5 Bikers for Valentines

Once everyone was served, dad and I talked about Crane Enterprises, while Adam sat idly by, listening and picking at his plate, not saying a word. Danielle poked at the food on her plate too, but hardly ate a thing. Given that it was pasta, I wasn't all that surprised. She's never been too comfortable eating carbs, but you would have thought that pregnancy might have changed that. Casey, on the other hand, finished her entire plate. My mother smiled over at her, seeming to be appreciative of the fact that someone was enjoying the meal besides her. Adam clearly wasn't. Something was off, and the entire thing with Casey made me less inclined to trust him. I kept my eye on him, and the tension in the room was palpable. It felt like it was growing until the very last plate had been whisked away by Alba and the rest of the kitchen staff.

“Stayed for the entire meal this time, I see,” Dad said to me.

“Yes, figured it would be rude to leave early while we had company.”

I smiled at Casey. She didn't return the gesture. Instead, she stared down at the blackberry cobbler in front of her, which remained untouched. I'd made a note to ask her later if she didn't like pies or blackberries, or maybe even both when she pushed the chair back and looked around at us apologetically.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I'll be right back.”

She hurried out of the dining room, practically running down the hallway. I looked over at Adam, and he shrugged. When I tried to urge him with my eyes, it was clear that he still didn't get the hint. Letting out a long breath, I excused myself as well.

“I'm going to make sure she's okay,” I said and cut a glance at Adam. “Somebody should.”

“Shouldn't Adam do that?” Danielle said, her tone icy.

“Malcolm is already up,” Adam said with a shrug. “Let him do it.”

“Such a gentleman you are, Adam,” Danielle spat. “Remind me never to date you again.”

“Like I'd be interested in dating you again,” he spat back. “I can see why Malcolm doesn't want you back.”

The two of them continued arguing and sniping as I stepped out of the dining room and into the hallway. Casey had no idea where the bathroom was, as I obviously hadn't showed her earlier. Which reminded me that I needed to thank my mom for the bit of cover.

Now though, I had no clue where she might have wandered off to. I started toward the half-bath near the stairwell, but Alba stepped out of there. She looked at me with a curious expression on her face.

“Have you seen Casey, by chance?” I asked.

She shook her head, “I'm sorry, Malcolm. I haven't,” she said.

“I think she’s lost somewhere around here,” I muttered.

I continued on down the hallway, looking in every room I came across, but found no sign of her. But then I heard footsteps on the stairs, so I turned around and headed back in that direction. Casey walked down the steps gingerly, her face paler than usual. Her forehead glistened with sweat.

“You alright?” I asked.

“Sorry, I needed to use the bathroom, and the one down here was occupied, so I went upstairs to look for one,” she said, stopping on the bottom step, and looked up at me. “I hope that's okay?”

“It's fine,” I said. “You sure you're okay though? You look a bit shaky.”

I reached out and touched her forehead, wiping away some of the dampness from her skin. She wasn't warm, so I didn't think she was running a fever. But, something clearly wasn't right with her.

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

She looked down at her feet instead of looking me in the eye. She was tense and upset but was doing her best to hide it. Not very successfully.

“I can tell when you're lying to me,” I said.

“Not here,” she said. “I can't talk about it here.”

Her eyes darted around wildly, as if she were afraid we weren't alone. Afraid that somebody was eavesdropping on us. Technically, she had a right to be cautious and paranoid. The dining room was not too far away, and dinner was wrapping up. Eventually, my folks would come out there. As would Danielle and Adam.

I took her hand in mine, and together, we walked back up the stairs.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“You said we needed to talk,” I replied. “We're going to talk.”

“But what about your family?”