Page 19

Chapter Nineteen

H ope carried another load of shirts down from upstairs at the diner. They’d sold so many this afternoon that they needed to put more out. She was helping here for another fifteen minutes, then she was heading over to the park.

The craft items, including the motorcycle quilt and motorcycle wall hanging one of the other women had done, had created so much interest this afternoon that they’d switched to a live auction for them. The live auction was going to be right before the pickleball tournament started.

She hadn’t got a chance to chat with Maureen when she and Compass returned, but she knew a satisfied couple when she saw them.

Locks said he would stop by after the last rider for the Poker Run made it back. They’d ridden in the Poker Run in the earliest group of riders so Locks could man the last stop at the park.

Hope had loved riding with Locks, but she had to admit her thighs and pussy were tender from their time last night and then riding on the bike. Although the Poker Run was fun, she was looking forward to a long, leisurely ride with Locks when it was just the two of them, but she also couldn’t wait for Benji to get to ride on Locks’ bike with him too. Locks had mentioned that when they got back.

Hope was enjoying the day but wanted to check in where Benji was at. She didn’t know why she was worried. Benji was safe with all the Bluff Creek families, but for some reason, she was on edge.

She finished putting the T-shirts on their size shelves and then walked over to Regina.

“Have you seen the kids lately?” she asked.

Regina grinned. “Feeling a little nervous, wondering where they’re at?” she chided.

“Yes, it’s been an adjustment not having him with me all the time he’s not in school,” Hope replied.

“I just saw Faith and the kids heading to Bluff Creek Ink. Roam, Rascal, and Sprite have temporary tattoos for the kids along with ice cream bars.”

Hope nodded and stuck her tongue out at Regina, who was shaking her head at Hope.

“Go find Locks over in the park. We’re caught up here, and maybe you’ll get a chance to sit down and talk to the man for a little bit.”

Hope thought about it. “I’ll bring one more load down and put them out, and then I will. I also want to check out the quilt. Locks told me he wants me to decorate for us, and I’m thinking that quilt might be perfect for our bed.”

Regina chuckled. “Then pull out your money because I’ve heard so many people saying that they’re bidding on it. Meg convinced her to open a waiting list for those who are interested in one after the auction is over. It currently takes her about eight to ten weeks to complete. I’m guessing she could have work for at least the next two years.”

Hope ran back up and brought down another load, quickly putting it on the shelves. She waved goodbye to Regina and headed out of the diner, walking toward the park. The sidewalks were packed, and the street parking spaces were filled with motorcycles and some cars.

She could smell the delicious food from the diner and other food stands and trucks from the park as she walked down the street. There were so many faces she didn’t recognize that when one looked familiar, she paused, causing the people behind her to knock into her.

She glanced down and then behind, apologizing to the family. By the time she looked over to where the man had caught her eye, he was gone. She decided maybe she’d been mistaken. Everyone had people who resembled them. Maybe she’d mention her concern to Locks because thinking about who she thought she’d seen made her a tad nauseous.

Her son’s best friend, Roland, was someone she wouldn’t want around Bluff Creek. He’d done all the illegal stuff her son was involved in, but Roland was also cruel and abusive. His girlfriend had ended up in the hospital a couple times with injuries consistent with abuse.

There would be no reason for Roland to be in Bluff Creek. She’d probably imagined it. Meg was by the quilt shop and had a load of stuff, it looked like. Hope crossed the street between the traffic and grabbed one of the boxes.

“Where is this going?” she asked.

“The park. We’ll hang them up on the stage for the auction. How was your morning?” Meg asked as they walked across the street to the park.

“Busy but good,” Hope said, seeing Locks helping near the stage. He looked up as she approached, and the smile on his face did her heart good. He wasn’t hiding how he felt, and it was a refreshing change. He’d said he would, but the proof here at the park let her relax.

He took the box from her hands and lifted it onto the table, then took Meg’s and did the same. Once he was done, he turned to her and pulled her close.

