Slow Ride (6 page)

“No, wasn’t so much planned. Just was driving, ya know. No real destination in mind.”

“Well that’s serendipity then! The universe wanted you here for a reason, and here
you are.”

Maggie said it with such certainty, Kyla’s head snapped up and she blinked. “Well,
I don’t know about that, but I’m here. I’m trying to settle in best I can.”

Rose spoke up then, leaning forward toward Kyla. “How are things at the motel? You’re
being treated okay? I’m set to retire from my day job in the fall. I’ve worked at
the power plant about ten miles from here for more than thirty years as an administrative
assistant. But it’s time to move on, retire, and see to my motel full-time. My husband,
god rest his soul, would tell me it’s about time.”

Kyla nodded. “The room is great. I love the flowers you have everywhere. And the pool
is gorgeous. I saw the sign that said it would be opening soon. Can’t wait.”

Rose was beaming at the compliments. “My husband bought all that property and the
bar when we first married. There were years we’ve struggled, but it’s all been worth
it. He ran it, was everything from day manager to the maintenance man. Still have
a small staff, and Justin helps out with fixing things that require tools. Roger,
Cooper, and Sam are always around if I need something done. The boys in this town
definitely take care of their own.”

Steve had gotten up and made his way back to her with a bag in his hands. “Here are
some muffins for ya. On the house. Consider it a welcome to Ashten Falls gift. Keep
them in the fridge and pop in the microwave when you’re ready to eat ‘em. They’ll
be good as fresh. Well almost.”

Kyla hesitated a moment before she took the bag from him, uttering a soft “thank you.”
She didn’t know what to say to all this kindness from strangers. But then, they didn’t
know about her past. They might change their mind when they found out she had nearly
killed her boyfriend. Self-defense or not, it had been violent and bloody. No one
liked to be around people capable of that.

She lifted her eyes and shrank under Justin’s curious gaze. “Cooper and I aren’t best
buds, but I will say, given the latest round of shit that’s been going down in this
town, he is definitely one you want at your back. Of all the people around here, Cooper’s
always had a code and he’s smart. He would give you the shirt off his back, but is
also someone who, if you piss him off . . . well, watch out.”

“What do you mean, the latest round of stuff going down? And Cooper and I . . . I
mean, he just gave me a ride. Not like we are best friends now or anything.” She was
trying to be funny, trying to steer the conversation from whatever it was these people
were implying.

Maggie spoke, her voice soft. “You’re right. Cooper just gave you a ride, and he’s
a good guy, tough as nails. Just go with the flow. As for the town, there will be
plenty of time later to learn about that. No need to get into that your first week.”
She reached out and patted Kyla’s hand, shooting her husband daggers with her eyes.

Kyla swallowed and was thankful when Rose and Steve changed the subject to some zoning
issues. Zoning issues were a much safer topic than Cooper Moretto.

• • •

Kyla headed back to the motel from the coffee shop, but as she approached the music
store she couldn’t miss Cooper leaning against the wall. She hadn’t been inside the
store yet. And even now, she wasn’t interested in going inside. Her interest was on
the man who stood slightly apart from the group, exuding confidence as he spoke to
some of the guys she’d seen around the garage.

She was momentarily distracted as her phone buzzed. She fished her phone out of her
pocket and scrolled through some texts when suddenly she slammed into a wall of chest.
She stumbled to get her balance before righting herself. Standing just in front of
her was Phil.

“Yo. If it isn’t the girl with the hot car and the pretty eyes. How you doing, lovely?”

“Hi—Phil, right? I’m okay and thanks. For the compliment and for the tow.”

“No problem. I was on call, and we don’t get many of those around here, so it was
all good. It gave me something to do. It got me out of an argument with my woman about
my failure to mow the lawn, too.” He grinned down at her. “Saved by the broken down
‘stang, so to speak.”

Kyla snorted. “I’m assuming a guy like you doesn’t date a meek woman.” She tilted
her head to the side, adding, “Would it be correct to assume your getting out of that
argument was temporary?”

Phil’s loud, deep laughter rang out on the street. “Right on. I heard about it when
I got home. Had quite the row actually, then I went out and mowed the lawn.”

She laughed, finding Phil easy to talk to, despite his imposing size. “See, why can’t
you guys just do what you’re supposed to do the first time? It would make life much
easier for everyone.”

