Chapter 4
“Order up!”
Caitlyn shoved another large pizza with the works in a box and moved on to the next order. The back door stood propped open, and the air conditioner stuck in the wall hummed, but neither kept the sweat from rolling down her forehead.
She took a moment to step outside, pull off her bandana, and pat her face.
Sweat from the heat of the ovens inside the kitchen flushed her skin and dampened her hairline.
Leaning against the wall, she took a deep breath, regretting not grabbing a bottle of water when she stepped out.
Exhaustion clung to her, but despite the familiar chaos brought by the business of her shift, Caitlyn welcomed the bite of the brick against her back.
The safety course had run smoothly earlier that day.
Beyond the satisfaction of surviving the safety course without one of the Ghosts coming to give them a rough time, partnering with Daniel had been…
unexpected. Daniel’s calm demeanor and simple instructions balanced her detailed and in-depth approach.
Over the past two days, she’d found it easier to banter with him, and she liked how he pulled his weight on the range with the motorcycles and the riders.
The image of Daniel silhouetted against the early morning sun, his face creased in a genuine smile, lingered in her mind.
“No more guys on motorcycles,” she muttered, and the phone in her pocket vibrated.
She pulled it out, answering automatically at the sight of the number flashing on her screen. “What’s up?”
“Mom?”
She held the bandana against the side of her face. “Owen, what’s wrong?”
“Old men came, and Pops went with them.”
Caitlyn took a deep breath to stay calm. “Do you know where they were going?”
“The Pub inside the hotel here on Main Street, but I don’t know how long he’s been gone.”
Caitlyn stuffed the bandana into her mouth for a moment to silence the scream curling up her throat.
“Mom?”
She removed the bandana and said, “Thanks, buddy. Go back to playing your game, and I’ll take care of Pops.”
On the other end of the phone, Owen paused, then said, “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Lock the doors and keep the phone close. I love you, bud.” And she hung up.
Sober one hundred and twelve days. What a waste.
Stepping back into the hot kitchen, she found the manager, Regina.
“I’m sorry, I need to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Regina planted her hand on her hip. Sweat beaded on her brow. The older woman bit her lip for a moment. “We’re short tonight without Leo. I need you to come back.”
“I’m sorry,” Caitlyn apologized again. Regina was among the few who supported her after Silas.
After Pops hit rock bottom. After her brother Antonio disowned them as members of his family.
She needed this job. Teaching motorcycle safety on the weekends supplemented what she didn’t earn here.
Without the income, they would lose the house, her business aspirations, and the stability she worked hard to achieve for Owen.
Regina grabbed a pizza wheel, grimacing as she turned back toward the red brick oven in the wall. “Just get there and get back.”
Caitlyn worked for Regina’s family off and on since she graduated from high school. No one else would allow her to flex time like this, not in a million years, but she grew up in this town, and pity always won people over.
“Gracias, Regina.” Chucking her apron in the bin and grabbing her keys, she headed for the Gettysburg Hotel.
Once she was inside the hotel’s pub, Caitlyn took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. Her father sat at the bar with his old pals Terry and Lucas.
Why they chose the Gettysburg Hotel was beyond her.
Usually, they went farther out of town and found a dive or one of their regular hangouts, where they drank and relived their old glory biker days.
Since the Ghost Riders stripped Pops of his patch, Butch no longer allowed him in the Ghost Riders’ Tavern.
Where else would the three amigos have to go without leaving town?
Battlefield Tavern on the other side of town?
Terry, once the road captain, and Lucas, one of her father’s favorite enforcers, fled the club with Pops’ banishment. Whenever they came to town, they liked to stir up trouble.
One of them must have given Pops a ride. One too many DUIs, and her father lost his driver’s license. She’d taken the keys to his Roadster and hid them.
Yellow globe lights strung across the ceiling inside the dimly lit bar area.
The dark wood wainscoting and burgundy walls gave off a burlesque feel.
It wasn’t hard to spot the three men at the bar, their tattooed arms and unshaven jaws out of place amongst the more refined patrons.
On the floor, the reflection of the yellow light gleamed.
