Page 8 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 8

SKYLAR

Dad: And you’re sure OTM won’t bring it up?

Sky: I don’t think so. Ronnie said Cory interrupted them before Jerry had the chance to say anything concrete. And no one else was around.

Dad: How many times have we told him to shut those guys down?

Sky: Too many. He keeps thinking he can skirt the line and not get burned.

Dad: I never thought I’d be in the position to say that I’m happy Cory Ellis was around.

Sky: Don’t. That guy is the reason Ronnie was talking to Jerry in the first place. His big dreams of magazine spreads and supermodels hanging off his arm.

Dad: Hey, you used to say you were going to be the next Gatorade Girl when you were winning races.

Sky: I was ten. And look where it got me. Wrangling my little brother and taking money from my dad.

Dad: You’re not taking money from me. You’re earning every cent of it. I should probably give you a raise.

Sky: Or just find someone else to manage your problem child.

Dad: As if there was anyone else I’d trust. Your brother needs you. And so do I.

Sky: Well, right now my son needs me more. Time for my weekly dose of Geena.

Dad: Good luck. Don’t let her get to you.

Sky: I think I used up all my aggression for the day on Ronnie, so we should be fine.

Dad: That’s my girl. Love you Sky.

Sky: Love you

“ S orry I couldn’t take him over to Tommy’s,” Elle was saying as she shoved her things into her bag.

Back when I first met Elle, she was a lowly intern for the motocross tour, now she managed two others under her. I was endlessly impressed with how much she’d accomplished.

“It’s okay, you’ve got to get to your mom. How’s she doing?” I asked, peeking into Micah’s room to see him coloring on the floor.

“Better,” Elle sighed, pausing in her rush to look up at me, a long curl catching in her eyelashes. “I think this time it’s going to stick.”

I gave her an encouraging nod, hoping she was right. Mrs. Simpson had been in and out of different rehabs since I met Elle six years ago. It had been a while since she’d fallen off the wagon, so hearing she’d had a slip this past summer was hard. But Elle never gave up on her. She never gave up on anyone.

“Micah was especially cuddly today.” She pulled on her jean jacket and slung her bag over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

“Well, he loves his auntie Elle.”

I stepped back out of her way. Our tiny hotel suite was just fine for me and my son, but the addition of even one more person had a way of making the space feel cramped.

She laughed. “And I love him. I told him I’d pick him up from Tommy’s on Thursday.”

“You’re sure you can make that work?”

She hung in the doorway, shrugging lightly. “No problem. You have the photo shoot with Ronnie, and my press conference is in the morning. So, I’ll be free and clear by then.”

“You’re amazing, Elle. Thank you.”

With a grin, she shook her head and waved her hand. “I love my Micah time. But don’t forget about dinner this weekend. Just the girls.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

After I’d changed and gotten Micah’s bag together, we headed for Tommy’s apartment. When I had told Tommy about Ronnie taking the OTM contract, the first thing he’d said was, “Sweet, that’s mad close to my place.” For as much as I wished Tommy was different in so many ways, he never made me wonder how much he loved spending time with our son.

Time with me, on the other hand, was a whole other story.

“Hey Micah,” Geena called from the doorway as Micah tore past her.

“Bye Micah,” I yelled after him.

He skidded to a stop before turning around. “Bye Momma, see you soon!”

Spinning on his heel, he flung himself toward the back deck, where I knew Tommy would be waiting. I could smell the grill from there, and if I had to guess burgers were on the menu. Micah’s favorite.

“Here’s his bag.” I handed the small duffle to Geena and was turning to walk away when her voice stopped me.

“So, we have some news.”

I hesitated on the step, looking back over my shoulder in time to see Geena stepping out behind me and pulling the door closed. My gut twisted.

“Tommy was going to tell you, but since he’s out with Micah, I might as well. We’ll tell him a little later tonight.”

“Tell him what?”

Geena raised her left hand, and the sparkling jewel on her finger caught the last light of the day.

I tried to school my expression into one more like awe, and less like confusion. “Oh, wow.”

I wasn’t upset Tommy was getting married to someone else. Hell, no. I was just surprised that he’d actually pulled the trigger. Other than our son, the man had never shown commitment to much.

“Yeah,” she gazed down at the ring adoringly. “It was such a shock. He brought me to the beach and when I turned around, he was on one knee, and I just...” She sniffed. “You know.”

I didn’t know. I was never more clueless about anything in my life. But I nodded emphatically. “That’s great.”

She sighed, laying her hand on her heart in dramatic Geena fashion. “It’s perfect. And I think it’ll really help solidify some things.”