He bent down and whispered in her ear, “Then there’d be no need for making up. That’s
the best part.” He straightened and laughed again.

“Hey man, you got a woman. Save some for the rest of us.”

At the sound of Cooper’s voice, Kyla lifted her gaze to see Cooper’s eyes on her.
He looked just as hot now as he had yesterday. Dark-wash jeans that seemed made for
him, black motorcycle boots, and a tight, dark gray Harley shirt that accentuated
the muscles of his torso. Kyla shifted her feet, wondering if she should have chosen
something other than the pair of black Capri pants, a set of tank tops—one black with
a dark pink tank over it—along with pink and black flip-flops on her feet. Her small,
faded black messenger bag was slung across her body at an angle. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself. How you doing? You look rested.”

“Does that mean I looked not rested and therefore like crap before?” Kyla surprised
herself by the teasing tone of her voice, but that didn’t stop her from throwing in
a crooked smile.

Cooper crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes skimming over her body from head
to toe and back again. “Nope. You looked beautiful before. I just didn’t think you
could look any more so. Clearly I was wrong.”

Kyla transferred the bag of muffins to her other hand and mumbled a soft “thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now, what has you wandering around a town you clearly are unfamiliar
with, on your own?”

“What?” she asked, frowning at his change in tone. “I can handle myself fine. And
it’s none of your business.”

Cooper glanced at Phil, who had his arms crossed over his chest now as well, staring
down at Kyla with a similar concerned look on his face. “Phil, should we get her a
bodyguard? A woman shouldn’t be on her own around here.”

“Problem is, any guard will want to take the whole guarding-the-body part of that
job pretty damn seriously. Perhaps even literally,” Phil rumbled. “You think you could
handle that kind of gig, Cooper?”

“Yeah, I could more than handle that.”

Kyla’s narrowed eyes leveled on both men. “I’m standing right here.” As if that wasn’t
obvious. “You guys have a habit of doing that—talking about me when I’m right in front
of you. It’s seriously annoying.”

“I can’t help it, you’re cute when you’re annoyed.” Cooper chuckled as her brow furrowed.
“Still cute, doll, but back to the subject at hand. We’re trying to keep you safe
since you seem intent on putting yourself in danger. This isn’t Mayberry.”

“No way, really? I had no idea. And here I was half expecting the good ole boy sheriff
and his deputy to come present me with a key to the town and be their honored guest
at lunch.” She didn’t hide the sarcasm in her tone.

Phil tensed and Cooper’s face went to stone. “Do not joke about things you don’t know
about. This place has bad shit going down, and traipsing around here like you are
with your muffins, half-dressed and looking at your phone instead of your surroundings,
is a recipe for disaster.”

“Well . . .” she huffed at his reaction. “I will have you know there will be no traipsing.
I am going for a walk and then to my room. That is it. Not that this is any of your
business. Now if you will excuse me. . .” She moved around them, coming up short as
Cooper wrapped a hand around her arm.

“Watch your back and don’t be stupid. I’m telling you this for your safety, not to
be an asshole. Be smart, yeah?”

Kyla paused, her eyes lifted to his. She wrenched her arm free and stalked off, needing
to get as far from the man as possible. Remembering her phone, she looked down and
her stomach twisted as she read the text.

“Coming for you soon. Time you came home where you belong.”

She picked up the pace and turned toward the hotel. How the hell had he found her
this fast?

• • •

Cooper flipped on his sunglasses and watched Kyla walk away. He kept his eyes on her,
his gaze hidden behind the tinted Foster Grants, until a voice forced him to look
away.

“Cooper? Hey, can we talk?”

He barely held back his cringe as he heard Marla’s whiny, incessant, high-pitched
voice that he swore was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

“Kinda busy right now, Marla.”

He pushed himself away from the wall and started to move away. But he froze when her
hand reached out and grabbed for his hand. He shook her off.

“What’d I say, Marla? I gotta go. And please, don’t touch me.”

“Cooper, we never talk anymore and you haven’t taken me out in ages. I mean, ya know,
just you and me. We need to talk about our future.”

Cooper’s eyes would have fallen out of his head if he didn’t have his shades on. “What
did you just say?” He was not even attempting to conceal his annoyance now. “Future?
There is no fucking future between us.”

