Hawk: (10 page)

Tildy walked into Maria’s, which was just as crowded as it had been last weekend. Some country tune she didn’t recognize blared out of the jukebox on the wall. She glanced around, hoping to spot Hawk, while wiping the drizzle of rain off her dress. There were fewer bikes in the lot, she’d noticed, probably because of the rain. She didn’t know if that meant he wouldn’t be here.

She headed for the bar that gleamed in the dim light. She picked an empty stool and sli
d onto it. Before long, a tall blonde appeared in front of her. She looked Tildy up and down. She didn’t exactly sneer, but it wasn’t far off. “Got I.D., Princess?”

“I just want a Club S
oda,” Tildy replied. The blonde was unmoved. Tildy fished her license out of her purse. The blonde scanned it.

“Matilda? My condolences.”

Tildy sipped her soda and glanced around.

“You looking for someone?” the blonde asked.

Tildy bit her lower lip. “Um. Yeah. Hawk.” She frowned. “I don’t know his last name.”

The blonde sighed and shook her head. “Not for nothing honey, but he don’t usually ride the same mare twice.”

Tildy’s mouth dropped open. “I- we- we’re just friends!” she blurted out, her cheeks feeling hot.

“Friends,” the blonde repeatedly dryly.

Tildy bristled. “He gave me his phone number!”

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s a new on
e on me,” she admitted. “And he’s meeting you here?”

“Well-”

“Hey there,” came a voice from Tildy’s right. She turned to see a man in a Stetson hat and a button-down denim shirt. Tildy gave him a polite smile. He looked her up and down, just like the blonde had done. “You lost?” he asked, grinning.

Tildy shook her head. “I’m- I’m waiting on a friend.”

The cowboy smiled wider. “I’ll be your friend.”

Tildy frowned. “Um...”

“This guy you’re waiting on, he’s your boyfriend?” he pressed.

Tildy shook her head.

“Okay, then. Dance with me.”

The blonde remained stoic. “Tread lightly,
Princess,” she warned Tildy. “Don’t know what kind of
friends
you are with Hawk. Take care you don’t cause a dust-up in my bar when he shows up.”

Tildy couldn’t suppress her grin. So
, Hawk
was
going to be here tonight. The cowboy assumed she was smiling at him and held out his hand. Tildy shrugged. He seemed nice enough and it was just a dance. Plus, a lot of people at the bar were eyeing her as though, like the cowboy said, she was lost. She finished her soda and slipped off the barstool.

Tildy wasn’t overly f
amiliar with the Texas two-step or whatever the heck it was they were doing. She seemed to step on his foot more often than not, but the cowboy kept smiling.

“You come to this place a lot?” he asked.

Tildy shook her head. “No. Um. Not really.”

He laughed. “It shows.” He spun her and drew her back in. There was a glint in his eye as he grinned at her. “Ever seen one this big?” he drawled.

Tildy’s mouth dropped open. Without really meaning for it to, her gaze dropped down. As he took hold of a large belt buckle, she sighed in relief.

“Rodeo,” he told her proudly. “We’re passing through. Next’s Wyoming. Then on down to Utah.”

“Oh,” Tildy replied. “That’s nice. But... isn’t it dangerous?”

He cocked his head. “I like danger,” he said with a smirk.

Tildy just nodded.

A few
songs later and her feet had already had enough of Skylar’s boots. “I have to sit down,” she called out over the music.

He led her back to the bar.

“Can I get another Club Soda?” Tildy asked the woman.

“How about something with a little more bite to it?” the cowboy asked. “I’ll buy.”

Tildy shook her head. “No, really. Just soda. That’s it for me.”

“Oughta loosen up, girl,” he replied, echoing Skylar’s earlier sentiments. He plunked down a bill and ordered two shots of tequila. The blonde poured.

“No, really,” Tildy insisted. “I-”

The cowboy put the shot in her hand. “Go on. Live a little, Princess,” he replied
, just like the bartender had called her earlier.

“I don’t drink.”

The cowboy smiled. “Pleasure to be your first time.”