“Sure.” What kinds of things? I had no idea.

Geena took a deep breath, her expression cooling. “I know Tommy hates talking about this with you. He thinks it turns Micah into a piece of furniture or something.”

As she paused, I felt my already twisted gut wrench even tighter.

“But with all the changes coming, it’s going to be really important to make sure we clear up all these blurred lines and gray areas.”

“Blurred lines?” I had no clue what this woman was talking about, but her mentioning my son and gray areas in the same breath had me counting in my head to keep my composure. I didn’t like the look on her face.

“You know that Tommy has been footing the bill for all of Micah’s medical coverage. And most of yours too, right? Well, we just think that as we move forward, we need to untangle that mess. And that everything should be split from now on. You taking care of yourself, and sharing Micah’s costs fifty-fifty.”

Micah’s medical insurance had always been higher than average because of his asthma. And since Tommy made more money than me, but I took primary care of Micah, he’d always paid for the private insurance policy for the three of us.

“Tommy agreed to the way we split things.”

Geena nodded slowly, spinning the ring on her finger. “Right. And now we’ve decided it’s time for a change.”

My pulse throbbed just below the skin of my neck, and I was sure if I turned to the side, she’d see it jumping like a twitch, racing out of control. “If Tommy wants to change our arrangement, he can tell me himself.”

Geena’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled, as if she’d expected me to say that. “He can do that, if that’s what it takes. But you and I both know nothing was ever written down, Sky. He has every right to change his mind on this.”

The fucking coward. He’d been the one who didn’t want to sign anything when we broke up. My father had tried for months to get him to sign a simple custody agreement, but Tommy had always said paperwork couldn’t tell him how to be a father. And when he’d hinted that he’d contest my primary custody, going so far as to imply he’d be willing to give up racing,we’d agreed to drop it. Being on the road with Ronnie wasn’t hurting Micah, but it also didn’t outwardly appear like the most stable homelife. Given the choice, no court in their right mind would have picked me over Tommy if he left the tour.

“Just tell me what he wants, Geena. How much money a month will unblur these lines for you?”

The way her smile went saccharine sweet made me sick. No way she wasn’t behind this.

“I’ll have him send over the numbers.” She turned to head back inside, but stopped short. “And Sky, this is a good thing. We’re all moving on. It’s about time we stopped acting like things were always going to stay the same.”

Real deep Geena , I thought as I took the stairs down. She was a philosopher now, too, apparently. In addition to teaching yoga and messing up my life.

This whole thing was a power play. She always hated how much I was still in Tommy’s life. Considering I was the mother of his child, there was no way to give me the boot entirely, but this had to feel like the next best thing.

Whatever her reasoning was, it mattered a hell of a lot less to me than the reality of what this meant to my bank account. Private insurance wasn’t cheap, and my policy alone was going to be a hefty lift. Adding half of Micah’s on top of that was going to mean a serious cut to my cash.

Driving back to my hotel, I considered calling my dad. Or Ronnie. But the idea of having to ask them for more money made my stomach knot all over again. Ronnie’s team salary was higher than he’d been making before, but he was my little brother. He paid me the percentage we’d agreed, and I didn’t want to try and change that now.

Asking my dad gave me even more anxiety. He’d blow up if he found out Tommy was changing things. He’d demand we put it in writing this time, and I knew Tommy would play the same game he had before. My dad was right, I could see that. But given how poorly Tommy had been doing last season, it was getting even more likely that he’d retire. And if he did, I’d have to decide between quitting Ronnie, or not seeing my son for weeks at a time.

No way was I going to let that happen.

No, I needed Tommy to keep racing, so we could all be on the road together, and things could stay how they were. I had other plans for my life, but I wasn’t ready for any of that yet. We’d just gotten this big break with OTM, I needed to see that through, which meant staying on the road with my brother. Geena might have been ready for a change, but I wasn’t. So, I’d just have to find a way to pay Tommy and make it work.

As I pulled into the hotel where we’d found a long-term rental, my heart sank. I’d have to start dipping into my college fund to make up the difference once the season started. Putting even more distance between me and going back to school sank like a stone in my gut, and I couldn’t bear to go inside that cold and empty suite. When my eyes landed on the dive bar across the street I shrugged.

If there was ever a time to drown my sorrows, this was it.

It wasn’t my style to drink, but I felt a sigh of relief slip loose as I pushed through the heavy door and stepped into the dark bar. The wood floors were dinged and scratched, and the neon signs on the wall cast some of the only light. It smelled like beer and nachos, and I smiled when I heard the twang of a country song coming through the speakers.