Almost every table held occupants drinking, talking, and eating.
A server with blonde hair and a perky smile headed toward a table of men with a tray full of fries, burgers, and wings.
“Figures,” she muttered. Pops would have to cause trouble during the dinner hour.
Caitlyn moved toward Pops when someone stepped in front of her. A solid chest blocked her way, and she smacked right into it. She bounced back away, and a set of hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her. Panic flared like a lit match close to her skin.
“Whoa there.” With rusty brown hair and a nick on his chin, likely from a recent shave, Daniel murmured an apology. What was he doing here?
The last thing she needed was to run into the rookie rider coach around town.
Before she knew it, word would get around, and if the Ghost Riders thought she was dating him, they might come knocking on her door.
She swore after Silas to keep her distance and keep her son safe.
Why did everything in her life have to be complicated?
A slick of sweat glazed her arms. Not wanting to cause any more attention than Pops had created with his buddies, she tried to play it cool.
She smiled, but Daniel took one look at her with those sinfully blue eyes and cut through several layers of her defense.
The softness of his gaze stilled the anxiety in her chest for the moment.
“I’m fine,” she said, stepping back to keep space between them.
Daniel cleared his throat, dropping his hands from her shoulders. “You sure?”
Amongst all the malted beverages and fried food, she swore she smelled fresh-cut grass on a warm day and a hint of bacon. Or maybe the bacon came from her and the last order she prepared before leaving the kitchen at La Rosa’s.
An outburst erupted from Pops at the bartender. “Fill ’er up now!”
Pops’ amigo, Lucas, smirked at the bartender. This wouldn’t go down well. Caitlyn rolled her shoulders back. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, trying to remain calm.
Pulling up those invisible shields she’d gotten so good at constructing, Caitlyn wiped her hands down the side of her worn jeans.
The entire place smelled of various brews and smoke, and she wanted to get out of here pronto.
She blinked to keep her eyes from watering.
The sting of the smoke caused her irritation the closer she approached the bar.
Daniel stepped out of her way, distracted by her father yelling at another man joining the bartender behind the bar. She kept from looking back at Daniel, even though she wanted to, despite knowing it would bring her more trouble. Men were trouble, and she had enough trouble on her own.
“Pops,” she said, staying far enough out of his reach. When he did not acknowledge her, she said louder, “Welder.”
Her father swiveled around. His lips curled up in a sneer. “What are you doing here?”
Caitlyn licked her lips, careful to choose her next words.
So far, she’d avoided attracting additional attention in the hotel’s bar.
Daniel stayed nearby. Cringing inside, she tried to will him away, not wanting the man she worked with to see this part of her life.
Not when those eyes of his softened in a way that borderlined pity.
She had enough of that stored away from everyone else in this town.
The idea of Daniel seeing her the same as the locals did unsettled her.
She needed to take her father home and return to La Rosa’s, since they were already shorthanded.
Regina might not give her a next time when an actual emergency arose.
“I’m on break. Wouldn’t you like to go somewhere else? I can drive you,” she offered. Don’t make this difficult. But he would. He always did.
Pops shook his head, his dark hair peppered with grey. While he’d once been an attractive man, the drink had tinted his skin a sickly grey and sunk into his once-ruddy cheeks.
“If we wanted to leave, I’d have taken him.” Lucas glared at her. His leather ties swung under his arms.
“Go away. Go back to your work.” Pops waved her away. “Lejos contigo.”
Her lips thinned as she pressed them together.
Lucas hadn’t taken his gaze off her in a challenging sort of way.
He shared the same opinion as her father, but she was strong and stubborn, like her sister.
Just not as smart, according to Antonio.
Too stupid to know when to leave enough alone.
Too stupid to pick up her son and run far away.
Too stupid to find somewhere else to go.
No. Not stupid. Caitlyn’s sister Isabella fled from their father.
Her own sister wouldn’t offer to help her, and Caitlyn couldn’t bring herself to ask.
The bartender took several steps back from the bar.
“The night’s young.” Terry beat on his chest. Long white hair fell around the old timer’s shoulders. “We’re just getting started.”
