The Mobile Mistletoe Series (Books 1-4) Read online

  He looked over at the forest scene on the gas tank. “It’s amazing.”

  “Maybe we could work out a trade in cost for the part and labor for my bike, ‘cause it looks like I might be stuck here for a few more days.”

  “I couldn’t ask you to do it for free.”

  She shrugged. “You’re not asking, I’m volunteering. It’s a great story about the two brothers... as long as you’re telling the truth.”

  “I don’t lie.”

  “Good to know. I’ve got a sketch pad in my bag. Why don’t I draw up a design and you can see if we’re on the same page. Can I borrow your truck?”

  “My truck? Why?”

  “I can’t have you cooking and offering me free lodging. I’m an independent woman. If you trust me with your baby, I’ll go get something and cook dinner.”

  “Her name’s Betty. You have Richard, I have Betty.”

  Jane laughed and pulled her backpack over her shoulder. “It’s good to know that there’s someone out there who’s nuts like me and names their machinery.”

  Even if Jane was only going to be around for a few days, it was nice to know there was someone out there. Gage fished the keys out of his front pocket and tossed them to her. She caught them in mid air and shot him a smile. He felt her smile all the way down to his boots.

  He’d spent a chunk of his adult life in trouble, but not this kind. Jane was a whole new kind of trouble.

  Chapter 3

  Jane was surprised that she was nervous to show Gage the Camaro’s hood design she’d sketched out. She wanted him to like it. She wanted him to like her.

  She never cared about what others thought, why was this so important?

  It’s not. Get a grip.

  Jane bit her lip and tapped a red nail on the side of her wine glass. Gage looked at the sketchpad without saying a word. He finished the page she’d worked on earlier, and then started to flip back a page.

  She reached for the pad. “That’s the only design I have.”

  He pulled it from her grasp and proceeded. He looked at the next sketch for a long moment. “Wow, this design’s good too. I can see this on a bike I have scheduled in a few weeks.”

  Heat rushed into her cheeks. She was a hard-ass tattooed babe. She hadn’t blushed since grade school.

  He looked at her and grinned. “Are you blushing?” he asked.

  “No. Yes. I’m not used to compliments.” She brushed at her cheek and blushed what she was sure a deeper shade of pink.

  “Well you should get used to it.”

  She let out a sarcastic laugh. “Not where I work. The car dealership’s head manager doesn’t give out warm fuzzies. He only believes in hard work and no play.”

  “That’s bull. You should like what you do or there’s no reason to get up in the morning. What about the others you work with?”

  “They’re all right, but we haven’t really bonded. They think I’m a ‘bad girl’ and keep their distance.”

  “Are you?”

  “Not really. Just because I like black eye makeup and fishnet stockings doesn’t mean I have a pentagram etched in blood over my bed. I’m not too worried about hanging out with my co-workers, I have a group of best friends I spend most my time with. I feel they know me better than anyone. But even they’ve been getting on my nerves lately.”

  “Anything in particular?”

  Jane wanted to blurt out, ‘yeah the damn mobile mistletoe’ but that sounded silly even to her own ears so she just said, “No.”

  Gage cleared the dishes from the stew she’d roasted, rinsed them, and stacked them in the drainer.

  “I’ve got some website updating I need to work on. Make yourself at home, Mi casa es su casa. We can start work on airbrushing the Camaro in the morning if you’re still up for it.”

  “See you then.”

  Jane watched him move off toward the rear of the house. She sighed and sat back in her chair. As she looked around the cabin, she smiled. It was peaceful. With the pressure and bustle of the city gone, her stress seemed to melt away. This had turned into a nice getaway after all, and finding Gage in the middle of it was a bonus round.

  She got up when the sun rose and poked around outside until she found what she needed. A little after eight, Gage came into the shop and stopped when he saw the large chuck of metal propped against the shop’s wall.

  “When did you have time to do this?” he asked.

