I felt her before I saw her. The hair lifted on the back of my neck like it did before a storm.

I’d just pulled into the hardware store parking lot to see whether Nate wanted to grab a quick lunch when she came rushing toward me like a rabid pit bull with her teeth bared.

“You owe me, asshole.” She had her finger pointed at me like she was identifying me in a lineup. “You damaged my door with your stupid meaty fists.” She came closer, and now that pointy finger poked me in the chest. I had to give her credit. She was bold. Not many people had the courage to do that to me.

I grasped her hand, and she gasped. I didn’t squeeze her hand, but I held it against my chest to stop her jabbing. “Calm down.”

Her mouth dropped open, giving me a glance at her slick pink tongue. A tongue I was sure to get a lashing from any minute and not the kind of lashing I preferred.

She ripped her palm from my grip. “Calm down? You’re telling me to calm down? That’s rich coming from a guy who punched my door. My door, asshole. The door on my house. I should call the police. There has to be some law against vandalism, even in a podunk town like Fury.” She stomped her feet and fisted her hands against her jean-clad legs. “God, I feel sorry for your girlfriend.”

I shook my head because I had no idea what in the hell that meant. What girlfriend?

She turned and strutted back to her car. The engine revved and kicked up gravel as she tore out of the parking lot.

Nate walked up to me, laughing. “Making new friends, I see.”

“Shut the fuck up, Nate,” I grumbled. I didn’t need his shit. “You coming to lunch or not?”

“Yeah, I’m coming. Just let me tell my dad.” Nate turned to leave.

“Bring your wallet. You’re buying because you pissed me off.” I climbed back on the bike and waited.

He turned around to face me and walked backward. “She pissed you off. Maybe she should buy.”

“Hurry up, I’m hungry.”

Nate took off on a run and returned a minute later. He climbed into his truck and I followed him to the diner.

Good ole Hannah was all smiles when we arrived.

“Two days in a row. How did I get so lucky?”

I pushed past her, but I heard Nate say, “Since when do you consider bad luck to be lucky? Bring him an iced tea. He needs it to cool down.”

I slid into the corner booth and hunkered down. It had been a shitty day. I should have gone right home, but after my talk with Silas, I needed to clear my head. Next time I’d know to go straight back to bed rather than heading out to create a clusterfuck.

“What did you do to that girl?”

Just before I could answer, Hannah plopped two iced teas on the table and her ass on the bench next to me.

She leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. “You want some sugar?”

She wasn’t asking about the kind that came in packets. The girl had been openly offering me her sweets all year.

I pressed my finger against her shoulder until I made her sit up straight. “What I want is a burger and fries.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “And you?” She looked at Nate.

“I’ll take some sugar if you’re offering. I get off at five.”

She reached across and palmed his cheek. “Sorry, Nate, you’re sweet enough on your own.” She turned to look at me. “This one, though, he needs all the help he can get, and I’m pretty sure my sugar can make him sweeter.”

“I watch my sugar intake, sweetheart. Don’t want to risk the chance of diabetes.”

She pushed on my shoulder. “You’re an asshole, Hawk.”

I grabbed her arm before she could get up. “To you, I’m Ryker. You haven’t earned the right to call me Hawk.”

She pulled her arm from my hand. “Who pissed on your Wheaties this morning, Ryker?” She said my name with exaggerated flair.

Nate laughed. “Some new chick that moved here is twisting his nuts.”

Hannah moved to Nate’s side of the booth. “She was in here yesterday. Plain and mousy looking, right?”

“Wrong girl.” There was nothing plain and mousy about the girl I’d met. She was a fucking goddess covered in dust.

“In all fairness, it’s a matter of opinion. When I looked at her, I thought she was cute in that kind of lost puppy way. She was definitely a six or seven, but when she ordered colored paint, she moved up on the beauty scale to a high eight.” Nate held up ten fingers, then dropped two.

Hannah grumbled. “I’d give her a five at best.”

“Don’t you have a job to do?” I said and stared in her direction.

Hannah lifted from the booth and walked without urgency to the kitchen.

Nate leaned in toward the center of the table. “What happened with you and Sunshine?”

“Who the hell is Sunshine?”

“The chick from the hardware store. She bought yellow paint. It reminded me of the color of sunshine.”

“Storm is more like it. She’s like a damn hurricane.” I pulled four packets of sugar and dumped them into my glass. I stared out the window for a minute. “She moved into Sparrow’s house.”

Nate almost dumped his tea over. “No way. It’s about time, man. That neighborhood has been a graveyard too long, don’t you think?”

“I can’t let it go, Nate. I can’t let her go.”

