BoyScout (The Rebels MC) Page 4

  “Nope.” I looked down at my nails, embarrassed and sat.

  He lifted my chin with his finger. “Does that someone know where to find you if he decided to come looking?”

  My heart raced at his intimate touch. One I shouldn’t welcome, but did. I shook my head. “Don’t think so.”

  Fiona walked back out with my shirt and a piece of paper. I looked down to see she had put me on the next four days, ten until three. I grinned again, wanting to stand and do a happy dance, but I refrained, knowing I’d look like a girl gone crazy. “Thank you so much, Fiona. I promise you, I’ll be the best waitress you have.”

  She shot me a wink. “Food will be out shortly.” And she hurried back to seat a group that had just walked in.

  “Thank you, Boyscout. I don’t have any words except thank you for your help.” I wanted to hug him, but he reached down and lifted my hand to his mouth, gently kissing it before I could move.

  “You just did, Sunshine. And it’s Scout.” I didn’t even understand what had come over me, reflex I suppose, (although, I was a hugger) but I moved in and pulled him into a tight hug, as pure joy zinged through my body. He drew me closer with a groan, his head rested in the crease of my neck, inhaling. “You smell good, too,” he murmured before releasing me.

  “It’s Anais Anais. My best friend gets it for me every year for birthday.” I smiled thinking of Tommy.

  “Whatever it is, it smells nice. Girly, feminine like you.”

  My cheeks flushed. “I guess.”

  A few silent minutes later, Fiona delivered the fish tacos. Even though I could tell Scout had more questions, he didn’t ask a thing about my private life, except a few basic inquiries of if I liked the beach, the weather, the food and the drinks. Although I was pretty sure he was still studying me like I was some difficult math problem he was dying to solve while we ate in a comfortable silence.

  No small talk, nothing. And before I knew what was happening, he stood, kissed my head and said, “See you around, Sunshine.”

  And then he was gone as fast as the sun dipped behind the ocean, disappearing right along with it. With one hand planted under my chin, wondering who was this white knight of mine and how my fortune seemed to turned as quickly as it had, I felt a nudge on my side, waking me from ruminating on Scout and all the questions reeling inside my head. “Be careful with that one. He’s sweet and all, but he’s too much for a young girl like you,” Fiona warned me just as she scooped up the empty plates. I smiled gingerly.

  “Thanks again, Fiona. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. I won’t let you down.”

  She flashed me a smile with a quick wink, and I couldn’t help but grin as she sauntered off into the restaurant with a huge sway of her hips, her confidence reminding me of my mother.

  Every time I headed back to the motel or woke up the last two weeks, I checked with the front desk for any messages from Tommy. Some days he was not to be heard from, other days, Jerry would tell me he was an impatient, lovesick boy, who I should stop stringing along.

  Quickly, I entered the quarters in the ancient payphone, chewing on my thumb. “Hey, it’s me. Jerry at the front desk mentioned you called last night. Is everything okay?”

  “What number is this? Should I add it to my contacts?” His voice was groggy like I had just woken him up.

  I checked my watch to see it was almost ten in the morning. “No, it’s just a phone booth on the boardwalk outside the restaurant where I work.”

  “You need to get a new cell.”

  I rolled my eyes, tired of hearing him lecture me. “I know, I will. What’s new there?”

  He paused for a second too long, setting off my radar. “What is it?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about.”

  I could hear him fiddling around, his sheets rumpling in the background. “Did I wake you?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Late night is all.” He sighed heavily and I could picture him running his hand through his hair, his shaggy blond bangs flopping back down over his eyes. I had always begged him to cut his hair, but he liked to keep it on the longer side. I admit, it did suit him, but I was always pushing it back, looking for his beautiful brown eyes.

  “You forget, I know you almost better than myself. Now tell me.”

  “I don’t want you to worry about it, but someone broke in last night.”

  “What?” I screeched. “Is your mother okay?” His mother was in the early stages of dementia, so he didn’t like leaving her alone ever since she had left the stovetop on.

