Faith’s Temptation (Dueling Dragons MC Book 1) (16 page)

I spot the cord and return to my seat in the front. “Not much space back there, but I like what you have done with the inside of it. I really love the seats and dash, amazing detail in the upholstery. Black and blue are two of my favorite colors,” I say, hoping he’s actually paying attention to me just talking about nothing.

I plug the iPod in and the first song to come on is by Staind. This particular song makes me think of Ryder. Just listening to Aaron Lewis sing the words makes my heart smile. I know that I actually have Ryder.

Deciding to let the song play out, I stare out the window and silently worry about the fact that Ryder is meeting the three special men in my life. Feeling the butterflies already forming in my stomach, I wrap an arm around my waist and decide to switch the song. The distinct sound of guitar tells me
Hellyeah
is about to flow from the speakers of the truck.

I reach forward and turn up the stereo and I instantly start to get lost in the song, rocking back and forth while swaying my head to the rhythm. I get the feeling I’m being watched. I glance over to find Ryder staring emotionless at me.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” I ask him as I reach up and flip down the sun visor to look in the mirror.

He chuckles.

I reach forward and turn the stereo down. “Seriously, why are you laughing?”

He calms down and grips the wheel with both hands to steady himself. “Oh, I don’t know how I got so lucky to find you.”

Again, I’m taken by his words and can see in his face that he means every word he says.

Bam, there’s that feeling in my gut again
. My core is melting and I’m feeling things that I’ve never felt before. Maybe this trip was a bad idea.

Am I going to be able to walk away at the end of this and go back to the old Faith, a small-town girl who ran away from all her problems instead of facing them? Question is, will Ryder be so accepting of my past as I was of his?

“So, tell me something about you that I don’t know. Don’t hold anything back. I want to know it all,” he says through his teeth with a seductive tone.

“Well, I am the only girl. Youngest in my family. I have two older brothers and my daddy. That’s all that I have—Momma died a few months after having me.” I release a huge sigh. “I grew up in Mobile on my daddy’s farm and learned how to do anything and everything that the boys did.” I run my hand through my hair. “Was raised as a tomboy. They say that I remind them a lot of my momma. But other than that, I grew up just like any other small-town girl. In school, I wasn’t very popular, and I didn’t have many friends, except Beau and Peggy Sue.” I gaze out the window.

It’s already dark and we are getting ready to pull into Mobile. I know I only have a little bit longer to get to know him better, so I start to think of things to ask him. But he starts talking before I can.

“I grew up in Arizona, only child between my dad and mom, but not the only child to my father. He has about six or seven kids that we know of. Some are much older than Layla, but I’m the baby. My dad actually married my mom and they were together up until five years ago when dad died suddenly.” I can see a hint of hurt cross his face when he brings up his dad.

“Mom said it was from old age, but I think it was from all the partying and drinking that he used to do. Dad wasn’t the greatest—I got beat regularly, and so did mom. So it wasn’t a huge surprise when I followed in his footsteps,” he says with such sadness and despair on his face. “But the rest of my story is much darker. I don’t want to concern you with it at the moment, not with your dad being sick and all, I mean.”

For the first time, I face the fact this isn’t simply a visit home or a vacation. I drop my gaze to the floor. “I know what you mean. I think everything is just hitting me now. I’m finally grasping that my dad is really sick, like this might be the last time I see him.” I get choked up, so I turn toward the door so Ryder doesn’t see me cry.

Looking out the window, I see the
Welcome to Mobile
sign. I draw in a deep breath and take comfort in knowing that I’m home. The butterflies hit me again.

Keep your head low and you won’t have to see them.

I guide Ryder along as he maneuvers in the tight streets of my little town. I’m in complete awe at how he handles this truck, as if it’s second nature to him. I shake my head and stop gawking before he notices me giving him the googly eyes.

***

After a few minutes, I point to a driveway marked by our beat-up old mailbox. Of course, it hasn’t been fixed. I instruct him to drive down the long dirt driveway and to park in front of the barn.

Phsss
. The suspension releases air and dust kicks up in a big cloud. God, this thing is beautiful!

