It would have been easy to simply let this unpleasant episode go, she realized. The incident had left her embarrassed and uncomfortable. Rooster had made it clear that he didn’t want to see her again, but Lauren found she simply couldn’t leave matters as they were. At the very least, she needed to explain, and apologize.
At eight Saturday morning, when she’d abandoned all hope of sleeping, she tossed aside the covers and sat on the edge of her bed. Her eyes stung as she rubbed her hand across her face.
Her one goal for the day was to find Rooster. It’d been shortsighted of her to choose that particular restaurant for their dinner date. Not once had it occurred to her that Todd would even think to seek her out. And worse, that he’d make a spectacle of himself, her, and Rooster.
The first thing she did was try to phone Rooster. She had his cell number, but he didn’t answer. The night before, she’d left a message, but he either chose to ignore it or had deleted it without listening. Unwilling to leave it alone, she decided that if he wouldn’t talk to her then she’d personally find him and force him to listen.
That first night, Rooster had said he’d booked a room in a local hotel, but if he’d mentioned the name of the hotel, she had no memory of it. Bethanne Scranton’s husband, the woman she’d met at A Good Yarn, was a friend of Rooster’s, so the first thing Lauren did when the shop opened at ten was contact Lydia at the yarn store.
“Oh, Lydia, I’m so glad I caught you,” Lauren said, when the other woman picked up the phone.
“Lauren, is that you?”
“Yes, yes, it’s me. Would you mind giving me Bethanne’s phone number?”
Lydia hesitated. “I’m sorry, Lauren. I don’t generally give out customers’ personal information.”
“I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important,” she said, and then realized Lydia was right. Elisa and Garry wouldn’t want her handing out a customer’s phone number, either. “If this goes against store policy, I understand. But would you be willing to contact her on my behalf?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, thank you. Would you ask Bethanne to phone me back right away?”
Lydia agreed she would do that first thing. “You sound upset. Is everything all right?”
“No. I need to make amends.”
“To Bethanne?”
“No, to the man who came into the shop last Thursday with her husband.”
“Rooster?”
So Lydia already knew Rooster. “I appreciate the help. I need to talk to him.”
“I’ll do my best to reach Bethanne, but no promises.”
“Do what you can; that’s all I ask. Thanks again, Lydia. I appreciate this more than you know.”
While Lauren waited to hear from the other woman, she decided to do her Saturday shopping. She had to keep herself occupied or she’d go stir-crazy sitting around the condo waiting. She tried to knit, but it was useless; her mind leaped in twenty different directions when she needed to concentrate to reacquaint herself with the skill.
Just as she was walking out of the Pike Place Market with its long rows of fresh vegetables, meats, and assortments of specialty foods, her cellphone beeped. In her eagerness to answer, Lauren struggled to hold on to her bag of groceries.
“Hello,” she said, hoping against hope that it was her fellow knitter.
“Is this Lauren?” the vaguely familiar voice asked.
“Bethanne?”
“Yes, Lydia got hold of me and said it was important that I contact you. What’s going on?”
“It’s Rooster,” Lauren blurted out. “We had an unfortunate misunderstanding and I need to find him to explain. Can you tell me where he’s staying?”
Bethanne hesitated, as if unsure this was the right thing to do. “I’d like to help, but I can’t. Rooster didn’t mention the name of the hotel.”
“Would your husband know?”
“I’m sure Max would, but he isn’t here just now.”
“Oh.” Disappointment echoed in her voice. This was getting more complicated by the moment. “When do you expect him back?”
“He didn’t say.”
Unwilling to leave it at that, Lauren pressed further. “Could you give me a guesstimate of when you’ll see him?”
Bethanne’s sigh was audible, as though even now she wasn’t sure she should be giving out information. “I can definitely tell you Max will return before six; we’re having a family dinner.”
“Six,” Lauren blurted out. She didn’t want to wait that long. If she didn’t talk to Rooster soon, it would drive her nuts.
“Why is it so important that you find him?”
“Like I said, we had a misunderstanding,” Lauren explained without going into details.
“What kind of misunderstanding?” Bethanne pressed.
Reluctantly, Lauren gave Bethanne a thumbnail sketch of what had happened between Rooster and Todd and then between her and Rooster. She explained that it was particularly embarrassing because Todd was so easily recognizable.
“This is Todd Hampton, from Channel Eight news?” Bethanne sounded incredulous.
“Yes.”
“You’re dating Todd Hampton?”
“Was dating.” She placed emphasis on the past tense. “I broke it off, and now it seems Todd believes this is all a ploy to get him to marry me. It isn’t. I broke it off and all of a sudden Todd’s convinced he can’t live without me.”
“You like Rooster?”
“Very much. Would you be willing to call Max on his cell?” She should have thought of that first thing.
“I would, but he left it here, charging.”
“Oh.” Every which way she turned, she hit a dead end. Lauren was fast losing hope. “Can you help me, Bethanne?”
Once more she heard the hesitation in the other woman’s voice. “I don’t know.”
