Ride Free

by Debra Kayn

“I kind of liked how we met.” Remy shrugged.

  Sarah smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. Your parents have been wonderful to me.”

  “They’re the greatest, aren’t they?” She glanced over her shoulder. “I should probably get in there and save Harley from the mad rush.”

  “Why? You grew up with this same crowd and you turned out okay.” Reefer grinned. “Well, you’re okay now.”

  Margarine slugged him in the shoulder. “I’ll talk to you inside, Sarah. Things will settle down to a dull roar in about an hour, and then we can chat.”

  Remy threw his arm around Margarine’s waist, and before they entered the house, he spanked her on the butt.

  Sarah turned to Reefer. “She’s so beautiful, and he’s…rich.” She waved her hand at the house.

  “Yep, he’s a freaking king or something.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go in and get settled.”

  They entered through the garage and ended up in the kitchen, where Knuckles and Sunflower were fawning over their grandchild. The baby possessed his daddy’s good looks and his mommy’s curls. Sarah stared at the bundle of energy and smiled. Her hands itched to hold the little boy.

  “Looky there, Harley, there’s Uncle Reefer.” Knuckles walked over with the child.

  The little boy spotted him and waved his hands so hard he bonked his grandpa on the nose. Reefer held out his arms, and Harley leaned toward him.

  “Hey, little dude.” He smooched his chubby cheeks. “Are you almost old enough to ride yet? Huh?”

  Sarah ran her hand down the baby’s back. The sight of her guy baby-talking and gushing over Harley sent funny sparks throughout her body. She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked, overwhelmed with everything going on.

  “He’s adorable.” She wanted to take in all his little movements and expressions. “He’s full of smiles. Look at him, Reefer.”

  Reefer passed Harley to her. “You can hold him. He likes everyone.”

  She scrambled to get a good hold on the precious package. “Hi there, sweet thing.”

  Harley smiled. Drool rolled down his chin, and Reefer ran his finger under it to catch the spit before it landed on her. She kissed the side of Harley’s head and ran her hand down his back.

  “You’re really good with babies.” She glanced over at him.

  He shook his head. “Nah, just Harley. We’ve bonded. I’ve never been around any other kids. For some reason this little man doesn’t get all freaked out by leather and long hair.”

  Margarine came into view, and Harley squealed for his mother. Sarah walked him over to her. Reefer’s friend seemed to have everything she desired in life. A motorcycle family, a husband, and the cutest baby she’d ever met.

  “You are very blessed.” She handed over Harley, who reached for his mom.

  “I know. I still wake up wondering how everything worked out the way it did. I have Remy back in my life, my own house, and a baby that is spoiled rotten.” She blew bubbles on his cheeks.

  “Hey, I’m going for a swim. Want to go?” Reefer snuck up and wrapped his arms around Sarah.

  She groaned. “Sorry. My collection of clothes didn’t include a swimsuit.”

  “No problem. I have extras hanging up in the pool house. Thelma and Louise always need suits when they visit.” Margarine hefted the baby to her hip. “Reefer, show her where to go, will you? I need to feed Harley before he shows everyone what a temper he’s developed.”

  “Hm, I bet I know which parent he got his impatience from.” Reefer chuckled.

  “Shut up.” She bumped her hip into Reefer and turned to Sarah. “Just so you know, he got it from Remy. I’m the calm one.”

  “Bullshit!” Reefer placed his arm around Sarah. “Don’t believe a word Margarine’s saying. I don’t know how many times I had to pick you up and carry you out of some place because your mouth got you in trouble.”

  “That was years ago.” Margarine huffed to hide the grin.

  Reefer shook his head. “About nine months ago, actually.”

  Margarine stepped toward Reefer. Sarah pulled Reefer away from the menace of his best friend and laughed at the way the two of them went at each other. Obviously their history included a sibling rivalry in the friendliest of terms.

  She walked with Reefer into the little room off to the side of the pool and found a one-piece swimsuit she hoped would fit her. As she proceeded to undress, she caught Reefer watching and didn’t pass up the opportunity to tease him. It worked, and he rose to the occasion.

