He took the offering. “No family?”
She shrugged. “Just me, but the boss doesn’t need to know that.”
“Thank you, Callie.”
After a cleansing breath, she grabbed a notepad. “Let me get your order before I keep you here all day.”
Honestly, he didn’t mind. For the first time in a long time, he felt human. Back at the club, he was feared, idolized, sometimes hated. And he was dangerous. Addicted to violence.
He slipped her Ally’s list.
“A chicken coop? I’d love to have chickens, but I think my apartment complex would frown upon that.” She winked.
“I guess so,” he said. “Hey, if we’re successful, I’ll be sure to bring you some fresh eggs.”
“We? Are you married?”
“No, no woman. I was talking about my brothers.”
“A big family sounds fun.” She spoke while punching codes into her computer.
He didn’t answer. No sense creating a web of lies when he could keep his mouth shut instead.
Another staff member came in from the back, glancing over at him. Brick raised his chin, an unspoken challenge. He was always ready for a fight. But the guy only set a stack of purchase orders down beside Callie.
“Thanks, Jeff.”
“You okay in here?” he asked. Brick wanted to tell him to fuck off.
“Actually, this is a pretty big order. Can you get a new skid of 2x4s down with the forklift?”
“Yeah. Sure.” He left the way he came, looking over his shoulder at Brick one more time before closing the door. Did he recognize him as a biker? Would he tell Callie?
And when did he start giving a shit about what other people thought?
“I think I have everything on your list.” She handed him back the paper from Ally. “If you pull your truck around back, the boys will load you up as soon as they pull down that wood.”
“Thanks for your help.”
“My pleasure,” she said.
He shoved the list into the pocket of his jeans and left the building center. The entire time he waited around back, he kept thinking about the things he should have done and should have said to Callie. It was all he could think about. He barely focused on his surroundings until there was a knock on the side of his truck.
Brick jerked in his seat. He hadn’t even noticed the guy inches from his face.
“You’re all loaded,” said one of the yard hands.
“Thanks.”
He started up the truck and began to ride out of the building lot. Brick had gotten what he came for, and now he could head home. This was what he wanted—short and sweet. Only he couldn’t pull out onto the road. Instead, he did a hard right turn, bringing him back to the front office.
For a good five minutes, he sat there in the truck, trying to convince himself to forget about this town girl and move on with his life. She was nobody. He had no time for socializing outside of the club, and never had any desire to do so. Relationships with outsiders were frowned upon. Besides, once a girl like Callie knew exactly what he was, she’d run the other way and never look back.
I’m a fucking idiot.
Brick went back inside the building center. Callie was at a desk behind the counter. When she saw him enter, she got up and approached the front.
“Was the order all right?”
“Everything was fine,” he said.
Why did he suddenly feel like he was twelve years old, his mouth dry, and nerves on fire? He was completely out of character, and the guys at the club would laugh their asses off if they could see him now.
“Did you want to order something else?”
He ground his teeth together, his jaw clenched. “What time do you get off work?”
“Five. Why?”
“I wanted to thank you for your help. Maybe take you out to dinner or something.”
She remained quiet, and he regretted opening his mouth in the first place.
“Or not,” he said. “It was just an idea.”
“No, I’d love to go to dinner.”
He nodded. “I better drop this shit off and get ready then. I’ll pick you up at five.”
****
Callie was still in a state of shock after the hot guy left. And she hadn’t even asked for his name. It was difficult to think straight when he wasn’t wearing a shirt. His body was golden and ripped like a gladiator. The ink on his arms was unlike anything she’d ever seen. She probably should have refused his offer. He was a classic bad boy, she had no doubt about it. But he didn’t act like an asshole, and for some reason, she felt comfortable around him when she was normally quite shy around men.
It was difficult to focus on work for the rest of the afternoon. None of the men in the yard had shoulders and biceps like her guy. When they’d talked to each other, she’d had to remind herself to make eye contact and not keep checking him out. She liked everything about him, from the gruff tone of his voice to his impossibly dark eyes.
What would he think of the real her?
He’d only seen her from behind the counter. Once he saw her fat ass, he’d probably regret asking her out. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. He was picking her up in a couple of hours, right after work, so she’d have no time to fix herself up. In an ideal situation, she’d take a shower and change into something pretty.
Jeff came in and sat at his desk. “Any new orders?”
“A few online. No more walk-ins.”
“That guy give you any trouble?” Jeff asked. “He looked like trouble.”
“He’s just a chicken farmer. Relax.”
She didn’t want any more questions and didn’t like her mystery man being judged.
“A farmer covered in ink?”
She shrugged.
Honestly, Callie didn’t want to dig deeper. She just wanted to enjoy the moment. He’d asked her out on a date, so she was still on cloud nine.
She’d been so focused on working and surviving that she had little time to worry about herself, her love life, or her future.
So many thoughts crowded her head. What would happen when he dropped her off? She didn’t want him to see the shithole where she lived. Or what if he wasn’t what he seemed to be at all and he ended up dumping her body in a ditch somewhere?
The minutes ticked on until only ten minutes remained until her shift ended.
Her heart raced. What if he didn’t even show up? What if he did?
Callie shut down her station and gathered up her belongings.
She used the staff bathroom to fix herself up. After pulling the elastic from her ponytail, she ran her fingers through her hair the best she could. When she looked beyond the glass, she still couldn’t see the white pick-up truck in the yard. Her heart sank. She didn’t realize how much she’d wanted this to work out.
Callie usually walked a mile to the town, then took the bus to her apartment at the far east end. One day, she’d have enough saved up for a little car, but until then, it was a tedious routine that wasn’t optional. And much worse in this heat.
She began her trek through the dusty yard, checking her watch again. Maybe she should wait a few more minutes in case he was just late. Her life was so full of disappointments that she doubted he’d show up. It had only been about five months since her grandmother passed away. That pain was still fresh. She’d raised Callie alone, giving her some semblance of normalcy in her childhood years. Her parents and cousins were all messed up on hard drugs, stealing and conning people to support their habit. Her grandmother tried to shield her from the worst of it, but they were mostly MIA, and she wasn’t so naïve.