Rydin' the Storm Out (3 page)

“You know moping around isn’t going to help, right?” Gunnar asked.

“Fuck, Gunnar, don’t start busting my chops, ok?” Ryder responded with a huff.

“Man, I’m not busting your chops. You’ve been moping around for five damn days now. I’m just saying, don’t get down, get busy. Give her a call. Maybe it’ll be easier over the phone. What’s the worst that can happen? She can say no? Big fucking deal, there are other women out there.”

“Easy for you to say. Molly’s different. I’ve never had these feelings for a woman before. I’m afraid I’ll screw it up.”

“Well, sitting here isn’t going to change it. Call her up, ask her to dinner. Take her somewhere you can talk, but also where something else is going on in case you run out of things to say.”

“Yeah, and where is that?”

“How about that restaurant in Green Bay where they cook your food on a hibachi? There’s a little dinner show while the chef is preparing your meal and you can talk while you eat. If you can’t think of anything to say, you can talk about the cook or the food. Just sayin’.”

Gunnar got up to walk to the kitchen as he tapped out a text. It was Friday morning and they had to get to work. He poured himself and Ryder a cup of coffee and took Ryder’s cup out to sit on the coffee table in front of him. He laid a piece of paper down next to the coffee cup.

“I’m taking off for work. I’ve got a lot to do today. I promised Nelson I would have his bike finished so he could get another ride in this year. Mom and Dad will be home tomorrow and I want to get their lawn mowed before they do so Dad doesn’t have to do it. I’m leaving work early today to head over there. See you later, man.”

“Ok. See ya.”

Ryder looked at the piece of paper Gunnar set down next to his coffee cup. A number was written down on it and a name…Molly. How the hell did Gunnar get Molly’s phone number? Ryder scraped his hands through his hair, grabbed his cup of coffee, and sat back into the sofa. Gunnar had a good point, he should call her. That way if she turned him down, it wouldn’t be so embarrassing. In the meantime, he was going to try writing this all down like his mom suggested.

***

Molly was pacing back and forth in her living room. Tammy, Molly’s best friend since kindergarten, was sitting on Molly’s sofa with a cup of coffee in her hand and Molly’s tablet on her lap. Ryder’s picture was staring right back at her.

“He’s scorching, Molly. Wow, look at his eyes. I can see why you can’t get him out of your head; talk about hot dreams!”

“You’re supposed to be telling me he isn’t worth it and not to be like my mom, not encouraging me to want him.”

Tammy grinned. She knew Molly better than Molly knew herself sometimes.

“I don’t think you need any encouragement in wanting him. And for the record, you aren’t like your mom. You need to stop comparing yourself to her. You’re amazing, Molly. You’re beautiful, smart, and creative. You’re making it on your own. Stop damning yourself to a lonely life because you don’t want to be like your mom.”

“I know, Tammy, I actually do. But, I’ve struggled for so long. I grew up watching my mom struggle. Besides, as soon as he finds out what I really am, he isn’t going to want to be with me anyway.”

Molly grabbed her tablet and looked at Ryder’s beautiful face and body. His eyes were so mesmerizing. The green was so green and his lashes were long and a little darker than his hair, creating a beautiful frame. His lips were full and looked soft, probably would feel fabulous kissing her. He had a strong jaw and a great smile—what a package. Just looking at him caused her heart to start beating faster. She was close enough to him when taking their pictures that she caught a few whiffs of his cologne. She could still smell him and imagined what it would feel like to be wrapped in his arms. Without thinking, Molly began tracing his picture with her finger.

“What happened to you is in your past. It was also not in your control. You have to stop blaming yourself and thinking everyone on earth will judge you for it.” Tammy sucked in a deep breath. “Maybe you should give him a call. You said he was shy. Maybe he’s too shy to ask you out.”

“Joci told me he was shy, but he didn’t seem shy at the wedding. As a matter of fact, he approached me at one point to ask me if it was time for his pictures. And then, he carried my bag outside when we walked out to take pictures. I saw him dancing with some woman, too. So, I don’t know what to think about the shy part.”

“Well, first of all, he wouldn’t be shy around his family. So, you weren’t observing him in a situation where you could judge that fairly. Second of all, he asked you about taking his picture, which was something he knew the answer to already. And, you said he carried your bag out, but didn’t say anything to you, just picked it up and started walking. I would say shy.”

