Page 4 of Bad to the Bone
Chapter Three
“NObreakfast with Sam this morning?” Alanna asked when Alex joined her in the store Saturday morning.
“Her shift doesn’t start until one.” Alex stifled a yawn. It had been after midnight by the time he’d left the high school gymnasium that had been transformed into the venue for the reunion. He could have left once he’d finished constructing the arch Stephanie had asked for, but the tools and ladders the other committee members were using to install the painted backdrops and hang the festoons of fabric and streamers from the gym ceiling were the property of Morrison Hardware. He’d felt obligated to be sure they were used safely and to load them into the pickup truck he used for business deliveries once Stephanie declared herself satisfied with the results.
After a full day and evening of work, sleep had come easier to him than it had the night before, but he’d still awakened before dawn, leaving him plenty of time to go for a run. Buck, the Irish setter his parents had given him the year he made the varsity team, wouldn’t have let him sleep much later in any case. Buck’s red mane might be threaded with silver around his muzzle—not that Alex didn’t have a few gray hairs of his own, though thanks to his blond coloring he didn’t think they were noticeable to anyone else—but he still raced happily alongside Alex as he ran the quiet morning streets to the edge of town and back.
Alex didn’t see any motorcycles during his run.
“You could take the day off if you want, Xan,” Alanna offered. “I’m capable of managing the place on my own, you know.”
Of course Alex knew—as often as not Alanna manned the front of the store on her own while Alex made deliveries or helped out with repairs for some of the town’s older residents who weren’t physically capable of doing the work themselves. But Saturdays were typically their busiest days, and he didn’t need the free time to wonder what Ricky Lee was doing or, worse yet, to drive past the suite hotel to see if he was still there.
“I couldn’t expect you to face the crowds alone, what with the big sale and all,” Alex countered with a mocking smile. In honor of the Class of 2008 tenth reunion, they were offering a 10 percent discount storewide, with an extra ten dollars off any purchases by class alumni. He wasn’t expecting it to yield a huge increase in sales. Since they were the only hardware store in town, they did enough business to turn a modest profit, mainly because the store and the living space above it had been in their family for three generations, so they didn’t need to pay rent. They were never going to strike it rich, but they did well enough, and their selection and service kept most townspeople from driving miles on the interstate to one of the big-box home improvement stores in Lawton. “Besides, it isn’t like I need hours to get ready.”
“Yeah, I have it on good authority that you’re a hunk even when you have sawdust in your hair.” Alanna waved a greeting to a middle-aged man who entered the store and headed straight toward the display of nails and screws. “So, did Sam give you the lowdown on Ricky Lee Jennings?”
“Do you even remember Ricky Lee?” Alex asked. Alanna was only twelve when Ricky Lee had been expelled from Freeland High.
“He came over for dinner enough nights that I remember him. I liked him. He never talked down to me or treated me like a little kid. I always thought you liked him too, before he had to leave town.”
“Of course I liked him. He was my best friend.”
“I meanliked himliked him.” Alanna froze him with a penetrating stare. “I may have been young, but I wasn’t blind or stupid, Xan.”
“It wasn’t that simple, Lan.” Alex glanced around, but their one customer was still engrossed in picking out fasteners. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “There was the football scholarship, and I don’t know how Mom and Dad would have—”
“I think Mom knew. She wouldn’t let me pester you with questions after the fight. And I suspect she and Dad would have been more accepting than you think.”
“It doesn’t matter one way or the other now. Anyway, all Sam knows is that he and his… the person who came to town with him have two rooms at the hotel.” And he’d been there for two days and hadn’t made any effort to see Alex, which said all it needed to about what Ricky Lee might think of him now.
“Well, if you hear from him, let him know I said hi.” Their customer walked up to the counter to check out, ending the discussion. Alanna didn’t bring the subject of Ricky Lee back up, and if Alex found himself glancing over at the door every time it opened, it was never a tall, well-built man with dark hair walking inside.
They shut the store at six, and Alanna closed out the register and put together the night deposit. She picked up dinner from the Chicken Shack on the way back from the bank, and after they’d eaten, Alex took a quick shower before dressing in one of the two suits he’d bought when he was working for OCA.
“You clean up nice,” Alanna said when he walked from his bedroom into the living room, where she was reading a book on her iPad.
Alex pirouetted and dropped her a curtsey. “Glad to know I pass muster with my kid sister.” He hadn’t spent any more time looking in the mirror than it took to comb his short blond hair. The charcoal-gray suit might be several years old, but it still fit him well enough. If he wasn’t as buff as he’d been before the injury that ended any dreams of a football career, working and running kept him toned. “Don’t wait up.”
That was a joke—the reunion only lasted until midnight, and there weren’t many places in town to go after that unless he and Sam wanted to get a drink in one of the bars.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Alanna got up and gave him a hug. “You look good. I don’t say it enough, but I’m lucky to have you as my brother.”
“You’re pretty good as far as sisters go too.” Alex dropped a kiss on her head—at five foot ten, he wasn’t especially tall, but Alanna was several inches shorter. “Enough of the mushy stuff. See you later.”
“Have fun.”
He’d turned to go when his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and frowned when he saw the caller ID—Stephanie Keyes.
“Hey, Stephanie. Is there a problem?”
“Are you still at the store? The DJ rammed his cart into one of the backdrops when he was loading in his equipment, and it’s a bit shaky. Can you bring something to brace it?”
Alex stifled a sigh. “Sure, I was just leaving. I’ll stop downstairs and get my tools and some two-by-fours.” He’d been planning to drive his car, but now he’d have to take the pickup instead. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Always something,” Alanna commiserated as he turned again to leave. “I’ll come down and lock up behind you.”
By the time Alex got to the high school, the parking lot was already crowded with cars. He pulled up alongside the gym and unloaded the wood and his toolbox at the curb before finding a parking spot several rows away. As he was walking back toward the entrance, he stopped and stared at the large black motorcycle occupying one of the spaces.