Ryder jumps down and walks around to the passenger side door, opens it, then he reaches up to take my hand and help me climb down. The previous stop we made, I decided to try and get out myself—I nearly broke my neck.

“
Faith Anne
! Is that you?” I turn to see our farmhand, Sal. He’s a burly man and has worked on my daddy’s farm for as long as I can remember.

“Yes’um, it’s me. How are ya doing, Sal?” I ask as I’m wrapped in his arms and getting the biggest bear hug since I was 14 and going to space camp for the summer. I move out of his warm embrace and gesture to Ryder. “Sal, I would like you to meet my....um, Ryder.” Stumbling over my words, I quickly correct myself. “I mean, my friend, Ryder.”

Ryder shakes Sal’s hand and they mumble hellos to one another. But I can tell that Sal is sizing him up, and it seems like for some reason, Ryder is doing the same thing to Sal.

“Everyone in the main house?” I ask Sal really quickly over my shoulder as I start toward my childhood home.

“I know your pa is in the house, but I’m not sure about your good-for-nothing brothers.” Sal shifts his stance. “Ryder, has she warned you about her brothers?” Sal asks.

I turn around and gawk at Sal.

Sal, don’t scare him away!
is all I can think.

“Yeah, she mentioned them. But like I told her, I can handle myself,” he says confidently back to Sal.

Sal just snickers and heads back to the barn.

I grab Ryder’s hand and lead him toward the main house. “Damn!” He laughs as I pull him by the arm toward the house. “All you have to say is come this way and I’ll follow. I’ll follow you anywhere, Faith.” He stops in his tracks and grabs ahold of my wrist, tugging me until I slam into his chest. “See, I told you, you can run, but at some point you will be mine. And looking into your eyes right now, I can tell this is what you want, and I am who you want.”

I jerk my arm free from his grip and back away from him. I need to think for a second without him touching me. “I told you before, I’m not the type of girl you can just have.” My voice drips with sarcasm, yet I can see that he’s dead serious about what he said.

Spinning back around, I continue toward the house. As we climb the stairs leading to the front door, I stop and face him again. “Now, you’re sure you wanna do this? My brothers can be a little much, and they love to talk shit. Especially about me, so don’t believe anything they say. Okay?” I ask Ryder.

The last guy that I brought home....Well, I never really brought him home because we’d known each other forever, since we were kids. But the last ‘real’ guy in my parents’ house with me was Beau.

“Babe, I promise you that I can handle your two brothers. And I won’t believe anything they say, either. I know how older siblings can be. Remember, I’m the baby as well,” he says with full admiration in his eyes.

I SLOWLY PUSH OPEN
the door. The familiar smells of men, coal, and tobacco, along with smoke, engulf me. “Daddy?” I take a couple of steps into the living room.

”Will? Nate? Any of you in here?” I call out as we take off our sweatshirts and kick off our shoes. That one rule of momma’s still sticks. No shoes in her house.

“Yeah, I’m up here, Squirt,” I hear my father call from upstairs.

I take the stairs with Ryder in tow, and as I reach the top, the whir and hum of the machines override the quiet of the house.

Walking into my parents’ bedroom, I see my father in a hospital bed. He has an oxygen machine hooked up in his nose, an IV sticking out of his arm, and it looks like they have also given him a catheter for his bladder.

I stop mid-step into the room. Ryder’s warm, reassuring hand settles on the small of my back. He draws me against his side, encouraging me to lean on him for strength.

“Da...Da...Daddy?” is all I can say before I burst into tears, run to his side, and grab his hands.

I slump into an imaginary chair that I thought was there, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryder grab a chair. He slides it forward until it touches the back of my knees. “You can sit now, babe. I’m gonna run out to my rig and get our bags. Okay?”

I give him a curt nod.

He leans down and kisses me on the top of my head.

Man, is this real, or am I dreaming?
Ryder seems too good to be true. The comfort I get from the smallest touches is something I cannot explain.

I watch him walk out of my father’s room. I’m so grateful that he’s here with me, but I’m worried that it isn’t going to last, like something is gonna come along and disturb this peacefulness.

