Hawk: (15 page)

Hawk drove Tildy up the winding hills to Shooter and Slick’s place just outside the city. Though he didn’t give women rides on his bike as a rule, he was rather enjoying Tildy’s hands pressed into his mid-section, probably because he’d make that cock-riding comment. It was intended to provoke that cute way of blushing she had. Unfortunately, it also had the unintended side effect of him picturing Tildy naked and riding him, her dark hair cascading over his chest as she leaned down to kiss him.

He set his jaw and gunned the Harley’s engine. He had to stop envisioning her naked, especially since they were just friends. He nosed the bike down the last gravel driveway on the lane and parked in the circular drive.

Tildy looked up at the two-story log cabin with the wide front porch. “Wow,” she commented. “It’s amazing.” She eyed the sheer, rock wall that the house was nestled in front of and the forest on either side, offering protection from Rapid City’s occasionally fierce wind.

Hawk swung his leg over his bike and grunted. “Never pictured you as the outdoor type,” he told her.

Tildy turned to look at him and nodded. “My parents have a place on Sheridan Lake.”

He grunted again and recalled
Blake Fletcher in his pressed pants and loafers. “I definitely can’t picture your folks as the rustic type.”

She laughed. “Oh, they’re not. One afternoon is about all they can tolerate. Then they tough it out the second day until we go home. I have no idea why. I spend most of my time in the woods just to avoid them.” Hawk looked at her dubiously. She jutted out her chin defiantly. “I do!” she insisted. “I hung a hammock by the water and everything.”

“You hung a hammock.”

“Yes.”

“That stayed up?”

She snarled at him and it made him grin widely. “Fine,” she huffed. “Th
e first one fell. So I bought one of those free-standing ones.”

He grinned wider. “Uh huh.”

“I put it together myself!”

He merely nodded.

“It’s in the woods!” she hissed.

“Yep.”

“By the lake!”

“Got it.”

“Shut up! I’m nearly a pioneer woman!”

Hawk laughed, grasped the knob of the front door, and opened it without knocking. The group assembled in the living room simply stared at the two of them.
His grin faded as he gave them all a sharp look. They attempted to look nonchalant in the face of his silent rebuke, but it wasn’t working very well.

Hawk caught a glimpse of movement above them and maneuvered himself in front of Tildy. “Watch out,” he warned. “Incoming.”

Before Tildy could respond, a white blur streaked down the stairs and across the living room. Hawk barely managed to bend and scoop up the little furball before it climbed its way up yet another pair of pants.

“This is Demon,” Hawk told Tildy.

“Peppermint!” Slick snapped.

“Demon,” Hawk repeated, smiling. The fuzzball grabbed both sides of his face and licked his nose.

“It seems... friendly,” Tildy countered, clearly taking Slick’s side of things.

“As long as you don’t have food,” Hawk warned.

“She’s getting better,” Slick protested.

Hawk grunted. The deaf animal purred in response. “She’s not getting better, Slick. I’m just getting faster.”

Shooter laughed but was instantly cowed by his wife’s withering glare.

Slick shook her head, denying his words, and turned toward Tildy. “I’m glad you’re here. Are you okay?”

Hawk stroked the cat’s fur and watched Tildy’s nose wrinkle. “Yeah,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

Clearly not wanting any more unpleasantness that evening, Slick started waving them toward the couch. “Sit, sit down. I have chips and salsa and chili on the
stove.” With that Slick went back to work doing what Slick did best, making everyone feel at home. Tildy took the spot at the end of the couch and reached toward the bowl on the coffee table.

“Careful,” Hawk intoned. “Slick’s salsa is no joke.”

Tildy raised her eyebrow at him. “I can handle spicy.”

He grinned at her. “I don’t know if you’re prepared for-”

“I can handle it,” Tildy insisted, taking a large scoop of it with her chip. “I put up hammocks. I eat hot sauce. I live dangerously, Hawk.” She proved it by putting the whole chip in her mouth. To her credit, if the habaneros caught her off guard, she barely showed it. Her face did turn a lovely shade of dark pink though. Tildy crunched happily while giving him the stink eye. “I can see how you’d be intimidated by these,” she announced.