  “I got up early. You said you hadn’t used the airbrush, if ever. I wanted to make sure it was in working order before tackling the car. I didn’t want to mess up all your hard work with anything being plugged or gunked up. I found a business card with your website logo. I airbrushed it on a spare sheet of metal and added trees, motorcycle spokes, and vines. I hope you like it.”

  “I love it,” he said running a hand over the newly painted logo design.

  “I was afraid you’d be upset and I used the wrong piece of metal.”

  Gage looked at her. “Are you kidding? I’m going to hang it out front.”

  “Out here in the woods, I’ve been sleeping like a baby, it’s so quiet. I’m used to getting 4 or 5 hours a night of sleep. The extra hours I slept here I can count as beauty sleep.”

  “Well it’s working. You’re beautiful in the morning.” His gaze locked with hers and she knew he meant what he said. “I don’t know how you manage to look so good. I look so bad I must look good.” He chuckled

  She shifted feet and tucked her hair behind her ear. Gage must have just taken a shower, he smelled like manly soap and shampoo and his hair was still damp at the tips. He was cute. He was very cute. What would he look like without all that beard scuff? She tipped her head and tried to imagine.

  He took off the hood of the car and lay it on the workbench for her to begin airbrushing the eagle design. It was hard to concentrate on what she was doing when her eyes kept wandering to the fine set of Levi’s bent over the car which were attached to Gage’s rear end.

  As hours passed, the afternoon sun heated the shop and soon Gage shucked off his flannel shirt and threw it over a chair. Jane’s pulse jumped when Gage reached over his head to stretch. He exposed a sliver of ab muscles and a trail of black belly hair. Oh my. Like a fine lady of the South, Jane wished she had a piece of paper to fan herself.

  After a short break, he bent back over the engine. She needed a stretch herself. Jane dropped her airbrush gun and pulled off the gloves. Walking over, she cocked a hip on the side of the car. It was part from interest on what he was doing and the other was to check his tattooed biceps up close.

  “Boy,” she said. “You have more tats than me.” Tattoos covered his muscled shoulders and arms. She traced a finger over a scorpion on his upper arm. “Los Outlaws. Honor though Blood. Looks serious.”

  “Once I thought it was serious, but that was a lifetime ago.” He didn’t return her smile.

  “Tell me about it. Come on, you said you never lie so you have to tell me the truth.”

  He looked at her, his face grim. “I had a pretty messed up childhood. Foster homes. Bounced around. Los Outlaws is a LA bike gang. I thought I’d found a family, but all the leaders were looking for was a kid who would go along with what they asked. I was too naive to tell them ‘no’.”

  “What happened? You didn’t kill anyone did you?”

  “No.” He shook his head and squeezed her hand. “I could never do that. When I was seventeen, they talked me into driving the getaway car while they robbed a drug store. They took off. I got caught. Since I was almost eighteen and had a few other petty crimes under my belt, I was tried as an adult. I got three years.”

  “In prison?”

  “I wish it had been Hawaii, but it was prison. I grew up fast, but I had a lot of time to think. What I decided was if I wanted to stay alive, I had to get as far away from LA and that life as possible. I did my time, even got out a few months early for good behavior. I’m not trying to run away from my past, I just don’t want it to define wh
o I am. I’m not that stupid kid. I want to do things that make a difference to people. I don’t care if I live in a big house and drive a BMW. I’m happy here. Now you know my big secret. I’ll understand if you want to call a cab and go back to town.”

  Jane put a hand on her hip. “Are you telling me what to do? As I said, I make my own decisions. I really like you. I think you’re sweet, smart and sexy as hell. People screw up, but you made a decision to change.”

  Gage looked at her. “You’re not scared of me?”

  “That’s my line. People are usually scared of me.”

  “Why do you wear all the skull jewelery and Goth makeup? Come one. Truth.”

  “I had a pretty unconventional childhood too. I think it’s my form of protection. I guess it keeps people at an arms distance.”

  “It’s getting harder and harder to stay at an arms distance of you.” He smiled. “Those red lips of yours have been driving me crazy all day.”

  “Really? Then why don’t you kiss me?”

