Dawson's Stand (Welcome to Covendale Book 4) (8 page)

When she was gone, Kyla let out a hard breath. “Thank you,” she said. “If you hadn’t come out when you did, I…” She trailed off when she realized Gage hadn’t moved an inch and was still staring furiously at the spot Jenny had stood. “Gage?” she half-whispered, placing a hand on his arm.

He was shaking.

“Gage,” she said a little louder. “Are you all right?”

He blinked and turned toward her. For an instant he looked right through her, but then he shook his head and sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“For Jenny. For getting you into this.” His jaw clenched briefly, and he stared at the ground. “You never should’ve helped me. She’s crazy as a rat, but she’s right about one thing—now you’re guilty by association.”

“Hey.” She waited until he looked at her. “She’s wrong about you. And your family.”

He smirked. “Thanks. But you don’t really know me.”

“I know you lied to protect me.”

“What?”

“The sheriff told me,” she said. “He wasn’t going to let you go unless you told the truth, and you didn’t. But when I explained what happened, he said he understood why you lied…because of me.”

“Sheriff
Tanner
said that?” He glanced back at the station, like he expected the man to come out and drag him back inside. “Well, I guess we’d better get out of here before he really does change his mind,” he said. “They didn’t let me drive here, though. You?”

“No,” she said. “But my truck’s not far from here. I, um, just got a new job this morning.”

He smiled. “Hey, that’s great. Where?”

“Magic Mags.”

“Really? I know someone who works…oh,” he said. “I take it you’ve met Luka.”

“Your sister.”

“Terrific,” he grumbled. “All right, what did she say about me? Whatever it was, she’s lying.”

Kyla couldn’t help laughing. “Actually, she didn’t say anything. I kind of didn’t get the chance to tell her I’d met you.”

“Good, then there’s still hope.” His smile slid into curiosity, and he added, “So how’d you know she’s my sister?”

“Her last name, for one. But mostly her eyes.”

He grinned. “Oh, right. Dawson green.”

“Yes,” she said faintly—because speaking of Dawson green, there was a pair of them staring at her intently and doing things to her insides that she hadn’t felt in years. She had to look away before she melted. “So, I guess we’ll walk there?”

“Good idea,” he said. “I can talk Luka into letting me borrow her car.”

She let Gage lead the way, at once excited and afraid of the feelings he’d stirred in her. This was not in the plan. She’d only meant to rejoin the world one step at a time, but Gage might end up being a giant leap toward a place she’d intended to avoid.

And she wasn’t sure she could take that leap.

* * * *

Luka was behind the front counter when they walked into Magic Mags. At first she smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes moved from Kyla to Gage and her expression froze.

“Wow,” Gage said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you speechless before.”

“What the hell happened to you?” She came around the counter, looking furious and worried at once. “Hey, Kyla. I’m glad you’re okay, but what are you doing with Gage? Was he…oh my God. Did you get arrested again? I swear, the next time I see Dean Wesley, he’s walking away a soprano.”

“Whoa. Slow down there, killer.” Gage glanced at Kyla to see how she was taking the
again
comment. If she’d noticed, it didn’t seem to upset her. “It’s a long story, and—”

“I wanted to tell you earlier,” Kyla said in a rush. “I tried, but people kept coming in, and then the officer—I mean, the deputy showed up. It’s about last night. I met Gage, and he’s your brother, so I thought I should tell you before you heard it somewhere else.”

Gage cleared his throat loudly. “Ladies, please,” he said. “Can’t a guy get a word in here? I’m the one who owes an explanation.”

Luka folded her arms. “Yes, you do.”

“All right, here goes,” he said. “I took Jenny Steele out last night—”

“You did
what?
”

“Just let me finish, Luka.”

“Fine.”

“She told me she broke up with Dean, and I believed her. Because I’m an idiot. Okay?” He stared at his sister until she relented. “Anyway, Kyla was at the bar for whatever reason, and we talked for a few minutes.”

“I was having two drinks,” Kyla said.

Gage smiled and raised an eyebrow. “That’s…oddly specific,” he said. “So Jenny and I had a disagreement, and I was going to take her home. But Dean was waiting for me in the parking lot. With some friends.”

