The Cut by Carol Lynne: Kings of Bedlam MC Series, Book One (21 page)

“I love you, Tiny. Will you come and visit?” she asked. Although he’d only been in her life again for a few weeks, they’d fallen right back to being friends, and she knew in her heart he’d done what he had out of love for her.

“Sure, as often as I can,” Tiny replied.

She thought she detected a sniffle, but she’d never call him out on it. “I’ll phone you when I get to Fayetteville.”

“You’d better. Bye, squirt.”

“Bye, Tiny.” She hung up and handed the phone to Stake. “Thank you.”

He nodded, stuffing the phone back into his pocket and gave her another deep kiss, squeezing her tight. “Time for you to get on the road. It’s a long drive to Arkansas.”

She climbed to her feet, feeling better, but still not happy about leaving. He shouldered the duffle with money before reaching for her hand. She let him lead her through the bedroom where he grabbed her suitcase.

“Is there anything else?” he asked, looking around the room.

She thought of the gift she’d left under her pillow. It was her first attempt at drawing a self-portrait, but she didn’t have a current picture to leave with him. She supposed she could have taken one on her phone, but there was something special about holding a real picture you couldn’t get from a photo on a cell. “I think that’s it.”

He walked her out to the loaded pickup. “Take care of my girl,” he ordered Gypsy.

Gypsy took the suitcase from Stake and fit it into a tight opening in the bed before reaching for the duffle.

Stake shook his head. “This needs to go behind the seat.” He gave Gypsy a pointed look as he handed it over.

“What’ll you do now?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I talked to Mad Dog about taking over for me with the girls. Corrine’s not too happy about it, but I reckon she’ll change her mind when she realizes he’ll bring home a hell of a lot more money. Plus, I told him I’d sell him the house for below market if he’d take over. Corrine definitely wants out of his single wide, so that helped sweeten the deal.”

She pressed her cheek to his chest and squeezed as tight as she could. “I took your cologne, by the way. You won’t need it, but I will.”

Stake tilted her chin up for a deep kiss. “I only have eyes for you,” he told her.

Gypsy started the truck. “We need to get on the road if we’re going to make it before dark.”

Her heart sped up at the announcement. She stared up at the man she loved. “Call me every day.”

He shook his head. “Morning, noon and night,” he corrected. He pulled away enough to open the passenger door. “You shouldn’t have any trouble with the truck, but make sure you always have your phone on you when you leave the house.”

“I will.” She climbed into the pickup and let him shut the door. Leaning out the window, she opened once more for his searing kiss, hoping the taste of him would last until they were together again. “Love you,” she whispered.

“Love you more.” He pounded the roof of the truck. “Keep her safe,” he told Gypsy.

“Will do.” Gypsy backed out of the drive slowly. “You’ll be fine.”

When he pulled out onto the country road, she turned in her seat and waved, watching Stake as long as she could. With a sigh, she turned around and reached for her seatbelt. “How long is the drive again?”

“Nine hours or so. Depends on how often we have to stop.” He grinned. “You’re not one of those women who have to stop and pee every hour are you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been further than San Antonio,” she answered honestly.

Those amber eyes stared at her for several seconds before going back to the road. “In that case, feel free to ask me to stop whenever you see something that interests you.” He winked. “We’ll make a traveler out of you yet.”

Approaching the interstate onramp, she spotted a lone figure leaning against a black Harley. “Oh my God.” She reached for Gypsy’s arm. “Stop.”

As soon as the truck was pulled to the side of the road, Santana jumped out and ran toward Tiny. “You came!” she launched herself at him, knowing he wouldn’t let her fall.

Tiny caught her against his muscular chest and swung her around. “I couldn’t do it,” he whispered in her ear. “I couldn’t let you leave knowing it might be the last time I ever get to hold you.”

She felt tears burn her eyes. “I know what you did.” She kissed his cheek. “As soon as you’re cleared, move to Arkansas with us.”

“I can’t move to Arkansas. What Stake’s doing is special on account of you.” He eased her back down to the ground. “But, if I make it out of this thing without getting caught, I’ll make that drive whenever you need me.”

She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. “I will always need you.”

Chapter Eleven

A few miles outside of Fayetteville, Santana could no longer hide her excitement. “It’s so green,” she said in awe. Everywhere she looked were varying shades of green in the trees, the grass, and the plants. “It’s beautiful.”

Gypsy grinned at her. She’d caught him doing that a lot on their drive, but she didn’t get a creepy vibe from him, more like he thought he was constantly indulging a child. She wondered if he thought she was too immature for Stake.

“In another week or two, the leaves will start changing. I can’t wait for you to see it. It’s quite a sight to behold,” Gypsy casually said.

“I can’t wait.” She continued to stare out the window. The drive had been exciting, and Gypsy had kept true to his word and had stopped each time she’d asked. She looked at the small snow globe that rested on the dash of the pickup. She’d found it in one of the souvenir shops they’d stopped at and knew it would be the perfect addition to Stake’s Harley collection.

“It’ll be too late to see the house tonight, but I’ve booked you a room in a motel not far from my place. I’ve already talked terms to the realtor. The house is empty, so as soon as the banks are ready to close, the place will be yours and Stake’s.” He glanced at her. “It’s going to need a paint job inside and out, and if it were me, I’d have the floors refinished before moving in.”

Santana had no idea what those things would cost. Although Stake was planning to bring the best pieces of his furniture, they would still have so many things to buy. She hated the thought of spending his savings and vowed to use as little as possible. “I’ll talk to Stake about it once we know how much money it’ll take.”

They rode in silence for several miles before she noticed Gypsy looking at her again.