Tildy blushed and tried to set the shot glass down. The cowboy stopped her. “Already paid for,” he reminded her.

Tildy frowned. “I’m sorry about that,” she told him. “I can pay you back.” She reached for the pocket of her sweater.

“Or you could jus
t be polite and drink it,” the cowboy told her, though his tone was starting to sound anything but polite.

Before Tildy could react
, a large hand reached out and plucked the glass from her hand. Tildy turned to see Hawk looming over herself and her dance partner. Hawk drank the shot himself and placed the empty glass upside down on the bar. “Thanks for the drink,” he said in a gravelly voice.  He held out his hand to Tildy. “Come on,” he ordered.

Tildy slipped her hand into his and got off the barstool.

“Hey!” said the cowboy. “I was dancing with her.”

“Thanks for the dance,” Hawk replied. He tried to lead Tildy away
, but the cowboy wasn’t giving up.

“I was dancing with her,” he repeated more loudly. He grabbed Tildy’s wrist. “I bought her a drink
, and we were havin’ ourselves a nice time.”

Hawk’s gaze zeroed in on Tildy’s wrist. “Get your fucking hand off her,” he snarled.

The cowboy didn’t let go. Apparently he hadn’t been kidding about liking danger, because Hawk was almost twice his size and his expression was so menacing that even Tildy was alarmed.

“How ‘bout
you
let go,
Chief
? I got dibs.”

“Dibs?” Hawk asked quietly.

“That’s right. First come, first served. Ain’t that right, Princess?”

Hawk let go of Tildy’s hand.

Tildy had never seen an actual fight, before; only on the big screen and only when Tate made her go. Action movies weren’t really her thing. If she was expecting some long, drawn-out boxing match that culminated in a full-scale bar fight, then she’d seen way too movies. Hawk’s fist shot out like a striking rattlesnake, a blur. It connected with the cowboy’s jaw with a crack. He let go of Tildy’s wrist and tumbled to the floor.

“There,” Hawk said. “I flipped you for her.”

He took Tildy’s hand again and led her away. As they crossed the bar, a man Tildy recognized came striding toward them. Hawk caught sight of him, yanked Tildy across his front, and pivoted to face the way they’d just come. Tildy gasped to see the cowboy following closely on their heels with a beer bottle in his hand.

Hawk’s friend raised his own hand
, and a glint of gold shimmered. The cowboy halted at the sight of the badge.

“He
punched
me!” the cowboy cried.

The cop smirked. “I’m about to
shoot
you.”

The cowboy spluttered. “Arrest him!”

The cop shook his head. “That’d mean paperwork. Plus, I’d just have to turn around and shell out his bail money. Not doing either tonight.” He jerked his chin at the door. “Find yourself another watering hole.”

The cowboy glared at them, then dropped his bottle onto the floor. Thankfully it didn’t break.

“Fucking cock tease,” he muttered as he turned and stalked through the crowd towards the door.

Hawk nodded his thanks to the cop
and then he turned to Tildy. “What are you doing here?” he asked, frowning at her.

Tildy felt a stab of disappointment. “Um. I just...” She didn’t really know what to say. Hawk technically knew that things with her parents weren’t great, but Tildy didn’t want to talk about it. “I just wanted to go out,” she replied casually.

“Not with him,” Hawk ordered. “Or anyone like him.”

Tildy made a face. “He seemed okay.”

“No one here is
okay
, Tildy,” he countered. “Got that?”

Hawk waited for Tildy to nod and indicate that she understood. He definitely had been surprised to find her here tonight and more than a little pissed that some asshole had moved in on her and tried to feed her shots. Anyone with eyes in his head could see that Tildy
did not
belong in a honky-tonk, which of course just made her easier prey.

“
You’re
okay,” she argued.

Hawk let a small grin escape his serious facade. “No, I’m not, Tildy. I’m a bad, dangerous man.”

Tildy looked up at him. “He said he liked danger.”

He lifted her chin with a finger and leaned down. “But
you
don’t.”

“I-”

“Tildy?”

