Long, Lonely Nights (4 page)

The cell phone rang. Logan checked the number and laughed. Riley had to be psychic. What was the son-of-a-bitch doing up this early anyway?

“Did you ever think you might have been waking me, calling this early?” Logan asked.

“Naw, didn’t much care. Figured if I’m up you should be, too.” Riley laughed.

“What’s up?” Logan asked.

“Morgan is in Tylerville. Thought you might want to ride over to see him today.”

“What’s he doing there?” Logan carried his empty coffee cup to the kitchen for a refill.

“Don’t know. We can ask when we get there,” Riley said.

“When you want to leave?”

“How about nine? That will put us getting there around eleven.”

“Truck or bike?” Logan asked.

“Might rain, so how about going in your truck?” Riley said.

“And there is the real reason you wanted me to come along. You didn’t want to get wet.”

“Bingo.” Riley laughed. “I’ll ride over there and leave the bike.”

“See you at nine.” Logan hung up.

Morgan Jennings had lost his wife and child in a car accident while he had been overseas. By the time they could get him home, they were already buried. Morgan hadn’t gotten over losing them yet and drifted around.

He and Riley had a lot in common. Riley had been in and out of foster homes from the time he was six years old. His mother had been a crack addict and didn’t take care of him, so the state had taken him away from her. He continued to move from place to place. Logan shook his head. They were all lost causes, he guessed.

He took his coffee back into his bedroom and dressed for the trip. He wondered what kind of mood Morgan would be in. It would be a surprise if he were sober for a change. The last time he had seen his old friend he was holed up in a dump of a hotel on a drinking binge. He hated seeing his buddy like that. He shook off the depressing thoughts.

Breakfast consisted of four eggs, two pieces of toast, and four strips of bacon. Logan washed the dishes and put them away. Then he walked outside on his front porch and sat in the chair to watch the street come awake for the day. Tina’s door opened, and Logan watched her walk out after securing both locks.

She looked nice in her navy blue suit. More than likely it would bring out the deep blue of her eyes. For the first time, he wondered if she wore make up to work. She hadn’t had any on last Saturday when she had brought the coffee over.

He glanced at his watch. She was leaving pretty early. It was only six thirty. She probably hadn’t been able to go back to sleep either. She would probably be dragging by the end of the day he bet. Again, he wondered if she had a bad dream. Someone as pretty as she was shouldn’t have bad dreams to interrupt their sleep. He snorted at that thought.

What was going on with him that he even cared?

Nine on the dot, Logan heard Riley’s bike down the street. Logan had his door locked and was standing next to his truck when Riley parked the bike under the carport. The big man got off and removed his helmet followed by the leather jacket. He looked the same as he had the other day. He doubted if the guy had anything other than black. Logan shook his head and climbed into the truck. Riley swung up inside the cab and dropped his helmet in the back seat.

“Let’s rock and roll,” he said.

“How did you find out where he was?” Logan asked as he backed out of the drive.

“Talked to him the other day. Called to be sure he was still alive.”

“He know we’re coming?” Logan asked

“Yep. Told him we would be there sometime today. Figure we can wake his ass up and get something decent in him besides booze.” Riley ran a hand over his face. “The guy is gonna kill himself if he doesn’t straighten up. It’s been nearly two years since he lost his family. Time to suck it up and go on.”

“You going to tell him that?”

“If he needs it, yeah. I’ll tell him,” Riley said looking out the window.

They rode in silence for awhile then rehashed one of their last stints together. They pulled up beside a dirty Harley outside the run down hotel. Didn’t look good for Morgan, he thought. Riley knocked with the side of his fist.

They heard a muffled curse, a crash, and a feminine squeal. Riley looked over at Logan and grinned.

“He finally found himself some pussy. Good for him.”

Logan just shook his head. The door opened as far as the safety bar would let it. One bloodshot eye peered out at him.

“Well, hell.” Their friend closed the door then opened it wide for them to come in.

“Didn’t expect to see you two till afternoon.” Morgan scratched his chest.

The man stood before them in nothing but his briefs, looking as if he were a hermit living in some cabin in the wilderness. Tangled brown hair fell past his shoulders and a thick, unruly beard hugged his face. He sported a pair of red eyes but no smell of booze. The bed was tousled, and the room smelled of sweat and sex. The bathroom door opened and a thin bleached blond with brown roots walked out in a pair of tight jeans and a sleeveless tube top. She had more than her share of boobs poured into the top and spilling over.

“You gonna take me home?” she asked.

“I’ll call you a cab.” He walked over to the phone.

“Give me your keys. I’ll take her,” Riley said.

Morgan hesitated for a few seconds, then shrugged and tossed his keys towards Riley, who caught them and turned to the door.

“Come on, sweet thing. I’ll get you back in one piece, I promise.”

