“My dad’s fine, thanks for asking, Ben.”
Amelia leans in.“Your folks are in Winnipeg?Aila and me are based there now!Whereabouts is your dad?Maybe I’ve served him coffee, you never know.It’s a small world.”
“It’s a fucking enormous world when someone gives you the wrong surname, Amelia.That’s what Aila did to me back in La Pas.”
Ben senses the change in the atmosphere immediately.And he also realizes that it’s not Amelia I am after.
“Er… I’ll just go find out what’s keeping Vince at the marina while the two of you catch up, shall I?”
Amelia lifts her hand as if she wants to stop him, but Ben scoots with an apology.“You stay here with Hunter, sweet pea.I won’t be more than a moment, I promise.”
She watches Ben leave, a worried expression on her face.Then Amelia turns her attention back to me.
“I let you sit down because you are friends with my daughter, Mister.But if you want to cuss at me, then you can just mosey yourself on out of here.”
“Fine.No cussing.Why did Aila use the surname O’Hara in La Pas?That’s how she introduced herself to me.”
Amelia skirts around giving me a straight answer as she plays with the paper from her straw.
“I didn’t know you had previously met my daughter.She never said a word.”Meeting my gaze, she asks me head on.“Is that why I got a booking here?”
I feel it’s safe for me to act innocent.“Landslide bookings are based on many factors, Amelia.Don’t sell yourself cheap.Aren’t you having a good time so far?”
She looks around the bar.Even darkly lit, the chalet inn bar gives off cheerful vibes.A thrumming, churning sound is coming from underneath us; the noise from the automated microbrewery making craft beer.It drowns out the noise from the home brewery making fluids in the basement.
“It feels like a dream.Ben arriving to rescue me from the jetty after you and Aila left me all alone… He is the nicest man.I spent the day at his farm.It’s organic, you know.”
Yep.I know, but that’s not what I want to hear.I bring back the original topic of our conversation.
“Why did Aila ditch her surname?”
Drawing circles with the moisture on the table, Amelia drags her feet.“Social media is such a scourge.That’s one of the reasons why I like it here so much.No one to hassle me for not responding to something immediately.”
I’m sure she will get to the point at some time.
“Aila worked so hard to pay off her student loan.”Amelia heaves a heavy sigh.“But then she dropped out.That’s when she changed her name.Maybe she didn’t want her college buddies to know where she ended up?”Even with my limited experience with humans, I can tell that Amelia knows the reason but won’t say.
“Why the change?Dropping out.Losing her surname.That can’t be considered normal behavior.”
Amelia leans back and crosses her arms.“Are you trying to say it was drugs?You’re dead wrong.My Aila is a good girl.I think you should be asking her all these questions.Only Aila knows the real reason.”
Shit.Okay.This is not a good time for me to let on how Aila and I spent the afternoon.Amelia O’Hara might be here to find true love, but it hasn’t put a dent in her motherly instincts.
“I’m a biker, Amelia.Not a shrink.But thanks.”
I guess I’m back to tapping on Aila’s window like a lovestruck Romeo.
ChapterEleven
Aila
Istand soaking my skin in the shower for a long time.
Amazingly enough, showering was not at the top of my list when I came back to the inn.Heading straight to the kitchen, I found all the breakfast stuff—croissants, muffins, yogurt, and fruit—and ate as much of it as I could stomach.
After washing everything down with some orange juice, I started feeling human again.
Trying to piece together fragments of memory is perplexing.Something is missing from my idyllic interlude in the shady grotto with my Midnight Rider.
