“Hi Stevie.”
“Cad.”
That she recognises his voice doesn’t surprise me.
It’s about a quarter of a mile from here to the cabin. As Cad points out the potholes to avoid, I mention my surprise, “Thought this was going to be a primitive escape.”
“Yeah, it would have been in the past, but this is Sparky’s and my baby. We both like to hunt, so use it as a base. Fixed it up with some surprises. You know the history?”
I nod, conscious of Stevie in the back.
Cad raises his chin back. “Let’s just say, your woman there is not the first to need somewhere to hole up.”
The Colorado MC, before Hellfire patched the club over to the Satan’s Devils, had had a bad rep. I have my suspicions this cabin was used more than once to provide refuge for someone to lie low.
“It’s also a good retreat for the club. Bigger than you expect, I think.”
“Electricity?”
“Via solar panels again. Sparky put that in. Provides enough for the basics. Cooking and heating is via the wood-burning stove.”
“Water?”
“We’ve diverted some from a stream that keeps a tank filled. Toilet is a porta potty though. Prospects have brought plenty of bottled water for you to drink.”
“I’m looking forward to this.” Stevie’s voice actually sounds excited. “How old is the cabin?”
“The original frame must have been built a couple hundred years ago. It’s been added onto since.”
I smile to myself. It could be a lot worse. She could be complaining about the lack of facilities. Glancing in the rearview mirror I notice her brief spell of delight has gone.
“What is it?”
“I was just thinking how much Max would have loved it here.”
Cad replies for me, “Won’t be long before he’s here with you. May not be running around quite how he used to yet, but he’ll enjoy sniffing out the squirrels and deer.”
A cabin, indeed larger than I was expecting, appears ahead. We’re here. Cad directs me to a lean-to where I can park.
I help Stevie out as Cad grabs her bag.
“Ground’s flat, but a little uneven.” She nods and grips my elbow. I lead her slowly up to the front door. “There’s a step.”
Once the door is opened, various smells greet us. Disinfectant, polish, and an underlying mustiness as though the place has been shut up for some time. I nod at the men finishing cleaning up.
“Who’s here?”
Damn. Forgot again. “Wills and Dan, the prospects. They’ve cleaned it for us, Stevie. Done a fine job too.”
“Clean sheets on the beds.”
“Thanks Dan.” Beds. Plural. Good. I won’t be sleeping on that very uncomfortable-for-my-size looking couch.
“I’m Sparky.” He comes up and introduces himself. “You’ve got lights, hot water, fridge but that’s about all. No AC I’m afraid. Fixed up a charging point for your phones and shit.” He points over to a corner. “Got a TV but you won’t get a signal. There’s a DVD player and a stack of DVDs.”
“Board games in the cupboard,” Cad adds. I ignore that. No use for Stevie.
“Wi-Fi?”
“Nah. Not out here. And to be honest, haven’t tried to put it in. Too tempting and too fuckin’ easy to slip up.”
Guess I don’t have to worry about her posting to Facebook.
“Any chance I could get something I could listen to books on?” Stevie asks. “I love to read.”
“I’ve got something back at the club. I’ll ask the girls what they recommend.”
“In the circumstances, a good MC romance series would be good.” Stevie nudges me. “I could get an idea of what I can expect from you and your brothers.”
“Fiction, woman, those authors have no fuckin’ idea, ‘cept for the handsome part. We’re all handsome as fuck. Except for Beef that is.”
I growl deep down in my throat as I glare at Sparky. And what’s he got to talk about? Yeah, he’s okay, a bit rough around the edges, but handsome? Not my type.
“We’re finished.” Dan and Wills reappear. “We’ll be back on Saturday to empty the porta potty, and we’ll bring more water. Any particular food you want? We’ve stocked up with the basics.”
While Stevie gives them a short list including the brand of cereal she likes, I muse it’s a shame the hunting season hasn’t started just yet. I could see myself being the man and shooting a bow and arrow to bag some fresh meat.
