Checkmate

Chapter 34

“Can we stop at Henderson’s?” Rory asked, noting that it was almost six in the morning and the little dinner/convenient store should be open by now. At least she thought it would. Granted, it had been more than ten years since she’d been allowed within thirty yards of the store, but she was pretty sure that it still opened early and closed late.

Connor took a left on Long Pond Road, pissing her brothers off if the sounds of their horns blaring was any indication. They weren’t happy that Connor was going with her and they were pissed that their pathetic little attempt to get rid of him failed.

They yanked out the battery from Connor’s truck along with the spark plugs, a few hoses and let the air out of his tires, probably thinking that would stop Connor from coming with them. Just in case that didn’t work, they did the same to her Jeep and explained with smug smiles that they only had room for one more passenger. It was an amateur move.

She knew that Connor really didn’t want to spend the day with her brothers and she really couldn't blame him. Even though she wanted him there, wanted to spend a whole day away from work with him, she’d understood and was willing to go without him. Just as she opened her mouth to let him off the hook, he flipped off her brothers and set to work. It wasn’t exactly surprising to discover that Connor kept spare parts in his garage. She did the same thing. They’d screwed each other over enough in the past that they were pretty much prepared for anything and everything.

“Do you want to go to Henderson’s or do you want to hit McDonalds when we get to the highway?” Connor asked, gently caressing the back of her hand with his thumb as he took a right at the lights.

“McDonald’s is a half hour away,” she pointed out, starting to feel giddy at the prospect of going to Henderson’s for the first time in years. It used to be her favorite store as a child and she’d missed going there every Sunday for a stack of pancakes, bacon and a cup of hot cocoa.

As much as she would have loved to blame Connor for getting banned from her favorite store, she couldn’t. Getting banned from Henderson’s had been one hundred percent her fault. Then again, the ban probably would have been shorter if Alex, her boyfriend at the time, hadn’t decided to get in her face and call her a fucking bitch for getting him tossed out as well. That’s not what pushed Henderson into banning her for life though. It was Connor grabbing Alex by the throat and shoving him into the shelves of penny candy that got them the lifetime ban, which had been lifted on a probationary period a week ago.

In fact, every ban and restriction in town had been lifted. People were still placing bets on them, but at least they could now go to whatever restaurant or store they wanted to without worrying about restrictions. They hadn’t had much time to enjoy the bans being lifted, but they did manage to grab dinner at Steph's Diner last Tuesday, a place neither had been allowed to set foot in, in over five years and they even went grocery shopping together. Granted, on both occasions the managers had assigned someone to watch their every move and follow them, but still, it was progress.

“You just want to see if Henderson still has those little chocolate balls that you used to love, don’t you?” Connor asked, chuckling softly as he pulled into Henderson’s cracked parking lot.

“No, I’m just hungry,” she only partially lied because she planned on getting three bags of those delicious little chocolate balls and eating every last one of them.

“Uh huh, sure,” he said, smiling that sexy smile of his as he handed her two twenties.

Frowning, she asked, “You’re not coming in?” and nearly cringed at how needy she sounded. She wanted to share this with him, to enjoy visiting her favorite childhood store with him.

“Sorry, baby,” he said, leaning over and kissing her, “but someone has to keep your brothers from going in there and getting you banned again.”

She looked past him to see Craig’s truck parked next to them and when she saw the anticipatory gleams on her brothers’ faces she realized that the man had a point. They’d hound her in that store and do their best to talk some sense into her, which of course would annoy her and cause her to do something stupid like getting banned again.

“I won’t be long,” she promised with a pleased smile as she climbed out of the truck and made a beeline for the old familiar white door that used to welcome her as a child. Bryce almost managed to cut her off, but Connor was there a split second before her brother could reach for her.

Knowing that she probably only had a few minutes before her brothers managed to plow past Connor and start the next round of lectures, she quickly made her way through the old country store. She ignored both the curious and frightened looks of patrons and employees and focused on filling her hand basket with chocolate balls, a freshly made bag of donuts that were still warm, ordered two hot cocoas, grabbed some penny candy, a few small white boxes of fruit filled pastries, a couple of waters and a bag of homemade mini peanut butter cups, Connor’s favorite, and quickly paid.

“You better watch your back, bitch,” Johnny said, stressing bitch when she opened the door and stepped out into the parking lot.

As soon as her brothers saw her, they backed away from Connor who’d done an amazingly wonderful job of keeping her brothers off her back. Then again, judging by the murderous glares that her brothers were sending Connor, they’d probably forgotten all about her and got carried away with another one of their threat sessions that were more annoying than anything.

“Are those donuts for us?” Brian asked, shifting anxiously as his greedy eyes locked on the bag in her hands.

“Nope,” she said, smiling when her brothers turned murderous glares on her. “I’d hurry up if I were you. They only have two bags left,” she lied, knowing that it was the only way to put some space between them, for a while at least.

