Rebel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (2 page)

Everleigh took a step closer to Danni
and spoke softly, “I can’t leave him alone for long, Danni. I need to get
back.”

A mix of disappointment and understanding
flashed on Danni’s face, and she nodded. “I know. You’re right. I’m sorry Beau,
but I will have to take a pass on the party.”
Him
? Who was she rushing
back to? A boyfriend? A husband? The thought of her being with any other man
made me instantly burn with jealousy…not a normal feeling for me.

He slanted his head to the side.
“Bummer,” he said. “Here’s your phone back sweetie.”

She took the phone from and put it in
her back pocket. “Thanks.”

“It was nice meeting you Danni.
Everleigh,” he said, nodding at me.

“Nice to meet you too, Beau,” she said,
completely ignoring me. I fought the urge to laugh. Everleigh was trying her
hardest to be a bitch, but she was just coming off as nervous and
uncomfortable. I got a thrill knowing I affected her that way. Jude and Kris
came back over to us and bid the girls goodbye as well and when Jude leaned in
and kissed Everleigh on the cheek, it took everything in me to not knock his
ass to the floor.

After Jude and Kris had went off on
their own, Beau turned to Danni and said, “Hey, tag us in these pictures you
took, okay? I’d like to see how they turned out,” he said, looking over at me
and smiling. I smirked at him.

Danni smiled brightly. “Okay, Beau.
Sure.” Before she could say goodbye, he went right for the kill and leaned in
and kissed her. She gasped and he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around
her. I smiled and looked over at Everleigh who was watching Danni and Beau
making out with her mouth hanging wide open.

I moved closer to her and whispered into
her ear “Some people have no shame, do they?”

She flinched as my breath hit her neck.
I inhaled her scent…she smelled like warm vanilla. I wanted to taste her skin.
“N-no, they don’t.”

“So, are you going to kiss me goodbye
too?” I asked, smiling and cocking my head to the side again.

“When hell freezes over,” she snapped,
and I laughed.

“You don’t like me, do you?” I asked,
and I smiled widely.

“How could you guess?” she said,
narrowing her eyes.

“How can you not like me if you don’t
know me?”

She sighed. “I know your type.”

I smiled at her. “My type? And what type
would that be?”

“An egotistical, skirt chasing,
womanizing, mangina,” she said, and I let out a loud belly laugh.

“Nice. Haven’t heard that before,” I
said. “That’s a little judgmental, don’t you think? You sound like half of the
gossip magazines out there.”

“And that doesn’t bother you that people
think the worst of you?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

She scoffed at me. “Why is that? Do you
just think you’re above it all?”

“No, Everleigh. I don’t care what the
world thinks of me because I know that none of its true. As long as I know the
people that I care about know the real me, then I don’t give a shit what anyone
else thinks.” She studied my face for a long moment and she sighed. “What is
it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I can’t tell if you are the world’s
biggest asshole or just have the world’s thickest skin,” she said, her tone
softer than before. Everleigh’s eyes locked with mine again and my mouth went
dry. I couldn’t seem to get my tongue unstuck from the roof of my mouth. This
girl was gorgeous…if she batted her big brown eyes at me I bet she could get me
to do just about anything. I had slept with a
lot
of groupies in my time
as a musician, but I can’t remember
ever
wanting anyone as bad as I
wanted this girl. She saw through all my bullshit charm and wasn’t impressed by
me at all. Nothing had turned me on more. Every girl always wanted something
from me, but Everleigh didn’t.

Beau and Danni seemed to have come up
for air because I don’t think either of us realized it when she joined us at
Everleigh’s side. “Do we
really
have to head back?” she said, dazed and
dreamy-eyed.

“Yes, we do. I have to open in the
morning,” Everleigh said.

“Open?” I asked.

“Yeah, Ev and I are waitresses at a
diner in town,” Danni said, and Everleigh’s cheeks flushed red. She looked down
at her cowboy boots and shuffled her feet. She seemed embarrassed.

“You all right, gorgeous?” I asked her,
touching her arm.
Fuck
her skin was so soft…like rose petals.

