Hawk: (16 page)

Hawk’s phone rang for the third time that morning. At this point he didn’t even need to look at the screen. As he stood up, he caught Shooter looking at him from across the garage bay. He sighed inwardly. It wasn’t doing anyone any good to keep ignoring it. He slid the phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen.

“Hey!” Garrett crowed through the phone. “Finally!”

He didn’t sound
upset but Hawk immediately felt guilty about putting him off so long.

“What’s up?” Hawk asked.

“Just haven’t seen you is all. Wondered if you could knock off early and we could-”

“Can’t,” Hawk replied, cutting him off before he got going. “We’re on a schedule here, and I can’t get behind.”

Garrett was silent a moment, no doubt trying to regroup. “Well, how about tonight? Can’t work all night, can you? You get finished there and we’ll-”

“I have plans,” Hawk told his cousin. Garrett was silent again, making Hawk feel like shit. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Listen, how about lunch? Can you make it? I know the lumber yard is-”

“Shit yeah, man!” Garrett cried. “Yeah, no problem. I’ll skip on out of here. The foreman most likely won’t even notice and I’ll get one of the guys to clock me back in. Where you wanna meet?”

Hawk frowned. “Garrett, if you can’t make it, I’ll see you on Sunday for dinner. I don’t want you to get in trouble at your job.”

Garrett scoffed. “Shit job anyway. Who cares?”

Hawk debated the merits of arguing with Garrett about the fact that it was one of the few jobs an ex-con could get. He decided against it. It was likely to just piss Garrett off, and who knew how the weekend would go after that.

Hawk told Garrett to meet him at Maria’s and ended the call. As he replaced the phone, he saw Shooter looking at him again. “I won’t be gone long,” he assured his boss.

Shooter gave him a sympathetic look. Hawk knew this close to the Sturgis rally they couldn’t afford to get behind. He washed up at the utility sink and headed out to his bike. He’d have a quick lunch, check in with Garrett, and then shag ass back to Burnout.

The blistering heat of the day gave way to the dark, air conditioned cave of Maria’s. Hawk nodded at the waitress and chose his own table by the door. Milo was at the bar working on a sandwich and gave him a jerk of the chin. Hawk grinned at him. The old man was a hoot. When he died, Maria would have to stuff him and mount him on a barstool; otherwise, customers were apt to feel like something was missing every time they came in.

Garrett showed up just after Hawk ordered his lemonade and double burger. He grinned at Hawk
and slid into the booth across from him. “Jesus,” he said, wiping his brow with a napkin. “It’s killing me out there.”

“Yeah
, it’s a rough summer,” Hawk concurred.

“Hey, darlin’,” Garrett called out to the waitress angling toward him. “Give me a Bud.”

She nodded, but Hawk shook his head. “It’s barely noon,” he told Garrett.

Garrett shrugged and shoved up the sleeves of his shirt. “Hot as fuck out there, bro. Gotta get me some relief.”

The waitress set down a draft in front of Garrett, and he drank half of it before he’d even ordered any food.

“He’ll have the same as me,” Hawk told her. “And another basket of fries.”

Garrett eyed him over his glass.

“The burgers are great here,” Hawk explained. “You gotta try one.”

Garrett nodded and took another drink. Truthfully, Hawk was worried Garrett would get to drinking and forget that they were there to eat. It would not be the first time that had happened.

“Aw, man,” Garrett sighed, setting down the glass. “Gotta get a better day job.”

Hawk shifted in his seat. He really didn’t want to discuss this again. There was no way Shooter would hire an ex-car thief. “How’s your mom?” he asked instead.

Garrett’s shoulders drooped a little. Hawk wasn’t sure if it was because he’d changed the subject or because things weren’t that great at home. He knew his uncle wasn’t too happy with Garrett in general. His aunt had always been supportive of Garrett though, always believing that this was the year her baby boy would turn his life around.
Hawk had spent little time with that side of the family lately. Perhaps Garrett’s mother’s enthusiasm for him had waned a bit.

Garrett shrugged and snagged a fry out of Hawk’s basket. “Fine,” he said in a clipped voice.

Right. So that was off limits. There was no point in getting Garrett agitated, especially at a bar.

“Dad’s pissed ‘cause
I don’t pay much in rent. But fuck you know it’s not like I’m living in the
house
,” Garrett seethed. “Oh no, not good enough for that. I took the room over the garage.” His jaw flexed as he ground his molars together. “God damn room ain’t worth what the old man wants in rent,” he said quietly. “They use my old room for storage. Storage! Boxes everywhere, stacked to the ceiling.”

