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“Friend I met in the Army knew one of the members. They grew up together. He wanted to check it out when we were done in the Army, and I had nowhere else to go, so I followed him.”
“Is he a member of the club?”
I laughed. “Nope. He met a girl who wanted to move back to Seattle, where she was from, and he followed her. He was never a guy to stay in one place too long, so I wasn’t surprised, but I knew the minute I walked into the clubhouse that I found my new home and a family.”
She reached over and laid her hand on top of mine, which was resting on my thigh. “I’m glad you found the club, and they became your family. Everyone deserves to have people they can depend on.” She shrugged. “And make cookies with, which I guess is what Ritz does for you now.”
I laid my head against the headrest and laughed. “Guess that’s true.”
Sliding my hand out from underneath, I wrapped it around hers and laid our hands on my leg. From the corner of my eye, I saw her lay her head back. That might have been the longest conversation I’d had with a woman in years, if ever. Maybe since Erica lived with us. She’d always wanted to talk about something. She wanted to hear about my day at school, or when I got a little older and had part-time jobs, she’d ask about what I was doing at work. And she was always interested, or she was really damn good at faking that she was. I hadn’t thought about her in so long that I’d almost forgotten those things. Ironically, Jane reminded me a little of her. She was just as curious about people. She loved their stories, and their history, what they endured and survived.
And she saw the good in everyone.
Whether they deserved it or not.
We rode in silence for a while before Jane finally spoke again. “You can turn left at the next light.”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I followed her directions until I was pulling in front of a townhouse in a fancy neighborhood. I was a little surprised she lived in a townhouse, especially considering the size of the homes around it and the community. “You live in a townhouse?”
“Yeah.” She smiled at her place. “It’s cozy.”
She shoved open her door, and I reluctantly dropped her hand so we could get out. Following her, we made our way to the front door, which she unlocked, and we both stepped inside.
Whistling, I turned in a circle. This place didn’t look like any townhouse I’d ever been in. It had huge, vaulted ceilings in the entryway and a living room right off the foyer where we stood. I could already see the kitchen situated after that, and it looked just as magazine worthy as the living room.
“This place is nice.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
I studied her smile and saw pride in her expression. “You decorate this place?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “It wasn’t great when I moved in because it hadn’t been updated in years, but that was exactly why I wanted it. I knew I could make it my own.”
“This why Bree offered you a job?”
She shrugged. “I showed her some pictures, but I told her I don’t have any design education like she does. I just did what felt good to me in the spaces.”
I started toward the kitchen, curious to see what she did in there, but stopped when she touched my arm. “Could you take off your boots?”
Glancing down, I saw she’d kicked off her shoes already. When I lifted my eyes, she smiled and shrugged. “Do you mind? It’s just that it’s all mine and still new. I just want it to stay this way while I still get to enjoy it.”
“No, I don’t mind.” I unlaced my boots and slid them beside hers, grinning when I saw how ridiculous my black work boots looked next to her high-heeled gray suede boots.
“Come on, I’ll show you the kitchen.”
Nodding, I followed her through the living room with oversized brown leather couches with tons of blankets and pillows, making them look cozy when they should’ve looked masculine. She had a massive flat-screen TV on the wall and artwork with sunsets and landscapes. Everything was in complete contradiction and shouldn’t have worked, but it did.
“What do you think?”
Tearing my eyes away from the living room, I admired her kitchen. It had the same contradictions with stainless steel appliances against flowered tile and towels.
“This place is fucking nice,” I answered honestly.
“You really think so?”
Her voice sounded hopeful, and my eyebrows drew together when I faced her. Did she really doubt her talent. “Don’t say shit I don’t mean, you know that.”
“I know, but…”
