Chapter 26
RORY
Friday, and I don’t have Grady this evening.
It’s going to be different not having him at the house.
I’ve gotten used to his talking while I’m getting breakfast ready.
His questions about any subject you can imagine.
He’s like a dry sponge, soaking up as much information as he can. It’s endearing, although tiring.
Walking around the diner, giving diners a top-off on their coffee while checking if they need anything is normal for me when I have no meals to give. I am not one to stand behind the counter doing nothing while I wait for something to need my attention.
Fallon is working with me tonight, and I’m hoping Shelby has done a good job teaching her what is needed.
The last thing I want or need is to carry someone else’s weight.
I look over to the counter and notice that Fallon is wiping down the counter while watching for diners needing anything.
That’s good, and I hope she keeps that attitude.
“Rory, it’s time for your break. I’ll cover anything while you take your time.”
“Thanks, Fallon,” I give her a smile as I walk behind the counter and get myself a cappuccino. I’m not hungry, so I don’t bother with anything to eat as I head to the table near the kitchen door, reserved for staff unless the diner is full to bursting.
I take a sip of my coffee and look up when the diner door opens. Truck and Collins walk in and seeing me, they both head my way.
Truck leans down and kisses me before picking up my coffee and taking a sip. Nodding, he turns to Fallon who is watching from behind the counter. “One of these and tonight's special.” Truck takes a seat beside me and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
Collins places his order, then takes a seat opposite Truck at the table. “Are you good, Rory?”
I give Collins a smile as I reply. “I am, thank you for asking. What about you two? It’s not usual for you two to eat together on a Friday night no less.”
“It’s been a long week, and we were both hungry.
When I told Collins where I was heading, he tagged along.
Xero went to the clubhouse earlier because the gas station was covered.
Mitchell is there and Ian is doing his apprenticeship, so stepping in when he’s not needed anywhere else,” Truck tells me.
“I thought he only did one day a week?” Collins asks and looks up when Fallon places a coffee in front of him, then one in front of Truck. She doesn’t loiter, which I’m pleased with because the last thing the diner needs is a server who is after one of the brothers that comes in to eat.
“Ian decided that whenever he had any spare time, he would put that time to good use and head over to the gas station. He’s a fuckin’ good worker. It doesn’t matter what you give him. He does it the best he can. He’s going to make one hell of a good brother when he’s patched,” Truck states.
I’m about to get up when Fallon walks over with three meals, placing one in front of all of us. “Eat, Rory. You’ve had nothing since breakfast, and don’t give me that look. You told me you hadn’t eaten, so eat what you want. I can cover the diner, and if it gets too busy, I’ll give you a shout.”
“Thank you, Fallon,” I respond with gratitude. I’m not hungry, but I eat because of the looks both Truck and Collins are giving me.
We eat quietly until Xero enters the diner, orders a coffee and a special before taking a seat opposite me. I give him a smile and continue eating. Collins, however, gives him a questioning look. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I was going to eat at the clubhouse, but I overheard a conversation and thought I’d come and eat with you two while I fill you in on what I heard. Rory, maybe you can tell me if it happened?”
“If what happened?” I question.
“If you had a man die and then come back to life…” Xero leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table as he waited for my reply.
“Well, yes, we had a man collapse and die. He also took a breath and survived after the paramedic said he was deceased. It was all frightening to be honest with you. I don’t want that to happen again,” I respond with a shiver because it was not nice to see Bellamy die, but I am more than happy he survived.
“Now let me tell you. I overheard Cilla talking with Pres, and she told him it was Tank and Bono who practiced what they said was Rum’s Rescue.
They told Cilla they grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and the ass of his pants and pushed him right back into his body… ” Xero is enjoying the tale but…
“What did you say?” I ask shocked at what I’m hearing.
“Yeah, Cilla said that Truck said that Rum couldn’t die and if he did, they had to shove him back into his body. They were practicing doing just that, and this guy died here, and they grabbed him, making sure his spirit went back into his body and lived.”
Truck chuckles, and Collins is looking as shocked as I am. Now, I’m not sure I like all this spooky ghost stuff, so I quickly grab my half-eaten plate and walk away from the table. The three of them watch me leave, but I’m so quick that they don’t have time to say more to me.
“Are you okay, Rory?” Fallon asks, and I tell her what they had told me. Fallon grins and gives me a mischievous look. “Wonder if they can do it for anyone? It would be a handy trick, but better if they could yank spirits out of bodies, like exes that need to be got rid of, permanently.”
“I don’t have exes like that. I have a dead husband.
” I don’t wait for her to comment on my statement.
I quickly walk into the kitchen, my unfinished meal in hand, and gave Tracy, our cook for the evening, a small smile.
I’m in the doorway returning to the counter area when I turn as Tracy speaks to me.
“Are you okay, Rory? You look a little on the pale side,” Tracy stops what she’s doing as she studies my face.
“I’m good. Just a little tired tonight. I’m ready to go home and have a day doing nothing much.” I remember my plans for tomorrow. “I’m taking Grady tomorrow to get a shirt and pants for the funeral.”
“He’s a cute kid, and at his age he’s growing up fast.”
Nodding, I reply, “He’s coping with everything better than I, or I imagine Jill thought he would.
From the things he’s told me, he sees Jill as his mother figure, although she is his sister, and he calls her sister and not mother.
