Grinning in a way that couldn’t be erased by a simple bike theft, she went to push through the doors but they were locked. She backed up, looked at her watch, and laughed while shaking her head again. They’d been so wrapped up in each other they’d forgotten it was barely eight in the morning. “Ha,” she said, then continued laughing as she walked back to her motel. At least they were both acting equally sappy-mushy-googly-eyed. “Because that makes it ever so much more dignified.”
She figured it was just as well. She’d have a chance to change into something other than what she wore to the barbecue the night before. Not that her apparel was under speculation. At least she didn’t think the townspeople’s fascination with her extended to that degree. Which was a good thing, she decided, looking down at the hopelessly crumpled camp shirt and multiple creases in her khakis. “A fashion plate I am most definitely not.”
She skirted the front office and whoever was behind the desk—just in case—and headed up the steps to her room. She was already reliving several of the more spectacular moments of the night before as she unlocked her door. So she was caught totally off guard by the discovery of her bike, leaning against the wall inside her room, right where she normally left it. Only, she hadn’t left it there. She’d left it at Jake’s.
And it hadn’t been mangled. The way it was now.
“What the—” She dropped her purse on the bed and leaned the bike away from the wall. It looked like it had been run over. Several times. The wheels were completely torqued and bent beyond repair. The frame was crumpled and—she leaned closer—yep, those looked a lot like tread marks on the paint. Her nice, hot pink paint.
She leaned it back against the wall and straightened, still staring at it. “Well, at least they knew where to bring the dead body.” Apparently she hadn’t been far off in her assumption that everyone in town had seen her on that bike. She had no idea what had transpired between the time it was stolen from Jake’s school and left here, but clearly, “I had a much, much better night than you did.”
She sighed, pouted a little—her pretty pink bike was toast—then silently thanked the gods that she’d been smart enough to get rental insurance. She decided she needed a shower before figuring out what her next step should be and started stripping as she headed in that direction. She’d showered at Jake’s less than an hour ago, but, whether it was staring at the mangled bike or having had to put on yesterday’s outfit again this morning, she needed more than a fresh set of clothes.
Jake. He’d asked her to call when she found anything out. He was probably still prepping his plane, or had just taken off by now, she couldn’t be sure. She didn’t know how long that kind of thing took, but he’d been up pretty quickly the other day with his student. She opted to put off calling him until she’d at least gone to the bike shop or found out anything about what had happened.
Almost a full hour and a very restorative shower later, she was freshly dressed, hair pulled back, and the most minimal amount of makeup she’d applied in the past nine years. Colorado was starting to wear off on her a little.
She debated on trying to get the bike to the bike shop, but unless she was going to carry it on her back, there was really no way to get it there. Which begged the question: who had dragged it up to the second story of the motel and left it in her room?
She detoured away from Main Street and went into the tiny front office of the motel instead. Mabry was on duty that morning and was looking as disgustingly chipper and happy as Lauren herself had felt…until about an hour ago.
“Hello, Miss Matthews—”
“Lauren, please.”
“Lauren,” she said, nodding. “What can I do for you?”
Obviously, Mabry knew nothing about the bike. “I was away last night and when I got to my room this morning, my rental bike was there, all mangled and bent up. Do you know anything about that? I had left it up at McKenna’s Flight School yesterday, but we discovered it was gone from there this morning.”
The older woman frowned. “And where did you say you found it?”
“It was in my room. Do you know who put it there?”
Her eyes widened a bit at that piece of news, so it didn’t look promising that she was going to be much help. “
In
your room? And you hadn’t loaned it to anyone? The bike, I mean?”
“No. I didn’t loan out my room key, either. So I was just curious if someone here found it and realized it was mine.”
“I’ll have to ask. I just came on at seven.”
“Who was on the shift before you?”
“Debbie. I’m sure she knows something about it, but just forgot to tell me. We had a lot of late-night check-in’s for the weekend, so it was crazy busy last night into the early hours.”
Lauren nodded, thinking. “When does she come on again?”
“Oh, she’s off this weekend, going out of town with her husband—that’s my son, Danny—to a rodeo in Wyoming. My grandson competes,” she added proudly.
