Roustabout (The Traveling #3) (33 page)

It was chaotic and loud, and a part of me sympathized with Connor who had gone into the Air Force, seeking a more ordered way of life.

The Daredevils’ first show was at 4PM, plenty of time for me to get nervous. I’d seen Tucker perform stunts before, but not since we’d been . . . dating or whatever it was called . . . and not since he’d dislocated his shoulder.

My stomach twisted with anxiety and I thought I was going to throw up.

Aimee pulled me to one side when she caught me pacing restlessly as the guys changed into their leathers.

“I know exactly what you’re feeling,” she said quietly. “I sort of hate this part. I love how excited Kes gets—this is his life—but I can’t help feeling a little sick inside. That never changes.”

I nodded and tried to swallow.

“I’ve found that the best thing to do is to stay away until they’re ready to perform. They need to get in the zone; seeing us worrying about them doesn’t help.”

I listened to her advice carefully. She’d been through this so many times.

“How do you stand it?” I asked her, the tension making me twitchy and irritable.

She smiled a little sadly. “I don’t have any choice. But when I see Kes flying through the air, everyone in the crowd standing on their feet and cheering, I know he’s doing what he was born to do. They’re all like it: they’re addicted. They don’t know how to live without it.”

Her words hit me hard. Tucker would never leave this life, couldn’t leave it. So the question was: where did that leave us?

The closer the hour drew to four o’clock, the thicker the crowds of people were around the grandstand and lined along the fence that made up the arena.

As music pounded out across the PA system, I stood with Aimee, our hands locked together. With a roar, three motorcycles zoomed out in a cloud of dust, charging to the center, looking as if they were certain to collide. I gasped, and heard a soft, “Ow!” as my fingers clamped down around Aimee.

“Sorry,” I whispered, forcing myself to watch.

The bikes met in the center with barely an inch to spare, dust pouring from their tires as the bikes swerved in dizzying loops, and then they took off, the air filled with the smell of motorcycle fuel, noise and dust.

I cringed and the crowd roared approval.

“They’re fine,” Aimee chanted. “They’re fine they’re fine.”

The bikes circled the stadium like gladiators, or maybe like men jousting on horseback in days gone by: charging at each other, daring each other, until eventually they were ringed around the outer fence, each preparing for their first jump.

Zef went first, blasting off the ramp, followed a split second later by Tucker in the opposite direction, and I was so certain they were going to crash in the middle, I screamed and closed my eyes.

Aimee squeezed my hand hard, causing me to wince. I opened my eyes just in time to see Kes leaping through a circle of fire, the flames glancing off his helmet.

On and on it went, higher, faster, closer. Sweat trickled down my body, pooling under my armpits, leaving me drenched and weak.

The engines revved and hummed, and then they all charged together, a flying tower of men, with Kestrel cartwheeling over the top of them.

The crowd screamed and clapped and cheered, and Aimee and I stood up, shrieking with them.

“Oh my God!” I yelled over the noise. “I nearly had a heart attack!”

Aimee laughed and wiped her eyes.

“Every time,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “Every time.”

I followed her back to the RV where the guys were peeling off their sweat-soaked leathers, standing outside in just their underwear, huge smiles plastered across their faces.

Tucker scooped me up in a sweaty hug, his hot skin slick to the touch.

“You are amazing!” I said honestly, a relieved laugh breaking out of me. “Stinky, but amazing!”

He laughed loudly, his head thrown back, his eyes crinkling with happiness, and then he kissed me, deeply.

When I pulled back gasping, his eyes were black with want.

“Is it later?” he whispered.

I nodded, and he grabbed my hand, hauling me behind him as we hurried into the RV.

We crashed into his tiny room and Tucker ripped my clothes from my heated body, frustrated by the knotted belt that held up my shorts. I heard a tearing sound, and a moment later, my body was naked and Tucker was focused on sliding a condom down the length of his hard shaft.

He muttered something I couldn’t catch, then crawled between my thighs, slinging my legs over his shoulders and nearly folding me in half when he plunged inside.

I cried out, all thought wiped from my mind, feeling only the intense connection between us. It was hard, fast, raw fucking, releasing every tension that I’d felt during the day. I clutched him tightly inside and out, overpowered.

Tucker came first, his hard body turning rigid, and with a muffled groan, his dick pulsed, hot and desperate.

When he slid his thumb over my clit, I exploded, flying upwards then crashing back to earth, breathless and spent.

And then in the quiet space, Aimee screamed Kes’s name, and I couldn’t help giggling quietly.

A beat later, Zef’s aggrieved voice rang out.

“You guys are shitty friends!”

Tucker burst out laughing, but my cheeks were already too flushed from the last couple of minutes to show any embarrassment.

I turned to look at him accusingly.

“What?” he laughed. “Nobody heard a thing.”

I laid back, slumped across his heaving chest, smiling to myself.

But we couldn’t stay there long. The guys needed to eat and refill all the calories they’d used up, and then to prepare for their evening show.

I frowned when I saw Tucker rubbing his shoulder and wincing, but I managed to bite my tongue. He was an adult, and this was his choice, his work, his life.

The evening show was at 7.30PM, and I wasn’t sure I had the stamina to watch another performance. My nerves were already shredded, but I guess seeing it through to the bitter end—that’s what the supportive girlfriend does. It honestly made me appreciate past boyfriends who were bankers or lawyers. Being with an adrenaline junky was tough; much tougher than I’d realized.

Aimee and I watched from further away this time, but it made no difference—it was just as hair-raising. The only benefit was that we could get away faster and Aimee had food ready for the guys when they left the arena, howling like a pack of wolves.

