Ridge Creek Reunited (Ridge Creek Duology) (9 page)

“Give him to me,” I squeak as my eyes settle on my poor puppy who
is freaking way the hell out.

“No,” Jake growls lifting a hand to scratch Pierre under the chin as he turns around and starts heading towards the door to the shop front. He looks like a man on a mission. Changing my course to follow him hop
ing I can extract my dog from him at some stage, I nearly crash into his side as he suddenly turns and heads back to the bar.

“Jesus,” I mutter, “Make your mind up.”

“I have,” Jake growls as he arrives back at the bar. Handing Pierre to Emma, he leans under the bar and rattles among the glasses and bottles looking for something. Walking over to Emma, I take Pierre from her hands to cuddle him. He’s already relaxing and starting to look a lot less terrified.

Jake straightens from the bar and I gasp as I realize what he was looking for. In his hand is a huge hunting knife with a shiny
, sharp blade.

“Oh my God, what’s that for?” I screech as I curl Pierre close to me.

Is he going to gut Pierre for failing as a guard dog?

No!

Emma and Zane both look at me and then back to Jake with confused looks on their faces. Jake ignores them and rounds the bar. Holding out one hand towards me, he growls, “Give me the fuckin’ dog.”

“No!” I gasp in horror. There is
no way
I am handing this puppy to him while he has that big assed knife in his hand.

“Arianna,” he pins me with a very serious looking
don’t fuck with me
stare. His jaw is tight and his nostrils are flaring. “Hand. Me. The. Fucking. Dog.

Uh oh.

I snuggle Pierre as close to my body as I can get him and dip my lips to his head. I then consider my choices.

Run?

“I won’t let you hurt him,” I whisper against the fur on the back of Pierre’s head.

I hear Jake sigh.
“Not gunna touch the fuckin’ dog Arianna,” Jake explains as he holds his hand out to me.

“What’s the knife for then?” I ask tipping my eyes up to stare at him suspiciously.

“You’ll see,” he says waving his hand impatiently in front of me. “Don’t make me ask again.”

I turn my eyes to see Emma sitting with her mouth slightly open looking shocked. Zane leans forward, a hand on h
er arm. He’s shaking his head at her. He then moves his eyes to me and he nods silent agreeance that I should hand Pierre over.

What am I supposed to do if Zane thinks I should too
?

Damn.

Kissing Pierre slowly on the head, I look up at Jake as I feel the burn of tears in my eyes. Confused and scared out of my brain that I’m about to hand my dog over to a knife wielding puppy slayer, I do.

Jake takes Pierre, shakes his head in annoyance and drops him into Emma’s lap.

What the fuck?

Turning back to me, he
takes my hand and tows me towards the door that exits to the shopfront. Now even more confused, I follow without resistance.

Still wielding the hunting knife in his other hand, he lets go of my hand briefly to flick the door open before retaking my hand to drag me into and through the
shop. Reaching the front door, he lets go of my hand only briefly to open the door and propel me out onto the street.

Standing on the kerb, Jake quickly flicks the door closed behind us and takes my hand again. Like a man on a mission, he
strides down the street. Towards Antons car.

Ohmigod. He’s going to gut Anton instead?

A new fear strikes my veins and I feel icicles coursing through my body.

“Jake. No.” I blurt as he drags me closer and closer to Anton’s car.

Not even faltering in his forward motion, Jake ignores me. I can feel the waves of anger rolling off him and right now, it’s easy to see they’re all focused on Anton.

Arriving at the side of Anton’s car, I watch in
fascination as Jake moves swiftly to swoop down and slam the hunting knife into the rear tire of the car. I hear a loud hiss and watch as the tire instantly deflates.

Still on the move,
Jake tows me further along the car to the driver’s side window where Anton is looking at us in the rear vision mirror. The look on his face is hard to describe. It’s a mixture of annoyed and wary.

Not hesitating for even a brief second, Jake grabs the driver’s door handle and reefs the car door open. “I’ve just given you a reasonable excuse to have been sitting on the street out the front of my shop for the past three hours. Now either phone Roadside Service or change the fuckin’ tire yourself. Then move the fuck on. We do
n’t need eyes on our business. Tell Bradford we have security
covered.
I don’t make the same mistake twice. Ever. If he wants to know how his daughter is, he can visit her like any normal so called fuckin’ father would. Call her, make a time and place; then meet on mutual agreement. He does
not
leave a monkey sitting on my pavement to watch her and log every person that walks through that front door. He does not have someone following her around and he does not, under
any
circumstance, set foot on
my
patch without an invite. You got it?”

