Lost Rider(15)

“How well do you even know her? You haven’t said one word about having a new piece of ass so she must not have been in the picture long. Best I can tell, I’m not too far off the mark.”

“How well do I know her?” He laughs bitterly. “I’d say pretty well, considering she’s been Quinn’s best friend for twenty-six fuckin’ years. Why don’t you let that sink in, you fuckin’ asshole?”

My eyes leave his instantly and I look over to his truck, trying to see past the black tint that hides her from my view. No fucking way. It couldn’t be.

“Yeah . . . see you’re connecting the dots just fine now. Congratulations, Mav, not even back in town an hour and I’d say you’ve managed to hurt Quinn and give Leighton some more pain to add to the last dose you dished out. Shit, brother, it’s like you never left.”

He slaps my chest, shakes his head, and walks over to his truck. Before he rounds the bed, he looks back over and meets my stunned gaze. “You fucked up, but that doesn’t mean Quinn isn’t going to want you close. All she’s wanted since the day you fuckin’ left was for you to come home. Do what you need to in order to make it up to both of them.”

He doesn’t wait for a response. I look back at the darkened window when it rolls down a few inches. Clay reverses out of the parking spot, that crack in the window taunting me as it gets closer to where I’m standing, and right when he shifts into drive, one dainty as fuck hand comes out—middle finger pointed straight up and fuck me, I couldn’t stop the burst of laughter that shot out of my mouth.

Looks like little Leighton James is all grown up.

The last time I saw her, I know I hurt her deeply. It’s a moment I’m not proud of and has popped up more often than I’d care to admit over the years. A regret I will always have. The look on her face when she walked away that night held me stuck in place for almost an hour. I tried everything I could to justify my actions. To find a way to right what I already knew was wrong, but I knew then, just like I do now, that if I would have given in to the truth to my feelings about her, I never would have gotten out of this town.

Leighton James isn’t a woman that you can have and let go.

I knew exactly what I was fucking doing when I saw her heading our way that night of the bonfire. It’s the same thing that I’ve done to everyone else in my life.

Push them away before they push me away.

“Fuck!” I shout, pulling off my hat and running my hand through my sweaty hair. Settling the hat back on top of my head, I look up at the blue sky above me and wonder, not for the first time, who the hell I pissed off up there so badly that I keep finding myself in these positions.

Whipping the people I care about when the only thing they’ve ever done was care back.

Leighton’s words come whispering back through my mind and I squeeze my eyes shut, remembering the look of hurt on her face.

“You would think that in the years that you’ve been gone from Pine Oak you would remember what happens when you treat a girl like the shit stuck under your boot.”

“One would think . . .” I mumble to myself before giving my tire a kick.

“Maverick? That you, son?”

I look up, searching for the voice. When I see old Ms. Marybeth Perkins, I give her a smile. One that comes easily when I remember the sweet lady that would bring over home-cooked meals when Pops got too drunk to cook for his kids after Mama left.

“Well, I’ll be. It is you, sugar. Just as ornery as you were the day you skedaddled out of here faster than Jim Bob’s last win at the hot dog eating contest. Mind you, he had a little snag when he thought he could eat three of those dogs at the same time, but he still finished in just shy of two minutes. Mighty fast, if you ask me.” She ambles over slowly, her walker’s little tennis balls hitting the ground softly.

“Hey, Miz Perkins.” I give her a smile, feeling some of the tightness in my gut ease.

“You sure are a sight for sore eyes. About time you got your tail home. You here for good this time?” Her weathered hand comes up and she gives my cheek a few pats.

“Yes, ma’am. Just got back today.”

“Good, good, honey,” she says, still smiling and patting my cheek.

I’m about to open my mouth to speak when her smile slips and she gives me a look cold enough to freeze hell. The soft hand that had been patting my cheek lovingly gives me one more pat, a helluva lot harder than the last. She lets go of her walker with her other hand, brings them both to my chest, and balls my shirt in her hands, jerking me down to her level with a strength that I never would have thought she possessed.