  “What are you going to do now, Kitten?” He gazed down at his pants. “I’m not stripping down to a pair of shorts with Reefer Junior showing himself.”

  “Reefer Junior?” She snorted. “Looks like I have something else I need to think of a name for.”

  “Come here.” He pulled her arm, leading her over to the bench until she fell onto his lap. “I can think of several ways on how to get rid of the nameless wonder.”

  “You can, huh?” She snuggled closer.

  Reefer leaned over and flipped the lock on the doorknob. She shrieked.

  “Promise not to make me scream, okay?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Reefer wrote a note for Sarah and placed it on the counter. He gazed at her lying asleep on the motel bed, smiled, and slipped out of the room. He hurried over to his bike and rolled it out of the parking lot. He didn’t want to wake her.

  She’d fallen asleep late last night on Margarine’s couch before they left, and he’d kept her awake earlier this morning at the motel with his need to have her once more. He suspected all the changes and excitement she’d gone through lately had finally caught up with her, and she deserved the added rest.

  Out on the main road, he started the Harley and rode away. He planned to have breakfast with Margarine and her parents. Although their visit together was shorter than normal, he didn’t want to miss catching up with Margarine and enjoying the time when the whole family was together. It was different having Margarine living her own life away from the gang.

  The rising sun broke through the trees lining the narrow street up Knob Hill. He flipped off the headlight and rolled into the Montgomery’s driveway. The difference in his and Remy’s lifestyle lay at opposite ends of the spectrum, but he respected Margarine’s husband.

  He liked Margarine’s husband, even after the troubled start they’d faced in their relationship. The guy stood proud and loved his wife, and that meant everything to Reefer. He wanted only the best for Margarine.

  Margarine opened the door, a cup of coffee in hand.

  “Thanks.” He swigged down his taste of caffeine for the day and strolled inside.

  “You didn’t bring Sarah.” Margarine slapped his arm.

  He grabbed the cup with both hands in case she decided to hit him again. “I’m letting her sleep. She’s worn out with everything that’s happened the last few days.”

  “Well, come on into the kitchen. Mom, Dad, and Remy are already up and on their second cup.” She linked her arm through his. “I love these times when we’re all together. Reminds me of the old days.”

  “You’re getting pretty sentimental like your old man. I don’t know what’s up with him always trying to hug and touch me.” He grunted.

  “Aw, you’ll join the ranks shortly, because you’re in love. I see it in your eyes. Reef the Loner bit the dust and came up spitting.” She laughed.

  The table near full capacity, he pulled up a spare chair and elbowed his way in between Knuckles and Remy. They stared at him expectedly, and he frowned. Has everyone gone crazy?

  He set his cup down. “What?”

  “Nothing. We’ve just been talking about you.” Sunflower smiled and winked at Remy.

  He turned toward Margarine’s husband. “What would you have to say about me? You still owe me for taking you to Margarine.”

  Remy held up his hands. “I didn’t say a thing. Promise.” He grinned.

  Reefer raised the mug to his lips.

  “
When are you going to give me another grandbaby?” Knuckles asked.

  Coffee spewed out of his mouth, over the table, and down his chin. “Where the hell did that come from? I ain’t having no baby.” He brought his shirt up to wipe his face. “Jesus, you don’t have anything else to talk about? A baby’s not in my plans.”

  Everyone around the table sat with stupid, shit-eating grins on their faces. He shook his head in disgust. All of them, except Remy, knew what he’d grown up with. Shit! I’ll never leave the pavement in my lifetime.

  “Where is Harley? I need the little man out here to take all the attention off of my life.” Reefer pushed his mug to the middle of the table and leaned back in his chair.

  ***

  Sarah sat up in bed. She listened for any sound coming from the bathroom and found none. She got out of bed to investigate. The room was empty. Where had Reefer snuck off to, this early in the morning?

