Don't Let Go (19 page)

“Okay, so it's a she's-knocked-up-and-they're-doing-it-in-a-hurry kind of wedding.”

“No, it's more like they want to get the wedding part over with since they found out she's pregnant. But it's not like Bash is in any way reluctant.”

“That's true. He's pretty happy about becoming a dad.”

“He told you that?”

“Yeah. The other night after basketball, when we all went out to eat. He seems pretty excited.”

“They're both happy. It wasn't the way they planned it, but, you know, sometimes things happen that you don't expect.”

He took a long swallow of water and set it down on the table. “Yup.”

“Speaking of the wedding, that's actually why I came over.”

He arched a brow. “You're not planning to propose or anything, are you?”

“Hardly.”

“Oh, now I'm offended.”

She snickered and grabbed his forearm, loving the solid warmth of his skin. “No, I wanted to ask if you'd be my date for Chelsea and Bash's wedding next Saturday night.”

“Oh. Sure.”

Well, that was easy. “Great.”

“You know, you didn't have to come all the way over here to ask me that. You could have texted or called me.”

“I could have, but then I wouldn't have seen that amazing bike you painted. And speaking of, how about some pictures?”

“Oh, right.” He dug into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and scrolled through it. “Here are a few I've done recently.”

She looked in awe at all the photos, including the ones he'd described to her when they were on a walk earlier. But there were more, incredibly beautiful photos of other bikes he'd done. They were all magnificent, exceptionally striking, and detailed paint jobs he'd performed.

She looked up at him. “You are very good at this. You must really love what you do.”

His lips ticked up. “Thanks. It's something I've enjoyed doing for a long time. I'd like to think I've gotten better at it over the years.”

“I'd say you have. Truly, Brady, you're an artist.”

“Nah.” He shoved his phone in his pocket. “Kurt was the artist. If you think what I do is good, you should see some of the work he used to do. I actually kept some of his drawings.”

“Show me.”

He tilted his head. “You don't really want to see those, do you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Okay.” He got up and disappeared downstairs. She sipped her water and looked over at Roxie, who was sound asleep on her bed.

Brady came up a short time later with a box.

“Just a few things,” he said. “My parents have more of his stuff, but there were a few of his things I wanted to keep for myself.”

He took the lid off the box and pulled out a sketchbook. “Kurt was always drawing things. Before he fell into drugs, when he was clearheaded, he was great at it.”

He flipped through the sketchbook and passed it to her.
“He had a vivid imagination for fantasy. Like this dragon here. He did this in high school, and ended up painting it on someone's bike years later.”

Megan studied the sketch. “Wow. The level of detail here is amazing for someone so young.” She flipped through the pages. “These are all really good.”

“There's more.” He handed her book after book. “These are some he did later, when he and I started talking about painting bikes.”

She could see the vision on the pages. “They're so striking. I love the skulls and the demons. Kind of scary beautiful.”

“Right? You should have seen the rendering of that dragon on the bike. The scales were a deep green with gray undertones. He had such an eye for detail.”

She lifted her gaze to his. “So do you.”

He shook his head. “I could never be as good as Kurt was.”

“I beg to differ.” She handed the pages back to him. “You're just as talented as your brother was. It's clear you were both artists. You have a very special talent, Brady. Have you ever thought of doing a painting that isn't on a bike?”

He laid the sketch pad on top of the others, then put the lid on the box. “You mean like on canvas? No. I'm not that kind of artist.”

“But you could be. What you do is art, just in a different form. You could experiment with different mediums.”

“Expressing myself on motorcycles is where I do my best work.”

She laid her hand on his thigh. “I understand that. I just thought maybe you might want to consider painting on canvas. Or even sketching, like Kurt did.”

He frowned. “That was Kurt's thing, not mine. My imagination doesn't work that way.”

“Okay.” She could tell she'd touched a nerve, and the last thing she wanted to do was upset him. Brady was so sensitive and raw whenever the topic of his brother came
up. She knew to tread lightly, even though at some point she'd love to be able to have a real, honest conversation with him about his brother.

She knew the pain inside of him was still a living, breathing thing that continued to hover around him. She wanted so badly to help him eradicate it. But until he was ready to face it and let it go, there wasn't much she could do.