“This is me letting everyone know you’re mine,” he whispered against her lips before capturing her mouth. At the first contact of his lips, the park and the people disappeared. It was just her and Locks savoring each other. His hand slid to the small of her back, tugging her flush against him.

Holy hotness, the man could kiss. Her nipples hardened, and for a second, she wondered if there was somewhere to get this man alone.

“Mimi, why is Locks eating your face?”

Benji’s voice asking that was like a splash of cold water. Friggin’ hell. How could she have not talked with Benji about Locks and her? She was a horrible grandmother and pseudo mom.

“Benji, I was kissing your Mimi. I’d planned to have a man-to-man talk with you before, but I saw how beautiful Mimi was and had to kiss her,” Locks said.

Hope appreciated that Locks had bent down to be at Benji’s level since Locks was so tall.

“Maybe we should talk now,” Benji grumbled.

Locks nodded. “I appreciate you making the time to talk with me. Hope, if it’s alright with you, Benji and I will take a walk to talk this through man to man.”

Hope nodded. “Okay.”

Locks inclined his head, and Benji and he walked away.

Locks felt like an ass for not talking to Benji first, but the busyness of the weekend had made him forget to find Benji today. The one time he’d thought about looking for him, someone had walked up and asked a question, and then he forgot all about Benji.

“I want to say I’m sorry,” Locks said.

“Why?” Benji asked.

Man, the kid wasn’t making it easy on him.

“Because when I talked to Mimi about us being together, I planned to talk with you one-on-one, make sure you understood that I love you too. Not just as Mimi’s grandson but because you’re you. You’ve adapted to a new situation and handled everything with your dad. You’ve made friends, and you’re very kind to people. I saw you help Clara when she dropped her crochet hook.”

Locks waited a second to see if Benji would say anything.

“Go on,” Benji muttered.

This kid. Locks was positive the years with Benji and Hope would be full of ups and downs, and frankly, he couldn’t wait now that he finally got off his ass.

“Family means a lot to me. I’ve loved your Mimi for a while but couldn’t face it because of Remi and the other girls’ mom. It was hard to realize it was okay for me to love someone else after she died. I had to be reminded that love is infinite. But love being infinite is why I know that not only am I getting Mimi, but I’m getting the son I’ve always wanted. I have five daughters, four sons-in-law, and now, when you agree to be a part of the family, I’ll have a son. But before you agree, I want to ask, do you have any concerns?”

Locks couldn’t imagine how Benji was feeling because he’d never been in Benji’s position, but he guessed that it was unnerving to have things changing again.

“I have a lot. My first is, do you believe in hitting women or kids?” Benji asked.

Locks paused and stopped. He got down on one knee so he could look Benji in the eyes.

“I don’t believe women or children should ever be hit, and I will fight to make sure no one else hurts anyone. I promise that Mimi will never need to worry about me hurting her or you, and neither do you. Is my promise enough, or do you need something more? I know you only met me five months ago.”

Locks stared at the little man Benji was. His dad being a horrible man had left his stamp on Benji. A glimmer of hope was in Benji’s eyes, but Locks could see the kid was scared to death to believe in Locks and then be disappointed.

“Phoebe, Blake, and I talked about promises. We didn’t think a pinky swear was enough, but blood makes my tummy hurt. I don’t want to do a blood oath,” Benji said, a scared look on his face.

“In a lot of old westerns, you see a spit shake. It’s where the men making a promise spit on their palms and then shake hands. It’s more than a pinky swear but doesn’t involve blood.”

Locks fought not to smile because this was important to Benji. Locks wanted Benji to feel safe, loved, and a part of the family. He had enough to deal with growing up. Locks wanted his home life to be a place of safety and love.

“I think that would work but a couple more questions. Would you be my dad, my grandpa, or what?” Benji asked.

“That’s a good question. Do you look at Mimi as your grandma or your mom?” Locks asked.