Lauren smiled. “That’s great. Do you think you’d have a chance to speak with her before she goes? Or I could contact her if—”
“Oh, I’ll definitely do my best to get in touch. Once she’s over the pass to the north, though, we won’t be in touch till she gets back. No cell service up that way.”
Lauren’s smile was a bit more forced, but she nodded. Figured. “I really appreciate anything you can do. I’m going to have to find some way to get it back over to the rental shop—”
“Can’t Jake take it over for you?” As soon as the question was out, her cheeks flushed a little. “Small town,” she said by way of explanation.
“No, that’s fine, but he won’t be available—”
“Trouble?” she asked, frowning, then smiled, her faded blue eyes twinkling unapologetically despite the next words out of her mouth. “Sorry. Truly. None of my business. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m really not the town gossip. Well, we all are, to be truthful, but what else have we got to do, right?” She laughed and shrugged. “Trust me, everyone’s happy to see Jake smiling and happy.”
Lauren remembered what Jake had said about Mabry being a character, but really good people. She found herself agreeing with that summation. And it was nice to hear that people in town cared about Jake. “Has he been particularly unhappy lately?” The question was out before she could think better of it. But now that it was, what the hell? Besides, she wanted to know.
“No, not in any troubling sort of way. It’s just, he works real hard, takes care of his school, and his sister, Ruby Jean—have you met?”
Lauren shook her head. “Not yet, no.”
“Well, she’s just the sweetest person you’d ever want to meet. Sharp as a tack, too. Anyway, they both work real hard and are good people.”
“He says the same about you.”
She swore the older woman blushed. Apparently Jake had that effect on women even when he wasn’t present.
“Well, Jake, you know he’s like the town’s eligible bachelor, so—”
“So, you all aren’t upset that he’s spending time with an outsider?”
Mabry laughed like she’d said something particularly foolish. “You’re not an outsider, honey. You’re the mayor’s daughter. Stepdaughter,” she added cautiously, apparently seeing something in Lauren’s expression she hadn’t been quick enough to mask.
“It means a lot to me that you all have embraced my mom the way you all have. I’ve truly never seen her happier. So, for that, I’m forever indebted.”
“Well,” Mabry said, eyes twinkling, “then we’ll be grateful if you can prove us all wrong.”
“Wrong? About what? About the mayor? Oh, you mean Jake?”
“There have been bets for years on when he’ll settle down. Most of us have changed our bets several times as the dates pass us all by. Some of us have changed them to never.” She winked at Lauren. “But now that I have insider information, I might be swinging my vote the other way. Could rack me up some spending money.”
Lauren wanted to believe Mabry was just kidding about there being an actual pool going, except she was pretty sure she wasn’t. “I’ll let you know how things are going.”
The older woman laid her hand on Lauren’s arm and squeezed. “And I’ll see if I can’t track my daughter-in-law down for you.”
“Thank you,” Lauren said, smiling sincerely now. Mabry might be a little bit much, but Lauren found it almost impossible to resist her relentlessly sunny nature. Since sunny was like the town default disposition, she might as well get on board with it, and Mabry seemed as good a place as any to start. “I really appreciate any help you can give me.”
“If you call Steve or Randy over at the rental shop, they’ll help you get the bike back over there.” She gave Lauren a pained look. “Please tell me you took out insurance.”
“I did.”
She blew out a breath. “Well, at least there’s that bit of good news. I can’t possibly begin to imagine what happened to your bike, and I’m real sorry for the scare it must have given you, finding it in your room like that. I’m sure someone was just trying to help. One thing about this being a small town, it’ll all come to light at some point. But in the meantime, Steve can hook you up with a new ride.”
“I was thinking about maybe going ahead and buying a bike. Any good deals in town?”
If possible, Mabry’s smile widened. “Does that mean you’re going to be staying?”
“I’m not sure, but I can always stash the bike out at my mom’s place for when I visit.”
“Try Alpine Racing in town. Ask for Barnabas. He’s an old coot, but a fair one.” Her cheeks grew a little pink again. “Tell him Mabry sent you.”
