Snowbound with the Biker (Holiday Encounters Book 2) (13 page)

And that was it. No long, protracted good-byes. No private moment with Hunter. After the night we spent together, all I got was a cold-eyed nod from him as Daryl bundled me out the door and helped me up into his pick-up truck.

“You sure you don’t want to throw your bike in the back of the truck?” Daryl called out just before slamming my door.

I looked over to where Hunter stood on the porch. His only answer was a shake of his head. His jaw remained tight, his face blank.

I stared sightlessly out the passenger window. I just didn’t get it. Even if Hunter didn’t want more than a one-night stand, as his best friend’s little sister, didn’t I deserve something more than him acting like a complete asshole?

My sympathies went out to all the girls I’d been jealous of during high school who I’d thought so lucky for getting to ride off on the back of Hunter’s beat up old Harley. If this is the treatment they got, it’s a wonder they didn’t band together and beat the crap out of him.

“It’s not you, Katelyn,” Daryl said after we’d been on the road for a little while.

I twisted to look at him. He glanced at me and offered a sympathetic smile before training his eyes back on the road.

“What do you mean, it’s not me?” As much as I wanted to sulk and think bad thoughts about Hunter, I’d been crazy about him way too long not to want to hear any tiny morsel of information this man might want to feed me.

He sighed. “One night, Hunter and his buddy Logan and I had a few too many, and Hunter might have let it slip there was a woman in his past he had a thing for. Someone he never had a shot with. And no matter how much he wanted to shake her loose, he couldn’t seem to let go.”

My heart twisted in my chest. The pain of Daryl’s words seared through me so hard, it was almost physical. I twisted my hands in my lap and fought harder than I’d ever fought before to keep from reacting to his words. I barely managed to keep it together.

I tried to focus on something else. Anything else. And finally, the beginning of what Daryl said hit me. “You know Logan?”

Daryl shot a look of surprise over at me. “Sure. He’s Hunter’s partner in Rooster’s. How do you know Logan?”

Shock pushed back all the other emotions that wanted to drag me down. “Are you kidding me?
Logan
is Hunter’s partner? Why the heck didn’t I know that?”

Hunter’s words from last night came back to me. He’d been annoyed when I assumed he was just a bartender. I didn’t think it was any big deal, but I knew from what he said that he assumed I’d always thought the worst of him. But why wouldn’t Logan have mentioned his partnership?

“Not sure why you would know it. But from what they’ve said, Logan and Hunter are business partners. They’ve slowly been buying businesses that are in rough shape and rehabbing them. I’m not sure how many they own now, but I know there’s a bike shop and at least one other bar.”

“Why wouldn’t Logan tell me all this?”

Daryl shrugged. “Best I can tell, Logan’s pretty much a silent partner, letting Hunter handle most stuff until he finishes out his tour.”

I shook my head. How weird that a complete stranger knew more about what my brother was up to than I did?

“I just don’t get why Logan wouldn’t tell us all this. Maybe he didn’t want to get our hopes up?”

Daryl gave me a look out of the side of his eyes. “Darlin’, I might have more answers for you if I knew how Logan’s business was any of yours.”

“He’s my brother.”

“What? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Um…no?” Considering his harsh tone, I wanted to make sure the answer I was giving him was one he wanted to hear.

I began to get more than a little worried I’d been way off base when the truck lurched to a stop in the middle of the road.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Daryl just stared at me.

“Does Logan owe you money or something?” An uneasy feeling slithered through my belly as Daryl continued to gape at me. But Hunter wouldn’t have sent me off with a guy he couldn’t trust. Would he?

“You’re telling me you’re Logan’s sister?”

I nodded, my mouth too dry to form words.

“Well,” he said and slouched back in his seat like all the air went out of him, “shit. I just don’t get it.”

“Get what exactly?”

His eyes shifted to me and then a big grin lit his entire grizzly face. “You’re Logan’s sister.”

I shrugged, nodding. I thought we’d established that.

Before I could form a question or think of a way to extract myself from a suddenly super weird situation, Daryl stomped down and threw the truck in reverse, executing the fastest three-point turn in the history of the motor vehicle.