“Mimi is my Mimi. She’s my grandma when I’m doing fun things, but sometimes she has to be the mom and tell me no. Phoebe and Blake said grandparents rarely say no.”

Locks took a deep breath because he had to get this right. “I will be whatever you want me to be, but I see you as both my grandson and my son, if that makes sense. Mimi is your guardian, and just like she is both, I hope you would let me too. As my son, if you were interested, I’d hope you might help take over the bail bonds when you’re grown up. As my grandson, I’m going to make sure you have all the fun things too, without completely going overboard, if that makes sense.”

Benji rubbed his finger across his chin, then nodded. “Yeah, it does. What about the rest? Regina, Baron, Rascal, Meg—are they grandparents too like they are to Phoebe and Blake and all the others?”

“Well, that’s a hard one because Bluff Creek is a place where everyone is family. So, they already claimed you as one of theirs, meaning, even if Mimi and I weren’t together, they’d still be your grandparents.”

“Really?” Benji’s eyes bugged out.

Locks nodded and grinned at this kid who had stolen his heart just as much as his Mimi had. “Really, but I’m hoping that you’ll still want to make it official. Mimi will be getting a property cut, and I’d like to get you one too, like Phoebe, Grant, and all the kids have.”

Benji’s lip quivered, and tears spilled over onto his cheeks. “Dad never loved me, but you do!”

Locks couldn’t handle it another second not holding Benji. He pulled him into his arms and patted his shoulder as Benji cried on Locks’ shoulder. Locks had felt eyes on them from the first, and when Benji started crying, Locks clocked Phoebe, Blake, and Ezra walking toward them. He held up his hand to have them hold a little bit away.

“I do love you, Benji. From the first time I saw you in that house on Christmas Eve and I saw how strong you were being even when you were scared, you meant something to me.”

Locks fought his own tears, but then he let them flow because kids needed to learn it was okay for men to cry. It was just like Kathryn used to say. Tears were the body’s way of letting the joy or grief out. Today might be a little of both.

Benji pulled back. “I trust you, but I kind of like the idea of a spit shake.”

Locks chuckled and pulled back and spit in his hand. Benji spit in his.

“I promise to be your family and maybe take over the business someday,” Benji said solemnly.

“I promise to love you, protect you, and teach you whatever you need to know to be the man I know you can be,” Locks said just as solemnly.

Locks grasped Benji’s small hand in his and shook.

Was he really starting over again? Yep, hopefully, it would keep him young, but he had an inkling that Phoebe, Blake, Ezra, and Benji would be leading the younger kids in the years to come.

Phoebe and the kids with her had waited long enough and walked over to Benji and him.

“Since Benji’s part of the family, he might need an animal or maybe a racing bike. I’ve been asking Dad for one,” Phoebe said.

“Hmm, we’ll have to think about that after this weekend because it’s something Mimi and I have to talk about. I’m not saying no. I’m saying I have to discuss it with Mimi, and it needs to be a conversation when we’re not doing a whole bunch of other things. As far as the racing bike, my girls helped me build theirs when they were I think ten or eleven. I’ll have to check, and we’ll make sure we do it the same time,” Locks said.

Locks bit his lip at Phoebe’s look of consternation. She hadn’t thought he’d have an answer on the racing bike. Bear was probably going to hear about her needing a racing bike now. Maybe he should clear out a little of the second garage area that they used for furniture storage. All the kids could build their own bikes with their moms or dads or whoever wanted to help. Locks nodded. After this weekend, he’d throw the planning into full speed. He’d been wanting something to focus on and building dirt bikes for the kids sounded perfect.

He waited until the kids walked off and then walked back to Hope, who had been trying not to watch them the whole time.

He slid his arm around her and took her mouth again, this time without little ones asking questions. When he’d kissed Hope until she sagged against him, weak in the knees, he pulled back.

“Benji and I are good,” Locks said and wondered how soon he could ask her to marry him and how soon he could get a cut for her and for Benji.