A small dance floor was set against the back wall, past the bar and a row of booths that sat mostly empty under green-glass drop lights. For all that this place was lacking, it had a kind of run-down charm that warmed through me and I took a seat at the bar with a smile on my face.

“That one’s taken,” the bartender said as she came over to me, pointing at the glass I’d failed to notice with a coaster set on top of the rim.

“Oh shoot, sorry.” I hopped down and moved two seats over. There were only a handful of patrons at the bar, and all of them were glued to the baseball game on the TV behind her.

“What’ll you have? ”

As I scanned the shelf of booze at her back, I was hit with a strange craving. “How about a margarita?”

“Salt on the rim?”

“Yes, please.” I licked my lips as she turned away to start my drink.

A voice came from beside me, startling me. “Like you’re not salty enough?”

My shock instantly hardened into disdain as recognition hit. I knew that voice, and I didn’t like it.

Cory took the seat two down and flicked the coaster from the top of his drink. He gave me an arrogant smirk as he lifted his beer and set it atop the flimsy cardboard.

How could I get this unlucky so many times in one day? First my brother, then Tommy, and now this asshole? “Are you kidding me?”

“I wouldn’t bother. We both know you have no sense of humor.”

All the good energy I’d felt walking in dropped right back out of me, and I slumped against the bar.

“Can you just let me have one drink in peace, please?”

Cory’s smirk faded, and he turned, focusing on the game. “Sure thing, boss.”

The bartender dropped off my drink and I took a long slow sip, licking my lips and savoring the mix of sour lime and grainy salt sparking along my tongue. I closed my eyes, appreciating the perfection of the flavor, but when I opened them, I spotted Cory out of the corner of my eye. He’d been watching me.

I was on the verge of taking my drink and moving down the bar. I didn’t care if I had to wedge myself between two strangers if it meant I got some space from him. But then I remembered what had happened that afternoon, and I stopped myself.

With just about every reserve of energy I had left, I turned toward him, watching him quickly glance my way as I did.

“Thank you for stepping in today. My brother has a tendency to test limits, and I appreciate you helping to keep him from screwing this up.”

Cory didn’t look away from the game, he just picked up his beer and took a sip. “No problem, boss.”

Why did men have to be so difficult? I was trying to be civil and offer a thank you for thinking of someone besides himself for once.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“But it’s what you are. And you’re hell bent on everyone knowing it.”

My mouth fell open. “I am not hell bent .”

The smug grin that curled his lips was like a match to the powder keg of my frustration.

“It’s not a bad thing. Unless you were going for subtle,” he chuckled, lifting his beer for another drink. “Besides, if you’re in here, that’s a good sign. You might know how to cut loose after all.”

“Is that what you’re doing? Cutting loose?” This place hardly seemed up to the level of the illustrious Cory Ellis, international superstar. “Shouldn’t you be in Hollywood with your latest trophy?”

Cory’s expression fell and he dropped his head, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. “Please keep your voice down.”

I glanced around at the crowd of hardworking, regular people, none of whom were paying us any attention, unsure what his problem was. The man went out of his way for press, but now he was suddenly feeling shy?

“What’s the matter, don’t want your groupies to know you’re slumming it in a dive bar?”

The muscles in his jaw twitched. “Just let it go, okay? Drink your drink. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

If that was a white flag he was waving, I didn’t see it. The margarita in front of me was strong, and as I took another big sip the simmering buzz worked its way through me. I needed more tequila in my life. This felt so much better than being a sad, single mom who had to rely on her family to pay her bills. More tequila for sure.

Blame it on the buzz or my natural inclination to want to understand people, but I pressed him when I should have just let it drop. “Come on, Cory. What gives? Why are you here? Alone ? Don’t you have a photo shoot or something?”

With surprising quickness, Cory spun my way, and leaned across the open seat between us. “We broke up. Okay. I’m trying to lay low. Now, can you please just keep your voice down?”

His voice was hushed, and I realized he was serious. A line had formed between his eyebrows, deep and severe. It made him look sad. I’d never imagined the man had it in him.

“Sorry to hear that,” I mumbled, keeping my voice low, as he leaned back. “I wouldn’t have thought such a short affair would have this much of an impact on you.”

It wasn’t my intention to be harsh. I was being honest. How could a man who swaps women every three to six months really form an emotional bond strong enough to hurt when it breaks?

He shook his head, motioning to the bartender for another drink. “Clearly you haven’t turned on the television today, or you’d have seen that our breakup was preceded by some decidedly bad news.” He picked up the fresh pint and drained half of it. “Nicki made some poor choices back in the day. And now we’re both in the position of trying to navigate our way back into the good graces of the gossip columns.”

