Pieces (Riverdale #1) (3 page)

     
“Well,
what about when you’re finished with them?” She asked, and Jake looked over his
shoulder towards the bar, eyeing Cara.

     
“Tonight’s
not good; rain check?” He asked Joanna.

     
“Sure,
call me tomorrow.” And with that she hung up. Jake sighed and put the phone
back in his pocket. Joanna didn’t sound too happy, and Jake didn’t really care,
she was a dime a dozen type of girl.

     
 
Sam came up next to him and smiled at him. “If
you have any kind of love for me, you will make this shot, so I can tell this
asshole to kiss it!” She said, nudging her head towards Nick.

     
“Are
you kidding me?” Jake patted his sister’s head, “Sweetheart, he completely blew
that shot so you would win.”

     
Confusion
crossed Sam’s face. “Why would he do that?”

     
“Old
habits die hard; he likes this dance the two of you are doing.” He pressed a
kiss to her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll clobber him, so you can do your
victory dance that he’s been waiting for.” He grabbed his pool stick, leaving
Sam to nibble on her lower lip and stare at Nick.

     
Last
call, was about an hour ago, the bar had cleared out pretty quickly. Sam and
the guys had left about fifteen minutes ago, leaving Cara to finish up her
work. Jake had offered to stay behind and walk her out, like he always did, but
she insisted she was fine and he should go home with all of them. As she slid
the clean glasses into their rightful spot, she wondered about Jake and the
latest girl to catch his attention. Joanna was her name, if she remembered
correctly.

     
 
No matter how nice Cara had been to any of
Jake’s girls, they all seemed to dislike her, and once Jake caught wind he cut
them loose. She couldn’t help but wonder when the right girl came along, if he
would cut her loose. She didn’t want to believe that he would do that to her,
but the reality was if he found the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his
life with, where would that leave her. For as long as she could remember, Jake
had been front and center in her life. Not ready to allow herself; to face that
truth, she decided to wrap it up and call it a night. She grabbed her jacket
and pocketbook from under the bar. Shrugging the jacket on she glanced at the
clock, it was already four thirty in the morning, the sun would be coming up
shortly and she would be going to sleep. She shook her head and closed the
lights.
 
Once outside, she locked the
bar, testing the door to make sure it was in fact locked.

     
When
she turned around and stepped into the parking lot. She stopped short when she
saw Jake. He was leaning against his motorcycle which was conveniently blocking
her car in. He looked up at her, as he toyed with the helmet in his hand.

     
“What’re
you doing here? I thought you went home with everyone else?” She was surprised
by the hoarseness in her voice.

     
He
shrugged his shoulders and pushed off his bike. “Something you said tonight
kind of stuck with me.” He straightened his shoulders and stepped closer to
her.

     
“Something
I said? Don’t pay attention to me, I just kind of ramble on after a while
spewing all sorts of nonsense, you know? Kind of like right now.” She frowned
as she realized he of all people knew that when she was nervous or caught off
guard she rambled. So right now, even though she was staring down at her shoes,
she knew the grin that played upon his lips, knowing very well that she was
nervous.

     
“It
wasn’t nonsense. And you weren’t nervously rambling when you said it, either.”
He lifted her chin, forcing her to look straight at him. He smiled as he placed
his helmet on her head, reaching under her chin, securing the strap. “Hop on;
we’re going for a ride.”

     
She
smiled at him. “Really? You’re not worried I’m going to get road rash or
something?” She teased and he straddled the bike.

     
“I’ll
just take care of you, like I did the last time. Only this time I’m prepared, I
have a first aid kit.” He winked and patted the seat behind him.

     
She
chewed on her lower lip, suppressing the grin that wanted so badly to make an
appearance. She hopped on the bike, behind Jake. She wrapped her arms around
his waist and leaned her chin on his shoulder. He revved the engine to life,
and something awakened inside of her as well. His hands tightened around the
handlebars and he looked over his shoulder at her.

     
“Hold
on, and watch for—“, she cut him off.

     
“Exhaust
pipe, yeah, yeah, I know.” She smiled and squeezed him tighter, anxious for
their ride. He kicked up the kickstand, and they peeled out of the parking lot
smoothly.

