Everything But (38 page)

He caught up to her by the time she reached the third floor, but only because he’d been taking three stairs at a time.  She was moving quickly, but she was no match for him.  “Erin…
talk
to me.”  His breath was short.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. 
See that, fucker? 
You
did that.
  Her lips were scrunched up and she shook her head while reaching for the doorknob.  He moved forward and grabbed her by the shoulders.  “Nothing happened, Erin. 
Nothing.
  And I’m sorry you even had to see that.”  She was pulling away from him, but he couldn’t let her go.  He pulled her to him and then she collapsed in his arms as she let the tears flow.

Chapter Thirty-nine

ERIN DIDN’T KNOW
why, but she believed Riley when he told her nothing happened between him and Josie the tramp.  She invited him into her apartment so her grief didn’t have to be so public.  Inside, he kissed her…and he didn’t taste like alcohol.  That too was good.

She was glad he didn’t say anything about all the candles.

They sat at her kitchen table.  And even though she knew the answer, she asked, “Why, Riley?”

His brows were furrowed, his mouth screwed up, and that told Erin all she needed to know.  He was feeling guilty, and he should.  “When I got here, it looked like you were kissing that theater teacher.”

Erin’s eyes searched his.  He continued to look at her, even though she could tell he wanted to avert his eyes out of shame.  She didn’t want to chastise him too much, though, particularly because he was already punishing himself.  “Well, you
do
realize he was forcing himself on me, right?”

“I believe you, Erin…it’s just…when I saw you in his arms…it reminded me of Marla.  I couldn’t think rationally; I just had to get away.”

“Look, up until a week ago, I had no idea Ron Gill even liked me, but...I would never do that to you.  I know we haven’t come to any sort of agreement about what we’re even doing, but I…”  Oh, fuck.  It was truth time, wasn’t it?  She paused, a doe in headlights.

Riley’s fingertips brushed under her chin, urging her to look him in the eyes.  “What?”

She took a deep breath.  “This is so fucking irrational.  It’s
stupid
.  But…I’
ve grown to care about you…
deeply
.”  She just couldn’t bring herself to say the
l word
…not yet, anyway.  She was too fragile, too vulnerable, and frankly she didn’t know how he would react. 
“And, so, I would never want to hurt you.”

“I care about you too, Erin, and I’m sorry I hurt you too.  I hope you can believe me when I tell you nothing happened between Jo and me.”

She nodded.  “Yeah, I believe you.”  She took a deep breath.  “I know you’re only here a few more days, but…if we’re
gonna
do this, we need to stop freaking out about stuff.  I swear we’re worse than a romance novel.”

Riley started laughing.  “Okay, I’m out of my element here.  Tell me how we resemble a romance novel.”

“We have one stupid hurdle after another.  Why can’t we just agree to be happy around each other and lose all the drama?”

Riley looked at her hand on the table and took it in his.  “That sounds like a great idea.  I think I can do that.”  His thumb glided back and forth over the top of her hand.  “But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What’s that?”

“My parents told me about your job.”

She bit her lip.  “You know about that?”  He nodded.  “It pisses me off.  They’re telling me what I can and can’t do in my personal life.  And I don’t know any way to fight them.”

“It’s wrong.”

“Yeah, I know it’s wrong, but the bottom line…they can let me go anytime and just give a bullshit reason for it.”  She sighed.  “But they don’t need an answer until Monday.”

“Then that should work perfectly, right?  I’m leaving Monday. 
So we can spend the weekend together
,
and then I’ll leave and no harm done, right?”
  He took a deep breath. 
“Unless, of course, you want me gone now.”

“No, Riley.  That’s what I meant earlier.  I
care
about you, okay?  So, of course, I want us to spend every moment together until you leave.”

“Including coming to a barbecue at my parents’ house tomorrow afternoon?”

Her
mouth twitched up in a smile.  “Are you inviting me over to meet your family?”

“I believe I am, Erin.”

She leaned over the table to kiss him, and she wondered if they’d get any sleep before she had to meet the parents.

* * *

Fuck…Riley was nervous.  He wasn’t worried about Erin.  He knew that if his family gave her a chance, they’d love her as much as he did.

Shit.
  He
did
love her, didn’t he?

Whoa.  That hit him like a truckload of bricks.

But it was a good emotion…something he hadn’t felt in a long time.  The only reason why he was afraid of the feeling was because it made him vulnerable.  But he trusted Erin and
forced himself to ignore
the
logical part of him telling him it was all a bad idea.

He knew his brother would love her.  Well, maybe not.  They didn’t have the same taste in women.  But, at the same time, he just couldn’t imagine anyone not liking Erin.

So the two of them left her apartment a little before noon to head over to his family’s house.  They’d made love multiple times throughout the night and the morning and he felt satisfied and content.  Well, he decided, if the family treated her like shit, they’d leave.  He could take her out to a nice place to eat.

As he and Erin got closer to his Mustang, walking hand in hand, he said, “What the fuck?”

“Oh, no.”

Someone had thrown close to a dozen eggs on his car and had run a set of keys down the driver’s side.  He walked around the car twice to assess the damage, and he knew it could have been worse.  The tires were all okay and he had a locking gas cap so the bitch couldn’t put sugar in the tank.  He looked over at Erin and she simply raised her eyebrows.  They both knew who’d done the damage.  No fury like that of a woman scorned…and he guessed he’d scorned Jo pretty well.  Looking at his car, he figured he’d gotten off easily.  He’d have to ask his parents to take it to an auto body shop and he could mail a check when he knew how much it was going to run.

“Shit.”  He unlocked and opened the passenger door for Erin.  Only one egg had hit the windshield and it was near the center.  He figured he’d be able to drive okay to a carwash before they went to his parents’ house.  “Guess I had that
comin
’, huh?”

