Spirited Ride Read online

  “Look… I’ve had a really crappy day so far and I don’t need your shit added to it,” she replied. “I’ve got to finish next week’s schedules so we’ll have to finish this conversation later.”

  “I don’t think so… not this time. I’ve let you blow me off so many times… but I’ll be damned if I’ll be used as a last resort anymore. You need to work through your shit before you even bother trying to have a relationship with someone… whether it’s me, TJ or some other bozo,” he said angrily.

  She should be nice but his face read like a book which brought back a fresh wave of anger. This wasn’t about her issues at all. Someone at the shop had said something to him and now he felt humiliated and was looking for her to console him.

  What about him consoling her when she needed to vent? Well then he was suddenly sick of hearing about TJ or the bar or whatever issue she happened to be having.

  “A relationship? Is that what you thought this was between us?” she asked angrily. “I may not have always asked you to go home every time after sex, but that was more of a courtesy thing, really. I’m sorry if by doing so that gave you the impression that I’d be willing to put up with your shit when your ego gets bruised.”

  “Fuck you, Sherri. Don’t call me next time you’re lonely or half in the bottle then,” he spat.

  With that he stood up and started for the door… and maybe because of the month she was having or just lack of true feelings for him… she let him leave without saying a word. Maybe she would eventually miss him… at least a little… but right now he was either on her side or he wasn’t. In fact… was no one on her side in this thing?

  As pissed as she was at Chris, she actually wanted TJ to show up tonight… so she could claw his damn eyes out. Her life had been fine until his janitorial duties put him directly in her path… all over again.

  Tonight of all nights TJ had decided he wasn’t interested in coming by the bar to irritate her and entertain the guests?

  The hell with that… she knew where he was living and the piece of shit car he drove would give away exactly which apartment. He’d kicked a sleeping dog and was about to feel the consequences of his actions. Getting up from the booth she headed back to the grill area.

  Pushing past the swinging door to the kitchen she said, “Dawn, I need you to work the bar tonight and Lindsey, I need you to handle the kitchen until I get back. Do you think you guys can hold down the fort while I run an errand? I shouldn’t be more than an hour… maybe two if I wind up in handcuffs.”

  The girls looked at each other but then nodded their heads and she turned and headed back out of the kitchen, past the bar and straight out the front door to her car.

  Normally she didn’t use her cell phone while driving but this time it might keep her from driving her car through the bastard’s front door. Finding Greg Sanders’ contact number she hit send.

  “I’m afraid to ask what you’ve done this time,” he said upon answering her call.

  “I need one definite favor… and one possible favor,” she said angrily.

  “Everything okay?” he asked upon hearing the tone of her voice.

  “I need you to do a background check on TJ for me. I’ll pay whatever… but I need to know what he could possibly have needed advice from your sister about a few years back and why he’s flat ass broke now. I don’t know what he’s up to but Prince Charming’s reign of bullshit will be ending promptly once you give me something to work with,” she replied. “I know you work with him and probably think he’s just great, just like the rest of them, but you’ve known me for a while now. You trust me right? Well, I’m telling you that he’s not all he appears to be and I just need to know what secrets he’s keeping… Please.”

  “I can do that,” he replied calmly.

  Just like that… finally someone who was in her corner! A small sliver of guilt hit her over some of the fun pranks she’d pulled on the man over the years, and the merry chases she’d sent him on a time or two. If he could pull this off and get her the information she needed she would never pull a fast one on him again.

  “Is that it?” he asked cautiously.

  “Oh and I may possibly need bail money here in about an hour but hopefully the dirt you dig up on him will help me explain things to the judge,” she replied.

  “What?” he asked quickly.

  “Kidding…” she replied. Not really. “Call me when you’ve got something and I guess it goes without saying that I don’t want anyone else to know about this until then.”

  Upon ending the call her cell phone rang and she answered, thinking perhaps it was Greg calling back with a question.

  “Aunt Sherri?” Gretchen asked.

  “What’s up, baby?” she replied, forcefully softening her voice for the child. She’d made it across town to the apartments where TJ lived in less than ten minutes… while on her cell phone. A small shiver of guilt crawled up her neck.

  “Can I set up some drums and learn to play them in your garage?” Gretchen asked.

  “Are your mama and daddy okay with it?” she asked in return.

  “Yes, but we don’t have room for the drums here…” she replied.

  “Then of course you can use my garage. I’ve got to go though so you can just bring them over Tuesday or Thursday,” she said, pulling up next to TJ’s car.

  “Thanks, Aunt Sherri… love ya, bye!” Gretchen said, hanging up.

  Tossing her cell phone into her purse and throwing the strap of it across her shoulder, Sherri got out and slammed her car door shut. Then she marched up to his door and pounded on it.

  “Answer this damn door, TJ... right now! I’m sick of this shit,” she yelled at the closed door.

