Page 21 of Coyote
“Come in and make yourself comfortable,” I picked up the bag and gestured towards the living room.
As she walked down my hallway, I locked the front door and set my security system then followed her. I didn’t protect her before and I’m not going to make that mistake again. Speaking of protecting her, I asked, “Have you seen Rufus lately?”
She tilted her head up to look into my eyes and replied thoughtfully, “He’s not been back into the party supply store. I did see him outside the sandwich shop last weekend. I don’t know what you told him, but the second he saw me, he practically ran in the other direction.
I’m not gonna lie, that was gratifying to hear. Rufus was predator who clearly saw Bethany as an easy target because she was working on her own the week her boss took vacation. “Can’t imagine why he’d run from you that way.” I tried to keep my voice casual and conversational.
“I’ll bet you don’t, Lucas. Sorry, Coyote. I’m still getting used to you going by your club name. Congratulations on being patched into the Dark Slayers MC. I remember how hard you worked to earn your patch. I’m really happy for you.”
I sat down on my sofa, and she dropped down into a nearby armchair. “Yeah, Prospecting was going through the school of hard knocks for me. It was all worth it in the end. I needed the direction and guidance of the brotherhood. It saved me when everything else in my life was going sideways.”
“I remember how dedicated you were, and how supportive the brothers were for you. You were lucky to find your niche, somewhere you fit in and just be yourself. I don’t think I ever truly found that.”
“I thought your boss was there for you. Was I mistaken about that?”
She shook her head. “No, he’s been real nice to me and my daughter. Like you, he stepped up when things were really bleak for me and Nessa. He’s just a genuinely good person. His whole family are good people. His two college-aged nieces babysit Nessa. They’ve bonded a lot, in a big sister kind of way for her.”
“That’s nice. I’d love to meet your daughter again, she’s a sweet kid.”
Bethany seemed pleased by my request. “I was thinking of bringing her to the grand opening. She’s well behaved, and all I really need to do is supervise the staff we hired on the day. The president of the antique automobile club has volunteered to meet and greet visitors, which is wonderful because I don’t really know anything about antique cars.”
“I know enough to hold my own in a conversation, but not much more. So I’m glad he’s stepping up—now vintage motorcycles are a whole different ball game, I’d be happy to chew someone’s ear off over the merits of a vintage Enfield versus a Triumph any day. I’ll have to remember to give a free voucher for a car repair or something to thank him.”
“I already figured out the perfect way to thank him. I arranged for the Griffinsford Chronicle to come out and interview him. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to talk about his club. The more visibility their club gets, the more people join up and come to their events.”
Truly impressed, I said, “That’s a great idea, Bethany.”
Before she could respond, the doorbell rang. “That’s probably the prospects delivering our food.”
She protested, “You didn’t have to order out. I could have whipped us up something, like old times.”
“Nonsense, I got all your old favorites from Bennigan’s. This way, we can spend all our time visiting, rather than cooking and cleaning dishes.”
I deactivated the door alarm and opened the door. Sure enough, it was Mace and Cooper with a huge bag of food for us. I talked to them, paid for our food and was careful to reset my security alarm. There was no such thing as being too careful when it came to this woman.
Turning, I gestured for her to join me in the dining room.
“Oh wow, everything looks so nice, Coyote. Seriously, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble just for me.”
“Yes, I did. You deserve nice things, Bethany. I could have taken you to a fancy restaurant tonight, but I was too selfish to share your company with anyone else.” That wasn’t entirely true, after her run-in with Rufus, and the fact that she always seemed so jumpy when we’d met for lunch, I wanted us to have a relaxed evening with no distractions. Being alone together in my home was a bonus.
She slid into the chair I’d pulled out for her and smiled up at me. “What, other people like the waiter?”
Catching her humor, I teased her back, “The hostess would have to seat us, other customers might cause a distraction, and in addition to the waiter, the manager might come around to ask how our meal was. I decided it would be better not to risk it.”
“Idiot,” she joked. “You always were a joker. You’re so easygoing and try to find the humor in every situation. It was one of the things that first attracted me to you.”
“I never would have guessed that, I thought it was my pretty face,” I said with a grin. Arranging all the food onto a couple of large platters, I tossed the containers and sat down in my seat. As we helped ourselves to the food, I told her, “I was really messed up back when we first met. Our club had just dealt with a crazy cult and my father had fallen off the deep end. I came very close to losing my shit. Prospecting for the Slayers kept me sane, and then meeting you added an extra dimension to my life.”
“I’m glad you found me back then. Remember, I was basically homeless. Grit gave me a job at the gym and a roof over my head. I guess after my mom died, I didn’t have anyone to fall back on. I was lost in my grief and easy prey living on the streets.”
“I knew you were something special when we first met. You were so kind and considerate. Remember, you shared information on that asshole the club was tracking.”
“Yeah, I remember. Things were so chaotic back then. I recall thinking how lucky I was that you took an interest in me. I was vulnerable and you protected me when I needed it most.”
Something dark squirmed in my gut because I knew that if I had truly been the protector she needed, she wouldn’t have run out on me. “I did my best. I really wish you’d come to me instead of running off the way you did. I feel like you suffered more hardship than was necessary. I never wanted that for you.”
“I admit that I was in a panic when I left. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. By the time I realized that I should have done something different, I’d made my choice, and it was too late.”