Blossom Street Brides (13 page)

“What happened?” Max pressed.

He should have realized his best friend was going to hound him with questions. If the situation was reversed, he’d do the same. “Nothing much,” he said, downplaying the entire ordeal.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not necessarily.”

Their order came up, and for the next ten minutes they ate without communicating. When he’d finished, Rooster wiped his mouth clean with a paper napkin. It was the first food he’d tasted in nearly twenty-four hours. He hadn’t had the stomach for dinner after leaving Lauren, and he’d skipped breakfast, settling for several cups of coffee instead. He’d grown restless and unsettled, pushing all thoughts of the woman from his mind. It irked him that he’d allowed her to get under his skin and so quickly.

“You mentioned how you felt when you first met Bethanne,” he said.

“Yeah. It’s been a couple of years now, and that feeling hasn’t changed.”

Rooster could see the effect Bethanne had on Max every time the two were together. It was like a booster shot of enthusiasm for life. The two of them were good together. Seeing how Max had been willing to love again had inspired him. It’d given him hope that there was someone special for him, too. It’d felt right that first night with Lauren, right and good, but it wasn’t meant to be. He should have learned his lesson by now. He wasn’t good with relationships with women.

“Did you feel that same kick in your stomach when you met Lauren?”

Rooster shrugged.

“Come on, be honest.” Max pushed his empty plate aside. The bartender collected both their plates and refilled their mugs with beer.

“I thought I did,” Rooster murmured. “My mistake.”

“Any hope of repairing the damage?”

“None.” Rooster wasn’t interested. Lauren had tried several times to reach him by phone, but he’d ignored her calls. She’d sent him a text, but he hadn’t read it. As far as he was concerned, any further communication would be a mistake.

“It isn’t all rosebuds and bliss for Bethanne and me,” Max said. “Relationships aren’t always easy. You, more than anyone, have seen our struggles. Living apart this way has taken a toll.”

“I thought you kissed and made up.”

“We did,” Max said, “and it was good for a while. Neither one of us is comfortable when we’re at odds.”

“What happened?” Rooster couldn’t help being curious. He’d seen the way Bethanne had practically thrown herself into Max’s arms the instant they’d entered the yarn store. The entire store had, and it seemed the shop had given a collective sigh of approval.

Max seemed reluctant to explain. “Bethanne and I were having dinner at the house when out of the blue Grant arrived.”

“Really?”

“He had a key to the house.”

Rooster’s brows shot up; no wonder Max was upset. “Bethanne gave it to him?”

“As best Bethanne could figure, Annie did. She said she’d handle it, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I wouldn’t put it past Grant to have had a spare key made. Bethanne wasn’t keen on the idea, but I spent the morning changing the locks.”

“I wouldn’t trust Grant Hamlin with a dime, let alone my wife.”

“You and me both,” Max agreed. “Which is why I asked Bethanne to move to California.”

It went without saying this would be a difficult decision for her. “How’d that go over?”

Max shrugged. “Like a bucket of cement to the bottom of the Columbia River.”

“You’re asking a lot,” he felt obliged to remind his friend.

“Don’t I know it.”

“What did Bethanne have to say?”

Max took his time answering, as if weighed down by the
question. “Not much. She promised to consider it, and really that’s all I can ask for at this point.”

“It’s a huge decision with lots of ramifications.”

Max agreed.

Rooster studied his friend and sympathized. If the situation was reversed, if it was someone he loved as powerfully as Max did Bethanne, then Rooster was convinced he’d feel the same. “This thing with Grant and the house key is what prompted it?”

Max nodded, sullen and silent.

“You want to take her away from her family?” That was the crux of the matter, as far as Rooster could see.

“Not her children,” Max snapped back. “Just Grant.”

“Because you don’t trust Bethanne?” Rooster was willing to ask the hard questions. According to his business partner, Rooster had always been the one Max could trust to dig at the truth. Sometimes it angered his friend, and at other times, like now, Max grew quiet and solemn.

“I trust Bethanne; the one I don’t trust is Grant.”

“What you’re really saying is you aren’t sure about Bethanne, then, either.”