But when he
was
ready, she intended to be the one who was going to hold his hand and help him exorcise those painful ghosts.

As if he wanted more than anything to erase that tense moment, he smiled at her. “I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. You wanna to grab something to eat and then hang out and watch a movie?”

She was more than grateful to let the moment go as well. So she smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a good plan to me. If you want to come over to my place, I baked some salted caramel muffins we could have for dessert.”

“How's a guy supposed to say no to an invitation like that?”

“You're not. That's the idea.”

When she stood, he slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her close.

“I'm glad you stopped by.”

“I'm afraid I interrupted your painting momentum.”

He grinned, then brushed his lips across hers, making her forget all about ghosts to exorcise and her worry about his anxious state.

“I'll get back to painting the bike tomorrow. You're a good distraction, and now my mind is on other things. Like cheeseburgers, a good movie, and sex. Followed by muffins.”

Her lips curved. “All good ideas, Brady Conners. Except maybe substitute the cheeseburgers with Chinese food.”

“Uh-huh. Obviously we'll discuss it on the way to get the cheeseburgers.”

She laughed as she went to grab Roxie's leash. “Don't forget who wields the muffins.”

He stood at the door. “I'm not going to win this one, am I?”

She picked up Roxie and scratched her behind the ear. “Not this time.”

“Damn. Chinese food it is.”

BRADY FINISHED PUTTING
the bike together just in time for his client to pick it up Saturday afternoon.

It had turned out pretty damn good, with a bright orange base, screaming yellow demons, and red flames.

“It's just like I described it to you,” Randy said, walking around the bike. “It's perfect. More than perfect. You exceeded my expectations, Brady.”

“Glad you like it.”

Randy paid him, exclaimed about the bike for another twenty minutes, and told him he had at least three guys to refer to him, which made Brady happy, since referral business was important.

He should really think about having business cards made, but Randy had his number, so that worked as well. At some point, once he had his own shop and could launch his business, he'd have all that fancy shit. For now, this would do. He had more than enough work to keep him busy doing the bodywork during the week and the extra custom paint jobs on the nights and weekends. He was banking more money than he had thought he would,
getting him closer and closer to his goal of being able to open his own shop.

Actually, he had enough money now, but he wanted to bank extra for those just-in-case situations that would crop up once he opened his shop.

He was patient. He could wait a while longer. Besides, he wasn't yet sure where he wanted to put his shop. Did he want to settle in Hope, or maybe some other town in another state? He didn't have answers to those questions yet, and until he did, he was fine staying right here.

Next on his agenda was taking Roxie out for a nice long walk and a play in the park. Once he had her suitably exhausted, they went upstairs and he took a shower to get ready for the wedding.

He'd had a lot of evening work this past week, and that had kept him away from Megan, but they'd managed to eke out a couple of hours here and there together. She'd brought over dinner one night and they'd camped out in the office with sandwiches. She'd also brought him a cinnamon roll on a couple of mornings, along with coffee.

But they hadn't carved out nearly enough alone time. He intended to rectify that tonight.

He got dressed. Oh, man, he hated wearing a suit, but it was a necessary evil for the wedding.

He packed up all of Roxie's things, because Megan had suggested Roxie stay over at her place tonight while they were at the wedding. It made sense to him, so he grabbed her chicken, her blanket, and some of her food.

Sometimes, having a dog was like being a parent. It was a lot of responsibility, but he couldn't imagine not having her in his life. He was so glad no one had ever claimed her. Some moron's loss had been his gain. Roxie was his dog now, and no one was going to take her away from him.

She looked at him as he straightened his tie in the mirror.

“How do I look, Rox?” he asked.

She cocked her head to the side, her ears perking up.

He grinned down at her. “Yeah, I thought so, too. Pretty fucking awesome.”

He loaded Roxie in the truck, then drove over to Megan's house and went to the door.

Megan answered wearing a robe.

“Wow. I mean wow. You look amazing,” she said as she looked him up and down.

“Thanks.”

“And I'm sorry, I'm not quite ready yet. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. I'll only be a few more minutes.”

“Okay.”

He got Roxie and all her things situated, then took a seat at Megan's kitchen island.

