The Cut(31)

"Will do." Gypsy backed out of the drive slowly. "You'll be fine."

When he pulled out onto the country road, she turned in her seat and  waved, watching Stake as long as she could. With a sigh, she turned  around and reached for her seatbelt. "How long is the drive again?"

"Nine hours or so. Depends on how often we have to stop." He grinned.  "You're not one of those women who have to stop and pee every hour are  you?"

"I don't know. I've never been further than San Antonio," she answered honestly.

Those amber eyes stared at her for several seconds before going back to  the road. "In that case, feel free to ask me to stop whenever you see  something that interests you." He winked. "We'll make a traveler out of  you yet."

Approaching the interstate onramp, she spotted a lone figure leaning  against a black Harley. "Oh my God." She reached for Gypsy's arm.  "Stop."

As soon as the truck was pulled to the side of the road, Santana jumped  out and ran toward Tiny. "You came!" she launched herself at him,  knowing he wouldn't let her fall.

Tiny caught her against his muscular chest and swung her around. "I  couldn't do it," he whispered in her ear. "I couldn't let you leave  knowing it might be the last time I ever get to hold you."

She felt tears burn her eyes. "I know what you did." She kissed his  cheek. "As soon as you're cleared, move to Arkansas with us."         

     



 

"I can't move to Arkansas. What Stake's doing is special on account of  you." He eased her back down to the ground. "But, if I make it out of  this thing without getting caught, I'll make that drive whenever you  need me."

She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. "I will always need you."





Chapter Eleven





A few miles outside of Fayetteville, Santana could no longer hide her  excitement. "It's so green," she said in awe. Everywhere she looked were  varying shades of green in the trees, the grass, and the plants. "It's  beautiful."

Gypsy grinned at her. She'd caught him doing that a lot on their drive,  but she didn't get a creepy vibe from him, more like he thought he was  constantly indulging a child. She wondered if he thought she was too  immature for Stake.

"In another week or two, the leaves will start changing. I can't wait  for you to see it. It's quite a sight to behold," Gypsy casually said.

"I can't wait." She continued to stare out the window. The drive had  been exciting, and Gypsy had kept true to his word and had stopped each  time she'd asked. She looked at the small snow globe that rested on the  dash of the pickup. She'd found it in one of the souvenir shops they'd  stopped at and knew it would be the perfect addition to Stake's Harley  collection.

"It'll be too late to see the house tonight, but I've booked you a room  in a motel not far from my place. I've already talked terms to the  realtor. The house is empty, so as soon as the banks are ready to close,  the place will be yours and Stake's." He glanced at her. "It's going to  need a paint job inside and out, and if it were me, I'd have the floors  refinished before moving in."

Santana had no idea what those things would cost. Although Stake was  planning to bring the best pieces of his furniture, they would still  have so many things to buy. She hated the thought of spending his  savings and vowed to use as little as possible. "I'll talk to Stake  about it once we know how much money it'll take."

They rode in silence for several miles before she noticed Gypsy looking at her again.

"What?" she asked. It was the first time since they'd started the drive that she felt uncomfortable.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "He used to talk about you," he mumbled.  "I'm not gonna lie, I never understood why he tortured himself over the  situation." He winced. "But, I get it now. Just thought you should know  that."

Curious, she prodded for more information. "What did he tell you about me?"

Gypsy turned his attention back to the winding road. "It wasn't so much  that he told me about you. Your name just seemed to come up in nearly  every story he told. I always wondered what hold the girl with  kaleidoscope eyes had on him." He gripped the steering wheel tighter.  "It tore him up when he was ordered to stay away from you." He flicked  his glance her way. "I hope you realize that. He even talked about going  nomad over it, but I convinced him that his life would be nothing  without the cut. I was wrong," he admitted. "So very wrong."

She took a moment for his words to sink in. Knowing that Stake hated not  seeing her helped ease some of the hurt from the past. She didn't blame  Gypsy for convincing Stake to stay with his brothers. Hell, she knew  what going nomad meant, and she couldn't imagine him living his life  without a family of brothers. "I'm glad you talked him into staying.  Being a biker is who he is."

"It's good that you understand that."

She stared at Gypsy longer than she should have. Except for the shorter  hair, she could almost convince herself that it was Stake driving the  truck. It was disturbing and comforting at the same time. "You should  grow a beard," she suggested.

He took a hand from the wheel to rub across his heavy five o'clock  shadow. "I've grown one a time or two, but it takes more work to keep it  up than to shave every day."

She bit her bottom lip, wondering how truthful she could be with the  man. She wouldn't tell him that she didn't like beards so the  distinction between him and Stake would be even more apparent if he grew  one. "It would better suit your name," she finally said.

He chuckled. "Should I get a big hoop earring, too?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't … "

"It's okay." He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "I know why you want me to grow a beard. I was just fuckin' with ya."         

     



 

"You do?" Had she been so obvious?

"You're afraid of being tempted by my stellar looks, right?" he asked, with a wide grin on his handsome face.

"I'm not tempted," she snapped. "It's just that when I look at you, it makes me miss him."

"Relax. I was trying to rile you up. I know where your heart is." Gypsy  made a left hand turn and pulled to a stop in front of a small, but  well-kept motel. He sat there for several moments without making a move  to open his door. "My brother's a lucky man," he said before climbing  out of the truck.

It was the first time he'd referred to Stake as his brother, and she  wasn't sure if he meant the obvious familial connection between the two  or the club connection. Either way, it was obvious he had honest  feelings for Stake. The realization made her feel much better.



"It's perfect," Santana gasped as she threw open the passenger door. The  pale yellow farmhouse was set at an angle from the row of trees that  hid it from the road. Gypsy had warned her that it would need some  fixing up, but she couldn't see any imperfections in the two-story  house. The wide front porch looked out over a small pond that, although  overgrown with grass and cattails, would be spectacular once cleaned up.

She nearly floated toward the unruly red climbing roses that grew on a  trellis attached to the side of the house. "It's so much prettier than  the pictures you sent."

Gypsy moved to stand next to her. "The place has sat empty since  February, so it'll take a fair amount of cleaning up, but it's a damn  good buy."

She spun to face him, tears burning her eyes. "Can we see the inside?"

He pulled out a set of keys. "The realtor dropped these in my mailbox  this morning. I think it's safe to say he's excited about selling the  place. He wanted to come and give you a proper tour, but I told him  you'd want to explore on your own."

"Thank you." She took the keys before making her way to the front porch.  Stairs. She grinned as she climbed the five steps to the  tongue-and-groove porch, making a mental note to remind Stake to bring  the porch swing with him. God, she wished Stake was with her to see it.  That in mind, she pulled the phone out of her pocket.

"Hey, lady bug," he answered on the first ring.

"It's beautiful," she said before filling him in on what the yard and  house looked like on the outside. "I'm getting ready to go inside, but I  wanted to hear your voice."

"I love the drawing," he told her. "I haven't got shit done today because I can't tear my eyes off it."

"I'm glad you like it. I didn't want you to forget what I look like."  She smiled to herself as she thought of him sitting on the edge of the  bed with her portrait in his hands. "I wish you were here to see the  house with me."

"Tell you what. I'll close my eyes and you can describe everything to me. It'll be almost like I'm with you."