“Okay, I will.” And, without thinking, she leaned closer and lowered her voice slightly, although there was no one else in the little registration area but them. “Something I should know about Barnabas?”
Mabry’s flush deepened and her laugh was suspiciously giggle-like. Normally that would have made Lauren want to roll her eyes. Except she’d sounded suspiciously similar earlier this morning. In fact, she was feeling downright bonded with Mabry in that moment.
“He can be an ornery son of a gun,” Mabry said, “but he’s my ornery son of a gun. Or would be if he’d just open his fool eyes to what was right in front of him.”
“So why don’t you tell him?”
Mabry chuckled. “I know you’re from the East Coast, but out here? We’re still pretty old-fashioned. At least in some ways.”
“Well, I think you should just march in there and tell him what’s best for him and the heck with the rules. How long have you known each other? Is he new in town?”
That set Mabry to laughing all over again. “Oh no, honey, we’ve known each other almost our whole lives. Married other people, divorced other people, married again, me widowed, him divorced. Never was our time, I suppose.”
“So why are you wasting precious time now?” One thing that watching her mother blossom at this later point in her life had already taught Lauren was to not waste time. Maybe meeting Jake had a little something to do with that mind-set, as well.
“I’ll keep it in mind.” She laughed again. “I can just see his face if I went marching in there.” She was laughing too hard to go on, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. “Might almost be worth it.”
Lauren smiled and shrugged. “It just might be.”
She left the motel office in a much better mood than she’d been in when she’d entered. Yes, her bike appeared to have been stolen and involved in a very unfortunate accident, but in the big scheme of things, it was likely not something to get all that worked up over. She’d get a new bike, a brand-new one, maybe. And, Mabry was right, it was a small town; sooner or later they’d piece together what had happened. At the moment, she was excited about her possible new purchase, and even about the prospect of finally having a long sit-down with her mother.
Things were looking pretty good in her world. She took out her phone and left a quick voice message for Jake. Just hearing his recorded message made her feel all goofy-mushy-tingly. She was definitely getting her own bike. Hot pink. If she had to order it and have it shipped.
“Look out, Cedar Springs,” she said under her breath. “Lauren Mathews has come to town.”
“T
here she is, gentlemen.” Jake led Roger and the others into the hangar that housed
Betty Sue
.
This was a moment he’d been working toward almost since the day Paddy had passed. Securing their help meant he had a shot. To many it would seem a frivolous pursuit, putting so much energy and time into one race. But it had meant everything to his grandfather. Jake had no idea what the future held, but he wanted it to include that big, shiny trophy and a framed victory photograph to put on the flight school wall, a fitting bookend to the long line of
Betty Sue
photographs, chronicling her long, storied career from fighter jet to race champion. Paddy would have gotten such a charge out of seeing her story play out as he’d always intended.
Jake hadn’t really thought much past winning that race, where racing or
Betty Sue
was concerned. It had all just been working up to this moment. Now there was Lauren. Who had nothing to do with the impending race, or any future races…except that he was distinctly distracted at a time when he couldn’t afford to be.
Even now, as the guys ooh’d and ahh’d and made the predictable testosterone-fueled comments regarding the P-51 Mustang—and there was plenty to ooh and ahh over if you asked him—his thoughts continually strayed elsewhere. Namely, to a certain curvy little brunette who dominated his thoughts to the point of—
“Earth to Jake.” Ben, one of the stockbrokers, waved his hand in front of Jake’s face. “Adam just asked you if you have any photos of the plane back during the war. Do you know any stories about it?” He turned and looked back up at all the gleaming silver, and Jake had to smile.
It never got old. He very likely had that same look on his face the first time he saw Miss
Betty Sue
. He’d been barely old enough to ride a bike, but that hadn’t stopped him from imagining himself as a World War II fighter pilot, strapped in and ready to take on the bad guys! He’d stopped envisioning the war part pretty early on…but strapping himself in still held enormous appeal. He only wished he got to fly her more often.
