Hard Charger: Jake & Sophia: A Hot Contemporary Romance by Tracy Fobes Read Free Book Online

been hustled.
    “C’mon, let’s go,” Elena said to Staci, and then both girls left, leaving Jake feeling sick with the knowledge that within two weeks of coming home, he’d had sex with a prostitute, had been caught in the act by the one girl who meant something to him, and had proven himself a jackass, just as the bus driver had shouted earlier that night.
    He was Kurt Gallent’s son, all right.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Five minutes later, Jake was riding his motorcycle back home.  The time had crept past 1 AM, and so the drive home was peaceful, with the roads awash in silvery light from a crescent moon, and fog hugging the dips and lower-lying areas on either side of him.  Even the tranquility that came with the night couldn’t soothe his spirit, though.  A deep disquiet had grabbed hold of him.  He kept thinking about how badly he’d fucked up in front of Sophia.  Was there an award for fuckups?  If so, Jake felt certain he would have won it tonight.
    He also continued to mull over Ray’s strange cageyness when he’d talked about restoring the roadhouse.   And what Alex had meant by ‘ From Russia with Love .’  A lot more had changed in Rockport Grove than was apparent to the eye.  Jake was starting to get the feeling that Hurricane Sandy hadn’t been the only storm passing through town. 
    It was with these misgivings that he pulled into the driveway outside his mom’s house and saw his dad’s old Harley parked there, just outside the garage.  The porch light shined upon it, making the exhaust system, the front forks and all of the other chrome on it sparkle.  Jake had a sudden, startling sense of Deja-vu that, coupled with his misgivings and disquiet, made him feel like some higher power had it out for him tonight.
    The Harley had sparkled like that on the last night Jake had ever seen his dad...
    He pulled up next to the Harley, put the bike in first gear and hit the kill switch.  The CB450’s engine quieted down reluctantly before cutting out entirely.  He put the kickstand down and dismounted.
    A door next to the double-bay garage doors opened and his Uncle Martin strolled out.
    Jake eyed his uncle in his leather Rebel Grove Guardians jacket and frowned, his sense of Deja-vu increasing.  His uncle remained a member of the same motorcycle club his dad once belonged to.  He even looked like his dad in the darkness: a wide, square face, snub nose, smallish eyes that often glinted with humor; and longer brown-gray hair swept back from his face.  If Jake didn’t know better, he might have thought he was talking to the ghost of his long-dead father. “Uncle Martin.  What are you doing here?” 
    Martin shrugged.  “I was here talking to your mom a while ago, and then I got the itch to look at Kurt’s old bike.  I’ve been working on it.  Guess time got away from me.”
    Jake looked at the deer skull on his uncle’s motorcycle jacket and twisted his lips into a grimace.
    His uncle took a step forward and looked at Jake with a penetrating gaze.  “Everything okay, son?”
    “Yeah, sure.  Just tired.”  Jake deliberately glanced toward the front door.  That was where he wanted to go—inside the house, and to his bed.
    Martin continued to gaze at Jake.  “You’ve been home two weeks now.  How are you doing?”
    “I’m fine.  Why do you ask?”
    “You were gone for ten years, and you didn’t take a single furlough here at home.  That’s a long time, Jake.”
    Jake shrugged.  “When I had a furlough, I took the opportunity to see the world.  What’s wrong with that?”
    “Nothing.  Happy to be home?”
    “Of course.”  Jake lifted his eyebrows.  “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    Martin shook his head.  “Adjusting to civilian life isn’t easy.  You end up feeling like you’re outside, looking in.”
    His uncle had fought in ’Nam, so Jake knew he spoke from experience.  He considered opening up about his vision of the girl earlier that evening, but