With the excuse they’re just showing me where it is, Sparky and Cad grab themselves beers, and drink them fast. Then, they’re gone.
As the sound of the engines fades into the distance, quiet, apart from the sounds of nature outside, descends. We’re alone. Two virtual strangers who are going to be living together for the foreseeable future. The strangeness of it hits me with a force I didn’t expect. I can’t remember a time when I’ve had no brothers around. Despite the woman standing close, loneliness floods through me.
Stevie clears her throat. “Um, could you show me around, Beef?”
Her request gives me something to do, something to focus on. It’s no problem, I want to explore too. Get to know where everything is. Make sure I can reach the hidden weapons when I need to and where the spare ammunition is kept.
The cabin has a main living area, its focal point a huge fireplace with a log-burning stove. Off to the side is a kitchen area, sink, fridge, cupboards and a pantry. Off that is a small bathroom with a rudimentary shower and sink. There’s a double bed curtained off to the opposite side of the living area, and steep rickety stairs leading up to the loft which has been divided into two rooms, each with a queen-sized bed. All beds have been made up, so we have a choice.
Even though it was warm, verging on hot in Pueblo, though nothing like the temperatures I’ve been used to back home, up here in the mountains it’s pleasantly cool. The prospects have opened the windows presumably to air the place, and I’m pleased to see screens have been installed to keep out the worst of the bugs. A nice breeze is blowing through. I make a note to close them later, when the sun goes down. I expect it will grow chilly.
Stevie’s counted the stairs and is feeling her way around the room. She’d asked me to place her hand on the furniture, and there’s a little frown on her face that suggests she’s mapping it out in her head.
I’m trying to work out sleeping arrangements. It must be easier for her to sleep downstairs, but then that’s my place, where I can be the first obstacle anyone would face if they came to the cabin.
“I like this room.”
“You gonna be okay with the stairs?” I’m thinking about her needing to use the outhouse in the night.
“I’ll be fine. Might take me a short while to get my bearings, but I’ve got this, Beef.”
Her confidence continues to surprise me. I wonder whether it helps that she lost her sight gradually, rather than suddenly, or whether she’d have been the same if she was born that way. I close my eyes, trying to experience the world as she knows it. Immediately I feel unsafe, and don’t want to move in case I forget where the stairs are and fall down them.
She, though, admittedly with her hand to the wall, starts walking purposefully to the staircase, and quickly is back on the ground floor. But then, she stops, and more hesitantly moves across the open space making her way back to the couch. She’s moving slowly, and she finds it when her foot touches it.
Having been watching her carefully, I have an idea. “I’ll just be a moment.”
Leaving her to think I’m taking a piss or whatever, I step out the front door. I’d seen something on the way in as I’d been examining our surroundings, getting to know the lay of the land. There, along with the pile of chopped wood, are some sticks. Not sure why they’re here, ready to be made into kindling, perhaps? They’re the type used to prop up plants. I think it might do the job. I pick up a likely one and with my knife, strip anything sharp from it. Soon I have a workable cane.
Tak
ing it back inside, I raise her hand and pass it to her. “A stick. It’s not white, but will it help?”
“Jeez, the colour doesn’t matter. But yeah, this is great, Beef.” She stands, and with her makeshift cane waving back and forth in front of her, now has a more purposeful stride as she walks in the direction of the kitchen. “You hungry, Beef?”
Always.
I follow her, making an assessment of our options. A wood-burning stove is not something you can switch on and off, and it will take a while to warm. But opening the fridge I see a couple of steaks and had noticed a grill outside.
“Steaks? I’ll cook them. There are the makings of a salad here.”
“That will do. I’ll make the salad, you go do your man thing.” She starts opening drawers and feeling around for what’s there.
When I first see her with a sharp knife attacking the lettuce I’m worried, but then realise she’s been fending for herself a long time and knows exactly what to do. There’s actually something sexy in the ways she’s so competent, so self-sufficient. When I offer to help, she shoos me away.
