All That Matters (38 page)

Meg wasn't sure what to do when he started to cry. She'd never seen him cry, and if asked, she would have said that he never cried. Yet, here he was in front of her as open and exposed as she'd ever been with him. “Shh.” She didn't know what to say to comfort him, so she went with what she knew, moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He grabbed her so tight that she couldn't even draw in a full breath, but it didn't matter.

They stood there for what seemed like forever, wrapped in each other. He stopped crying but didn't speak. She didn't, either, because she still wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to tell him what he needed to hear. Finally, he ran his hands over her back, pressed his lips to her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Meg replied without hesitation. “Do you still want that soup, or do you just want to go upstairs?”

“I'm going to take a shower. Go on and eat if you're hungry.” There was something so defeated in his tone that Meg feared she would start to cry.

“I'm not,” she told him. “It'll just taste better the longer it simmers, anyway. I could use a shower, if you want the company.” Meg never expected to see hesitation flicker through his eyes before he responded. Normally, he never turned down the opportunity to get her naked, especially if it involved the shower. “Or not, whatever. I can go after you.”

“What do you think?”

“Right now, I don't know. I think that your head might be getting loud and you might want time to yourself. I'd get that. I'd understand...” He cut her off with his mouth and his hands. Meg felt her back hit the counter hard and she gasped when his fingers gripped the long tee shirt she was wearing as a nightgown. Meg lifted her arms, and then the material was just a ball on the floor.

She knew that she was right about his head being loud by the way he touched her; his hands were rough and his eyes intense. She spread her legs to give him easier access. He let out a grunt that sent a spark straight to her clit. “Keep your eyes open.” He nipped down on her bottom lip. “Look at me.” Meg met his eyes, and he slid his fingers between her legs. “Good girl.”

“It's probably sick how much hearing you say that turns me on.” Meg fought to keep her eyes from closing as his fingers stroked over her clit. “Oh, don't stop.” She gripped the edge of the counter to stay upright. He knew just where to touch her, just how to touch her. Sensations swarmed through her. It was so good it was getting harder to keep her eyes open and on him.

Movement outside the kitchen window behind them caught her eye. At first, she thought that she'd imagined it, but then there was the definite shape of someone standing there. She could see the shadow, not the face. “Stop. Stop! There's someone outside. I saw someone outside the window.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Train pulled back from her, took off his black thermal. “Put this on.” He blocked her from the view of the window until she was covered. “I'm going outside. Lock the door behind me and stay put. It's probably just some kids screwing around, but better safe than sorry.”

Meg watched him go out the back door with his gun in his hand. She barely even noticed the weapons anymore, they were such a part of their lives. It might have been kids screwing around, but their lives were much more interesting than that. She shut the blinds and sat down at the table to wait.

There was a knock on the door. “It's me,” Train called from the other side of the door. She opened it. “There was no one out there.”

“Someone was.”

“I believe you,” he said. “They must have ran when you screamed.”

“After they got a nice free show,” Meg replied. “I never even thought about the shades. I should have shut them before you came home.”

“It's not your fault some idiot wanted to peek in the windows. I'll have Rick come back, put in some cameras. Once the weather breaks, I'll get a fence put up. You don't have to worry. And something tells me that completely killed the mood, didn't it?”

“I still want a shower.” She smiled over him. “And I'm not worried. I know that you'll keep me safe. You always do.”

“Not always,” he corrected. “Not now, not with Carlos. Don't forget that. I won't. Go on up and shower. I'm going to make sure everything is locked up, and then I'll join you.”

The mood between them had indeed been broken. Train had that look on his face again; it wasn't anger but sadness. Meg hadn't known she could hate Carlos more, but in that moment she did. He'd broken her once, and now he was breaking something in Train. She could only hope that she was strong enough to help him fix it.

<#<#<#<#

Sugar Sugar was packed when Meg walked in. Caroline was behind the counter, doing the work of what seemed to be three people. “Excuse me. Excuse me.” She made her way through the crowd as politely as she could.

“What are you doing?” Caroline asked as she came behind the counter.

“Giving you a hand,” Meg replied, though it should have been obvious. She moved into the back, washed up at the sink and was behind the counter taking orders in under a minute. With two people, the crowd of customers was gone in about ten minutes.

“I've never had that happen before.” Caroline admitted when they were alone again. “There must have been an event in the area or something. Anyway, thanks for jumping in. You can grab whatever Train sent you for as your payment.”

“He might have mentioned wanting some of your special brownies when I told him that I was stopping here to restock the cookie jar.”

“You need to restock already? You got three dozen like two days ago.”

“Train's been on a cookie kick.” Meg bit back a sigh. He was also on a security kick. They now had four cameras recording every angle of the yard. She had a panic button on her keys, and he was talking about teaching her how to shoot. “I think I'll need like five dozen to be on the safe side.”

“I can do five dozen. It'll have to be assorted, though. I didn't realize there was going to be a chocolate chunk crisis.”

“Assorted is fine, and I'll pay. Seriously, I don't mind.”

