Page 23 of Rock

Ink shrugged. “About your age, I’d guess.”

Rock grabbed the edge of the bar again. He hated leaning toward the prospects, but he couldn’t help himself. “Did you get her name?”

Ink glanced at Breaker, frowning. “Hmm. Do you remember? I think it started with an L. Lisa… Lyra…”

Rock stopped breathing. Holy fuck. “Lyla?” he managed to whisper as though just saying her name was somehow reverent.

Ink snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Do you know her?”

Rock swallowed and shook his head. “I did. Years ago. Decades ago.”

Breaker grinned. “Well, she’s a looker, that one. For an old gal. Want me to tell her hello for you?”

Rock shook his head. “No. Please don’t. I’ll…” He had no idea what he might do. He needed time to wrap his head around this development.

He was stunned as he walked away, heading for his private apartment in the clubhouse. He owned a home a few miles from here, but he maintained this apartment for nights when he didn’t feel like riding home.

As soon as Rock was alone, he shut the door and dropped onto his favorite recliner. He leaned back to stare blankly at the ceiling. Holy mother… Lyla was in town.

He’d never realized her family had kept the house. They’d been renting it out for nearly four decades?

Rock’s heart was still beating fast. If a doctor saw him right now, he’d lose his mind.

Lyla…My God…

After all these years, she was here in Shadowridge. Would she look him up? Probably not. She was probably married with four kids and a dog. Grown kids. After all, Rock had been married and had two grown kids.

Kathy had died twenty years ago. Rock had loved her dearly, but she’d been gone longer than he’d known her by now. That seemed so strange. He’d never put himself back out there after Kathy had passed.

As far as Rock was concerned, he’d loved two women. The first had left town when he was twenty. The second had died tooyoung. He’d never had any intention of loving another woman. It hurt deeply when they left him. It didn’t matter the reason.

Rock had thought about Lyla often over the years. He’d wondered what had happened to her. Had she finished college? Gotten a teaching job? Had she married? Hell, he hadn’t known if she’d even been alive until today.

She’s here. In Shadowridge. Holy fuck.

One of the last things he’d told her was that he would always be here in this town if they ever lost touch. He’d never heard from her, and he’d never left town for any length of time. He’d lived here his entire life. She knew his name. It wouldn’t be difficult to reach him.

Rock closed his eyes and let himself go back to that night nearly forty years ago. He would never forget the tears in her eyes when she returned home after her prom. She’d overheard her date and his buddies speaking crudely about fucking her.

Rock had wanted to strangle those little assholes in the moment, but Lyla had needed him to keep a level head. She’d needed a hug, and then she’d needed a lot more than a hug.

The next six hours had been the best in his twenty years of existence. He’d never forgotten a moment of it. The timing had been shit. He’d left town for a summer internship two days later, and she’d left the state for college two months later.

He’d thought they’d had something special that could withstand the test of time and distance, but he’d never heard from her again.

He’d been good friends with her older brother, Jackson, but they’d lost contact that summer, too. It hadn’t helped that their parents had moved away, which meant Jackson and Lyla would have spent holidays and vacations wherever the Sealocks had moved.

With a groan, Rock rolled his head forward, set his elbows on his knees, and leaned his forehead against his palms. “Jesus…”he muttered. “She’s here in Shadowridge.” He couldn’t wrap his head around that. He wanted to see her, if only from a distance. He wouldn’t disrupt her if she was married, but what if she happened to be single like him?

Ink and Breaker hadn’t mentioned anyone being with Lyla, but they hadn’t said she was alone either. Would she be staying at the house? Doubtful. It probably wasn’t furnished. It could be in serious disrepair. She’d obviously hired people to work on getting it ready to sell.

It was late. Rock pushed to standing. He’d considered staying here tonight but now changed his mind. He wanted to go home where he could be alone with his memories.

Even sliding his arms into his cut reminded him of the first time he’d met Lyla. She’d been sixteen. She should have been scared of him with his tattoos, torn jeans, black boots, and black leather Shadowridge Guardians MC jacket. She’d shown no signs of being leery of him, though. In fact, she’d met his gaze and stood toe-to-toe with him. She’d even asked about his Shadowridge Guardians logo.

Something about Lyla had drawn his attention and held it captive. She’d stolen his heart that day. He’d become good friends with her brother and hung around their home often from that day forward.

Rock had liked Jackson, but the real reason he’d cultivated that friendship was so he could see Lyla as often as possible. He didn’t dare mention his attraction or instigate direct contact with her until she’d turned eighteen, but those two years had been long.

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