One day, I was sure, I would be able to.
But until then, if Taos was going to ask, I was going to make him work for it.
And I knew that he wouldn’t be asking.
He was definitely between a rock and a hard place.
For one, he was the same age as Haggard and my dad. He’d always been around when we were being raised. Though, unlike Haggard, who’d been missing from my elementary to middle school years, Taos had been there through it all.
He was just as protective of me as a father would be.
But Haggard was his friend, and he knew that I was a responsible kid.
A kid—my dad—raising a kid, no matter if they had help or not through my dad’s adoptive parents—was a hard job. Though my father was always a good father, there were times that I had to raise myself. Not that I was complaining.
I liked the life I lived.
I loved my father.
I loved everything he’d done to make my life better.
I just didn’t like how he was acting right now.
“I…” Taos trailed off, his eyes going to something over my head. His eyes narrowed, then he grinned his fake smile. The one that I liked to say he used when he greeted new gym-goers that he didn’t want to greet. “Hello again. It’s nice to see you back.”
Those were straight-up lies. Taos wasn’t happy to see this particular customer back.
My lips twitched hard before turning around and pinning on my customer service smile. The one I’d been using since I was old enough to help at the gym with my dad and Taos.
“Hello,” I said before I realized just how close this newcomer was to me.
He was practically standing in my bubble.
I took a step backward and to the side, putting more distance between us so that I was comfortable.
The man’s amused eyes watched me step away from him as he drawled, “Glad to be back. It’s nice to have a gym that has such a welcoming committee. What’s your name, sweet thing?”
I got the heebie-jeebies just being next to him. And him calling me sweet thing? I wanted to gag, then shove my fist into his testicles.
But, years’ worth of dealing with people I didn’t like came to the forefront, and I pushed all other thoughts of hitting him aside.
“Hi, I’m Sophia.” I smiled at the newcomer. “What’s your name?”
The man’s eyes, hard and flinty, turned to stare directly into mine. “Andrew.”
I smiled my best customer service smile and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Andrew. My father owns this joint with that one.” I pointed at Taos.
Andrew didn’t turn around to see who I was pointing at.
In fact, the intensity of his stare was beginning to make me extremely uncomfortable.
“Ahh,” he said, sweeping his hand out in an exaggerated fashion to indicate the door. “Shall we go inside? It’s quite hot today.”
It was.
But I’d rather bake in the hot sun than have him hold the door for me.
Luckily, Taos had my back.
At least, that was, until Haggard rolled up on his Harley.
He took one look at the discomfort on my face and hopped off his bike.
He was in dark blue jeans that’d had some questionable dirt stains on his knees, a white t-shirt that had grease on the right sleeve, and his leather cut declaring him a member of The Battle Crows MC.
Completely dismissing Andrew, who was holding the door open for us, he walked up to me, shouldered Taos out of the way with a bump, and caught my hand.
Without asking permission, he pulled me to the side and turned my face with a knuckle under my chin.
His eyes took in the burn, and then my face. “What are you doing out?”
I rolled my eyes. “I was released by the doctor today via FaceTime call. He said I looked fit as a fiddle, and that I could start working out ‘light’ so I decided to come here. Why are you here? I thought you were working?”
His lips twitched. “I was, but I got a call that someone picked up a woman from my house. So I thought I’d check. Turns out, that woman was you. Coming here in Taos’ car. You could’ve put me out of my misery and told me you were leaving, so I didn’t have to worry.”
Now that he said it like that, I realized my mistake.
I’d remembered he said he was having his house’s camera feed monitored. I hadn’t thought to call him so that he wouldn’t have to leave work.
Man, that made me feel like an ass.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I was just so stir crazy, and I knew that Taos would have to teach a class soon, and I really wanted to join. I’m so bored.”
He studied my face, his eyes taking me in for a long second before he said, “It’s okay. I have to talk to Taos about some information he’s having pulled for me anyway. It works out that you interrupted my work.”