We work well together, with me outside cooking and her doing the rest of the stuff. It’s not long before the meat’s done, and the trimmings prepared. We sit on the couch to eat, with plates propped on our knees.
It’s easy, conversation flows naturally. She seems to be relaxed so I take my chance.
“You going to tell me why you’re in hiding?” I ask, swallowing a mouthful of steak, which I swear always tastes better when it’s been cooked outdoors.
“No.” Her hair flies around her face with her negative action. “I don’t want to embroil you any deeper than you already are.” She puts down her fork. “Beef, I can tell you’re a man who thinks they can sort out the world for everyone else, but this is one situation you have no control over. The short story is what you already know, I have to keep out of sight until the court case, then I give my testimony. The bad guys get sent down, and hopefully I’ll be able to return to my life.”
“Really?” I frown. “Usually people give up their old life for good. You really think you’re going to be able to return home?”
For the first time since I’ve met her, her face falls. Apart from her sorrow and worry about Max, she always manages to stay positive. Within seconds, her mask is back in place. “The marshals did suggest this could be for good, but I can’t believe that. Once the men are put away, I’ll be free again.”
She’s naïve if she thinks that. Whoever she’s up against will have friends on the outside or will make ones on the inside who are coming up for release. If her life’s at risk now, even when it’s all over, going home will likely mean she ends up dead. Even if the damage has already been done, if people end up convicted, they may want revenge. Can’t tell until I know who she’s going up against.
“Tell me, Stevie. I might be able to help. Tell me who they are.” If I know, maybe I can assess whether there could be a lingering threat. The Mafia, for example, would never forget or forgive.
Again, her head moves side to side. “What if you think I’m wrong, Beef? What if you don’t agree with what I’m doing?”
“Fuck, woman,” I snarl. “There’re people wanting to kill you. You think I’d side with them? Running Max down, setting fire to your house… You think I’ll take their side rather than yours? Don’t give a damn who they are. They’re already dead for what they’ve tried to do to you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Over the next couple of days I try at odd times to catch her out at a weak moment, but she continues to refuse to enlighten me. I grow more concerned about why she’s not sharing who’s after her. Why would she think there’s a chance I’d side with them? The thought concerns me, and I begin to grow suspicious.
When I push, she clams up and while it’s normally easy to get along, my reference to what info she’s holding makes things awkward between us, an awkwardness that’s uncomfortable. Knowing the door is firmly closed, I decide to avoid the issue until I find a key to unlock it. Surely, she’ll weaken and let something slip?
So after my futile and clumsy attempts to get her to open up, we skirt around the reason why she’s here, and instead start learning about our new home. Cooking on the wood-burning stove is a bit of a test, for us both, but our endeavours do provide fodder for a lot of laughs.
It’s like being on a vacation, I don’t think I’ve felt so relaxed for years. Sure, living on the compound in Tucson was easy: the women did most of the cooking, the prospects kept the place clean, I had little to do but work, drink, sleep with whores and enjoy the company of the men. There’s something about being here with Stevie that’s taken me by surprise. I forget I’m missing the company of my brothers and simply appreciate being with her.
With Sally I’d always felt on tenterhooks, waiting to do or say the wrong thing. Me clomping in too heavily would get her startling as though expecting me to raise my hand to her. Stevie just laughs and tells me there’s no way she’d ever mistake me for anyone else. I’m a big man, I stomp. I can’t help it.
She constantly amazes me. One afternoon I walk in to find her cooking, opening a can of tomatoes and adding them to a pan. It takes me a moment to decide what’s wrong about the situation.
“How the fuck did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That cupboard is full of tins. How did you know there’re tomatoes in that can?”
“Tomatoes? Damn. I wanted beans.” She pouts and frowns.
Realising she’s pulling my leg. I walk closer. “Woman,” I growl.
She sighs and takes sympathy on me. “In the old days I’d do it a number of ways. Have someone help me unpack my shopping and put on different tags so I could tell the difference. Elastic bands around certain things for example, raised stickers for another. Sometimes you can get a feel for the contents by shaking it. Obviously no one’s helped me here, so I’m afraid there are a lot of opened cans in the trash.”