     
Jake
didn’t speed, even though there were hardly any cars on the road, at this hour.
He whipped turns smoothly, not trying to impress her, but as if he was carrying
precious cargo with him. She patted his chest with one hand, getting his
attention. He leaned into her to listen to her. “Faster!” She said into his
ear. She felt him laugh against her, and her smile widened.

     
He
pressed his foot heavier on the gas, picking up the speed of the bike. She
gripped him tighter as the wind blew the ends of her hair. The road rounded and
they shifted their weight with each turn and bend. The exhaustion, she was
feeling earlier vanished and for the first time in a long time, she felt alive.
She felt like she and Jake were the only two people who existed at the moment.

     
They
drove for about forty five minutes into the night. The only light on the road
was those from his bike. He started to slow down, as they reached a peak of a
mountain. She had no idea where they were headed, nor did she care. He made a
turn and they went off the road, slowly they made their way to a grassy path.
He kicked the kick stand down and straddled the bike, his feet planted firmly
on either side. He turned the engine off and she dropped her hands from his
waist.

     
“Where
are we?” She asked softly as he stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles.
She wasn’t sure if she should get off the bike, so instead she followed his
lead and straddled the bike.
“I want to
show you something.” He said as he maneuvered off the bike.
 
She took the hand he offered and swung one
leg over the bike and jumped onto the ground. “Come here,” he murmured, and
lead her on through the grass. “I found this place a long time ago. It’s where
I come when I need to think.”

     
They
reached a platform that overlooked train tracks, and had a spectacular view of
the pitch black mountains. The only noise was that of nature. She took it all
in and watched as he climbed carefully onto a large rock, and held out his
hands to her. She stepped towards him and placed her hands in his and he helped
her up. Together they sat on the rock overlooking the mountains and the tracks.

     
“In
about an hour, they start loading the cargo trains.” Jake said simply, “Just as
the sun begins to rise.”

     
“Do
you come here a lot?” She asked him staring out into the darkness.

     
“Whenever
I get the chance,” she felt him shrug beside her, as their sides brushed
against each other. “It grounds me for some reason, the serenity of it, it just
calms me.”

     
Cara
turned and looked at him for a moment. “I wish I had a place like this.”

     
“It
could be our place.” He said softly, taking her hand in his.

     
“Why
do you do that?” She asked absentmindedly.

     
His
eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at her. “Why do I do what?”

     
“Share
everything with me.” She cocked her head to the side and tried to jumble the
thoughts that were spiraling in her mind. If something went wrong in her life,
he searched for the resolution. If she was missing something, he made sure she
had it. Whenever she felt like she was drowning, he was her lifeline, her S.O.S.

     
“Because
I want to;” He said so simply, and she wondered if it really was that simple.

     
“You
know one day you’re going to get married and want to share all these things
with your wife, you should really keep some of these places for her.” She said
half joking, half pondering the inevitable. She choked on her words, for that
day, scared the shit out of her. He slung one arm around her shoulders and
tugged her closer to him.

     
“Marriage
is over rated and definitely not in my foreseeable future.” He laughed and
pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Besides, you’re my person, if I don’t
have you to share things with, they’re not as meaningful.”

     
“You
don’t mean that. You told me yourself you want kids one day.” She said, leaning
her head against his shoulder. They’ve sat like this time after time, but
tonight there was a certain intimacy about the way they held each other, so
comfortably.

     
“True.”
He waited a beat and then began again. “So what do you say, if we’re both still
single in five years, you and I get married and have a kid or two?”

     
She
shook her head and a small chuckle escaped her lips. “Sure, Jake. Whatever, you
say.” She looked up at him when he tugged on a strand of her hair, lightly.
“Hey.”

     
“Hey,
yourself, I’m serious. You want kids too, two to be exact. You don’t want your
kid to be an only child like you. And if we’re getting into specifics you want
a boy first so he can watch out for the girl.”

     
Cara
looked at him, shocked that he remembered exactly how she pictured her future
family. She often allowed herself to dream of what it would be like to have a
family of her own. She could always see the kids, but never the face of the man
she would call her husband. She would bet, that Jake remembered that too.

     
“Who
better to have kids with, than your best friend, no? Seems like a no brainer to
me.” Jake said completely sure of himself. She smiled at him. She loved that
about him. When he was adamant about something, he owned it with his whole
being.

