Lucky Baby by Taryn Quinn

Fourteen

After takinga shower and then tossing and turning for three hours, I couldn’t stand myself any longer.

Being alone in bed wasn’t what I wanted right now. And that royally pissed me off.

My dreams hadn’t helped on that score. In them, I was rolling around with a certain long-haired handyman. There were no tears this time, just a whole lot of sweat and screaming.

Enough that I woke up shaking and half a minute from taking the edge off on my own.

A second cold shower later, I was heading out the door to go to my workshop. If I couldn’t sleep, then at least I could work.

Always my mantra.

With Jimmy’s memorial and the whole house and barn remodel, I was way behind on the Phantom project. Gage had been doing the build and didn’t need any new parts from me yet, but I didn’t like leaving it all to him.

Even better, it was a Saturday afternoon so no one would be in the shop but me. The nice thing about a small town was the hours we kept.

Beyond that, I really needed to get my beater on the road. There was a shit-ton of rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.

Even so, the lure of my Triumph was too much. Besides, I could finally finish tuning up the engine before I stored her for the winter.

I threw my leg over the seat and the purr of the engine settled my nerves. I had less than two months to get my house in order for my family. And after seeing just how bad Cohen had been, I was even more determined to make sure he had a bomb-ass place to heal up.

I took the long way into town. It was the perfect October day. Warm with just a hint of chill on the air. I was tempted to take a loop around the whole damn lake. Maybe even keep driving and tell the Kramer boys I’d be out of pocket for a week.

Damn responsibilities.

As I turned onto Main, I slowed to a crawl. The only bad part of a pretty day was that it was perfect for shopping. Foot traffic and cars congested Main Street. People lined the sidewalks in front of the various storefronts. Tabitha was doing a brisk business at Sugar Rush with her Halloween and fall confections. The new wine bar that had replaced a small eatery looked to be having a tasting.

I was tempted to go in to find a bottle of wine to calm down some of the chaos in my brain, but in the end, I’d rather have a beer.

AfterI got some work done.

By the time I finally got to the garage, I was humming for a whole different reason. I parked my bike outside and swung into Brewed Awakening for a coffee. Luckily, it was too busy in there for chitchat. Macy wasn’t on duty, but as usual, her place ran like a top.

I sneaked through the doors that led to the apartments and bypassed the crush of people at the tables and waiting in line for caffeine and sugary treats. The elevator doors opened just as I was trying to escape.

“Shit.”

I really didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

The tenored, imperfect voice of one Lucky Roberts came out of the elevator with a surprisingly smooth baritone pulling up the rear. The two men stumbled off the elevator singing “Sweet Home Alabama”, of all songs. I almost didn’t recognize Lucky’s drinking buddy.

Deputy Mc…something was looking decidedly un-cop like. Brent? No, I was pretty sure it was Brady. I’d only talked to him in passing a few times.

We took care of the cruisers when they needed a tune-up. Not like there were a whole lot of car crashes in this town. Hot pursuit usually included a duck more than a resident of the Cove.

There were some slurred words and then a third guy hiccupped his way off the elevator, singing very off-key. And there was the third Stooge.

Caleb came teetering off the elevator with his hand wrapped around the neck of a beer bottle like his life depended on it.

It was barely two o’clock in the afternoon.

I took a fortifying sip of my coffee. I was well-versed in dealing with happy drunk boys as my brothers often started out that way and ended up throwing punches five minutes later.

“Tissssh!” Caleb toddled my way like a drunk baby. “Hey, we missed yoush.” His face was sweetly soft after consuming what I guessed was far more beer than was wise this early in the day.

“Does Luna know where you are?”

“Pshhh.It’s fine. She’s working. It’s fine.” He bumped into the wall. “Hey, where’s the cooler?”

“You left it on the elevator, dumbass,” Lucky said then started singing again. He walked toward me in an almost straight line. “What are you doing here, grouchy?” He poked me.

I blinked at the combined scents of sweaty male and beer. Wow, that was rough. “I was going to work.”

“Hey…no. No, you should drink with us. We’re going to get more beer to party it up on the rooftop.”

“Pretty sure you partied it up for three, Thor.”

“Ha. I like when you call me Thor.”