“I do, in fact. Come over this way.” He led them over to the Wall of Glory, as Paddy had often called it. Rows of photos, dating back over seven decades, lined almost an entire section of the hangar wall. There were framed news stories from the time of the war; only two were about
Betty Sue
, the rest referred to the P-51’s contribution to the war, and, much later to the world of air racing. Then there were photos with various town officials standing in front of her through the years, here in Cedar Springs, back when Paddy had done stunt flying as well as the aerial shows. There were pictures of him and Ruby Jean, too. Jake smiled as he looked at the ones of RJ in her flight suit, barely twelve years old, but beaming with such confidence as she’d taken her first official photo as
Betty Sue
’s aerial show pilot.
She’d led quite the storied life, his Mustang had. And Jake was determined to get her that championship race title. Her, and Paddy. And Ruby Jean, too. They’d all earned it. He’d earn it.
He walked the wall with the guys, explaining the photos, who was in them, regaling them with the same stories, told in almost the same exact words as he’d heard his grandfather do countless times over the years. As they completed their tour, he could look at their rapt expressions and know that if he somehow blew this, he’d only have himself to blame.
“Can she still fly more than one person?” Ben wanted to know.
“Any chance we can—or some of us can—get up in the air?” Roger came around from the nose. “She’s really something.”
“She is, indeed. Flying her is a privilege.” Jake grinned. “And an absolute rush. After the race, I’ll make sure you all get some air time.”
The men all grinned; there was back slapping and fist pumping.
Adam pointed to the pilot name stenciled on the side below the pilot seat. “Your grandfather?”
Jake shook his head. “No, that’s the name of the original pilot who flew her. Those insignias underneath are her stats from the war.”
Adam moved closer to the wing. “You keep them painted on?”
“She’s kept just as she was flown. The colors, the stripes, the name. That’s why I had to nix the corporate mention. No sponsors on the plane. We keep her accurately represented.” He smiled. “It’s not NASCAR.”
The men chuckled and Roger stepped forward. “Now that I see her, and all of her history over there on the wall, I understand and appreciate your position a lot better.” He threw an arm around Jake’s shoulders. “But I do want to talk coffee mugs, pens, T-shirts. Of course
Betty Sue
here will be the prominent feature, but we’ll get a little logo on there, something not too ostentatious.”
“I’ve got no problem with that,” Jake said.
Roger grinned, glanced over at his buddies, who all nodded, then back at Jake. “Then I think you have yourself a corporate sponsor.”
Jake shook his hand and endured more back claps and bro hugs from the rest of them. They were all grown men making middle six figures, but something like this reduced them to the frat brothers they originally were. He didn’t mind; he loved their enthusiasm. It was exactly what he needed to get his head back on the race, balancing keeping the school going and getting
Betty Sue
prepped to take her first trophy.
Roger walked over to the nearest flat surface and pulled out his checkbook. A moment later he was tearing it off and handing it to Jake. “Enough zeroes there for you?”
Jake looked down and had to do his damndest not to goggle. He’d never once been in the position to write a check for an amount so high, much less to tear one off and hand it away on what was, for all intents, a whim. “You can get a whole lot of coffee mugs and T-shirts for this,” he said, trying to be nonchalant about tucking the check in his back pocket.
Adam waved. “We’ll take care of that. Write off.” He nodded at the check. “That’s just to get
Betty Sue
up in the air. Pay for whoever you need to come in and help you out. You mentioned you had a crew—”
Jake nodded. “I do. Mostly friends of my grandfather’s, all retired. They’re just waiting on the word and they’ll be here.” He patted his back pocket. “This will cover any additional expenses.” And then some, he wanted to add. “I’ll keep a tally of—”
Roger waved him off this time. “Just win that race. Give us all our five seconds of borrowed glory.”
“And a ride in that rocket,” Adam added with a grin.
“I think this calls for a celebration.”
Another round of high fives and Jake was herding them over to the other hangar to show them around the school. “Just let me make a call, get us some transportation.”
They all went wandering into another hangar and it was on the tip of his tongue to caution them against touching anything. Then he thought about the size of the check in his pocket and resisted the urge. Damn, but it must be nice to have that kind of play money.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat and not caring who knew it, he slipped his cell phone out and went to hit the speed dial for Ruby Jean when he saw the text from Lauren.
