CHAPTER 7
Sawyer
I hear him call out my name over the roar of the Beast but I don’t stop. Tears threaten to fall down my cheeks and I’ll be damned if I let him see me like that. I should’ve followed my gut instinct, that Garrison is a grade A asshole and stayed as far away as possible. I get to the front door and turn the knob only to remember that the house keys are on the same ring as the car keys… that Garrison has. Sighing, I turn around, cross my arms, and tap my foot as I impatiently wait.
The Beast quiets and Garrison strides quickly around the piece of metal. His nostrils flare as he tries not to yell but does a horrible job trying to hide his frustration. “What the hell was that, Sawyer? You could’ve been hurt!”
“Like you care,” I mutter., holding out my hand and waiting for the keys.
Instead of dropping them in my hand, Garrison takes my hand in his, pushing them down and squeezing it lightly. “Yeah, I do care. What did I say?”
Momentarily distracted by his physical contact, I relax for a couple seconds but quickly recover, yanking my hand back and throwing my arms up like a crazy person. “What did you say?” Now, it’s my turn to let the nostrils flare, I can feel them moving in and out, slightly distracted from my oncoming rant. “You basically accused my mother of hiding me from my father, like she did something wrong!”
Garrison squares his body in front of mine, placing one hand on each shoulder and pressing down lightly. Immediately, stress starts to flow out of my shoulders despite my mind telling me to stay pissed off. His lips drop into a small frown and he shakes his head as he begins to speak.
“Damn, Sawyer, that’s not what I meant to imply at all. I didn’t know your mom but I’m sure she was an amazing person. All I’m trying to say is that there’s got to be a reason she didn’t tell you about your father and before you jump to conclusions that he’s an asshole, there might be a possibility that he’s a good guy. Either way, I’m sure your mom was just trying to protect her little girl.”
I look into his dark eyes, those damn tears begging to be released as I soak in his words. I know he’s right, my dad could be anyone out there. I’ve spent the better part of my twenty-four years thinking of endless possibilities. Maybe it’s Keith that owns Keith’s Cafe here in town but my mother hated cooking so she didn’t want to settle down with him. Maybe it’s Harrison Ford, my mother always had a crush on him and I have to admit that I think my nose looks slightly like his. Maybe it was a man that stopped in Memphis for one night only then rode off the next morning, never to be seen or heard from again. Now that I’m older, and quite a bit jaded, it’s just easier for me to accept the fact that he was a loser and that I’m better off without him. Now that I have no family left, I don’t want to think of what a great man he could’ve been because that will make me feel even lonelier than I already am.
“I found something,” I whisper around the lump in my throat.
Garrison lifts an eyebrow. “What kind of something?”
Why am I telling him this? He’ll probably think I’m some kind of lunatic but I need to run this by someone else and well, right now he’s the only ‘someone else’ around. I reach out, grabbing the keys out of his hands and my butterflies flutter in my stomach as our fingers briefly touch. Without saying a word, I unlock the front door and walk inside. Garrison follows me and I feel oddly at peace knowing he’s behind me until I walk into the bedroom. Abruptly, I stop and I feel the weight of Garrison’s body against mine. His hands move to my hips, keeping me upright and my heart races at the touch.
“Why’d you stop?”
“Um… sorry,” I mumble, taking a step forward and moving across the room. I reach out and pluck the playing card from the mirror, moving it for the first time in probably twenty-five years. The part of the card that was tucked under the wood frame is still the same bright color it was when it was placed there while the rest of it is so faded that I can’t even tell what color it was originally. Turning to Garrison, I hand him the card with no explanation.
He glances down at it, flipping it from front to back then looks up at me. “This is your father?”
I shrug, relieved that he’s thinking is on the same path as mine. “I don’t know but I have a feeling that it might be.”
“Have you called the number?”
I move my head side to side. “No,” I whisper, “I’m too scared.”
Garrison nods, handing the card back to me and shrugging nonchalantly. “I could call if you want, I don’t have anything else to do while I’m in town.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. “You’d do that?”
“Yeah, whatever, it’s not a big deal.” He turns toward the hallway, walking away like what he’s offering is the most normal thing in the world to do for someone who is basically a stranger.
I follow him out of the room, standing at the top of the stairs. “Take the Beast, I don’t need her.”
Garrison turns and looks up at me. Our eyes meet and we both silently send each other our appreciation. It’s funny how quickly things change in life, one minute I’m running over his motorcycle and now he’s joining my quest to find who my father is.
Garrison
The old vehicle rattles beneath my hands. If it were my jet or my own personal car, I would pull over and pop open the hood without a second thought but this is the Beast. It’s Sawyer’s Beast and this is how she’s always known this thing to run. My lips twitch at the thought of Sawyer growing up over the years, this giant SUV not changing at all but Sawyer flourishing from a little girl to the woman she is today. Quickly, my almost smile slips away as I recall that there was never a father in this driver’s seat, no one to treat Sawyer like a princess or to scare off any boys she brought back to her house. It’s bad enough she grew up without a dad then I had to open my mouth and bring up my Navy buddy’s situation, implying that her mother is the one at fault for not having her father in her life. Fuck, I really am an asshole.
It’s bad enough I made the comment that I did but then I went ahead and volunteered myself to help find the bastard. What is it about this woman that I can’t just let her go? She ran over my only mode of transportation and instead of being pissed, I asked her to be my chauffeur. I tried to pick up the parts I needed to fix my bike and instead, I ended up letting her ride on my back, getting way too close than I should’ve let her. I could’ve walked out of her house tonight and never have to face her again but now, I’m the head private investigator in the search to find her father. Why do I do this shit to myself?
I don’t even like my own father much less the idea of a man that didn’t stick around to raise a woman like Sawyer. I scoff as I pull the Beast into Cuzzo’s driveway. What kind of woman is Sawyer exactly, how would I know? The woman is nothing but a stranger to me… which is exactly why I signed up for this adventure. I want to find out exactly for myself who Sawyer Kingham is and what purpose will I serve in her life. I’m only home for a couple weeks so I’d better move fast, good thing I already know who owns the phone number on that playing card.