Chapter 12
Taylor stood at the end of the bed. She slid the two books from Oz on top of her clothes and zipped it shut. He was so sweet to sign the books and give them to her. Her fingers stilled where they were wrapped around the handle of her bag. Oz had been good to her. He was what she had envisioned a boyfriend to be. And last night. She closed her eyes. She could feel his hand gliding over her skin again. The feel of his hard body against hers. The taste of his lips.
"Ready to go?" Oz asked.
She gasped. When did he walk in? Was she ready? Not really. Anxious? Absolutely. As much as she needed to trust her family as she got back on her feet, she feared she was wasting her time.
"Taylor?"
She twisted toward Oz. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Oz closed the gap between them and pulled her to his chest. "You’ll do fine. Take a deep breath and stand tall. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
How did he always seem to know her thoughts? Had she become that transparent?
He huffed a laugh. "You've been avoiding the subject since we left Louisiana. It's obvious you’re hesitant to see your family.”
Her arms seemed to slide around him of their own free will and she relaxed into him. How she wished this was real. That last night was real. That it was possible to find someone like the men in those books he wrote. No matter the past, or the twisted craziness that life pulled you into, there was someone who would love you despite it all.
But that wasn't real, and it was time for reality. She stepped back. "Let's do this."
***
The ride to her parent's home was quiet. There was so much she wanted to say to Oz. Things she needed to thank him for. Things she hoped he would say to her. As crazy as it was, she wasn't ready to leave him behind. After Drifter, she'd vowed to never trust a man. Especially a biker. But this short amount of time had taught her not to judge anyone by their looks or association. Not all bikers were the same. Not all prim and proper socialites such as her family were dependable, either.
Taylor watched house after house fade past the truck window. The truck turned and she sought out the street sign. This was it. Her world would take yet another turn in minutes down the road.
Oz's hand covered hers. "I dropped the phone in your bag. Keep it. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."
She looked over and smiled. "Will you call me?"
"Every day if you want."
She smiled even though she knew in her mind he wouldn’t call. Or maybe he would for a while. "I'd like that."
The light squeeze from his fingers was filled with needed hope and courage.
"Here we are."
Taylor stared straight ahead. White brick. The illusion of welcoming and wholesomeness. What a lie. She gasped as the door opened next to her. Oz. She smiled back and glanced down at his hand stretched to help her out. Her heart raced. She felt as if she may combust at any moment. That was, if she didn’t throw up first. She patted her cheeks. Surely, she was sweating as hot as she felt.
Oz stepped closer.
Suddenly, she stood at the front door. How she got here, she couldn't say. Her head pounded. Her memory failed her. Why had she thought this was a good idea?
“Breathe,” Oz said as he rang the doorbell. "It's only your family. Parents love you no matter what. You'll be fine."
The door opened and her mother appeared. "Taylor, how lovely of you to drop by." She looked toward Oz then to the luggage by his feet. "Are you planning to stay a while?"
"Hi Mother. I called telling you I wanted to come home."
Her father strolled into the foyer. "Who is it?"
"It's Taylor, dear. And a man."
“Father, this is Oz. He's a friend.”
"What are we crowding the door for? Come in,” her father boomed.
"But dear." Mrs. Arison nudged her husband, gesturing toward the luggage. "If I'm not mistaken Taylor wants to stay a while.”
"Well now.” Mr. Arison paused, turning to face Taylor and Oz. "I'm not sure we can accommodate that. And we don't even know this man. How can you expect us to welcome a stranger into our home?”
"It's just me needing a place to stay. Just until I get on my feet again."
"Look at this.”
Taylor whirled toward her sister's voice. Of course, she would choose this moment to show up.
"What are you doing here? You disappear then show up out of the blue wanting to be welcomed? You don't have what it takes to be part of this family. Or have you finally learned to take what you deserve?” Tenley laughed. "You couldn't entice a man from an older woman. Or any woman for that matter. Have you? So, you decided to settle for what?” She twisted looking at the truck. “A mechanic? Classic Taylor. No backbone.”
Taylor glanced toward Oz. Her heart sank. Why did he have to hear this? His jaw ticked and his eyes narrowed on her sister. What was he thinking?
"Let's discuss this inside. You're drawing attention from the neighbors,” her father scolded.
"Go to the truck,” Oz snapped.
Taylor searched his eyes, finding nothing there but anger. She reached for a bag until his hand landed on hers. His touch was gentle but demanding.
"Go. To. The. Truck," he said once more. "I've got this."
A moment’s hesitation and Taylor turned toward the truck sitting in the driveway. She didn't want to stay here anymore. Not that she had ever been keen on the idea. But after the unexpected and unwelcoming greeting, she'd be happy to take her chances anywhere but here. The city park was looking good again.
