Ride Free

by Debra Kayn

  Sarah crawled out of the tent on all four limbs, groaning the whole way. “How long was I asleep?”

  “A few hours.” He held her hand and shone the flashlight in front of them to light their path. “He’s over at Knuckles’ spot. Just to warn you, he’s giving the others a few problems because he drank too much. If you’re uncomfortable treating him, you don’t have to.”

  “I’ll be okay. Does anyone have any first aid supplies?” She picked up the pace now that her muscles had loosened up.

  “Yep. Sunflower carries a pack.” He led the way through the crowd of members who circled the campfire.

  “Get the hell away from me!” Crank stood up and weaved past the others.

  Knuckles held up his fist. “So help me, Crank, I will punch you in the face if you don’t sit down and shut up.”

  Blood flowed down the injured man’s face, and in the light of the fire still going in the pit, the side of his forehead gaped open a good inch. Reefer’s jaw tightened. Oh, Jesus.

  Reefer stepped up and put himself between Crank and Sarah. “Sit down, Crank. I’ve brought Sarah to fix you up.”

  He swung out with his arm. “I don’t need no help.”

  “Fine, but your wife doesn’t want you back in the tent with your head bashed open.” He backed away.

  Sarah stepped forward, and Reefer grabbed her hand. He didn’t want her to place herself in Crank’s path with him still riled up. She wasn’t aware of the temper Crank got under the influence. He’d witnessed the other man in action, and this was the second time he’d walked away with injuries that required medical attention.

  “Stay back, Sarah. At worst, we wait for him to pass out, and then you can treat him.” Reefer glared at his biker brother.

  Crank sank back on the stump, mumbled incoherently, and seemed to settle down. Sarah shivered from the cold, and Reefer wrapped his arms around her from behind. Hopefully with everyone ignoring him, the drink would soon overtake Crank.

  “I think he’s out.” Knuckles waved his hand in front of Crank’s bowed head.

  “Go ahead.” Reefer let go of her. “Let me know what you want me to do to help.”

  Sarah inched closer. Sunflower handed her a wet towel. She bent over and examined the wound. Reefer stepped up to assist, but stayed out of the light from the fire.

  She placed the towel on Crank’s head.

  Crank burst from his sitting position. His hands swung out. One meaty fist connected with Sarah’s face, and she fell backwards. With a reflex that surprised him, Reefer punched the injured man and laid him out at his feet. Rage flared out every pore in his body, and he leaned over the man and punched him in the face again.

  “Reefer, stop! You’ve knocked him out cold.” Knuckles wrapped his arms around Reefer and pulled him away.

  “Let me go!” Reefer struggled against the bigger man. “He hit Sarah!”

  “I’m okay.” Sarah struggled to her feet. “Let him go, Knuckles.”

  She wrapped her arm around Reefer and held her cheek with the other. “I’ll be okay. Let me work on him while he’s out.”

  “Let me see your face.” Reefer put his finger under her chin to tilt her head toward the light. “I’m going to kill him.”

  “I’ll live. He needs that head wound treated and the flow of blood to stop.” She stepped around him and turned to Sunflower. “Will you help me?”

  The two women worked at cleaning up Crank. Sarah used needle and thread to make tiny, tight stitches across Crank’s hairline and covered it with a bandage to keep it clean. Reefer kept a close eye on any movement that came from the man, but he remained passed out.

  “I’ll take the stitches out in a week. He might have a bigger scar than if a doctor stitched him up, but at least he shouldn’t get an infection.” Sarah gazed down at her blood-covered hands.

  “I’ll walk you over to the bathrooms, and you can clean up.” Reefer guided her away. “He didn’t deserve your treatment. Trust me, when the asshole can remember where he is, he’s going to hate to see me coming at him.”

  “Leave it, Reefer. I don’t want you getting hurt or harming someone else.” She yawned.

