Falling for Trouble (3 page)

“Hey,
Kid.” Abe walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead. He smelled like he’d
been working under a car all day, but to her it was hotter than hell. “Give me
five to clean up and we’ll head out, yeah?”

She
nodded and watched him toss the dirty rag in a container on his way out of one
of the side doors. True to his word, he was back in five minutes wearing a
clean shirt and pants and void of any of the grease that made him look
deliciously dirty. When had her attraction to him gotten so fierce? She groaned
internally when he swung his arm over her shoulder and ran his knuckles over
her head, messing up her hair. His actions were that of an older brother giving
shit to his kid sister. If that didn’t just suck some major balls.

“Whatcha
wanna do tonight?”

She
stopped in front of her car which she purposefully parked beside his Dyna.
“Pizza, beer, and a movie?”

“Sounds
good. I’ll pick up the movie and pizza if you get the beer.” She smiled and
nodded. “Meet ya back at my place.” For several long moments she did nothing
but watch as he grabbed his helmet off the back of his bike and put it on. He
didn’t bother with the leather jacket she knew was stored in one of the
saddlebags. It was a pretty warm night. In fact, it was so warm she was starting
to sweat, but she knew it wasn’t just the humidity in the air that caused her
to feel the heat.

“Catch
ya in a few, Kid.” He winked and started his Harley. The loud purr traveled
straight through her body and right to all her good parts. Clenching her thighs
together, Sophia watched him disappear down the dark street.

Chapter
Three

They
had eaten nearly the whole pizza and were finishing their second beer each when
Abe finally put on the movie he’d rented and sat beside her. With his arm slung
around her shoulder, he pulled her close so that she was curled against his
hard body. Sophia could almost pretend they didn’t do this every week, that he
felt the same for her as she did for him.

The
movie played but Sophia couldn’t concentrate, not when there was still an
underlying hint of motor oil mixed with cologne coming from him. His T-shirt
was stretched over his chest and the hem rode up slightly in his relaxed
position. A strip of his tan, hard stomach was revealed, and she swallowed,
doing her damnedest to control the direction her body was going. She wasn’t a
teenager anymore and there would never be anything between them, so she needed
to get that through her brain. Thinking about being with him was a hell of a
lot easier than actually trying to act upon those feelings. Even if she did
manage to find a guy, Sophia knew she would constantly be comparing him to Abe.
She had already done that with the few boyfriends she had in the past. “Hey,
Sophia?” Hearing him say her full name had her heart doing a little patter
behind her ribs, but the seriousness in his voice had her tilting her head and
looking at him. To her surprise he was already looking down at her, a very
strange expression on his face. Neither of them said anything for several long
moments, and she wondered what was going through his head.

“Yeah?”
Her voice was low and breathy, and she felt her cheeks heat. She sounded
flippin’ ridiculous. Her heart pounded fast, and her pulse beat rapidly in her
throat.

“Do
you ever think about your mom?”

She
blinked several times because she didn’t know how to respond. His question
caught her off guard. Pushing away from him, she noticed he kept his arm around
her shoulder. Their faces were close, so close she could smell the sweetness of
the beer he had been drinking. “My mom?”

“Yeah.”
His throat worked as he swallowed. “If you don’t want to talk about it I
understand. It’s just…” He exhaled loudly and sat forward to rest his head in
his hands.

“What’s
going on?” Abe was never like this, emotional and almost vulnerable. He turned
his head and stared at her.

“I’ve
just been thinking about my parents lately. You know my mom’s birthday is
coming up.” His voice got softer on the end and her heart clenched. “Anyway, I
was just wondering if you ever thought about your mom.”