Anton blinks slowly, absorbing Jakes speech. His face dangerously blank as his eyes slowly take a tour of Jakes considerable body before settling on the huge hunting knife held firmly in his hand. Seated in his car I can see that Anton himself is not a small man. He looks fit, lean
and ripped fit, but he also seems aware that he’s at a distinct disadvantage seated in his car.

Lazily sliding his eyes to Jake
’s, he nods. It’s clear his decision is a concession only. His eyes burn the distinct warning that he’s dangerous and this particular battle has gone to Jake but the war is far from over.

I smile gratefully at Anton for making a good decision. Anton’s eyes slide to mine and I watch as his lip lifts minimally in a return smile. The movement so small I
’m not sure I even saw it. I hear a low rumble coming from Jake.

A growl. Seriously?

Deciding the conversation is over, Jake slams the car door and we head back to the shop. It’s not until we’re inside the front door that I finally get the courage to tug Jake to a standstill. Taking a huge breath I ask, “What was that about?”

Appearing slightly calmer now, Jake turns to face me and replies. “Watching my shop and fucking up business, not on. Watching you and making you feel like you’re under the microscope, not on either. Right now, we don’t even know if that whack job Bradford is telling the truth. He could be anyone. I’m glad he brought you back to me but until I’m sure he is who he says he is, you don’t spend any time with him without me or Zane at your back. You got it?”

“Um… Sure,” I agree as I realize the sense behind his words before explaining, “We’re having a paternity test done. I sucked on a swab.”

Jake nods but his eyes hard. “That’s a good start but did you see
him
take the swab test?”

“Well… No.”

Damn.

“
You send off for a kit. We go see Bradford, he does the swab
in front of you
and we’ll send it off ourselves. You need to be sure of his story Arianna. It all sounds too farfetched for me. There’s more fallout that could happen from this, the first being your
so called
mother could go to jail, if that’s what you want. Do you know what you want?”

“God, I hadn’t even thought about Patricia. Did she even know who I was all these years? Who the hell is she?”

“Exactly,” Jake nods as he nibbles at his bottom lip. “This shit could take months to corroborate and meanwhile we don’t need Bradford’s monkey parked out the front. You hearing me?”

Well clearly Jake has managed to assess my situation far faster than I have so I think I’m going to have to go with his way for now. What h
e’s saying needs some thought.

Nodding my agreement, Jake gives me a smile as he wraps an arm around my waist. “Just trying to keep you safe Ari. Not sure how you managed it, but you’ve gotta win the award for the most fucked up family (and pseudo family) on Earth.”

Leaning into him, I have to agree.

“Time for you and Emma to hear about our visit to Vincent Altieri, yeah?” He announces as he propels me towards the counter at the front of the shop again.

Holy shit. Altieri.

Tensing up, I start to have a mini freak out. Jake squeezes me reassuringly. “Pretty sure you don’t need to worry about him anymore babe,” Jake rumbles from above me.

God I hope so.

Squeezing him back, I draw in a huge breath of air. “That would be nice.”

The Wife

Arianna
…

“Yeah Ma, table for five if you have one,” Zane announces rising from his seat at the bar. These are the first words I
’ve heard from him over the past fifteen minutes as Jake explained his version of their
chat
with Vincent today. The type of
chat
I’m glad he didn’t have with Anton a short while ago. I’m not sure I’d like to witness
that
type of chat.

Hearing the story I was horrified. Not horrified at what the men had done, but horrified there were two separate families who thought they were Vincent’s number one focus in life. How sad. Two families who both thought the man of their household was so busy working to provide for them that he could only come home to stay a few nights a week.

What an asshole.

I know how I felt finding out that my so called boyfriend was cheating on me. That was bad enough. But I
can’t imagine the heartache of being a child and finding out your daddy has a whole other family somewhere that he loves and cherishes, perhaps even more than he does your own.

Aagh.

“See you in fifteen,” Zane announces before tapping the screen on his phone and sliding it into his pocket.

“Luke’s meeting us there,” Jake announces as he sends another text message to Luke letting him know a table’s booked at
his mother’s restaurant, Holders.

“I’m not even going to wear my contacts,” I announce cheerfully. I am now officially no longer hiding from Tony and Vincent so why bother right? Although having green eyes ha
d been cool for a while, the hassle of putting in and taking out contact lenses every day is not something I’ll miss. That and the annoying shadows when your turn your eyes and the colored centres slide across your vision.

Jake’s face softens a he mu
rmurs, “I like blue,” before he walks across the room to lift Pierre off his doggie bed where he’s been laying watching the activity in the room with both interest and caution.

A room that in the last five minutes has started to get steadily busier
. The flow of people started with the arrival of Pops and some of his biker friends. They drifted in from the garage where they’d been working on someone’s bike. Clearly sick of making themselves scarce (which they did swiftly on Jake’s orders a couple of hours ago), they’d reappeared, grabbed some beers and started hanging out at the pool table. Giving us space, yet making it clear that Saturday night was upon us and it was time to unwind.