  He snorted. Like hell! I owe Crank an ass whooping for laying hands on my woman.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The birds chirped, and the light from the sun beating down on their little camping spot created a cozy haven inside the tent. Sarah stretched to test her muscles and smiled over finding most of the soreness gone. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around Reefer. Today’s non-stop journey would keep Reefer busy, and she wanted to get her snuggle time in before the long day began.

  She smiled up into his face.

  “That dirty son of a bitch.” He sat up, grabbed his boots, and tore out of the tent.

  Sarah scrambled through the flap. “Reefer, stop—”

  She smacked into the back of Reefer. Knuckles held Reefer’s arms to his side in a bear hug, not letting him go anywhere near Crank. The injured man stood off to the side, his head bowed.

  “Get the hell out of here, Crank!” Reefer strained against the hold on him.

  Knuckles used his heavier weight to push him back farther. “Hold on, Son. Crank came to say something to Sarah.”

  Her gaze switched from Reefer to Crank and back again. She didn’t want trouble between the men. Last night’s injury to her face happened by accident. She understood and accepted it.

  She stepped around Reefer and approached Crank. “What did you want to tell me?”

  “Get away from him, Sarah.” Reefer grunted. “Let go of me!”

  “I’m sorry. Knuckles explained what I did this morning.” Tears ran down Crank’s face. “I’ve never hit a woman in my life.”

  “It’s okay. It was an accident. You didn’t know what you were doing, and it was just a reaction from the cold towel I laid on your head.” Sarah stepped closer.

  “Sarah!”

  She ignored Reefer. She brushed the hair off the bandage on Crank’s head and checked for leakage. The dressing appeared dry and clean. She patted his arm.

  “Keep the bandage on for the rest of the day. Especially with us riding. I’ll take a look at it tonight, and we’ll see about taking it off and letting air to the stitches. Most important thing is to keep it clean and dry.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Reefer stayed back. “If your head starts to ache, let Reefer know on the ride, okay?”

  Crank nodded. “I owe you. I swear I am going to make it up to you…” He lifted his head and glanced at the man he called brother. “And Reefer.”

  Sarah patted his arm one last time and moved over to Knuckles. “You can let go of him.”

  Reefer broke out of Knuckles’ grasp and stepped forward. She planted her hand in the middle of his chest. His chest rose and fell beneath her palm.

  “Let it go. It was an accident.” She turned him around and whispered, “Come back to the tent. I think we might have a few moments, and I can think of a couple ways for you to relax.”

  No sooner did they sit down in the tent, then Knuckles bellowed, “Ten minutes to ride.”

  She stuck out her bottom lip, and Reefer tilted her face up. She shook her head. With no idea what her face resembled, she could tell from the way his eyes narrowed that it wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “It doesn’t hurt. More of a dull ache from the swelling. He really didn’t mean to hit me. He was just fighting to get away from the towel that caused him pain.” She gathered his hand and kissed his fist.

  “I know that, but it doesn’t change the fact he hit my woman.” Reefer snorted.

  Sarah rolled the sleeping bags, and Reefer dismantled the tent. She carried their bags to the bike, and he ambled over to Vixen’s trailer to put away the supplies. She stopped a few feet from Reefer’s Harley. A handful of bleeding hearts lay on the seat. She picked them up and smiled. She didn’t have to guess who placed them there.

  “Where did the flowers come from?” Reefer came up behind her and wrapped
his arms around her waist.

  “One guess?” Sentimental tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

  His arms lost their firmness, and he sighed. “Good. He owes you.”

  One after another, motorcycles revved and moved in sync out of the campground. Reefer brought up the end, and she looked forward to viewing a part of the country she’d never experienced before. Yesterday’s disaster forgotten, she only thought of what lay ahead.

  ***

  Most of the members decided to camp out; others found a motel. The weather was more extreme than Sarah imagined, and she sank back on the bike in relief at the news that they’d be staying at a cottage owned by Reefer’s employer. At the moment, air conditioning sounded way more appealing than hard ground.