Fuck. I should have helped her. She hadn’t asked. Guiltily, I take a step toward the bin to see just how much food she’s wasted simply to find the right can.
Her giggling stops me. “I’m joking. Now, I have better tools.” She reaches into her pocket and takes out the high-end phone I notice she’d got from Cad. “Come here, watch.”
Waving me nearer, she asks the phone to call up an app. She then places it in front of the tin. Her phone reads the writing on the front, clearly telling her it contains the contents she wanted.
“Christ, that’s neat.”
“Yeah, makes life much easier. Another app recognises bank notes and tells me the denomination. Technology has really helped me become more independent.”
“You have to check your bills every time?”
“No. Once I know what it is, I fold the corner or fold it in half. I’ve got my system.”
Again, I nod admiringly.
Seeing I’m interested, she takes the pan off the heat, and leans back against the counter. “Then there are clothes. All the ones I lost in the fire were marked. I use different shaped buttons to separate the different colours.”
“How do you know what to start with?”
A look of pain briefly crosses her face. “That’s where my sisters helped. They’d separate them into colours, and I’d sew the buttons on. After that I didn’t need help.”
Damn, I hadn’t realised the significance of losing her own clothes, had just asked for her to be lent some.
She’s on the same wavelength as me. “Of course, I don’t know what I’m wearing now. But denim’s usually black or blue, so this top should go with my shorts whatever colour it is.”
I’ve been with her a couple of days, and I’d never thought about things that have no everyday significance in my life.
My brow creases. “Seems like you have to spend a lot of time and effort doing things everyone else takes for granted,” I observe.
“Time? What’s time? We all have to do chores, Beef.”
I
suppose she’s right, we do. But the insight into her world has been intriguing, and I admire her more than ever.
It’s the fourth day when I fuck up. Those boots which make my feet so loud? Well, yeah, I may have taken them off and not kicked them under the couch.
I’m reading a book I grabbed off the shelf, a history of Harley Davidson, when suddenly there’s a loud exclamation of ‘shit’, and a stunned and irate little woman lands in my lap. I’m not too sure whose oomph is louder.
“Beef! Did you leave something lying around?” she cries out indignantly.
Keeping my arms around her, I lean forward to check for myself if I had. “Fuck, sorry, babe. My boots.”
“Did I hurt you?”
“Fuck no. But keep still and stop wriggling.” I’m half expecting her to leap up as soon as she realises that her movements have caused her to straddle me, and she’s now sitting over a cock which I couldn’t bring under control if my life depended on it. It really doesn’t help that I’d already been admiring her walking around in tiny shorts and a tee shirt with the Satan’s Devils logo on it.
“Um, is this me, or would you get hard if any woman landed in your lap?” Her tone is gently mocking.
She’s correct on both counts, but on balance, the fact it’s her has most to do with it. What’s the right answer? As her head tilts to one side waiting for a response, I realise I could press for more, or back out of this situation gracefully. Trouble is, I don’t know what I want. My hands move of their own volition, gently resting on the side of her hips. She’s rounded with curves, soft, not hard and angular.
She’s still waiting. Oh fuck it. “Babe, doesn’t take much to get me hard, I’m a fuckin’ man. Don’t let it worry you. Doesn’t mean I need sex, or that I intend to act on it. If I need to, I’ll take care of it myself later.”
She gives a soft laugh as her fingers come up to trace my face, her touch so soft and soothing. “You don’t scare me. You could have been walking around with a hard-on for days, I’d never have noticed.”
I wait for her to get up, but she doesn’t move. As her hands start to explore, I do nothing to stop her. All she’s doing is mapping me, like she had that first morning which seems a lifetime ago now. But as we’ve learned more about each other, this afternoon her touch feels more intimate. A long session in the shower relieving my cock with my hands becomes more and more likely.
Satan's Devils MC Colorado Boxset 1 Books 1 - 3 Page 87
