Page 52 of Faking it with the Bad Boy Bikers

Woodrow’s face hardened. “What?”

“Because we fucking agreed to watch her, to stick close to keep her out of trouble, he made her think we just fucked her to do a job for her brothers.” I shoved past Henry and started down the stairs. “I’m going to fucking kill him. It’ll save the taxpayers the cost of a trial and holding the motherfucker.”

“Jesus. Did you tell her we didn’t fuck her as part of a job?” Henry followed me. “She can’t believe that. There’s something between us. I didn’t imagine that.”

“She wouldn’t let me explain anything. I found her in the shower, curled up in a ball, sobbing. She believes it.” My steps faltered. “She believes it and she’s hurting.”

“Fuck.” Woodrow grabbed my arm and yanked me back toward the house. “You’re supposed to be the level-headed one out of us, asshole. You can’t go down there and kill him. I’ll call the judge and ask for a transfer for him. You touch him and he’ll be out and hunting Nellie before the sun sets tomorrow.”

I shoved away from him but I heard him. I couldn’t beat the shit out of Hammer without putting Nellie and Waylan indanger. I paced up and down the drive in front of the house and felt a painful ache form in my chest. “What now?”

Henry sat down on the porch steps and sighed. “She’ll be back. Then we’ll explain to her that Hammer is an idiot and a liar.”

“But we did agree to stay close to her for her brothers.”

Woodrow and Henry both scowled at me. Woodrow even rolled his eyes. “Are you suggesting you decided to bring Nellie home that night to stay close to her for Mills?”

I grabbed his shirt and shoved him into the side of the house. “You fucking know that’s not true.”

He wasn’t even bothered by my violence. He looked bored as he brushed my hands away. “Yeah, I do. Same way we all know it had nothing to do with us falling for Nellie. So, she’ll come back and we’ll tie her ass down if we need to and we’ll make her see reason. She’s upset right now and I don’t like it, either, but she’ll come around. She’ll listen to reason, Seth.”

I took a deep breath. “She didn’t look like she was willing to listen to reason. What if she doesn’t? Fucking hell. This is why I don’t do emotion.”

Henry stood up and smiled at me but it didn’t reach his eyes. He crossed his arms and forced out a heavy breath. “Too late for that now. Those emotions are there and I have a feeling they aren’t going anywhere. We somehow ended up in a really strange relationship with that woman and as shitty as it feels right now, it only feels so shitty because we care about her. Same for her. She cares about us. She’ll be back.”

“I don’t know if I believe she will. You didn’t see her in the shower.” I looked up as Vivian walked out on the porch. She looked concerned and I felt even worse. “Sorry, Vivian.”

“For what?”

“I think we might’ve run Nellie off.” I looked down at my boots and flinched when the rotund little lady silently appeared in front of me to cup my cheek. I met her gaze, expecting to eithersee comfort or fury, depending on how she would lean. Instead, the woman was grinning. “What?”

She patted my cheek and shook her head. “She’ll be back. I don’t know what happened but I know love when I see it. Just try not to fuck anything up while she’s away.”

Henry snorted at hearing her swear. “Damn, Ms. Vivian.”

She patted me once more, harder. “You’ve been happier since she got here. Hang in there and don’t turn back into a robot, boy. Besides, I’ve got a cat to take care of until she comes back and that cat is absolutely infuriating. So come on. Chop, chop. I could use some help serving up that pie.”

I found myself being led into the house and into the kitchen. She handed me small plates and a tub of cool whip. Then she led me to the table and pushed me down in the chair next to hers.

“You two, get in here.” Vivian waved a knife at Henry and Woodrow. “We’re going to eat pie and breathe. Sometimes shit goes wrong and you just need to take a deep breath and be patient. Reacting doesn’t always fix things. So, come on. Let’s eat this pie.”

And we did. We ate pie and cool whip until both were gone and I felt sick. Then Vivian sent us to the living room to watch more football with explicit instructions to not talk about Nellie. She’d come back, they all said. Nellie would come back and be ready to listen to me.

I didn’t expect her back that night, since she was having a sleepover with her sister. The next night, I sat on the couch and waited for her. She never came. I tried to get away to go find her the next day and Vivian threatened me with a spatula. As sure as she was that Nellie was coming back, I wasn’t. I watched Henry and Woodrow slowly lose hope, too.

Whatever Nellie had decided to believe, she’d committed to it, it seemed. We were the bad guys and we were no good.

I was willing to give Nellie a little while longer before I went after her.

CHAPTER 41

Nellie

I wasn’t sure if going into town was a good idea but I’d been hiding at Vera’s house for too many days. I was sure her guys were going to get sick of me. Vera was in heaven, especially when Waylan was home from school, but I knew I couldn’t hide forever. I’d been wearing Vera’s clothes and as much as I thought she was adorable in the sundresses she’d grown to love, I wasn’t a huge fan of them on me. I needed my clothes, Papa Jack, and to apologize to Ms. Vivian for leaving the cat with her.

Vera had done her best to convince me to talk to the guys before I wrote them off completely and I knew she was right but I didn’t think I could do it. I felt so stupid. Not only had I played into my brothers’ plan, but I’d fallen for the guys. I was heartbroken and mortified. I didn’t know what to do. I’d never had to deal with true heartbreak and I felt like an unprepared teen facing a giant mountain.

Vera had decided to come into town with me since it was almost time for school to be out. She loved picking Waylan up and I knew she was going to be the best mom. I planned on being there for her to give her a break when she needed one. I’d be her Virginia and I’d take care of her. Even if I did want to bury my head in the sand and run far away to escape the pain I was feeling.

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