It doesn’t, however, stop him from feeling she is the one that has always been there and made sure he was okay. ”
“I was the only one, so I never had siblings. I had a lot of friends, so I never felt lonely. My parents were great until I hit eighteen, and then I was told that I was an adult now, and they had done their duty. My things were on the doorstep within a week, and they sold the house and were gone. I’ve only seen them once since,” Fallon looks at me with a blank expression, then shrugs her shoulders.
“Oh well, it’s all water under the bridge now. ”
“That was rough. Not great parents at that rate, Fallon,” I shake my head and squeeze her hand, showing the only way I can that I’m understanding.
“It is what it is, Rory. I missed them at first, but now I hardly ever think about them. The last contact I had was when my grandmother died. They were both at the funeral, probably waiting for what they were going to get.” Fallon laughed as she continued, “They got an album full of old photographs, and a dollar. My Gran, as I called her left everything to me, which wasn’t much as she’d sold her house years before and was renting.
What she left me were her things. That’s what she called her knick knacks, and all her belongings.
There was nothing worth having unless it was for sentimental value.
I kept the knick knacks and got rid of the rest. My memories are the inheritance she left me, and the most treasured things she could have given me. ”
“Are you two gonna jaw all night or get some work done?” Tracy states from the hatch.
“Well, I was going to suggest we do some fundraising to help Jill pay the medical bills, but I wasn’t sure what we could do,” I look at Tracy who is frowning.
Fallon laughs, “I heard the diner had a spiritual evening, well a few of them, to fundraise. Do you think more of that would be good?”
“I’m not organizing a spook night. No way. I’m not doing any of that dead stuff that seems to keep popping up around here.” I step back into the diner and ignore the laughing pair behind me.
Later I answer the door when I hear Truck shout my name. “What are you doing here?” I ask because he was at the diner most of the evening.
“Well, Grady is with Jill. You are on your own, and I wanted to be where you were. So, here I am.”
Truck closes the door behind him, slides the bolt across and steps into me. Taking me by surprise somewhat. “Um, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to kiss you until you can’t breathe and then see if you want more of me. I know it’s early days for us, Rory, but I’m in this for the long haul. I never thought I’d be settling down, but the more I think about it, the more I want us to be a couple and to settle down together.
“Well, that’s premature don’t you think? We’ve only had one date,” I have my back pressed against the wall by this point and my heart is racing. But something feels right about this man, and I want to see where it leads.
Truck reaches out, his calloused hands cupping my face. His thumbs brush my cheekbones, which send shivers down my spine. His hands are creating feelings that Terrence’s never did, and I’m not going to examine that thought. Terrence is in my past and I need to let him stay there.
Truck leans in, and this kiss isn’t a soft, tentative one. It is raw. It is a claim and a promise all rolled into one. His lips are firm, urgent and against mine with an intensity that steals my breath.
Wrapping his arms around my waist, Truck pulls me flush against his solid body, anchoring me to him. I kiss him back as urgently, which, if I had time to think, would surprise me. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a kiss that feels like this.
Truck picks me up bridal style and carries me upstairs to my bedroom. My arms wrap around his neck, and I savor the smell of him—leather, a touch of gas from the station, and a deodorant I don’t recognize.
Truck carries me effortlessly, taking the steps smoothly. I watch his face as he carries me, and the desire is openly displayed on his face. My stomach clenches at the sight, and my lady parts are waking after a long time dormant.
Placing me on my feet in the bedroom, Truck kisses me again. “Strip, Rory!” You know what? I do without a second thought.
Truck has a fierce tenderness about him. He has an intensity when he looks at me. It has me throwing away all my inhibitions and worries. I for the moment only see Truck. Pushing me back gently, I fall onto the bed, with Truck following me down.
Wasting no time, Truck’s mouth trails down my neck, each kiss claiming. His lips are hot against my collarbone before moving lower, his tongue flicking out to taste me as his hands pull me closer.
Slowly moving down his mouth finds my breast and sucks on a nipple while his hand slides down and gives my ass a firm squeeze. He growls with pleasure against my skin, then slowly moves down before he parts my legs and gazes at my pussy like he’s seen nothing so enticing in his life before.
With no teasing or pause. Truck buries his face working his tongue into me, circling my clit with just the right pressure while he pushes two fingers inside me and curls them to find just the right spot.
This man has the intensity of nothing I’ve experienced before. He sucks, licks, and uses his fingers until my body starts to tremble. All the while I am hanging onto his shoulders and grasping at anything to keep me grounded.
Truck shifts above me and his body settles between my spread thighs. He rests his cock against me and waits for me to give him a nod that I’m ready.
He doesn’t waste time. He drives into me with one smooth thrust, burying himself fully inside me. He is as far inside me as is humanly possible, and as he is satisfied he is fully seated, he lets out a groan that is deep and I can feel it rumble in his chest against mine.
He starts to move, and at first the strokes are slow and deliberate, but he builds speed as each thrust slides back and forth.
He braces his hands on either side of my head and watches me closely.
His pace increases gradually, his hips thrusting harder, and the sound of our bodies meeting is sensual in itself.
Claiming my mouth in a bruising kiss, his tongue sliding against mine while he continues to pound into me.
He slides one hand under my ass, lifting my hips, which changes the angle, hitting my spot inside with every stroke.
It isn’t long before we both release what can only be described as the most explosive orgasm I’ve ever had.
When Truck bellows his release, I know it has been just as intense for him too.
Taking his weight onto his forearms at the side of my head, Truck looks down at me and murmurs, “Mine!”
Surprising us both, I murmur back, “Mine!”