“What?” she asked. It was the first time since they’d started the drive that she felt uncomfortable.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “He used to talk about you,” he mumbled. “I’m not gonna lie, I never understood why he tortured himself over the situation.” He winced. “But, I get it now. Just thought you should know that.”

Curious, she prodded for more information. “What did he tell you about me?”

Gypsy turned his attention back to the winding road. “It wasn’t so much that he told me about you. Your name just seemed to come up in nearly every story he told. I always wondered what hold the girl with kaleidoscope eyes had on him.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “It tore him up when he was ordered to stay away from you.” He flicked his glance her way. “I hope you realize that. He even talked about going nomad over it, but I convinced him that his life would be nothing without the cut. I was wrong,” he admitted. “So very wrong.”

She took a moment for his words to sink in. Knowing that Stake hated not seeing her helped ease some of the hurt from the past. She didn’t blame Gypsy for convincing Stake to stay with his brothers. Hell, she knew what going nomad meant, and she couldn’t imagine him living his life without a family of brothers. “I’m glad you talked him into staying. Being a biker is who he is.”

“It’s good that you understand that.”

She stared at Gypsy longer than she should have. Except for the shorter hair, she could almost convince herself that it was Stake driving the truck. It was disturbing and comforting at the same time. “You should grow a beard,” she suggested.

He took a hand from the wheel to rub across his heavy five o’clock shadow. “I’ve grown one a time or two, but it takes more work to keep it up than to shave every day.”

She bit her bottom lip, wondering how truthful she could be with the man. She wouldn’t tell him that she didn’t like beards so the distinction between him and Stake would be even more apparent if he grew one. “It would better suit your name,” she finally said.

He chuckled. “Should I get a big hoop earring, too?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s okay.” He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I know why you want me to grow a beard. I was just fuckin’ with ya.”

“You do?” Had she been so obvious?

“You’re afraid of being tempted by my stellar looks, right?” he asked, with a wide grin on his handsome face.

“I’m not tempted,” she snapped. “It’s just that when I look at you, it makes me miss him.”

“Relax. I was trying to rile you up. I know where your heart is.” Gypsy made a left hand turn and pulled to a stop in front of a small, but well-kept motel. He sat there for several moments without making a move to open his door. “My brother’s a lucky man,” he said before climbing out of the truck.

It was the first time he’d referred to Stake as his brother, and she wasn’t sure if he meant the obvious familial connection between the two or the club connection. Either way, it was obvious he had honest feelings for Stake. The realization made her feel much better.

* * * *

“It’s perfect,” Santana gasped as she threw open the passenger door. The pale yellow farmhouse was set at an angle from the row of trees that hid it from the road. Gypsy had warned her that it would need some fixing up, but she couldn’t see any imperfections in the two-story house. The wide front porch looked out over a small pond that, although overgrown with grass and cattails, would be spectacular once cleaned up.

She nearly floated toward the unruly red climbing roses that grew on a trellis attached to the side of the house. “It’s so much prettier than the pictures you sent.”

Gypsy moved to stand next to her. “The place has sat empty since February, so it’ll take a fair amount of cleaning up, but it’s a damn good buy.”

She spun to face him, tears burning her eyes. “Can we see the inside?”

He pulled out a set of keys. “The realtor dropped these in my mailbox this morning. I think it’s safe to say he’s excited about selling the place. He wanted to come and give you a proper tour, but I told him you’d want to explore on your own.”

“Thank you.” She took the keys before making her way to the front porch. Stairs. She grinned as she climbed the five steps to the tongue-and-groove porch, making a mental note to remind Stake to bring the porch swing with him. God, she wished Stake was with her to see it. That in mind, she pulled the phone out of her pocket.

“Hey, lady bug,” he answered on the first ring.

“It’s beautiful,” she said before filling him in on what the yard and house looked like on the outside. “I’m getting ready to go inside, but I wanted to hear your voice.”

“I love the drawing,” he told her. “I haven’t got shit done today because I can’t tear my eyes off it.”

“I’m glad you like it. I didn’t want you to forget what I look like.” She smiled to herself as she thought of him sitting on the edge of the bed with her portrait in his hands. “I wish you were here to see the house with me.”

“Tell you what. I’ll close my eyes and you can describe everything to me. It’ll be almost like I’m with you.”

Her heart melted. He always seemed to know how she felt without her having to tell him. “Okay.” She unlocked the front door and pushed it open. Looking over her shoulder, she called out to Gypsy. “Are you coming in?”

He shook his head. “Not this time. You go ahead.”

Smiling, she stepped inside. “Oh,” she gasped.

“What do you see?” Stake prompted.

“A staircase at the back of the entryway. It goes up about ten steps and there’s a small landing before it makes a ninety-degree turn and continues. I’d like to put a plant there because there’s a window right above the landing.”

Stake chuckled. “Okay, babe. What else?”

She turned to her right and peeked into what appeared to be a formal dining room. “A dining room with horrible wallpaper, but it has molding around the top. It’s pretty.” She walked through the dining room to the kitchen. “Oh, Stake, the kitchen is huge, and there’s a big old table that would probably seat ten people.” She ran her hand over the table. It had to have been built in the room because there was no way it would have fit through the doorway. “It needs to be sanded, but I can do that.”

“What about the rest of the kitchen? From the pictures, it looked like it would need some work.”

“The cabinets appear to be solid wood, so they can easily be stripped and stained or repainted.” She opened one of the cupboards to see how deep they were and screamed.

“What’s going on?” Stake asked, his voice full of worry.

“Sorry. It’s okay. Just a dead rat.” She heard the front screen door bang shut moments before Gypsy came running into the room.