She
stared at him and really thought about his question. The truth was she hadn’t
thought about her mom in a long time. There were a lot of bad memories, and
thinking about it just made her feel shitty. “I do, sometimes, but they are few
and far between.” She looked down and started picking at her shirt. The movie
continued to play but neither paid it much attention. “I wonder if she’s still
alive, if she’s still using. I think about the times she brought strange men
into the house and made me stay in my room.” Sophia had been little then, but
those memories were ingrained in her head. She would never forget. She could
still smell the booze and smoke that always seemed to fill the house. She
remembered how her mom had bloodshot eyes and looked like a skeleton. How
Sophia even survived was beyond her. If it wasn’t for the little girl who lived
next door to her, she would have never eaten. She had gone over there all the
time to eat dinner. The neighbors had to know what went on, but the authorities
only came to her home once, and that was when they took her away.

“I
wonder if my mom ever thinks about me, if she ever wonders if I’m even still
alive.” Damn the tears that spilled down her cheeks.

“Ah
shit, baby. I’m sorry I brought it up. Don’t cry, please.” The way he comforted
her had her tears falling faster. He pulled her into his chest, and she buried
her face in his shirt. He smelled so good and all she could do was fist his
shirt in her hands and let him give her strength.

“You
have nothing to feel sorry about, Abe. I always get like this when I do think
of her.”

“Yeah,
but if I hadn’t been so insensitive and brought it up you wouldn’t be sad right
now.” He kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her.

She
knew her tears made his shirt wet and he could probably feel it, but all he did
was hold her tighter and stroke her hair. His murmured words comforted her, and
she was so very thankful that she had him in her life.

There
had been so many times they had been in this same situation, holding onto one
another as their pasts reared their ugly heads. When his parents died he had
been a mess. Abe used his anger to mask his hurt. Fighting, drinking, and sex
with random people had started after all, and the pain she felt for him only intensified.
He might have let her hold him while he raged on about the unfairness of it
all, but in the end he drowned his sorrows in everything that was negative.

Even
with his tormented past, Abe still managed to be there for her. It was hard for
her to hate the way he was when he showed her that there was still someone in
the world that loved her. It might not be the kind of love she wanted, but it
was still there for her to take.

Time
seemed to stand still as they stayed wrapped in each other’s embrace. She
wished their scarred pasts weren’t hidden behind smiles and laughter. Maybe one
day they both would be healed so they could actually move forward.

****

Two weeks later

Since
crying into Abe’s chest, Sophia hadn’t spoken about her mom and he hadn’t said
anything about his parents. She knew he still thought about their conversation,
knew that he always thought about it.

Sophia
wiped down the counter of the bar and cut her eyes to the far left corner, the
corner where Abe drank his sixth beer and groped a busty redhead who had her
mouth latched onto the side of his neck. He looked three sheets to the wind
already, but that was no surprise since he had taken four shots of Jack before
the sixth beer. She knew this wasn’t just another night of getting drunk and
debauchery for him. It was his mother’s birthday and a seriously rough day all
around for him. It always was. He had been aloof when she made him breakfast
that morning, quiet unless she asked him something.

The
redhead’s hand disappeared beneath the table and Sophia knew exactly what she
was touching. The thought annoyed her and jealousy spread through her body. A
look at the clock showed she had about half an hour to go before she was off
work.

“Honey,
just go. I’ll cover for the last half hour.” Sophia looked over at Roxy, one of
the newer bartenders. She was older, maybe in her forties, but had a smokin’
body and an awesome personality. “It looks like your boy is in need of a bed,
some painkillers, and a big glass of water.”

Letting
out a sigh, Sophia gave her a grateful smile and went to close out her till.
Abe had been drinking all day. Hell, he'd smelled like a brewery when she
showed up at his house this morning. It was rough for him and she wished she
could make him feel better, but she knew how hard it was, knew that he
struggled to get through each day.

Sophia
started totaling up her tips when she heard the sound of glass breaking. Abe
stood toe-to-toe with some guy she had never seen before. The redhead pushed
her way between them, a very stupid move on her part. She was trying to talk
the other guy down and Sophia realized he must be her boyfriend. This was so
not what she or Abe needed tonight.

