Black Falcon: Complete Series Collection (87 page)

I sit on the couch across from him. “You don’t look good, Bill. I think it’s time you give into Holly and get yourself to the doctor.”

“Can’t,” is all he says.

In good conscience I can’t sit her and allow a man to compromise his health because he doesn’t have the money to pay his doctor to check him out. Something has to give. “Bill, if I tell you something, do you promise not to get angry and to keep the secret between us?”

He readjusts in his chair. “Depends on how bad it is.”

I laugh. “It’s nothing bad—more like something about myself I want to keep private.”

“If that’s the case, I have no problem with that. We all have things we don’t want other people to know.”

I rub my face and let out a deep breath. It’s now or never. “I’m the investor.”

Bill raises his eyebrows. “You? Why wouldn’t you lead us to believe it was your friend?”

“I didn’t want who I am to complicate things? I wanted to come here and get a look first hand at the business and to get to know you,” I admit.

He tilts his head. “Who exactly are you, Trip?”

“I’m the drummer for Black Falcon.”

“Wow...” Bill trails off. “I wasn’t expecting that. I can’t say I’ve heard your music, but those entertainment shows sure mention your band a lot.” He glances around his house. “I bet you’re used to staying in places a lot better than this.”

I chuckles. “I suppose so, but hotels don’t have the charm this place does.”

“Ah, charm. What you mean to say is they don’t have Holly.” He lowers his gaze at me.

I lick my lips. “I’ll admit, I like your daughter, but I don’t think she feels the same way about me.”

“She likes you, trust me. I know enough about my daughter to know that.”

I sigh. “Even if she does, I think she likes Jackson more.”

Bill shakes his head. “Those two have history, and Holly is still young. She doesn’t know how to let go of a love that is no longer there. We have that in common. Give it time. Jackson will disappoint her again. He always does.”

“I don’t know, Bill. They looked pretty cozy a few minutes ago.”

Bill crosses his legs at the ankles. “That’s Jackson for you. The boy never did share well with others. Take this track for instance—thinks he owns it, like he can do whatever he wants here. Chases off riders he doesn’t want around. The boy has cost me a lot of business, running off any guy that stared at Holly a little to long, but I didn’t say much because I knew Holly loved him. That all changed a few weeks ago when he came here to call it quits with my daughter. I told that little asshole that as long as there was still a breath left in my body, I owned this place.”

“I’ve noticed you’ve been sick the entire time I’ve been here. Why don’t you want to go to the doctor, Bill? If it’s money, don’t worry about that. I’ll see to it that this place gets insurance, and I pay for any medical bills you may get until then.”

Bill shakes his head. “I can’t let you do that, Trip. What I have isn’t curable. It would be a waste of your money.”

My brow furrows. “You mean you already know there’s something wrong with you?”

He nods while wearing a solemn expression. “I have HIV.”

A gasp leaves my body. I’ve never actually known someone with that virus, and I never would’ve expected an upstanding family man like Bill Pearson to have it. My eyes trace down Bill’s frail body, and things start to click. “Why haven’t you told Holly?”

Tears well up in his eyes, and he bats one away as it slips down his face. “Because there’s nothing she can do to fix it. My girl is a fixer, and it’ll destroy her because she can’t fix this. I would rather things take their natural course and she find out after I’m gone. It’ll be easier that way.”

He’s right about Holly, but that doesn’t change the fact that she should know. “Easier for who? You or her?”

He shrugs. “For both of us. I don’t want to hurt my baby. The thought that I’ll probably leave her sooner rather than later crushes me.”

“How long have you had it?” I ask.

“My wife, Grace, contracted the virus about fifteen years ago and gave it to me. I think now since I stopped getting my medications last year, things are getting worse.”

“Is that Holly’s mom? Is she still alive?” I’ve wondered about where her mother is, but I never asked because I figured it wasn’t my business.

“Yes, if you want to call what she does living. She’s a heroine addict. After Grace cheated on me and discovered she’d given me HIV, she couldn’t handle the guilt. She ran off—cut pretty much all contact with Holly and me, except when she’s out of money. That’s when she comes around. When she’s desperate to find a way to get her next fix, she comes home, and I always give in.”

