2. Summer
Summer
When I returned from the kitchen, Reese was gone.
I tried to ignore the dip of disappointment. What did I have to be sad about? He’d finished his breakfast. In fact, he’d stayed longer than usual. Of course he was going to leave.
It was good to see him, though. He’d been a regular for quite a while, and then just stopped coming in. I’d been wondering what had happened to him.
Okay, fine. I’d been worried about him.
I’d been so busy that morning, I hadn’t realized it was him seated at one of my tables until I was right next to him.
Which was kind of hilarious because he was hard to miss.
He was a tall guy, with a broad chest that stretched his T-shirt tight and thick, tattooed arms. Between that and the visible scar on his stubbly square jaw, he looked a little bit frightening.
When I’d first noticed him in the diner—before I knew his name—I’d thought of him as the big, scary guy.
But I wasn’t afraid of him. He looked dangerous, especially at a distance, but his gray eyes had a surprising softness. He seemed tough on the outside with a gentle heart underneath all that muscle. Not the sort of man who’d be a danger to me.
And I was all too familiar with ones who were.
I walked down the aisle to take table four’s order, my back and shoulders still tense because of the other dangerous men who had showed up at the diner.
It figured they were back. Just when I’d started to think they might leave me alone. That maybe I’d moved far enough away, and they’d decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to keep harassing me.
No such luck. Apparently the Midnight Mayhem motorcycle club wasn’t finished with me. I didn’t know if they ever would be.
They were the bane of my existence. My mom was an old lady—I hated that term—in the club. Her longtime boyfriend, Stryker, was a high-ranking member, and I’d spent my teen years in that world. It had made my life interesting, to say the least.
I would have loved to blame my mom for the fact that I’d gotten knocked up at eighteen by Axel, another club member.
Although I wouldn’t have met him if not for my mom, no one made me date him.
I’d thought I wanted a bad boy, and he’d checked all the boxes.
Spoiler alert: It was awful. Zero stars. Absolutely do not recommend.
The allure of the hot, motorcycle-riding guy in leather had been powerful. But the reality had been closer to a nightmare than a teenage fantasy. Axel was manipulative and volatile, with an unpredictable temper. I’d ended the relationship.
Soon after, I’d found out I was pregnant.
Axel had been in prison for my ten-year-old son Nate’s entire life. A lot of those guys lived that way—prison was just part of club life.
I’d left—Axel, the club, the town, all of it. I was determined to get away. I didn’t want Nate to grow up in that world.
But Midnight Mayhem had never quite let me go.
I tried not to hate my mom for it, but when it came down to it, their attachment to me was because of her. If I’d been some random girl, they wouldn’t have given a crap about me. But they still saw me as their property. An extension of the ownership they claimed over my mom.
No matter where I went, eventually they’d show up.
Two or three of them would roll into town, find where I worked, and make sure I knew they could still get to me.
When Buzz and Hammer had come in that morning, it had been like a storm rolling in.
Not the refreshing kind that brings life-giving rain to the desert.
A flash flood that hits when you least expect it, leaving destruction in its wake.
After writing down table four’s order, I took it to the kitchen and smiled at the line cook. He’d been there for almost a month, and I still couldn’t remember his name. But he was a nice enough guy.
“How are we doing on table five?” I asked. “Two burgers with fries, one with no onions.”
“Another minute,” he said without looking up.
Tess, one of my coworkers, slid behind me to turn in an order. “I see your admirer was back this morning.”
“What admirer?”
“The big guy with all the tats.”
“Who, Reese? He’s not my admirer.”
“You’re on a first-name basis? That’s interesting.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s a regular. It’s not weird that I know his name.”
“Maybe. But if you can’t tell he’s looking at you like he wants you for dessert, you’re blind.”
My face warmed and my mouth dropped open. The line cook chuckled.
“He doesn’t look at me like anything.”
Tess raised her eyebrows. “Mm hmm. And I suppose he wasn’t about to drag those two bikers outside and rip them to pieces when one of them touched you, either.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but what could I say? When Buzz had grabbed my arm, Reese had surged to his feet, the promise of violence burning in his eyes.
He must not have realized who they were or how dangerous they could be.
“That doesn’t mean he likes me,” I said. “He’s just a nice guy. Chivalry isn’t dead.”
She shook her head. “That man has a crush on you. I’d bet today’s tips on it.”
The line cook plated table five’s food and set it on the counter. “Order up. And I’ll take that bet.”
“You don’t think the big guy has a crush on Summer?” Tess asked.
He shrugged. “How would I know? I’m always back here.”
With a laugh, Tess waved off his comment. “If he had a thing for me, I’d have closed the deal on that a long time ago. That man is fire.”
I grabbed the plates. “I’m a single mom. I’m not closing the deal with anyone.”
“Oh, come on. He’d be worth it. Even just once.”
Laughing a little, I shook my head and turned to go back to the dining room. “I’m ending this conversation now.”
“Fine. But you know I’m right.”
I didn’t answer.
But I’d have been lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.
Who could blame me? Tess was right, Reese Haven was fire. Big, intimidating. Handsome in a rough sort of way. Even the scar on his chin was sexy.
