Page 18 of Wild Hope
Kendra grunts and sits up in bed, reaching for the coffee with her eyes half closed. She’s not a morning person.
Dawn’s breaking over the crest of the mountain as we ride to the compound. As soon as she’s got a ring on her finger, she’ll be staying at my place permanently. But for now, I return her to the room above the bar.
Kendra heads upstairs, probably to go back to sleep, while I head to the office.
I spend the next few hours catching up on inventory,my mind wandering to Kendra and making it hard to focus. I wonder if I’ll stop obsessing about her once we’re engaged and I know she’s mine.
The morning shift comes in, and I chat with Arlo. Maggie walks past, and I notice his eyes following her. She’s proving indispensable in the kitchen, and I hope he doesn’t do anything to make her want to leave. It’s hard enough finding staff to stick around.
Kendra comes down to start her lunch shift. She’s had a shower and her hair is tied back off her face, which is radiant. She smiles at me, and I resist the urge to kiss her.
Soon. Soon I’ll let every motherfucker in this place know that she’s mine. But not till I’ve told Quentin first.
I’m about to take my laptop out to the bar so I can keep an eye on Kendra when I hear the roar of bikes pulling into the compound. I head to the window as four Wild Riders pull into the courtyard. It’s Quentin and Prez and the two other guys who went with them. I frown. They’re not meant to be back for two more days.
Two more days that I had to convince Kendra to marry me and stay on the mountain.
The phone rings in the office, and I head back inside. It’s a query about one of our orders, and I deal with it quickly. I’m about to hang up when Quentin appears in the door frame.
“Hey, brother.”
He’s staring at me, and I wonder if there’s some way that he knows. Me and Kendra have been discreet, but maybe someone saw us. Then he slaps me on the back and grins.
“You’re back early. What happened?”
Quentin fills me in on the meetings they had with new distributors and the ones that were cancelled because of flooding in the area. Entire roads were closed, and they cut their losses and came back. We’ll have to arrange the meetings for another time.
With business talk out the way, Quentin pulls on his beard and looks at me intently. “How’s Kendra? Anything I need to know?”
8
KENDRA
My stomach twists at the sound of bikes roaring into the compound. Quentin’s back. Travis will tell him about us, and we can stop sneaking around. Our relationship will be public, and I won’t have to get up at some godawful time in the morning just so no one sees us.
“Could you grab me some more napkins?” Arlo asks.
He’s been on every shift with me and Travis and must know there’s something between us, but he keeps his expression neutral, and I hope he’s discreet long enough for Travis to speak to Quentin first.
I check the station, and we’re all out of napkins.
“I’ll get some from out back.” It’s a quiet shift, and they won’t miss me for a moment.
The supply closet is down the corridor next to the office, and as I approach, I hear the low rumble of Quentin and Travis talking.
Butterflies beat in my chest. What if they’re talking about me? I shake the thought out of my head. It’s their conversation to have in private. Opening the door to the supply cupboard, I grab the napkins and shut it quietly.
I’m about to head back to the restaurant when I hear my name.
“How’s Kendra?” asks Quentin.
I pause to listen. It’s not eavesdropping if you’re the topic of conversation, right?
“Anything I need to know about?”
I clutch my throat as the butterflies inside me beat against my chest. This is the moment that Travis tells my brother about us. That he tells him we’re in love and we’re going to be together. Then Quentin will slap him on the back and tell him he always wanted him to be part of the family. They’ll have a beer together and Travis will kiss me in front of his club, claiming me as his old lady. And all my teenage fantasies will come true.
Except that’s not what Travis says. “She’s doing okay,” he says.