Her brothers stood there a moment longer, obviously struggling with the need to keep a close eye on the two of them, but the smell of warm sweet donuts perfumed the air and took the decision out of their hands. In the end, the donuts won and the shoving match began. They didn’t stick around to see who won.

“Are you okay?” she asked as she handed Connor a warm donut a few minutes later, noting that he looked sad, again. That expression was becoming more common these days and it was breaking her heart.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, forcing a smile as he accepted the donut.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” she said, hoping that she’d kept the disappointment out of her tone while she said it. She wanted to go. She loved her family, missed them, but she loved Connor more and didn’t want to see him sad.

Connor shook his head. “No, it’s fine, Rory.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip.

“Yes.”

She almost asked if this was about Andrew, but decided that she didn’t want to spend their first real day off together fighting. With the way that Andrew was acting she knew that it was only a matter of time before they came to blows over what to do. Until then, she just wanted to enjoy her time with Connor.

He really was a scrawny bastard, he decided as he climbed out of his truck and found himself for the second time in his life, surrounded by dozens of Bradfords. They were everywhere. Most of them were eating, but a lot of them were setting up the neighboring sites that they’d reserved for the reunion with dozens of grills, coolers, tables, a volleyball net, more food and……

Was that a butcher setting up near the grills?

Judging by his collection of knives, his apron and the fact that the short pudgy man was definitely not a Bradford, he would have to say yes. It was definitely going to be a long and interesting day, he thought as he walked around the truck to help Rory out. He had the door opened and was reaching for a smiling Rory when he suddenly found himself picked up and moved aside like he weighed nothing instead of two-hundred and twenty pounds. It was a bit unnerving, but not as unnerving as the wall of muscle that suddenly came between him and Rory.

He heard an excited squeal the same time that he saw Rory’s arms wrap around the bastard’s neck. The man pulled her out, returned her hug as he turned around and placed her on her feet right next to Connor.

“Hey, Jason, how’s it going?” he asked, pleased when Rory released her hold on her cousin and wrapped her arm around his.

Jason grinned, looking a hell of a lot happier than he had the last time that they'd seen him a few weeks ago. The man had missed his wife and it had taken its toll on him. By the time his week of working for them was over, Jason was exhausted and his appetite had been pretty much nonexistent, making everyone worry. It turned out that the lovesick bastard missed his wife and couldn’t sleep without her. He was glad to see Jason back to being Jason. Sure the man embarrassed the living hell out of him and would annoy the shit out of anyone just for the hell of it, but he genuinely liked the asshole.

“It’s good to see you, Connor,” Jason said, reaching out and shaking his hand. “Didn’t think we’d be seeing you here today. Thought my cousins would make sure that you…..that you…..,” Jason broke off, frowning as he scented the air. “Is that cinnamon, sugar and fruit filling that I’m smelling?” he asked, turning his back on them and focusing his attention on searching through Connor’s truck.

Connor was already stepping back and taking Rory with him when several large men around them suddenly stopped, sniffed the air and growled out, “Cinnamon donuts.”

“Let’s go see if my dad is here yet,” Rory said, sounding upbeat and happy while he resigned himself to the day of hell and his truck being ransacked by Bradfords.

“Are you hiding from me or my boys?” the man that he wanted to deck asked as he stepped up beside him.

“Both,” Connor admitted, taking a sip of his lukewarm beer as he looked across the large lake at absolutely nothing.

“Afraid my sons are going to hurt you?” Mr. James asked, sounding curious.

“No,” he said, his grip tightening around his bottle as he forced himself to stand there and not take a swing at the bastard who had it coming.

For the past five hours, he’d been forced to put up with this bastard ignoring Rory, talking down to her and acting indifferently towards her. Several times he had to stop himself from doing something that he’d regret, not that he’d live long if he punched her father with dozens of Bradfords and James around. He honestly didn’t care if they beat the shit out of him. Knowing that it would upset Rory was the only thing that stopped him. Rory deserved so much better than this asshole. She deserved a father that loved her and appreciated her and knew that she was-

“Did you know that Rory is my favorite?” Mr. James said, catching him off guard.

Connor took a sip of his beer, not sure if calling his future father-in-law a lying sack of shit was the way to go on this one. It was painfully obvious, at least to him, that the man hadn’t wanted a daughter. He’d never treated Rory like she was anything special. All he did was push her away. It was clear that the man didn’t have a clue how to deal with a daughter, but he should have tried. Connor had no clue what to do with a little girl either, but if he and Rory were blessed with one, he would damn well do what he had to for her even if that meant dressing up like princesses and playing with Barbies.

“Parents aren’t supposed to have favorites, but the moment that I held Rory in my arms she became my world,” Mr. James said, sounding pleased and that was pretty much what made Connor snap.

“Bullshit,” Connor snapped, moving to take a sip of his piss warm beer when it was suddenly snatched from his hand and just as quickly replaced with a fresh cold beer.

