Page 11 of Chasing Xander
Heaviness settled on her chest, and her shoulders slumped. Celeste attempted to lead the way toward them, but the crowds were making it impossible to move more than a step or two at a time. Kylie stole glances at Xander. The two girls had left, and two more were in their place. She clenched her teeth.
The moment her gaze collided with Xander’s, his face lit up with the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. He said something to the girl standing in front of him and then made his way toward Kylie.
“Hey! I didn’t know you’d be here today.”
She shrugged. “Celeste forced me out of bed at the ass crack of dawn. I’d rather be sleeping.”
Xander laughed. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m going to go talk to Finn.” Celeste walked away.
Kylie acknowledged her with a nod, then turned back to Xander. “You are?” Skepticism dripped from her tone.
He tilted his head as if he didn’t understand her question. “Yeah. So, you going to give me your number now?”
“No.”
“No?” His eyebrows lifted in surprise.
“Looks to me like you’ve got all the girls’ phone numbers you can handle.”
“You mean Jess and Amber?” One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “They’re just friends. Actually, they’re girlfriends of a couple of the brothers.”
“Oh.”
“I really would like your number.” His voice was low and sincere.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. What harm could come from giving him her number? It would give her the chance to get to know him better. “Got something to write it down with?”
Grinning, he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Okay.”
She rattled off her number. A second later, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out.
“There, now you have my number, too.” He tucked his phone away. “Feel free to abuse the hell out of it.”
“Xander!”
He rolled his eyes. “Sorry, duty calls.” He held up the flyers. “I’ll call you later, though. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” She nodded.
No sooner than he’d walked away, her phone rang again. Her stomach dropped at the all too familiar number on the screen. “Hello?” She moved away from the crowd, hoping to get a bit of privacy and some quiet.
“Miss Quinn? This is Sheriff McIntire.”
She groaned. “Hi, Rick. What can I do for you today?”
“Got your old man here with us again.”
Bile rose up her throat, and she inhaled deeply through her nose, hoping to keep her breakfast from coming back up. “I’m halfway across the country at college. I’m not sure what you expect me to do.” Her words were harsher than she intended. None of this was Rick’s fault. Still, it wasn’t exactly easy to hear his voice when he was constantly the bearer of bad news. College was supposed to be her fresh start, but no matter how far she ran, her past would always follow her.
“I know, and I wouldn’t call if this was his usual drunk and disorderly and public intoxication. Unfortunately, it’s much worse. He’s been arrested for inciting a riot and destruction of property.”
“A riot?” she yelled, then lowered her voice when a couple of girls gave her a dirty look. Her father had been known to get into a bar fight every now and then, but a riot? That was new. Sweat beaded on her brow, and she wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. “What the hell did he do?”
“He started a fight with a group of bikers passing through town. Things got out of hand. They busted up Jimmy’s bar pretty bad. One patron was hospitalized, and another suffered some injuries.”
“Was my father injured, too?” As much as she despised his drunken debauchery, she couldn’t help but ask. He was her father, and she couldn’t just shut off her concern for him. Even if he didn’t deserve it.
