Page 4 of Faking it with the Bad Boy Bikers

I grabbed Papa Jack and held him tight after easing open my door. “Let’s get the monster inside. Hurry, hurry.”

Before we got to the door, Ms. Vivian herself pulled it open and greeted us with a warm smile and her arms wide open. The woman had to be in her seventies and she was almost as wide as she was tall but she had bright periwinkle hair and a pair of pink glasses that covered most of her face.

“Nellie Hellstone! You are—” She gasped as she looked at Waylan. “Oh, my god! She’s like looking at a little you! Young lady, do you know that you’re an exact replica of your mother? I taught her when she was around your age and if I was any older, I’d think I’d lost my mind.”

Waylan hesitated and looked back at me before offering to shake the older woman’s hand. “Was my mom good in school? She tells me she was, but I don’t know if I can believe her.”

Ms. Vivian threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, she’s going to be a hoot. Come in, come in, Nellie. Give me a hug and let that cat roam around.”

I shut the door behind me and dropped Papa Jack before hugging her. “I’m mad at him right now. He escaped the car at the ranch and chased some poor dog in pajamas all around the place. It was a full scene.”

“You mean Bobby! That’s Dean’s dog. He’s one of your sisters’ men, you know?”

One of? I smiled like I knew what she was talking about and glanced down at Waylan. “Thank you so much for letting us stay here. There aren’t a lot of places for rent in Devil’s Den.”

“Most of us are here until we die, girlie. You and some of your brothers are the only ones who ever left. And now the Mays, of course.” She winced. “That whole ugly deal was a shame.”

“The Mays?”

She was surprised by my lack of information, I could tell. She hid it with a smile and squeezed my hand. “That’s a conversation for later. One we’ll have to have over a finger of whiskey.”

“I need to pee, Mom.”

Ms. Vivian jumped into action. “Of course! I’m sorry, ladies. Let me show you to your room. I have a few other guests staying here long term for right now, so I’ll have to put you both together. Is that okay?”

“I don’t think I could sleep with this one out of my sight.” Warmth bloomed through my chest as Waylan took my hand. “One room is perfect.”

At the top of the stairs, the house went both left and right down a wide hallway. “You’re down here on the left. You’ll be neighbors with Henry. He’s a sweetheart. Down at the other end of the hallway is Woodrow and Seth. I’m sure you’ll meet them soon. They’re all good fellas.”

“Will they be okay with Papa Jack? I know you said he could roam the house, but if they aren’t okay with him, I’ll keep him in our room.” I directed Waylan down the hallway with my hand on top of her head and took a mental note that we’d be in the house with three men.

“They won’t mind. I caught Woodrow snuggling a dog that wasn’t his last week.” She pushed open the door to our room and stepped aside for us to go in ahead of her. “I updated the rooms a few years ago when my Annie passed. She loved this place and always wanted to modernize it but we never had the cash flow when she was alive.”

Waylan gasped and ran over to jump on the king size bed. It looked as plush as a cloud with crisp white bedding. The entire room was bright and clean and looked like it was made for comfort. “Wow. Ms. Vivian, this is amazing. You need to be charging more.”

“In Devil’s Den? Honey, this isn’t Dallas. Plus, don’t talk yourself into a higher bill.”

“Waylan, no jumping.” I made sure she went back on her butt before turning back to Ms. Vivian. “Thank you for having us. I don’t have a job lined up yet, so tell me if you need help with anything.”

“Well, I don’t know if I need your help, necessarily. I have a batch of cookies that need baking but I need someone a little shorter and younger than you to help me.” Winking at me, Ms. Vivian looked at Waylan. “What do you say, short stuff? Want to help me bake some cookies? I’ll even let you eat some cookies when they’re done.”

Waylan’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

I grinned and nodded. “Go ahead if you want to, baby. I’m going to unpack our stuff and get Papa Jack’s stuff set up. Just don’t go outside without telling me.”

“I’ll keep a close eye on her, Nellie.”

Waylan wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “Maybe I’ll save you a cookie, Momma.”

I leaned against the doorframe and watched as Ms. Vivian took her hand to lead her down the stairs. Waylan looked back at me and tossed me a smile which eased some of the ache I was feeling. I took a second to settle myself before going downstairs to get our bags.

CHAPTER 4

Nellie

I walked to the diner alone after Waylan told me she wasn’t moving away from the oven until all of the cookies were done. I wanted to stop by Steve’s garage, too, so I agreed to let Ms. Vivian watch Waylan if she’d let me buy her dinner. The diner was busy and every head turned to face me when I opened the door and the bell chimed. A wave of nervousness washed over but I kept my chin up as I made my way over to the bar.

A low whistle sounded as a familiar looking woman stopped in front of me. Her light pink uniform fit her like a glove and her larger-than-life hair was sprayed to a stiffness which shocked me. She chewed a piece of bubble gum with her mouth wide open and it was the gum that clued me in on who she was. “I’ll be damned. I never thought I’d see you around here after all this time.”

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