“Well, I’m not going to call him. If he really wanted to get to know me, he would man up and call me. Besides, it’s probably for the best anyway.”

“Molly, I will kick your ass if you don’t stop condemning yourself. You need to listen to me. What can I do to get that through your head? Of the two of us, I’m the one who has made stupid mistakes, not you,” Tammy said.

“Let’s go out next weekend and have some fun. Maybe you’ll meet someone else and you’ll stop thinking about Ryder Sheppard.”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly Molly absently answered her. “Yeah. Sure.”

Ryder sat with his phone in his hand. He had nine digits dialed in and then he hesitated. He sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. As he exhaled, he hit the button and cancelled the call. Nope, it didn’t feel right. He would think about it today and call her later. He got up, slipped the piece of paper with Molly’s number into his pocket, and headed out to get on his bike. The fresh air would clear his head and help him think. Nothing like a bike ride to help a person sort through their thoughts.

Pulling into the parking lot at Rolling Thunder, Ryder drove to the rear garage door, closest to his work station. He parked his bike next to Gunnar’s and went in through the back door. They each had their own stations, with their own tools and lifts. Ryder, Gunnar, and Frog were the primary mechanics. They had a couple students from the local tech school who worked part-time doing oil and spark plug changes. Their work stations were pushed to the back of the shop. As the company was growing, the building was bursting at the seams. His dad had been talking about adding another addition onto the current building. Dad wanted Joci to have an office here to meet with her clients. She currently used a spare bedroom at the house, but with the baby coming, they were going to need the space. There was a small, unused room upstairs next to Jeremiah’s office that could be used in the interim, but, once they added on to the building, there would be more room for everyone.

Ryder checked out the bike he’d be working on today and pulled the needed tools out of his tool box and set them on the lift. Gunnar walked in from the front showroom and nodded at Ryder. Ryder stiffened, thinking Gunnar was going to start asking questions about calling Molly.

Instead, he walked over to Ryder and said, “Tomorrow night is Frog’s birthday party at The Barn. You still going?”

Fuck! Ryder had forgotten about Frog’s birthday. But, Frog was a friend and he wouldn’t miss his birthday party.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

Ryder thought about calling Molly and asking her out for tonight instead of tomorrow night, but that seemed wrong. Weren’t you supposed to give a girl a little time to prepare? Well, at any rate, he wasn’t going to call her today.

***

“Are you riding with us tonight, Ryder?” JT asked.

They were sitting around the kitchen table having morning coffee. The three brothers rented Joci’s house. When she moved in with Jeremiah, she asked Gunnar if he was interested in renting it. He and JT were talking about moving in together anyway. Ryder had a nice little apartment he liked so he initially said he wasn’t interested. But, after a few weeks, he realized he loved being here with them, so he moved in as well. They each had their own bedroom and plenty of garage space for their vehicles and bikes. It was a great ranch-style house with a full basement that had become their “party” room. That way they kept the mess downstairs when they had friends over. There was a workout area as well.

“Nah, I’ll take my truck. That way when you guys hook up, I can just slip out.”

“Well, you might hook up, too.”

Ryder shrugged. “Maybe.”

Gunnar walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Mom just called. They’re at the airport and will be home in about an hour. Did you guys want to run over and see them this afternoon?”

“Yeah,” JT and Ryder said in unison.

***

“Glad you guys are home. Did you have a great time, or aren’t we supposed to ask that?” JT asked, smirking at Jeremiah and Joci.

Jeremiah pulled Joci into his side and kissed the top of her head. He looked at the boys and smiled. “We had a great time. We lay on the beach every single day. We didn’t really do anything, but rest, relax, and talk. We shopped a little bit and saw a couple of dinner shows.”

“What’s going on around here? Did we miss anything?” Joci asked.

The boys shrugged. “Not much. We didn’t burn anything down. The shop is still standing and everyone that was working at the shop is still working there, so I guess you didn’t really miss much.”

Jeremiah leaned down close to Joci’s ear, “Told you.”

Joci smirked. “Ok, well, we’re having a working lunch on Wednesday this week to finalize the plans for Danny Schaefer’s build next weekend. We need you guys there. Pizza for everyone,” Joci said.

