One Last Shot (Cupid's Conquests) (10 page)

She was wiping down the car when a cab
stopped
at the curb. A balding man hopped out of the back, paid the driver and made his way up the driveway. He was dressed in a black suit cut to fit his short, stocky build. His face was vaguely familiar, but
Shelby
couldn’t place where she’d seen him.
He’d
probably been in the bar a time or two.

“Can I help you?”
she asked.

“I’m Chris Erosou,” he said
,
sticking out his hand. “We spoke on the phone.”

“Hi, Chris.” She shook his hand and watched the cab pull away. “I thought you were just coming by to take a look.”

“The photos you sent were
enough for me to mak
e up my mind. This is a rare
find.” He walked around the vehicle, peering in the windows, checking the lines of the car, before making it to the front and popping the hood. She’d spent hours cleaning the engine compartment, the manifold gleam
ed
like a mirror in the center. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“It’s hard to find someone willing to give something like this up,” he said
,
eyeing her from under the hood.

“Sometimes you have to let go to find what you really need.”

He closed the hood and regarded her for a moment. “That’s very true.”

“Are you a collector?”
s
he asked, bringing the conversation back to the car.

“
I’m more into…restoration
.” He slipped into the driver’s seat, sliding it forward as much as it would go then frowning
at how close his belly was to the large steering wheel
.

“Well this one doesn’t need any work
,” she said. “
I don’t know how much fun that will be for you.”

“Sometimes things look
like
they’re finished, but all they need is a final tweak to make it truly perfect.”

She smiled and nodded. She didn’t know what the hell he was talking about
.
T
he car had every detail already, but she wasn’t about to talk him out of his purchase.

He got out of the car and pulled an envelope from the inside
pocket
of his jacket. “I’ll take it.”

#

Two days later
Shelby
sat in another driveway across town with another cashier’s check in her hand. She hadn’t set foot on the property in nearly eight years, and she was pretty damn sure it would be the last.
For better or worse, s
he climbed the steps and rang the bell.

A short, block of a woman answered the door, hair pulled into a severe bun. She cocked her head then a giant smile burst through the clouded expression. “Shelby Stephens,” she said, affection ringing clear in her voice. “It’s been a long time, sweetheart.” She kissed
Shelby
’s cheek and led her inside. “They’re in the middle of dinner and I’m not sure you’re the most wanted per
son around here, but I’ll take you back
anyway
.”

“Thanks, Susie.”

The housekeeper walked her to the dinning room at the rear of the house where
Justin
’
s
parents were dishing their plates. Billy sat at one side of the table,
fading purple
circles
curv
ed
beneath
both eyes. The swelling was
gone
, but there was a distinct hook to the line of his no
se that hadn’t been there a month
before.
And beside him sat Justin. The sight of him took her breath
away
and she almost lost her nerve.

“I thought you’d left.” It came out nearly as a whisper and she damn near kicked herself for sounding so wounded.

“I stayed for my mother’s birthday,” he said
,
gesturing to the table. “Then I’m gone.”

“What the hell do you want
anyway
?”
Billy
said, rising from his chair.

“Sit down, Billy,” his dad
, Don,
said
,
cutting into his steak. “Ms. Stephens, you’ve caused enough damage to our sons and I’ve run out of patience. You can expect a restraining order to be delivered first thing tomorrow. Now let us get back to our dinner before I
call Sheriff Miller personally.
”

His wife
, Carol,
seemed unfazed by the situation, pouring herself a little more wine and leaning back in her chair to watch
the drama
unfold.
Justin sat still
as the dead,
making him easier to ignore as she refocused on her purpose.

“I’m here to talk to you,”
Shelby
said
to Don
.

“Anything you have to say can be told to my attorney in the morning.”

“No.”

Don
set his knife down and regarded her with a heavy stare. He was a man who didn’t hear
that word
often. She could almost feel the blaze of hatred in his eyes from across the room, but
Shelby
wasn’t intimidated easily. Growing up in a bar and having a hell of a right hook
did
that to a girl.

“Be careful who you push,
Shelby
, some men in this family push back.”

Billy shifted in his seat
, clearly feeling the jab from his father,
and
Carol
hid her smile behind her wine glass.
Shelby
had always like
d
her.

“As much as I’d love to give you a crooked nose to match
both
your boys, I’m here to end something.” She tossed the check on the table.

Don wai
ted
a good thirty seconds before picking
it
up,
eyes widening as he read the number. Then he shook his head and passed it to his wife.

“As far as I can tell, that makes us clear,”
Shelby
said.

“Where’d you get the money?”
Carol
asked
, no judgment in her voice, just a simple question
.

