“Wonder what landed her in Freedom Falls?”I ask more to myself than to Gainz.
Gainz shrugs, “What I gather from Nitro, she has an ex-husband who don’t do shit for their kid, but that’s how Lucy wants it.Sometimes you don’t realize what someone is until you’re already stuck.Maybe she’s not all she seems, but way I read it, her ex wasn’t someone to regret leaving.”
Fair.I think about the way Lucy froze last night.The way she kept glancing at the door today.
“Kid’s five,” Gainz continues.“Quinn.She’s a good kid.”
“I figured.”
Gainz smirks slightly.“You sound invested.”
“I’m observant.”
“Uh huh.”
I grab a rag and start wiping grease off a wrench just to keep my hands busy.“Her ex cause problems before?”
“Sometimes is what Lindsey thinks.But she hasn’t witnessed anything here.”
“Violent?”I ask feeling my pulse quicken thinking about Lucy being man-handled.
“Mostly loud.”
I toss the rag back on the bench.Gainz watches me quietly for a second.Then he smiles.“You like her.”
I groan.“You’re all unbelievable.Don’t look into shit, Gainz.”
“I’m serious.”He challenges.
“I met her twice.”I shrug.
“That’s all it takes sometimes.”
I shake my head.“Not for me.Ain’t made it to fifty-one years old without getting married or having kids because I can be knocked on my ass with one glance.”
“Maybe that’s why she matters.”
I start to respond.
But the sound of another motorcycle pulls into the lot outside.Heavy engine.Familiar.A moment later Stunt walks through the shop door.
“Morning, lovebirds.”
“Shut up,” I fire back immediately.
Gainz laughs.Stunt glances between us.“What’d I miss?”
“Roger showed up at the diner,” Gainz answers.
Stunt’s eyebrows lift.“Really.I’d say I’m surprised Mellow went to the diner, but I’m not.”
“He left,” I add.“For now.”
Stunt leans against the counter beside me.“You want us to keep an eye on it?”
I hesitate.Because the answer is obvious.Yes.But saying it out loud makes this whole thing real.Lucy isn’t club business.She’s just a woman in town.
Still, it gnaws at me.I remember the way Roger pointed at her.We’re talking later.My jaw tightens.
