“Where are we going?” I ask once we are in his truck and away from my dad.
“I got you a room at the women’s shelter for now.” He says his eyes never leaving the road.
“Why the women's shelter?” I’m not sure why I can’t just stay with him.
“Because they can protect you there. They have really tight security and everything that you need. Plus, I trust Jensen and Courtney to keep you safe.”
“Let me get this straight. I get ripped from my home and placed in a shelter for something I didn't do. That sounds fair,” I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. I know I'm pouting like a kid, but this sucks.
Though I see a small bit of guilt cross his face before he schools his features again.
“Nothing about this is fair. I'm sorry. I can't tell you how much I wish things were different,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.
But I hear it loud and clear in the close confines of his truck.
On our way out of town, I watch the Mustang Mountains go by in a blur. Finally, he turns down some side roads and parks in front of what looks like in abandoned cabin.
“If that's the women's shelter, I think your idea of heightened security needs to be checked,” I grumble, staring at the building that is boarded up windows and a roof that has seen better days.
“No, sweetheart. This is just the meeting spot. Very few people know the actual location of the women's shelter, and that's for everyone's safety,” he says, smiling.
“Who are we meeting?” I’m looking around and right now, it's just us.
“The woman who runs the woman shelter married Jensen, one of my MC brothers, and he's supposed to meet us here.”
No sooner does he finish telling me, when his phone rings.
“Speaking of,” he says, answering, and then connecting it via the truck speakers.
“Hey Jensen, we're here waiting on you, man,” Stone says.
“Well, that's why I'm calling. Last night, a woman with a kid showed up at the shelter and we had to give them the last room. So, unfortunately, we don't have a spot for Addy anymore. I'm really sorry, but these two look like they haven’t eaten in weeks. We couldn’t turn them down,” the man on the other line says, sounding really broken up about it.
“No, don't worry about it. You take care of the mom and her kid. I'll figure this out,” Stone says, hanging up.
“Shit, I can't take you to the clubhouse because in a few days we will have a bunch of different clubs visiting for our first ride of the season. They're all staying at the clubhouse. Even though they're good people, I wouldn't trust them around you,” he says, staring out the windshield.
I don't bother telling him that I don't want to go to a clubhouse full of strange men, anyway.
“Just take me home. I know how to shoot. I'll be fine,” I sigh. At this point, all I want to do is curl up with a good book and forget about my life for a few hours.
“Not happening, sweetheart. I guess I'm taking you home with me,” he says. Then he puts the truck in drive, and we head to his home.
I've been to Stone's place a few times with my dad. It's a beautiful cabin in the middle of nowhere. When he built it, I swear he picked my brain having me describe my dream house. Then he set it on the perfect piece of land.
If his original plan was to take me to the women's shelter, it was probably because he didn't want me in his space. With me being there, it would put a cramp in his style. He wouldn’t be able to bring home women.
The thought of Stone with anyone else breaks my heart and he isn’t even mine. I have no claim on him, but my heart seems to think I do.
“I'm sorry you're stuck with me. Though I promise to try to stay as out of the way as much as I can,” I say, leaning against the truck door.
While I get that he's trying to keep me safe, I hate feeling like a burden. Maybe this is my sign that Mustang Mountain isn't where I'm supposed to settle down. Since I have everything packed up already, maybe I should have him take me to the bus station. I’ll buy a ticket and see where I end up.
Making rash decisions like that is not me, though. I won't be going anywhere without a plan, which means that I'm going to need to crash with Stone for at least a few days.
My mind is racing as the truck comes to a stop, but when I look, we're not in a driveway. We're on the side of the road.
“Look at me, sweetheart,” Stone says once he puts the truck in park and faces my way.
Taking a deep breath before turning to face him, but I can't look him in the eye. Instead, I stare at the black T-shirt that he has on. He places a finger gently under my chin and tilts my head up until I have no choice but to look him in the eye.
“There is no need to stay out of the way because you will not be in the way. My house is your house while you are staying there, and you are free to be you. You will not be a burden. Having you there will be a blessing, so I’ll not have to be alone all the time,” he says, his eyes searching mine.