Danny Schaefer is the veteran receiving the majority of the proceeds from the Veteran’s Ride this year. They were adding a first-floor bedroom and bathroom to his home. He had a leg blown off while in Afghanistan. His two-story house is laid out so the bedroom and bathroom are upstairs. The addition will help him with his daily living needs. The purpose of the Veteran’s Ride each year is to help local vets with needs, whatever those needs are.

“I’m going to ask Molly to take pictures of the build at Danny’s house. We’ll need them for the website and I want to add them to a DVD before I have them burned. That way we can show the ride and then how the proceeds for the ride were used. I also want to get an interview or at least some comments from Danny for the end of the DVD. What do you guys think of that?”

Ryder froze at the sound of Molly’s name. She was going to be around next weekend? He would be seeing her again. His heart started beating a rapid tempo in his chest. He’d find a way to ask her out for sure. Yes, this was perfect; he would see her next weekend and find the courage to ask her out.

Joci looked at Ryder. His face took on a look she hadn’t seen before.

“Ryder? Is that ok with you?” Joci asked.

“Ah, yeah, it’s good,” Ryder said as his face turned red.

Joci looked at Gunnar with her brows furrowed. Gunnar smirked at Joci and shook his head no. She got it.

“So, what’s up with Ryder and Molly?” Joci asked Gunnar.

“So far, nothing. He hasn’t called her, even though I gave him her number, thanks for texting me back so fast. He’s moped around the house all week. He’s frustrated with himself. It’s good that Molly will be at the build. It’ll give Ryder another shot to ask her out.”

Joci nodded. “You’re welcome. So he still hasn’t been able to talk to Molly. Poor kid.”

“Yeah, I get that he’s shy and it’s hard for him, but seriously, he needs to just go for it.”

“Well, that’s easy for you to say, you aren’t shy.” Joci walked over to the desk and sat down at her computer. Gunnar shrugged and left the office to get back to work.

***

JT, Ryder, Gunnar, Joci, Jeremiah, Frog, and some of the other employees from Rolling Thunder were standing around a tall table at The Barn celebrating Frog’s birthday. By nine-thirty, Joci was stifling a yawn when a tall, leggy blonde walked over and pushed herself between JT and Ryder. She reached over and ran her hand over the spikes on Ryder’s hair and whispered something in his ear. Joci raised an eyebrow as she watched Ryder’s face turn bright red. He looked down at the table and the blonde leaned in and whispered something more. Of course, blondie’s breasts were rubbing against Ryder’s arm. Ryder looked up and then stood up completely stiff as his eyes grew large and the color drained from his face.

“Hi Joci, Jeremiah. How’re you doing?” Molly was glaring at the blonde and then shot Ryder a look that could kill.

“Molly. It’s so good to see you. How are you? I can’t wait to see the pictures.” Joci was smiling and trying to get Molly to look at her.

Molly looked away from Ryder and looked at Joci. “They turned out great. I can’t wait for you to see them.” Molly motioned to her friends.

“I’d like you to meet my girlfriends. Tammy, Cara, and Suzie. Girls, this is Joci and Jeremiah Sheppard. And, of course, their sons, JT, Gunnar, and Ryder.”

To Tammy, Molly said, “Not sure who the woman is with her tongue in Ryder’s ear.”

Joci heard her and looked at Molly. “She’s not with us. She just walked up and started whispering in his ear.”

Molly shrugged her shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. We’re going to go over to the other side and find a table by the dance floor. Can we get together on Monday to look at the pictures? They’re amazing, if I do say so myself.”

Tammy piped up. “I saw them and they’re perfect. Wow. All I could say was Wow!”

Joci smiled at Molly and Tammy. “Thank you. I can’t wait. Can you come to Rolling Thunder around ten on Monday?”

Molly didn’t hear her. She knew she didn’t have any right to be jealous. Ryder didn’t call her because she wasn’t pretty enough or he wasn’t interested. Apparently he liked them blonde and tall. So, fine. It hurt though. She had thought about him all week. She had dreamt about him. She woke up two mornings with the sweats; the dreams had been so real. She never thought she was a real beauty. She had boyfriends, but she didn’t look like Blondie here. Ryder and every other man liked women like this blonde. Tall, thin, long blonde hair, big boobs. Molly needed to get away from the table. She felt sucker punched, it was hard to breathe, and she felt tears threatening.

