Chapter 8 #2
“I’m not sharing.”
“I’m not a vanilla kind of guy.” He winked and headed toward the shade and Owen.
The kid hadn’t taken his eyes off Sebastian since he slunk at the tree’s base.
Suddenly, he took an interest in Owen’s game.
Caitlyn stood over them, her lips wrapped around a spoonful of ice cream while her gaze zeroed in on him.
“Here, you try.” Owen handed him the game.
“You know how to drive, right?”
The kid smirked at him, actually smirked. Sebastian chuckled and leaned back against the shed. He played while the boy licked his ice cream methodically, holding the cone straight, eyes squinted in concentration as he worked his way around. Sweat trickled down Sebastian’s neck.
Looking up while he waited for the game to restart, Sebastian watched Caitlyn’s tongue dart out, catching every drip as she licked off the spoon. His heart thumped against his chest, and he averted his gaze and forced himself to focus on the game in his hand.
Owen grinned as if he knew something Sebastian didn’t.
It was enough to rouse Sebastian’s curiosity and take his mind off Caitlyn.
He spent the next few minutes trying to discover what was so exciting.
It seemed like a relatively simple game—drive around a track and score points by collecting items—but it kept Owen occupied.
Finally, he figured it out. Every time he collected an item, Owen let out a contagious sound of delight—even Caitlyn couldn’t help but smile at it. She had gone quiet since they’d started playing, content to watch them from afar while she finished her ice cream.
Now that he’d seen her actual reaction—not just the one she felt obligated to put on for him—he smiled at her before turning his attention back to Owen’s game. Sebastian joined in the boy’s joyous screams whenever they scored points or picked up bonus items along the way.
Caitlyn finished her ice cream, and Owen took back his game. She walked inside the shed. Sebastian patted Owen on the shoulder. “I have to get ready for the next class. Make sure you drink water. Do you need more snacks?”
Owen lifted his bag to show he had a few, and Sebastian gave him a thumbs-up before heading around to the front of the shed to find Caitlyn.
“So, what is your plan?”
“My plan?” She stood inside, flipping through the pages of her clipboard. “The class will begin in ten minutes. We should have thirteen this time.”
“Anything I should know?”
“Same as the first class.”
He stared at her, waiting to see if she’d tell him anything else.
“You want something, Jones?”
“Are you doing okay?” He ignored the fact that she called him by his last name, leaned against the doorjamb, and peered out at a motorcycle with custom pipes approaching.
“You think you have a right to ask?”
He shrugged, not able to let it go. He saw the invisible armor she wore reappear.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “Listen, my family, my problem. I don’t need your nose in my business.
I appreciate you helping Owen mow the grass and don’t think I don’t know.
It’s you who put him up to clean the garage windows.
Whatever you’re bribing him with, stop. I like my garage windows dirty.
People don’t look in them if they can’t see. ”
“Hiding something?”
Caitlyn tossed her ponytail off her shoulder. “Listen, I appreciate you wanting to help, but it’s unnecessary. I can manage.”
Her gaze flickered across his face. “It’s important that no one in the Ghosts has any reason to be interested in what I do and who I work with. Maybe it’s best if you don’t get involved in my personal life, okay?”
“Is there something I should know?”
Caitlyn hesitated, then shook her head. “Trust me. Keeping things separate is better for everyone involved, especially you.”
Especially him? What was that supposed to mean?
She tried to step around him, but Sebastian caught her by the arm. Her eyes landed on his fingers. “Caitlyn.” The slight edge in his voice brought Caitlyn’s chin up.
“How about we focus on the job and keep things professional?”
Sebastian glanced at the boy. He lay on his belly, the game in his hands.
His eyes looked from Sebastian to Caitlyn.
His eyebrows wrinkled as if he, too, picked up the subtle undercurrent between them.
Not wanting to argue in front of the boy, Sebastian said, “Yeats has me here at the site until the end of the season.”
“Lucky you,” Caitlyn said.
More sounds of motorcycles coming into the parking lot entered his ears. “You plan to bring Owen with you every weekend?”
His question caught her off guard. Good. He planned to defuse her attitude before the next group of riders arrived. She bit her lip and glared at him.
“I’m asking to ensure his safety. Any Ghost Riders joining us today?”
“No one will mess with my son, especially a Ghost.” She planted her hands on her hips. She looked beautiful when she was in defensive momma mode.
He ran his hands through his hair. “Yeats might find some landscaping to keep him safe and out of trouble.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve arranged for him to stay with a close friend at Grace Meadows.”
Sebastian’s breath hitched at the mention of his family’s horse farm. He forced a nonchalant shrug, scratching his neck as a bead of sweat trickled down his spine.
“That some kind of daycare?” His voice sounded rougher than usual, trying to mask the turmoil churning within.
“It’s a horse farm. They give tours of the battlefield on horseback.” Caitlyn’s explanation was clipped, her eyes locked on him.
He schooled his features. Her gaze, dark and sharp, held a hint of suspicion. It could cut a man’s heart if he still had one whole.
“You know the owners?” Sebastian swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as sandpaper. Feigning ignorance was his only option, no matter how much it twisted his gut.
“Samantha Daniels,” Caitlyn continued, oblivious. “I’ve known her since high school,” Caitlyn said, glancing over to check on Owen as another motorcycle drove into the parking lot.
Sebastian’s parents had always been passionate about helping troubled teens, and the farm offered them a summer program working with the horses. It was how his sister met Alex the summer before their senior year. The memory brought a pang of longing and regret he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Knowing his sister, Sam, would help Caitlyn with Owen.
Her generous and forgiving heart never stopped caring or loving, despite all that happened to her.
Something Sebastian lived with all these years, having been unable to prevent it.
Alex had fooled them both. It was a mistake Sebastian never intended to make again and failed.
Audra’s desperate voice continued to haunt him at night.
More riders pulled into the lot. Owen continued to play his game, likely oblivious to their conversation. Caitlyn watched him as the riders approached. He owed her no explanation and didn’t know how much Yeats spilled to her about his life. He couldn’t afford for too many people to know the truth.
Sebastian met her gaze, a silent question hanging in the air. As she looked away, a barely perceptible frown creased her brow.
“Here for the intermediate rider course?” she said after a moment of awkward silence between them before turning toward the men walking their way.
She signed in the men for the class, and a strange sense of separation swept through him. Hopefully, with time, they could become friends. He prayed to God that she would never come to trust him. Women who trusted him always ended up hurt—or worse, dead.