“Well,
fuck. I don’t need this shit tonight.” Hunter Bronson, owner of Tiny’s and her
boss, came busting out of the back room, his face set hard. “Fucking Abe
‘Trouble’ Rochester.” He looked at Sophia and narrowed his eyes. He stalked
toward her and stopped right in front of her. “Get your boy outta here, Soph,
before he knocks that guy’s teeth in and I have to call the cops.”

God,
this day was going from bad to worse. “What about my till? I haven’t finished
counting it down yet.” He waved it off and then pointed to Abe.

“You’re
good, Soph. Just take Abe home before it gets ugly. I don’t want him thrown in
county, especially on a day like today.”

It
wasn’t a secret what today was, not when Abe’s parents’ death had been big news
in their town. Melanie and Rosco Rochester had been prominent in Northon. They
had their hands in community gatherings, bake sales, and auctions to raise
money for the hungry and poor. They were good people and everyone had loved
them.

She
thanked Hunter and grabbed her purse. Pushing through the crowd of people that
were now huddled around Abe and the guy that was about to get his teeth busted
in, Sophia stopped beside Abe. The redhead’s voice was loud and shrill as she
tried to talk down the preppy schoolboy. He was way out of his element,
especially wearing a cable knit vest over his blue oxford. Yeah, he was
definitely a preppy, probably from one of the colleges in the neighboring
cities.

“Hey!”
Neither the redhead nor preppy looked at her. “HEY!” That got their attention.
“I suggest you leave. Like now. Abe has a pretty short fuse sober, but when
he’s drunk, it’s nonexistent.” Oxford scowled and looked like he wanted to
argue, but Abe started laughing and cracking his knuckles.

“Don’t
stop this, Kid. I’ve been itchin’ for a fight all fucking day. I’m just glad
this pansy-ass motherfucker thinks he can take me.” His voice was hard, like
steel, but under that she could still hear the slur. There was no doubt he
could still whip Oxford, but she wasn’t in the mood to deal with the aftermath.
Abe might be lit, but he was more than ready to throw down with this stranger.
Sophia rolled her eyes.

 
“Abe, please, stop.” He looked over at her and
a small, warm smile touched his lips.

“That’s
right, bro, listen to that bitch of yours.”

Sophia
closed her eyes and shook her head. Of course Oxford had to open his damn
mouth. When she opened her eyes, she saw how tense Abe was. His jaw worked
under his tanned, square jaw, and he looked ready to explode.

“First
off, I’m not your
bro
.” Abe took a
step forward. “Secondly, don’t you ever speak about my Sophia like that.” It
only took a millisecond for Abe to swing his fist out and crack the loudmouth
in the head. He stumbled back and Abe took another step forward, following him.
If she didn’t stop it now, it was going to get a lot uglier and a lot bloodier.
Stepping right in front of Abe, Sophia placed her hands on his chest and lifted
onto her toes.

“
Please
, Abe.” It took a long minute for
him to take his murderous stare off Oxford, and when he finally did, she
exhaled in relief. “Let’s get out of here. He isn’t worth it, not by a long
shot.” Abe’s chest was hard beneath her palms and she could feel the steady
beat of his heart. After what seemed like forever, his body relaxed slightly,
and he nodded. He turned and grabbed the one full shot left, downed it, then
grabbed his half-full beer and finished that as well. The crowd that had
gathered to watch the almost fight seemed disappointed that there would be no
bloodshed for their entertainment.

Once
outside, the cool air whipped by them and she hoped it helped to sober Abe up.
Sophia led a very wobbly Abe over to her car. “You walk here?”

“Nah,
got my bike on the side.” He sounded totally trashed and was only getting worse
with each passing minute.

“Well,
obviously you aren’t going to be going home on it, so I’ll send a text to
Hunter and he’ll put it in the garage out back.” She helped him into her car
and shut the door before jogging around to the other side and climbing in.
After sending a quick text to Hunter about Abe’s bike, she started the car,
pulled onto the street, and headed toward Abe’s home.