As Jake straightens from stooping over Pierre’s doggie bed, I notice
Pierre seems relaxed and calm. Clearly he can read Jake’s body language as he flops happily against Jake’s ample chest and settles in for the ride. “Quick outing for the dog and then we lock him in your room. Keep him away from the noisy drunkards while we’re out, yeah?” Jake explains as he makes his way towards the garage door. The garage has an exit to the scrap filled backyard behind the shop and it’s currently the best place to take Pierre for his walks.

Nodding my agreement, I decide to organize Pierre’s tea and get ready to leave while Jake takes him out. Emma and Zane also move to action and disappear out the side door and into the maze of adjoining rooms.

Like magic, we reconvene in the shopfront five minutes later. Emma and I have both changed out of our shorts into blue denim jeans and pulled on a pair of mid-calf biker boots. Looking at each other’s choice of clothing we both burst out laughing. Seemingly, we are both starting to embrace our inner biker. In the past we both would have opted for a skirt and tall boots with killer heels. Our backward slide to jeans and biker boots is hilarious. It’s also way more comfortable.

Pierre unhappy about his confinement in my room
was appeased with dinner and a huge beef marrow bone. How quick he forgot his displeasure at solitary confinement when he saw the bone.

Jambo, Emma decided
to leave supervising the bar. The bird seems happiest when there is a lot of noise around him and plenty of people to entertain. Wandering through the communal room, the last thing I saw him doing was dangling someone’s keys dangerously close to their drink on the bar. Probably not that big of an issue except that I saw a push button remote on the key ring with the keys. The bird may be funny but clearly he’s not that bright. My guess, he may need to use some of his dog fighting aerial tactics to save his ass if he makes that particular slam dunk.

Holding the shop door open for us, Jake watches us file through before locking it behind it us. The shop officially closed
a couple of hours ago. Scanning the street for Anton and his car, I’m surprised to see he’s gone.

He
actually took Jake’s advice.

There are four Harley’s parked in front of the shop but apart from that, the street is lifeless. Anton has seemingly decided not to risk upsetting Jake any further.

I wonder how my father will respond to that? He seemed borderline obsessive compulsive about my safety which was why he sent Anton home with me in the first place. Whether his OCD is a good or bad thing I have yet to find out.

Watching Jake locking the door, I see his eyes scan the street as well. His green eyes alert, his black hair shining in the late afternoon sun I feel a small thrill zing through my body as I grapple with the idea that
this
is
my
boyfriend. This huge, muscle-bound hulk of a man with his sexy as sin tattoos and eyebrow piercing. I’m only now beginning to understand fully the definition of
no pain, no gain.
Throwing myself out of the back of that truck had in hindsight, been
so
worth it.

Good work Arianna.

Appearing happy that he can’t see Anton in the immediate vicinity, Jake’s body relaxes and his arm flies out to grab me by the waist. Pulling me swiftly to his side, he nods to Zane who starts striding off towards Holders. Emma strides on her long legs easily at his side. We fall in behind the two of them.

The feeling of walking along a street, heading out for a meal with my hulk at my side is amazing. With the background threat of my previous life chasing me now seemingly over, I
’m starting to feel like a new woman. I’ve got a whole new life ahead of me and right now, it
looks good.

Sighing as I tuck myself closer to Jake’s side, we wander along in silence. My mind relaxed
, I watch Zane and Emma walking along close to each but not touching. Those two have me confused. They fit. They like each other and yet they don’t want to show it. Well not publicly anyway.

Note to self: Talk to Emma in private about her feelings for Zane.

Snapping my mind from its wanderings, Jake speaks in his low rumble. His intent to remain unheard by Emma and Zane is clear. “They confuse me too.”

Huh? Is he a mind reader?

Glancing up as we walk I see Jake’s head tipped slightly sideways as we walk along. His eyes are locked on the small gap between Emma and Zane. “I told him to cool it. He didn’t. I even told
her
to cool it by explaining she’d be better-off with Luke. She ignored me. I’m not sure what it means that they both decided to ignore me. Your girl doesn’t look like the sort that will put up with heartache.”

“Is this good or bad do you think?” I ask quietly.

“Don’t know the answer to that either. What I can tell you is that Zane never settles. He’s not monogamous. Never has been and never will be. He just doesn’t have it in him to focus on one woman at a time. If your girl can’t deal with that, she needs to take care of herself before that shit stings her. You need her. I need her. Zane needs her too, just not the way he thinks he needs her.”

Oh dear.
Note to self: Talk to Emma sooner rather than later.