  Less than a second later the door was flung open and she was face to face with a flushed TJ. Looking past him she was shocked to find Gina sitting on his couch. Though both of them were fully dressed and Gina didn’t look as though anything was amiss, TJ sure did. What the hell?

  She wasn’t sure if the disappointment in her gut was because Gina was the closest thing to a best friend that Sherri had and should definitely be in her corner, not fooling around with the enemy. Or if she was disappointed that, yet again, TJ had just been playing with her by stopping by the bar nearly every night these past couple of weeks.

  “Come on in,” TJ offered. She watched Gina stand up and approach the door as well.

  Encouraging him to start dating again would be the prudent thing to do. It might even make the divorce process go a little smoother, as Becca had put it, but she just couldn’t… especially not with Gina of all people.

  “I’m sorry… I didn’t know you had company,” she said, turning away. She actually felt physically sick at the thought of the two of them together.

  “I come over here to keep him from showing up and irritating you at the bar tonight… and then what do you do? You show up here instead?” Gina laughed. “Help me to help you!”

  Relief like a cool breeze on a hot summer day first soothed her… then it irritated her because it had merely blown her true feelings to the surface. Jealousy. She’d been jealous of Gina!

  Chapter Six

  TJ had never been so happy to see an outraged Sherri in his whole life. Gina wasn’t trying to help anyone but herself. With friends like Gina, who needed an enemy? He’d tried so many times to show Sherri that when they’d been together with no success.

  Even though Gina hadn’t been that great of a lead singer, she was good at making people see what she wanted them too. From the looks of it, she’d only perfected that craft over the years.

  He thought after sending Gina back to Florida ten years ago that would be the end of his discomfort where she was concerned. He hadn’t even been back a full month and here she came again, bumping into him in odd places, as though to ensure he walked around wary all the time.

  Catching her out and about with Chris Anderson made him realize that Gina seemed to have an affinity for whomever Sherri was dating. The more the guy
liked Sherri, the harder Gina went after him.

  The woman had serious issues. Sniffing around another woman’s man just because… was pretty messed up… especially if you were supposed to be her friend.

  This time when he’d opened his apartment door to find Gina on the step, he’d been surprised that rather than having to practically fight her off of him, she’d breezed around him and flopped down on his garage sale couch.

  It wasn’t until she opened her mouth with lies about what she’d been doing with Chris that the familiar uneasiness returned with a vengeance. Her bullshit talk about how she’d been encouraging Chris to work things out with Sherri and take their relationship to the next level had been more than he could stomach.

  When he asked her if it was hard to talk to a man with your tongue down his throat, her whole demeanor had changed. Suddenly she began to calmly threaten him with anything she could think of that might make his return after all these years even harder than it already was.

  Now his life in this sleepy little town might get even worse … because it was hard to say what the guys might hear or what Sherri would believe coming from her longtime friend.

  Then like his saving grace, Sherri had shown up pounding on his door demanding he open up. He thought this time Gina would be found out for the bitch she really was. Yet again she’d managed to worm her way out of the deceit and lies she surrounded herself in.

  As much as his heart wanted to tell Sherri the truth about what was going on, he worried that Gina was right. Sherri wouldn’t believe him or even worse… if she did believe him… it would hurt her and he could tell she was struggling with her feelings about his return from Nashville already.

  Whenever Sherri felt like she was being abandoned or forsaken by someone, she would first strike out with the force of a hurricane, going for the jugular vein every time. Afterward though, the hurt she felt would nearly destroy her.

  Memories of finally getting her to tell him a little bit about losing her parents and the fear she felt having to look out for Lilly at such a young age flooded his mind. Once she’d finally cried and raged over it for a couple of hours, they’d spent the next four days in bed while she worked out her feelings on him.

  Right now he was less interested in proving that Gina was once again up to no good, than just getting her out of his apartment and away from him.

  Seeing a chance to use Gina’s phony words against her, he said, “I guess your efforts were wasted here, Gina, I tried to tell you… she likes my attentions… but thanks for your concern and for stopping by.”

  Gina made ready to leave after giving him a smirk. Once she was past Sherri, she turned back giving him a warning look before making her way to her car.

  If he wasn’t careful it was hard to say what Gina might tell Sherri. Memories of Gina’s crazy ass when he’d turned her out on the streets of Nashville all those years ago surfaced. She’d shown up at his hotel, professing to love him and throwing herself at him basically, which made him wary and a little nauseous now whenever the memory returned.

  He’d tried to let Gina down gently that day by telling her that she could have her pick of guys and that she was just confused about her feelings for him. At first she’d have none of it until, out of desperation, he’d told her that he was pretty sure Bobby had a thing for her.

  It had been like dangling new bait out to a rabid beast, the way Gina had suddenly lost all interest in him. Seeing how his little lie that day obviously hadn’t panned out well for Gina, since Bobby had married Lilly of all people, Gina could be looking to settle the score for him turning her down and sending her on a fool’s run back then.

  The bitch was downright scary. She could sink her teeth in down to the bone and shake a man around like a dog at the end of a rope. Her ability to turn her feelings on and off like they were a water faucet was creepy.