I leaned forward and gripped the dashboard, thankful to feel the tension in the seatbelt trying to pin me back.

“What-what…?” I didn’t even know what to ask.

Daryl just grinned at me and stomped on the gas, sending gravel flying out from underneath the truck. He flew us back up the mountain at breakneck speed.

“Daryl, could you please slow down?” The weather had warmed considerably, but I didn’t trust there wasn’t a patch of black ice here or there that hadn’t quite melted away. “Please.”

“Sorry.” He eased off the gas, bringing us down to a more comfortable, less bone-jarring speed. “Got a little excited there for a minute.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Why? And why are we headed back up this way?”

My heart picked up speed even before he answered.

“Because, darlin’,” he said, gently, “if I’m not mistaken, the woman in Hunter’s past that he never got over, is you.

Chapter Ten

As soon as we pulled up in the driveway, Hunter flung the cabin’s front door open. He flew down the front steps to meet us. My stomach churned like I’d just ate my weight in carnival food and then jumped on the Tilt-a-Whirl. Could Daryl be right? But then why would Hunter send me away?

Daryl hopped out and came around to open my door.

“What’s going on, Daryl? Why did you bring her back here?”

Well, if I was unclear about Hunter’s feelings before now, there was no mistaking them now—he had his fun with me and now he was done. Daryl was wrong about Hunter’s feelings. If anything, I was no more than an itch he had to get out from under his skin.

Judging by Hunter’s expression, his set jaw and his tight mouth, that itch was scratched and he had no intention of coming back for more.

Daryl held his hand out to me. “Hop on down, darlin’.”

I glanced again at Hunter and then narrowed my eyes on Daryl. “No, thanks. I think I’m good here.”

Daryl grinned like he’d just heard the best joke. What the heck did he think was so amusing? I crossed my arms and stared straight ahead out the windshield.

That just made him chuckle. “Just as obstinate as he is, I see. No wonder he’s so into you.”

I whipped my head around to face him. I couldn’t believe he said that right in front of Hunter.

“I promise, Katelyn,” Daryl said, his voice too low to carry to where Hunter had stopped a few feet away, “if you stay here and take a chance, you won’t regret it.”

My gaze flicked up to Hunter and settled once more on Daryl. Part of me wanted to believe his words. I would love nothing more than to jump down from the truck and into Hunter’s waiting arms while he declared his undying love for me.

But after getting booted out this morning like yesterday’s trash and looking at Hunter’s stony face right now, I couldn’t quite find another ounce of courage. I’d used so much of it just coming here and baring myself to him. And bare myself I did, with both my feelings and my body.

I gave a tiny shake of my head.

“See, here’s the thing, darlin’,” Daryl said with a wicked grin, and this time loud enough to carry, “either you can get out of the truck or I can help you out. But there’s no way I’m driving you down the mountain. Your choice.” He leaned in like he was going to make good on his threat.

I opened my mouth, but before I could get a word of protest or agreement out, Hunter stepped forward, his face fierce.

“Don’t touch her.” He pushed Daryl none too gently out of the way and braced himself on the truck’s door, basically caging me in.

My lips parted and I stared up at Hunter. He looked like he was ready to go into battle. No signs of coldness or indifference here. My heart picked up speed. Was it possible Daryl knew what he was talking about?

I leaned to the side so I could see Daryl around Hunter’s broad shoulders. He winked and lifted his chin at me. Just that small gesture helped me find my courage. How big of an idiot would I be if he was right and I let this opportunity go to waste?

I slid down from the seat of the pickup and almost directly into Hunter’s arms. He took a step back.

“Get back in the truck, Katelyn.”

I crossed my arms and I might have stamped my foot a little. I dug deep and started looking for someone, someone other than Miss Nice Girl Katelyn Murphy. I would have settled for a little extra courage. But suddenly I found a part of myself I didn’t even know existed. My inner biker babe. She was a little sexy, threw a lot of attitude, and she was the perfect match for Hunter Lawson.

I leaned in close to Hunter and gave him the best sultry smile I could conjure up. “I like it better when you call me princess, Hunter.”

His breath hitched in his chest. I wanted to do the happy dance, but I was pretty sure that would ruin the whole biker babe vibe.