  “Yeah, bingo night down at the church. But, Shaw?”

  “Yes?” I whispered, almost too afraid to hear what was coming next.

  “Whoever it was only ransacked my room. Shit was everywhere, pictures of us, broken. My mattress tossed upside down, my closet and drawers were tossed and trashed. Stole two hundred bucks I had hiding in my drawer.” He took another deep breath. “Bobby was off duty, but came by when I called him. He thinks it was Garrett… and so do I.”

  “But, why?”

  “Why do you think? He knows how close we are. The guy was a monumental cocksucker, but not stupid. He knows you’d tell me how to find you.”

  Of course, he did. Garrett had always been jealous of my relationship with Tommy and he made no attempt to hide his green-eyed monster whenever I blew him off to hang with Tommy instead.

  My heart stopped. Suddenly the boardwalk started to spin…or was it me, looking around for anyone to help catch me in case I went down like a ton of bricks?

  “Shaw? Shaw?” he screamed louder into the phone. “I can be there in under six hours. I can come get you.”

  “No,” I shook my head, feeling suddenly unbalanced and skittish. “You have to stay there and take care of your mom and get ready for school. I’m fine.” I wasn’t. I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane clinging to its branch, but I refused to have him stop his life to help me. He always had before, and I couldn’t keep him stringing him along.

  “Shaw, honey?” A voice called from behind. “You okay, Sugar?”

  I whirled around, my eyes landing on Fi, a friendly face, but instead of embracing the hand she was offering, I turned back and huddled closer to the phone booth for privacy. “Tommy, did he find anything?” I whispered.

  “No. I got rid of anything and everything to do with you, other than a few silly photos of us. The only thing leading me to you, Shaw, is my cell, and he won’t get that.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief fully aware Fiona was patiently but studiously observing my odd (even for me) behavior. “I should go. I’ll call tomorrow. And, I’ll find a way to pay back the money he stole.”

  “Wait! Shaw, l can get Bobby to watch mom for a night or two and come down. I’m worried about you, and don’t even think about paying me that money back.”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  “You forget, I know you too. You’re not okay. You don’t have an extra two bills lying around, and don’t get me started on how I can practically hear you shaking through the phone.”

  “I love you and your concern, but I have to get to work. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

  He sighed heavily. “Yeah, kid. Love you, too.”

  A part of me prayed he would stay on the line and ask me one more time to come see me, maybe then I might have caved, needing him, but there was just dead silence on the other end. I hung up the phone up, took another much-needed deep breath, and turned ready to dodge Fiona’s questions, but she was gone. It was just a semi-empty boardwalk of unknown faces and me.

  Once inside, I opened my locker, grabbed my black little waist apron with MB Grill embroidered in gold and tied it tightly around my waist all while quietly freaking out inside. Quickly, I did up my face with the minimal make-up I kept in my locker, trying to brighten up my look. The black eye had finally disappeared, so I’d been able to use the mascara I loved that made my eyes pop even more. I was always told my eyes were one of my finest features by practically everyone
who has ever met me. After years of not believing, I finally embraced all the compliments and even took a lesson when I was fourteen on how to make them stand out even more.

  “You all right, Shaw?” I closed my eyes at hearing Fiona’s voice come from behind. I should have known she wouldn’t give up so easy. She had sort of taken over my mother’s role the last few weeks once I told her I was all alone in this world.

  She pressed for more information, but something told me not to spill my dirty laundry on the boss’s lap, and frankly, I regretted telling her what I had so far. Not because of any bad blood—I just wasn’t sure I wanted anyone knowing my business. More specifically, Scout knowing my business, although, I hadn’t seen him since he got me the job.

  Rule #7: Never tell your problems to anyone. Twenty percent don’t care and the rest are glad you have them.

  “I’m good, Fiona.” I answered without so much as looking at her. I put on my best face before whipping around, praying she didn’t stick her prying eyes and ears in too far. I didn’t want her or anyone else involved with the likes of knowing anything about Garrett Benton. Like, I said…rearview mirror.

