Page 54 of Needing More
"Lord, this really is a small town," she mumbled thinking about the tall boy that looked like a grown man.
Sebastian made a noise of agreement under his breath before standing up and returning to the jack. Within a few minutes, the truck was lowered back down and he was wiping his hands on a black bandanna he pulled from his pocket.
"All done," he announced and pointed to the tire. "You know they’ll recognize that this is a spare the moment they see it, right?"
Maybe. Maybe not. If she did some clever parking she may be able to hide it from Hayden and tell Joel or maybe even Vic. A frisson of pain twisted in her heart at the reminder of Vic. For the brief time it took Sebastian to change the tire she had blissfully forgotten about the guilt creeping through her body like vines, threatening to suffocate her from within.
"Yeah, I know," she mumbled.
Sebastian regarded her for a moment before stepping back from the truck. "Drive slowly on that donut, it's only meant to get you out of a pinch."
"Thank you for helping me." She looked sorrowfully at his now dusty clothes. "If you ever come by the café in Holter I’ll load you up with cake or cookies or something as payment."
His eyes lit up at that. "That sounds fair to me. Truthfully, getting to see the Heathen's girl was payment enough for me." He winked and walked back to his bike.
Why did he say it like that? He acted like she defeated a three-headed dragon or something.
She drove slowly back to the farm, praying as she came around the bend that she wouldn't see any of the guys' bikes. Pulling into the drive, Sapphire cursed. Two bikes sat in their customary tilt right in front of the porch stairs. Squinting, she breathed a little easier recognizing the purple and the blue bike. Okay, no black bike. That meant Hayden wasn't here yet.
Pulling the truck near a big oak tree, she parked it at a slant, doing her best to hide the obvious donut. She looked back to the driveway and prayed once more that Hayden wouldn't show up until after dark. Maybe, just maybe, if he didn't see the changed tire it could buy her some time and think of what the hell she was going to say as to why she didn't call him.
Closing the door, she turned and nearly let out a scream at Joel's sudden presence next to her.
"Hey there, sweetheart. Watcha doin?" His bright blue eyes scanned her hungrily from head to toe before turning and stopping on the driver's side tire. Joel frowned and his eyes cut back to hers.
Sapphire held out a hand and moved past him to the house. "I’ll explain."
"Oh, you're going to have to, darlin’." There was an edge of authority in his tone that didn't escape her.
The sound of the front door opening interrupted her reply and Sapphire looked up to see Vic stepping out onto the porch. With his dark hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and his clothes covered in what looked like white powder and random paint stains, he still managed to look unbelievably sexy.
His dark expression directed at her, however, immediately cooled that train of thought. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Oh my God," she exhaled, maneuvering past Joel and toward the house. "Can you at least let me get inside before you interrogate me?"
Joel gave one last look at the tire before falling in step beside her and plucking her bag from her shoulder. Vic held the door open for her like a maître d with a sarcastic flair. She returned his smirk with a sarcastic look of her own as she stepped into the foyer.
Setting her bag on the dining room table, Joel turned back and looked at her with his arms crossed, leaning on the stairway banister with a sexy casualness that just made her sigh inwardly. As if reading her thoughts, Joel's dimples deepened as he grinned at her.
Turning her head with a snap of her ponytail she looked at Vic, who stood in the living room doorway. "Where's Hayden?"
"He mumbled something about going to the convenience store, but I'm pretty sure he went out looking for you once we all realized you should have been home half an hour ago." Joel shot her a pointed look. "I take it this has to do with the donut you're riding on?"
Vic flinched and looked from Joel to her. "Did you blow a tire? Wait, did you change it yourself?" he asked in disbelief.
"Allright." She held up her hand to stop him there. "I'm not sure I like the insinuation that I can't change a tire," she said defensively.
Vic's dark eyes met her in a deadpan look. "Did you?"
Sapphire looked away. "Not exactly," she mumbled.
The loud growl of a motorcycle vibrated the air and they all looked out the front windows on either side of the door.
"Well, you're in for it now." Joel smiled wickedly, enjoying this far too much.
Sapphire shifted nervously on her feet. "Joel," she begged with a whine.
His blue eyes softened and he opened his arms. "Come here."