“Squirt, we need to talk.” Daddy squeezes my hand, his cold fingers twining with mine. He no longer has the warm touch that he had when I left. “I need you to pay attention to me and listen very carefully. You will have time to process all this later. But just listen to me for now.”

He gazes into my eyes. He always used to say they mirrored the eyes that he fell in love with all those years ago when he saw my momma’s for the first time.

I nod my head and place my hand on top of his. I hold onto him for dear life.

“Faith Anne, I have stage four lung cancer. They’ve been doing treatments and all the testing that you can think of. But it seems like this cancer has a mind of its own. It has now spread to other parts of my body. They don’t really know for sure how much longer I can last.”

I listen to my father. The strength and heart of my whole world tells me this is it. There’s no getting out of jail, passing go, or collecting two hundred dollars. He is going to die. He is going to leave me.
He can’t leave me. I need my daddy.

All I can do is stare at him like he’s just taken my puppy. Tears start to flow down my face. I lay my head on the bed next to his frail body.

“Shhh, shhh....” He runs his fingers through my hair and it gives me the comfort I’ve been seeking.

“Daddy, are you sure? When Nate called he said that you were sick, but that you were still working. Wasn’t he telling the truth?” I look into his deep-blue eyes and wonder if he’s just as scared and worried. It just doesn’t make any sense. Nate made it sound like it was mild. If he‘d said it was bad, I would have come home much sooner.

Wouldn’t I?
Hell, yes. Nothing Beau did to me would keep me from my family. This town may be small, but it’s big enough that I shouldn’t have to worry about Beau if I stick close to home.

“I told Nate to call you and let you know about the money. I’m sorry to freeze your account like that, but I need the money for my treatments. I also told him to make it sound better than it was. Your letter told us not to contact you and that you would contact us.”

I look into my daddy’s eyes and I can see the hurt and frustration in them. But what is the frustration for?

“I’m so sorry, Daddy.” My tears continue to flow now that I see I’ve failed him and made him unhappy. “I couldn’t stick around here anymore. So much happened before I left, it was like every place I turned was a constant reminder of them and what they did to me.” I cry even harder. I haven’t cried like this since it happened. I know my father is worried about what I’m referring to, since I haven’t told a soul about it. I have no friends—all my friends were Beau’s friends, and I’m sure they would side with him.

“Faith Anne Landon, what the hell are you talking about? What happened? What did that punk kid do to my baby?” my father demands and then starts to wheeze and has to take several deep breaths.

I let out a huge sigh and tell my father everything that happened that night, the night that ruined my whole life as I knew it.

***

I can tell by looking at my father that he’s exhausted, most likely from all the talking and getting upset about what I told him.

“Faith Anne, you’re so goddamn lucky you’re not with that piece of shit, no-good punk anymore. If you were still with him, I’d have your brothers beat the holy tar out of that boy,” he declares, spitting his words out. He’s so mad his nose is beet red. One surefire way to know when Daddy’s pissed or means business is if his nose is beet red. That’s when you know to run and hide.

“Daddy, he is old news. I’m much better now. I’ve healed as much as I can for the time being. But seeing you makes me even better. I’m sorry I ran off, but I really like my life now,” I tell him with such emotion that I actually believe it. I’m not just saying it for the sake of it.

“It may not be the best situation, but I have a job, friends—which we both know is a huge thing for me!” I say, excited to be telling him how good I am doing.

“And, I’ve met someone.” I look away shyly. “Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I’m going to marry him or anything, but he is good. He is a good man and he treats me well.”
Wow! Did I just admit that?

After a couple of moments, I notice that my father’s breathing has turned more regular and he’s finally resting. I sit there just studying him. “You know you’re the most important man in my life. You’re my best friend, teacher, and parent. Thank you for teaching me what you have, and thank you for raising me the right way. I love you, Daddy.” I kiss my father’s hand and stand to leave the room. Turning, I notice Ryder standing there.

“Uh, how long have you been there?” I whisper, my heart dropping into my stomach. Oh
shit! I hope he didn’t hear what I said.