Ryder was staring at her, waiting for her to acknowledge him in some way, but she refused. What the fuck? He didn’t do anything wrong. Finally, Molly looked up at him just as the blonde whispered something in Ryder’s ear. Ryder shrugged away from her and she smirked. Blondie looked at Molly with a Cheshire cat smile and wrapped her arm around Ryder’s shoulder.

“Molly?”

“I’m sorry, Joci. I didn’t hear you.”

Joci nodded. “How about Monday at ten? At Rolling Thunder?”

Molly nodded. Tammy recognized the hurt in Molly’s eyes. “Come on girl, let’s go shake what God gave you. Nice to meet you all.”

With a wave, they were off to the other side of the bar crowding around a table by the dance floor. Tammy quickly pulled Molly out onto the dance floor and they started shaking their booties.

“Don’t let it bother you, Moll. He didn’t look interested in her at all, he was staring at you.”

“Let’s just dance and not think. Maybe tonight I’ll get wasted and forget.”

“That’s my girl.”

***

Ryder looked at Joci and shook his head. Women! Blondie leaned in and whispered, “Come on baby, let’s get out of here.”

“Get lost Rachel. Not interested.”

“Fuck you, Ryder. You weren’t saying that two weeks ago. Jerk off!”

With that, Blondie or Rachel, or whoever stalked off to her friends. Jeremiah chuckled a little and Joci shot him a look.

Ryder looked over at the dance floor where Molly and her friends were dancing. She looked fabulous. Long legs, black heels that said, “Fuck me.” She was wearing a short white dress with black polka dots on it. He could tell she was mad. He didn’t ask Rachel to come over and whisper in his ear. He didn’t even know she was here. He hadn’t thought of any woman since he’d met Molly. She was shaking her sweet little ass on the dance floor and smiling with her friends. God, he wanted her to shake that sweet ass against him. His cock swelled just thinking about it.

As the night wore on Ryder couldn’t do anything but watch Molly. A couple of guys had joined Molly and her friends on the dance floor and Ryder wanted to go over and push them away. One guy wrapped his arms around her waist and let her wiggle her gorgeous ass against him. That almost killed Ryder. He didn’t have any right to be jealous, but damn it, he wanted her. In a weird way, he already thought of her as his.

***

Molly and her girls were having a great time. Molly tried in vain not to look over at Ryder. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she would spin around on the floor so it didn’t look like she was looking at him. He was always watching her. It always hit Molly hard. Fuck! He was wearing tight jeans that accented his hard thighs and a tight t-shirt. He had a tattoo going down his right arm that looked like a snake or something. It slid down and around his arm to the elbow. Most of it was tucked under his t-shirt. She really wanted to see it, all of it. But he wasn’t interested in her so she would be left wondering about that tattoo. She spun around one more time and there he was with that blonde again and she had her hand in his front pocket.
Fucker
.

Tammy pulled Molly off the dance floor back to the table where the girls had shots lined up and waiting.

“Drink up, girls. Here’s to Saturday night!” Tammy yelled.

Everyone downed their shots. Molly’s head was already spinning since she’d already had a few shots. She wasn’t driving, but still, she didn’t want tomorrow to be a total waste. It was the only way to keep from thinking about that frigging blonde whispering sweet nothings in Ryder’s ear. Bitch!

Cara and Suzie pulled Molly out onto the floor for another dance just as a hot guy came to the table and started talking to Tammy. Molly stumbled a little and started to giggle. So did Cara and Suzie. Some cute sandy-haired man came up behind Molly and slid his arms around her waist as he pulled her back to him.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Let’s take off beautiful. I can think of a few things we could be doing right now that we can’t do here on the dance floor.”

Molly stiffened and her eyes got big. She whirled around to look at him. He was smiling at her.

“No. N-not interested,” Molly slurred.

“It looks like you’re interested doll. You’ve been teasing me with that sweet little ass all night.”

Molly shook her head to try and clear it. “N-no I haven’t. I’m dancing with my girls.”

Molly looked around to see her girls each dancing with other guys. Uh oh, not good.