Tucker tried to haul me off to his bedroom again, but I insisted that he eat first, and gradually they all calmed down, turning back from barbarians into rough approximations of civilized human beings.

Afterwards, Kes and Aimee walked over to Zach’s bonfire where Ollo was drinking whiskey from a bottle and telling drunken stories about the good old days.

I smiled at Tucker and he grinned back. We had the RV to ourselves; we were definitely going to make the most of it.

Tucker

Four weeks. Four long-ass, fucking weeks. A whole month since I’d seen Tera. She’d had to cancel our last weekend because of some work thing that came up. I couldn’t complain—it was what I’d signed on for, but I sure as shit didn’t like it.

Now I was staring at my cell phone wondering about the Universe’s sense of humor.

We were at the Washington County fairground in Utah and Tera had just sent an email saying that she’d had a meeting cancelled and would be here in time to catch the evening show.

That wasn’t what bothered me. Nope, it was the fact that Renee had emailed this morning to say that Scotty had a long weekend and had been bugging her to see the show. I’d hoped that he’d want to come and see what I did for a living, so I’d sent her the money for the flights. But did it have to be this goddamn weekend?

I wondered why it was suddenly so urgent. Had she told Scotty about me? She didn’t say anything in her message. The only thing that made sense was if she wanted us to tell him together.

I hoped that’s what this was about—I was getting tired of her giving me the runaround.

But the timing sucked.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. The last time Renee saw Tera, she called her a slut. Yeah, she’d apologized since, but only to me. My experience with women told me that they weren’t all that forgiving about things like that.

“Problem, bro?” Zef asked as we did a walk-through around the small arena where we’d be doing our show.

I looked up and realized that I’d paced half the area and hadn’t seen a thing. Being distracted was not a good idea.

I sighed and rubbed the sweat off my forehead with my t-shirt.

“You know I said that Renee emailed? Yeah, well Tera just texted. She’s flying in. Tonight.”

Zef’s eyebrows flew upward and then a huge grin stretched across his face

“Oh, man! Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

“Thanks,” I said sourly.

“What are you going to do?”

I blew out a breath. “Nothing I can do. They’re both on their way already. But if Renee starts anything . . .”

Zef gave me a serious look. “I thought maybe you still cared about her.”

I frowned. “I do, but not like that.”

Zef shook his head. “Man, you can be so dumb! This chick cheats on you, lies to her husband about the kid being his, tells you he’s yours even though she hasn’t proved shit, and you send her off with a pat on the head and twenty grand! Gotta say, buddy, she’d have every reason to think she still has a chance with you.”

“No way. I told Renee I wasn’t interested—and she knows about Tera.”

Zef shrugged. “Guess you’ll find out.”

The conversation left me feeling uneasy and I wondered if Zef was right. This was why guys like me didn’t do relationships—too many ways of fucking up.

I tried to clear my head as show time neared. There were a few kids hanging around waiting to get their programs signed, so the three of us were talking bikes and stunts, and giving them the don’t-try-this-at-home message—which was bullshit, because I knew when I was their age, it was exactly what I’d do. But we had to try. Zach was really clear about being on-message with the whole health and safety thing. To be honest, I used to think it was a bit of a joke, but after Kestrel nearly being paralyzed . . . let’s just say it focused the mind.

“Hi, Uncle Tucker!”

‘Uncle’. So she hasn’t told him yet.

I looked up from the program I was signing and found Scotty standing with Renee, grinning his head off.

I had to do a double-take. Renee looked way different from last time I saw her. She’d cut her hair and had highlights put in, but the way she was dressed surprised me more. Instead of baggy jeans and a shapeless t-shirt, she was wearing a short denim skirt and tanktop. She looked good—I really hoped she hadn’t dressed up for me.

“Hey, my favorite basketball ace!” I called out, walking toward Scotty and shaking hands before pulling him into a quick hug. “How you doin’? How was the flight?”

“The food was really neat,” he said, his face lighting up. “It came in these lunch trays but it was way better than school food.”

“That sounds cool,” I laughed. Then glanced at his mom. “Renee.”

“Hey, Tucker.”

She gave this weird, simpering smile that set my teeth on edge.

Ah, hell. Zef was right
.

“Good to see you,” I said, forcing myself to smile.

“Even better to see you,” she purred.

I frowned and glanced across at Scotty who just looked excited to be here. I’d have to get Renee alone later and find out what the hell was going on.

I introduced Scotty to Zef and Kes, and I could see them studying my son curiously. Then they showed him the stunt bikes and explained how they differed from a road bike.

Scotty’s lips twisted a bit and he squinted at me nervously.

“Momma says you sold your Ducati motorcycle to help us get to Richmond.”

“Yeah, best money I ever spent. When you make the NBA, I’ll come see your games. But I want the good seats. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said with a huge grin as we did a fist bump.

Renee watched us with a smile on her face. Whatever else, she loved the kid. But I wasn’t going to let Renee spin this her way either. When I introduced her to my brothers, she gave a quick nod, sensing that they weren’t her biggest fans.

Zef caught on pretty quick, and took Scotty off to look at the rest of our equipment. I turned to face Renee.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why the sudden urgency to fly out here? Are we telling him this weekend?”

She relaxed slightly. “Yeah, I thought it was time.”

Relief mixed with anxiety rolled through me.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

“Not now,” she said, gripping my arm.

“Why wait?” I asked, irritated.

“He just got here. Let him get used to you again. Let’s enjoy being a family,” and she laid her hand on my arm suggestively. “We’ll tell him tomorrow.”

“What are you doing, Ren?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, smiling at me from under her lashes.

“You know I’m with Tera.”

“Really? You’re still with her? I thought . . .” She gave a small, embarrassed shrug. “I thought you might have moved on.”