“No, honey… seems to me you came at the right time. And thank you for your service. Dinner’s on me.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Oh, hush. Don’t you argue with me now. Bethy, do you want a soda or a coffee? I forgot to ask you I was so blinded by this big hunk of a man here.”
Another chuckle escapes me, and I shake my head. “Mavis, I appreciate you wanting to pay for me, but a man doesn’t let a woman pay. Ever.”
With her hand to her forehead, Mavis pretends to swoon. “Oh my… Bethy, if you don’t snaffle this one up, I will.”
Beth laughs. “Soda! I’ll have a soda.”
Mavis winks at me and walks away.
“You said I was to buy you dinner, and I aim to,” states Beth.
“Yeah, not going to happen, country. We city boys like to pay. Deal with it.”
With raised eyebrows and a shocked look on her face, Beth says, “No, you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t what?”
“You just dissed me.” Beth leans across the table.
I lean in too. “Yeah, I did, country. What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m paying.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Country, Mavis gets it. Why can’t you?”
As if on cue, Mavis arrives and puts our food down in front of us. “Hells, yes, I get it. Oh, Bethy, let the man pay. Now, eat while it’s hot.” Mavis pats my arm. “I like you.” Then she looks at Beth. “I like him. He’s going to be good for you. Eat, Bethy, before you turn to skin and bones.”
“Like that’s ever going to happen,” quips Beth.
Mavis smiles and moves away.
“I like her,” I say to Beth.
“I heard that,” yells Mavis as she keeps walking, waving a hand in the air.
We both burst out laughing.
“Mavis has perfect hearing,” whispers Beth.
I look over my shoulder, and Mavis nods at me. “Yes, I do.”
Laughter erupts from me as I turn back around to eat my dinner. It all tastes good. For a while, we eat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Well, I thought we were until Beth clears her throat and looks uncomfortable.
“What?” I ask.
“Myles,” begins Beth.
I hold up a hand. “Not my business. One day, when you get to know me better, you can tell me all about it, but I understand what you were saying before… sometimes we don’t want those who hurt us to have any more ammunition to use against us.”
Beth goes quiet and nods once. “Yeah.”
I smile. “Yeah.”
Beth chatted easily after our meal and walked me up and down Main Street, pointing out the different shops. She made a point of introducing me to everyone who said hello, and although I appreciated it, it still grates that she didn’t introduce me to Myles Graham. And even though I told her it was none of my business, it irks me that she dated the guy.
I shouldn’t care.
I’m not staying here.
Beth doesn’t belong to me.
The ride back to the ranch takes no time, and when I pull up and stop, Beth makes no move to get off the bike. When I turn the bike off and swivel sideways, I look at her. She has a grin on her face, her hair is a tangled mess, but she seems happy.
“Country, you going to get off?” Beth nods but doesn’t move. “Tonight?” Surprising me, she leans forward and kisses my cheek. “What was that for?” I ask with a grin.
“You made it easy. Thank you. You’re a rare breed, Sean MacKenny.”
A warmth sneaks its way from my cheek to my cock, and right there and then, I want her.
Beth nods once and climbs off, not looking back as she jogs up the stairs and into the house. It must be a good five minutes before I realize I’m still out here while Beth is long gone. I climb off, and my cell begins to ring. The caller ID says Angus, my brother. I hit accept, put the cell to my ear, and say nothing.
“For fuck’s sake, Sean. Answer the phone like a normal person.”
“What?”
“What?” I hear his intake of breath. “What? That’s all you have to say? We only recently got Maddock back, and now you go missing? Did it occur to you we might all want to stay together and bond?”
Angus is an introvert and a genius on the computer. Our brother, Maddock, went into witness protection, but at the time, we all thought he was dead. Angus was like a dog with a bone, he was convinced Maddock was alive, and, of course, he was.
“Mad is in Paris with Cherie. So there’s no bonding to be had.”
“Come home.”
“I can’t.”
“Bullshit! Kyle wants you back. I want you back. Come home, brother.”
I’m VP in the Loyal Rebels MC, and Kyle, my older brother, he’s the President. Kyle rules with an iron fist, but he’s fair. I don’t always follow the rules, and it gets under his skin, but he mostly lets me slide.
Maddock came back to us a bloody mess, and when they kidnapped Maddock’s girl, Cherie, I couldn’t let it slide. Colin Lamond deserved it. He also killed our baby sister, Heather. In the Marines, I was good with explosives, so I blew the fucker to kingdom come. It grated on me that the others were prepared to let him live. I wasn’t—it went against my moral code, and it’s how I came to be here. I wanted to spend time with Thomas Trent, work out my demons, and then go home.
Now, I feel like I can’t leave Beth. It seems like she needs me, and I also don’t want to face the wrath of Kyle.
“Sean?” asks Angus in a softer tone.
“I disobeyed a direct order, Angus. Kyle will be pissed, and I don’t blame him.”
“Yes, he’s going to give you a flogging for what you’ve done, but Sean, he needs you home. We all do.”
I mount the stairs and sit on the top one, looking out over the ranch and into the night. “I’ve got things I need to do here. Brother, I need space.”
“Well, being in the middle of fucking nowhere, you must have plenty of that. How is your old army buddy, anyway?”
“He’s dead. His daughter is here, though, looking after things.”
“Oh, shit. Sorry, man. How’d he die?”
Angus is the best hacker I know, so if anyone can help me, it’ll be him.
“Angus, do you think you could look into it? Thomas was shot in the back, according to his daughter. She seems to think a Myles Graham had something to do with it. He wanted to buy the ranch, but Thomas didn’t want to sell. Beth thinks he paid people off, so he wouldn’t get blamed.”
“Beth?” asks Angus, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Thomas Trent’s daughter. Yeah, Beth. It’s not like that. She’s good people on hard times. I look at her more like a sister than someone I’m interested in. Actually, she’d make a good match for you. She’s quiet and likes to keep to herself.”
Laughter filters down the line. “Fuck you. Okay, give me a couple of days, and I’ll send you what I’ve got. Where should I send it?”
“Like you don’t fucking know. I know you, brother. Talk to you in a few.” I end the call, stand, and walk into the house.