     
“Okay,
if in five years from now, neither one of us are in a relationship, we’ll get
hitched and have some babies.” She shook her head at the ridiculousness of her
agreement, and the fact that she was sincere. He dropped his arm from her
shoulders and held his hand to her.

     
“Come
on now, it’s not real unless we shake on it.” He raised an eyebrow and waited
for her to shake hands on their promise to one another. Cara slid her hand into
his and they shook hands, sealing the deal. “Now that that’s settled, there’s
just one more thing.”

     
“What’s
that?” She asked, curiosity spiking in her voice.

     
“About
before, and what you said.” She looked at him, trying to remember what she had
said. “I’d never take off without you.”

     
Realization
dawned upon her as the first glimpse of sunlight made its way above the
mountains. “Oh, that. I was just kidding around.” She said as she took a deep
breath of the fresh air.

     
“Kidding
around or not, I just want it to be made clear. I need you, Cara, just as much
as you need me, if not more.”

     
She
didn’t look at him; she just continued to take in the view. Without uttering a
word, she laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze. The simple
gesture assuring the both of them that, that need would never diminish, for
either of them.

     
It
was Sunday, which meant one thing, a big family dinner at the Lanza house. Jake
was starving and he and his father, had been fighting Deb Lanza, to throw them
a crumb or two since she started cooking, six hours ago. His stomach growled
loudly, as the two men tried to trick Luke’s six year old daughter Ava, into
grabbing more stuffed animals for their tea party. They made a quick escape
into the kitchen. Like two scavengers, they searched high and low for something
to pick on, something Deb wouldn’t notice.

     
“Joe! Stop picking on those rice balls.”
Deb slapped her husband, Joe’s hand with a dish towel. He grunted and
reluctantly pulled his hand out from under the tin foil covered tray.

     
“Damn
it woman, you cook all this food, but no one is allowed to eat it.” He reached
behind her, grabbing a breadstick she had wrapped with prosciutto, biting into
it angrily. “What? I’m starving!” He said with his mouthful of innocence.

     
“Stop
picking.” She warned and that was enough for Jake to second guess digging into
his mother’s food without her consent.

     
“Grandpa!”
Ava called as she ran into the kitchen. She was dressed in a pink tutu and a
silver princess crown. She carried a plastic wand, that, trailed ribbons. “You
are late for the tea party.” She said as she pointed her wand at him.

     
“I’m
sorry princess, I was starving thought I could grab some food for our tea
party.”

     
“There’s
no food at a tea party, silly. Just tea!” She glanced at Jake, and scowled. She
was just as scary as her grandmother if you messed up her tea party. “Uncle
Jake! Where is your tiara?”

     
Jake
watched his father sigh and pretend to cry. “All the women in my life, want me
to starve,” said Joe. Ava’s little eyes were staring daggers at Jake, and he
scrambled to figure out where he had put the goddamn tiara. He looked around
the kitchen, and spotted it on the counter, hurrying over to grab it. He placed
it on his head, it was probably crooked, but he didn’t care, he just didn’t
want to upset his niece.

     
“Here
it is, see I’m all ready for the tea party.” Jake said, praying his brother
would get his ass here sooner rather than later. He perked up when he heard Sam
call out from the front of the house.

     
“Hello?
Where is everybody?” She called. Then Jake heard another female voice, and
sighed with relief that both Sam and Cara were there. They pushed through the
kitchen door and Jake looked up at them like they were his savior. He knew he
looked ridiculous standing in the middle of the kitchen with a tiara on his
head, and the laugh that burst from Cara’s mouth only validated his suspicions.
Yep, he looked like a big asshole.

     
“Save
me,” he pleaded with the two girls.

     
“That’s
a good look for you.” Cara winked at Jake and he grunted in return, glad his
pain amused her.

     
“Excuse
me, Miss Ava, where is my kiss?” Sam bent down and pointed to her cheek,
smiling at the little girl. Ava’s pout disappeared as she ran to her aunt, and
threw her arms around her neck. Jake looked at Ava baffled, he had done
everything she asked, and she looked like she was the one in pain. “Aunt Sam!
Thank God! Grandpa and Uncle Jake don’t know how to play tea party right.”