Easy laughed.

“What with your beige walls,” she finished.

Hawk smiled and shrugged. “You got me there.”

“The house I rented from Chris had beige walls,” Slick said, setting down a bowl of sour cream, “When Easy moved into it, I snuck in and painted them.”

“Really?” Tildy asked, surprised.

“She didn’t even ask,” Easy snapped, grabbing a handful of chips. “She just broke in.”

Tildy raised her eyebrows. “You broke in?”

“Uh huh,” the older girl said nodding.

“To paint?”

“Yep.”

Tildy considered this for a moment. “What color?”

“Windswept Pine.”

“That sounds nice.”

Easy attempted to speak through a mouthful of chips. “I drew a line in the sand at a purple bedroom.”

“I wish I could paint my bedroom purple,” Tildy replied wistfully.

“Women,” Easy muttered, shaking his head.

“What color is it now?” Slick asked. She loved to paint and it wasn’t hard to picture her breaking into the Fletcher house to redecorate.

Tildy wrinkled her nose. “Pink.”

Slick and Vegas mirrored her response. “I saw it,” Vegas reminded them. “It’s very...”

“Pepto Bismal,” Tildy finished.

“Sheesh,” Easy replied. “I’d almost go for the purple.”

“You don’t like purple?” Tildy asked.

“Hell no!”

Tildy looked at Slick. “Is
your
bedroom purple?”

“No,” Shooter said in his deepest, most authoritative voice. “We have enough sex.”

Tildy frowned as her cheeks pinkened. “What... ” she began but tailed off weakly.

Hawk, using his own deepest tone, said, “Slick says purple bedrooms mean more sex.”

Tildy blinked up at him. She appeared to be mesmerized by him in that way she sometimes was. She licked her lips, and Hawk was certain she had no goddamn idea she’d done it. Jesus, the woman could probably bring him to his knees if she ever
consciously
came on to him.

“I’d settle for
any
,” she said quietly.

Easy’s sharp bark of laughter startled her and her face immediately went crimson. As usual, Tildy wasn’t even aware of what she’d done.

The others chuckled, which caused her to duck her head in embarrassment. Her loose hair fell forward, blocking most of her face from Hawk’s view. He scowled. He loved her hair, but he loved her face more. Having pity on her, he said loudly, “Easy would love your room. Pink’s his favorite color.”

Easy nearly choked on a chip and rolled his eyes.

Hawk leaned toward Tildy. “He wore a pink bra. All through basic.
Over
his uniform,” he told her.

Tildy’s head snapped up, and she stared at him. Even Vegas and Slick, who had not heard this story, looked surprised.

“I’d do it again too,” Easy said proudly.

“What happened?” Slick asked.

Easy grinned at her. “I snuck a girl into the barracks one night during the start of basic. Turns out I can’t quit women cold turkey. It’s the kind of thing you’ve got to ease into gradually.”

Shooter grinned and shook his head. “He managed to sneak her back out in the dark, but when the CO came in the next morning, he found a bright pink bra sticking out from underneath Easy’s rack.”

Caleb took a pull from his beer and laughed. “And when the CO asked him what the hell it was, Easy stood up, squared his shoulders, looked him right in the goddamn eye, and said-”

‘I don’t think you’re allowed to ask me that question, Sir,’ Tex finished.

Slick’s mouth dropped open, but Vegas laughed.

“No!” Tildy replied. “He didn’t.”

“He
did
,” Shooter confirmed. “It’s a serious offense to sneak a civilian into the barracks. But there’s not really any punishment for being a cross dresser, at least not officially. The CO knew it was bullshit. We hadn’t been there a week, and Easy already had a reputation for horndogging the female recruits. The CO looked at Easy, looked at the bra, and said, ‘Boy, if you can’t keep your undies off the floor, you’ll just have to wear them.’ ”

“So he wore a pink bra for the rest of B
asic,” Hawk told Tildy. “It didn’t hook in the back though, ‘cause it was too small.”