Hawk didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to po
int out that Garrett was over 35 and really shouldn’t be living at home anyway. Unfortunately, Garrett wouldn’t make it on his own. Without someone around to keep a constant eye on him, he’d slide right back into prison, maybe for good this time.

“And then he wants all this yard work done,” Garrett said. “Like I don’t work my ass off all day long.”

Hawk scowled. Uncle Gene had high blood pressure. Until Garrett had gotten released, it had been Hawk doing their yard work. “Garrett, he’s almost 75.”

Garrett rolled his eyes. “Mom’s younger.”

Hawk took a long sip of his lemonade as Garrett finished off his beer and ordered a second.

“What do you say we hang out tonight?” Garrett offered.

Hawk shook his head. “Can’t. I have plans.”

Garrett smirked. “So blow off whatever hottie you’re stringing al
ong. My guess? She won’t care as long as you tell her you’ll see her some other time. Or better yet,” he said, leaning forward, “How ‘bout you and me pick up a few together?”

“It’s not like that,” Hawk explained, but Garrett didn’t seem to hear him.

“Remember that time we got wasted with those two chicks from Lead? We climbed that water tower to spray paint it. But we forgot the paint.”

Hawk grimaced. He did remember
, but apparently not as fondly as Garrett. He stabbed his coleslaw with a fork.

“So?”

He realized Garrett had been asking him something and looked up. “What?”

Garrett huffed an irritated sigh. “Let’s go find some pussy.”

He said it too loudly, and Hawk couldn’t help but glance at the waitress. Milo had looked over as well. Thankfully, Maria wasn’t here, because she might smack the shit out of both of them. Lunch hour was not the time to say a thing like that.

“I can’t,” Hawk repeated. “I have plans.”

“What plans?” Garrett demanded, disbelieving.

“We-” On Weekend nights they hung out at Maria’s. Hawk didn’t think Garrett knew it was
every
weekend night, and it probably wasn’t a good idea to let him know. The last thing he needed was Garrett showing up again, looking for him. “There’s a girl I’m hanging out with.”

Garrett shook his head. “The lily white princess.”

“She’s going through some stuff,” Hawk replied.

“ ‘Cause I’m not,” Garrett muttered.

Hawk didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t abandon Tildy. She could be in danger. Garrett seemed to be in danger, too, but of his own making.

“Not tonight,” Hawk told his cousin.

Later, much later, Hawk rolled back into the Burnout parking lot. Rather than having smoothed things over with Garrett, lunch had just highlighted their differences. He was angry now and angrier still when he caught sight of the clock on the wall. He didn’t need to look at Shooter to know that he’d fucked up today. They had a deadline and Hawk was dragging them down. Without acknowledging his boss, he picked up a wrench and buckled down.

Tildy’s phone vibrated, and she checked the screen. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Mmm,” Mariposa said, a knowing look on her face. “Your boyfriend.”

Tildy blushed and shook her head. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend,” she reminded the older woman.

Mariposa wasn’t buying it. “But you don’t look like that when you think about your
real
boyfriend.”

Tildy rolled her eyes. “Stop.” She took an outdated ad for a yard sale down off the bulletin board and trashed it.

“When do you see him again?”

“In just a little while,” Tildy replied. “He’s running late.”

Mariposa frowned. “Too bad. I want to meet this boyfriend of yours. Make sure he’s well enough for you.”

“Good enough. And he is,” Tildy added dreamily but then caught herself. “But we’re
not dating
.”

“Hmm. Yet. What does he do?”

“He was in the Army. Now he’s a mechanic.”

Mariposa gave her a sly grin. “Nice. Strong man. Good with his hands.”

Tildy’s face turned red as she remembered Hawk’s hand in her panties.

“Ah!” Mari cried. “There! See? Not just a friend!”

Tildy, embarrassed, waved her hand dismissively.

“You’re a good girl, Matilda,” Mari cautioned.

“I still am!”

Mari nodded. “I meet this man, make sure you
stay
that way.”

Tildy groaned. “Don’t do that! I would die! Plus, he’s already on board with that.”

Mari frowned. “What board?”

Tildy shook her head. “Sorry. It’s a phrase. It means he agrees with you.”

Mari raised an eyebrow. “So he says.”

“No, really,” Tildy insisted. “I...
” She cleared her throat. “I kissed him. Like
really
kissed him.”

Mari’s face was stern as stone. “And?”

“Well, he
did
kiss me back.”

Mari’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mmm hmm.”

“But then he sent me home.”

The older woman considered this at length before she said, “Maybe I like him more than the other one.
Maybe
.”

Tildy bit her lip. She’d never confided in Mari, not at length, but she never really needed to. Having raised multiple daughters into adulthood, Mari easily picked up on when things were not g
oing well in Tildy’s love life- or Tildy’s distinct
lack
of a love life.

