Several Days Later

It wasn’t easy, but I kept trying to keep my distance. He kept doing what I was ascertaining was his thing for the next two days.

But, then, things changed.

The first two days he was texting to ask about dinner, walking me upstairs after I closed up. I noticed he’d kept my car key after the night at Ella’s, likely so I couldn’t take off again.

He organized protection for me during the next wedding on my roster, where me, Pippa, and Ella took care of hair and make-up for the bride, my client Mindy, and her handsome groom. I hadn’t told him about it, so figured Pippa must have.

Turncoat.

The first two nights Rider cooked me dinner I didn’t eat, and messed up my kitchen, and then he slept in my bed with me, being cuddly after I’d fallen asleep.

The night after burgers, he made a stir fry that I didn’t eat. I ate a peanut butter sandwich over the sink at midnight after he fell asleep. He spooned me again when I climbed back in. For some reason, I didn’t pull away.

The night after that, he cooked pre-breaded pork schnitzel (no bones) and scalloped potatoes (from a box, but they still smelled good), and boiled some corn on the cob. I made a tuna wrap and ignored the food and cleaned the kitchen up after his massive mess. Again.

The next night was the wedding. I ate there. The bride sat me and Ella and Pippa at the singles’ table. I didn’t even party. I was a stick in the mud, so deep in my misery. We left early.

The next night, he didn’t come home, left me with Jesse. Jesse had shadowed me that day while Scooter did something with Deacon and then watched Ella.  Scooter turned up later that evening though, as Jesse had to do something for the club and I overheard them say that Bronto would take care of Ella the next few days, Scooter of me.

I was tempted to make Jesse’s job hard the day he watched me, feeling no love for him after the way he’d kidnapped me from Ella’s room, but I didn’t have the energy for it, so mostly ignored him and that seemed fine by him. He was quiet and very watchful, looking over anyone who came in skeptically and double-checking the doors in and out of my apartment and salon. He did a walk-through of the apartment before he even let me step more than two feet into my kitchen. Way more thorough than Scooter and Bronto.

Rider came in at four o’clock in the morning and he had a black eye. I saw this when I woke up that morning, noting he hadn’t spooned me when he came to bed, seeing him fast asleep in bed with his eye all purple and swollen.

I slipped out and didn’t see him until the next morning.  He’d gotten in late the night before (again) and we hadn’t seen one another. He tried to cuddle me, and I elbowed him in the ribs for it. He stayed on his side of the bed after that.

Listen to me. His side. As if he had a side of my bed.

I saw him that morning and he looked tired, roughed up, and grouchy.

And I was grouchy, too. I’d been grouchy all week in front of him and sullen when he wasn’t around.

Scooter wasn’t there, and neither was Pippa. She had something going on, too, and she was keeping mum about it. She was gone the past two nights and had cancelled all of her appointments during the day both days. I asked what was wrong via text and she replied that she’d ‘tell me later’.  I was busy. A few walk-ins came in for brow waxing the day before and I’d done them and put the money in Pippa’s lock box for her, so her days off wouldn’t be too bad of a hit.

Rider went in to the bathroom as I came out after my shower and didn’t even say good morning.

Maybe he was getting sick of this game.

Good.

(So, why was my heart hurting?)

I went down to the salon, and ten minutes later was getting scolded by Scooter, who, it turned out was in the shower in my other bathroom while I’d left, thinking he wasn’t there.

I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“Jenna, come on! What’s it gonna take with you?”

“I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re talking to!” I fired back. “But---”

Rider came in. “Hey!” He got between us, blocking me and getting in Scooter’s face.

“She walked down here without saying anything. She usually doesn’t come down till 9:30, 9:45. It’s 9:10. I thought I had time to get a shower. Anything could’ve happened to her and it’d be my fuckin’ fault.”

“Cool it,” Rider ordered.

Scooter stormed out front and lit a cigarette.

Rider turned to me, his eyes narrowed.

“Gotta make everyone’s life miserable?” he asked, giving me a disapproving once-over. “If we get through this thing without you gettin’ hurt it’ll be a fuckin’ miracle and no thanks to you, Jenna.”

My heart stuttered.

He rolled his eyes. “I need my fuckin’ head examined.”

And then he stormed outside and said something to Scooter, his hand reassuringly on Scooter’s shoulder.

I turned around and stormed into the utility room and slammed the door.