She had some kind of tower of cream puffs sitting on a plate in the center of the island. He was tempted to take one, but they were covered in powdered sugar, and he was wearing a dark suit. The combination could be disastrous, so he'd better not. But later, after he got out of this suit? One of those cream puffs had his name on it.

Deciding to avoid temptation, he got up and went into the living room, picked up the remote, and took a seat on the sofa. He turned on the TV and surfed until he found the sports channel. There was a baseball game on. The St. Louis team was playing. Roxie, who'd mastered the art of jumping on his sofa, decided to join him. He waited, giving her a minute to navigate the height of Megan's sofa, but after assessing the situation, she leaped up beside him with ease.

“Atta girl,” he said. “I knew you could do it.”

She settled in next to his side and they watched the game together.

Okay, she went to sleep while he watched the game.

St. Louis had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning when Megan came out.

“Okay, I'm ready.”

He really wanted to see this inning play out, but then he turned his head and saw Megan, and he forgot all about baseball.

He stood and went over to her. She wore a copper-colored dress with tiny straps at her shoulders. The dress
hugged every one of her curves all the way down to just below her thighs, making him want to scope out her curves with his hands.

He swept his hands down her arms. “You are beautiful.”

“Thank you. I'm sorry it took me so long to get ready.”

“You're worth the wait. I mean, come on. Look at you.”

He caught the blush of her cheeks. Cute.

“Well, thanks. And look at you. You clean up well.”

“I'm going to admit that I hate wearing suits.”

She pressed her palms against his jacket. “It doesn't show. It's like you were born to wear them. And I like this tie. It's very colorful.”

“Thanks. I had to go buy a new one just for the wedding. I couldn't find the other one I had.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Just one?”

His lips curved. “I don't have much need for dress-up clothes, so yeah, just one.”

“You chose well,” she said, sliding her hand down his tie. “Let's go watch our friends get married.”

They drove to the church, and Brady filled her in on his day.

“So was the guy happy about his bike?” she asked.

“Yeah. He seemed really pleased with the work. I'm finishing up the demon and barbed-wire one this week.”

“I can't wait to see how it turns out.”

They arrived at the church and parked.

“Chelsea said they were lucky to get the church on such short notice, but someone cancelled at the last minute, so the reverend was able to accommodate them.”

“I guess lucky for Chelsea and Bash, and maybe unlucky for whoever decided to cancel their wedding?” Brady said.

“This is true.”

They went inside, and Brady had to admit, it looked beautiful. Flowers were set up at the altar and alongside the pews. He couldn't name them, but they looked pretty.

They found a spot up near the front and took a seat next to Sam and Reid.

It wasn't long before the church was crowded with people and music started playing.

The reverend came out to stand in front of the congregation. Then Bash came out, with Carter standing next to him.

Megan took his hand as Jane walked past their pew, and everyone stood when Chelsea made her way down the aisle.

Megan squeezed back tears as she watched her friend make her way to the front of the church. Chelsea looked beautiful in her simple beige lace and silk dress. Then again, when didn't Chelsea look stunning? Her hair was swept up into an intricate design, and the bouquet Sam had designed for her was lovely.

The way Chelsea and Bash looked at each other was as if there were no other people in the church.

As it should be.

Megan sighed as she took her seat.

The reverend made the ceremony simple, talking about commitment and values and cherishing one another, and always being willing to communicate. Megan skirted a glance at Brady, who seemed to be listening hard to the reverend.

Then Chelsea and Bash said their vows, and before she knew it, her two friends were married and sharing one very sweet kiss before everyone, who clapped for them.

They made their way down the aisle as everyone cheered.

Megan looked over at Brady. “Wasn't that wonderful?”

He nodded. “Not too bad. Over in a hurry, just the way a wedding ceremony should be.”

She laughed. “Spoken like a true man.”

They got in her car and drove the short distance to Hope Community Hall for the reception. She was glad they wouldn't have to drive far tonight.

“Not much on the outside,” Brady said. “But they did a good job decking it out for the wedding.”

“I've been to a wedding here before,” Megan said after Brady helped her out of the car. “It's all about the decorations. And when I delivered the cake earlier today, the
décor looked amazing. Sam did such an amazing job with the flowers and the team who did the tables really worked hard to make it look elegant and inviting. Des brought in a couple who do set design in Hollywood, and wow, did they do incredible work. I think everything came together perfectly in such a short period of time.”