Hawk and Tildy both turned to see Slick moving toward them. “Are you okay? I saw you come in, but I’ve been so swamped I couldn’t get to you. Then you were dancing.”

“I’m fine,” Tildy declared.

“What are you doing here?” Slick asked
, echoing Hawk.

“Just came for some excitement.” Tildy’s nose wrinkled. “Which I guess I got.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t hook up with anyone here,” Slick advised.

Tildy gasped. “I wasn’t hooking up with him! We were just dancing!”

Slick grimaced. “Here that’s the same thing.”

Hawk watched as Tildy’s face turned red. “Well, I didn
’t know,” she mumbled. “And anyway, Hawk saved me.”

Hawk was about to lecture her on making better decisions so she didn’t
need
saving when, to his right, a familiar voice interrupted.

“That’s my cousin. The white knight of Rapid City.”

Hawk turned to see Garrett. His cousin’s smirk belied any assumption that Garrett thought of Hawk as a stand-up guy. Hawk frowned and hoped Garrett wouldn’t start spouting off about things better left in the past.

“Should you be here?” he asked
Garrett.

Garrett
grinned. “Free country.”

“But not for you, is it?” Hawk replied
, trying not to say too much in front of Tildy, who would be uncomfortable.

Garrett
scowled and made a show of looking around. “Don’t see my P.O. here. Only see your cop friend. He gonna take me in?”

Hawk risked a glance at Tildy
, who looked confused but not horrified. She’d clearly not quite understood everything. He turned back to Garrett. “Don’t screw this up. Go home. Keep your head down.”

Garrett
grunted. “Nothing to do at home. Come with me. We’ll get some beers and hang out. Like
old times
.”

Hawk couldn’t tell if
Garrett was threatening to blab about the ‘old times’ or if he just genuinely wished they could start over. Hawk wasn’t one to hide from his mistakes. As much as he didn’t want to upset Tildy, if Garrett wanted to run his mouth, then Hawk wouldn’t stop him.

Hawk did, however
, feel a pang of guilt about the isolated situation in which his cousin now found himself. He wanted to support Garrett. But if memory served, Garrett and booze were a combo that almost always had a bad outcome, like being pulled over for erratic driving and getting popped for Grand Theft Auto on top of it.

“Why
don’t you come to dinner tomorrow night?” Hawk offered. “With me, Raina, and the kids?”

Garrett
nodded. “Sure. But why don’t you come with me
now
?”

Hawk sighed. “I can’t. Ti
ldy’s here. I can’t leave her, not in a place like this.”

Garrett
eyed Tildy. “So send her home. What’re you doing putting it to a girl like this, anyway?”

Tildy gasped
. Hawk glowered. “She’s my
friend
, Garrett. I’m looking out for her tonight.” Hawk didn’t think it was any of Garrett’s business that Tildy was probably here precisely because she didn’t want to
be
home. He shook his head. “Sorry, Garrett. I can’t. But come to Raina’s tomorrow.”

Garrett
stared at Hawk. “You’re throwing over family for your friends? For a girl who ain’t even
your
girl?”

“
Garrett, you shouldn’t be here, anyway,” Hawk reminded him.

Garrett
looked ready to start his own bar fight. “Fuck,” he muttered. Then louder, “Fuck
you
. Choosing friends over family. Yeah, I’d say you’ve changed. And not for the better.” He turned and stormed out of the bar.

Hawk turned to Tildy, who looked at the door and then at him. “Should you go after him?” she asked.

Hawk sighed and shook his head. “No.”

“Are you sure? He’s upset. And you’re his family?”

Hawk nodded. “He’s my cousin. He’s... having some problems.”

“Can you help him?”

“I want to. But I don’t know how,” Hawk confessed.

“Why can’t he be here?”

Hawk grimaced. He wouldn’t lie. “He’s on parole.”

Tildy stared at him. “For what?”

“Burglary. This time. The time before that it was stealing cars.”

“Oh, God,” Tildy breathed.

“He’s got a chance to go straight. I wish he’d take it.”

Tildy looked at the door. “I think...
I think you can only save people from other things,” she told him quietly. “Never from themselves.”