“That son of a bitch,” Luka seethed. “I
knew
this was all him. He did that to your eye, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but that’s as far as it went,” he said. “Because then Kyla gave him a face full of pepper spray.”

“She did not.” Luka turned an awed expression on her. “Did you really?”

Kyla nodded. “I don’t like bullies.”

“Seriously, I love you so much right now.” Luka grinned and put an arm around the girl, squeezing briefly. “You’re my hero. See, I knew it was the right thing to hire you.”

“So you’re…not mad?”

“Are you kidding? Dean’s the biggest pile of shit in Covendale, and he wears a badge so nobody ever stands up to him. Except Gage. But that only gets him in trouble.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Gage said. “So I guess that’s the end of the story. They ran off, and I got to take Kyla home instead of Jenny. That was much better than what I had planned.”

“Gage.”

He frowned. Luka was giving him The Look. “What?”

“We have to talk.” She turned to Kyla, and said, “Would you excuse us for a minute? If anyone comes in, just ask them to have a seat.”

“Sure. Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine. I just need to have a word with my brother. Come on, Gage.”

Gage held back an angry response and followed Luka to the back of the salon, toward the supply room. He suspected he knew what she was going to say—and it wasn’t something he wanted to argue about in front of Kyla. Otherwise he would’ve refused to go with her.

He walked inside, and she closed the door behind them. Before his sister could start in, he said without looking at her, “No, I didn’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know what you think.” He turned slowly, surprised to find he was more hurt than angry. “You’re assuming I took advantage of her. That I banged her, since I couldn’t get my hands on Jenny. Because that’s what I do, right? Sleep with everything that moves.”

“Gage, I—”

“Don’t bother pretending that’s not what you were going to say. It’s bad enough I get this shit from Mark.” He drew a deep breath and stared at the ceiling for a moment, willing his emotions back. For the first time he was facing up to the fact that he’d earned his reputation—and if he wanted to change it, there’d be hell to pay. “I drove her to her place,” he said as evenly as possible. “We said goodnight. She got out, and I went home. The end.”

Finally, he managed to look at Luka. Now she was smiling.

“What?” he said. “Jesus Christ, I don’t get females.”

“You really like her, don’t you?”

He almost said something sarcastic, but decided he’d better come clean—at least with Luka. She’d hound him relentlessly if he didn’t. “Yeah,” he said. “I do.”

“Well, you just be careful with her. Because I like her, too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t be dense.” The Look surfaced again for an instant. “And…you’re right. I assumed the worst, and I’m sorry about that.”

A grin tugged at his mouth. “Hold on a second,” he said, patting his pocket. “Would you mind saying that again, after I turn my phone on so I can record it? It’s a miracle—Luka Dawson, apologizing for something.”

“Ha, ha.”

He smiled. “Since you’re so sorry, I have a small request.”

“No.”

“You’ve really got to try letting me ask before you turn me down,” he said. “I just want to borrow your car, so I can get back to work before my own brother decides to fire me.”

“Oh. Well, I wouldn’t want you to get fired.”

“Nice to know you care.”

“I don’t. But if Mark fires you, he’ll make Reese work overtime and I’ll never see him.” Smirking, she dug her keys from her pocket and tossed them to him. “Ask Reese to pick me up after work,” she said. “Oh, and tell Kyla I’ll be out in a minute. I want to grab a few things while I’m back here.”

“All right,” he said. “Thanks, Luka.”

“Uh-huh. You owe me.”

“Okay, you twisted my arm. You can borrow The Beast.”

She laughed. “No, thanks. Now get out of here, before Mags fires me for being a sucker and letting you take my car.”

He waved and walked out into the main room, where he found Kyla moving bottles of nail polish around on a shelf. “Hey,” he said as he approached, not wanting to startle her. “Sorry about that. The sisterly lecture is over now, and Luka says she’ll be out in a minute.”

Kyla turned with a smile. “Lecture?”

“Yeah. She managed to resist a full-blown interrogation. Probably saving that for tonight.” He stopped in front of her—and suddenly had no idea what to say. “Um. So maybe I’ll see you later sometime, or…something?”