He kissed my forehead and I tried to step back out of fume range. “All right. I’m fairly sure you don’t need any more.”

“Oh, we do. Don’t we, buddy?” He stepped back to slap Brady on the back. “This is my friend, Brady. He was really nice to me today. Didn’t even give me a ticket.”

Brady stumbled forward. “It’s okay, man. Girl trouble.”

“Yeah.” Lucky’s face went from happy to sad. “Girl trouble sucks.” He stepped to the side and leaned on the wall. “These beers are really strong. I can usually drink a twelve-pack on my own.”

“Micro brewskis,” Brady said with a squinty grin. “I confis—took it from some teens at the hayride last night.”

I took the bottle from Caleb.

“Gimme, that’s mine.”

I held up a finger and read the label. “Fourteen percent. That’s not your average beer, boys.”

“Def not averageee,” Caleb slurred and took it back. “So tasty. We’re gonna get some more.”

I took another two gulps of my coffee and set it on the small table by the door. “All right. Time to put you idiots to bed.”

“No. It’s sunny out. There’s no bed.” Caleb tipped the bottle back then stuck his tongue out when nothing came out. “Damn. All gone.”

“Thank God.” I took the bottle and turned him back toward the elevator. “Come on, you too, Thor.”

“No.”

I hung my head for a second. Luckily, the other two were a little more helpful. Brady was singing “Dream On” by Aerosmith now, but at least they were in the elevator. Caleb was trying to help out, but he just sounded like a howling hound dog.

Lucky waved. “Imma just sit here.” He slid down the wall and thumped to the floor. His legs were too long, so he looked more like a collapsed giant in a dollhouse.

“Hey, is he okay?” Caleb stuck his head out of the elevator.

I palmed his face and pushed him back inside. “He’s fine. Come on, let’s get you guys settled.” I propped up each of them in a corner and said a small prayer of thanks that the elevator was finally finished. If I’d had to get them up the stairs, it would not have been fun.

While the boys serenaded me with a very butchered version of “Dream On”, I pulled out my phone and texted Luna.

I have your husband to be.

Why?

They tried to escape the apartment for more beer.

Escape? I don’t understand.

I sent her an audio clip of their cat shrieks. How long did it take for us to go up three floors in this freaking elevator?

Oh, goddess. Where are you?

Elevator.

I stuffed my phone away and held the door open. “All right, ladies. Let’s go.”

“Pfff.I’m not a lady. You’re a lady.” Caleb crowded into me.

“Not generally. Remember that and follow direction or I’ll knock your ass out.” He swayed and I lifted him up by the arm. “There we go. Straight ahead, buddy.”

Brady straightened his shoulders and walked out on his own steam. “If you knock my ass out, I’ll arrest you.”

“You couldn’t arrest a baby right now, buddy.”

“Of course I could. Not that I would. Babies are cute. This town is full of babies.” Brady shook his head sadly. “It’s nuts. Imma go fall down now.”

“In your bed, please,” I called after him.

He did a little wave and bumbled his way down the hall.

Luna flew out of their apartment, a flowy robe with moons and astrology symbols all over it trailing behind her. Her blue eyes went huge. “Goldilocks, what did you do?”

“Hey, Lu.” He leaned hard on me. “I can’t feel my lips.”

“Not again.”

My eyebrow rose. “Is this a regular thing?”

Luna laughed. “Goddess, no. But our first…date if you will included a little sauced Goldilocks.” She came over to hook his arm around her neck. “It’s a long story. Come over tomorrow and I’ll tell you.”

“Uh, that’s not—”

“Nope. We’re going to be friends, I just know it. Come on over tomorrow. We’re going to play poker with Bess and Ryan. We’re teaching Tabitha.”

I blinked. “Poker?”

“Yes.”

Caleb leaned into Luna and kissed her cheek. “I love you. Do you know that?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know.”

“You’re so pretty.” He buried his nose in her hair. “And you smell so good.”

“Oy. I better get him in bed.”

“Good idea. I gotta deal with Thor.”

“Hmm.”

I lifted a finger. “No. He works for me. That’s it.” And I would not think about the fact that he’d fucked the holy hell out of me less than twenty-four hours ago.

