I woke up that morning and stretched. I had no idea what time it was, and I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but I felt better than I had in years.
I knew who to attribute that to. I had a beautiful woman in my bed, with golden blonde hair and mesmerizing green eyes, whom I needed to thank. I thought about all the things I could make her for breakfast before settling on taking her out. We could get some breakfast at this diner I knew that made everything from scratch before taking another bike ride up the coast.
Maybe we could cross into Washington and go apple picking or some shit.
Holy shit. Who had I turned into? I didn’t let women stay for breakfast, let alone have a daytime date the next day. What had this woman done to me?
I rolled over to see if she was still sleeping, and I found my bed empty. There was no sign of her except for a few wispy strands of blonde hair. I sighed.
She had shown up the night before, distracted and bothered, but whatever the hell happened must’ve really pissed her off. She didn’t strike me as the type of girl to just up and leave after fucking someone like she did last night.
We connected in the shower. I knew we did.
My phone ringing ripped me from my thoughts, and I dug through my jeans on the floor to find it.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Mr. Harte? It’s Derek.”
“When are you gonna just start calling me Zach?” I asked.
“When I’m not calling about work. Can you come in today?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Sure. Can you give me an hour to get over there?”
“Yeah. It’s a long shift. You won’t get off until eight tonight, but it’ll give you some decent overtime.”
“Too much work or too many people called out sick?” I asked.
“I don’t fucking know anymore,” he said. “Thanks for agreeing to come in. See you in an hour?”
“I’ll be there.”
Groaning, I raked my hands through my hair. Work would help me get my mind off the fact that Paige was no longer here, but I found myself wondering if she was okay. She seemed like she wanted to talk about something last night, and I felt bad for cutting her off.
Something in the back of my mind told me it was important, and important always meant change. A dynamic shift or a directional turn. I was happy with the way things were going with Paige, and I wasn’t ready for that to change.
Maybe my unwillingness to listen to her caused her to leave.
Whatever the fucking case was, now I had work. I took a quick shower and scrubbed her scent off me, but I could still smell her as I got into my car. I tried clearing my mind on the off-chance that Caden was working.
If I came in with this on my mind, he would sniff it out in a heartbeat, and I didn’t feel like talking about this. Not yet. Not until I knew what the hell was going on and how I felt about this whole situation.
The moment I got off my motorcycle, Caden caw me and flagged me down. “They called you in, too, huh?”
“Yeah, I was supposed to be off, but it’s no big deal. Overtime always looks nice on my paycheck.”
“Yeah, well, I could’ve used more sleep after how long I stayed at your place.”
I answered him with a grunt, and I knew that was a wrong move. Caden looked at me, grinning as his eyes began to twinkle. He was already sniffing me out, clocking my every move, and watching the expressions change on my face. I tried to still my mind and keep my face as stoic as possible, but the bigger his damn grin grew, the more agitated I became with him.
“What?” I asked.
“She’s back, isn’t she?” Caden asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
To his credit, Caden looked concerned. “Trouble in paradise? What happened, man? Did she show up after I left? Is that why you have those massive bags under your eyes and those hickies on your neck?”
My hand flew to my neck. “I’ve got fucking hickies?”
“Busted! So, she did come over!”
I couldn’t believe I fell for that pathetic little ploy of his. “You should’ve been a woman.”
“What happened this morning? You kick her out?”
“No,” I said. “Why the hell would I do that?”
“Do you have blue balls or something? Because you’re pissed.”
“No, I’m not.”
“That’s a lie,” he said. “Talk to me, dude. No jokes. What happened?”
“No jokes?”
“On my life,” he said.
“She came over about thirty minutes after you left. She was distraught, I gave her a distraction, I fell asleep with her, but then I woke up alone.”
I could see the jokes brewing behind his eyes. He was trying to hold them back. It was painful to watch him flounder with all the things he wanted to throw at me, but I expected him to keep his word. I wasn’t in the mood for any of his fucking jokes.
“Just one joke?” he asked.
“Caden…”
“Sorry, dude, but she Zach’ed you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked.
“She Zach’ed you. You know, left you high and dry. Wanting more. Shut you down. Closed that door. Kicked you out.”
“She can’t kick me out. We weren’t at her place.”
He shrugged. “She may not be able to kick you out of your own cabin, but she sure did kick you out of that pussy. That’s for sure. Oh shit. Maybe she’s stealing from you. You check your good shit?”
“I don’t have any good shit.”
“I bet she’s on the run from someone. An old flame or a husband she’s robbing. Oh, maybe she’s an outlaw and thought you were a criminal too until she found out you drink tea. Did you tell her you drink tea?”
I shot him a look, and Caden started laughing. “I bet she left because your tattooed ass drinks tea.”
“I thought you said one joke?” I asked.
“It’s a run-on joke. You know, like a joke without punctuation.”
“I hate you.”
“But you can’t live without me. Either way, dude, it’s her loss. You’re a good catch, and any woman that can’t see that doesn’t deserve you.”
I rolled my eyes, but I still appreciated the reassurance. Caden could be an ass, but he always had my back.
We walked to the vending machines in front of the main warehouse. Today, we’d both be splitting smoothed lumber into fourths and hauling it onto trucks. It was going to be a long day of back-breaking work, but the paycheck would be worth it.
If nothing else, it would help me get my mind off Paige.
I opened a bottle of water and tipped it back. I wanted to text Paige and make sure she was all right, but I also didn’t want to smother her. If she needed her space, I wanted to give that to her. But I knew that as of last night, she hadn’t checked into a hotel just yet.
So, where the hell had she gone?
“Look at what we got here,” Caden said.
“What?” I asked.
“That damn car’s back.”
My eyes scanned the road in front of us, and sure enough, that white car with the missing hubcap was back. The dent and the paint had been fixed, but the car was still recognizable. I studied the woman driving the car, our eyes connecting as she passed by.
“What the fuck is up with that person?” Caden asked. “I really think we should tell the boss.”
“Fine, you do that.”
“What?” he asked.
“Get the license plate of the car and tell the boss about it. But I don’t think the woman driving the car is hostile.”
“How do you know?”
“For a guy who understands people inwardly, you’re shit at looking at the basics. Yes. It’s a woman driving a car with a kid in the back.”
“Maybe she wants this dick?” he suggested.
“Let’s get one thing clear. No woman wants your dick so badly that they’d stalk you at work.”
Caden pulled his shoulders back and stood up straighter. “How do you know? Maybe I slay all the pussy at night while you’re curled up alone with your thoughts and your empty bed.”
“Doubt it. You hate going out without me. It’s the woman in you. Always gotta do something in a pack.”
“Don’t hate the game,” Caden said.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I just hate you.”
I looked over and grinned at him before the two of us finished our waters. The truth was, I didn’t give a damn who that woman was. I didn’t care why she was driving by our work or why she felt the need to do it so regularly. As long as she wasn’t an activist trying to plant some vegan-based bomb or some shit, I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about right now was making sure Paige was all right, that she was checked into a hotel, and safe.
Then, I wanted to figure out what the fuck happened to her last night.