Marla’s eyes flicked over to the others milling by the door of the music store and
she backed up a few paces. “Cooper, you and I are supposed to be together, like we
talked about.” Her lower lip quivered, but he ignored it. Marla was not the woman
he knew in high school and lost his virginity to. Back then she was just one of their
group, hanging around together with the rest of the kids from their small school,
and it was natural the two had hooked up. What he hadn’t realized was that she’d grow
up to become the kind of woman who now didn’t hide the fact she sold her body in order
to afford expensive shoes, clothes, purses, and, if the rumors were true, drugs. Her
delusions were wearing on him. The only reason she was still tolerated at the garage
or record store was because of the devotion some of the guys, including Cooper, had
to her older brother whom they’d also gone to high school with. Jim was dead now,
killed in the Iraq war, but Cooper felt he owed it to his buddy to do what he could
to keep Marla out of trouble. But that wasn’t working and Cooper knew he had to stop
hanging on to that excuse. Jim would have kicked her ass if he saw how she was acting,
and this latest outburst told Cooper he had to cut her loose.

Cooper put up a hand, the muscle in his cheek jumped, and his voice dipped low and
dangerous. “Marla, I don’t know what the fuck fantasy you got in your head, but we
were over about two point three seconds after our first time—you know it and I know
it. We didn’t work and we never will. Not to mention the fact that it was seventeen
years ago. I don’t know why you’re still hanging on to some fucked up fantasy. It’s
not going to happen.”

“I’m sorry, Cooper. So sorry. . .” She squeezed out from between him and the store
wall but not before glancing back. “We’ll talk later. It will all be okay.”

“Phil!” Cooper snapped out. He waited for Phil to saunter over before nodding at Marla.
“She needs a ride home.” He lowered his voice then, “I don’t want her around here
or in my vicinity.” He hissed, murmuring the conversation he and Marla just had.

“I’ll take care of it, Coop. Let’s go, Marla.” Phil guided Marla away before he lowered
his voice. “Cooper, I’ve been telling you that she has been off the rails lately;
maybe next time you’ll listen. . .”

“Just take care of it,” he said, shoving into Phil’s shoulder as he started to walk
away. “I got to attend to something.”

“To something? Or someone?” Phil lifted a brow, chuckling at the death glare Cooper
shot him. “Now that one does not seem crazy . . . I got good vibes about her so go
ahead and tap . . .”

“Don’t even say it, man. Do not even,” Cooper warned. “When it happens, I don’t need
your asinine words in my head.”

“When Cooper? You said when it happens . . .” Phil was already walking away though.
All Cooper could do was stare daggers at his back.

“Fuckin A,” he muttered to himself. He climbed into his truck and swung out of the
lot.

• • •

Kyla couldn’t get Cooper’s dark blue eyes out of her head. When she ran into him and
Phil on the sidewalk, the way he watched her . . . god, it was an intensity she hadn’t
felt in a long time, if ever. When she and Frank first began, she had been thrilled
to have a cop—a decorated detective actually—want her by his side. He was sweet for
about the first month, doing all the right things. He called often, took her out,
bought her flowers and gifts, and stopped in to bring her lunch whenever he was patrolling
nearby.

But even then, there were red flags. He was demanding and went from zero to sixty
on the anger scale in one second flat. When they went out, he made sure she was dressed
in a way he liked, going so far as to make her change if he thought she looked too
slutty or not hot enough. He wanted her to be his perfect mate and worked on molding
her into that. At first Kyla thought this was him caring how people saw them together,
but it soon became apparent that he was doing it so he could show her off like a possession.
He treated her not like the other half in a relationship, with respect and love, but
as something that was his. This wasn’t the case of a guy wanting to protect his woman.
To him, Kyla was an object he owned and could use as he wished.

His borderline obsessive ownership soon turned cruel, starting with verbal taunts
and emotional abuse, telling her she was fat, or that she disappointed him by working
and not staying in the apartment to take care of him like she should. She’d remember
the night it got physical for the rest of her life, never forgetting the horror she
felt when he smacked her hard across the face. She’d never been hit before, not like
that. Not with such venom and anger behind it that her head whipped to the side with
an audible snap. All because she had forgotten to go to the dry cleaners. She had
her head buried in a music theory book, studying for a final, and the time had gotten
away from her.