I paced in there, in the tiny space that had a counter, a sink, a small stacked washer and dryer, and a long shelf filled with supplies. I couldn’t pace far, obviously, but I did it angrily and I was angry at myself.

I heard the door chimes and figured it was Scooter, so I busied myself. And then I made a coffee for me and one for him and I brought it out to him.

He was sitting there in my waiting area, talking to Deanna.

“Uh, hey,” I said to her, passing him a mug.

“Thanks,” he said warily.

“Sorry about this morning,” I said, looking him in the eye.

He nodded. “Just don’t want anything to happen to ya is all. Things have been stressful. I dealt with these guys first hand, you know that Jenna. I’m watching, my hand ready to grab my phone or my gun at all times, and…” he took a breath. “I just don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

“Thank you. I’ll be better.”

He nodded, flexing his jaw.

I tried to play it cool, imagining he wouldn’t want anything revealed about what’d happened to him on the side of the road. It couldn’t be easy for him to know I knew about it, even.

Deanna’s eyes were bouncing between us.

“Where are the boys?” I asked her.

“Oh, I got them into daycare. First day. I have a meeting at the cab office with Ella’s dad, Rob. He wants to talk about some stuff. Hours. Responsibilities. I thought I’d pop by and ask if I can borrow a flat iron for like, ten minutes, so I can look my best. Mine bit the biscuit.”

“Of course,” I gestured toward a salon chair and she rushed over and turned a hair iron on. “But don’t worry about Rob. You could show up in a burlap sack with your hair a tangled mess and he’d take one look at you and know you’re good people.”

She smiled at me.

“I can sell you a new Chi at cost,” I added.

“Maybe,” she smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She was always tight for money.

“Isn’t your birthday coming up?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Stop it.”

She totally knew I’d be giving her a new flat iron for her birthday.

“Stop what? Never mind my question.” I winked and turned back to Scooter.

Scooter was looking at her smiling like she was a movie star and he was star struck.

 

I was excited for Deanna to get more opportunities at the cab company. Ella had told me that her father was taking over the taxi company, that he’d bought it with help from Deke from the previous owner. Ella was moving to work at the bike dealership with the Valentines, so she’d recommended Deanna for more hours and responsibility. It’d be a good thing for Dee, who could use the money as well as the confidence boost.

“Coffee, Dee?” I offered.

“Yes, please! My hero!” She clapped her hands.

The bells jingled, and it was the mailman, who needed me to sign for something. Probably the new cosmetics line I’d be selling.

“I’ll get her coffee,” Scooter offered.

I gave him a warning look.

He’d better be careful with her.

He looked me right in the eye, meaningfully and my warning melted away.

What I saw there in his eyes? I suddenly had no qualms at all about him pursuing Deanna. But as soon as she left, he was going to get a talking-to anyway.

Behind the mailman was an early customer, and then Ella with Bronto were also coming in. Ella had said she was stopping in for her own flat iron today. I also had a wad of cash for her from the wedding we’d done on the weekend.

Lulu had come in and covered a couple appointments on the Saturday while we did the wedding and in the few minutes we chatted, I knew she’d fit in here very well. If I hadn’t been sinking into the depths of depression, I would’ve thought of all sorts of trouble to get into with her.

She was 21, barely five feet tall, liberally tattooed, had purple hair, about a half a dozen piercings between her lip, her ears, her belly, etc. And she was a wiz with hair.

I’d told her that I wanted her to come work here. She was doing a temp job for two weeks and then she was going to take over Deb’s chair on the days Deb didn’t work, for starters.

Speaking of Deb, I hadn’t seen Deb since before the kidnapping fiasco, but had texted her to thank her for helping out so much. She’d texted to say she was looking forward to hearing about my new man. I ignored that comment and asked about her girls’ getaway and she replied to say she’d enjoyed her Vegas getaway a lot but that she had a personal issue and would be taking a few extra days off.

Bronto and Ella weren’t there for long and I made it a point to be extra-nice to Bronto.

“You been watching Breaking Bad?” he asked.

“Nope. Waiting for you,” I told him.

He smiled. “I’ve seen the whole series twice before I started watching with you and Pippa.”

“It doesn’t matter. We made a deal,” I said.

He smiled big at me. “I’ll try and switch with Scoot for the next couple days. Let him shadow Ella.”

“Sounds good,” I’d said. “I’ll stock up on Cheese puffs and Reese Puffs.”

He smiled even bigger. “I’ll bring Snickerdoodles.”