Erin shrugged and got in the car.  As Riley walked over to the driver’s side, he nodded. 
Yep, definitely got off easy.

* * *

Erin tried to relax as Riley drove from the carwash to his parents’ house.  It didn’t matter that their relationship would be over on Monday and it also didn’t matter that she already knew his mother. 
She wanted to make a good impression as his girlfriend.

Yeah…that’s what she was
,
all right.
  The last week had been crazy, and until this point she never would have been able to say she’d been in a whirlwind romance.  But that’s what it had been—fast, furious, and romantic, even with all the hurdles she told Riley she didn’t want more
of.  And even though he was leaving Monday and that would be the end of it, she’d never regret her time with him.

They arrived a few minutes late, thanks to the carwash detour, but no one there seemed to notice.  Erin got to meet Riley’s father, brother, sister-in-law, and their three children.  The three kids were under ten and loved Riley.  His niece, quite the little blonde charmer, whom Erin estimated was around five, definitely not yet school age, was fascinated by Riley’s tattoos and kept gliding her hand over his arms.  At one point, Riley picked her up and kissed her on the nose.

Seeing Riley with those kids warmed her heart and pushed her affection for him up a notch. 
Ooooh
…it was dangerous, the way she was feeling.  She really wasn’t going to want to let him go on Monday.

The family sat around the picnic table in the Schultz’s backyard.  His dad was barbecuing hamburgers and brats.  Riley’s mother and sister-in-law started bringing out side dishes.  Erin asked Marjorie, “Would you like any help?”

She nodded.  All the food they were bringing out was on the
kitchen
table.  There were gallon jugs of iced tea and lemonade and a variety of other foods…coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, three-bean salad, and potato chips.  There were also condiments—ketchup and mustard—as well as paper plates, plastic utensils, and plastic cups.  Erin was glad she could make herself useful.

When everyone sat around the table, the family insisted on a group prayer.  Out of respect, Erin lowered her head.  She and Riley hadn’t discussed religion or politics, but it was evident to Erin that religion was important to his family.  Riley seemed indifferent, though, because he grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it.  She peeked over at him and he smiled at her.  She smiled back and then looked up when the prayer finished.

While everyone else chatted, mostly about Brian’s job, Erin took the time to assess the family.  There was no denying Brian and Riley were brothers.  Brian’s hair was more on the copper side, but they had the same jaw, the one they’d inherited from their dad.  Brian was about an inch taller, but they had the same build, the same eyes.  Brian seemed more serious, but his wife Diane had a quick smile.  Erin liked her right off the bat.  And their kids were adorable, even the boys, even when they were bickering.

At one point, during a break in the conversation, Riley’s dad said, “Brian, do you think you’d ever be able to get a job for your ne’er-do-well brother here?”

Erin saw Riley stiffen out of the corner of her eye. 
Oh, Jesus
.  Riley hadn’t been exaggerating, had he?  Brian said, “I don’t know that he’d want work in an oilfield, dad.”

Riley cleared his throat.  “And I certainly don’t
need
it.”

His father’s voice had an edge when he said, “We already talked about this, son.  This has been a nice hobby for you, but it’s time to join the rest of us in the grownup world.”

“Dad, I’m in it.  I make plenty of money and I’m doing a job I love.”

“Yes, and you’re acting like a juvenile…
the long hair and tattoos,
drinking, carrying on, doing drugs.”

“Dad, we already talked about this.  I don’t do those things anymore.”

His father locked his charcoal eyes onto Erin’s.  “Ms. Lancaster, when you teach your high school students about drugs, what are some of the things you tell them to stay away from?”

Oh, no.  Erin did
not
want to be dragged into the middle of the family feud.  Besides, she would side with Riley.  Yeah, she knew about the heroin and the drinking. 
So big deal.
  And she
wasn’t going to jump into it.  Instead, she said, “Mr. Schultz, that topic is covered by the Phys Ed department.  I don’t cover that in English.”

Oh,
shit
.  She hadn’t known Riley’s dad for long, but she could tell she’d just pissed him off. 
“Hmm.
  Maybe you’re better suited for Riley than I had at first thought.”  What the hell was
that
supposed to mean?  She was going to just let it slide.  He then said, “All right, but for argument’s sake, could you humor me?  Tell me…would
marijuana
be considered a drug?”

Erin felt her brows furrow.  “Well, of course, it is.  While I disagree that it’s not the dangerous drug the DEA makes it out to be, it
is
illegal, and I wouldn’t want my students smoking it any more than I’d want them drinking
alcohol
.”

“You know about my son’s drug problems, I assume.”

Erin nodded and set her fork down.  Apparently, she was going to have to be engaged in this conversation, whether she wanted to be or not.  “Yes, and I also know he’s
now
clean and sober.”
 
Even though he’d been tempted recently.
  But there was no way he’d hear that from her.

His father’s eyes narrowed.  “He’d have you believe that, wouldn’t he?  But did you know he continues smoking marijuana?”

She took a deep breath.  No, she hadn’t known that. 
He’d said he’d gotten high recently, but she didn’t know it was a regular thing for him. 
Did she approve of it?  No.  But did it change the way she felt about the man sitting next to her?  No.  In fact, knowing all the struggles he’d had, if the only vice he had nowadays was pot, she’d consider it good.  “Actually, no, I didn’t.”  She saw the satisfaction well up in Mr. Schultz’s eyes, but she didn’t intend to let that emotion reside in him.  “But you know what?  After all Riley’s given up, I’d say pot would be the least of my worries.  You are aware, Mr. Schultz, that
parts of Colorado have
decriminalized marijuana use, even if it’s not for medical purposes, correct?”  The man’s eyes narrowed again.  Jesus.  Now she could understand Riley’s problems with the guy.