Page 13 of The Flame of Carson
Afew hours later,Gage eased his bike into a parking spot in downtown Canyon Lake.He pulled off his helmet as Stacey pulled in beside him.“What did you think of Devil's Backbone?”
“I loved it.I'll have to thank Kris for suggesting it.”Stacey answered, unzipping her jacket.“You seemed a bit surprised that I was able to keep up during our little race.”
“I was but I shouldn’t have been.You are a natural rider.”Gage slipped his arm around her and the two headed toward Granny D's.The couple walked in and were greeted with mouthwatering smells.They were quickly seated, and Stacey rewarded Gage with a brilliant smile.Gage reached out and took her hand in his, his thumb gently rubbing circles on the back of her hand.
“Stace, you have no idea how thrilled I am that you're here now.”
“And why is that big boy?”she teased, cupping her chin with her free hand.
Gage chuckled, “I'm serious babe.For the last year it's been killing me not having you close to me.I don't know how many times I had to stop myself from saying anything whenever we were together.”
Stacey frowned, “Why?Gage, when we started this, we agreed to be honest with each other.Why didn't you ever say anything?”
Gage sighed, but before he could answer, their waitress appeared.He and Stacey quickly gave their drink and food orders and the young woman hurried away.“I never said anything because whenever we were together it was always for short amounts of time you know.I didn't want to interrupt our time together with negative shit.”
“I get it.To be honest, I hated it too.Those first few weeks it wasn't a big deal you know.It was all so new, but as the months continued and we started falling deeper for each other...God I hated the distance.”She admitted, laying her hand atop his.
“Well, now we don't have that obstacle, do we?We're in the same state, the same city and now we can just be together.”He stated, turning his hand to squeeze hers.
Stacey smiled and squeezed his hand back.Deep down though she felt a shadow of guilt.She hadn't told him why she finally took the job in Austin.Should she?After all, it wasn't a big deal anymore, right?Her move wasn't made public except to the bosses and her fellow editors, so how was that creep going to know she was no longer in New York?No, she wouldn't tell Gage.Not yet anyway.Maybe in a few weeks once things settled down.With her mind made up, she pushed those feelings of guilt aside and focused on enjoying being with her man.
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It was nearly darkwhen Gage and Stacey finally pulled up in front of her house.Gage followed her up onto the large porch while Stacey unlocked the front door.She flipped on the living room light and led them in.
“Here we are, my new home sweet home.”
“Wow.Looks great.”
Gage turned in a small circle taking in the open living room.There was a beautiful black slate fireplace front and center against the far wall with a flat screen resting above it.To the left of it facing the street was a panoramic window with light green curtains and along the bottom of the window was a wide cedar ledge.He could already picture her decorating it for the upcoming holidays, maybe even for Halloween which was only two weeks away.Several paintings he remembered seeing in her apartment in New York were hanging on the left wall.In the center of the room was a couch, love seat and an overstuffed chair around a coffee table, which already held what looked like at least four manuscripts and centered so the fireplace and TV were the main focal point of the room.
“I was thinking of repainting the living room but decided to wait on that.I mean I like the blue on the walls but, well you know me.My mind changes so fast.”She laughed.
“Yeah, I remember.The first time I visited you in New York, your living room walls were white and then when I went to see you again three months later, they were green.”Gage grinned.
“Yep.Come on, you have to see the kitchen.”Stacey said, grabbing his hand and tugging him from the room.
Gage willingly followed her, drinking in everything about the house and every little thing that made his woman bubble with excitement.She was right though; her kitchen was a thing of beauty.He was already picturing cooking dinner for her or them cooking meals together in the kitchen along with the teasing and flirting he knew from experience that would happen.After the tour of the kitchen, Stacey led him upstairs.The first room was mostly empty except for a bed and a few boxes that hadn't been unpacked yet.Stacey told him she would make this room a guest room for when her folks came to visit.The next room was yet another guest room, but Stacey had already turned the space into her home office.Those massive bookcases of hers took up a whole damn wall and was packed full with her book collection.In front of the large window that looked down on the back yard sat her desk.On the wall across from her bookcases were more of her paintings.Until he met her, Gage hadn't known diddly about art.Now he could pick out Van Gogh, Picasso, and Monet at least thanks to Stacey.
The last stop was the master bedroom.Yet something was missing.“Um, babe?Where's your bed?Your dresser?”
Stacey started snickering, “Once I got everything unpacked and had the bed set up, I didn't like it.So, the next day I went furniture shopping.My new bedroom suite will be delivered on Monday.Kris and Mama Deb will be here to help get it all set up for me since I’ll be at the office.I already told them where I want everything.”
“Then where have you been sleeping and what did you do with your old furniture?”Gage questioned.
“I've been sleeping on the couch or in the guest room.As for the old furniture I sold it.Seems that Crystal was in the market for a new bed anyway and she loved my old one, so I sold that to her and the wardrobe.The dresser and nightstands I sold to Ethan's mom for their guest room since Crystal didn’t need them.” She shrugged.
Gage shook his head as they headed back downstairs.Stacey was quite a unique woman.First off, she came from a very, very wealthy family, but she didn't act like it.Yes, she dressed like a runway model at times and drove a fancy car, but personality wise she didn't act like others in her tax bracket.The next thing he found fascinating was her passion for Krav Maga.He had seen her in action a few times and it floored him every time.The third thing about her was that she didn't know a stranger.Nope, not his woman.She could strike up a conversation with anyone and usually did.Of course, given her career choice it came in handy to be that way he supposed.He sat at the kitchen island as Stacey pulled out a pitcher of tea and two glasses.
“How are things at Blackout?”she asked, sitting beside him after pouring them their drinks.
“Busy.When you came by the other day, I had just left a new client.Plus, Ethan thinks we're about to get even busier.State elections are coming up next year and we've already been contacted about possibly working as added security at some of the rallies and such.We just secured a bid for security at the upcoming ROT Rally in June.”He replied.
“ROT Rally?She inquired.
He chuckled, “ROT Rally is the Republic of Texas Motorcycle rally.They hold it at the Travis expo center every June.That was actually our first big security gig after we opened Blackout.About a year after we opened the shop, the organizers of ROT called us.We all worked that weekend and got to see the main show.It was Lynyrd Skynyrd with Lucas Nelson as their opening act.”