Frowning, and a little surprised that Mr. James hadn’t swung at him, he looked over at the man just as Mr. James tossed his old beer in one of the trash cans that someone placed near the water’s edge, not that it was really needed since everyone was still back at the main campsite, eating. He hadn’t seen anyone in over an hour and he’d been hoping to keep it that way for the rest of the night.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Mr. James said, staring out at the water, “but I love that little girl more than anything and I’m damn proud of her.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” Connor bit out, taking a sip of his beer and joining Mr. James in staring out at the lake.

Mr. James chuckled. “You were a hell of a lot nicer the last time we had this talk,” he said, taking a sip of his beer and still not looking at Connor.

“This talk?” Connor asked, wondering if Mr. James was drunk. He looked over his shoulder to see if he could find one of the man’s sons to help him walk it off, but everyone was still off enjoying the party.

“The talk we had when you showed up on my front doorstep on Rory’s eighteenth birthday and asked permission to marry my daughter,” Mr. James said, reminding him of another humiliating experience that he’d really rather forget.

“Are you going to tell me to fuck off again?” Connor asked, taking a sip of his beer as he did his damndest to ignore the memories of that conversation and how close he’d come to pissing himself.

“That’s not exactly what I said,” Mr. James said, sounding amused.

“Are you going to go for your gun again?” Connor demanded, still pissed that the man wouldn’t even hear him out and when Connor begged, yes, begged, for his permission to marry Rory if he could make up for all the bullshit he’d put her through over the years. The man wouldn't even hear him out before he went for his gun.

“You weren’t ready to get married, Connor,” Mr. James said quietly. “And Rory deserved better than that.”

“I would have taken care of her.”

“I know you would have, Connor,” Mr. James said, surprising him. “You would have worked your ass off and taken damn good care of her as best as an eighteen year old boy could, but it wouldn’t have been enough and it wouldn’t have been fair to either one of you, Connor.”

When Connor didn’t say anything, Mr. James continued. “You would have both struggled. Rory probably would have dropped out of college, because she’s so damn stubborn and she wouldn’t have felt right about you working your ass off to support her. You wouldn’t be where you are today if you’d had a family to hold you back. I know the type of man you are, Connor. You never would have taken a chance starting a business that could have gone belly up if you had a family to support. You both had a lot of growing up to do.”

Connor chuckled without humor, because that’s probably exactly what would have happened, but it still hurt thinking about what could have been. “You’re right. We probably would have started a family too soon and would have struggled just to get by.”

“You were too young and headstrong to see that,” Mr. James said, nodding in agreement.

He turned a glare on the older man. “You could have just said that instead of going for the gun!”

“My way was easier,” Mr. James said, his lips twitching with amusement.

“For who?” Connor asked, glaring at the man.

“For me,” Mr. James said, chuckling as he took another sip of his beer.

“And that’s really all that mattered?” Connor demanded, seeing so much of Rory’s Bradford cousins in the man at the moment that it actually frightened him a little bit.

Mr. James chuckled. “It’s the family way,” he said with a wink.

Connor took a sip of his beer as he turned his attention back to the lake. For a few minutes neither one of them spoke and he should have been fine with that, but he had to ask, “Do you have a problem with me marrying your daughter now?”

“Absolutely none,” Mr. James said, sounding like he meant it.

“Then why have you been glaring at me and pretty much ignoring Rory since you found out that we're engaged?” he demanded, wondering if he’d ever understand this man.

“I can’t let Rory know that I’m actually pleased,” Mr. James scoffed.

“Why the hell not?” Connor asked, thinking that Rory would probably be happy to hear that her father was happy about something in her life.

Mr. James sighed heavily. “And here I thought that you knew my daughter.”

“I know her better than anyone,” Connor argued, finishing off his beer and chucking it into the barrel.

“Then you know that she’s stubborn as hell and will become suspicious if she knows that I actually like you,” Mr. James explained, once again shocking him into silence.

The man actually liked him? That was surprising since he’d done nothing but glare at him since they first met. Of course, he couldn’t forget those times when their little misunderstandings went to court and the man had volunteered to beat some sense into him, at no charge of course.

“I learned very early on that my daughter doesn’t like doing things the easy way. She likes to argue, put her foot down and do the opposite of what’s expected of her. Anytime I’ve tried to support her, she’s either shut down or has given up. It’s only when I’m a cold bastard that she ends up following her heart. It’s what makes Rory, Rory and I wouldn’t change her for anything in the world. I’m banking on you marrying her and making her happy.”

“I will,” Connor promised, hating to admit that the man did have a point. That was also what he loved about Rory, but her stubbornness was also what made him want to bend her over his knees and spank her beautiful ass most days. She was the most frustrating woman that he’d ever met.

“I know you will, because if you don’t, I’m going to give in and let my boys do what they’ve been dying to do for the last twenty-five years and kick your ass.”