  She padded into the corner of the main room that qualified as a kitchen. A piece of paper lay on the counter.

  Sarah,

  Gone to Margarine’s for coffee with family. Sleep. Junior wore you out. Be back later (with Junior).

  Reefer

  She laughed. Such a serious guy, but he did have a sense of humor. How did she get so lucky?

  She showered, dressed, and straightened the room, then walked to the motel office and bought a few postcards. Although she was still in Oregon, she wanted to tell Ellen all about her new family and how easily they had accepted her into the fold.

  She returned to the room, and sat down at the small table to write out a message. She tapped the pen against her lips. She’d have to write tiny, because the postcard lacked the space she needed to tell her everything that had happened. In the end, she’d crammed enough of the highlights of her life so far onto the square piece of paper to satisfy her excitement over sharing her life with her closest friend.

  The clamor of a motorcycle drew her to the window. At the sight of Reefer parking, she hurried and put the postcard in her bag to mail later, and rushed off to the bathroom to run the brush through her half-dried hair. With a giggle, she ran back to the bed, stood on top, and waited.

  The door swung open. Reefer took a step inside, and Sarah jumped through the air. The force of her throwing herself at him knocked them into the door.

  “Welcome home.”

  Her legs wrapped around his waist. Her arms clasped his neck. The expression on his face—priceless. She laughed.

  Reefer’s hands cupped her ass. “Miss me?”

  “Mm, yes I did, King Kong, and did you bring the Mighty Chimp with you?” She wiggled her butt.

  He groaned. “You’re really bad at picking out names, you know that?”

  She kissed him and drew out a moan from him that melted her insides. She pulled back, and smiled. With his eyes half closed, he appeared sexier than ever.

  “I dropped the bag.” He leaned in for another kiss.

  “Mm.” She grabbed his bottom lip between her teeth and nipped. “What does that mean, Howler Monkey?”

  He dropped her to the floor, snarled, and picked up the brown paper bag from the floor. “Better be careful with those names of yours. I might have to come up with something different for you, Sarah.” He wagged his finger in her face and handed her the bag.

  “Ooh, cinnamon rolls.” She sat on the bed and pulled out a pastry covered with icing.

  “Margarine sent them to you, said she missed you this morning.” He shrugged out of his jacket and sat in the chair.

  She swallowed. “Are we going back to her house today?”

  He shook his head. “Not us. Knuckles and Sunflower will spend a couple days with Margarine, but we’re all on our own for a few days.”

  “What are we going to do?” She licked her fingers and handed the other cinnamon roll in the bag to Reefer.

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Well, during the day I thought we’d hang around here. You can play with Junior.” He winked. “At night, we can hit the town…and later, show Junior how to give you a good time.”

  “Oh, that’s the way it works, huh?” She wrinkled her nose. “Do you think Junior—is that his real name?—would mind if I hold him?”

  “Maybe. After I make a quick phone call.” He stood and stepped over to where his bag lay on the floor at the foot of the bed. “I need to call my buddy in Arizona and let him know we’re on for next week. He’s got a painting job for me, should last a week. How does hot, sunny weather sound to you?”

  “Exciting. I’ve never been there.” She moved her bag and jacket off the other chair and threw them on the bed.

  She sat down in the chair to wait for Reefer’s phone call to end. Reefer paced while he talked on the phone, and she studied him. His hair fell around his face, and his free hand motioned through the air while he talked. Having never experienced true love before now, she got caught up in the way he talked, smiled, ate his food, and even how he brushed his hair out of his eyes all the time.

  Every day was a new adventure; she learned things about him every hour. Right now, she found out he owned a cell phone. Maybe later she’d phone the reservation and find out how her da was getting along. She tried to phone every few days to keep tabs on him.

  Reefer leaned over the bed, picked up her jacket, and glared in her direction. “Sawyer, I’ll call you back. Something just came up.”

  Sarah stood, alarmed at the way he stared at her with such contempt in his eyes. “What happened?”

  “Where the hell did this come from?” He held the jacket up in front of her.