I licked some salt from the rim of my glass, my eyes glued to Cory’s profile. “So, wait a minute, you’re saying she did stuff before your relationship, and you’re holding it against her? What kind of chump are you?”

When he started to laugh, I looked around us to see what I’d missed. Nothing I’d just said was even remotely funny.

“That is exactly what I said people would think.”

“Said to who? To yourself when you were looking in the mirror deciding to drop the girl like a bad habit in the middle of some media shit storm? ”

Call me crazy, but even with the negligible expectations I had of him, this seemed low. Now I really wanted him to stay the hell away from my brother.

His laughter slipped. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not what you think.”

I swallowed the sip of limey heaven in my mouth and shook my head. “I don’t care what your excuses are, you’re even more shallow and narcissistic than I thought.”

The humor from a second ago vanished from his face completely and he leaned my way again. “We weren’t really dating, okay?”

His eyes were a shade of hazel I’d never seen before. The green and gold were spun around each other, creating little pockets of sparkle. Or maybe it was the light from the TV bouncing off the wall of bottles. Either way, he held my gaze for a second too long, and I found myself unable to turn away.

“It sure looked like you were.”

“That’s ‘cause it was supposed to. I don’t date women for the same reason as everyone else.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. The man couldn’t be any more conceited if he tried. “And what reason do you have that’s so much better than the rest of us sad, lonely souls?”

Cory’s smirk was back. “Money.”

“ You get paid to date them ?” I didn’t do a very good job of keeping my voice down, and I flinched when Cory scowled again. “Sorry, sorry. But do you?”

His expression flattened. “No. Jesus. It wasn’t like that. We both needed something from the arrangement.”

Even though it was entirely unrelated, the word ‘arrangement’ reminded me of the one I had with Tommy, and how it had taken a nose dive just a couple of hours ago. Letting it slip my mind had felt good. But now that I’d been reminded, the sour taste was back in my mouth and it had nothing to do with my drink.

“Did you have yours in writing?” I muttered bitterly before I could stop myself. I was starting to think tequila was actually kind of dangerous.

Cory caught my tone, his head tilting to the side as he regarded me. “Something on your mind, boss?”

I ground my teeth. His mockery of my position was almost as irritating as how little regard my brother had for it. The only reason I was even talking to Cory was because I’d had to thank him for stopping Ronnie from tanking his first big break. A big break that came with a pay raise for both of us, that still wasn’t going to be enough to keep my head above water once I started paying Tommy.

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Oh, come on now. At this point you’ve made it pretty clear you don’t think me capable of the kind of emotional maturity necessary to worry about anything. So, why not get it off your chest and then we’ll both feel better?”

I didn’t understand why he was pushing this. Morbid curiosity was one option, but he was looking at me as if he was actually interested. It set me off balance, and I didn’t like it.

“It’s not a big deal. I just wish sometimes I’d made smarter choices.”

He blew a raspberry with his lips, as his eyes drifted up to the ceiling. “Damn, don’t we all.”

“Well, didn’t you say she was the one that made the mess? What do you have to regret about it, then?”

The softness in Cory’s eyes when they found me again nudged at something in my gut. It was like he was still scrutinizing me, but he wasn’t looking just for flaws this time.

“I guess I wasn’t limiting my inventory of bad choices to only the most recent fuck up.”

My eyebrows rose. “So, the golden boy has made mistakes in the past, eh?”

A more lighthearted chuckle tumbled out of him, low and gravelly. “No one has ever called me a ‘golden boy.’”

“Given your success and skill, they should have. ”

The words had slipped out before I could stop myself and I grimaced. Cory’s face, on the other hand, lit up like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. His beaming grin was brighter than I’d ever seen it, and fresh humor danced in his eyes.

“Look at you. Was that a compliment?”

“Never. I don’t compliment egomaniacs.”

“Don’t try to take it back now. I needed that little pick me up.”

I could feel myself blushing and hated it. It was the stupid tequila, but I knew it would only feed his ego even more.

“Please. The last thing you need is a confidence boost. God only knows what you’d do with it.” I paused, turning away from him and all his smiling. “All you need is a bigger celebrity scandal to elbow you out of the top spot and buy you time to sign up some new arm candy. You’ll be fine.”

“I wish it was that simple,” Cory said, tapping his fingers on the bar.

With the kind of money he had to be making, it was a challenge to see how the solution for someone in his position wouldn’t be that simple. But by the look on his face, there must have been something I was missing.

And against my better judgment, I was just tipsy—ahem, curious —enough to want to find out.