Thinking about Reese and his rugged good looks sent a swirl of pleasant heat through my body. How was it possible he was still single? Even the memory of him was a turn-on.
Or maybe it had just been such a long time since—
“Here you go.” I placed table five’s orders down in front of them. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Nope, looks good,” one of the men said.
The next couple hours flew by. We had a steady stream of customers, which, to be honest, was a little bit surprising.
The food wasn’t that great. But we were located on the main road through town, right next to a gas station, so people tended to stop for a bite.
I did my best to give them fast and friendly service, hoping it would help make up for the mediocre food quality.
Things began to wind down as the afternoon wore on. I only had two tables left when the roar of motorcycle engines returned.
A wave of dread flowed through me. They were back? Already?
I finished pouring ice water for the customers at table three and glanced out one of the front windows, hoping against hope it wasn’t them.
It was. Buzz and Hammer stood outside next to their bikes, lighting up cigarettes. I took the pitcher back to the kitchen, my shoulders tense. Maybe they wouldn’t come in.
But did that mean they were going to wait outside for me? I didn’t know what was worse.
You’d think I would have wished for another group of cops to come in. A lot of them were regulars. But it wasn’t law enforcement I was hoping for.
It was Reese Haven.
What did I think he’d be able to do? Cops would probably discourage Buzz and Hammer from hanging around. Mayhem members avoided the police as a general rule, even when they weren’t up to anything. Reese was just a guy. A big guy to be sure, but club members wouldn’t be intimidated by his size.
Still. I felt safe when he was around.
For the next ten minutes or so, I kept busy, occasionally casting anxious glances out the window. The Mayhem guys stayed out there, smoking.
Don’t come in again. Please don’t come in again.
I ducked into the kitchen to grab a side of ranch for table three, and when I came out, the bikes were still there, parked out front. But the Mayhem guys weren’t next to them.
A second later, the door opened, and they strolled inside.
The grin on Buzz’s face made me nauseous. He was missing a tooth on one side, leaving a big, black gap in his icky smile. He winked at me, and I tasted bile in the back of my throat.
Tess was behind the counter up front and asked them if they’d like a booth.
“We want her.” Buzz pointed at me.
“Excuse me?” Tess asked.
“As our waitress.”
I sighed. Tess glanced at me, raising her eyebrows as if to ask what I wanted her to do. I nodded toward table six. Obviously I didn’t want to wait on them, but what was I going to do? I didn’t want them to cause a scene. I couldn’t risk my job.
“I’ll be right with you,” I mumbled as I made my way to the kitchen.
I grabbed a pitcher of ice water and took a second to collect myself. With a deep breath, I went out to the dining room to face them.
The stench of cigarettes clung to them, bringing with it a host of memories—very few of them good.
“Can I get you something to drink besides water?” I poured them each a glass.
Buzz leered at me and let his menu drop onto the table. “Hey, Sum Sum.”
“Do you want to order anything?”
“Calm down.” He shook his head, like I was being an impatient jerk. “It’s not even that busy in here.”
“Club sandwich,” Hammer said. “And a Coke.”
“How about a furburger with a side of thighs?” Buzz swung his gaze toward me again.
Hammer chuckled.
Pressing my lips together, I bit back a sharp reply and waited.
Buzz’s mouth curled in a grin. “Cheeseburger. Coke for me, too.”
“Fries?”
He nodded.
“I’ll get that going for you.”
I turned to go, but he spoke up again. “How’s Nate?”
Clenching my teeth, I froze, then slowly turned to look at him.
“You know, he’s getting older,” Buzz said. “He’s ten now, right? About time he started learning to be a man.”
“From you two?” I asked, not bothering to hide the disdain in my tone. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe we’ll talk to Axel about that.”
Anger flashed through me like wildfire. “Axel has nothing to do with my son.”
Sharing a glance, they chuckled.
“You sure about that, Sum Sum?” Buzz asked.
“Stay away from him.” My voice was quiet, but sharp. “Both of you. Stay away from my son.”
“Is there a problem?” someone asked behind me.
It was Terri. My manager. She was around fifty, with bleached blond hair and deeply tanned skin.
“We’re just trying to order lunch,” Buzz said. “I want to talk to a manager.”
“I’m the manager.”
“We need a different waitress. This one keeps being rude.”
Shoulders slumping, I turned to Terri, but her irate glare stopped me from saying anything—even to defend myself. I couldn’t lose this job.
“I don’t have time for this,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Deal with the rest of your tables.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Just go,” Terri snapped.
Buzz winked at me, sending a cold shiver down my spine.
I moved past Terri, trying to ignore the way she started kissing their asses. It wasn’t the first time Mayhem had gotten me in trouble at work. I should have known better than to snap at them.
But they were not getting anywhere near my son.
Even after getting rid of their table, I couldn’t avoid them.
I had other customers, and the dining room was small.
Of course they harassed me the entire time they were there.
Reaching out to touch me as I walked by.
Asking me for random things that were already on their table—salt, pepper, ketchup, you name it.
And complaining loudly that I was being rude, even when I hadn’t said a word.
Finally, they left. My only consolation? They stiffed Terri on her tip, even though she’d bent over backward trying to make them happy.