The bartender, a college-aged guy—barely old enough to serve alcohol by the looks of him—seemed desperate to escape the three old men.
The younger man’s eyes widened as Lucas leaned forward to mutter something to the bartender.
Caitlyn took a deep breath. Another man wearing a suit and a tie moved closer to the bartender.
“Why don’t you, Terry, and Lucas, hang out at the house?” She could call Regina and see if she could bring Owen in to work with her for a few hours. Calling off would only get her fired. “I’ll grab some pies, and it will be like old times.”
“I’m staying here,” Terry grumbled.
Lucas waved her off. Gritting her teeth as to keep back the unsavory words lying at the tip of her tongue, she placed her hands on her hips. How could they? How could he? She ground her teeth against the irritation of them coming to town and screwing up his sobriety.
“Why not go to Battlefield Tavern across town? I’m sure you haven’t been there yet,” she said.
At the mention of the new Ghost Riders’ president’s name, Lucas tightened his hand around a half-empty glass.
“Kicked us out,” her father snarled. “Wouldn’t give me a drink!” He pointed to his chest. Her father going along with them wasn’t part of her plan. He knew better than to show up at Butch’s place. The Battlefield Tavern was the club’s hangout, and they often held church in the back room.
“Well, that explains it,” she muttered, throwing up a silent thanks to God that Butch sent him away with no other consequences.
“Don’t you got someplace to be?” Terry turned, steeling those beady eyes on her.
Too angry to allow his unspoken threat to cause her fear, Caitlyn snapped back at him. “Yeah, I do, and as soon as you all clear out of here, I can get back there.”
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Daniel standing at a distance, watching.
Silent. His arms crossed and his feet shoulder-width apart, he stood like a guard at her back.
She wanted him to leave. Heat burned in her cheeks at his intense gaze.
Not daring to look back at him, she felt his stare on the three men more than her.
The muscles in her back loosened, but not much.
She both appreciated his presence and loathed it at the same time.
Deciding to push those worries away for later, she crossed her arms like Daniel.
“I’m staying here,” Terry said.
“We’ve got rooms for the weekend. I’m taking your rider course tomorrow night and Saturday,” Lucas said.
“You can take it when you return to Florida. They’ve got them down there too,” Caitlyn said, inching closer. “Come on, Pops. You promised you’d stay with Owen.”
“The kid’s old enough to take care of himself. Now be off!” Pops waved his hand, knocking Caitlyn back. She met two hands again to steady her.
“Where’s my drink?” Pops demanded.
She glanced back at Daniel, about to tell him she had this. He shook his head—not at her, but at the bartender, who held up his hands for accountability.
“We’re done serving you for the night,” the man in the suit said.
“What? Is my suit not fancy enough for you? I told you boys we should have gone across town,” Pops said. “Why are we meeting here again?”
“You wanted to walk,” Lucas said.
So, Caitlyn had assumed correctly.
“We’re staying here while in town,” Terry said.
Fury radiated down her bones at her father’s old riding buddies.
They knew her father was working on staying sober.
A little after seven in the evening, her father was ebria.
Caitlyn started her shift at four after finishing the paperwork for the rider coach course registrations for the upcoming weekend and spending a few minutes with her son.
She should have paid more attention to the names on the forms. She barely had enough time to check on Owen and prepare for her shift at La Rosa’s.
How long after she left for work had Terry and Lucas come calling at the house? Or had her father called them? And on a Thursday. Caitlyn tried to draw in all her emotions, tucking them away for later. She drew up her frame, standing tall near Daniel. His presence brought an unwelcome comfort.
“I’ll drink if I want to drink!” Pops slapped his hand down on the bar.
And that’s when the pub went quiet, and Caitlyn froze. Her father’s death glare landed on her. I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid. Daniel must have felt her slight twitch, for he stepped in front of her.
“You won’t get it here,” Daniel said.
The man in the suit stepped closer to the bar between them. “No more,” he confirmed. “You have reached your limit at this establishment. Please leave.”
“You heard the manager, Pops. Let’s go. I have to get back to work, and you left Owen alone.”