Jagger parked the motorcycle beside my dad’s truck several hours later. My heart was still soaring in my chest. Freedom. Jagger had shown me freedom. He’d taken the bike down the long stretching highways surrounding Barossa, going way too fast, and I could still feel the weightless feeling in my bones. I stumbled as I got off the bike and grinned. We’d been gone for too long, been out of touch for way too long, but damn if I could regret what we’d done.
He still sat on the bike, his feet planted on the ground and his wrists resting on the handlebars. He was the picture of wild. For a second, the darkness in his eyes seemed lighter.
He’d held my hand while he drove the bike like we were running from the law and he’d laughed with me when I’d thrown my head back and let loose. He’d been there with me, feeling the same things I’d been feeling. I knew it as well as I knew my name.
There was a kindred spirit in him and my heart stupidly wanted to believe it recognized his.
I stared at him, struggling to find the words to thank him. He’d helped me more than I thought was possible that day. With some of the tension gone, I felt like I could breathe again.
“Your hair is a little crazy right now.”
I reached up and patted it, feeling the mass of curls and knots. “Yeah, it is. Still better than the helmet.”
“You look good like that. A little wild, but good. Makes me think you spent the night in my bed, rolling around with my hands locked in your hair.”
Somehow, I still managed to blush. I bit my lip and looked up at him. “You’re not supposed to say things like that.”
He slowly climbed off the bike and stood up. “Like what? Like how I want your hair and eyes to look wild like that because I just made you come with my mouth multiple times? Like how I wouldn’t even mind if your hair looked that crazy because I’d had my hands lodged in it while your sweet little mouth was wrapped around my”
“Lacey!” Mom’s voice called out from the porch. “Lacey, your father wants you to meet him at the clubhouse.”
I jerked away from where Jagger had somehow managed to close the gap between us and forced a smile at my mom. “Thanks! I’ll go now.”
Jagger grinned down at me. “Want me to drive you?”
I shook my head fast. I was breathing heavily and my chest was rising and falling like I’d just run a 10k. “Nope.”
He laughed. “You running?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
His gait was lazy and proud as he moved back to his bike. “I’m in the room next to yours, Lace. You know how to find me if you want me.”
I nodded, feeling drunk. “That’s a bad idea.”
He swung his leg over the bike, wincing slightly, and then settled on it. “But a really good time. I’ve got to pick something up in town. I’ll be back later.”
I stood there, like an idiot, and watched as he rode away. The cloud of dust behind him did nothing to distract my eyes from the strength in his back and the sexy way he glanced back at me and nodded. Whew.
That man was smoking hot. I was out of my league. I knew what I should do but when he turned his sights on me, it was like I was incapable of remembering the reasons why I shouldn’t dunk my toe in that water.
I shook my head and strode towards the barn. Jameson needed to be washed and he’d love the ride up to the clubhouse. I could use a distraction from that bike and that man, too.
I quickly led Jameson out, talking to him all the while, and climbed onto him happily as he made sounds, letting me know he’d missed me. I stroked his neck and then nudged him so we took off in the right direction.
Dad’s truck was parked out in front of the clubhouse, along with several other trucks and cars. It seemed Franklin was having some sort of event. It was only slightly weird, since he’d been eating at the café just a little earlier. I climbed off Jameson and looped his lead through the porch railing before climbing the steps.
Franklin met me at the front door before I could knock and sent me a smile that never reached his eyes. “Lacey. You’re all alone. Where’s that boyfriend of yours?”
“He’s grabbing something in town. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s out back. Some of the guys got it in their minds to head out to that little creek tonight for some frog giggin’ and your daddy said he’d help them out.”
I nodded. “I’ll just go around.”
“Nonsense, Lace. Come on in. The rest of us are just going to be hanging around here tonight. Taking some time away from their wives and such.” He stepped to the side and gestured for me to come inside. “When the boulder’s away, the boys will play.”
I made a face. “You call their wives boulders?”
He squeezed my shoulder and grinned. “All in good fun. Why don’t you come and say hi to the boys?”
I tried to move away from him, but he steered me into the living room with a hard hand on my shoulder. When I tried to pull away, his thumb bit into my shoulder and I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from screaming.
Franklin waved his hand at a group of men sitting on the large sectional couch. They were all holding glasses with amber liquid inside and all of their eyes moved over my body in a way that made me want to vomit. “Boys, this here is Lacey. She’s trying to be the boss someday. When her daddy lets her.”
