Authors: Brei Betzold
I
luckily made it home before Cas woke up, but just barely, though I was busted
sneaking in by Cam who just smiled and winked at me then headed back to her
room with a sleeping Zadok.
I
plopped down on the couch and reached for my Kindle. I still couldn’t believe
everything that I had told him, I never spoke about what happened. I didn’t
understand why I would tell him about what had happened, even the severely
edited version. I shook my head and began reading my latest book, smiling
occasionally as part of the night would resurface.
“What
has you so happy?” asked Cas.
“Hmm,
oh my book,” I lied.
He
looked at me a moment then nodded. “Coffee?”
“Sure,”
I told him looking back at my Kindle. , I never lie to Cas, and yet here I was
doing it, and I didn’t like doing it, but I disliked the idea of not seeing
Thayne more.
A
minute later my phone chirped, I picked it up and saw I had a text message.
THAYNE:
COFFEE TONIGHT?
I
looked over and found Cas was still in the kitchen and quickly replied.
ME:
11 SAME PLACE
THAYNE:
CANT WAIT
I
smiled at his immediate response and quickly locked my phone and put it down
just as Cas came around the corner.
“Any
plans today?” he asked sitting down beside me after handing me my cup.
“Cam
and I are going grocery shopping.”
He
nodded then turned on the TV and I went back to pretending to read my book, but
thinking about a certain steel-eyed guy instead.
“Have
fun last night?” Cam asked while we were pushing the buggy down the aisles at
the grocery store.
I
couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face at the thought of seeing Thayne
again “Yeah.”
“Yeah,
I can tell.” she said smirking. “Anyone I know?”
I
shook my head, “Nope.”
“Hmm
and by the sneaking out, I am guessing not someone that Cas approves of.”
I
scoffed, “You could say that.”
“Is
it that hot guy that came by the house that night?”
I
could feel my face warming and mumbled a quick yes.
“Good
for you, he’s hot, and he likes you.”
“How
do you know that?”
“Because
he hit a guy over you.”
“Huh,”
I said thinking about that.
“I
don’t care what they say, Scout. He’s not a bad guy, he has the bad boy vibe
going, but he’s not a bad guy.”
“Is
there a difference?”
“Yeah
honey, there is a huge difference. Bad boys will make you live your life,
someone to push your barriers, and bad guys are just that,” she explained.
“Sometimes I forget just how sheltered you are,” she murmured and went back to
shopping and discussing Zadok and dinner plans, it was the first real girl talk
I had ever had.
Chapter
21
I
pulled into the parking lot of the diner to find Thayne standing out front smoking
a cigarette, and wearing a fedora. I cocked my head to the side, he looked
good in a fedora. I swung my leg over Angel and unbuckled my helmet, watching
him walk towards me.
“A
fedora, really?”
He
shrugged, “I make it look good, and you know it.”
I
laughed and shook my head, “If you say so.” Though he was sexy in it.
“So
where’s that sportster you were on the other day?”
“Stella
is at home,” I told him. “She’s too loud to sneak off with.”
“Stella?”
“Mmhmm.”
“You
name your bikes?”
“Yep.”
“Okay,
and who’s this?”
“This,”
I told him stroking her gas tank, “is Angel.”
“Anyone
else at home I have to compete with?”
“Hmm,
Mina is at home with Saul,” I said thinking and following him into the diner.
“Noche and Luz,” I added.
“And
they are?”
“Mina
is my custom 1942 Ford truck,” I answered, “Noche and Luz are my ball pythons.”
We
sat in the same booth that we had the night before. The waitress brought us
over two cups of coffee, and I realized Thayne hadn’t said anything in a while.
I looked up and found him staring at me like I had a second head.
“Problem?”
“Ball
pythons, as in snakes?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Why
not?”
“Uhm,
hmm let’s start out with they’re creepy, they’re slimy, and it’s just weird.”
“First
off they’re not slimy, they are also not creepy, and it’s not that weird.”
“No,
it is weird, and they are creepy.”
“Ever
held one?”
“Uhm
no.”
I
shrugged, “Don’t knock it till you try it. They are fun to watch, easy to care
for, and like to cuddle.”
“Like
to cuddle? As in wrapped around your throat?”
I
giggled, “No, as in on the couch.”
“You
let them out of their cages?”
“Not
cages, enclosures, and yes, often, when I am home.”
“Okay,
so who’s taking care of them?”
“Saul.”
“And
Saul is?”
“My
grandpa,” I told him, “but he doesn’t like that name, he likes us calling him
Saul.”
“Okay,
let’s move past the strange pets for now.”
“Leave
anyone pining at home for you?”
“Nope.”
“So
you know I am currently living in Phoenix, what about you?”
“San
Diego,” I told him, “currently working in Saul’s restoration shop.”
“What
do you restore?”
“I
work in the bike shop, but also help out with the car portion when we’re slow.”
“Who
taught you to paint?”
“Lots
of people, I always had a knack for it, but over the years a lot of different
people have taught me techniques. I also attended an art school in San Diego,
and take occasional classes when I have the time and money.”
“Lucky.”
“Don’t
know about that, just the way it worked out.”
He
nodded, looking at me like he was thinking something over. “So I talked to
Tris.”
“Oh.”
“I
asked him about what you told me, he said it wasn’t any of my business then
wouldn’t say anything else.”
“Hmm.”
“The
scars, he did that?”
I
nodded my head and focused on my coffee cup.
“Want
to tell me how?”
I
shook my head no. “Not really,” I whispered.
“Okay,
but if you do want to talk, you can with me, you know?”
“Thanks,”
I said when I couldn’t think of anything else.
I
reached over to grab the sugar when he grabbed my wrist, I gasped and yanked it
back.