Max looked ready to argue with him. Rooster was in no mood to get into a verbal exchange with his best friend. “I don’t want to bicker over this. Just think about what you’re asking of Bethanne,” he said, without giving Max time to counter. “What I’m hearing is this—in order for you to feel secure in your marriage, you need to have Bethanne in California. If that’s the case, you’re saying that you aren’t sure about her feelings toward her ex.”

Max straightened as if he was prepared to rebut the point and then seemed to change his mind. “Maybe. I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

“Maybe you should.”

Unexpectedly, Max turned his attention away from Rooster and toward the front of the tavern. “Well, I’ll be,” he muttered, sounding both surprised and amused.

Rooster turned to look at what had aroused his friend’s interest and his eyes widened.
Lauren?
It couldn’t be her. It didn’t seem possible she would accidentally stumble upon him and Max, especially at a place like Hog’s Hideout.

For what seemed like several minutes she remained framed in the doorway as if she wasn’t sure it was safe to venture inside. Bright light surrounded her as though she was an angelic being. Rooster wasn’t the only one who noticed her, either. Every man in the Hideout seemed to have his gaze riveted on her. A muscular biker, who had a cue stick in his hand and was bent over the pool table, froze.

“You see what I see?” Max asked in a low tone.

“Yeah.”

“That’s Lauren, isn’t it?”

“Looks like it.” Unwilling to be caught in her spiderweb, Rooster turned away and took a deep swallow of his beer. He was going to need the fortification to withstand the strong emotional pull he felt for her even now, knowing what he did about her.

“Are you going outside to talk to her?” It was more suggestion than question.

“No.”

“Any particular reason?”

“A few. She has something to prove to me.”

The music, which had been loud and raunchy, seemed to fade to a whisper as Lauren came inside and headed toward the bar. One of the bikers, a big guy with a large belly and an unkempt beard who’d been standing on the outskirts of the pool table, waylaid her.

From the corner of his eye, Rooster watched as Lauren tensed, politely listened, and then shook her head. Reading her lips, he guessed that she was thanking him but declining his invitation. The other man shrugged and returned to where he’d been standing earlier. As soon as he moved away, Lauren hurried to the bar where Rooster sat with Max.

“Hello, Lauren,” Max greeted her cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear.

Rooster, who’d turned back to the bar, cradled his mug of beer with both hands. He darted a look at Max and frowned. He didn’t understand why Max should look so pleased with himself.

“Hello, Rooster,” Lauren said softly, hesitatingly.

He ignored her.

“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by like this.”

Again he chose to pretend he didn’t hear.

She glanced over at Max, who raised his hands as if to say this wasn’t his doing.

“I came because I felt wretched over what happened with Todd and dinner. I didn’t sleep a wink all night.”

She wasn’t the only one who’d spent the better portion of the night staring at the ceiling.

“I can’t leave matters the way we did … I can’t.”

Max elbowed him with a gentle nudge, and Rooster chose to ignore that, too.

“I came to apologize,” Lauren murmured, again with a voice as soft as calf leather.

He nodded, indicating that he was willing to let bygones be bygones. He appreciated that she’d made the effort to find him and apologize, but that was as far as he was willing to go.

“Would you …” She hesitated as if unsure she should continue. “I mean, I can see you’re still upset … I don’t blame you. What happened was dreadful and—”

“What happened?” Max quizzed.

Rooster straightened. “That’s between me and Lauren,” he said, glaring at his friend.

“Okay, fine. I’ll stay out of it.”

That silly grin of Max’s remained firmly in place. He was enjoying this little exchange far too much.

“You were saying,” Max said, returning his attention to Lauren.

Lauren focused her attention on Rooster. “I thought … I hoped you’d be willing to give me a second chance.”

Until this moment, Rooster had resisted her with every ounce of self-control he possessed. Every word she said ripped into the wall of stone he’d erected against her. They fell in a cavalcade and pooled at his feet until he stood vulnerable and exposed before her. That she had this much power over him, in such a short amount of time, left him stunned and speechless.

Rooster turned, and his eyes met hers. Everything about her spoke of sincerity. Her look, her stance, the way she clasped her hands in front of her. The way her beautiful clear blue eyes looked up at him with such honesty was his undoing.

“I mean,” she said, and lifted one shoulder, “if you’re not interested, I just got another offer.”

“Bozo over there is interested,” Max said.

