Riley

The next morning I slide out of bed as Gunner lies snoring. Grabbing a Diet Coke and heading to the couch, I call the town police department and ask for the Sheriff. Turns out, Sunday mornings are very slow and the Sheriff answered the phone himself.

“Oh, I thought I’d be on hold forever!” I say after announcing myself.

“Huh. Do Maddocks get put on hold anywhere? Especially not a Riley-Maddock in this town, I’m guessing?” Was hardly the reply I was expecting.

“Um, well, I have a concern and wanted to discuss it with you, without any fallout.” I start, and he grunts. “So I just turned eighteen,” Another grunt on the other end of the line. “My Gram, well she gave me one of her properties and it had an apartment above it; so I immediately moved into it.”

“Jesus Christ, Girl. I’m the Sheriff, not a relocation specialist.” He growls.

“Wait! Please. My parents, well, they’ve been working with Officer Kennelly and he came here yesterday when I had buzzed delivery men in and said something about a wellness check that was on record for me. I had dinner with my Gram on Friday night, so that was ridiculous. I don’t think he would have left so easily if the man I’m seeing hadn’t arrived.”

“Who are you dating?”

“Gunner Sorenson. My Gram’s known him forever.” I throw in, trying to diffuse the MC connection. “Then my father calls last night and tells him that he’s having him investigated for statutory rape. Which is untrue, I approached Gunner on my birthday last Saturday.”

“And now you’re ‘dating’ him?” I swear I hear him drawing circles on a paper out of boredom.

“Please. I need you to take this seriously. Does Kennelly have any right to come into a building I own, without permission, and ask me questions?” After a brief sigh, he asks me to hold on and then I hear him typing for a few moments.

“No, there aren’t any notes in the system about you; I will speak to Kennelly about this and put a notice in his file. You are correct, he had no right to force his way in; can anyone else, other than Gunner, verify this?”

“Yes! The three delivery guys were within ten feet of us and definitely listening.”

“I have to ask you about the statutory rape issue, Miss Maddock. What will your parents find?”

“Nothing, Sir. There is nothing to find. Again, my Gram will vouch for Gunner; but my parents are upset with me and I don’t think they’ll back down easily.”

“You sound reasonably intelligent; and while Gunner has never been tried or convicted of any crime, you must know something about the MC? About what kind of man he is?” He asks, although he still sounds slightly bored.

“You mean other than him being a decorated Vet?” I ask and get another sigh in response. “He’s a good man, Sheriff, and now he’s mine,” I look over my shoulder to see Gunner watching me.

Walking towards me, he holds out his hand for the phone. “Sheriff Michaels? Everything alright?” He listens to the Sheriff for a few moments. “Not just going to be my Ol’ Lady, Sheriff,” Gunner says, looking at me without blinking. “I’m going to marry her. I already cleared it with Mrs. Riley.”

My jaw is gaping open. Then I scream at him, smacking his shoulder.

Seriously, he announces it to the Sheriff before asking me?! He grunts out, “Shit, gotta let you go,” He disconnects the call as I try to swat him again.

He swings me up into his arms and tries apologizing. “I told you, you are mine! Of course, I’m marrying you, Sweetheart.”

That doesn’t really cut it right now.

“No, you have to ask. I have to say yes. You don’t get to tell anyone shit like that before we decide it together, you freaking Caveman!”

“I think I like ‘Baby’ better.” He smirks at me.

“Whatever, ALEX,” I say, launching myself off his lap.

I head to the bedroom to get dressed. This calls for a Ray’s Diner #6, and I will eat it all. He pads back to the bedroom, checking to see if it’s safe and I give him three minutes to get dressed and join me for breakfast.

“I love you.” He calls as I head up toward the door. The tone of his voice makes it sound an awful lot like, ‘I’m sorry’.

Gunner

What the hell did she think I was playing at here? I wonder as she shoots me another glare over a fork full of pancakes. I smile at her, I learned my lesson last time; no way I’m ordering the #6 again.

“And my Gram?” She mutters to herself, taking a hard bite into a sausage link. I’ve decided silence is the best answer right now. She’s so damn cute all worked up like this; I can’t help the smile on my face. Noticing Margie staring at me, I tone it down and dig back into my own breakfast.

Looking around the diner, I notice a couple guys from the MC; looking the worse for wear after the night before. They give me a nod, which I acknowledge with a glare; catching Riley’s attention in the meanwhile.

“Please, don’t tell me Kennelly is back there?” She asks as her shoulders tense up.

“No, Sweetheart, just some of my Brothers. They’re all straining to get a look at your face now, so it’s kinda funny.” I smirk at her.

“Should I stand up and let them check me out?” She smirks right back at me.

“Hell no, they want to act like nosy old women, don’t make it easy on them!” I stare across the room until they take the hint to mind themselves. “So, this truck today, Connal’s done all the work on it and its really low mileage. I think it’ll be just what you need. Um, I forgot to ask but did you bring the money? Or how do you want to arrange that?”

“What? Oh, no. I already gave the money to Connal,” My jaw has dropped and I don’t know what to say. Seeing how frustrated I am, she quickly continues. “Gunner, what if he found something and couldn’t get a hold of me right away?”

“You just handed him seven thousand dollars?  Sweetheart, you have to be more careful.” I pinch together the bridge of my nose. I know she doesn’t view money like the majority of us and we will have to have this discussion, gently, another time.

“Gunner, you said I could trust him! I wouldn’t give it to just anyone.” She sounds exasperated and I’m slightly dumbfounded by this statement.

“So if I tell you someone is trustworthy, you’d just let them hold onto thousands of dollars for you?” I choke out.

“Not at all. But the way you talk about Connal is different, than, well, say, Wrench, for instance. I haven’t met Wrench yet, and you haven’t said anything bad about him but you don’t talk about him the same way you do Connal. Besides, Connal flipped out when I gave him the money before he had anything lined up for me, so that confirmed it that he wasn’t going to swindle me.” She explains and her reasoning stuns me.

“You aren’t wrong; I trust Connal completely. Jesus, even the thought of you driving around with that kind of money freaks me out. People have killed for less, Sweetheart. I just need you to be cautious, alright?” Suddenly, she seems really interested in her empty plate and I just know I don’t want to hear what she’s thinking. Especially not with people around us, I wave Marge over for the check and settle up.

Reaching over to help her stand, and still seeing a sheepish look on her face; I pull her straight up to my mouth and take complete possession of hers. My Brothers, down on the other side, start hooting and soon most of the customers start laughing along with them. Over the ruckus, Margie yells at me to keep it PG. Pulling back, Riley’s cheeks are all pink and I realize I’ve done nothing but frustrate myself, there’s no time to stop home to take care of the intense pressure in my pants.

Getting into the truck, I turn to look at her as I start it up. “Do you happen to have a stockpile of cash at the apartment?”

“How did you know?”

“From the look on your face back there. Fuck.” I groan.

“I had always put my allowance in the bank but have been slowly taking it out the past few months. As a minor, my father’s name was on my account. I took the balance of it out last week. I bought a lockbox for it when you were out of town.”

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll drive to the bank near your school and deposit the bulk of it there, ok?” She readily agrees and leans over to kiss my cheek, as we pull into the lot for Connal’s Garage.