  She jumped in the shower after Reefer got done and washed the road dust off. She closed her eyes and stood under the water, letting it beat down on her shoulders. The ride today had ended up being more stressful than previous days because of the back-to-back traffic through the inner cities.

  Reefer came inside the bathroom, and she opened her eyes.

  “Hey, Kitten? You want to stay in, and I’ll order pizza?” Reefer tossed a towel over the glass enclosure.

  “Sure.” She wiped her eyes on the towel. “No anchovies, though.”

  “Gross. No way.”

  After the bathroom door closed, she spent a little longer in the shower scrubbing the road dust off. The weather and wind had dried out her hair, and she added extra conditioner. Her scalp tender, she realized that the top of her head had probably gotten sunburned.

  She walked out to the main room in a pair of panties and T-shirt. The aroma of pizza sauce and pepperoni wafted through the air, and she sniffed. Reefer lay across the bed on his side, the pizza box beside him. She sat down and rubbed her belly.

  “I’m starved.” She opened the box and picked a pepperoni off the top.

  They both sat on the bed and finished the whole pizza. Sarah fell back on the pillow holding her stomach. Contentment washed over her, and she smiled over at Reefer.

  “I ate too much.” She groaned.

  He picked up the box and set it on the floor. “Four pieces doesn’t exactly qualify as ‘too much.’” He laughed and lay down beside her. “Your face is looking better.” He ran the backside of his finger down her cheek.

  She smiled. “It was nice of you to shake Crank’s hand. Maybe now he’ll give up on the little gifts he thinks he owes me.”

  Each time the group made a pit stop, she found a token from Crank. Everything from flowers, a bandana, a promise written on a ripped piece of paper stating he’d never drink again, and even another pin to attach to her jacket. This one stated: “I Heart California.”

  “What are you thinking?” Reefer gazed at her.

  She laid her head down on her arm. “Everything has changed so fast, and for the better. I never realized how alone I had become before you came riding into my life.”

  “I know what you mean. Life has a purpose now.” He ran his hand along her hip. “Sometimes I wake up and reach out for you, just to make sure you’re still here.”

  “I’ll always remain with you.” She linked her fingers with his.

  The way he reached out to touch her reinforced the fact that he loved her. Deep down, she found she craved the simplest attention she’d lacked in her childhood.

  “Where do we go from here?” She wiggled closer.

  “We have a week, and—”

  “No, not the next destination, but with us… Do we ride together for the rest of our lives?” She raised her eyebrows. “I’m all for living in the moment and changing towns with the season, but what do you want?”

  He kissed her forehead and tucked her head against his chest. “I don’t know. I do know I never want to give up my family and I want you beside me every minute of the day.”

  “Do you ever think about a family of your own? Babies?” she whispered. His heart beat against her ear, and she wondered if the topic scared him, or if he ever thought about what their lovemaking might produce.

  “Before I met you, I’d say I didn’t plan on having a family. My job as the end man fulfilled me.” He paused.

  She waited, afraid to breathe or move. She wanted to hear how much he loved her and was glad to have her in his life, but she knew his devotion to the gang came before anything else. Only recently, observing him with Margarine’s baby, did she realize how much she craved a child of her own. What if he never wanted the responsibilities of a family?

  “It scares me to death. That bundle of responsibility. I do odd jobs when they’re available, but I can’t count on what comes next week. Having a kid means changing my whole life. Finding a place to hole up to allow a child to get an education.” He rubbed her back. “It didn’t really work out for my parents, but I watched Knuckles and Sunflower do it right. Now Margarine lives her own life while still staying connected to the family.” He stopped the massage and brushed his hair back from his face. “Along with finding you and loving you more each day, I think about it. I can’t say I’m positive I want to pull out of the family at this point in my life, but in a few months, a couple years, I can see myself holding my own child and coming home to you after work.”

  Sarah’s eyes grew round, and she dared not lift her head. His whole speech sunk in, and she sniffed. He wants to have a family.

