Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(34)

“I won’t, I promise. He doesn’t want me anyway,” she tells me, wiping her tears away.

“As long as that’s understood. Come on, let’s watch Catfish,” I say, walking out of the bathroom and back to Reid.

He looks worried. “Everything okay?”

I nod, pressing play on the show and smiling as he wraps me in his arms. Jade walks out a few moments later, and silently takes a seat. Reid nibbles on my ear. “Thank you.”

“I have my moments,” I say into his chest.





Chapter Thirteen


“Dad, there’s a customer and I don’t know anything about motorcycles to be of service,” I say, peeping my head into the back office. My dad flashes me a grin and stands to his full height, scratching his beard before walking out.

I’ve spent the whole day helping him out in his bike shop. It’s feels good to spend some extra time with him, and I can tell he enjoys having me around, too. It’s a win-win situation. He's hinted at me working here full time with him, but truth be told I know nothing about bikes except that I love being on the back of one.

I’m not gonna complain about the eye candy that walks in here, though, because damn, I never even knew this town had so many hot men. After two guys hit on me this morning, my dad put up a sign that says ‘the discounts only apply to men that don’t hit on my daughter.’ I couldn’t help laughing.

His store is having a huge sale right now, hence the large amount of customers today. I haven’t been much help apart from ringing up a few orders, and ordering a few parts on the phone. I also vacuumed the store because there was nothing else for me to do.

On my break I walk to the deli across the road and get dad and me some food for lunch, and we sit in the office eating together. To other people this might seem like a normal, everyday moment, but to me it’s times like these I dreamt of as a child. Spending time with my dad, joking, hanging out. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling all day.

“How’s things with Reid?” he asks after we finish up lunch.

“Good,” I say, a smile playing on my lips.

“I heard you’re coming to the fight.”

“Yup.”

“You sure you okay with all of that?” he asks, studying me.

I shrug both shoulders. “Comes with the package that is Reid Knox, right?”

He suddenly looks uncomfortable, shifting nervously.

“What, dad?” I ask warily, pursing my lips.

He clears his throat, once, twice. “You’re being safe, right, I mean. I assume your mother had chats with you, but I just wanted to make sure…”

I choke on my bottle of water. “Oh my god, dad!” I start laughing uncomfortably. “We haven’t… that is... We haven’t had sex yet.”

My dad’s eyes widen, looking surprised. He exhales and gives me a crooked smile, now looking both relieved and pleased.

“That was awkward,” I mutter to myself.

“You can talk to me about anything, Summer, you should know that,” he says quietly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

“Thanks, dad.”

“Xander mentioned how you reacted to seeing his mother,” he says after a moment.

Now it’s my turn to shift uncomfortably. “Yeah, I mean, I spent my whole life listening to mum blame her for you not being around. So it’s kind of wired into me to feel weird around her. Mum hated her, and I guess I kind of feel like I’m betraying her by even considering being friendly with Daria.”

Dad sighs, looking tired. “She was wrong to put that on you, just as I was wrong for messing up in the first place.”

“I’ll try, okay? I don’t want Xander to not be able to have his own mother over because of my grudge. And if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t even have Xander, and he’s the best brother I could've ever wished for. So I guess everything happened for a reason,” I tell him. I don’t want dad feeling guilty over the past anymore. I love my mother, but she’s gone, and I have a new life now. A new family. I will never forget her, or her memory, but I can’t keep holding on to the hate she tried to instil within me.

“Your mother might have had her faults, but she raised a good girl,” he says, looking proud.

I blush a little at the compliment. “Thanks, dad.”

“We better get back to work,” he says, standing up.

“How did you get into the underground fighting thing? I mean, you run it, right?” I ask him as we walk out.

“I’m one of the organizers, yes. I used to fight myself, Summer. It kind of just went from there,” he says.

“Who taught Reid to fight?”

“As kids, Reid and his brothers did karate, they're all black belts. Two years ago, he found a trainer and I helped him, too. Xander, Dash, Ryan… They can all take care of themselves. We teach a few of the younger boys, too. Harlen and his friends,” he says.

“I’ve met Harlen,” I say, remembering the guy from the bar.

Dad chuckles. “Yeah, he told me about that. He was a little smitten with you, I think.”

I stay at the shop until closing, peering out the window when I hear a rumble of motorcycles. Four men stop in front of the shop, and get off their bikes. Dad sees them and grins, instantly unlocking the door and walking out to greet them. After a few masculine displays of affection, I can hear them chatting and laughing while I grab my jacket and switch all the lights off in the store.