She flinched away from me and lifted her
head, a defiant look on her face. “I’m great. It was nice to meet you guys, you
put on a good show. Danni, I’ll wait for you in the hall,” she said, turning on
her heels and heading toward the exit.

“Hey wait up,” I called, and followed
behind her.

She stopped at the door and turned reluctantly.
“What do you want, rock star?” she snapped

Feeling brave, I leaned my face close to
hers and pulled her against me. I wanted to feel her body against mine one more
time. Her curves fit perfectly into my tall frame. Nudging past her long hair
with my nose, I leaned into her ear and said, “Until we meet again, Everleigh,”
and just as suddenly, I pulled away. She couldn’t hide the goose bumps on her
skin as I backed away, smiling like a cocky bastard at her. This definitely
wasn’t the last I would see of Everleigh Stone.

Everleigh

I wanted nothing more than to get the
hell out of that meet and greet room but after feeling Ryder Matthews’ breath
on my skin, I had suddenly lost the ability to move my legs. I felt goose bumps
forming on my arms and no matter how hard I had tried to fight my instant
attraction to him, my body gave me away. I hated the effect he had on me…I’ve
never felt anything like what Ryder made me feel by just holding me for a few
moments. It pissed me off. I wondered what he was playing at. How in the hell could
someone as hot as Ryder Matthews be interested in someone like
me
?

Between me and Danni she was the one
that always got the attention with her long blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes.
I was the plain one with boring dark hair that I jazzed up somewhat with a
streak of color every now and then. I was thicker in the hips than she was and
while I did have decent sized breasts, I always felt they were too big for
someone my size. I thought they always made me look bigger than actually I was.

I almost laughed aloud to myself at the
thought of Ryder Matthews actually wanting me. He was probably just looking to
get his rocks off with some random slut. He probably found me interesting
because I wasn’t falling for his bullshit. That had to be it…
if I can’t have
you, I’ll make sure no one will ever want you.
Those words had haunted me
for the past three years…

With a sexy yet cocky smile on his
ridiculously handsome face, Ryder backed away from me and with one final wink
he turned and walked away. Even though I knew he wasn’t
really
into me,
my heart was still pounding out of my chest.

Danni came over to me at that moment,
her lips still swollen from her make out session with Beau. “H-hey Everleigh,”
she said.

I nudged her with my arm. “Are you ready
to go?”

She nodded and smiled. “Yeah, let me
just get my k-keys…”

I shook my head. “You know what? I’ll
drive. Let’s go,” I said, and I looked back around the room one more time,
subconsciously searching for Ryder. He was already gone so I shook my head and we
walked out together arm in arm. Once we made it out of the venue and into
Danni’s car, I started the engine and we began our drive home to Indiana.

After we were finally on the highway, I
decided to break the ice since Danni hadn’t said a word since we left the
venue. “So, did you have a good time tonight?” I said, barely containing my
amusement.

“I just made out with Beau Cavanaugh. I
went backstage at a Bad Blooded Rebel concert and made out with Beau
Cavanaugh,” she said, still dazed. I giggled at her and I jerked the wheel and
almost drove off the highway when she suddenly screamed, “I just made out with
Beau
fucking
Cavanaugh! Ahh!”

I laughed out loud. “Jesus, Danni! You
almost made me run off the road!”

“Sorry, Ev…I just can’t believe that
happened! I
so
wish we could have went to his party!”

“Yeah, I know you do. Be glad I made us
leave because you probably would have ended up sleeping with him. You might
have gotten pregnant or, hell, maybe even an STD with how those rockers sleep
around.”

“Hey now, you don’t know that. You don’t
know anything about those guys,” Danni said defensively.

“I know enough. Have you picked up a
magazine lately?” I said. “I may not like their music, but at least one of
those guys is in the news every other week about their drinking and partying.
They are complete man whores that don’t take responsibility for their actions.”

I could feel Danni’s eyes on me and she
said, “Hey, those ‘man whores’ were perfectly nice to you back there,
Everleigh. Why are you being like that?” When I didn’t say anything and stared
ahead on the road, I heard her chuckle softly. “Oh, now I get it.”

My hands gripped the wheel. “Get what?”

“Ryder Matthews got to you, didn’t he?”