  “Are you crying?” He leaned back and lifted her chin. “Why are you crying?”

  “That is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard you say. And the longest string of sentences you’ve spoken at once.” She hiccupped and sniffed again. “I want the same things with you. I’ll wait, and even go from one side of the country to the other with you. We have lots of time for both of us to be ready.”

  She kissed him. Her lips trembled, and she laughed. “I bet you’re exhausted after all that talking, Tough Guy.”

  He groaned, and then his upper body shook with laughter. “What is with you and these names you keep trying out? Isn’t Reefer cool enough?”

  “It just feels like I should call you something significant. Calling you babe, sweetie, or dear just doesn’t cut it. You’re more than those.” She pinched her mouth over to the side. “I got it. I can call you Chatterbox.”

  He gifted her with an open-mouth smile and chuckle. “You’re crazy! I’d have a hard time looking mean and tough with a name like that.”

  “Okay, I’ll keep thinking, but I’m not giving up. I’ll come up with something spectacular that will impress you.” She grinned.

  ***

  By the time Sarah woke up, Reefer had already left for the painting job, and beside the coffeepot lay a note, along with his cell phone. She read the piece of paper and smiled. He must have known she wanted to call and check up on her da.

  She carried the phone over to the rocking chair by the front window and proceeded to dial the number for Bill’s house. She gazed out at the cactus in the yard and marveled at the way she went from a coast range last week to the desert this week. The scenery seemed to changed in the blink of an eye.

  Bill was headed out the door, but let her know her da still relied on the bottle to escape the life he’d built for himself. Sarah asked him to write down Reefer’s number in case an emergency cropped up and she was needed at the reservation. Despite her lack of involvement in his everyday care, she knew she’d find a way to get back if her da needed her. She’d accepted that way of life a long time ago.

  She wandered aimlessly around the cottage, bored out of her mind with nothing to do. She second-guessed her decision to stay there for the week. At least if she were at the campsite with the other members she’d have someone to talk with.

  She scanned the books in the bookcase and found a romance novel that piqued her curiosity. She carried it outside and sat in one of the lounge chairs. The morning sun proved bearable, and she soon lost herself between the pages, reading about a duke who fell in love with a woman from the other side of the tracks.

&n
bsp; The sound of Reefer’s motorcycle drew her away from the story, and she realized that she’d read most of the book. Her stomach growled. Hopefully, Reefer brought lunch with him.

  She walked around the cottage and found Reefer. Covered with splotches of paint, he held up a white Styrofoam container.

  “Mm, what do you have there?”

  “Fish and chips.”

  “Did you come home just to give me lunch?” She rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss.

  He placed his arm over her shoulders and walked back to the cottage with her. “Nope, it’s too hot to paint in the afternoons, so we work early in the morning until noon. It dawned on me that I left you with no money and no food inside. I’m used to eating on the go and only worrying about myself. Sorry.”

  “That’s okay. I have a little money of my own and could have walked a few blocks to the store.” She took the food from him and followed him into the cottage.

  She stepped over to the cupboards to search for two plates. After separating the food, she handed a plate to Reefer.

  “What kind of house are you painting?” She took a seat at the table.

  “Not a house. A row of single-story business offices downtown.” He chuckled. “I hate heights, so it’s not bad at all. There are eight of us working, and shouldn’t take too long to finish the job.”

  “This is really good.” She held up a piece of deep fried cod.

  “Mmhmm.” He chewed and nodded. “You want to stay here for the rest of the day or ride back to the campground with me to check on the others?”

  “I’ll ride.” She wiped her hands on a paper napkin. “Are they staying very far from here?”

  He shook his head.

  “I wouldn’t mind if we stayed with them. It gets a little boring here, holed up by myself during the day.” She picked up Reefer’s plate, carried it to the sink, and searched for the dish soap.

  “You sure?” He stepped up beside her and brushed her hair back over her shoulder.

  She smiled. “Positive.”