I shake my head. That’s so fucking sad. I know Noel Falcon’s drug use once destroyed Black Falcon. Thank God Riff was able to get through to Noel before he got in too deep and ruined his life. “Jesus, I’m sorry. Drugs can royally screw a person’s life up. That’s a shame.”

“That’s what Holly used to say, but as she got older the emotion she felt towards her mother went from sympathy to anger. The last few years, every time Grace has come around, Holly chases her away and won’t allow her to speak to me. I was grateful to her, I could never tell Grace, “No”, but Holly is a lot stronger than me. She stands up for what’s right. She’s special.”

The weight of this secret presses down on my heart. How is this fair that I know this about her father and she doesn’t? Bill’s right. Holly
is
special. I knew it when I first laid eyes on her in the club. She stood out to me against all the other women vying for my attention—and she wasn’t even trying. That easy smile she wore when she hugged Max—the way she cut loose on the floor—I knew I had to have her and I didn’t even care if she was with another guy. That goes against everything I stand for. I hate cheaters. I was screwed over, so I know how bad it sucks. Cheating nearly ruined my life, but none of that even entered my brain because something about Holly drew me in and I was powerless to fight against it.

The inner turmoil must be easy to see on my face. Bill leans forward in his chair and catches my gaze. “Trip, neither of us wants Holly to find out what we’re keeping from her, so the only way I’ll promise to keep your secret is if you keep mine.”

I stare at this selfless man, who loves his daughter so much he’s willing to shield that he’s dying to save her some heartache. My heart cracks at the thought of how painful this must be for him. I don’t want to see Holly or Bill hurting. There has to be something I can do.

“Bill, I’m ready to agree to be your partner in this business, I’ll shake on it right now if you agree to allow me to pay for your doctor visits and medications. I want to keep you here for Holly as long as I can.” I know I can’t make this all go away, but considering the cards that have been dealt before me, it’s the best offer I can come up with. “Please let me do this for you.”

He doesn’t answer right away, just stares at the television absently for a few moments, but then he nods. “Okay. I’d be a fool to turn a deal like that down.”

I give him a small smile and extend my hand to him. “Do we have a deal?”

Bill’s hand meets mine. “We do, partner.”

And just like that I’ve agreed to take on half of the tracks problems in the hopes that someday we’ll be able to turn this place around and actually see a profit.

Tyke is going to ream me out for making such a hasty decision. He won’t understand that this just felt like the right thing to do. I’ve got to go with my gut on this one. I believe I can make a real difference here, so this is where I need to be.

I
study the way the blue dress hugs my curves in the mirror. This isn’t exactly a “we’re purely platonic” outfit but it’s perfect for torturing Jackson some more. I almost feel bad about playing this game with him now, but when I allow myself to think about him sleeping with other women behind my back it relieves the guilt, and keeps pushing me to act indifferent towards him.

“I love the color of that dress,” Max says as he glances up from a magazine while lying on my bed. “Blue has always been your color. It matches your eyes. But I wish you weren’t wearing it to impress the asshole.”

I smooth the dress down. “Do you think it’s wrong to make someone jealous on purpose?”

“If you’re talking about making Jackson jealous, then you already know my answer. You know how I feel about him.”

I put my hands on my hips. “What if I am? How would that affect your answer?”

Max closes the magazine and tosses it next to him. “That asshole doesn’t deserve any more of your energy. He cheated on you, Holly. Then said he didn’t love you. Don’t let him mess with your head just because you’ve got something going with the new meat in town. Jackson’s fucked with your head long enough. He always strings you along. It’s time to move on, and maybe Trip’s the guy to do that with.”

“I thought you said he’s not the right kind of guy for me? What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

Max throws his legs over the edge of the bed. “I’ve seen you two together. The way both of you look at the other...I don’t know...it’s weird, like you have some sort of connection. I think I was wrong about him. Besides, I don’t care much for Jackson threatening to beat my ass if I didn’t tell him everything I knew about Trip. That jerk is the biggest fucking bully. I can’t understand what you ever saw in him.”

