Baddy frowned."What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
How many times had he listened to Baddy give advice to other people?Most of the time, nobody could make sense of what he jabbered on about.
"It means you finally care about something that ain't the club."Baker nudged him with an elbow."And that scares the hell out of you."
Baddy opened his mouth to argue, but Baker kept going.
"You've been alone a long time.You built your whole life on not needing anybody.Then that girl shows up, and suddenly you're thinking about more than runs and routes and who's watching your six."
Baddy's chest tightened.
Baker lowered his voice."Ain't nothing wrong with that.Makes you human.Makes you better."
Baddy swallowed hard, staring at the gate."She's too young for me."
"Bullshit."Baker chuckled."Half the men around here are hooked up with someone young enough to be their daughter.Hell, at one time, my old lady was barely out of high school..."
He grunted, knowing Baker's story.He fell for a young chick, got her knocked up, married her, and then left her so his kid would have a better life than he could give her.He continually sent money to a PO Box every month, believing that was enough.Meanwhile, he lost his family.It was a familiar story, especially when Baker picked up the bottle.
"Lydia's looking for something bigger than I can give her."He rubbed the back of his neck.
The way she'd looked at the photo album, dreaming about a life out of her reach, was more than he was ready to understand.Lydia wasn't so far down on her luck that she'd compromise her happiness.She was working damn hard to reach her dreams.
"She's looking for a perfect family.That's not me."He exhaled harshly."I'm only protecting her."
As he spoke, he knew he was lying.He'd done more than protect her.He'd spent time with her, got to know her, and he'd acted on his attraction to her.Fucking hell, he couldn't stop touching her.
Baker clapped a hand on his shoulder."You can't protect her from out here.And you sure can't protect her by pushing her away."
Baddy's breath caught."I don't want to hurt her."
Baker pointed in the direction of the diner."She doesn't need perfect.She needs reliability and dedication.And you?"He gave Baddy a pointed look."You're as solid as you can get."
The words hit deeper than Baddy expected.
Baker turned to go back inside."Now, quit being pissed off at the world and go check on her.She's working, pretending she ain't scared.And you're down here pretending you ain't in love."Baker grunted."In twenty years, you'll be glad you made the right decision when your bed is warm, and you have a woman stroking your ego."
He shook his head at the old man.He'd be lucky to still be alive in twenty years.
"Yeah."Baker smirked."I said it."
Then he disappeared inside, leaving Baddy alone with the truth he'd been avoiding.
He was falling for Lydia.Hard.
