Hellion (Southern Rebels MC)

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Noah protested, his hand resting on my forearm. “She sent you here for a reason. Even knowing there was a risk, she thought it was worth it.”

“Maybe so,” I murmured quietly, not convinced after the conversation with his mother.

“Will you,” he hesitated, and I could guess his thoughts. “Will you at least tell me before you leave?”

“I won’t leave without saying goodbye,” I promised, knowing each day I lingered here the harder it would be to leave. I thought I’d wanted to find a place to belong, but it wasn’t the town I’d miss if I left. The conversation had gone deeper than I wanted so I changed the subject. “You promised me peach cobbler,” I reminded him.

I could tell I’d startled him, but he let get away with the change in topic. “I did.”

“Or coffee.”

“I think you’ve had enough coffee.”

I sniffed. “Not Irish coffee.”

“Definitely not,” he stated. “I’m still amazed you managed to recover so quickly.” He flipped on the blinker, then swung the car around in a completely illegal U-turn, pressing me into the car door. “Hang on,” he warned entirely too late.

“They teach you that move in cop school?” I griped, straightening up and he flashed me a quick grin.

“My grandfather did.” He headed back into town, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel. “You said you wanted peach cobbler. Since I made you miss my mom’s, I’ll make it up to you with the second best cobbler in town.”

“It’s sweet you say your mom’s is the best,” I murmured as Noah cut down a side street.

“It’s not sweet,” he responded, slowing the car to the speed limit. “They had a contest to decide. Ms. Lydia is still sore about it to be honest.”

“Oh.”

He glanced at me. “Too much small town?”

I shook my head, bemused. “No, not really. It just reminded me of the times we’d have contests in the RV parks. My mom was super competitive and hated to come in second place.”

“That’s Ms. Lydia.” Noah honked his horn, drawing the attention of a couple walking down the sidewalk. Both of them were intimidatingly tall and the man had a barely discernable limp. They paused when Noah pulled up next to them. “Hey, we’re headed to the diner for cobbler.” He nodded toward the corner and I noticed the flashing neon sign proclaiming, Lydia’s Diner. “Join us?”

The man leaned down, his face expressionless as he studied me. “She the one who drank Hank’s whiskey?”

“We’d love to,” the woman answered, pinching the man’s arm. “You are so rude, Cord. At least wait until we’re introduced before you ask.”

He blinked, then slowly turned to her and replied, “The answer is gonna decide if I want to be bothered.”

Noah looked over at me, scratching his chin. “Cord and his lady, Tori.” I nodded, ducking my head so I could get a better look at them.

“Is he related to Crew?” I questioned, noticing the resemblance, even though he had a scar bisecting his cheek. He looked like an older version of Crew.

“Brother,” Cord answered shortly. He met my gaze. “So?”

“Yes, I am she,” I retorted and the barest glimmer of respect crossed his face before it was back to what I was assuming was his normal stone faced expression.

“We’ll meet you down there.” He straightened, obviously finished with the conversation, but the woman, Tori, smiled and waved as Noah continued down the road.

“Did she have a crowbar?”

“Yes.”

“Should I ask why?”

“Probably not.”

“Ok.”

***

We were already seated in a booth when they walked in, and Cord didn’t even look around before heading straight for us. “Let me guess,” I glanced at Noah. “This is your booth.”

“How’d you know?”

“Because you didn’t wait to be seated and Cord made a beeline over here. Is this like the cool table at the high school cafeteria?”

“What? No,” Noah denied, but Tori had heard the tail end of our conversation and she nodded emphatically.

“It totally is,” she contradicted, sliding inside the booth as Cord took the outside seat. “No one sits here but Rebels and Noah,” she divulged, nodding at Noah as she said his name. “It’s a thing.”

“It’s not a thing,” Cord contradicted. “We like this table because it gives us a view of the street and the whole diner.”

“It’s a thing,” Tori mouthed silently, widening her eyes dramatically. Cord just shook his head, his expression never changing. “I’m so glad we ran into you.” She smiled wickedly. “Sloan is going to be so jealous.” She squinted at me suspiciously. “You haven’t already met her, have you?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered slowly and she smiled in satisfaction. I glanced over at Noah. “I haven’t met her, right?”

He shook his head. “You’d know.”

“What’s your name?” Cord’s abrupt question drew my attention back to him and I resisted the urge to squirm under his flat stare.