Ridin' Solo (Sisters From Hell Book 1), Marika Ray [librera reader txt] 📗

The plan had always been to head to Hell’s Tavern after the game to celebrate Sheriff Locke’s birthday, the win being just another reason to party. The team was feeling festive, but I just couldn’t get into the spirit.

“You riding that Grom to the bar?” I asked Oakley as we all headed to our cars.

She gave me a look. “Of course, Dad. What else would I drive?”

I unlocked the doors to my truck and paused. “Just be careful, okay?”

Oakley smiled at me, her head tilting to the side. “You all right?”

I nodded and winked at her to allay her fears. I wasn’t all right in the head, and certainly not in my heart, but I wouldn’t burden her with my crap. “I’m more than all right, sweetheart.”

She didn’t take the bait. She just stood there a moment longer, looking at me like she was trying to figure me out. “All right. I’ll see you at Hell’s Tavern.” She turned and walked over to the Grom, climbing on and heading out of the lot.

I threw my mitt and bat into the cab of my truck and tried to sort through the mess in my head. What the hell was I going to do with myself? Why did fate have to hand me such shit luck? The moment I decided to be done with women and needed to get a real job, fate gave me Oakley. Problem was, I couldn’t have her. Now or in any of the futures I envisioned for myself. If I crossed that line, it would mess with my career and hers, which I’d never do to her. If I didn’t cross that line, I felt like I might slowly go insane.

“Let’s go, Smith!” Johnson hollered at me, climbing into his own car with a sloppy grin and his baseball cap on backward.

I got in the truck and started it up, pulling out of the lot and following the line of cars. Got all the way to the parking lot of Hell’s Tavern before I realized I just couldn’t go in there. My heart twisted in my chest, the heartache pulling out front and center. Drinking and trying to act happy were the last things I needed.

Oakley was already pulling her helmet off and walking into the bar with the rest of our department. I put my truck in park and shut it off. Loud rock music came from the bar every time the door opened. Sitting back in my seat, I stared out at the starry night, wondering when I’d become the guy on the outside looking in on a party. I had some decisions to make while I waited to make sure Oakley got home safe.

This no-man’s-land I’d been in, where I flirted with Oakley but never really crossed the line, just would not work for me long term. The woman was as stubborn as they come, so I knew she’d never let us date for real. The only thing I could do was ask for a transfer to yet another county and keep her in my rearview mirror. Which meant we wouldn’t work together and probably wouldn’t even see each other. Both options sounded as fun as that Brazilian wax I’d been dared to do while vacationing in Bora Bora a few summers back. Nothing like hot wax ripping off your balls to make you reconsider all the choices you’d made up to that point. Not that Oakley was comparable to hot wax on my balls, but the feelings of regret were just as intense.

I must have nodded off at some point, the exhaustion of a work day plus a baseball game tipping my head back and shutting my eyes. A loud truck firing up nearby woke me with a start, my neck screaming at me for sleeping without a proper pillow. I had to blink and rub my eyes to believe what I saw out my windshield.

Oakley stood right outside the front door to Hell’s Tavern, her breathalyzer in hand, while she made every single member of our department blow before they could go to their cars. I barked out a laugh and massaged that ache in my chest. Fuck. How could I walk away from her before I even fully got to know her? Before I saw her with her hair down and her defenses crumbled? Before she screamed my name and ran her nails down my back? I knew without a doubt if someone asked me in twenty years if there’d ever been a woman in my life who’d gotten away, I would think of Oakley Waldo.

After she’d tested every single officer, including Sheriff Locke who didn’t pass and had to ride home with Betty when Oakley put her foot down, I followed Oakley home, waiting to go to sleep until I saw the light turn on in her bedroom. Tomorrow was our day off, and I intended to use the full twenty-four hours to decide what to do about my lovesick situation. A new plan for my life was forming, even if it now sounded sad and lonely. I had a feeling I’d need to get my resume ready and my bags packed.

There was just no way I’d compromise Oakley’s job, knowing it meant the world to her. Some people were meant for happy, loving families, and some people weren’t. The heartache only came when you forgot which camp you fell into and allowed hope to bloom.

13

Oakley

I shouldn’t have blown all my colleagues.

That came out better in my head. But really, I just pulled the breathalyzer out to test my own blood alcohol level and then figured I should watch out for everyone else. Coming off weeks of sexual teasing and torture from my partner, I’d taken my bubbling frustration out at the bar with champagne. The boys had all had beer, but they’d kept the glasses of champagne coming for me.

I would picture Wyatt handing me the newspaper without a shirt on and that