“Perfect.”

“How’s everything?” Ella asked me when Bronto wandered outside, saying he was heading to the bakery next door for a snack.

I gave her a shrug.

She pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back, feeling so down in the dumps I wanted to just slink into a dark room and stay there forever.

“Hang in there,” she told me, and I’d nodded. Deanna slid up close to us and whispered, “Soooo…what’s Scott’s story?”

Ho boy.

She and Bronto left.

Thirty minutes later, Deanna had already gone, after I’d told her we didn’t know if he had a girlfriend or not and that he seemed like a good guy.  She wanted to know why he was my bodyguard and why he had one hand ready to grab his gun at all times and I told her it was complicated. She told us she wanted in on our next girls’ night out, so she could get the ‘scoop’. And the glint in her eyes told me that Deanna definitely had a thing for bad boys with guns.

Yikes.

I had a lull between appointments, so I was sitting at my reception desk, playing on my phone, my mood in the dumps, and then my heart sank even deeper when Scooter jumped up out of his seat in the waiting area and looked at me with wide-eyes.

He started hitting buttons on his phone.

“I just got a text.  Bronto got shot. Two bullets. And Ella got taken by Jackals.”

My phone fell out of my hands and crashed to the floor as my hands came up to my mouth.

Half an hour later, during which time Scooter was on the phone a lot and I closed my salon and cancelled the appointments for the rest of the day and shut the blinds and set the alarm, at Scooter’s demand, my phone rang. It was my mother. I rejected the call.

A text came through from her.

“Why is the salon closed in the middle of the afternoon?”

Oh Fuck off, Mom, I said aloud to my screen, not to Mom (unfortunately) and put my phone down. Her spy had to be close for her to get word that fast.

My phone started to ring again, and I’d wished it’d smashed to bits when I dropped it, but the screen read “Rider” instead.

I answered it.

“Hello?”

“We know where she’s at. We’re gonna get her back and her cousin’s involved. Fork’s with her now and he’s gonna make sure nothin’ happens. She’s gonna be okay. But, you stay there. Let no one in, and keep the blinds closed. Alarm on.”

I made a sobbing sound.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Okay,” I whispered.

He hung up.

I paced some more.

Scooter got word that Bronto was in the hospital, the gunshot wounds not lethal. One was in his arm and the other in his butt.

He was going to be okay.

***

An hour or two later, I had a text from Rider.

“We got her. She’s in Deacon’s arms. And she is 100% fine.”

Thank God. I burst out crying.

“Ok. Thank God.”

Scooter’s phone made a text sound and he let out a breath of relief, too.

“Let’s go up to my place.” I reached for my purse and my keys. “I need a drink. Let’s hit the store for some booze first,” I said.

“Lemme get the okay first,” he said and dialed on his phone.

He got the okay and we headed out.

At the store, I filled my cart with booze, including what I’d seen Rider drink the last few times he’d had a beer in his hand. Plus three bottles of assorted booze, two bottles of wine, and I told Scooter to toss a dozen of his favorite in the cart.

We got up to my place and I ordered pizza.

I called Pippa. She sounded funny and she tried to blow me off.

“Wait. I’m calling to tell you Ella got kidnapped.”

“What?” she yelled.

“She’s okay now. It was over within a few hours. I don’t know the whole story, but Bronto got shot twice. He’s gonna be okay. I don’t know if all this crap is over, but…yeah. That’s the day we had. What’s up with you?”

“Uh… just dealing with some stuff.”

“Some…stuff?” I inquired.

She didn’t answer me.

“Philippa Christine Griffin!”

“Ouch,” she replied. “Don’t you whole name me, Jennifer Whatever Murdoch.”

She didn’t know my whole name. Two people did. Besides the people that gave me that name. Ella and Rider.

“It’s Genevieve.”

She held the phone.

“Genevieve Maybelle Murdoch.” I said, with disdain.

She still held the phone.

“That’s how much I love you. Other than the people that named me that, there are only two other people who know that. Unless you count doctor’s offices and schools, as well as my bank.”

“Shit,” she muttered.

“And the government…” I added.

“I get it,” she whispered.

“And now probably Scooter,” I muttered, knowing he was in the next room.

“That’s how much I love you,” I repeated.

She sniffled.

“What’s going on with you, Pippa?”

“Joe,” she whispered.

I waited.

“He’s been drinking.”

“No.” I closed my eyes.

