Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Whoever she was calling out to couldn’t be him and if it was, he was going to pretend he didn’t hear her.
He slammed the push bar on the door with both hands and before it was even done opening, he rushed through it and down the hall to the exit that led to the parking lot.
“Hey!” joined the quick clicking of heels as she followed him.
He did not slow down, he did not stop, he didn’t even glance over his shoulder.
His Harley was waiting, and his ass needed to be on it.
He didn’t hold the door for her, instead he let it slam behind him and picked up his pace. Not quite a jog but it was damn close.
But, damn, the woman could move.
He moved faster.
One second, he was still hearing the clicks of her heels on the pavement, the next, he wasn’t.
Thank fuck she gave up.
With his eyes focused on his bike at one end of the community center’s parking lot, he sighed in relief when he got there. But before he could swing his leg over, he heard an out-of-breath, “Hey,” behind him.
Christ.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. When he opened them a few seconds later, he turned to face her.
Her high heels were hanging from her fingers. He let his gaze roll down her to see her feet were bare.
What the fuck?
Her, “Nice bike,” had him pulling his gaze back up to her shadowed face.
She was checking out his custom Softail with what looked like real interest.
“What do you know about bikes?”
Did her lips twitch? What the fuck was funny about his question?
“Enough to know a nice one when I see it.”
He almost asked how but caught himself. That would open him up to conversation. He didn’t want to talk, he wanted to walk.
Speaking of walking… “You shouldn’t be out here barefoot.”
“You were hard to catch.”
That was the point.
“It was pretty obvious you didn’t want to be caught,” she concluded from his silence.
But here you are, anyway.
“I’ve seen group participants closed off like you before. Not willing to share. Not willing to talk. Not willing to listen.” Her head tilted as she waited for him to respond.
He didn’t since that would be an invitation for her to continue.
She did, anyway. “My guess is your loss is fresh and you’re still going through the early stages of grief.”
She couldn’t be more wrong about him going anywhere. He was stuck.
“At least you’re taking an important step by coming to group meetings. That shows you want to help yourself.”
“I was forced,” he muttered.
“What?”
“I had no choice,” he said louder.
“No choice in what?”
“Coming to this fucking group.”
“Ah. So, that’s your issue. You have a chip on your shoulder.”
“The only thing on my shoulder is my head.”
“I bet you have a really thick skull.”
Chapter Two
Aaliyah was used to dealing with pig-headed men. But because of her father and his extended “family,” she couldn’t escape them. He was a man who liked to share his opinion loudly and didn’t care what you thought about it.
So, yes, she was used to dealing with stubborn people.
It had to be in the blood, since her teenage son was taking after his grandfather and not after his own even-tempered father, who he never got to meet.
Devyn had this mistaken idea that his opinion was the only one that mattered in her household.
He was wrong.
A fifteen-year-old didn’t dictate her life. Neither did a fifty-seven-year-old.
Luckily, she wasn’t afraid to tell that to either of them.
Since the tall man before her didn’t react at all to her comment, she tried another tactic. “You never shared your name in the meeting.”
“I gotta go.” He turned back toward his Harley.
“Since you already know my name, can you at least give me yours?”
His broad shoulders stiffened. “Why?”
This guy… Was it even worth trying to break through? If she pushed, would he lock himself down even tighter? “I guess the question is, why not? Is it a secret?”
“No.”
“It would be the first step to opening up.”
He spun on her. “That’s the problem.”
Damn.
Because of how he resisted her attempts to get him to talk, she was surprised when he asked, “Why here?” Actually, it wasn’t really an ask but more of a demand.
She’d allow it. This time. But she wasn’t going to tolerate a one-sided conversation.
“When Bonnie decided to move south for her retirement, she asked me to take it over.” She raised both hands along with her shoulders in a shrug. “So, here I am.”
“Here you are,” he repeated. “But Bonnie said that already. I mean why here. In Shadow Valley? Don’t you live in Pittsburgh?”
She shook her head. “Not anymore. Once I had my second child, my place was too small, and I wanted to move closer to my father and his family.”
“His family? Isn’t his family your family, too?”
Interesting how he picked up on that particular detail. It smelled as if he was a cop. He actually looked like one, too.