“Even so, guard your heart,” she advised again. “A heart like yours is fragile, mija. It breaks once and you may never be able to put it together again.”

Tildy frowned as she packed up her things. Hawk was a good man, the best kind of man, but he completely threw her off course. He’d offered friendship, but his kisses said he wanted more, not as much as she wanted though. She sighed. He would never want as much as she wanted.

Tate would give her everything, yet nothing she actually
wanted
. Hawk would give her just a little, and then one day he would give her nothing at all. Maybe Mariposa was right; maybe it was worse to have loved and lost. Tildy couldn’t quite make herself believe it though.

The two women walked toward the front entrance when suddenly someone grabbed Tildy by the arm.

“Oh!” she cried, turning around.

“Oh, sorry!”

She came face to face with someone she recognized but couldn’t quite place. When he saw her trying to work it out he said, “I’m Garrett. Hawk’s cousin.”

“Right, right,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

“Sorry,” he said again. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Um, what are you...
how-?” Tildy couldn’t form a question that didn’t seem rude.

“I just saw Hawk,” Garrett informed her. “At the garage. He’s running late.”

Tildy nodded. “Yeah, he just texted me.”

“
It’s my fault,” he added with a sheepish grin. “I kept him too late at lunch. Anyway, he didn’t want you to be alone, but he didn’t really say why.”

Garrett let it hang between them, waiting for an explanation for being sent on this errand. Tildy looked nervously at Mari, who had an eyebrow raised. She was still waiting for Tildy to explain the cut on her lip; Mari had never believed the tripped and fell story.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Tildy told both of them, smiling reassuringly. “We were just supposed to hang out this afternoon. He probably just didn’t want me to think he was blowing me off.”

Mari smirked, and Garrett just shrugged at her answer. Tildy let loose a tiny sigh of relief when the older woman turned to head toward the bus stop at the end of the block. Tildy gave her a little wave, but Mari just huffed at her.

When they were alone, Tildy glanced at Garrett as they headed to the side parking lot. “Do you think he’d mind if I just drove to the garage and waited for him there?” she asked. It seemed rude to make Garrett wait with her for who knew how long.

Garrett shook his head and spat on the ground. Tildy grimaced
, but tried to hide it. “Nah,” he said, his eyes darkening a little. “Don’t think he’d mind
you
at the garage at all.”

There was something to his tone that bothered Tildy. She knew Garrett and Hawk had problems. She was sure it was difficult to reconnect with someone who’d been away for so long, especially when your lives had gone in totally opposite directions. She felt sorry for both of them.

“Did you have a nice lunch?” she asked. It was a place to start anyway, she figured. She knew Hawk was desperate to keep Garrett on a better path this time.

Garrett merely shrugged. “I guess.”

Immediately, Tildy was sorry she’d asked. It was none of her business. “I’m sorry. I-”

“Nah. It’s fine,” he replied. His gait was stiff though, and his manner was gruff, none of it matching the words he was saying. “Hard to find the time. He’s at work; I’m at work.” His eyes scanned the parking lot. Tildy noticed that, while he wasn’t that much older than Hawk, the hard lines of his mouth and eyes were deep-set. He was smaller than Hawk and not nearly as muscled. “We were always together,” he said, almost absent mindedly, as they reached her car.

“I’m sorry,” Tildy repeated for lack of anything more helpful to say.

As she reached out to open her car door, Garrett’s hand came down on her shoulder, and he gave her a slight push, guiding her farther from the building.

“Not sure why you’re sorry,” he told her. “Or that I believe you.”

Tildy balk
ed a little, but he kept herding her past the next row of cars.

“I- I think maybe if the two of you sit down and talk, really talk, you can-”

“He won’t listen,” Garrett said firmly.

Tildy craned her neck to look at him and was surprised at the coldness she saw in his d
ark eyes. He stopped them, and she turned her head back to see what she’d missed minutes earlier. She’d been so busy looking at Garrett that she hadn’t noticed he was driving a gunmetal gray truck. It would look black in the dark.

“No,” she protested, but it came out soft, more of a whisper or a passing of breath. She tensed, bracing for a scream to attract attention. No one was in the parking lot, but there were a few people on the sidewalk across the street.

Garrett clamped down on her neck with one hand and with the other he opened the passenger side door. Tildy felt herself propelled forward- fast, too fast. The door was swinging toward her. Her forehead connected with the frame of the window with a sickening smack. Pain burst behind her eyes. She felt her knees give way. Her head swam through an encroaching blackness.

“That time I did mean to scare you.”