Again, Rooster glared at his friend. “I think it’s time you got back to Bethanne.”

Max chuckled. “I can see I’m no longer wanted or needed here.” He slapped Rooster across the back and left cash on the counter for his lunch. He took one last sip of his beer, set the mug down on the bar, and said, “I’ll check in with you later.”

“Later,” Rooster repeated, and while he tried, he couldn’t take his eyes off Lauren. He couldn’t make himself do it. Silently, she stood before him, waiting for him to speak.

“So Bozo made you an offer,” Rooster said with a soft snicker and nodded in the direction of the man with the big belly and the shaggy beard.

“He did,” she returned, brightening.

“Anything that might interest you?”

“Maybe.”

He could see she was struggling to hold back a smile but with little success. “He told me I could be his woman.”

Rooster chuckled. “That sounds too good to be true. Are you sure you aren’t making this up?”

“Cross my heart.” Taking her index finger, she made a giant
X
across her heart.

“Then I suggest we leave before the temptation becomes too great.” He reached for the tab and paid the bill. When he’d finished, he took Lauren’s hand and led her out of Hog’s Hideout.

Rooster squinted in the bright light of day and wished he’d thought to grab his sunglasses when he’d left the hotel.

Lauren’s phone buzzed. She reached for it and checked caller ID. “It’s Bethanne.”

“Ah, so that’s how you knew where to find me.”

She nodded as she pressed the phone to her ear. “Hi, Bethanne.”

“Did you find him?” Rooster heard Bethanne ask.

“I did. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“Glad to do it. He’s a gem. You couldn’t find a better man than Rooster Wayne. He’d never tell you this, but Max would have lost his business and a whole lot more if it hadn’t been for Rooster.”

Lauren glanced up at Rooster and smiled.

He frowned back. It made him uncomfortable to have Bethanne sing his praises.

Lauren looked to be on the verge of laughing. “I think you might be right. I better go. I’m getting the evil eye from Rooster. Bye, Bethanne.”

“Bye. Oh, before I forget, how’s the baby blanket coming along?”

Rooster stiffened.
Baby blanket
.

“Okay so far.”

“Me, too. I’ve just finished knitting the border.”

Rooster knew about the “husband list,” which had intrigued him, but now it seemed Lauren was thinking about getting pregnant … unless, of course, she was already in that condition. He swallowed hard. It just might be that he’d bitten off a bigger bite than he’d realized.

With the call ended, Lauren returned the cell to her purse.

“You’re knitting a baby blanket?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound as skeptical as he felt.

“Yes. I thought I mentioned that. That’s what Bethanne and I were knitting when you and Max showed up at the yarn store.”

“Is there any particular reason you’re knitting a baby blanket?” he asked, afraid his voice didn’t sound quite right. He examined her closely, wondering if he’d missed something earlier.

“Well, yes, for my sister.”

“Your sister?” Now he remembered. Learning her younger sister was pregnant was what had prompted this entire desire to create this husband list of hers. The tension left him, and he felt the almost irrepressible urge to laugh.

Lauren paused mid-step. “Rooster? Did you think? You thought … I was … me, pregnant? Oh, honestly!”

Unable to hold back his amusement, Rooster started to chuckle, and soon Lauren was laughing, too. He stopped when he realized how beautiful she looked in her pretty pink sweater. His gaze wandered to her lips, and he felt his chest tighten with the need to kiss her. It didn’t matter that
they stood in the middle of the sidewalk in a section of town that was less than desirable. Nothing mattered but bringing Lauren into the protection of his arms.

The laughter drained out of her eyes as she read his intent. It seemed to Rooster that she leaned toward him at the very instant he reached for her. Then his mouth covered hers and his hands tangled in her hair. This was good, better than good. She tasted of mint and springtime as she opened to him and he to her, slanting his mouth over hers in an effort to be close, intimate. She was warm and welcoming, her arms wrapped around his neck. Their bodies fused together, close and tight, as though they were made for this. The disappointment he’d experienced the night before lifted from his shoulders, the irritation and regret wiped out with a single kiss. His heart rate quickly accelerated as the realization hit him that he could easily fall for this woman. The thought frightened him, but not enough to put an end to what was happening between them. Not nearly enough for that.