Hannah came by and literally tossed our burgers in front of us. When she turned around, she flipped up her skirt, giving me a view of her barely covered ass. It was a nice ass, but it wasn’t for me. Asses like that came with commitments and expectations. I had enough shit on my plate; I didn’t need to add more.

My phone rang. It was the private eye that I’d called before my fateful motorcycle ride. “Hey, Henry, thanks for calling.” He asked if we could meet at the garage. “Give me twenty-five minutes.”

“News on Decker?” Nate shoved a handful of fries into his mouth.

“I don’t know, I called the guy and told him to start again. He said he might have found a break in the case. We’ll see. The problem is, each time he goes in search of a break, it costs money, and I’m out of money.”

Nate dropped his burger and leaned in. “I almost forgot. Little Ms. Sunshine needs cheap labor to help fix up her house.”

“Are you crazy?” I bit off a chunk of burger and dumped a blob of ketchup onto my plate. “The woman hates me.”

“Get over it. It’s easy money, and you need money. She needs cheap labor, so I’m pretty sure she can overlook your faults.”

I took a few more bites of my burger before wrapping it in a napkin. “Not happening. I don’t want her in the house in the first place. I’m not going to make it easier for her to live there.”

“If she has a deed to the property, there’s nothing you can do about it. Isn’t it time to let it go?”

He was probably right, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen. “I’ve got to run. Thanks for lunch.” I pulled a few more fries into my mouth and headed for the door.

Just my bad luck to have Sheriff Stuart pulling up as I was leaving. The asshole never left me alone.

“Savage,” he said as he exited his cruiser. He always used my last name like they did in prison.

I nodded and kept walking toward the bike. The fries stuck like dried toast in my throat.

“That thing registered?”

I swallowed hard. “Yep, all legal and everything. You’ll have to try harder, Sheriff. I’ve been a law-abiding citizen for years.” I had no real choice. The man was like an enema.

I shoved the napkin-wrapped burger into my pocket and started the bike. A minute later, Sheriff Stuart was in my rearview mirror, and the woman in Sparrow’s house was on my mind.

I pulled into the garage parking lot just in time to see Henry arrive. The scarecrow of a man climbed out of his car. He always smelled like cigarettes and bad coffee. I supposed it was a hazard of the job.

“Hey, Henry.” I killed the engine on the bike and hopped off.

“Don’t you wear a helmet?”

I ran my fingers through my windblown hair. “Not always. Sometimes it’s nice to have the wind dry my hair. Besides it’s not required in Colorado.”

Henry took a last puff on his cigarette and tossed it to the ground. He ground the ember to death under the rubber sole of his tennis shoe. “You know they sell hairdryers everywhere.”

“That shit’s for girls.” I walked past him and into the garage. “What do you have for me?” We stepped over the tools and made our way to the office. I pointed to the old foldout chair in front of the metal desk. It was the chair I used to bend over to receive the lash of Dad’s belt when I misbehaved.

Henry pulled out an invoice. “I need a retainer to continue.” He slapped the page in front of me. “I know you’re tight on money, so I made half due now and half due in thirty days.” He pointed to the line that read one thousand dollars.

“I’ve paid you thousands of dollars already, and I have nothing to show for it.” I wanted to boot kick the man straight out of my office or bend him over the chair and give him the end of my belt, but I kept hearing Rooster’s plea. We had to find Decker. He was the only family we had, and finding him was a priority. “Okay, so as soon as I give you five hundred dollars, you’ll dig in?”

“I’ve got a lead. I found a person who worked at the Department of Social Services when your brother would have been placed. I want to talk to him to see if he can put us in the right direction.”

“All right.” I looked past the man’s balding head through the window of my office to my dad’s old Harley. “I’ve got to sell a few things, and then I’ll get you the money. Give me a few days.” Months ago I would have been able to write him a check, but since Stuart had been harassing the bikers that came through town, they didn’t tend to stop here anymore. I’d taken to fixing anything with a small engine. My life had gone from fixing Harley Davidson bikes to lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners.

I stood up and showed Henry to the door. As soon as he cleared the property, I went to my computer to email my brother.

Rooster,

I talked to the private eye. We’ve got a plan. I’ll let you know when he starts up again.

Hawk

There was eleven and a half hours’ difference between Colorado and Afghanistan. I wasn’t sure whether he’d be up this late, but soon enough, the ding of an incoming message sounded.

Hawk,

I know how hard that will be for you, but you know our parents would want us together. It’s too bad you can’t pick up some side work.

Rooster

His mention of side work made me think of the house on Abundant. Maybe it was time I started acting neighborly. Maybe it was time I offered my services to the new owner. Maybe it was time to let it all go.