Page 3 of Phoenix

“Yeah, I remember that. I used to hate it when places closed early every night and when I lived here, there were a lot of stores that were closed on Sunday. Is that still the case?” she asked.

“Basically,” he said, “you’re back in the Bible belt again, and if places are open on Sunday, they now open after noon.”

“Well, this is going to be so much fun,” she grumbled.

“If you hated this place so much, why come back?” he asked. He loved everything about living in Huntsville. He and his sister decided to move down to Alabama after she sold her company back in New York. They wanted a slower pace of life, and boy did they get it. Sometimes, he missed the big city, but then, he’d sit out on his big front porch and watch the sun go down, and that was when he knew that it was all worth it.

“I really had nowhere else to go. My grandmother is sweet enough to take me and Lydia in, and I appreciate her so much. She wanted me to come home, and she wanted to meet Lydia. I honestly missed her and God, I made some shitty decisions over the past four years, but my daughter wasn’t one of them. So, I packed what little we had and bought this piece of shit truck to get us back across the country, and here we are,” she said, looking back into the cab of the truck.

“Your grandmother has been talking about you and your daughter moving in with her,” he admitted. “How about if I take you to Mrs. Aggies and I’ll run to town in the morning to get you some gas? It will be enough to get your truck to the gas station to fill it up I know that she’s glad to have you both moving in with her and she’ll be waiting up to see you. So, are you ready to finally get back home?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” she joked.

“And you’ll be right next door, huh?” she asked.

“Um, yeah,” he said, “when I’m not working, which feels like that is all I do right now.”

“Well, maybe you could take a night off and bring me back here so that I can see what a real biker bar is,” she said. He wasn’t sure if she was teasing or not, but he knew that it wasn’t a good idea to take Mrs. Aggie’s granddaughter to a bar.

“I’m pretty sure that you’re not twenty-one yet, Phoenix, and if that’s the case, you won’t be allowed into the bar,” he said.

She barked out her laugh and he wondered what that was about. “I’ll be twenty-one in a month,” she admitted. “So, how about you agree to take me out for my first drink at this bar?” She pointed to the building, and he shook his head.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Phoenix,” he said. “I don’t think your grandmother would approve of a thirty-year-old dating her twenty-year-old granddaughter.”

“I get it,” she said. He could tell that she was lying by the disappointment he saw on her face, but he decided not to call her out on it. “Thanks for the help tonight, Riggs. I’ll get Lydia and her car seat out of my truck. Can we ride with you back to Aggie’s?” she asked. He wasn’t sure if she sounded disappointed or not by him turning her down flat, but he knew for sure that he was disappointed in himself. A beautiful woman had asked him out and he pushed her off because he didn’t want to piss off her grandmother. He knew that he was doing the right thing. She was way too young for him, but he still felt like an ass for turning her down. He was an idiot—but then again, that was something that he already knew.

Phoenix

Riggs made good on his promise to tow her back to Aggie’s house and put enough gas in her tank to get her to a gas station in town the next morning. Honestly, all she wanted to do was crawl into her old bed and sleep for days, but she was sure that Aggie would talk her ear off before that could happen.

Aggie met them on the porch before Phoenix was even out of Riggs’ truck. She was waving like a loon, and all Phoenix could do was smile back at her grandmother and shake her head. “I think she is happy to see you,” Riggs breathed. She turned to find him leaning in close and she couldn’t help herself—she took a deep breath, loving the smell of clean man and a hint of cologne.

“You smell good,” she whispered, still leaning into his body.

“Wait, did you just sniff me?” he asked. She should have told him that she didn’t, but when she found herself nodding her head, she wanted to kick herself. “You shouldn’t keep your grandmother waiting,” he whispered. Phoenix looked back at the porch and Aggie was still waiting for her.

“Um, yeah,” she mumbled. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Not a problem. I’d do anything for your grandmother,” he said. “It was nice to meet you and Lydia,” Riggs said as though dismissing her. Phoenix nodded, opened the door, and jumped out of the truck. Riggs helped her get Lydia and her car seat out of the back seat and she grabbed their bags. They didn’t have much, but Phoenix planned on changing that soon—not just for herself but for her daughter too.

“You’re here,” Aggie said, pulling Phoenix into her arms. She dropped the bags and wrapped her arms around her grandmother. She felt like home and Phoenix knew that she was finally safe. She hadn’t felt that way in four years, but Aggie did that for her—gave her security.

“This is Lydia,” Phoenix said, “your great-granddaughter.” Aggie released Phoenix and took Lydia from Riggs. “Sorry, she’s sleeping. She’s been out most of the night.”

“Well, let's get her down for the night and then, you and I can catch up. Tommy, would you mind bringing in the bags?”

“Oh, I can get them,” Phoenix insisted. She grabbed for the bags at the same time that Riggs did, and they bumped heads “Ouch,” Phoenix grumbled. “You have a hard head.” She rubbed her forehead and looked up to find Riggs smiling back at her.

“I’ve been told many times that I’m hardheaded, but usually from my mother,” he said. “Are you okay?” Phoenix turned around to find that Aggie had disappeared into the house, leaving her on the front porch with Riggs. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t okay at all, but not for the reason he believed.

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “I’ve got the bags if you need to head home.” He looked over to what she assumed was his house and he nodded.

“Yeah, I should get home. I have an early start tomorrow. I guess I’ll see you later,” he said.

“Will you really?” she asked. He turned around to look at her and she suddenly regretted asking her question.

“Will I really what?” Riggs asked. She was pretty sure that he had heard her clearly, but for some reason, he wanted to play games with her.

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