My head whipped to her for a moment
before it returned back to the road. “What? Are you high? No way!”

“I think he did. Anyone with eyes could
see he was
way
into you, Ev.”

I shook my head. “No he wasn’t, Danni.
He was just trying to figure out how to get me back to his hotel or whatever so
he can add another notch in the bed post.”

Danni sighed. “I think it was more than
that, and I think you do too. You both definitely had chemistry.”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me girl, we
didn’t. Besides, even if I was interested, I don’t know what the hell a guy
like Ryder Matthews would ever see in someone like me,” I said, and in that
moment my chest felt tight. I never understood why any man would look at me
with anything other than disgust…especially after hearing what a train wreck
you are from someone you thought loved you.

Danni’s expression softened and she
sighed. “Everleigh, I wish you could see how beautiful you are. I know how
scarred you are by everything that happened with Scott-”

I cringed. “Don’t say his name, Danni.
Please,” I said, feeling my eyes burning with unwanted tears.

“Sorry, Ev. It just makes me so sad that
the bastard is still getting to you after everything he did. You are gorgeous,
girl. Why wouldn’t a guy like Ryder Matthews be into you?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter
anymore, Danni, because I will never, ever see Ryder Matthews again. Can we
just drive the rest of the way and not talk about my screwed up life anymore?
Besides, we need to make it back home by one because Trish said she couldn’t
stay with Dad all night tonight.”

Danni nodded, defeated. “Okay. Let’s
talk about what a damn good kisser Beau was!” she squealed, and my mood
instantly lifted. All thoughts of that worthless jerk, my terminally ill
father, and Ryder Matthews were out of my head as we giggled and talked about
Danni’s kiss with Beau the whole way back to Indiana.

December

“Table seven’s order is ready,
Everleigh, and table nine wants more coffee,” said Deuce.

“Okay, thanks. I got it,” I replied,
walking to the counter and picking up two trays of food. After settling them
neatly into the crook of my arm, I picked up a pot of coffee with my free hand
and began making my way through the busy restaurant to deliver the food. Friday
mornings at Deuce’s Diner were usually extremely busy and today was no
exception with Christmas behind us and New Years creeping closer. I was
grateful because busy days meant big tips, and I really could use them right
now.

Walter “Deuce” Downing opened Deuce’s
Diner in the early 1970’s after serving in Vietnam and it was a local favorite
of everyone in Muncie. Danni and I began working at the diner when we were both
eighteen and now, six years later, most of the people in town knew us just
about as well as they knew Deuce. Out of all the staff, we were his best
waitresses and naturally this meant we got the biggest tips. I had a nagging
suspicion that people tipped me well because they knew I was a full time care
giver to my ailing father and they felt sorry for me. I tried not to let it get
to me because I was appreciative of any extra money I could get.

I refilled the coffee for the customers
at table nine and walked to table seven, placing their food on the table for
them. I did a quick scan of the restaurant, and everyone seemed to be eating
and chatting away. No one appeared to need anything, so I saw this as my
opportunity for a break. I walked into the kitchen and found Deuce. “Hey big
guy, do you mind if I take a quick break? I need to call and check on Dad.”

Deuce, a scruffy old man that had more
belly than anything else on him, nodded his head full of long gray hair that he
kept in a low ponytail and said, “Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll have Danni cover
your tables. Take your time,” he said, giving me a sad smile.

Out of everyone I knew Deuce knew what I
was going through with Dad better than anyone. He and my dad were best friends
growing up and had even served in Vietnam together, so Dad’s illness hit him
just as hard as it did me. Two years ago, my dad had been diagnosed with stage
two pancreatic cancer and at the time he’d been given a good prognosis. Things
just kept getting worse and worse from there no matter how many treatments he
did and what medicines he took. Four months ago, Dad’s oncologist had given us
the grim news that the cancer was now in stage four and he would only have six
months left to live if he was lucky.

We decided together to check him out of
the hospital so he could spend his remaining time at home. I was trying to
prepare myself mentally for it, but no girl can really be ready to lose someone
as important as their father. My mother died giving birth to me and Dad was all
I had. I was a Daddy’s girl through and through and I dreaded the day when I
wouldn’t have him anymore.