Easy smirked. “It was damn hard doing the obstacle course with the thing falling
down all the time. Damn that underwire holds up well though, doesn’t it? You could strangle a man with that underwire.”

“Sacrilege,” Slick declared. “Ruining a bra like that.”

Easy smiled. “Aw, she was a townie, Slick. I’m sure it didn’t cost nearly as much as one of yours.”

Slick waved his comment away, probably embarrassed that Easy was thinking about her underwear. “I’m going to check on the chili,” she announced.

Tildy began to stand up with her. “Do you need any help?”

Without thinking, Hawk called out, “Hey babe can you get me another beer?” at Tildy’s retreating form.

Tildy only paused for a moment before she said, “Sure!”

As she left, Hawk caught Easy’s smug look.

“Shut up,” Hawk commanded.

“Hey
babe
, get me a beer?”

“It just came out like that.”

“Uh huh. What’s she doing here anyway?” Easy pressed.

“She didn’t want to go home.”

“Uh huh,” Easy repeated. “So, you took her to your place?”

“And gave her a ride on your bike,” Tex chimed in.

“She’s rattled,” Hawk snapped. “We’re just friends. She knows this.”

“Just friends,” said Easy. “Yep. Sure. That’s why his hair’s down. Tildy’s going to braid it later. They’ll paint each other’s nails and-”

Hawk scooped out some sour cream and flicked the entire chip at his former squad mate. The milky white substance splattered all over Easy’s crotch.

“Get him, Demon,” Hawk ordered and even though the tiny creature was deaf, she pounced.

Easy tried to leap out of the chair. “Not my balls! NOT MY BALLS!” he shouted.

“I thought
I
was the sadist,” Tex drawled, happily scooping out more salsa. Slick couldn’t seem to get it hot enough for the Cowboy.

“We’re just friends,” Hawk declared.

Tildy returned to the kitchen, after giving Hawk the beer he requested. Easy had snickered at her as she handed it to him. Hawk just shook his head. Whatever the joke was, she was certain she didn’t want to know. The fluffy cat was perched on Hawk’s lap, and it made her smile. It was funny to see such a large, intimidating man being doted on by such a creature. Hawk barely seemed to register the presence of the small animal, absent mindedly stroking its fur as he dug into the chips and dip. Tildy thought they must have spent many nights like that.

Back in the kitchen, Sarah was leaning against the counter, rather than at the stove checking on the large pot of chili as she had been just minutes ago. Her face was drawn. Abby was standing beside her, speaking in hushed tones, and rubbing her friend’s arm.

Tildy wasn’t sure if she should stay or go, but then both women looked over at her. She bit her lower lip. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.

Sarah shook her head. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Abby remained silent, apparently not wanting to speak for her friend.

“Are you sure?” Tildy asked, and felt stupid for asking. Of course something was wrong. What Sarah was trying to tell her was that it was none of her business. But Tildy had spent the last two years helping people. She translated rental agreements and quizzed people to prepare for their driver’s exams. It was habit now.

Sarah sighed. She didn’t seem irritated, just weary. “We’re trying for a baby.”

Tildy nodded solemnly
.

“I’m just impatient,” the other woman said. “I’ve waited so long for a normal life.”

Tildy frowned, not understanding. Sarah seemed to be weighing her words.

“Someone hurt me once,” she admitted to Tildy. “Like you but...
worse.”

Tildy shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. It
didn’t take much to imagine ‘worse.’

“And I was on the run for a long, long time
, partly because I was scared he’d find me. But after a while I knew he wouldn’t. I was waiting until I could safely go home again. Then I realized home was
here
. Now that he’s... gone for good, I want my life to start, you know?”

Tildy nodded and leaned up against the island, across from the two women. “I’m still waiting for
my
life to start. Sometimes I feel like it never will.”

