Page 12 of Absolute Valor

Don’t wait and pray when you need something, thank God everyday for the small blessings you already have.

Taking one last glance at the guitar hanging on the wall, the image of his long fingers playing each note, just as skilled as any professional musician I’d ever seen, was imprinted on my mind. It would do me no good to think of where I’d love to test his skill of finger placement, finding a rhythm with my quickened breathing as I climbed the cliff’s edge. I tried to forget about the name he called me, Sweetness. I chastised myself for letting it play on a continuous loop in my head. He had never called me anything other than my name, he was a man born and raised in the south, manners dictating protocol, with a beautiful girlfriend.

“What time is Jackson Sevier coming by again?” Dylan’s question made me jump, gripping my chest as I spun around to glare at him. “Sorry darlin’, didn’t mean to stomp on your grave.” He squeezed my shoulder gently, a glint of humor in the corner of his smile. A reaffirmation of my silliness in reading anything into what Chase had said.

“Four-thirty. He’s the last one of the day, and then you can enjoy the weekend with your family.” I told him, checking the calendar on the computer one last time.

Dylan had found an old Indian bike frame during one of his mysterious parts runs. He’d had the guy deliver it and worked on it during the time he waited for the vendors to work on his other builds. A few weeks ago, he rode it over to a street show where it had received a ton of attention. A couple of guys took photos of it and posted them to social media. Jackson Sevier, who works with Dean, called Dylan and asked if it was for sale.

Jackson wanted a few modifications, and didn’t argue when Dylan quoted him an astronomical price. He’d finished the changes a few days ago, so I called and spoke with his secretary to set up this appointment. If I understood correctly, Jackson wanted to join them on the charity bike run for Miss Priscilla’s father. As fondly as Chase spoke of their Granddaddy, I felt a loss for never having known him personally. Besides, I’d love to be one of the lucky girls sitting on the back of a bike, wrapped around a man who gave two shits about me.

“Hey, why don’t you head on out.” Dylan started as the bell over the door rang. The warm air of the afternoon came in, bringing with it the man we were expecting. Long, jean clad legs and a well-worn pair of black boots added to the mystery developing right before my eyes. His black t-shirt was partially hidden under a black leather jacket and sandy blonde hair, coiffed in a style worn by a prosecuting attorney and not a seasoned biker. As he approached, he removed his sunglasses, giving me, and my hormones, a full view of his green eyes.

“On second thought,” Dylan tapped my shoulder twice. “Hang out for a minute.” Both men moved toward one another, extending out a hand.

“Dylan, hey man.” Grasping offered hands, the two men slapped each others backs in a shoulder hug. “You ready to ride?”

It was safe to assume this was Jackson Sevier, one of the attorneys who worked for Dean Morgan and who had spent an indecent amount of money on a used motorcycle. “Awe, you know it. Been too long since I’ve gotten to ride that far. How ‘bout you? Ready to tame this beast?”

Jackson placed his hands on his hips, effectively pushing his jacket back to reveal more of his tight fitting t-shirt. “Jackson, this is Audrey, the brains of this operation. And the beautiful woman who will be taking all your money today.”

“Beauty and brains—a deadly combination. One I am anxious to get acquainted with.” Jackson took the needed steps to place him against the edge of my desk, his hand extend out to me. Looking between his hand and chiseled jaw, caused me to momentarily forget any manners I had obtained in my own southern upbringing.

Cautiously, I extended my hand to meet his. Warm and soft, with the right amount of pressure as he pulled my hand horizontally, leaning forward and placing his lips at the end of my knuckles, his jeweled emerald eyes locked with mine. “Miss Audrey,” his deep baritone voice severed the silence and rendered me unable to have an ounce of cognitive thinking.

Charm and sex appeal were housed in abundance—qualities I both loved and hated in men. Allowing myself to fall under the spell he was casting was a guaranteed appointment with heartbreak. Successful men such as those in this room had only one use for a girl like me, and it wasn’t to fall in love with and ride off into the sunset.

“Mr. Sevier,” straightening my back, I removed my hand from his and returned myself to the professional Dylan was paying me to be. “I have your paperwork right here. After you’re finished with Mr. Morgan, we’ll have you out of here and enjoying your new purchase in just a few minutes.” I looked to Dylan, his arms folded across his chest, with a look of mischief in his eye.