  She frowned. “You bought it for me.” She stepped toward him.

  “Stop right there.” He shook the jacket. “The pin. Which one of the members gave it to you?”

  She shook her head. “None of them—”

  “Don’t lie! Who?” He threw the coat across the room.

  Sarah backed up into the door. “You’re scaring me—”

  “Damn it, Sarah. It isn’t a difficult question. Did Sunflower give it to you?” He stepped toward her.

  The doorknob dug into her side. She scrambled to open the door and ran out. She hurried down the steps, around the office building, and searched for somewhere to hide.

  Spotting a bench in a small grassy area lined with trees, she marched over and sat down. She gazed over at the motel, and the tears broke free over her lower lashes.

  She didn’t understand any of this. Why was Reefer mad that she’d pinned her jacket? She’d seen others in the family wear them. One simple little decoration from a friend, and he blew up. All he needed to do was ask and she’d take it off if he didn’t want her to wear it.

  The way his face twisted in anger and the accusation in his voice when he asked who gave her the pin resembled the ugly way her da acted. Such violence waiting to explode, scared her. She swiped her face with her arm. No, Reefer is not my da!

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarah sat outside in the sun for a long time. The skin on her arms grew uncomfortable, but she put off going back to the motel room. She always hated any type of confrontation.

  She stood, moved into the shadow of a tree, and sank down on the grass. With her back against the trunk, she closed her eyes and replayed everything that had happened up in the room, yet she still failed to figure out what bothered Reefer. It doesn’t make sense.

  The only possible explanation was that he thought she’d stolen from another member. Maybe one of the others owned a pin just like the one Ellen gave her. That must be it!

  She opened her eyes and found Reefer standing in front of her, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his mouth set in a firm line.

  “Can we talk?” he asked.

  She nodded and patted the ground. He sat beside her, his legs sprawled out, his back against the tree with his shoulder touching hers. His anger seemed to have dissolved, and he only appeared troubled, almost sad.

  “Reefer—”

  “Sarah, let me talk first…please.” He ran his han
ds down his thighs.

  The way they sat with both their backs against the tree trunk made her unable to see his face, and so she kept her gaze on his legs. Her heart sped up. She worried about what he wanted to tell her. What if he changed his mind about…everything?

  “I was five years old when my mom left us.” He paused. “I haven’t talked about my mom since I was a little kid. Not to anyone.”

  Sarah stared at the hand on his leg. It trembled, and she swallowed. The sympathy inside her for the little boy who’d lost his mother swelled in her chest. What kind of mother left a little boy? Her baby?

  “She and my dad loved each other, or at least my dad loved her. I don’t know what happened, but one day she up and left us. Dad almost went insane with grief. The only thing that held him together was the family, the other members.” His hand balled into a fist.

  She scooted around to face him and gathered his hand into both of hers. Afraid he’d stop talking if she interrupted, she kept silent.

  “I missed her, but hated her more for leaving. Years went by, and I swore to myself that I’d never speak of her again. Later, when I was a teenager, my dad got real sick. I found out he had a brain tumor too big to operate on.” He inhaled and lifted his face to stare at Sarah. “Couple weeks later, I was all alone. Thank God Knuckles and Sunflower stepped up and kept me with them.”

  “Oh, Reefer. I am so sorry.” She ran her hand down his face.

  He sniffed. “I saw that pin on your jacket, and I remember seeing one exactly like that on my mom’s shirt. She wore it all the time.” He snorted. “There’s probably a million pins with that saying on them, but for a minute it all took me back to that day I came home from school to find her gone, and I hated her all over again.”

  Sarah crawled over and climbed into his lap. “I’ll take it off the jacket. It’s only a token of my friendship with Ellen, and I don’t need a gift to remind me of that.”

  “No. Keep it. I overreacted.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I scared you. I hope you know I would never ever lay a hand on you or any woman. Even spitting mad, I’m not the type of man who’d harm you…although I’m sure once in a while my mouth will operate before my brain starts working.”