“Right now, your aura is hot pink, Tish.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“I do.” But she didn’t say anything else. “C’mon, Goldilocks, it’s time to get you to bed.”

“Bed sounds like an essssslent idea.”

“Doesn’t it just?” They shuffled their way to their door.

I stepped back into the elevator. When I got back to the lower level, I found Lucky in the hallway where I’d left him. A ripping snore filled the room.

I put my hands on my hips. “Awesome.”

What the hell was I going to do with him? There was no way I could get him on my bike like this. I stepped over him and went out the door. “Of course your truck isn’t out here. I don’t even know if there’s a parking lot for the apartments.”

I thought about texting Luna, but she had enough on her plate. I rotated my tense neck. My only option was Lucille. Dammit, I didn’t want his drunk ass in my pristine Caddy.

I turned back around and kicked his boot.

He snorted, sat up for a second, then his chin lolled back onto his chest.

“Perfect.” I slammed out the door and stalked over to the garage. I dug out my key and turned off the alarm before I went through another door to the main garage.

Gage had on his welding helmet and was slowly working a bead of welding rod down a join. It looked like it was the bat template we were using on the rear brake lights. I waited until he was at the end of the join and his torch went out.

“I hate to interrupt.”

Gage flipped up his helmet. His head was sweaty, and flux and metal shavings dusted his apron. “Hey, Tish. Where you been?”

“Family stuff.”

“Dare said your brother’s friend passed. I’m sorry.”

My chest tightened. That wasn’t even half of it. “Yeah. It was not how I wanted to spend a few days away.”

“No shit.” He pulled off his gloves. “You here to work? I was only going to finish this up then get home.”

“It’s fine. I had plans to do just that, but I have another thing to deal with now instead. Can I borrow you for a second?”

He dropped his gloves on the bench. “Yeah. Let me just put this shit away.”

“Thanks.”

I headed over to the back of the garage and flipped off my covering. The smooth gleam of a deep smoky lavender Cadillac El Dorado gave my heart a little jolt.

Lucille was my first rebuild. Every piece had been salvaged and brought back to her former glory. And the parts I couldn’t find, I replicated based on the exact specs. I loved this car more than anything.

And if Lucky threw up on my white leather interior, I’d toss him onto the side of the road and leave him for dead.

I got in and flipped the visor down to find the keys I’d stashed there. Since it was probably easier to put a six-foot-four male into my car with the top down, I hit the hand releases.

Thank God it was a nice day. Besides, if he froze his ass off, it was his problem. That damn man wasn’t ever cold anyway.

“Oh, taking your baby out?”

“Yeah. Part of the favor. Can you open up the bay for me?”

“Yeah, you got it.” Gage jogged to the chains on the door. We’d tried to convince Dare to upgrade to automatic doors, but he was stubborn. It would take a blowtorch to get through the locks, so I couldn’t really fault him.

I maneuvered my car through the empty garage and slowly eased down to the road. I had to go around the block to get to the front of the apartment building. The idiot I was going to collect lived up to his name, and I was able to slide into a space right in front.

Gage was standing in the open bay door. I climbed out of Lucille and waved him over.

“So, about that help.”

He put on a baseball cap against the sun. “What’s up?”

I sighed and aimed for the door to the apartments.

Gage followed me and peered in the doorway. He had to cup his hands around his eyes to see in. “Fuck.”

“Yep.”

“Is he okay?”

“Define okay.”

His light eyed danced. “That looks sauced to me. Or did you knock him out?”

“Tempting. But I would have left him there if I knocked him out.”

“Taking him home? That’s big of you.”

“Yeah, well, his best friend is just as drunk. They decided to take a twelve-pack of micro brew for a test drive.”

Gage laughed. “Yeah, they sneak up on you. Especially if you drink like Lucky does. Some of the guys from the garage play pool with him down at The Spinning Wheel. He usually has quite the tolerance.”

“He helped me out yesterday so looks like I’m returning the favor.”

Gage folded his arms. “Huh.”

“Shut up and help me get him in the backseat.”

“What would you have done if I wasn’t here?”

“He’d have a lot more bruises.” I held the door open. “Now help me get him up.”