“And doing heavy drugs.”

“Fuck. Where are you?”

“His place. I’m trying to help him detox right now. I think he’s on the other side of it. We’ll… we’ll see.”

“What can I do?” I asked.

“Nothing. Just stay safe until all this biker drama is over and then girls’ night. You, me, Ella, Andie. Dee. Lulu maybe.”

“Okay,” I whispered. “If he keeps drinking, you have to pick you, Pip. It could get worse, like it did before. You pick you, okay?”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Girls night. I’ll make it happen.”

“Good. Love you, too.” She said and then she added, ”Gotta go. Bye.”

“Bye.”

“You’re a good friend,” Scooter said.

I looked over my shoulder. I was in my kitchen. I thought he’d been in the living room.

“Don’t know what all that was about but just thought it was worth sayin’. It’s been noticed.”

I smiled. “I’m a good friend to Deanna, too.”

His eyebrows quirked up.

“And she doesn’t just have big boobs, Scott. She’s got a big heart in there, too. She’s been fucked over bad by guys. Real bad. Cheated on. Abandoned when she was giving birth. Fucked over. More than once.”

His face went to stone. He knew where I was going with this.

“Her two sons have been fucked over by the guys who’ve exploited Dee Dee’s big heart, too. So, just sayin’… don’t go there unless you’re not going to be screwing any of the three of them over.”

He sucked on his teeth behind his lips and looked pissy.

“But, just sayin…” I added, “If you do go there and it does work out, she’ll be a lucky girl. So, you’ve been warned, but… she asked what your story was. Wanted to know if you had a girlfriend. Want me to text you her number? I’ll even babysit for the first and second dates. But no overnights until the fifth date. I’ll babysit then, too.”

His eyebrows shot back up.

On that parting shot, I retreated to my bedroom to get into some comfy clothes. I texted Ella.

“They say you’re okay. You really okay?”

She replied not long later.

“I really am. It was really icky, but nothing happened. I just need to bleach my memory. Come over tomorrow night. My parents are having a party. With BBQ. And Rummoli. It’s a ‘yay! Elizabelle didn’t get raped by her uncle and his cohorts’ party. You simply MUST come. Cue dueling banjo song from Deliverance.”

Um…yikes.

She’d inserted a bunch of emojis of boingy eyes and green puke-faces after her words.

“I’m there. I’ll bring some hooch.”

“XO”

“XO”

 

Rider showed up about ten minutes into us eating pizza.

Scooter and I were both on the couch, watching old episodes of South Park. I hated this show, but he’d put it on while I was in the other room and I didn’t want to be a kill joy, feeling blessed about Ella and all, so I sucked it up.

Rider walked in, waved at us without looking at us, nabbed a pizza slice from the coffee table, and went toward my bedroom, pulling his shirt over his head, then taking a bite on his way there.

I sat there, slumped. He didn’t even look at me.

Five minutes later, I went into my bedroom and heard the shower running. The bedroom floor was littered with his clothing and the past few days I hadn’t cared enough to complain about it.

I glared at my rug angrily and then scooped up all of his clothes off the floor and tossed them into my half-full basket. I wandered to the kitchen with that basket and turned on a load of laundry (I had a stackable set the same as what was in my salon behind bifold doors in the kitchen).

I turned around and there he was, getting a beer out of the fridge. He went back into the living room.

Scooter was in the kitchen with me, his car keys in his hand. “You wanna go see Ella? I can take you.”

I nodded profusely and grabbed my purse and slipped on a pair of shoes and just before heading out the kitchen door, I stopped.

“Does Rider know we’re going?” I asked.

“His idea,” Scooter replied and headed for the door.

My heart was in my throat.  Okay, how to decode this?

Was he being sweet by letting me go see Ella after what she’d been through, or was he getting rid of me because he was back now and didn’t want to be in my presence?

If he didn’t want to be in my presence, he didn’t have to be. He could leave me under the care of his prospects. He wasn’t taking me to see Ella, so clearly, he didn’t want to go there with me.

But, he was using my place as a crash pad so maybe he didn’t want to be around me and was planning to go to sleep before I came back so he wouldn’t have to deal with me.

My heart hurt. My brain hurt. I was being so stupid.