  He felt pretty good she had enjoyed telling him that day how Sherri had sent her to inform him that his wife wouldn’t be joining him in Nashville… that day… or ever. Then before he’d had time to recover from that little revelation, she’d told him that there was someone comforting Sherri at that very moment and she felt like he should know and that if he was smart, he would just move on.

  Once Gina drove out of the parking lot, he relaxed and took the time to fully appreciate his very angry wife… ex-wife.

  Damn he wanted to kiss that mouth until she was begging him for it and then force her to her knees right there in broad daylight for the entire world to see. He tried to get the fantasy out of his head as soon as it appeared, and failed miserably.

  “Did you tell the guys at the shop that you are sleeping with me?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “No… I told the guys that I’d like to sleep with you. Big difference,” he replied, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his mouth at the outraged look that stole across her face.

  “Finally figured out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side? Or are you finding that women prefer a man who isn’t living in the past, which surely limits your options, I’m sure,” she asked. “Or… maybe… you have truly lost your ever loving mind and actually think you have a shot at getting in my pants again.”

  He wasn’t sure what she meant by the grass being greener, but he felt the barb from her words about his failed dreams of making it in the music business. As for getting in her pants again… he was sure as hell going to try.

  Perhaps she’d forgotten just how incredible making love together had been between them. Well he certainly hadn’t and was willing to refresh her memory if she’d allow it.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t appear to be anywhere close to being ready to sit down and talk to him, let alone anything else. It was still fun to try though.

  “Yeah, that’s the one…” he replied with a smile when the last word left her lips.

  Fire lit up her eyes at his comment. Excitement raced through his body to center in his groin. Only Sherri could set him ablaze with her insolence.

  It had been so long since anyone had brought out this side of him that, as much as he shouldn’t allow her to reduce him to arguing like a couple of teenagers, he couldn’t resist it. He couldn’t resist her… never could.

  “In your dreams…” she spat.

  “And in yours… I’m betting,” he replied right on the heels of her denial.

  God knows, she’d been in several of his dreams over the past weeks since he’d been back in town. She’d rounded out a little bit over the years and that excited him even more.

  He could tear her up without fear of truly hurting her. His erection was nearly painful and he made no effort to hide it. He even drew her attention to it by looking down at himself and then back to her.

  “You must remember things that I don’t because it wasn’t near good enough that I would allow you to use me again, like you did back then,” she replied angrily, a flush staining her cheeks.

  The look on her face was giving away the fact that not only had she noticed his reaction to their foreplay argument, she also remembered how good it had been between them.

  “Hell, I can get satisfaction with the right toy and some double A batteries, with none of the drama afterwards,” she huffed.

  Just like that they were back there… all because she couldn’t… wouldn’t… stop right before the line. No… not Sherri… she was made to cross every line.

  Unable to stop the electric jolt her words created in him, with lightning speed he reached out and cupped the back of her neck with his hand, bringing his mouth to hers in a brutal kiss meant to punish and conquer as much as consume.

  As though nothing had changed in the ten years they’d been apart, she pushed and slapped at him until he finally released her.

  If she was going to seriously hit him, it should be coming any second now and when it did he’d be dragging her ass into his apartment and keeping her in his bed until he’d had his fill of her.

  Instead, she pulled out the one weapon that co
uld bring him to his knees… her tears. Her eyes were full to the brim with them. Her face was scrunched with anger but she didn’t slap him and she didn’t let a single teardrop fall.

  She launched herself at him, hitting him and kissing him at the same time. Where minutes ago he’d had some control over himself, now that was gone too.

  Smacking his chest and arms repeatedly with her hands, she pulled back long enough to say, “I hate you so much,” before her mouth found his again. After pulling at him in an effort to get as close to him as possible, her mind again changed. She went back to smacking his chest and arms and any other parts of him she could reach.

  He allowed it for just a second before grabbing her face between his hands to put a stop to her indecision by pulling back where she couldn’t brand his body with the passion and fire in her kisses.

  Attempting not to be too rough but get her under control at the same time, his grip on her face tightened and her hands came up to cover his. Leaning down he rested his forehead against hers and her eyes met his for the first time since she’d lashed out at him. Finally a single tear slid down one cheek.

  Sherri crying tore at him like nothing else in the world but he hurt too, damn it. She was supposed to come to him… help him build his dreams and she hadn’t. Now that she was realizing how much she’d missed him, how good things were between them at one time, she was angry about it.

  She could smack him, pull his hair and punish him in whatever way she could think of for the feelings in her that she couldn’t handle… but there was a line and she’d crossed it.

  “Only I am allowed to use toys on you, Sherri,” he whispered angrily. “You remember? Only me!”

  A whimper of desire escaped her and she heard it as well. Her mind finally settled on a course of action and she tried to pull away from him. He held her face in his hands a little tighter, anchoring her to the spot, and then moved up close to her.