Sarah smiled. “It will, Tildy. I promise. Just give it time.”

Tildy shook her head. “We shouldn’t be talking about me. You’ve got real problems. Mine are just...” Tildy waved her hand dismissively. “Can I do anything to help?”

Sarah gave her a strange look and then laughed. Tildy blushed. “I meant with dinner. Not with the baby making. I think everyone’s aware by now I don’t know anything about that.”

“What’s Tate like?” Abby asked.

Tildy rolled her eyes.

Abby smirked at her. “That great, huh?”

“He’s not awful,” Tildy countered. “You know, he’s...
” She searched for words that would describe him, editing things like ‘boring’ and ‘conceited.’ “Well, he’s stable, and he has money.” She blushed furiously again, realizing how that made her sound. “Not that I care about that. The money, I mean. It’s just... that’s the plan.”

The Plan had always been there. It was talked about between her mother and father so much that, at times, it felt to Tildy like it was an actual, tangible thing. She supposed it was in some way; after all, she could sit down with a pen and paper and write The Plan as easily as she could write her own name. Get her finance degree, become Assistant Manager at the bank (she was almost there), marry someone ‘suitable’, and start a family. Tildy would replace her hours at the bank with hours spent raising her children, which was not a bad prospec
t in her eyes. Tildy loved kids. She assumed she would love her own
more
to make up for the fact that she didn’t love Tate.

Tildy shook herself and pushed off the counter. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore, especially since Sarah’s problems seemed much more important. Maybe it was better though to get her new friend’s mind off it entirely. She clapped her hands together. “Okay. So. Dinner? What can I do? Don’t make it too hard. Nothing that involves chopping. Or actual cooking, I’m likely to burn it.”

Sarah laughed. “You can use a whisk, right?”

Tildy pursed her lips. “Probably.”

Sarah rolled her eyes.

“I know what a whisk
looks
like,” Abby added.

Sarah shook her head at both of them and began retrieving items from all over the kitchen, including eggs and a large bowl. “You both need lessons,” she declared.

“You’re already giving me lessons!” Abby pointed out.

Sarah’s tongue ran along her bottom lip. “Yeah, we might need to call in a professional.”

After Tildy was thoroughly convinced that she knew less about poker than she did about cooking, Hawk stood up and guided her toward the door with the others. She was loathe to leave, but she did have to work in the morning, same as the others.

Stepping out onto the Sullivans’ front porch, she paused to let her eyes adjust to the relative darkness. “Wow,” she said, looking up at the stars. “It’s amazing out here.”

Hawk nodded and descended the steps. “Slick loves the stars,” he told her. “She can’t live anywhere she can’t see them.”

Tildy followed him to the driveway. “I don’t blame her. Who doesn’t want a good view?”

“Exactly,” Hawk replied. His voice was so low that she lowered her gaze from the stars to him. He’d turned to face her, and the look he was giving her made her stomach flutter.

Tildy blushed and waved him away. “Stop,” she said. “The stars are better.” As she looked up again, she gasped. Hawk followed her gaze.

“Do you see it?” she whispered, as the shooting star left a white-hot trail across the night sky. “Wish for something,” she told him and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Hawk was looking at her again.

“Guys don’t make wishes, Tildy.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “We just don’t.”

“Well, you should. How else will you get what you want?”

His gaze darkened, and she swallowed hard. He stepped closer to her. “What did you wish for, Tildy?” he asked quietly.

She was held by his gaze a moment before shaking her head. “I can’t tell you, especially since it was for somebody else.”

He smirked at her. “What would you want-”

“For you to kiss me again,” she blurted out.

She was in his arms before she could register that’d he’d moved. His kiss was soft, not demanding, but it melted her insides all the same.

When he finally released her, she dragged long breaths of cool air into her lungs, trying to get her heartbeat to slow. “What did you wish for?” she asked him again.

“I don’t make wishes,” he repeated.

Tildy looked up at him. His face was framed in the moonlight. He still looked dangerous, but in a completely different way.

“Liar,” she told him.