***

We got to Ella’s and the whole family was in the kitchen, Ella’s family and all of Rider’s, (except Rider and Jojo. And his mother, of course) finishing up dinner. Jojo had been in to the salon a few days before to get a trim, her very first Brazilian (which was a laugh. Pippa takes great joy in the pain of a girl’s first Brazilian. I was there holding Jojo’s hand) and an eyebrow wax and she’d already headed to her friend’s place in New York. When we walked in, I caught sight of Deacon holding Ella in his arms, her head back and her eyes aimed up at her tall beautiful biker man. Stars in her eyes. Love in his eyes. I felt a stab of jealousy.

I wedged myself into their clinch.

“Cutting in!” I announced.

Deacon backed off with a smile and I wrapped my arms around her.

“Thank God you’re okay!”

We hugged and rocked back and forth for a good few minutes. Beau ran over and got in between us and we hugged him, too.

Ella’s Mom put on a pot of coffee. Me and Scooter sat down.

Spencer was eyeing me. “Where’s Ride?”

I shrugged.

He clenched his teeth and looked at Scooter and they must’ve done some sort of badass biker non-verbal communicating thing, because Spencer gave him a nod and then got up from the table and went outside. Scooter followed, telling me he’d be out there and reminding me not to leave the house. I answered him by rolling my eyes and saying, “Duh.”

He flexed his jaw at me and then went out to the garage.

“How are ya, Jenna?” Deke sat down in Spencer’s empty chair (after flipping it around backwards).

“I’m….okay.” I said. “Super relieved you guys got Ella back fast.”

He nodded. “Things’re good then?” He asked.

“Uh huh,” I muttered.

“With everything?”

“What are you asking me, Deke?”

“You and my son? Things good there?”

I gulped.

He smiled. Big. Wow. That was forward of him. Rider’s dad was a looker. He was around fifty, maybe, and he had a deep Trace Adkins voice. Deacon looked a lot like him, but Rider definitely had his smile.

I pulled my lips in and felt my shoulders rise as I sort of tried to shrink within myself.

“Just between you and I, he’s not a pro at this relationship stuff, so cut him a bit of slack, okay? For the record, I think he wants to be.”

I guess word had traveled that things weren’t going so well with me and Rider.

“It’s not him,” I whispered. “It’s me. I think he’s way better at it than I am. And I have no excuse as I’ve been in relationships before.”

Where was my filter? I broke up with Rider, Rider was ignoring my breaking up with him, and here I was, acting sorry for my fighting to stay broken up.

Deke looked as surprised as I was.

“Then why are you here, not with him wherever he ‘s at, makin’ it up to him?”

I blinked a couple times.

He gave me a warm smile and then booped my nose and walked out toward the garage calling out, “Wanna go for a smoke, Deke? Why, don’t mind if I do.”

“Rob’ll join ya,” Ella’s dad Rob comically chimed in and followed Deke out.

Ella and Deacon were all cozy and googly-eyed by the kitchen counter, so I looked to Scott, who was coming back and eyeing the cheesecake on the table.

“Can we go?” I asked quietly.

“I’ll get you a slice to go, Scoot,” Ella said.

I got up and headed for the door. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Thanks for comin’ over. See you tomorrow night for barbeque and Rummoli. Right?”

“Right. I wouldn’t miss your ‘Not raped by your uncle’ celebration.”

Deacon’s back went straight, and he did a double-take.

“Ella named it, big guy, not me.” I waved my hands defensively.

He looked down at her. “Not fuckin’ funny, Kitten.”

Ella blushed but rolled her eyes.

I hugged her. Deacon hugged me, and I waved at the garage as we stepped out into the driveway. Rob, Bertie, Deke, Spence, and Spence’s dog were out there. I got waves and a wagging tail.

Scooter got into his car, I got into the passenger side, and we pulled out, just as my mother was pulling in.

Eeks.

I hoped she didn’t see me. It was dark, and I wasn’t in my car, it was Scooter’s Hyundai Accent.

He drove us back to my place. In silence, because my mind was on my troubles, which were not few. Beyond all the Rider stuff, I’d eventually have to face Karen Murdoch. Ugh.

***

When I got home, there was no sign of Rider’s motorcycle or his car. It had been his Harley here when we’d left. I into the apartment, all the lights were out. No note. Nothing.

I flipped the laundry over from the washer to the dryer, put on another load, then put the pizza away. I said goodnight to Scooter, who was lounging, eating cheesecake. I went to bed, thinking about getting myself my planned two cats. Someone to love and cuddle with.

I closed my eyes and it took ages for sleep to find me.

Rider didn’t come back that night. At all.