  “I love when solutions are simple.” He dropped his head until his lips touched hers. His kiss was long, slow, and sweet. He pushed the curtain of black hair to the side and ran his hand around behind her neck to pull her closer. It wasn’t your first clumsy, tentative kiss. He kissed her like he had been doing it his whole life.

  Finally, Gage moved away a few inches and said barely above a whisper, “I’ve never shared my past with the people from town. It’s not that I’m ashamed—”

  “It’s no longer who you are,” Jane finished his sentence and then pulled him in for round two. His mouth was hungry and gentle all at once. He sighed as she ran the tip of her tongue along the seam of his lips.

  Gage sat her back on her feet. Both of their breathing was unsteady. “Let’s slow this down a bit and savor the moment. There’s a local band playing in town tonight at The Corral. Dinner’s on me for your help today on the car. And as you said, then later, we can both see if we still like each other.” Promise filled his naughty gaze.

  They pulled Betty into the gravel parking lot of The Corral. Gage had to search for on open spot, the lot was almost full. He came around to open her door and took her hand as she got out. Who said chivalry was dead?

  She was starving and they both ordered steaks and baked potatoes. After dinner, when the seventies cover band began, Gage asked her to dance. As he held her close, for the first time in a long time, Jane started to believe. Believe that Gage could be hers.

  As they swayed to an Isely Brother’s song, Gage asked, “You never told me why you’re fed up with your best friends?”

  Jane hooked arms around behind his neck. “We have this dumb bet. Kara bought this headband with a sprig of plastic mistletoe dangling on it last Christmas. She told us that she was going to wear it until a man kissed her. She wore it and found Jack, then Jess found Carrick and Zoe found Darrin. That left me. The last recipient of the headband.”

  Gage smiled and kissed her again. A kiss that was exactly what she hoped for. Dreamed of. He traced the line of her jaw to the tip of her throat with his thumb. Her knees felt weak, but around the waist, he kept a tight hold on her.

  Jane could never remember being kissed with such reckless abandon and liberating intensity.

  The mood was broken when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Gage broke the kiss and stepped back. A man she didn’t know stood behind them.

  “Hey, Gage. Your girlfriend’s hot. Let me dance with her.”

  “She’s with me, Bob. And you’re drunk.” Gage’s fingers flexed at her waist.

  The man persisted. He weaved and reached for her again, this time tugging her tank top strap down her arm. “Come on, baby. Dance with me. I’m a better dancer.”

  Gage’s expression tightened. He grabbed the man by the front of the shirt, drew back his fist and hit him.

  “No!” Jane cried.

  Gage looked at her, a look of horror on his face. “Damnit,” he muttered as he rubbed his knuckles. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bar.

  The ride back to the ranch was quiet with a wall of silence between them. The intimate moment they shared was replaced with a glass wall Gage built between them.

  When she got out of the truck she went to kiss his cheek, but he stopped her. “I’m not relationship material and I don’t want to lead you on.”

  Jane glared at him. “Can I ask how you would know? How many relationships have you been in since you were eighteen? You’re not that kid who did time. I’m not the one hiding behind a mask. You’re up here by yourself so you don’t have to deal with the rest of your life. Yes, you do good things for others, but what have you done for yourself lately? I’m not asking for happily ever after, just don’t shut me out.”

  Gage looked at her but then shook his head, his mouth a tight line. “UPS dropped off the part for your bike right before we left. It’ll be fixed in the morning.”

  “Just leave the part in the box. I can fix my own damn bike.”

  ****

  When Gage came out to the shop in the morning, Jane finished the eagle airbrush design on the hood of the Camaro. She must have been up half the night. There was a note stuck under the wiper blade: Hope he’s happy with it. As far as the bike part, I can’t take your charity. Here’s the money for the part. It was nice to have met you J

  Formal and to the point. There was $200 on the workbench. What did he expect?

  Shit.