“
I consolidated assets to minimize my debt.
I guess my education wasn’t wasted after all
.”

“This doesn’t change anything,” Justin said.

Shelby
felt his words like a punch to the gut, but she kept her cool. “I didn’t think it would. Happy Birthday, Mrs. Tanner. Sorry for the interruption.”
Shelby
spun on her heel and walked out the door.
Tears welled in her eyes and s
he was halfway to
the beat
-
up truck John had lent her
when
Carol ran down the steps and called to her.

“I just want you to know
something,
Shelby
.
I
didn’t know
anything about that whole college business until it was all said and done. I should have
spoken up
back then and I’m sorry
I didn’t
.”

“I knew it didn’t come from you.”

“Well, you still deserve an apology. I always liked you
, Shelby,
and I still think you’d be good for my son.”

“Yeah, well,
I think
it’s a little too late for that, but thanks anyway.”

“Don’t be so sure. The men in this family are pretty hardheaded, but eventually they come around. That’s why I’m still here.” She kissed
Shelby
’s cheek and walked back to the house, but turned with her hand on the door. “Not many people surprise my husband. If nothing else, Sunday dinners would be a hell of
a
lot more entertaining with you around.”

#

That night Shelby and John closed up
and
said goodnight at the door, but she didn’t follow him to the parking lot
. S
he pulled the door shut behind him and slid the lock home. The bar was a different pla
ce when it was empty. As much as she loved the
raw energy of the
crowds and music and drinks, there was
a
special feeling when
she was alone
, a peace she couldn’t find anywhere else.

She made her way to a small space
in
the
back
behind the storeroom. The makeshift bedroom was just big enough for a bed, dresser, and a bookshelf. She’d fought so hard
this last year
to keep the house, clinging to a childhood fantasy about a perfect family home, but hers was an unconventional family. Even when she was a little girl, before her mom had died, they
’d
shared more memories
in this bar
more
than anywhere else
. I
t was more her home than any house ever had been. Even in
L.A.
she’d never felt quite settled in her own apartment. The beige stucco, cream walls, and smoggy skies
weren’t
the palm
-
lined beaches she’d imagined. Not that those didn’t exist, but they were dirty and crowded and usually more trouble than they were worth. But it was different here.

She turned off the light
and
curled up on the bed in the back of the bar
. As good as she felt about her decision, even this home would never feel quite right without Jay. They’d shared too much inside these walls. But that bridge was burned, she’d have to find a way to make it work on her own.

Chapter
S
even

Justin
pulled out his wallet to pay for the drinks, his fingers hesitating above the cash
. R
esting against
the bills was
the baseball ticket he’d taken from
Shelby
.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Sean said with a grin, dropping a hundred dollar bill on the
table
. “I’m sure things are tight with you being on a fixed income now and all
.
”

“
You’re lucky I agreed to the endorsements or you’d be out of a paycheck, too.” They shared a laugh and headed to the valet stand outside where a Shelby GT idled at the curb.
Justin
’
s
heart stopped as he waited for the door to open, expecting
Shelby
to slide out of the car and right back into his arms. His palm tingled as the door opened and the valet got out.
Justin
laughed at himself and handed his ticket to the attendant at the stand. The other valet walked over to the small crowd standing outside and handed the keys to a short, stocky man in a dark suit.

“You okay, buddy?” Sean asked, clapping him on the back.

“Yeah, that car just looks familiar.” Which was stupid. There were millions of cars in
L.A.
with no shortage of rarities. The car had the standard
Shelby
white paint and blue rocker stripes, but something tugged at the back of his mind. He’d seen signs of
Shelby
everywhere since leaving
Texas
and this was just one more slap in the face.

“Well it does have
Texas
plates.”

“What?”

Sean pointe
d to the back of the car where The Lone Star State plate gleamed in the
streetlights
.

“Hey, buddy,”
Justin
called.

The man in the suit paused, hand on the door.

“This is a nice ride. You had it long?”

“No, it was a recent purchase.”

The man’s smile tugged at the back of
Justin
’
s
mind, a twinge of familiarity there.

“These cars are hard to find,”
Justin
said, trying to sound casual as every nerve in his body screamed for him to find out if the car had belonged to his
Shelby
. “A friend of mine used to have one.”

“It was a lucky find. The owner was looking for a quick sale and by the grace of the gods I got there first.”

Justin
nodded, a flood of memories pouring through his mind—nights racing down the back roads and racing
past third
base in the back seat. He swallowed the lump in his throat and thought again of the ticket in his pocket and the
Shelby
he’d left behind.