it’s that they can handle anything we throw at them.”
I force myself to meet her eyes. “Anything?”
“Pretty much.” She laughs softly. “Especially for the women they let into their hearts.”
Their hearts?
“I don’t know if—”
“What they don’t like,” she cuts me off smoothly, “is surprises.”
For a second, I’m convinced she can see right through me, and maybe she can. But her expression stays kind and open.
My gaze drifts toward the garage before I can stop myself.
Immediately, I regret it because Lilly’s gaze follows mine.
“Whatever it is,” she says quietly. “Trust that Cal can handle it, because he can.”
Before I can respond, the shop door opens, and Luke steps out into the yard. Cal is right behind him.
I see the moment he spots me sitting on the porch, and his face lights up with a broad smile. He looks happy and relaxed, and the sight of it makes my stomach flip.
Because all I can think about is how quickly that’s going to change when he finds out what I’ve done.
Cal
Luke’s leaning against the porch railing with a beer in his hand, while I flip burgers on the grill.
When we’d finally joined the women on the porch, it was easy to see how well they were getting along, and it had been such a long time since things had felt normal, whatever the hell that is, that we decided to have an impromptu cookout.
Besides, I owed my buddy a thank you for grabbing the cash for me so I didn’t have to leave the mountain. And Willow.
I close the lid on the grill and reach for my own beer, scanning the yard where the women are throwing the ball, again, for the dog.
“That dog is unhinged,” Luke observes.
“You’re just jealous because the girls like him.”
“Fair.” He shakes his head with a laugh.
Across the yard, both women throw their heads back in laughter as the dog bounces between them. I can’t stop watching them. Okay, I can’t stop watching Willow.
And thinking about what it would be like if she stayed.