     
Jake
frowned. “Hey, kiddo. I wore the crown!” He said as he pointed to the
glittering thing on top of his head, no doubt ruining his hair that took him a
half hour to do. “That’s more than, Grandpa did.”

     
“Jake,
zip it. It didn’t fit me. And I got stuck wearing the feather thing, instead!”
Joe grunted.

     
“Feather
thing?” Sam looked up at their mom, for answers.

     
Deb
rolled her eyes. “He wore a feather boa for two minutes before he spilled sauce
on it.”

     
Jake
chuckled, his father tried so hard not to curse when that had happened. Cara
covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. Sam looked back at their
father, who had his arms crossed against his chest, sulking. She smiled at him
and winked. “You tried, dad.” She said softly, standing up. Jake mused, that’s
one thing about his sister, she always had their father’s back, talk about
daddy’s little girl. She took Ava’s hand in hers, leading her towards the tea party
table.

     
“Cara
will you play tea party with me and Aunt Sam?” The little girl asked hopefully.

     
 
Jake placed his hands on Cara’s shoulders and
gave her a slight push. He began to speak over her shoulder to Ava. “Cara would
love to! In fact,” he took the tiara off his head and placed it on Cara’s head.
“She’s been looking forward to it all day.”

 
    
Cara
raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder at him, then straightened the
tiara on her head. “I’d love to play tea party.”

     
“Yay!”
Exclaimed Ava.

     
Jake
watched them file out of the kitchen into the living room, perfect time to
escape and smoke a much needed cigarette he figured, and excused himself,
giving his parents free reign to kill each other over what Joe could or could
not eat.

     
Jake
sat down on one of the Adirondack chairs his parents kept on their front porch.
He lit his cigarette and propped his feet on the white railing that wrapped
around the house.
 
As he leaned back
against the chair, he felt exhaustion overcome him. It was nothing new. Lately
he had been constantly battling fatigue; he just hoped it wasn’t mono again.
That would really ruin his social life.

     
That
wasn’t the only thing ruining his social life, he admitted to himself. Lately
he couldn’t shake Cara from his mind. He couldn’t figure out what had changed,
or why she was constantly on his mind. But lately, he found himself rushing
through his dates with Joanna, to see Cara.
 
He noticed it the other night, when he took Joanna bowling, and he felt
himself wishing he was with Cara, remembering how competitive she was at the
game. It made it more fun for him because he would tease her, and keep the
bumpers on for himself, half the time she never caught on because she was too
enthralled with finding the perfect angle to get a strike.

     
It
seemed like every minute he wasn’t with her, he was thinking of her, or
counting the minutes until he’d see her. He didn’t know where this was coming
from, but he told himself he needed to get a grip on this shit, before it
backfired in his face. He grabbed the ashtray that sat on the little table
between the two chairs and put his cigarette out, just as Luke’s truck pulled
into the driveway. He watched his brother and Nick get out of the truck and
make, their way towards him. “Finally, now maybe mom will let us eat.” Jake
said, rubbing his hand across his growling stomach.

     
Luke
laughed, “Sounds like mom. I bet dad, isn’t too happy.”

     
Jake’s
eyes widened in exaggeration, “Are you kidding me? This dinner may be the end
of Deb and Joe as we know it, if she doesn’t give that man something to eat,
there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

     
“Is
everybody here?” Nick asked as he shoved one hand casually into his
pocket.
 

     
Jake
looked at him and gave him a knowing stare, patting him on the back. “Yes,
lover boy. Sam is here.”
 
Then it struck
Jake, if Nick and Sam got together, he’d have nothing to tease them about. He
made a mental note, realizing he should back off a little.

     
Luke
opened the door and immediately called out to his daughter. “Ava! Daddy’s
here!”

He glanced behind him and Nick
looked stuck standing at the threshold of the house. “What are your feet
stuck?”

     
Jake
raised one eyebrow, from behind Nick, at his brother. He waited for the slight
nod, and Luke gave him the go ahead. Jake lifted his knee and kicked Nick in
the ass. Snapping out of his trance, he stumbled over the door jamb, catching
himself before he tripped.

     
“You
know I can still kick both your asses without blinking an eye.” He scowled
between the two brothers that were too amused to fear the threat.

     
“Daddy!”
Ava ran to her father and jumped into his waiting arms as Jake closed the door
behind them.

