Page 2 of Riding Mr. Right
I run my fingertip over the straight line in the center of my face. For the entirety of my childhood, my father was a ghost. A man my mother refused to tell me about. No pictures, no names, no details. I assume that’s because she was hiding something. Maybe for good reason.
Blowing out a heavy sigh, I stare up at the man in front of me. “What’s your name?”
“Brick.” He holds out his hand and glances down at the name sewn into my shirt. “And you’re Jewel.”
My hand lands softly in the roughness of his palm. I’m sure there’s something appropriate I should say here, but instead, I’m only staring.
“I’m headed up the mountain right now. Dinner is in about an hour. You could stay up at the lodge tonight and save yourself some money. No one would mind.”
The card reader beeps, saving me from myself. Now I have a reason to let go of his giant hand and pull the card to return it. “Why would you do all that for me? I could be a crazy person.”
He laughs. “Nah. I know how high Gage’s standards are for employees. Besides, I’m due for a good deed or two. And once you meet Arnie, you’ll see he’s the least threatening guy around.”
“And what about you? How do I know you’re not crazy? I could climb up on that bike you have parked outside and end up on the news tomorrow morning as a missing person.”
“You do have a good imagination, don’t you?”
He hollers toward Gage, who’s cleaning up his station, “Hey, man. I need a character witness.”
If I thought my face was red before, it must be maroon at this point. I should have been clearer about how I hated making a scene.
Gage wanders over, pulling gloves off and tossing them in the trash beside the desk. He’s also a big, inked up guy, though his background is different than most of the guys here. Gage used to be a college art professor up in Colorado Springs before he married Raven, the original owner’s daughter. His art style is clean, and people come from all over because of his line work and shading. At least that’s what I gather from my weeks here.
“What’s up?” Gage crosses his arms and grins toward Brick. “You’re over here bugging my employees.” He glances toward me with a playful smile. “Is this guy harassing you?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t think so. He invited me up to the lodge tonight for dinner and I was wondering if I could trust him. Can I?”
Gage drags in a deep breath and blows it out heavily. “Jeez. You’re asking a real complex question. If you’re trusting him with a ride up the mountain, he’s the first guy I’d ask. Dude can drive a bike through hell and back. I once saw him maneuver through a wildfire. But if you’re talking about a date,” Gage pauses and glares toward Brick with half a grin on his face, “I don’t know about that.”
“It’s not a date,” we say simultaneously. When I was going to say it, it made sense. When he says it, it stings for some reason.
“I’m just showing her around town a little. She said she’s new and—”
“Ah yes…” Gage grins sarcastically. “You and your humanitarian ways. That makes the most sense.”
“What? I’m helpful!” Brick takes on a playfully serious voice as he talks. I get the feeling these two know each other pretty well.
“Right.” Gage glances back toward me. “If you need to get off Main Street for the weekend, you’re safe with Brick. But fair warning, he can be a pain in the ass.”
I’m tempted to ask Gage to elaborate, but a customer walks in, and he redirects his attention.
Brick turns toward me. “You ready?”
Am I ready? That’s a good question. I’ve been here for six weeks, and I haven’t found a day I was ready yet. In fact, even now, at the very moment where this is the best possible solution I’ve come across, I’m still running the numbers. Long, complicated, over thought numbers. Equations, polynomials, word problems, it’s all a mess.
Bricks heavy hand lands under my arm as he helps me up from the desk. “You’re going to be okay. Come on.”
“I don’t know if I can go, actually. There are a million things that could go wrong. I—”
“Look, I don’t know you from anyone, but I do know you drove all the way out here, and you’ve stayed for a reason.” Our eyes meet as I stand. He’s enormous. My face barely reaches his shoulders. I’ve never felt so small in my life.
Why do I like this? Now isn’t the time to like this.
“Come on.” He links his arm in mine as though we’re old friends, people who have known each other for ages. “You’re in control. I’ll be there for whatever you need. We’ll come up with a code word.”
“A code word? Like what?”
He shrugs as we walk through the door arm in arm. “I don’t know. How about you tell me you have to feed your cat and we’ll head out?”