She settled onto the old bench seat of the truck and watched the exchange at the doorway. Anger seemed to radiate from Oz although she never heard his voice. She rolled the window down enough to hear, or she thought so. He was obviously passionate with his speech, but his voice never raised to where she could hear. Maybe she didn't want to know how he was convincing them to take her in. Yeah, that was probably best. She rolled the window back up.
Was that shock filling her mother's face? And did Oz just cut off her father’s words with a palm to his face? This didn't look well. She squeezed her eyes, dreading the aftermath she would be dealing with. It was a big house. Larger than any she grew up in, so maybe she could avoid them easily.
Blowing out a deep breath, she opened her eyes to see Oz storming toward her, a bag in each hand. He flung them onto the back of the truck and turned, flashing her a smile. Movement caught her attention. Tenley jogged toward, them saying something Taylor couldn't hear. "Back off,” she heard Oz shout as he jerked open Taylor's door, slapping the door lock down and shoving the door closed.
He hurried around the hood of the truck and climbed behind the wheel. Without a word he turned the key.
Taylor jumped and twisted toward the window next to her. Tenley’s fists pounded against the glass. Her voice shrill and angry.
"Don't open that door,” Oz said, and began backing from the driveway.
Taylor looked back at Tenley screaming for her to open her door as she continued to slap at the truck as it began to move. The warmth of Oz's hand over hers brought her attention back to him. He said nothing as he released her hand and drove back to the hotel in silence. Still, he said nothing as he grabbed her bags and opened her door.
Taylor followed him in, falling onto the end of the bed next to her bags. What now? Why had he brought her back here? She wanted to know, but one glance at him staring through the window told her not to ask. At least not now. His back was to her, his hands pressed against the glass pane. The rigid tension in his muscles screamed of anger. Anger for who? She wasn't sure she was ready to know that either.
So, she waited.
And her mind wandered.
Her family did not welcome her. No surprise there. There was really nothing in Louisiana for her to go back to. She'd had enough club life. And even if she wanted that, Oz’s club did not want her. More importantly, Oz appeared irritated that she may return.
"What did she mean that you weren't good enough to take another woman's man?”
"That's what she strives for. And if I couldn't be like her, I couldn't live there. She picked a man, I failed, and she kicked me out.”
"And?”
"I had to drop classes to work full time to afford rent and eventually dropped out of school."
"Who was it?"
Taylor hesitated but he most likely knew anyway. "Nealy’s boyfriend at the time,” she whispered.
There was no going back now. She had crossed a line with the club. Even though she hadn’t tried hard. Only enough for her sister to witness an attempt. She slid her backpack up her arms. She glanced toward him. He hadn't moved. She stood and picked up the extra bag she now had.
"Put down the bags."
Taylor twisted toward Oz again. His back still faced her. "I'll be fine." She turned toward the door. An instant later, his hands were on her arms.
"Where's your phone?"
"My purse."
"Give it to me."
Of course, he'd changed his mind about the phone after hearing her confession. She dug it from her bag and handed it to him. It wasn't like she had anyone to call anyway.
Oz took the phone and dropped to sit on the edge of the chair. "Sometimes it becomes necessary to cut ties with people to be healthy. You can still care and not wish bad for them, but for your peace of mind, you must cut all ties. Whether it be friends or family. Blood family too. You must take a knife and chop that one last frayed thread connecting you to them.”
Taylor listened as she watched him quickly navigate through the device.
He looked up, his eyes filled with a determination she hadn't seen before. The phone tumbled from his hand. He stood.
Taylor sucked in a breath as his heel came down on the phone shattering it.
"We tried this your way. Now we're going to do it my way. Your last thread is cut.” His palm slid down her arm, releasing the bag from her fingers, letting it fall to the floor with a thud. Then he tugged the backpack from her shoulders, and it landed next to the first bag. "You're coming home with me. I'll help you find a job to get you back on your own feet. And most of all, we're going to work on that confidence of yours.”
Hope welled up in her. Should she hope? "You still want to help me, knowing what all you know about me?”
"First thing you'll learn is that I don’t do anything I don't want to.”
Taylor leaned back, resting against the hardness of his chest. No rebuttal came. No argument. As much as she wanted to stand up and disagree, she realized this was her best option. "Why?" she whispered.
"You'll figure it out."
What did that mean? For some reason Taylor couldn't name, she didn't question Oz. She accepted that as fact and said nothing.
"Now, let's salvage the day with something happy."
"That sounds nice,” Taylor agreed.
Oz spun Taylor in his arms. "This is what's going to happen. You're going to put this morning out of your mind. From this point on, it's you and me. You focus on what you need. No one else matters. Got it?"
Taylor only nodded.
"I'm going to step out and update King on my return time. Take your time. Freshen up. We'll make a night of it.”
"A date?" The words tumbled slowly from Taylor before she realized it.
Oz grinned. "Darlin’ we've been dating all week."
Taylor lips parted but nothing came.
"You know what that tells me?”
Taylor slowly shook her head.
"That it's been way too long since you've been with a real man." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I'll give you a little time, but I'll be back."