She yawned and followed Riley towards the door. She squeezed Morgan on the ass as she walked by.

“You know where I am when you get lonely.” She closed the door behind them.

“How the hell have you been, Logan?” Morgan asked

“Great. What about you?”

“Can’t complain. Rather, I won’t complain.” He laughed and shook his head.

“You like the settled life?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah. Don’t have to worry where I’m sleeping or what I’m eating. I can walk around naked if I want to, and best of all, I have my coffee just like I want it.”

“You and that damn coffee. I hadn’t ever heard anyone whine more than you did about coffee. Sounded like a damn woman,” Morgan said.

“Fuck you, man.” Logan laughed.

“What about all those pesky things like yard work, housework, and cooking. Sounds like a lot of work to me.”

“Why don’t you come stay for a couple of weeks, and see if you like it.”

Morgan hesitated then shrugged. “Might do it. Gonna stick around here for a while. I like the scenery.” With this, he grinned.

There were two quick raps on the door then Riley walked in. He threw the keys back to Morgan who caught them without a problem. Logan figured he must have been sober for over a week since there were no tremors, and he had good hand eye coordination. That was good.

“Okay, man. I’m hungry. Let’s go find something decent to eat,” Riley said.

“Hell, decent means I need a shower and something clean to wear.”

“Go clean up. We’re waiting on you, but not for long,” Logan added.

“Yeah, yeah.” He flipped them the bird and after grabbing some clothes, disappeared into the bathroom.

Once the shower started up, Logan turned to Riley. “What do you think? He seems sobered up to me.”

“Yep. I think he’s on his way to recovery. Now if he will just shave off that God awful beard and cut his hair. He looks like some kind of woolly-bugger.”

“Where in the world did you get that?” Logan asked grinning.

“Read it somewhere.”

“You still reading? I’m impressed.”

“If you can write army manuals, I can read, so shut up about it,” Riley groused.

“I invited him to stay at my place for few weeks. Said he would think about it. He’s going to stick around here for awhile.”

“Found him a woman, so he’s going to stick around. Good,” Riley said with a grin.

The shower shut off in the other room. Logan looked around for somewhere to sit and chose the arm of the love seat. Riley settled for propping against the desk. Neither of them wanted to sit anywhere. The place was only one step up from the last place they had found Morgan in.

The bathroom door opened, and Morgan stepped out in jeans. He had washed his hair, though it was still wet. At least it was straight and fairly neat. He’d also combed out his beard so it didn’t look nearly as rough as it had earlier. All in all, it was a big improvement. He chose a T-shirt and slipped it on over his head. Then he added socks and his boots to the pile.

“So, let’s go. I’m hungry now, too,” Morgan said. He walked towards the door not waiting on them to follow.

Chapter Three

“So tell me about your neighbor? Have you seen him lately?” Jenna asked.

Tina nearly choked over her pasta salad. They were having lunch together at a bistro a block from work.

“Um, he was sitting on his front porch this morning when I left for work. That’s it since the last time I talked to you.” Tina took a drink of her water to clear her throat.

“Durn. I was hoping to hear something good like he was walking around in his underwear or something.”

“Not lately.” She tried to make it sound like a joke. Inside, she was mortified. She could feel the heat travel up her face.

“Todd came back last night and apologized. Said it would never happen again.”

“Jenna, don’t you dare take him back. You know he will only get worse.” Tina couldn’t believe she would do that.

“Don’t worry. I’m not about to. When I told him so, he got angry, proving he couldn’t hold it together even for an apology,” she said.

“Maybe you should get a restraining order against him.” Tina took a bite of her salad.

“I already have one on my ex. I don’t think anyone will take me seriously if I have one on two different men. Plus, when they serve Todd with the papers, he will probably go crazy and come looking for me,” Jenna said. She fiddled with her salad without eating any.

Tina decided her friend was probably right. It was a lot like her calling the police at every sound after her attack. They soon didn’t believe her anymore and told her to get a dog or a roommate. It worried her though. Todd didn’t sound like he was giving up.

“Why don’t you come stay with me for a few days?” she asked.

“Naw, I’m fine. I know better than to open the door to him again. He’s not stable.”

“Call me if he comes to the door. I’ll come over.”

“And do what? I don’t want you out there where he is. I’ll call the police if he won’t go away,” Jenna said.

“Promise?” Tina asked.

“I promise.”

They finished their lunch talking about work and who was seeing whom on the side. Nothing like office politics to stir things up, Tina thought.

The rest of the day went by fast. She arrived home to find a yellow rose from her neighbor’s yard lying on her back doorstep. She picked it up once she had unlocked the door. It looked fairly fresh. She locked the door and re-set the alarm. Finding a vase proved tough. She hadn’t had flowers in over a year. Finally, she found one in the back of the cabinet under the sink. She added water and stuck the flower in the vase. Where to put it? She decided on the dining room table.