Page 18 of Emily's Essence

It sounded good to him. Hawk missed the meals they got here.

They walked into the main kitchen to see a line of men already walking through to get their food. The food was way better than any they got on the road.

He and the others stood off to the side, talking, waiting for their turn. Hawk saw Emily glance at him a few times out of his peripheral vision but didn’t acknowledge her.

After getting their plates, the men walked out and sat in a group, talking. It was the most pleasant, relaxing time he’d had in a long while.

Hawk watched the women walk out and sit on a long picnic table. If he remembered right, it was the women’s table, but no sluts or men were allowed. Emily was in the middle of them, and it looked like she fit in already. Striker had told him once that the old ladies knew if a person was good or bad within the first few minutes of meeting them. It seemed they deemed Emily to be a good person, but he could have told them that.

One of the sluts sat down on the arm of his chair and started running her fingers through his hair. He was about ready to push her away but saw that Emily was looking at him. He relaxed back in his chair and drank his beer, ignoring the slut. But for some reason, he wanted Emily to see it and get the impression he wanted the attention.

The women stood and started to go back into the building. When Emily didn’t look his way, it pissed him off.

It was these kind of emotions that were driving him crazy. He needed time away from her to get himself under control. Until then, he’d stay away from her.

Chapter Eight

Emily was at one of the tables folding towels when she saw Brick walk through with what she thought was his bag.

“Brick.”

He turned. “Yeah, Em.”

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re heading out.”

She pressed the towel in her hands up to her chest. “Oh. I didn’t know that. I want to say goodbye to you guys.”

“We’re loading up now.”

“You’re all going?”

Brick placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let him get to you.”

“Who?”

He snorted. “You know who. Hawk. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Are you sure? Because he won’t even look at me now.”

“I have no idea what’s going on in his mind. If I had to guess, he felt too much for you, and he’s running scared. He’s never had feelings for a woman.”

She wanted desperately to believe that.

“Come on out.”

She nodded and followed him outside. The rest of the guys were on their bikes, with Hawk in the lead. He was talking to Striker when she walked over.

Striker tipped his head at her. “I’ll leave you guys.”

He walked off, and then she faced Hawk.

“I … I heard you were leaving?”

His eyes were hard, but she also saw a muscle tick in his jaw, showing her he was feeling something.

“Yeah.”

---