  “You want me to call Scout?”

  The smile vanished at the mention of his name. “Why would you do that?”

  “Boy took a liking to you. Just thought maybe he could help you work through it, if not me.”

  “Scout hasn’t been liking anything. You know as well as I do he hasn’t been around in almost three weeks, not since the day he got me the job.”

  “I know.” She stepped closer, brushing the fallen hair behind my ear. “He’d come running if I called him. He checks up on you.”

  I took her hand in my mine, tugging her closer. Rule # 8: Always look a person in the eye so they know you mean business.

  So, that was what I did. “I don’t need a man to fix me, Fi, or watch over me. My mother raised me well and I’ve been doing fine on my own since I came down here.”

  “You have, Sugar. I can see that and she’d be proud, but I also see a lost little girl who spends all her time here, or alone. And I have a sinking suspicion your mother wouldn’t like that at all.”

  I chose to ignore her last dig since she was right and I didn’t want to get into any more details of my mother at the moment. “You said you didn’t mind me hanging here when once in a while when I’m not scheduled.”

  “And, I don’t. I just worry. You’re a beautiful, young girl who should be out dating and making the world your oyster, Shaw.” She patted my cheek like a child and part of me found it patronizing, the other endearing…motherly.

  Instead of falling into her, I pulled away. “I’m fine. And, I never really understood that phrase.” Patting her hand, I released it quickly in hopes she didn’t catch how slightly broken I felt and how I’d been hiding it.

  She sighed heavily like I was going to be causing her gray hairs sooner than expected. Her brown eyes shined with concern. “Don’t forget to put your hair up and Shaw, honey, I’m going to need your information for the paperwork ASAP.”

  I’d almost forgotten. “I’ll bring it by first thing in the morning.”

  She smiled and walked back out to the front. She could pry, but I loved that she never hovered too long to wear me down. Quickly, I braided my hair and tied a rubber band around the bottom, pulling a few tendrils down to soften the look. Breathing deeply, I got into a quick mountain pose, standing tall, lifting my arms above my head and circling them back down, while breathing deeply to control my thoughts until my worries eased, (Yoga always made me feel better) and quietly murmured, “Namaste.”

  “Namaste, my ass,” Carla stomped in as if looks could kill, tossing her bag down and whipping open her locker. Instead of engaging in her animosity toward me, which was something she’d been aching for since the day I started, I walked out, feeling energized and ready to start my shift. If I had a quarter for every rude comment or gesture she made toward me I wouldn’t need to work ever again. I had no clue what set her off about me in the first place, nor did I care to find out. So, I just avoided her.

  My motel rent was due at the end of the week and I was short only a hundred bucks, which I hoped to make doing a double today. It was either that or dip into my food money, which I didn’t want to do, but would. Lucky for me, Fiona made sure to feed before I left each day, so I knew I wouldn’t go hungry for very long.

  The shift went quicker than expected since we were so busy I barely had time to think of my call with Tommy, which was a good thing. I tended to dwell sometimes on the things that frightened me, and those things ended up leading to small anxiety attacks as of late, and unlike before, I now had no magic pills, no holistic fixes. Before, I could just brush it off with one of my mom’s St. John’s Wart pills, her calming voice, or a friend, especially Tommy, who had an odd way of comforting me instantly and talking me off the ledge.

  They first started when we moved to Arizona. My mother was one of those who didn’t believe in doctors, although I had my vaccinations due to the fact they wouldn’t educate me without them. But, the anxiety she didn’t take a liking to, since she said it made me look weak and girls weren’t weak, so we just chalked it up to stress and change. They did lessen over the years, but every once in a while.

  BAM!

  I’d been on the ground, rolled up into a ball, shaking like a maniac.