“And I’m not going anywhere until you explain to me what changed between us since last night. Were you just after a convenient fuck?” Holy crap my mother would be crossing herself and getting out the rosary if she heard me talking like that, but I wasn’t done yet. “Because it didn’t feel like just a quick fuck to me. It felt like a whole lot more.”

By the time I finished, the tips of my toes were touching the tips of his black boots.

“Well, looks like you’ve got things taken care of here,” Daryl said. “Guess I’ll be going. You guys should be able to make it down the mountain on the bike this afternoon.”

I’d almost forgotten Daryl was there, but I was more than ready for him to hit the road. Not that I didn’t appreciate his help, but I’d prefer Hunter not have any alternate means of transportation to shuttle me off in. The sooner the truck was gone, the better.

I shoved forward right into Hunter. I figured he had two choices—get out of the way or stand his ground and have my body pressed against his. Either one would work.

He went with option A.

I stepped forward just far enough to slam the passenger door of the truck shut behind me. “Thanks, Daryl!”

With a wink, Daryl started the truck and Hunter and I eased backward to keep out of the way of the gravel spitting from under his tires. I watched until the truck was out of sight and then turned on my heel and strutted up the steps and into the cabin.

I made quick work of shedding my gloves and coat, tossing them over the back of the couch. The fire burned out, but the warmth lingered. I had a feeling this might not be a quick conversation, so I made myself at home. Something told me Daryl wouldn’t mind.

I headed over to the fridge and called over my shoulder to Hunter as he stepped inside, “Want a beer?”

“It’s barely noon, Katelyn.” He leaned a shoulder against the wall between the living room and kitchen.

The exasperation in his voice didn’t keep me from smiling behind the refrigerator door. I managed to smooth my expression by the time I stood up and lifted the beer up to show him. “I’m channeling my inner biker babe.”

If I wasn’t mistaken, his lips twitched at my words. That was a start.

I popped the top and held it out toward him. “You sure you don’t want one?”

“You trying to get me drunk, princess?”

This time I made no attempt to hide my grin. “I hadn’t thought of it. But now that you mention it, it’s not such a bad idea.”

He shook his head and eased himself off the wall and took the beer.

I ducked back in the fridge and then looked over the edge to see him taking a pull from his beer. “Looks like that was the last one. We’ll just have to share.”

I closed the fridge, stepped up close to him and took the beer. I took a slug from the bottle without moving back.

When I was done, I offered it back. He took it and downed a long swig, never taking his eyes off me.

My gaze dipped to the corded tendons of his throat that moved as he swallowed. I had a sudden flash of memory of last night and the way I’d used my mouth and teeth on his neck. Warmth seeped into my face, and when I raised my eyes back to him, a small smirk tipped his lips up.

I rolled my eyes and leaned even closer to him. “So are you going to tell me what brought on the mood swings? I mean, I wasn’t expecting an engagement ring after last night, but I was a little surprised to find myself bundled off with your buddy without even a good-bye. Even if I was just a convenient—”

“Don’t say it.” His voice came at me in a growl.

“Well, explain it to me then, Hunter, because I just don’t get it.” I scooted back from him, needing to put a little space between us. “I figured if nothing else, as Logan’s sister, I’d deserve a little more respect than the brush off you gave me this morning.”

Tears stung my eyes. I turned and walked over to the couch, keeping my face averted as I fought for control.

“Jesus, are you crying?”

He sounded so horrified, I laughed. It reminded me of the fourteen-year-old Hunter. The one who still wasn’t quite sure whether girls had cooties or not.

“No.” But my protest might not have been too convincing since I followed it up with a sniffle.

Hunter closed the distance between us in three long strides. He sank into the couch beside me and pulled me into his arms. “Babe, stop crying.”

I giggled at the same time a tear escaped to slide down my face. “Hunter, I know you’ve always been master of the universe, but you can’t just command me not to cry.”

“Why not?” He smoothed a hand over my head, letting my long hair slide through his fingers.

I snuggled into his chest and wrapped an arm over his waist. I didn’t know what the next few hours would bring, but whatever it was, I wasn’t wasting the opportunity to cuddle with Hunter.