Throttle MC: A Stepbrother Romance by Daphne Loveling Page B

watched her turn and look across the garage.  Her eyes widened in shock and recognition, and she broke into a wide smile as she saw Jimmy come striding toward her.  He lifted her up and engulfed her in a big bear hug as she squealed: “Jimmy! Oh my God!”
    My initial reaction of surprise turned to barely suppressed rage as I watched their reunion.  I saw him press her tight little body up against him, and felt a sudden urge to murder the motherfucker.  Calm down, Ryker. 
    I walked over to Lon and said in what I hoped was a neutral tone, “Those two know each other, eh?”
    “Yeah,” he replied, his voice conveying nothing.  They were playmates as kids.” I knew Jimmy had been around longer than me, but I didn’t know it was that much longer. I grunted and continued to watch them out of the corner of my eye.
    “You back for good?” Jimmy was asking her.
    “No, just for a little while,” she replied, a happy grin on her face as she looked up at him.
    “I was the one fixed your car,” Jimmy said proudly.  “Did a complete tune-up.  Should be running like a top now.”
    She laughed easily.  “That’d be a first.” The warm smile she gave him made my blood beat in my temples.  “You look good, Jimmy.”
    I turned in disgust and walked back to the clubhouse. If I had to watch more of this, I was gonna blow my stack.  Even more so because I had absolutely no right to be so fucked up about this. Hadley was not mine.  She never would be mine.  For all intents and purposes, she was my fucking sister.  And I had damn well better put what happened this morning out of my mind and get used to that fact. 
    Back inside, I ignored the fact that it was still the morning and went to the bar to grab a bottle of beer.  Opening it, I took a long, deep swig.  I closed my eyes as I swallowed, trying to mentally clear my mind.  Focus.  Stop thinking about Hadley.  This morning never happened.
     It never fucking happened.
    Benny was sitting at the bar watching TV, and I wandered over to shoot the shit with him.  He’s a funny fucker, always good for a story, and I was hoping he’d keep my mind off things.  But my efforts to get away from the fucking Hadley-Jimmy reunion show didn’t quite work, because a few minutes later I heard their voices behind me as they entered the clubhouse.  Jimmy was saying something in a low voice, and Hadley laughed -- a bright, happy sound that just made my mood that much worse.  For some reason, it infuriated me that Jimmy could make her laugh like that.  The easy way she touched his arm as they talked made me want to go over there and bash his fucking skull in. I wondered if they had ever been more than friends, back in the day. I was hit by a wave of almost uncontrollable rage at the thought. Goddamn.   I had to get control of that shit.
    “Shit, Hads,” Jimmy was saying to her, “You’ve gone all college girl on me.  You need a good dose of Cheyenne to bring you back to normal.” He threw his arm around her shoulders possessively. “Let’s go on a ride this afternoon.  Go hang out, like old times.”
    Hadley smiled, but moved away from him slightly, detaching his arm from her.  “Maybe later, Jimmy.  I’m still getting my bearings.  Rain check?”
    Jimmy’s expression darkened, and a flicker of anger was quickly replaced by an easy grin.  “Yeah, sure.  Maybe tomorrow?”
    “Maybe,” Hadley nodded.  “And thanks for fixing my car, Jimmy.  I really appreciate it.”
    “Hey, no problem,” he practically crowed.  “Your dad wanted the best mechanic to take care of it, so...” I stifled a snort of laughter.  Fuckin’ Jimmy was far from being the best mechanic on staff.  I thought it was a lot more likely that when Lon told the garage whose car it was, Jimmy had taken it upon himself to fix it.  I was beginning to think Jimmy had designs on Hadley, and I realized with a surge of frustration that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about