Nodding against his side, we overtake Zane and Emma as they stop to look at something of interest in a shop window. Turning into the street and seeing Holders restaurant up ahead, Jake’s voice rumbles softly again. “When we get back, we talk about where to from here. We need to work out what you wanna do about your old life and we need to talk about the bitch I’m still married to.”

Flipping from happy and relaxed to instantly tense and stiff, I freeze.

Fuck.

The wife.

I had so forgotten about her. We
’ve had a couple of brief conversations about her so far with each conversation ending prematurely. The only facts I know about the wife so far is that she’s a bitch, Jake is trying to divorce her and that she’s fighting the divorce at every turn. Why a women who Jake appears to dislike passionately and who I’ve not seen once
in the time I’ve been around Jake would be fighting a divorce is beyond me. This will clearly be an interesting conversation.

“Shit,” I mumble to myself.

Leaning down so his mouth is near my ear and I can feel his hot breath blowing gently across my face, Jake says something else almost as alarming. “And you should probably prepare yourself for Ma’s
ecstasy
to see us havin’ dinner together.”

I barely have time to register this extra morsel of information
before Jake propels me through the front doorway of Holders and straight into his mother’s arms.

Ellen greets me with enthusiasm.
Like I’m her long lost daughter, her arms envelop me and she squeezes me tight. The smell of her soft musky perfume overwhelms me and I find myself sighing as I instantaneously relax. It’s amazing the affect this kind and gentle woman can have on me. “Arianna, my precious girl. Are you becoming a Saturday night regular?” She asks cheerfully as she unwraps her dainty arms from my sides and leans back to look at my eyes. She has a huge smile on her face.

She is dressed similarly to when I visited the week before. A simple cut black dress and her hair pulled back tightly in a bun. The pearls replaced by a necklace of large, flat, bright green shiny stones that match her eyes. The necklace is stunning.

I smile back at her as Jake slides forward to take my position so he can bear hug his mother tightly for a few moments. Releasing the hold on his mother, he then slides his arm around my hip as he drifts me sideways and towards a table where I can already see Luke sitting. Ellen remains near the door welcoming her other son and gifting Emma with a motherly hug as well.

Luke’s eyes lock on mine and a smile crinkles his face instantly. His blue eyes light up with warmth and welcome. He then shifts his focus to Jake above me and does the subtle chin
lift all these boys give each other in greeting. As we approach the table I see it has five settings but six chairs. It’s a window table again, chosen to enable us to enjoy the view. Luke is sitting in of the two seats facing sideways to the window.

Assessing the situation quickly, Jake releases his hold on my hips, draws out the seat closest to the aisle and seats me in it. He then slides straight into the chair between me and his friend. I ponder the seating arrangements for a moment and wonder whether he did that on purpose. Did he do it to keep me away from Luke or did he do it because he always sits next to his friend?

Interesting.

I would have preferred to sit in the window seat to watch the street rather than sit in the aisle close to other patrons.
Deciding I’m not going to be a fading flower for the rest of my life, I lean across and whisper in Jake’s ear. “I’d rather sit near the window if that’s okay?”

“Not tonight sweetheart,” Jake replies dismissively leaning his ear closer to my lips.

“Am I allowed to ask why?” I reply a little more loudly feeling instantly annoyed that I’m not allowed to choose my own seating arrangements to eat a meal.

Sensing my change in emotion, Jake turns in his seat to face me. His jaw slides gently across my lips as he does. Capturing my eyes with his, he leans in close. His hot breath now tickling against my lips, he watches me intently as he says, “You can
always
ask me
anything
Arianna.”

Focusing on the vindication in his words I subconsciously register Zane and Emma sliding into their seats opposite us. Ignoring their arrival I ask, “Will you always answer me?”

“Yes,” he responds immediately his eyes so serious I can tell I’m his sole focus right now and it feels good.

“Even if I don’t like the answer
?”

“Absolutely.” He says with conviction. “We do this. We do this right. Now ask me again.”

Starting to wonder if the answer to my question was worth all this fuss I nibble on my lip. Jake’s eyes drop to my lips and then slide back up to mine. “Ask.”

Okay then.

“Why I am not allowed to sit near the window Jake?” I ask as I mentally steel myself for the annoyed response I know is going to roll off my tongue when he mentions something about Luke. Knowing this, I scrunch my face in agony.

Jake smirks at me. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re a long way from the truth. I sat you on the aisle because Anton didn’t fucking listen. I clocked him hovering at the end of the street when we got here and now he’s camped in the fuckin’ beer garden of the pub down the road. Until I’m sure his designs are for good not evil, you do not sit in windows and you do not wander around anywhere on your own. You hearing me?”