“Sure,” she said. “Something like that.”

For a moment it seemed she’d say something more, but then she sighed and looked away. Christ, this was torture. He’d never had this much trouble talking to a woman, and he’d never been so worried about screwing things up. But he couldn’t bring himself to push her. “Well, have fun with Luka,” he said.

She nodded. “I will,” she said faintly.

Feeling more awkward than ever, he gave a half-wave and started for the door. His phone buzzed in his pocket just as he reached it. Probably Mark. He debated ignoring it, but figured he’d just get it over with, so maybe Mr. High-and-Mighty wouldn’t bother speaking to him when he got back to the job site.

He pulled the phone out, but didn’t recognize the number. Then he glanced over at Kyla—who faced away from him with her phone to her ear.

Brow furrowed, he answered the call. “Hello?”

“Hi, Gage.” Kyla’s voice came to him through the phone and from the room, creating a faint echo. “You said to call any time I wanted pie. So I’m calling.”

“Er. Are you serious?”

“Totally.” She turned and flashed him a mischievous smile, still holding the phone. “I’d love some pie. Are you free tonight?”

A grin spread on his face. This had to be the sweetest thing he’d ever experienced, and it wasn’t even a real date. “I’m free whenever you want me to be,” he said. “How about seven? I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay. See you then.”

“Wait, one more thing,” he said. “Are we going to talk on the phone at the diner? Because if that’s the plan, I’ll bring my headset.”

She laughed. The sound was like music. “I think we can manage without them,” she said. “Besides, this is a disposable. I’ll run out of minutes.”

“Okay. Tonight at seven, no headset.”

“Sounds great.”

He smiled and ended the call, then slipped out the door into the bright afternoon sun. Maybe he could manage not to screw this up after all.

Chapter 8

Even though she was expecting company, Kyla’s heart still jumped when she looked outside and saw a car pulling into her driveway. Mostly because it wasn’t the one Gage had been driving last night. This was a bright yellow sports car, and for just an instant she was sure Mike had decided to come after her.

But then Gage got out, and her fear shifted into frazzled nerves.

She wasn’t sure she’d be able to go through with asking him out, until she actually did. She’d been so tongue-tied and uncertain when he was leaving Mags’ that she could barely say anything. At the last minute, she remembered his number was in her phone, and took a chance that calling would jolt her loose from the paralysis—even if he was still in the same room.

It worked. But now he was here, and she was panicking all over again.

The doorbell rang, and she moved away from the window to take a deep breath. She could do this. She was a normal person doing normal things, like eating pie at a diner with a gorgeous guy who was practically a stranger. After they’d both been almost arrested earlier today. Totally normal. No problem.

She opened the door, hoping the smile on her face looked more real than it felt. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Gage treated her to an intense look that once again brought her to the verge of melting. “I promised this wouldn’t be a date, so I didn’t bring flowers,” he said. “But I did get you something. Hope you don’t mind.”

“You did?”

He nodded and coughed once. “It’s…not very romantic. Sorry.” He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

She laughed as she took it. “You got me a can of Mace.”

“Yeah. I figured you probably used up most of yours on Deputy Dean. And since you apparently carry that stuff around, I thought you might want some more.” He smiled crookedly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never given a girl a weapon before.”

“It’s perfect,” she said. “Thank you.” She had to turn away as she tucked the small canister into her purse, so he wouldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes. He didn’t even know why she carried pepper spray—but he’d seen that she needed it, and got it for her. The gesture touched her beyond words. “Well, let’s hope I don’t have to use it tonight,” she said when she’d gotten herself under control.

He smiled. “Pretty sure we won’t be attacked by waitresses.”

“That’s good to know.” Her own smile felt more natural this time. “Okay. I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Right this way.”

They got in the car, and as he backed out of the driveway she said, “Is this one yours?”

“Nope. It’s Luka’s.”

“Of course it is,” she said. “This suits her.”

“Yeah, just don’t ask me what I had to do before she’d let me borrow it.” He rolled his eyes, but a faint smile remained. “She’s going crazy with all this wedding stuff.”

“Oh, right. She did mention she was getting married.”