Page 8

Tennessee

Red leans over the kitchen counter, finishing off the last of a piece of sky high pie from the diner. “Heard from Duke today. He’s talkin’ about coming home in the next few weeks. I guess he’s almost finished with whatever shit he had going on.”

Duke is our club Prez, but he’s been out of the picture for a while now. Not sure what the fucker is up to. No one is.

“Yeah, well, you tell him we’re doing just fine without him?” I gulp a glass of milk like it’s a shot of bourbon and set the glass on the counter with a clink. Some days, milk just hits the spot.

“Nah. Didn’t want to rile him up. Besides, it’ll be good to have him back. With everyone gettin’ hitched, and you off romancing some girl, I’m not sure what I’m gonna do with myself.” He leans back against the kitchen counter, looking more worn than wicked lately. “How’d things go today?”

I’m not sure how to answer him. My mouth opens and shuts half a dozen times before actual words come out. “It was messy. Messy but really fuckin’ nice.” My chest tightens at the thought of having ruined whatever half chance I had with Sienna. “She’s Victor’s daughter.”

Red stares toward me like he’s seen a ghost. A real nasty one. “Shit, dude. That fuckin’ sucks. You backin’ off?”

That’s a good fucking question. “We left things weird. She wanted more answers than I could give her right then. Plus, I didn’t know how to tell her things I’ve done.

” I hold my breath as I try to connect the thoughts I’m having with the feelings pressing at my chest. “I have no right to fuck around with this girl. Not only because of who she is, but because of her age. I know it looks ridiculous. Two people today thought I was her father.” I pause, letting it sink in, then offer the number again. “Two.”

He bursts out in a short bout of laughter. “Fuck… that’s rough.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” I sigh and scrub my hand over my face as the refrigerator hums beneath Red’s amusement.

“The trouble is, I don’t think I can let her go.

I mean, I can pretend I can, but the truth is, she’s everything I want.

Sweet, smart, hardworking, a smart ass, and yeah, she’s gorgeous. ”

He shakes his head and tosses the small bakery box in the trash. “If you want her, I say go get her. Never known you to let some asshole stand between you and what you want.”

“This is different.”

“It’s a lot different. This isn’t some hit you’ll forget about in two weeks.

It’s not some mission you’re being ordered to take.

This is the kind of thing that’ll eat through your insides.

You’ll think of her some fuckin’ sunny day when you’re out with some other woman.

Maybe you’ll tell everyone you’re happy, but deep down, you’ll still be thinking about the girl from the wedding shop.

” He claps his hand on my shoulder. “I see it in your eyes. She’s the one, man.

It’s got roots. Whether you dig ‘em up or let ‘em grow… they’re there.”

Fucking hell, this man is making too much sense lately. I’m a little worried about him.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about, man. Thanks.”

He nods and leaves me with thoughts quiet enough that I can feel them, without regard for anyone but the two of us.

Red is right. No matter how hard I try to twist this in my head, she’ll always be my obsession.

I’ll think about her every fucking time I go fishing for the rest of eternity.

I’ll think about her every time I climb up onto my bike.

I’ll think about her whenever I see a wedding, or a girl, or feel the fucking wind.

Fuck!

I have to tell her what happened between me and her father. I have to tell her the bad things I’ve done. I have to lay every ugly piece of my story at her feet and pray she sees something worth holding onto. Then, I have to make her mine.

No questions. No doubts. Sienna belongs to me, and I’m taking her.