  I was in the break room and started to unbraid my hair, allowing it all to fall down my back and over my shoulders. The small headache instantly vanished once I released it. I shook it out, running my fingers through, loosening any strands that had gotten tangled over the past ten hours. It was just after eight, the sun still bright up in the sky, people playing volleyball on the beach, bikers getting their last ride in for the night and I was heading back to my motel room with a small, dingy television that only received four channels. And that was on a good day.

  My tired feet carried me to my hopefully-temporary home, but my mind was racing so fast I couldn’t sit still. Different thoughts of Tommy, his mother, Garrett, my mother, my father, work, and why does Carla hated me bled into my brain. My mind even lingered a few seconds on Scout and wondering where my white knight had gone.

  And just like that the pace of my heart picked up, my body temperature felt like it had gone from 98.6 straight to hell’s front door the way sweat beaded on my forehead. Making haste, I slipped out of my work clothes and into some shorts, a tank and a cute pair of flip-flops, pushing back the anxiety as best as I could manage, making my way back toward the beach.

  I hated being alone. Lately, it seemed that was enough to set me off another anxiety attack. Though I was growing used to the solitude, and as of late, those ramblings inside my head weren’t doing me any good.It was just shy of nine at night and even from the distance I could see one or two bonfires, hear kids laughing as they ran past me barefoot and fancy free. Houses lined up, filled with people drinking wine and beer as they stared at their beautiful ocean views. I envied them.

  My mother had never taken me on any real vacations. Once in a blue moon she’d take me to Sedona to walk around the red rocks and even though I loved doing it, I never saw the ocean until I’d stepped foot in San Diego. Every time I asked to go to California she would just say no, we could go to the lakes instead, they’re just as pretty.

  When Tommy and I turned sixteen, we took off for a whole weekend to Lake Havasu, which was just over a three-hour drive. We pitched a tent, and nestled a blanket by the bonfire, while we drank beer and munched on Gummy bears watching the millions of stars overhead. It was my first time away from her. She called and texted numerous times until finally Tommy swiped my cell and said, “Dee, I got her. She’s fine.” That was the end of that. Next time I talked to her was when Tommy dropped me off forty-eight hours later. She just smiled and asked if I had a good time. I loved that about her.

  Her trust in me.

  Her trust in Tommy.

  And, I wondered if she had met Scout, would she have liked
him, too?

  Chapter 4

  BOYSCOUT

  She was sitting Indian-style in the sand, staring out to sea and looking peaceful, then abruptly got up and left, so I followed her until I knew she was tucked away. I’d been watching her…okay, slightly stalking her…just shy of three weeks now. I had no damned clue why I felt the need to keep tabs on her, other than wanting to get into her pants.

  I had her routine down pat until now. I’d almost pulled out of the motel once she closed her door, but instead had taken a quick call from Slider about meeting up at the club later. Within those few minutes she had slipped back out, and seemingly without a care in the world, headed back toward the boards.

  It was a rare thing for a chick to take up head space, especially one I had barely understood, but every morning when I woke, she was the first thing I thought of, just like my nights ended, regardless of who was lying next to me. Little things like the way her ample, pillowy, raspberry lips looked like she’d been stung by a bee, to the crazy green shade of her eyes that reminded me of sea glass, or how those two very toned, tanned legs would look wrapped around my waist, down to the minuscule thing of where the hell did she even come from, was she okay, would that asshole find her again? All these thing had infiltrated my mind day and night.

  They all reminded me something was there, something breathtakingly special that I couldn’t nail down if I tried. It was like a blinking light that flashed every time I got a glimpse of her, wanting to figure out all that stuff up in my head. She was gorgeous— that was a given—but so were a lot of girls down here. But Shaw had this ethereal beauty that I’d never seen before, and it knocked the breath out of me every time I looked her way.

  She had a sweet body, perfect olive skin, slim but curvy in the right spots that anyone would envy, but again, so did many chicks. What was it that made her stand out to me? And then one day I saw it watching her on the beach. She was broken, maybe not all the way, but she was, and it reminded me a little of how I’d felt when I left home. And for some reason I found myself wanting to be the one to put her back together.