He’d just spent an entire fifteen to twenty minutes not thinking about her. Almost a whole half hour being the old Jake. The old Jake who was unattached with no one to consider but himself. Other than his sister, but he didn’t answer to her. He’d always been Mr. Pick Up and Go. Jump in a plane, head out. Moment’s notice, that was all he needed.
Now…now it was different. He was different. Everything was different. He looked at
Betty Sue
and back to his phone. Things were changing, and changing fast. And he had to think about what that meant. What he wanted. And what he was going to do about it.
He clicked open the message:
Found the bike. Bought a new one. Yes, of course, it’s pink. Tell you about it later. Call when you can. Oh, and stay away from the roulette tables…. I’ll tell you about that later, too
.
He smiled and read the note again. Yep. Heart still doing that fluttery thing. Only it was worse now. Because now he knew what she tasted like. How she sounded when she climaxed. How good it had felt to wake up next to her. And how much he wanted to repeat that entire chain of events many times over.
He glanced across the tarmac, watching as the guys strolled through the bigger, open hangar. And wondered how he was going to juggle everything he needed to juggle. Because he wasn’t going to pass up the chance he’d waited his whole life for.
Either one of them.
His phone buzzed in his hand, startling him. Smiling, he put it up to his ear. “I was just about to call you.”
“Well, it’s about damn time,” his sister retorted. “I have to hear from Mabry about you and Lauren playing footsie? And later, at lunch at Wynn’s about you out at the mayor’s last night. What, you can’t tell your sister these things so I don’t look like a loser?”
Jake grinned. “I love you, too. In fact, I love you a whole lot right at the moment, so stop sniping at me.”
Her voice immediately softened. “Why, what did I do?”
“You had faith in me, RJ. You supported me going after a sponsorship. And right this very second, I have a big fat check in my back pocket to show for it.”
He heard her gasp. “They’re in? They signed on?”
“They did.”
She hooted so loudly he had to hold the phone away from his ear. “Tell me everything!”
“Well, if you don’t mind coming up and helping me shuttle the guys down to Ragland’s for dinner, I’ll bore you with every detail. That is, if you can peel yourself away.”
“Peel myself away from what?”
“The men you’ll be chauffeuring.”
“What about them?”
Jake told her the amount of check they’d just written him. “Play money. And all but one is single, as far as I know.”
“I’m still processing that number you just told me. Wow.”
“That pretty much sums it up, yes.”
“But even for that much money, I’m not dating an old guy.”
“They’re in their thirties. Right around my age.”
“Like I said.”
Jake snorted. “The oldest one isn’t ten years older than you, the youngest not more than five.”
“I can’t believe you’re recommending I date someone a decade older than me.”
“Tell me you’ve met a single man your age who you haven’t run circles around? Maybe you need to focus on someone who is more your speed. It would take someone at least five to ten years older to catch up.”
Ruby Jean laughed even as she pretended to be miffed. “I’ll come help out, but that’s all I’m doing.”
“Oh no, you’re celebrating, too.” Then he paused and felt his heart squeeze inside his chest. He wanted to remember this moment, this feeling. And he was glad he was sharing with the only other person who’d been there through it all. “We’re going to take the trophy home this year, RJ. We’re going to finally do it.”
She laughed. “You know we are. I’ll be up there in about fifteen minutes. I want to know how it all happened. Every. Last. Detail,” she warned, then hung up.
He clicked off the phone and looked over at
Betty Sue
and grinned. “This year it’s all yours, baby.” Then he clicked his phone on again to re-read Lauren’s message and invite her to join them at Ragland’s. He wanted her to meet Ruby Jean…and he might as well get through all the gloating his sister was going to do early on. But there was another text waiting for him, saying her lunch with her mom had been moved to dinner. He was surprised at how disappointed he was. He wanted to have everyone with him who mattered on one of the most important nights of his life. And she mattered.
He smiled, then, thinking they’d just have to have a more private celebration later. He sent a text message back.
Have a good time with your mom. And I want to hear all of your stories. Especially the bedtime ones. I’ll be there by midnight. Keep my side warm for me
.