I slid into my hoodie and opened the
back door to the restaurant and pulled out my cell phone as soon as I stepped
outside. I dialed my home phone number and waited for someone to pick up. After
three rings, someone finally answered. “Stone residence, Trisha speaking.”
Trisha Cramer was my father’s full time nurse and had recently moved into our
spare room in order to help me when I wasn’t home. Thank God Dad’s insurance
covered it…I don’t know what I would have done without her help.

“Hey, Trish, it’s Everleigh. How’s he
doing?”

“The same as when you left this morning.
He just woke up from a little nap.”

“Good. Has he eaten anything?”

“He had a bit of toast and I got him to
eat half a container of yogurt earlier.”

My heart sank. “Well, that’s better than
nothing, I guess. Can you put him on? I want to talk to him while I’m on a
break.”

“Sure thing,” she said, and after a few
silent moments I heard a soft voice on the phone.

“Hey, Evie girl,” Dad croaked.

My heart instantly tightened and I had
to choke back tears. “Hey, Daddy. How are you feeling this morning?”

“So good I could do a cartwheel,” he
said, trying to joke. My dad had a horrible sense of humor.

“Well, don’t hurt yourself. Listen, I’m
going to stop by the grocery store on my way home. Is there anything you want
me to get for you?”

“Oh no, honey. I’m fine.”

“Daddy…” I said, my tone stern.

He sighed. “Okay, get me some soup.
Whatever kind you want to get I’m sure is fine.”

“Good. Listen, I have to head back in
but I just wanted to check on you. Please try and eat something, okay? A half
cup of yogurt is not breakfast, old man,” I scolded.

“Old man? Shit, I’m as spry as I ever
was. Smartass,” he said, and I laughed.

“You know it. Love you, Daddy,” I said.

“Love you too, Evie girl. I’ll see you
when you get home. Goodbye,” he said.

“Bye,” I said, and I hung up the phone.
I fought back tears as a wave of emotion swept over me. I shook my head and
took a deep breath. Now was not the time for tears. As I placed the phone in my
pocket, the back door swung open. “Hey Everleigh,” Deuce said, “we’re getting
pretty swamped in here. Can you come back in and catch us up?”

I smiled at him and smoothed out my
apron. “Sure thing, boss man.”

“Thanks. Oh, and there’s a gentleman at
table twelve in the back that’s requesting you personally to wait on him.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “But that’s not my
table, it’s Danni’s.”

“I know, but he was pretty insistent and
all of your tables are either full or haven’t been cleaned yet. I’ll have Danni
take over table seven so you can wait on him.”

I sighed. “All right, whatever you say,”
I said, and I grinned at him. As soon as I walked in, I took off my jacket and
hung it by the door. When I got into the kitchen I heard several people talking
in loud whispers in the dining area and a few people were gasping. “What’s all
the commotion?” I asked Leslie Anderson, one of the other waitresses. I placed
my order pad in my apron pocket and grabbed the dish bucket so I could clear
some empty tables.

Her eyes were the size of quarters.
Before she could answer, Danni came bursting into the kitchen. “Um, hey, Ev…”
she trailed off excitedly.

“What is it?” I said, walking toward the
dining room.

Her eyes were wide as well, and I was
starting to get worried. “Uh, well…”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “When you
figure out what you were going to say, come find me. In the meantime, I have
work to do,” I teased, and pushed through the swinging doors.

As I walked out into the dining room
toward one of my empty tables, I wondered who could have requested that I be
their waitress. Curiosity got the better of me and my eyes flicked to table
twelve and when I saw who was sitting there I froze. It was Ryder Matthews.

My mouth fell open in shock and I was about
to back up and run into the kitchen when I hit one of the empty tables with my
hip and the dish bucket fell to the ground with a loud
crash
. Heat
burned in my cheeks from embarrassment and as I knelt down to pick up my mess,
I nudged one of the chairs with my arm and the legs scraped the floor loudly. I
looked at the ground, trying to keep my face hidden. I was humiliated in front
of the entire restaurant…and in front of Ryder. I immediately was pissed at
him. If he hadn’t showed up here this wouldn’t have happened. What the hell
was
he doing here?