“I feel wretched over what happened. Although we just met, I think given the opportunity we could be more than friends. I’d hate to leave matters the way they are. I can’t let him believe that I would use him.”
Bethanne paused as if she was giving consideration to Lauren’s words. “Max ran an errand this morning and apparently while he was out Rooster contacted him.”
“He did?”
“Rooster suggested they meet. He had something he needed to talk out with Max.”
Hope sprang up inside Lauren like Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. “So Max is currently with Rooster.”
“I believe so. Rooster’s call is all beginning to add up now that we’ve talked.”
“What do you mean?” Lauren asked.
“Well, it seems to me Rooster appears to have taken a liking to you as well.”
So Lauren hadn’t been imagining this attraction; it was mutual. Knowing this made her feel worlds better and more determined than ever to set matters straight.
“Do you happen to know where they’re having lunch?” Lauren asked.
“I do, but Lauren, this is definitely a guys’ place.” Bethanne mentioned the name, which was unfamiliar to her. “It wouldn’t be a good idea for you to go there on your own.”
“I don’t care.”
“You’re going to a lot of trouble.”
“It’s important.”
“Lauren, it’s a biker bar.”
She swallowed tightly; it could be worse. “Thanks for telling me.”
“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Bethanne.”
“You like Rooster this much?”
Lauren didn’t hesitate: “Yes.”
“Good luck to you, then.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling better than she had all night, Lauren returned to her condo and hurriedly put away her groceries. As soon as she’d finished, she considered changing clothes but didn’t want to waste the time.
Dressed in designer jeans, a pink cashmere and silk sweater, and knee-high boots, she headed out the door, determined to find Roo
ster Wayne. No doubt she’d stick out in the bar crowd, but she didn’t care.
What was important was finding Rooster.
Chapter Thirteen
Rooster cracked open a peanut, chewed down the nuts, and tossed the shell onto the floor. A group of bikers gathered around a pool table in a hotly contested game. Their chatter and shouts echoed around the cavernous room along with the loud honky-tonk music that blared from speakers on the other side of the tavern.
Sitting on a bar stool at the counter with Max, Rooster waited for lunch. Hog’s Hideout was known for its grilled Philly sandwich, which he’d ordered for lunch with a side of slaw.
“You haven’t said much,” Max said, and tossed an empty peanut shell onto the floor.
“Not much to say.”
“I thought you were going to look up an old high school buddy while you were in town.”
Rooster shrugged. He’d forgotten all about that. “Didn’t feel up to it.”
Max leaned closer to the bar, paused, and then asked, “So, how’d your dinner date with Lauren go?”
Rooster wasn’t up to talking about that, either. “Not so good.” Even now he wasn’t sure why he’d contacted Max. It’d seemed like a good idea at the time, he supposed. In retrospect, it wasn’t. The mistake he’d made was mentioning Lauren in the first place. He’d been taken with her, and had enjoyed their Thai food experience. Max had jumped all over that, reminiscing about his first meeting with Bethanne. Well, Lauren was no Bethanne, and he wasn’t Max.
“What happened?” Max pressed.
He should have realized his best friend was going to hound him with questions. If the situation was reversed, he’d do the same. “Nothing much,” he said, downplaying the entire ordeal.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not necessarily.”
Their order came up, and for the next ten minutes they ate without communicating. When he’d finished, Rooster wiped his mouth clean with a paper napkin. It was the first food he’d tasted in nearly twenty-four hours. He hadn’t had the stomach for dinner after leaving Lauren, and he’d skipped breakfast, settling for several cups of coffee instead. He’d grown restless and unsettled, pushing all thoughts of the woman from his mind. It irked him that he’d allowed her to get under his skin and so quickly.
“You mentioned how you felt when you first met Bethanne,” he said.
“Yeah. It’s been a couple of years now, and that feeling hasn’t changed.”
Rooster could see the effect Bethanne had on Max every time the two were together. It was like a booster shot of enthusiasm for life. The two of them were good together. Seeing how Max had been willing to love again had inspired him. It’d given him hope that there was someone special for him, too. It’d felt right that first night with Lauren, right and good, but it wasn’t meant to be. He should have learned his lesson by now. He wasn’t good with relationships with women.
“Did you feel that same kick in your stomach when you met Lauren?”
Rooster shrugged.
“Come on, be honest.” Max pushed his empty plate aside. The bartender collected both their plates and refilled their mugs with beer.
“I thought I did,” Rooster murmured. “My mistake.”
“Any hope of repairing the damage?”
“None.” Rooster wasn’t interested. Lauren had tried several times to reach him by phone, but he’d ignored her calls. She’d sent him a text, but he hadn’t read it. As far as he was concerned, any further communication would be a mistake.
“It isn’t all rosebuds and bliss for Bethanne and me,” Max said. “Relationships aren’t always easy. You, more than anyone, have seen our struggles. Living apart this way has taken a toll.”
“I thought you kissed and made up.”
