His Old Lady - Debra Kayn Page 0,61

"I'll let Aaron fill you in about our night."

Aaron leaned against the building when Rick pulled up on his Harley, followed by Tracy in the truck. Anxious to hear about how things went at the lounge, Curley tucked his hands into his vest pocket and planned to wait until they were alone.

Rick walked over to the truck and opened the door, lifting Tracy down from the seat. Curley lifted his chin at them. "No kids tonight?"

"Slick lost a bet, so he's babysitting." Tracy grinned, leaning into Rick's side. "I wanted to come over and check out Promise. Congratulations on the new business."

Curley found amusement that his MC brother got stuck with the kids. "As long as you don't go in there and distract the waitresses, the drinks are on me."

"Oh, you're sweet." Tracy looked toward Rick, whispered something to him, and then left her man's side.

Curley braced the closer Tracy got to him. The hug she gave him was unsurprising. Nevertheless, he let her squeeze him while looking over her head at her man. Rick's eyebrow cocked, tolerating his woman's need to shower affection on those she called family when she was happy.

"Treat her right, uncle, or I'll never talk to you again." She leaned back, patted his chest, and quietly said, "I'm happy for you, too."

He dipped his chin. Her words meant something to him. But the guilt kept him from sharing the happiness over the change in his life. It was only a matter of time until Faye found out the truth, and everything good would be stripped from his life.

When that happened, Faye would need Tracy and every member of Tarkio to see her through the darkness.

The others walked into the building. Aaron chuckled. "Might want to prepare the bar because once Slick's off babysitting duty, he's going to hit the bottle. Those kids can drive the calmest man insane. I can barely keep up with them."

Needing to hear what happened at the lounge, Curley said, "What did you find out about Cal Williams?"

"He's a horndog." Aaron shook his head. "He kept his hands off the two waitresses that are working for him while we were there, but he's sleazy."

"How so?"

Aaron clicked his tongue. "Mainly a feeling. He's uncomfortable around men. Every time the door opened and customers walked in, he grew tense."

"Like he was expecting someone?"

Aaron shook his head. "As if he was afraid, whoever walked in was going to kick his ass. But, when women came in, he quickly dismissed them."

"Hm." He inhaled deeply and looked out at the street. "Roddy checked into his background. He has no prior arrest. His record is clean, besides a speeding ticket over five years ago."

"It could be that he has a thing for Faye, and that's his problem. His behavior could be explained that the guy is awkward around other people. An odd way to act being the owner of a lounge. I expected him to be a people pleaser."

"Well, if he's stuck on Faye, he'll soon learn she doesn't exist for him." He pushed off the wall. "There's still the fact the greenhouse burnt down, and she lost the most important thing in her life, and if someone is responsible for taking that from her, they're going to pay."

"It's not the most important thing to her." Aaron raised his brows. "We've all seen how that little girl loves you."

"She's not a little girl anymore," he muttered. "You also know I'm not any good for her."

"You forget how she was raised within Tarkio. She knows we're all a bunch of rough bikers with an asshole attitude. Besides, you're the only person she's had in her life since Walker left."

He knew Faye better than anyone, including Walker. He was the only one close enough to her since she was eight years old to understand that Faye would take the truth and believe he'd taken her only family member away from her. The only blood family who swore not to abandon her, and it was Curley who'd taken him away.

She'd grown up, building an armory around her feelings, not because she was afraid to love, but because she was afraid of losing another person in her life. To protect herself, she'd shot out with her temper if he came around.

Now that she was taking a chance on him, he understood he had one chance to get it right.

If he wasn't one-hundred-percent truthful with her, she'd cut him out of her life. This time, she'd have Walker's blessings. Probably Aaron's, too.

"Thanks