Page 10 of Rags's Awakening
He straightened up. “Hey,” he said, dropping the roach on the ground.
“Has something happened to Mom or Dad?” Fear flickered in his sister’s eyes.
“Nah. I ate over at Mom and Dad’s and thought I’d swing by and say hi.” He groaned inward.It sounds like a load of crap, and she’s not gonna buy it.
“Bullshit.” Her face crinkled. “They sent you to check up on me, right?”
“No. I was worried about you and wanted to make sure you got home okay.”
“I’m twenty-two years old. I’m not a child anymore.”
Rags slid off the seat then walked over to his sister. “I didn’t say you are. Anyway, who says caring about your family ends at a certain age?”
Clara’s lips pushed out in a small pout. “I know Mom and Dad are behind this. I wish they could see me as an adult. I mean you’re in a biker gang and they don’t have Jeremy stalking you to make sure you’re all right.”
Rags put his arm around his sister and tugged her against him. “First of all, we all watch out for each other in the club, and second of all, I’m not stalking you. I care about you.”
“I know, and I know Mom and Dad worry about me because they care, but I wish you all would see me as an adult.”
“I do, it’s just that you gotta be extra careful ’cause you’re a woman. You know that. And Mom and Dad worry about all of us. Look at Megan, she’s a wife and mother, and they worry about her, and she worries about Tyler, Lucas, and Grace. It’s a parent thing. You’ll get it when you get hitched and have a family of your own.”
“I guess.”
“How was the reception?’
“It was great,” she said pulling away, her brown eyes sparkling. “I had the best time, and all the guests are really excited about the play. I can’t wait for opening night.”
“You did a good job.”
“I did.” She giggled, then punched him lightly on the arm. “How are you? You didn’t return my text from yesterday.”
“I’m busy as hell with all these jobs, but I’m not complaining. Sorry about forgetting to answer you. I was on the go all day yesterday.”
“And night, I’m sure.”
“Get your mind outta the gutter. I’ll walk you to your car.”
“You’re not following me home, are you?”
“What do you think?”
She rolled her eyes, and they walked together to her vehicle.
Fifteen minutes later, he waited in the driveway until Clara was in the house. She turned off the porch light then he backed out of the driveway. The cool mountain air caressed his face as he rode into the night toward the clubhouse.
Chapter Three
“You found it,”Casey said as she ran her fingers over the cloth covered book titledPinewood Springs, Colorado: In the heart of the Rocky Mountains. She opened the book and skimmed the first page. “Published in 1893. This is fantastic, Devin,” she said, glancing up.
“It took me a while to get a copy of it. I flipped through it, and it has good information about the history of theater in Pinewood Springs. It even has a chapter on the ghosts that haunt the area.” Devin laughed.
“I can’t wait to delve into it,” she said, thinking how lucky she was to have met Devin soon after she began working at the Centerstage Theatre. She’d wandered over to the Pinewood Springs Museum of Natural History and had fallen in love with it. The museum showcased what life was like for the Ute Native American tribe before and after the western expansion as well as what life was once like for the early settlers of the area. What Casey loved most was the museum contained a small library that housed out-of-print books about the history of the area. When she met Devin there, she was thrilled that he loved old historical books as much as she did, and he had been finding wonderful gems for her to read ever since.
“When are you going to have the time for that? I mean you work like four jobs,” Devin said, plopping down on the chair in front of her desk.
“Only three.”
“Yeah, that’s right,onlythree.”