“Well, I do and it's my shop so...” Caroline trailed off with a grin. “Anyway, Amelia's finding out what she's having next week, and I was thinking we should do something for her, all the old ladies. Like going out to dinner or something. I'm trying to figure out when everyone is free.”

“My nights are pretty open. Just let me know.”

“I will. I'm working on a baby shower, too. Be warned, I will need help.” Caroline crossed over to the cooler. “You thirsty? Iced coffee?”

“Sounds good, thanks.” Meg walked over and grabbed a box for the cookies.

“What are you up to today?”

“I'm going to that new shop, Love and Lace. Have you been there?” Meg had been thinking about a purple set she'd put back. Once Train had seen the other things, he'd told her never to put something down again in that store. She should charge until her hand was too tired to sign.

“I've been there twice. Jillian told me about it. Apparently, there's a back room, too, with toys and stuff, but I've never gone back there. She says they have anything and everything.”

“I might have to check that out.” Meg thought that maybe bringing something new home might distract Train from his current mood. “I'll let you know what happens.”

The door opened, and two kids walked in. They were actually teenagers, probably just getting out of school. Caroline seemed to recognize them. She went over to the cases, put some things in a bag and then opened the cooler. The girls looked at Meg and then away, one turning slightly red as if embarrassed. It was only then that Meg noticed there were groceries in the bag from the cooler.

She walked away then, into the kitchen where she let the tears she hadn't realized were brimming fall. Caroline came in a bit later and immediately offered her a tissue. “You sure that you're okay?”

“I'm just hormonal or losing my mind or something. You were feeding those girls?”

“I feed a lot of people,” Caroline admitted. “Or I should say we feed a lot of people. I couldn't do it without Buster. There are so many people who are hungry or helpless.” She leaned against one of the counters. “One night, I caught those two out back going through the trash. I brought them inside and sent them home with everything I had. They've got younger kids in the house and their grandparents.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? I mean, I don't have any money to contribute, but I could help put things together or give them out?” Meg thought that it might be nice to do something that was good for people, plus she knew that she needed to spend more time out of the house.

“I could actually use a hand with the cooking. I've been doing most of it at the clubhouse. I'm so glad that they kept that kitchen. I usually go in early on Sunday and make half a dozen meals.”

“That sounds good. I'm in.”

“I'll call you later tonight, set everything up.”

“Perfect. I'm going to head out so that I'm home in time to start dinner. I sound awfully domesticated, don't I?”

“It's not a bad thing. I know that I do.” Caroline shrugged her shoulders. “I've never been happier.”

“Neither have I,” Meg admitted. Despite all of the bad shit that had happened, she was happy. “I'll call you later.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Give me the eight-foot instead,” Train decided. “What?”

“First, you said give you the six, then the seven and now the eight? If you want any higher, I've got to special order, and that shit is going to take a while. Go with the seven-foot, it's enough.” Ryan Richards, owner of RBS, chuckled. “You know, I never thought that I'd see you settled down, but I'm glad. Caroline raves about her every chance she gets.”

Caroline had only worked at RBS for a short time, but she and Ryan had struck up a friendship, which surprised Train. “Alright, seven feet will work. Get it to the house. I want to get started in the morning.” Train checked his phone to see if he'd missed a call from Meg.

“Is there something going on? Should I be worried?”

“It's nothing like that,” Train answered. Ryan had always been a good friend to Nightshade; he'd earned the right to a heads up. “There was some asshole peeking in the window at me and Meg in the kitchen. Freaked her out that someone was watching us like that. I don't like her freaked out.”

“I bet you don't. It's a good thing that they weren't looking in the bedroom window.”

“They might as well have been.”

“Oh, fuck that. I'll get this stuff to you tomorrow, and I'll give you a hand. Not much going on here anyway,” he offered. “Besides, what else are friends for?”

“I appreciate that.”

“Hey, you've done it for me. Remember when I put the shed up in my back yard?”

“Your man cave?” Train had to chuckle. It was back when Royal was still alive and calling the shots for Nightshade. Somehow a few guys helping out Ryan had turned into a raging party with food and drinks. “That was a good time. And you just gave me a good idea, it's pretty slow with Nightshade Construction, too. Bet I can get us a few more hands. I already did the hard work and got the posts in.”

“You did the posts alone?” Ryan looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had, but the physical activity had been good for him. “You're a beast, Train. Alright, I'll get a truck loaded up, and then I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning.”

Train called Meg as he walked out to the truck. She answered on the first ring and he filled her in. He heard her roll her eyes when he told her he'd gotten the fence. She thought that he was being too over the top with all of the security stuff, but he didn't. Better safe than sorry.

“A fence building party? What's that, like the biker version of a good old fashioned barn raising?” Meg sounded equal parts skeptical and confused.

“It means that the fence will be up by the end of the day tomorrow. I'm glad that I put those posts in.”

“The view of it would have been better if it were warmer outside and you didn't have a shirt on.” Her smile could be heard in her voice. “So, what do I have to do?”