“I’m sorry he did that to you. He can be an asshole sometimes, I know.” I sit next to Max, my heart feeling heavy that I’ve been keeping things from him about Trip. “If I tell you something, promise not to yell at me?”

He tilts his head. “When have I ever yelled at you?”

I laugh. “Okay, maybe you don’t yell, but you certainly like to try and change my mind when you think I’m doing something bad.”

“I only do that because I love you, Holl. And, yes, I firmly believe if you would take my advice more often where men are concerned you’d be happier.”

I sigh. “I know, which is why I need your advice now.”

Max twists his lips. “I’m all ears.”

I clutch my hands together in my lap. “Trip and I aren’t actually dating.”

His brow furrows. “What do you mean? You told me last week Jackson and Trip got into it because Jackson is jealous you’re dating Trip. I don’t understand.”

I take a deep breath. “I know that’s what I said, but the truth is, we’ve sort of been
pretending
to be an item.”

Max leans his head back and groans. “Oh no. Tell me you didn’t rope Trip into making Jackson jealous.”

I grimace. “It was his idea.”

“And you thought it was a good one? When did you make this little deal?”

“The day after we met him at the bar.”

“So
after
you kissed him?”

I nod. “Yes.” Max laughs and I smack his leg. “Why is that so funny?”

“You honestly think you two can pretend to like each other without real emotions getting involved?” I open my mouth to answer, but he cuts me off. “I saw you two at the bar, remember. That’s attraction, babe, and you can only fight that for so long. This is going to blow up in your face.”

“So you think what Trip and I are doing is a mistake?”

He shakes his head. “No. I think trying to win
Jackson
back is a mistake. Trip seems to be really into you. I’d rather you see where that leads.”

“Where is this coming from? Aren’t you the one who warned me off of him a couple weeks ago?”

“I was, but that was before I saw the two of you together.”

“Even if I think I might have feelings for Trip, he’s leaving, so they won’t matter. I don’t want to develop feelings for a guy that’s not even going to stick around.”

“You don’t know that. He might be willing to leave everything behind to move out here if things work out.”

“That’s crazy talk, Max. I only know the very basics about him. I know he’s from Kentucky, has a twin brother, and his parents are still married. Other than that, I don’t know a thing about him. I don’t even know if he has a real job.”

“Well, why don’t you ask him?”

“You think it’s that simple?”

“Yes. Yes, I do. Trip should be the one you’re going out on a date with tonight, not Jackson. You like him. Admit it and get to know him.”

“I told you, this isn’t a date with Jackson. He has a way to help the track, so this is a business dinner.”

Max rubs his chin. “Then why didn’t he tell you to bring your dad along?”

I have no answer to that, really. That’s a great question. “I don’t know. Maybe he feels more comfortable just talking to me about it first?”

He raises his eyebrow. “He’s known your dad just as long as he’s been coming to this track. Face it. Jackson is a spoiled toddler who doesn’t like to share his toys. If he really loved you, Holly, it wouldn’t take another man showing an interest in you to make him remember that. People want what they can’t have. It’d be smart of you to remember that.”

What he says makes perfect sense, yet the curiosity to see how Jackson thinks we can save the track wins out. “You’re probably right, but I still need to go.”

Max reaches over and holds my hand in his lap. “Just be careful, would you? I don’t want to get my ass kicked when I try and go beat those two jerks up over hurting you. Believe it or not, I’m delicate.”

I laugh and pat his hand. “You’re such a good friend.”

He grins. “That’s what a best friend is for.”

After I double check myself in the mirror, Max and I head downstairs. The heavenly aroma of sizzling steak fills the lower level of the house. Dad is fast asleep, curled up under a blanket in his recliner while Trip is busy in the kitchen, cooking. I study my father, he looks so much older than he did even five years ago. It makes me sad he doesn’t take better care of himself. He’s all I have left and I wish he would at least make an effort to get well for me.

“You two are just in time. The food is nearly done. Hope you guys like your steaks medium, if not I can leave them on a little longer,” Trip says as he glances over his shoulder. “Can you grab me a plate for these, Holly?”