Page 11 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

“That was sweet of you, but I’m trying to watch my figure,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “These days, I can’t eat just anything like you young people can.” It didn’t stop her from sneaking a few fries, though, before repeating, “So, your new place . . .”

“I haven’t even moved in yet. It turns out that while the husband had agreed to rent it to me, the wife had promised it to a woman, and when we both showed up to sign the lease, they decided to talk about it first.”

Gabe was talking more to Sharla than Honey, who was too busy eating to pay attention.

“That’s terrible,” Sharla said.

“Yeah, and I get the feeling the other potential tenant will make some major waves if the decision goes my way. She just seems like the real uptight, self-involved diva type, you know?”

“They should go with the first person to claim it.”

“I agree,” Gabe replied, appreciating Sharla’s loyalty. “But I also don’t want to start sh—” He caught himself at Sharla’s warning look. “Stuff in a new place and cause problems. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.”

“Psh, just because you’re trying not to make waves doesn’t mean you let other people push you under the water.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m not. But whether they pick me or not, it’s out of my hands.”

“You should share,” Honey said, her words garbled by a mix of fries and milkshake.

Gabe stared at his sister, fighting a smile. “You think I should share my apartment with a strange woman?”

“Is she strange?” Honey asked.

No, she’s not strange. She’s hot and sexy and trouble on two legs.

“I just mean that I don’t know her.”

“If you lived with her, then you would get to know her, wouldn’t you?”

That gave him pause. It was a two-bedroom apartment. If he shared the rent, it would help with the unforeseen expenses he hadn’t counted on. Women liked things neat and tidy, didn’t they? They could split the housework, and he’d hardly be there anyway, what with getting the shop off the ground.

All in all, it wasn’t a half bad suggestion.

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks, baby girl.”

“Wanna watch a movie?” she asked, jumping up from the table so fast, she almost took out his chin.

“Sure.” Following his sister to the day bed, he sat against the headboard and wasn’t surprised that she picked Homeward Bound. It was a favorite of hers.

As she climbed up next to him, she leaned her head on his shoulder. “You’re the best brother ever.”

His chest tightened. Not yet, but I’m working on it.

GABE RODE BACK into Rock Canyon at just after six in the evening and took the main stretch so he could stop by Chase’s tattoo shop. He parked his bike around the corner on Oak Avenue and realized, as he took his gloves off, that his palms were sweating, and he couldn’t seem to slow his heart rate.

It was no surprise that he was nervous. The last time he’d seen Chase, he’d been screaming at him from a hospital bed the morning after the accident, blaming him for everything and telling him to get out. Chase had even visited him once while he was in prison, but he’d refused to see him.

Gabe had tried to find him when he got out, to make amends, but no one knew where he’d ended up. It wasn’t until Gabe had taken a trip to Reno and stopped in at a little diner off the highway where Chase’s mom had worked that he’d been able to track him down. Chase’s stepdad had told him that Chase had moved to a small town in Idaho and was living a really good life there, writing comic books while running his tattoo shop. Gabe had been curious about Rock Canyon and why Chase would have chosen to settle there instead of LA or New York. Chase had always talked about moving somewhere big and booming, where artists were “appreciated,” whatever that meant.

Despite their rocky past, Gabe had kept up with Chase’s comic book career. He’d even bought a ticket to a comic book convention in Denver, once he’d learned that Chase would be signing books there. But in the end, he hadn’t made it past the parking lot.

Chase was the only person who had been there the night of the accident and who had stuck around for the aftermath. He’d seen Gabe at his worst, and for Gabe, that was the reason facing Chase was so terrifying. Honey could remember bits and pieces sometimes, but for the most part, she was blissfully ignorant and had forgiven Gabe easily.

It wouldn’t be that simple with Chase.

Gabe stepped inside the brightly lit parlor. Chase was standing with his back to him, hanging up some artwork on the wall.

“Hang on; I’ll be right with you,” Chase said.

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