“Come on you little tease. Let’s get out of here. Now!”

His anger bubbling to the surface, he grabbed for Molly, but she stepped back just in time. He lunged forward again and caught her arm in his hand. He pulled her roughly to him and with a little more force and menace said, “Like I said. Let’s get out of here. You can play hard to get later.”

Molly pushed against him, but he was stronger than her and not nearly as drunk. She pushed again and looked around at Tammy, Cara, and Suzie to get their attention. They were otherwise occupied. She pushed against him again, but he didn’t budge. Feeling nauseous and dizzy, Molly started to panic. Shit. Tears sprang to her eyes.

Abruptly, the man holding her arm jerked away. Molly blinked back the tears in her eyes to see Ryder hit the guy in the face.

“The lady said no. That means no, fuckface.”

The jerk flew across the floor on his ass. Ryder looked at Molly, his jaw set tight.

“You okay?”

Molly was so relieved that tears started flowing from her eyes. She wiped the tears from her face and looked up just in time to feel strong warm arms come around her and pull her close.

“It’s okay, Molly. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Ryder held her close for a few moments, letting her compose herself.

She felt good in his arms. Soft and warm. Her scent wafted up to his nostrils, heavenly, like a spring breeze and powder. He leaned down and smelled her hair. His cock thickened.

They were jostled as the guy lunged at them and pushed Ryder from behind. Before he could swing around JT and Gunnar each had a hand on him and were dragging him back.

With his mouth close to her ear, Ryder said, “Hey, why don’t I make sure you get home?”

Molly nodded and looked up at him. She finished wiping her eyes. Her head was swimming and she felt unsteady. Suddenly her stomach lurched and she started running for the front door. Ryder followed her outside just in time to see her throwing up alongside the building. He smirked as he walked to where she was hunched over, spilling her guts onto the parking lot. He stood just close enough that he would be available if she needed help, but he wanted to give her some privacy. He pulled a napkin out of his pocket. It had Rachel’s phone number on it, but he didn’t give a shit. He told her he wasn’t interested and she insisted on shoving it in his pocket anyway. When Molly lifted her head up, he walked over and handed her a napkin.

“Here you go, Molly. Can I get you some water or something?”

Molly took the napkin and wiped her mouth with it. She couldn’t look at him. She had just humiliated herself. Great. Not only did he think she wasn’t hot enough to date, now for sure he would never want to go out with her.

“No, thanks. I’ll be fine. I’ll just go and see if the girls are ready to go.”

Ryder stepped forward. “You said I could make sure you get home, Molly.”

Molly looked at him for a long moment. Shit, her brain short circuited when he was around. Well, why not, he already saw her throw up. Sheesh, how much worse could it get? She nodded and closed her eyes.

Ryder put his arm around her shoulders. “My truck is over there,” he said pointing to his right. She had a hard time walking a straight line and put her arm around his waist to keep from falling. Ryder chuckled to himself. He helped her into his truck and reached across her to fasten the seatbelt. As he walked around to the side of the truck, he glanced up at Molly through the windshield and saw her eyes closed.

“Hey. Wait a minute!”

Ryder looked over and saw Tammy running towards him.

“Hey. Are you taking Molly home?”

Ryder nodded. “Yeah. She’ll be fine. I won’t hurt her.”

Tammy smiled at him. “Didn’t think you would. I have her purse.”

Tammy held Molly’s purse out to Ryder. He took it from her as he said thanks and turned to get in his truck.

“She really likes you. Don’t you go hurting my girl.”

Ryder looked at Tammy a moment, then back at Molly. He smiled and nodded as he climbed into the truck, turned the key in the ignition and realized he didn’t know where Molly lived. He looked back to ask Tammy, but she was gone.
Now what?
He
could
go digging around in her purse, but that wouldn’t be right.

Ryder drove to his place and carried Molly into his bedroom. She never woke up as he laid her on his bed and removed the heels from her feet.

“How the hell do women wear these things anyway? Geez.” He put them on the floor next to the bed, along with her purse. He pulled the wastebasket close to the side of the bed in case she got sick in the middle of the night. He brought a bottle of water and two aspirin and set them on the table next to the bed. He covered her up and ran his hand over her forehead, then slid his fingers through her hair, loving the feel of it as it fell through his fingers.