One of the larger men stood up and grabbed a cigar from a box on the coffee table in front of him. “Now, why would a pretty thing like you want to go and do something like that? You’re cute enough to get you a nice fat catch. Put out a little, get married, live like a queen up on some hill. This kind of work ain’t meant for a little thing like you.”
My brain went up in a blaze and I had to shove my hands in my pockets to keep from lashing out at the idiot. I took a deep breath in and then blew it out. “You can’t smoke in here.”
Franklin wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gently shook me. “Aw, come on, Lace. Rules are made to be broken. You’re not really going to stop my friend here from having the best time possible, are you?”
The guy struck a match and brought it to his cigar. With a deep suction, he lit the cigar and then blew a bloom of smoke out in my direction. “Yeah, I’m just trying to have the best time possible.”
I grabbed the cigar from his mouth and dropped the lit end into his drink. “I said you can’t smoke in here. Other than that, you can have all the fun you want. I’m going to find my dad. Enjoy your night.”
Franklin tried to hold on to my shoulder but I spun away from him and hurried out of the room to a chorus of boos. The boos didn’t bother me. I was fine with being the boring bitch. It was the feeling in the room that was eating at my heels as I rushed away. Darkness. It could’ve been my imagination but it felt like there was something evil lurking in there.
I had to fight the urge to look over my shoulder as I practically flew out the back door and down the hill to where Dad was bent over a boat with his head buried in the motor compartment.
Another guy was just on the other side of Dad, a crowbar in his hand. His eyes lifted to meet mine as he gently hefted the metal bar in his hands a few times. My stomach rolled and I stopped short. Something felt bad.
“Hey, Dad.”
His head came up and he frowned at me. “Hey. I need you to finish gathering up the flashlights and anything else we’ll need for giggin’ from the shop. I’m taking them out tonight.”
I glanced at the man beside dad. “Are you sure you should do it tonight? I heard it might rain.”
Dad sighed. “Lace. Do I need to call Bradley out here to do it? What’s gotten into you?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. I was just trying to help. I’ll get the stuff.”
He looked up at the crowbar guy and held out his hand for it. “You got any kids, son?”
The guy nodded and handed the bar over. “A little girl.”
“Good luck when she’s older. Hopefully, she won’t be boy crazy like mine. There’s work to be done and I hear she’s out on a date.”
The guy grinned, softening his face, and making me think I was crazy for seeing anything sinister there. “I plan on keeping my girl tied up in her room if she starts looking at boys. I don’t think I could handle it.”
I shrugged off the insulting conversation and headed towards the shop that sat at the bottom of the hill, several football field lengths away from the house. I was losing it. I’d really thought that the guy was going to hit Dad for a second. Maybe things were too tense with all the pranks. Maybe I needed more time to clear my head.
I let myself into the shop and gathered everything they could possibly need for their excursion and then headed back down to where Dad was. I gave him the stuff and then looked around. There were tracks leading up from the ramp into the creek. Several, actually.
“Did y’all already take a few boats down?”
The guy had the crowbar again and lifted it to rest it on his shoulder. His eyes were cold as he shook his head. “No.”
I looked at the tracks again but decided to drop it. “You need anything else, Dad?”
He waved me away. “No, I’m fine. Go on back to the house. Check on your mother and then get to bed.”
“Sure thing. Good luck tonight.”
I turned and walked around the house to get back to Jameson, only to find Franklin sitting on the porch next to where I’d tied the lead. I frowned but nodded a greeting to him.
“You weren’t very nice to my guests, Lacey. We pay a lot of money for the lease we have here. A lot. I’d think you’d play a little nicer.”
I reached for the lead but Franklin picked it up. “You know there are rules for the house, Franklin. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just don’t want the walls ruined with the stench of smoke.”
“Have I done something to make you not like me? You don’t smile at me the same way you smile at that long-haired biker boy. It’s disappointing.” He smiled. “I’ve always been nice to you. I just can’t help feeling that, given the choice, you’d rather we didn’t have that nice long lease with your daddy.”
I pulled the lead from his hand and climbed onto Jameson. “Things between us are professional, as they should be. I’m sorry if you’ve felt anything resembling anger directed at you. I can assure you I feel nothing in regards to you. Nothing unprofessional, I mean.”
His eyes narrowed and he stepped up to the railing. “So, you don’t mind us staying right where we belong, then?”
I steered Jameson to turn away from Franklin and then looked back at the little man with a fake smile. “Depends on where you think you belong, honestly. Have a good night, Franklin.”