Gage and I stood side by side in the small hallway.

“He’s really big.”

“Yep.” I sighed. My lady taco could attest to that on a personal level. “One arm and one arm to start? Maybe we can drag him like we did Dare that one time.”

Gage snorted. “Pretty sure Lucky has a good fifty pounds on my brother.”

“You’re a strapping guy.”

“Yeah, but—”

“I can handle it.”

“If you say so.” He crouched down. “Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?”

Lucky just mumbled something about Ruby aka me. Good grief. All I needed was a drunk Lucky telling all our drama to my business partner.

And yes, Gage was one of my best friends on the planet. I still didn’t want all the crap I’d confessed to Lucky over the last few days to come spilling out of his loose lips.

I stepped over Lucky and gripped under his arm. “All right, we’re gonna get up now.”

“Mmm.No. I’m good.” Lucky nuzzled against me. “Unless you want to get naked. I might need a minute though,” he said with a snicker.

Gage took off his hat and spun it around the back. “Naked?”

“Shut up.”

Gage grinned and went for Lucky’s other arm.

It took us three tries, but we finally were able to haul him upward using the wall and a lot of swearing. Thank God no one else came down the stairs or through the door.

“Holy shit, what does this guy do? Live in the gym?” Gage looped Lucky’s arm around his neck.

I did the same and wrinkled my nose. He needed a shower and a bed. And right now, I didn’t really care which order it happened in. “What do they say? Muscle is heavier than fat?”

Gage grunted. “Jesus.”

We stumbled our way down the single step and almost lost him to the cement sidewalk.

I wrapped my arm around Lucky’s back and gripped his belt. “Would be nice if you helped,” I growled at him.

Suddenly, Lucky stood up straight. “What’s going on? Hey.” His green eyes went all glassy and happy as he peered down at me. “Did you change your mind?”

My chest went tight. Dammit, why did he have to be so adorable? I didn’t do adorable. “Get in the car, Thor.”

“I love when you’re grouchy. Did you know that?” His smile was wide and soft as only a drunken male could be. “Not sure what that sezz about,” he hiccupped, “me.” He shook his head and squinted at Lucille. “Hey, the car.” He swiveled his head so fast Gage had to catch him.

“Okay. I can’t pick you up off the ground, big guy.”

Lucky weaved a bit, but he stood on his own for a second. “Where’s Luna and Caleb? The proposal. Edward!” He lifted his arms up as if he’d scored a goal and almost fell on his face.

I grabbed his arm then gave Gage a look. “Don’t ask.”

“Gotcha.” He put his arms on Lucky’s shoulders and steered him to my car.

Rushing after them, I opened the door and shoved the seat forward. “In we go.”

“Oh, look at that.” Lucky patted my head. “It’s big enough for me.”

“It sure is.”

We twisted him into the backseat. I folded his long-ass tree trunk legs into the back, then sagged against the side of the car to catch my breath.

“Holy shit.” Gage bent at the waist. “I think I pulled something.”

“Really?”

He grinned and waved me off. “No. Well, maybe a little, but nothing a hot shower won’t cure. Think he needs a cold one.”

“Icy.”

Gage dragged me in for a hug. “He’s a good guy.”

I stiffened. I was beginning to see that, and I didn’t know what to think about it. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.” Gage peered into the backseat. “Think he’s safe back there?”

“Safe enough to get to his place.” I dragged up my hair into a messy bun. “Speaking of… You wouldn’t know where he lives, would you?”

“As a matter of fact…” He held up a finger and pulled out his phone. “We worked on his truck so we should have him in the computer.” He flicked through some screens and tapped a few things, then my phone buzzed in my pocket. “Texted the address to you.”

I tried not to feel guilty about using his personal information. It was a deep sore spot for me. But in this instance, it was simply to dispatch him to a bed. One that I wouldn’t be in. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He scratched under the ball cap before pulling it around the right way. “Do you want me to follow you?”

“Nah. If he doesn’t wake up, I’ll just put the top up and let him sleep it off in the car.”

“You’re a cruel woman.”

“Yeah, well, he’s an idiot.”

One I didn’t want to develop feelings for, but I didn’t seem to have much choice in the matter.