Rough Ride (2 page)

“Well look at that, there’s a desk under there.” He said smiling at her.

“Land sakes, you started without me.” Edna said sitting down in the chair Dickie had provided and smiling at her.

Dickie walked back out to the garage area and she finished up the installation of the software upgrade and was able to successfully open the program.  She explained to Edna how she had separated the piles of papers and offered to move out of the way.  Before Edna could reply, the office door opened and looking up she was stunned by the man who approached them.

He was even bigger than Dickie with muscular arms, shoulders and a chest that was
squeezed
into a black t-shirt which accompanied dirt streaked jeans that fit nicely on his frame.   He had very dark brown hair that was almost black in color that hung in curls to just past his shoulders. 
Women would kill for hair like that.
 

A matching goatee covered his chin but didn’t hide his well-defined lips and white teeth.  Dark brown eyes, sat below very dark arched eyebrows that made him appear as though he was scowling.  On closer look, maybe he was scowling…
at her
!

“Oh Bobby, I’m glad your back!” Edna said “I want you to meet Ms. Lilly.  Her car broke down and Dickie’s out there working on it.  She helped me fix the computer program and now that it’s running we were going to work on some of this paperwork.  She already cleaned a good patch of the desk off.”

The dark eyed man stared at her and somehow she could
feel
his burning gaze.  It made her unusually aware of her own body as well as his.  She could feel herself blush and she looked away from him.  She couldn’t meet his eyes as they seemed to burn straight through her.  He was
so
not her type and she was surprised at her physical reaction to him.

Handing a bag of what smelled like lunch to Edna he said “You don’t need to do that Gran.  Eat your lunch and I’ll run you home here in about a half hour.” 

He pulled a large fountain soda out of the drink carrier in his other hand and sat it on the counter.  With that he glanced again at her, and quickly looked away and then left the office.  She had never felt so uncomfortable or awkward around a person in her life.  She let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Maybe I should just get a cab to run me to my sister’s house.  I could always have her bring me back when my car is ready.” She offered.

“Now I owe you half my lunch, I’ll never eat it all anyways.  He always forgets I don’t eat as much as he and the other boys do.  He always gets me way too big of a sandwich and French Fries too.” She replied “Would you mind to work while we eat though, I could use all the help I can get if we’re to get his taxes done on time this year.”

With that Edna laid out a napkin for herself and one for Lilly and then spread some fries on each one.  Then after tearing the sandwich apart, she sat Lilly’s half on her napkin and took a bite out of her own.

She began entering the information from the stacks into the computer, while Edna continued going through papers on the desk adding to the four stacks.  They ate and talked while they worked.  She had never met anyone like Edna. She asked all kinds of questions but somehow rather than seeming nosy, she seemed like she genuinely cared.  Lilly talked about her educational background and mentioned that she might start looking for a job once she got settled.  As they finished up the last of the food the door to the office opened and Dickie entered.

“Bobby wants to know if you’re ready to head home Gran?” He said

“I suppose, we’ve done a weeks’ worth of work in a little more than an hour.  Bless your heart for helping an old woman.” She said smiling and patting her hand.

“We need some parts for your car that we don’t have here at the shop.  We work mainly on motorcycles so I’ll have to get what I need at the parts store once I drop Gran off at home.  It shouldn’t take me more than a half an hour as it’s just round the corner.” He said to her.

Edna gathered her purse and a few other items and followed Dickie out to the garage.  Lilly was unsure if she should stay and wait or maybe call her sister to pick her up.  She had tried calling earlier while riding in the tow truck with Dickie but no one had answered.  Unsure what to do, she decided to continue working and help out Edna.

She worked steadily until she realized that she could now see the entire top of the desk.  Glancing up at the clock she realized that nearly three hours had passed since Edna had left.  She had devoured the busy work like a starving man presented with a buffet. 

Worry set in when she realized that no one had come back in to the office to update her on her car situation. 
Did they even remember she was here?

Saving the work she had entered into the computer, she stood and made for the garage attempting to step over and around the piles of paperwork scattered about.  Opening the door of the office she peeked out into the garage area.  Her car’s hood was up and Dickie appeared to be messing with something while a younger man sat half in the driver’s side attempting to start it. 

He
was wearing a welding mask and was bent over a large rounded piece of metal, with a welding torch in his hand.  His muscles bulged in the tight t-shirt and none of them seemed to notice she even existed.  She slowly made her way to her car and the young man sitting in the driver’s seat noticed her. 

He looked to be in his early twenties with short spiky blonde hair and blue eyes.  He wore slightly baggy jeans with a red t-shirt and a matching red hat that he had turned backwards.  His arms were covered in tattoos but he smiled at her as she approached.

“Hey Dickie, you’ve got company” He said.

Moving out from under the hood, Dickie sighed heavily “I think it might be the starter, and the parts store will have to order one.  Can I give you a lift somewhere? I will start back in on it first thing tomorrow but I don’t think there’s much more I can do to it today.”