  Chapter 4

  For Halloween, Jane and her girlfriends decided to go to Shillings, their favorite martini bar hang out. Her girlfriends had their significant others, but that was okay. It would be a fun night. It would be a lot more fun than the last week she’d spent moping around her apartment thinking about Gage.

  Jane pulled the mobile mistletoe headband out of her purse and laid it on the table. “Well girls, what happens to it next?”

  “Are you telling us you met someone special down in Oregon?” Zoe asked.

  “When Richard broke down, I met a guy who worked on him. It was a fun few days, and the guy was a great kisser.” Jane jiggled the headband making the mistletoe shake and then dropped it back in her purse. “But what now? Who do we pass it on to?”

  Kara thought for a moment and then said, “I think you should keep it until someone special comes along. It should be more than just a kiss.”

  “Hey!” she said in protest. “That was not the agreed upon rules.”

  “If I have a say, I think you might be safe with your friends’ rules,” a deep voice said behind her.

  She spun to find Gage standing over her. He’d shaved off his beard and cut his hair. He wore a dark grey suit with a white shirt and tie. He could be on the cover of any GQ. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

  “Jane. I’ve been here in Washington and I was looking for you the last few days. I finally tracked you down at work and they told me you were here.”

  “Who’s this?” In cop mode, Jack eyed him cooly.

  “I’m Gage.” He looked at the table of people and then asked, “Jane, can I talk to you?”

  “Talk away.”

  “Come on,” Zoe said. “The guy drove all the way up here from Oregon to find you. Give him a few minutes. He doesn’t know us, and if he has something to say to you in private, then give him a break.”

  Jane pushed out of the booth and tipped her head for him to follow her out the front door. The cold air caused a shiver and she wrapped her arms across her chest.

  “Why are you here? You told me straight up you didn’t want anything more, and I don’t need another waffling boyfriend with baggage”. She glared at him.

  Gage looked down at the sidewalk and then back up to meet her gaze. “I know I don’t deserve another chance. I already got that once in my life, but with you, I know I really screwed up. When I punched Bob at the bar, all of my old fears came back. I saw that old me.”

  “Bob was an ass. A drunk ass! He almost pulled off my shirt. If you hadn’t decked him, I wou
ld have.”

  “I guess you’re right. He deserved it.” His lips quirked in a half grin. “Come on, Jane. I’m not very good at this stuff, but the few days you spent with me, I saw a different life. I thought there had to be a catch. I couldn’t believe I’d get three chances in one lifetime. Then I kept thinking about what you said, I deserve to be happy too. I think what would make me happy is if you were in my life.”

  She looked up through lowered lashes. “As I said, let’s not think about ever after, that blows both our minds. Let’s just do the here and now. If we’re both happy, then I can live with that.”

  Gage took her hands. “I’d also like to know if you will come and work for me. I have a lot of cars and bikes lined up that need airbrushing. I really do stink at it.”

  “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  “You can stay out in the guest room... until you feel comfortable. If you give me another chance, I’ll do anything I can to make it work.”

  “I think we might be able to work out something. You wouldn’t have to twist my arm far to leave my job.” Jane grinned. “And besides, long distance relationships never work. Will I get to see you every day?”

  “I sure hope so.” He peeked in the top of her purse and then slid out the headband. “I saw you drop this inside. I assume this is the dreaded mobile mistletoe?” He pushed it over her hair. “In case there are any discrepancies with the rules. You are taken. You have my permission to get rid of this. The last one has fallen.”

  And fallen she had, as in head over heels. She wanted him to kiss her and ease the ache of missing him this past week. He pressed his mouth to hers and everything made more sense than it had in years. Jane wrapped her arms around his neck and welcomed his lips. He tentatively took her in his arms and then drew her close. She would be happy to stand there for the rest of her life.

  When they finally broke apart, Jane looked him up and down. “Where’s your costume? It’s Halloween. What’s with the suit?”

  “This is my costume.” He grinned widely. “I thought you would know that. I will never be a three-piece suit kind of guy. I also wasn’t about to show up in the city looking like ‘a mountain man’. No one would talk to me.”