“We did,” Max said, “and it was good for a while. Neither one of us is comfortable when we’re at odds.”
“What happened?” Rooster couldn’t help being curious. He’d seen the way Bethanne had practically thrown herself into Max’s arms the instant they’d entered the yarn store. The entire store had, and it seemed the shop had given a collective sigh of approval.
Max seemed reluctant to explain. “Bethanne and I were having dinner at the house when out of the blue Grant arrived.”
“Really?”
“He had a key to the house.”
Rooster’s brows shot up; no wonder Max was upset. “Bethanne gave it to him?”
“As best Bethanne could figure, Annie did. She said she’d handle it, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I wouldn’t put it past Grant to have had a spare key made. Bethanne wasn’t keen on the idea, but I spent the morning changing the locks.”
“I wouldn’t trust Grant Hamlin with a dime, let alone my wife.”
“You and me both,” Max agreed. “Which is why I asked Bethanne to move to California.”
It went without saying this would be a difficult decision for her. “How’d that go over?”
Max shrugged. “Like a bucket of cement to the bottom of the Columbia River.”
“You’re asking a lot,” he felt obliged to remind his friend.
“Don’t I know it.”
“What did Bethanne have to say?”
Max took his time answering, as if weighed down by the question. “Not much. She promised to consider it, and really that’s all I can ask for at this point.”
“It’s a huge decision with lots of ramifications.”
Max agreed.
Rooster studied his friend and sympathized. If the situation was reversed, if it was someone he loved as powerfully as Max did Bethanne, then Rooster was convinced he’d feel the same. “This thing with Grant and the house key is what prompted it?”
Max nodded, sullen and silent.
“You want to take her away from her family?” That was the crux of the matter, as far as Rooster could see.
“Not her children,” Max snapped back. “Just Grant.”
“Because you don’t trust Bethanne?” Rooster was willing to ask the hard questions. According to his business partner, Rooster had always been the one Max could trust to dig at the truth. Sometimes it angered his friend, and at other times, like now, Max grew quiet and solemn.
“I trust Bethanne; the one I don’t trust is Grant.”
“What you’re really saying is you aren’t sure about Bethanne, then, either.”
Max looked ready to argue with him. Rooster was in no mood to get into a verbal exchange with his best friend. “I don’t want to bicker over this. Just think about what you’re asking of Bethanne,” he said, without giving Max time to counter. “What I’m hearing is this—in order for you to feel secure in your marriage, you need to have Bethanne in California. If that’s the case, you’re saying that you aren’t sure about her feelings toward her ex.”
Max straightened as if he was prepared to rebut the point and then seemed to change his mind. “Maybe. I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
“Maybe you should.”
Unexpectedly, Max turned his attention away from Rooster and toward the front of the tavern. “Well, I’ll be,” he muttered, sounding both surprised and amused.
Rooster turned to look at what had aroused his friend’s interest and his eyes widened. Lauren? It couldn’t be her. It didn’t seem possible she would accidentally stumble upon him and Max, especially at a place like Hog’s Hideout.
For what seemed like several minutes she remained framed in the doorway as if she wasn’t sure it was safe to venture inside. Bright light surrounded her as though she was an angelic being. Rooster wasn’t the only one who noticed her, either. Every man in the Hideout seemed to have his gaze riveted on her. A muscular biker, who had a cue stick in his hand and was bent over the pool table, froze.
“You see what I see?” Max asked in a low tone.
“Yeah.”
“That’s Lauren, isn’t it?”
“Looks like it.” Unwilling to be caught in her spiderweb, Rooster turned away and took a
deep swallow of his beer. He was going to need the fortification to withstand the strong emotional pull he felt for her even now, knowing what he did about her.
“Are you going outside to talk to her?” It was more suggestion than question.
“No.”
“Any particular reason?”
“A few. She has something to prove to me.”
The music, which had been loud and raunchy, seemed to fade to a whisper as Lauren came inside and headed toward the bar. One of the bikers, a big guy with a large belly and an unkempt beard who’d been standing on the outskirts of the pool table, waylaid her.
From the corner of his eye, Rooster watched as Lauren tensed, politely listened, and then shook her head. Reading her lips, he guessed that she was thanking him but declining his invitation. The other man shrugged and returned to where he’d been standing earlier. As soon as he moved away, Lauren hurried to the bar where Rooster sat with Max.
“Hello, Lauren,” Max greeted her cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear.
Rooster, who’d turned back to the bar, cradled his mug of beer with both hands. He darted a look at Max and frowned. He didn’t understand why Max should look so pleased with himself.
“Hello, Rooster,” Lauren said softly, hesitatingly.
He ignored her.
“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by like this.”
Again he chose to pretend he didn’t hear.
She glanced over at Max, who raised his hands as if to say this wasn’t his doing.
“I came because I felt wretched over what happened with Todd and dinner. I didn’t sleep a wink all night.”
She wasn’t the only one who’d spent the better portion of the night staring at the ceiling.
“I can’t leave matters the way we did … I can’t.”