“Well, Jackson, you heard the lady. Let’s see what your baby can do.”

Jackson nodded in Dylan’s direction before turning back and tapping two fingers on my desk, “I’ll be right back, don’t you disappear on me.”

The downside of working so late is you back yourself into a place where the busy work was done a week ago, and there is nothing left to do. Granted, I could take the vacuum into the back and get all of the dust and cobwebs out of the space I was going to call home for a while. But the noise would bring Dylan running, and I didn’t want him to know about the space just yet.

Yesterday, when I went out to get a case of oil for Jackson’s bike, I happened upon a family cleaning out their garage. Boxes of discarded items sitting at the curbside caught my attention. I found a hot plate, still in the box, an old stand lamp, and several books. In a plastic bag, I found an extension cord with a plug I could add to the light hanging from the ceiling. I recalled Granny having one in her garage—she used it to plug in her iron when she would iron the clothes she took in as extra income. When I got the items back here, I found out the plug was tossed for a reason, it no longer worked.

Tonight, after Dylan left, I would make myself a grilled cheese on the hot plate, and enjoy one of those books, no sweating my ass off in my old hiding spot, waiting for Lucas to bust down the door to yell at me again.

The roar of the bike coming to life called my attention. When I first started working here, the sound would evict a scream from my chest and a laugh from Dylan. Now, it’s part of the norm, the price of doing business. Pushing back my chair, I needed to get a closer look at Jackson and the expression on his face. One of the perks of this job was to see grown men acting like little children when they heard the engine come to life for the first time. The rumble is too loud for me to understand what Dylan is saying. Even with the bay door open, the horsepower of the engines creates too much noise to hear anything else.

Heads were nodding and Jackson was straddling the leather seat, his tight ass holds my attention briefly before the memory of another set of firm cheeks takes over. Chase had been gone for three hours and I wondered if he got a call from Harmony. Dylan had too big of a mouth for me not to hear what was going on between the three of them. How could one woman cause so much hate and discontent? If Chase knew the real girl Harmony is, he would have Dylan, or Mr. Carson, lock her in jail.

My ears were ringing once the engine was turned off; I heard the pinging of the metal as the temperatures of the bike began dropping. “Okay, Audrey, take all of Jackson’s money that you can.” Dylan instructs as they enter the office once again.

Mr. Sevier’s face resembled a man who had just had hours of sex with a woman who knew exactly what she was doing. “Well, I’ll have to leave him a little somethin’. He’s gotta have himself a drink later to celebrate.”

I handed Jackson the itemized bill, the numbers in the last column totaling more than I would pay for a new car. True to form, he pulled out a leather wallet and removed a stack of hundred dollar bills. As I took the outstretched bills, he tugged back quickly to get my attention. “Only if that drink included dinner with you.”

I counted the money twice and laughed along with him. Where the Rolex on his left wrist is real, the invitation isn’t. I know how plain and simple I look. My finances, and the need to avoid attention, calls for skirts to my ankles and the absence of makeup. There was a time when I curled my hair and made my eyes pop with the use of cosmetics, anything to catch the attention of men such as Jackson. But they caught notice from Lucas Campbell instead.

“Mr. Sevier, will you be filing the title on your own or would you like to have us take care of it for you?”

Jackson’s lips lifted in one corner, a move he had perfected long ago when he discovered its effect on the amount of women who fell at his feet. “I’ll have my secretary handle it, but thank you for your offer.”

I watched him climb on his bike, fluidly slide his sunglasses into place, and then grab the handle bar as he kick started the engine to life. I waited as he looked both ways, edging the front wheel over the end of the driveway, and then gunning the engine as he dove off into the distance.

Dylan didn’t stay but a few minutes after Jackson left, grabbing his gear and wishing me a good weekend. He came back before the door had fully closed, when he realized he hadn’t paid me this week. “Sorry, Audrey. Claire interviewed for a new position today and I haven’t heard from her yet.” Counting out several of the hundreds Jackson had used to pay his bill, Dylan handed me a much smaller stack.

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