Hold Me Close (Ryker Falls #5) - Wendy Vella Page 0,19
friends were right. It had also been a distraction. A way to deal with what he didn’t want to face.
Looking at the mountains, he thought there wasn’t anywhere else he’d rather live than here. The scenery was spectacular. But this place was more to Fin. It was in his blood. Okay, at the moment that blood was set at a steady simmer, but that was his father’s doing.
The wind was icy on his cheeks, but the helmet and scarf he wore along with his leather jacket kept him warm. His thoughts returned to Maggs.
What was the woman’s deal? Something had changed inside her, given her fear, he just didn’t know what. She’d always been fiery and fierce, but never scared. She was that now.
As if he’d conjured her up, there she was on the side of the road. The hood of her car was raised, and she was standing staring down at the engine when he stopped. She narrowed her eyes at him. Fin realized she didn’t recognize him, so he took off his helmet.
“Nice bike. It suits you.”
“Big and mean?” Fin asked, getting off.
“Hard-assed with silver highlights.”
“I’m not entirely sure that’s a compliment. But I found a gray hair the other day, actually. It was a bitch to pull out.” He walked toward her, taking in the black jeans, boots, and a green jacket buttoned to her neck. The only vibrant color was in her cheeks. They were pink. Maggs always wore color; it was her trademark. He searched for it, but didn’t find any. Another change.
“Pip says when you visit your family, which you did just before I returned home, you always do something reckless. Is that your reckless streak from this visit?” She nodded at his bike.
“I don’t do reckless things, and I’ve always wanted a bike like this,” he said calmly. If he got riled up, that would simply confirm her belief she was right.
“Okay, if you say so.” Her eyes told him she was doubtful.
“I do say so.”
“Okay.”
“Look,” he gritted out. “I wanted this bike, end of story.”
Her smile made him want to shake her. “If you say so,” she said with an annoying smile.
Fin only just managed to bite back the words ‘I do say so.’
“Okay, but if you feel an irrational urge to buy anything after another visit, there’s this really nice pair of brown leather boots in Letty’s. She’s holding them for me.”
He barked out a laugh. “I’ll try and remember that. So what’s the deal with your car?”
“It just stopped.”
“You got gas?”
This look held a little more heat. “Of course.”
He moved closer and looked under the hood. Poking around, he couldn’t see anything obvious.
“Could be a few things, all of which suggest you can’t drive it.”
“Really?” She looked pissed. “I need to be somewhere.”
“You won’t be going anywhere in this. Need to give Bas a call and get him to tow it back to the garage.”
She pulled out her cell phone, then jammed it back in her pocket. “No coverage here.”
“Hop on. I’ll take you back to Ryker.”
“On that?” She looked doubtful.
“Well I’m not piggybacking you all the way.”
“Ha ha. But I need to go home, Fin. I’ve been summoned for lunch.”
“Okay, I’ll take you.”
She looked like she was in pain while she thought about how to answer that.
“I’m not leaving you here, Maggs. So I take you either where you want to go or back to Ryker. Make a decision.”
“Don’t use that tone on me.”
“No tone; just stating facts.”
“I don’t want to go on your motorbike.”
“I don’t remember you being such a baby before. And I have a spare helmet.”
“I’m not a baby!” The words had heat in them, he was pleased to hear. She walked away from him and pulled out her cell phone again. She lifted it above her head, moved left and right, and he waited and watched.
“Entertaining as this is, I have shit to do, and it’s getting cold out here.”
“It’ll be colder on that bike!”
He just looked at her, arms folded.
“All right!” She stomped back, and he was pleased to see anger flushing her cheeks.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t I doing you a favor?” Fin made a show of looking around him. “Not many other options that I can see.”
She exhaled slowly. He then watched her inhale and exhale twice more.
Interesting.
He’d never seen her do that before, and if he was a betting man, he’d say she was doing it to calm herself. Usually Maggs just let fly with whatever was in her