“It probably helps that Chelsea has such talented friends.”

She smiled over at him. “We loved helping.” They all had, from Molly and her mother, Georgia, to several of Chelsea and Jane's teacher friends. It had been a labor of love to put this together in record time.

She hoped Chelsea was pleased with the result.

He held his arm for her and she walked with him to find their table. They were sitting with Sam and Reid, and Molly and Carter, along with Deacon Fox and Zach Powers.

It should be a fun table.

Megan excused herself to go check on the cake. She'd left it in the hands of the community center employees, who assured her they'd set it up in the right place, but since she'd spent the better part of yesterday baking and frosting all the layers and setting every flower in perfect position, the last thing she wanted was for something to have happened to it.

She found it in its rightful position on its own table, looking breathtakingly beautiful—and she didn't mind at all being so proud of it. It was four layers of creamy buttercream frosting and vanilla cake with vanilla cream layers. Very traditional, but it's what Chelsea had asked for, and Megan had happily smiled her way through creating it. She also put peach and yellow roses on it, and she really hoped Chelsea and Bash liked it.

Of course, it was dessert, so Bash, being a man, would like it. Appearance-wise, it was Chelsea she had to please.

When a set of arms went around her waist, she knew it was Brady, especially when he said, “So, when's dessert?”

She laughed and laid her head against his chest. “After dinner.”

“Cake looks amazing. I know it'll kick ass.”

“Of course it will.”

Once the wedding party got there, everything swung into action. Dinner was served, and it was spectacular. They ate roast beef and chicken and pasta and three different kinds of salad. There was wine and champagne, and Megan had so much fun chatting with everyone at their table. Of course, she'd known all these people for years, except for Zach, who was new to the Hope area, so they all spent some time talking to him.

“How has your first year been teaching at Hope High, Zach?” Megan asked him.

“Good. I've settled in. The kids here are all great, administration is good to work with, and the football team is shaping up.”

“I've caught a few games,” Deacon said. “Looks like you're whipping them into shape.”

Zach nodded. “Working on it. I think we've got a chance to make state, if not this year, then next. We might be a small district, but that doesn't mean we won't fight hard.”

“That's the kind of dedication Hope High needs,” Carter said. “You can take them there.”

“Obviously I'm going to have to catch a game,” Megan said. “I haven't been to one since high school.”

“Yeah, you should all come,” Zach said. “The more alumni who show up, the more people who are there to root these kids on. I'm surprised Jane and Chelsea don't badger you about it, since they teach at the high school.”

“I'm surprised, too. Chelsea especially is good at badgering.”

“Badgering about what?”

They looked up to see the beautiful bride standing at their table.

Megan grabbed her hand. “Congratulations. You're gorgeous.”

She beamed a smile. “Thank you. Now what am I badgering you about?”

“We're talking about the football team and how everyone should show up for games in the fall,” Zach said.

“Oh, right. Well, football isn't really my thing, but I fully support Hope High's team, so Zach is right. You should all go to the games.
We
should all go. We could tailgate.”

“A lot of the parents do that,” Zach said. “It's fun.”

“Clearly I'm missing out on a big social aspect of Hope's community,” Molly said. “And a chance to do some marketing.”

Carter, who had his arm around Molly, rolled his eyes. “My wife, always in work mode.”

“Hey, somebody's gotta grow our business, buddy.”

Carter leaned over and kissed Molly's cheek. “And you do it so well.”

Megan got up and hugged Chelsea. “The wedding was beautiful. And so are you.”

“Thank you. I feel like I'm floating on a cloud. I'm kind of shocked it all came together so perfectly.”

“Of course it did. It was kismet. You two are meant to have good luck in your lives.”

Chelsea rubbed her lower stomach. “I think this kid is going to bring us good luck. It was all about timing, and I guess the timing is right, you know?”

Megan nodded. “I do know. And I'm really happy for you.”

Chelsea's eyes glittered. “Do not make me cry. I have like eight pounds of mascara on, and if it starts to run we're going to have a disaster on our hands.”

“Okay. No crying for you. Did you see the cake?”

“I did. It's perfect and looks delicious. Thank you again.”

“It was absolutely my pleasure to make it for you and Bash. Where is your husband, by the way?”