     
“There’s
my princess!” He smiled as he hugged her tightly, carrying her into the living
room. He stopped mid stride. Cara and Sam were wearing tiaras, and feather
boas, holding up tea cups as his father pretended to pour the tea. Joe, also
wearing a feather boa, and was that lipstick? Looked up at his son and dropped
the teapot.

     
“Thank God. Tea party’s over kids! Deb!
Time to eat!” He hollered.

     
Luke nuzzled his daughter’s cheek. “Did
you drive Grandpa crazy today?”

     
“No
Daddy. But Grandpa isn’t very good at playing tea party.”

     
Nick
leaned against the door jamb, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his worn,
faded jeans. He nodded towards Cara and smiled, “Hey, Cara.” She looked up and
sent one of her dazzling smiles his way, but Nick was immune to her charms, he
was too consumed in Sam.

     
“Well, well, well. Look what the wind blew
in.” Sam said, her voice rich with sarcasm.

     
He raised an eyebrow, pushing himself off
the door jamb to advance towards her. “Nice to, see you too, sweetheart.” He
winked at her. Sam rolled her eyes and glanced at Jake, probably looking for
him to save her from the wrath of Nick, all he did was shrug his shoulders.
There was no way he was intervening. She sighed and went to walk past Nick, but
he grabbed her wrist just as she brushed her hip against his in passing,
stopping her in her tracks. “I missed you; did you miss me, Sam?” His voice was
all but a whisper.

     
Jake chuckled, reminding Nick he wasn’t
the only one standing in the living room, and swung his arm around Cara’s
shoulders.
“Here they go again.” Jake
whispered to her before raising his voice so Nick and Sam would hear him. “Hey
guys, while we’re all happy to be watching you two go another round, do you
think we can maybe eat dinner first?” He looked back to Cara. “You brought the
popcorn for later, right?”

     
“I even brought the different flavor
seasonings,” She said and laced her fingers through Jakes. He spun her around
and she dipped under their extended arms. He loved when she played into his
shenanigans.

     
They were all seated around the dining
room table, just like they had so many times before, all in their respective
seats. Deb and Joe sat on either end, while Jake, Sam and Nick, occupied one
half, and Luke, Ava, and Cara the other. Jake hadn’t realized how much he had
missed this, all of them together again. His mother always cooked a huge Sunday
dinner, though there were times when all of them hadn’t been able to make it.
Nick had been gone for the last six years, leaving one empty chair at the
table. He smiled to himself, it was good to have everyone together again.

     
“So Nick, when should we expect the
delivery?” Luke asked as he cut Ava’s food for her.

     
Nick handed Jake the salad bowl and
grabbed another platter of food, helping himself as he spoke. “The trailers
should be coming in by the end of the week. We probably will have enough work
to keep us busy, for at least two months. By then the car shows will be in,
full swing.”

     
Joe looked up from his plate. “What are
you guys doing?”

     
“I’ve been buying old classic cars that
are on their last days. We’re going to restore them, and flip them to
collectors. I have two trailers coming from Seattle. Some really nice cars Joe,
you’re going to love them.”

     
“You got any bikes on that trailer?” Jake
asked, and winked at Cara.

     
“Why? Are you looking to buy another one?”
She asked him, her eyes wide with curiosity. One ride with him and he had created
a monster, he chuckled.

     
“Maybe. I was thinking we’ll get his and
hers Harleys.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and bit into a piece of bread,
chewing slowly as he watched her eyes light up.

     
“You won’t even let the poor girl on the
bike you have now.” Luke said and glanced at Cara, “You going to let him tease
you like that?”

     
Her eyes remained on Jake as she answered
his brother, “Actually, your brother took me for a ride the other night.” She
blew Jake a kiss and he grinned like a big fool. Yeah, he was in deep shit. He
looked over at his brother, giving him a ‘so there’ look.

     
“You bought into the garage?” He heard his
sister say beside him, breaking him out of his stare down with his brother. By
the outrage in her voice, he could tell she was not happy.

     
“Well, that was the original plan.”
 
Deb reminded her daughter.

     
“Yeah, six years ago.” Sam said as she
threw the half eaten piece of bread into her dish, disgusted. Clearly she
wasn’t on board with the idea. Jake mentally began counting down, the eruption
that would surely come from his little sister.