I have to wonder if I said the part about being a burden out loud.
“The only reason I didn't want to bring you to my house is because I have a lot of things like the First Ride going on. I'm not going to leave you there alone, which means you're going to have to let me figure out how to protect you. It would have been easy at the women's shelter, where there's 24/7 security. If you're staying with me, it just means a little more planning, that's all.”
Believing every word that he said, I nod my head because I’m not sure what to say.
Stone studies my eyes for a moment more before he gets the truck moving again.
When we get to Stone’s house, it looks exactly like I remember, even though it's been over a year since I've been here. The lawn is in immaculate shape, with the landscaping by the house ready for spring. The porch is decorated with a couple of rocking chairs and a porch swing ready to be enjoyed with the warm weather. By the shed to the side of the property, there are a few parked vehicles. When it's too cold to drive motorcycles, he keeps them in the shed.
After he grabs a couple of my duffel bags, he opens my door and offers me his hand to step out of the truck. When I take it, I attempt to ignore the sparks that travel through my body at the skin-to-skin contact as we make our way towards the front door.
Stone reaches around me and opens the door for me. Stepping in, I’m overwhelmed with how this cabin feels like home. It's bright and open and warm. And it smells like Stone. I’m not sure until this moment that I even knew he had a scent. It’s pine and fresh, with hints of leather, and whatever aftershave he uses. I guess all along I’ve associated those scents with him.
“Come on, you can stay in the guest room. I haven't really done anything with it so feel free to decorate it however you want. Make it your space. I wish I could say that you're only going to be here for a short amount of time, but to be honest, I just don't know,” he says.
I follow him down the hallway to a bedroom where he sets my duffel bags on the bed.
The room has a bed, a dresser, a nightstand, and nothing else. There are no sheets on the bed, no pictures on the walls, and there are not even curtains on the windows.
“Let me grab some sheets.” He disappears down the hallway and comes back a moment later with sheets and blankets setting them on the bed.
“Go online and send me the link to curtains or whatever else you want while you're here. I'll get everything you pick out. The bathroom across the hall is all yours. My bedroom is at the end of the hall and my office is next to the bathroom.” He stands in the doorway looking uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” I say. Though I’m trying not to think about how close I'm going to be to his bedroom at night.
“I'm gonna go grab your other bags,” he says, bolting out of the doorway.
With nothing else to do, I open my duffle bags that he's brought in and begin unpacking and putting them in the dresser. The room is plenty big and with a little decoration should be very comfortable.
“We can get you a desk to put over there in the corner.” Stone says startling me, as he sets my other duffle bags on the bed as well.
“I don't really have a need for a desk, but I think that would be a great place to set up a reading nook.”
“Let me know what you need, and I'll make it happen,” he says with a soft smile on his face.
As the assistant librarian, I love books and spend a lot of my free time reading. All the time at work, I get asked for recommendations. So, the more books I read, the better, because then I can recommend them. Or that's what I tell myself, anyway.
“These are the last of the bags. I'm going to go make a few phone calls in my office. Why don’t you go ahead and get settled and then we'll do lunch together?” Though he doesn’t even wait for an answer as heads to his office, closing the door behind him.
I unpack my bags and with my stuff scattered around the room, it feels more like home. After making the bed, I sit down on it, gathering my thoughts.
It's hard to believe it's been less than twenty-four hours since my dad told me to pack a bag that I was no longer safe in my own home. Now I'm living with Stone in his cabin in the mountains. My life has been completely tossed upside down. But more importantly, right now, I need to stop myself from trying to picture Stone and me building a life in this cabin together.
He's being nice to me, but that doesn't mean he's into me. Why would he be? He’s so much older than I am. I'm sure he sees me as a little kid that he has to protect for his best friend. But maybe while I'm living here, I can use the opportunity to prove to him I'm all woman.
I don't want to live with regrets. Taking this shot with the man I've had a crush on for as long as I can remember is definitely something I would regret if I didn't at least try. If I embarrass myself completely, I can always buy that bus ticket and never have to worry about it again.
But what if he feels the same way…