The younger man exited her car and walked over to Bobby who had turned off the welding torch and pulled off the mask.  After indicating he was leaving for the day the young man walked out of the open garage door and headed down the street on a motorcycle a few minutes later.  She relayed her sister’s address to Dickie who looked over at Bobby.

“I can take her it’s on my way and the opposite way for you.” Bobby said

Oh God.
  She would have to be alone with this dark brooding man who made her nervous and left her feeling flushed.

“You sure you don’t mind?” Dickie replied.  Bobby simply shook his head no. 
A man of few words it seemed.
  With that Dickie headed out of the garage and hopped into the tow truck which was now parked next to another truck with tinted windows.

“I just need to get a few things out of my car if that’s ok.” She said quietly and moved to the rear of the vehicle.

Grabbing her small overnight bag that contained her personal grooming items and makeup along with a small handheld bag that contained a nightgown, a skirt and blouse for the following day, she quickly closed the trunk again.

“I need to grab a few things out of the office and I’ll be ready.” Bobby said walking towards the office door.

“I need to get my purse out of there also.” She said, setting her bags down near her car and following behind him several paces.

As they stepped inside and the door closed behind them, the room suddenly seemed even smaller than it really was.  He seemed to take up all the space leaving no room and no air for her.  He walked to the counter that acted as a hutch to the desk and grabbed a few items off the top of one of the stacks.

She made her way past him and around the desk and bent over to pick her purse up from the floor.

“Did you do this?” He asked gruffly.

Embarrassment and insecurity reared its ugly head. 
Had she overstepped her bounds?
  She didn’t know these people and yet she had made herself at home in this man’s office and messed with his business documents.  How angry would that have made Darren and she had been married to him.  This man was a complete stranger. 
What had she been thinking?

“Yes, I’m sorry.  I didn’t realize…the time got away from me and uh…I’m sorry” She finished lamely.

Turning she glanced up at him.  His gaze changed from an awed expression as he stared at the desk to a dark and dangerous look when he faced her.  She could feel her insides warm at his close scrutiny of her.  His gaze swept down the length of her body and caressed it on the journey back up.

When his eyes made it back to hers again he said “Thank you.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that.  When was the last time someone thanked her for anything.  Her mouth opened and then closed and then opened again “You’re… you’re welcome.” She stammered.

He stared at her for several more minutes and then headed back out to the garage.  She followed stopping in the doorway to shut off the lights.  They were obviously the last ones to leave.  It felt good to put in a half day of real work, and it felt even better to be appreciated for it.

She watched as Bobby pushed a monstrous looking motorcycle out of the open garage door and after putting the kickstand down headed over and picked up her bags. 
Surely not!
  He couldn’t possibly mean for them to ride on that thing.  She was in a pencil skirt, white blouse and heels.  Not to mention, she had two bags plus her purse!

Her mouth gapped open as she watched him use a bungee cord and some netting to tie the two bags to the back of a bar that acted as a backrest for the passenger seat.  Once they were securely fastened he turned and stared at her.  His intense gaze brought back the awkwardness and she quickly looked away.  She could feel him continue to stare at her for several more seconds.

Strapping on courage she didn’t know she had, she approached him as he continued to stand there looking dangerous, exciting and extremely sexy. 
What was wrong with her?
  He was likely a motorcycle gang member, with his tattoos, long hair and scruffy appearance and yet she could not deny the heat that seemed to arch between them the closer she got to him.  She could actually feel her nipples tighten and the tiny hairs on her arms stood up.

He turned and removed a helmet from the handle bars and handed it to her, taking her purse and stuffing it in one of the bags on the side of the motorcycle.  She took it and positioned it gently on her head.  Unlike the helmets she was used to seeing on motorcycle riders, this one seemed to only cover the top of her head with a strap that went under her chin to the other side of the helmet.  It rested right on top of the ballet bun she wore at the back of her head.

“Do you have sunglasses?” He asked

“Yes, in my car.” She replied.

She was really going to do this!
  She had never been on a motorcycle in her life.  She was both excited and nervous as she walked to her car and pulled her sunglasses from the visor.  She slid them on and turned to head back to where he stood.

He grinned. 
Wow!

It seemed to completely change his entire face.  It didn’t seem possible that a simple lopsided grin could make him look even sexier but it did. 
God help her.
 

“Nice shades.” he smirked.

Her mother-in-law had always referred to them as her Jackie Onassis glasses.  They were big and round and white.  She wasn’t sure if he was making fun of her or simply amused by her choice of eyewear.

“Is there a grocery store anywhere on the way?” She asked.

“Yea, we can stop if you need to but I wouldn’t buy anything more than will fit in the saddle bags.” He said pointing to the leather bags that draped on each side of the seat.  He reached inside one of the bags and pushed a garage door opener which closed the door to the bay.

“I won’t and thank you for the ride.” She said politely.