“Sorry,
sorry I just noticed the tattoo, how hadn’t I seen that before?”
“Not
in the most scenic of spots.”
“Can
I?”
I
reached my arm out to him and he turned my hand over palm up and looked at the
tattoo on my wrist.
“What
does it say?” he murmured while tracing it with his finger.
I
had to take a second to unscramble my brain, “Uhm, it’s hope in Greek.”
“Any
others?”
I
held my other arm out and he gave it the same treatment then looked up with a
question in his eyes. “Fight in Welsh.”
“Any
more?”
I
gently tugged my hand away and exposed the inner skin of my upper forearm.
“Survive in Italian.” I showed him the same spot on the other arm. “Breathe in
breathe out in Latin.”
“That
it?”
“No,
I have two more,” I told him.
“Can
I see?”
“Uhm
no, I don’t think so,” I said looking back down to my coffee like it held the
answers to life.
“You
are a surprise, Scout, and an enigma,” he mused.
“So
you never did tell me how you got my address and phone number.”
He
looked down at the table and I could swear he was blushing. “Matt,” he
mumbled.
“Matt?”
I asked confused.
“Yeah.”
“Oh
you mean Uncle Matt,” I said, “hmm, surprised he told you.”
“Uncle
Matt?” he asked. “Yeah, I was surprised he did too, he seems to be very
protective of you.”
“I’ve
known Uncle Matt all my life,” I told him, “he’s Simon’s dad.”
“Huh,”
he said looking up at me, “you’re like a princess, your dad is Ace, you grew up
around Matt, Saul Lewis is well known for his restorations, it seems everyone
knows you or met you at some point.”
“Not
a princess,” I growled. “I hate that, but yeah I know a lot of people, hard not
to when I’ve been around this scene all my life.”
“That
makes sense, what about your brother?”
“What
about him?”
“Does
he plan to join the family business, or stay in the military?”
“Marines,
and he’s decided not to reenlist this round. I don’t think he really cares
about the family business, he’s good at it, but he’s never been as in love with
building and restoring bikes like I have.”
“What
is he going to do when he gets out then?”
I
shrugged, “He’s talked about joining us at the shop.”
He
nodded, “And if he doesn’t?”
“I
don’t really care as long as he’s happy with what he is doing.”
“You’re
a good sister.”
“Don’t
know about that, I worry him a lot, and I’ve put him through a lot.”
“And
he’s overprotective with you in response.”
“Maybe
so, don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”
“You’d
have to tell me what happened for me to understand?”
I
nodded, “That and afterwards, he has his reasons.”
“Hmm
maybe so.”
We
didn’t stay out long since we had a competition in the morning to be ready for,
and I really didn’t want to try to explain why I was out this late at night to
Cas.
I
got home around three a.m. and plopped down on the couch. I went back over our
conversations, and I really didn’t like the idea of him talking to
him
about what happened. I didn’t want him to know more than I had already let
slip. I didn’t want him looking or treating me differently. I didn’t want the
devil spewing lies about me, and Thayne believing them. I knew he would find
out at some point, I just didn’t want that point to be now. I sighed and
decided to take a nap before having to work in the morning.
When
we got to the garage I tried ignoring Thayne as much as possible, but it was
like every corner I turned he was there. Finally we were lined up on our new
marks, since another team was dispatched, then Eddie took center stage.
“This
week’s mini-challenge has to do with shop management. No shop can succeed
without good shop management. So each team will choose one member who will go
into the storage area and determine what needs to be restocked, you have sixty
seconds, when your time is up name as many standard items a shop would need
that are missing.”
Three
of us turned and looked at Simon. “No, no way,” he said.
I
quirked an eyebrow at him, “Then who?”
“You
do it.”
I
shook my head, “Nope, I don’t have any clue on this, you handle the business
side.”
He
sighed, “Fine, but we’re going to lose.”
I
shrugged. “So we lose, it’s a mini challenge.”
He
grumbled under his breath but headed off with the other five guys that were
participating in this challenge. I sat down on the floor and waited, I looked
over and found Thayne looking at me smiling, and I smiled back then looked
away. A minute later, I glanced back over to find him still watching me.
Today he was wearing a beanie; I grinned and shook my head.
“What?”
he mouthed, and I pointed at my head, he reached up then laughed and shrugged.
Liam
sat down on one side of me and Kale on the other. I looked between them
wondering what this was about.
“You
know they are going to be pissed, right?”
“Huh?”
Liam
bumped his shoulder against mine. “Now don’t get me wrong, he is hot, but is it
worth pissing them off?”
I
glanced over at Thayne and found him watching us, a worried look on his face.
“I
don’t know if he’s worth it, but I do know that it is worth finding out.”
Kale
nodded, “Just be careful.”
I
nodded and looked over at Liam. “I’ve been thinking, Harper Lee, it’s time for
you to live, even if they don’t see it yet.”
Then
the guys came back, and we stood back up, waiting for the results.
Eddie
walked back in and up to the front with a sheet of paper and began reading off
the results. He started at the bottom and moved up. When we got to the third
name on the list and he called our group I looked over at Simon and smiled.
Once
he was finished and Matt’s team won, I leaned over and whispered Simon, “Not
last place.”
We
waited for them to set up next week’s challenge, then were corralled back to
our spots. When we were finally where they wanted us, with me once again
dodging hands as they placed us, we watched Eddie come back up to the front.
“This
challenge we will be seeing your metal working skills,” he started. “You will
be given one hour today to plan a frame, from scratch.”
“Hmm,
have fun, Liam,” I murmured and headed to our bay. I would have nothing to do
the next few days, Liam won’t let Simon or me come near his creation unless
it’s to play gopher.