***
Casten roared off the second Tasha was clear of his bike, not even looking backwards to make sure she was safely on the concrete.
I laughed under my breath, getting off my bike as I did.
The man had it bad, and he didn’t stand a chance.
Seriously, there was nothing a man could do if one of the Garcia sisters put you in her sights.
All Casten could do was hold on for the ride.
Annie waved goodbye, and I walked slightly behind Tasha to her front door.
“Don’t forget that you promised to help me out tomorrow with practice,” Tasha said as an afterthought.
I looked back in the direction I’d left Annie, who smiled and waved at her sister in acknowledgement.
“I’ll be there…with bells on!” She screamed.
Tasha snorted and continued to walk, glancing at me once we got to the door.
“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” Tasha blurted suddenly.
I blinked.
“Not intentionally, no,” I replied softly.
She nodded, studying her feet for quite a while before she looked up at me, smiled, then went inside without a backwards glance.
I turned and walked away once I heard the doors lock, heading to my bike where Annie was leaning over, playing with the key chain.
“What are you doing?” I said loudly, making her jump with a guilty look on her face.
“I’m sorry,” she laughed. “I just like your keychain.
I nodded.
“It was a bullet I got in Iraq,” I said, not offering up an explanation as to why it was on my keychain.
I knew she wouldn’t let it go.
Although, I’d hoped she’d leave it alone, I knew she wouldn’t.
Annie just wasn’t made that way.
She was always thirsty for information. Curious.
Especially when it came to me.
“You were in Iraq?” She asked.
I laughed.
“Yeah, you could say that,” I responded evasively.
I wouldn’t be telling Annie about my time there.
Not tonight. Not after we’d had such a good time together.
One day she would have to know more about Iraq and my deployments, but not right now. We were too new. We had too many things we needed to work on first before we started on the demons of my past.
Annie must have realized that Iraq was a sore subject, because she smiled and turned around towards the bike.
“Don’t forget to get her up by eight. The game starts at nine,” Tasha ordered, making us both turn to look back at the opened door.
Annie waved at Tasha, acknowledging that she’d heard.
“Where does she have to be?” I asked.
“The high school. Tomorrow is the alumni volleyball game at our old high school,” Annie replied, smiling slightly.
My thoughts immediately went to tight little shorts, and how fuckin’ hot they would look cupping Annie’s ass.
It didn’t surprise me that Tasha had been a volleyball player.
Tasha may be a knockout, but she had nothing on Annie.
Annie who was short and curvy.
I hadn’t realized that short girls played volleyball.
“We’ll get you there on time.”
Annie smiled and remounted the bike. She sat there with her eyes closed.
“Helmet!” I barked.
“Shit,” she said, covering her heart. “You scared me.”
I smiled down at my feet as I straddled the seat in front of her, waiting patiently for her to slip the helmet onto her head.
“Sorry,” I said once she was situated.
She wrapped her hands around my waist.
“I wasn’t truly asleep, but really close to being there,” she admitted.
I patted her thigh.
“Your place or mine?” I asked.
She squeezed me tighter.
“Where is yours now?” She asked curiously.
In answer, I started the bike and headed back towards the river.
I was staying on a house boat.
One that Griffin had been staying at during his and Lenore’s separation.
Not that the separation had gone on for long.
Seemed the houseboat was bound and determined to kick its occupants out before they thought they were ready to commit to relationships.
The haze of clouds made the ride feel ominous, but Annie seemed to enjoy it, despite it being on the cooler side.
We arrived at the clubhouse once more, and she was practically asleep on my back.
And by the time I’d motored across the lake on the boat, she was asleep.
How, I didn’t know.
The river was louder than fuck, and it wasn’t a gentle ride.
The wind was picking up, and waves were white capping, but Annie didn’t budge, and I wondered idly if she’d make it to her game in time in the morning.
A quick ride from the clubhouse to the house boat, I tied us up while Annie, out like a light, snored softly, not a care in the world.
Her complete trust in me was humbling.
But for the first time in a very long time, since my first deployment in Iraq, I was afraid.
I was afraid not only for Annie, but also for me.
After reading what Casten was able to uncover about not just Liam Cornwell, but my ex-wife as well, I was left reeling.
And I wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to get myself out of this without leaving a huge, gaping hole in my heart.