“Viper, I don’t need you to carry me anymore,” she protested.
He stopped. “There’s no reason to tire yourself going down those steps.” The only obvious result left of her attack was the steps. She would often have to stop and get her balance. The Last Riders went out the door with Viper bringing up the rear of the line with Winter.
Viper noticed the members stood blocking his bike at his approach. Stopping as they neared, Viper was aware that they were hiding his bike from view. He looked down at Winter who, with an apprehensive look on her face, was trying to wiggle from his arms. He put her down sensing something was about to happen from the tight faces of his brothers.
“Viper,” Winter drew his attention back to her.
“I hope you won’t be angry with something I’ve done, but I couldn’t stand you riding on that motorcycle any longer. Please don’t be mad, if you don’t like it we can get another. Please don’t be mad,” she ended on a whisper.
The Last Riders moved until he could see what they were blocking from his sight.
“Rider tried to fix your bike, but you had damaged it too badly. He suggested we send it off to a restorer, but by the time they would have finished, not much would be left of the original bike.”
Viper stared at Gavin’s motorcycle. Someone had it polished and shined, obviously preparing it to be ridden. Viper felt his heart catch as he stared at it sitting in the lot, as if waiting for Gavin to laughingly climb on for a ride. In his mind’s eye, he remembered the many times he had seen Gavin riding the Harley. They had gotten out of the service a month apart, but Gavin had waited until Viper had come out to purchase his bike. They had purchased their bikes the same day from the same dealer.
Gavin’s bike had sat in Ton’s garage since Viper had asked Cash to have it transported from Ohio at Ton’s request. No one had ridden the motorcycle since Gavin’s death. Viper reached out touching the handlebar, swallowing hard.
“Are you mad?” Winter whispered with tears in her voice at seeing the grief on his face.
“No, I’m not mad,” Viper said hoarsely.
Winter wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, her head falling forward to lie against his back.
“Rider told me when he couldn’t fix your motorcycle that a true biker becomes part of his machine. I thought you could bring a part of Gavin back to The Last Riders.”
Viper’s head lowered for a second, his hand on the handle bar tightening.
“Let’s ride.” He ordered and everyone mounted their motorcycles. The women were riding in cars so their hair and clothes wouldn’t become disheveled. Winter moved to go to Evie’s car with her head down, brushing a tear off her check.
Viper’s hand caught hers in his tight grasp. “Ride with me?” Viper asked.
Winter nodded, waiting for Viper to get on before climbing on behind him. After putting on her helmet, she grasped his waist tightly. The brothers all turned their bikes facing the road, throttling their motors. Viper’s shoulders pulled taut as his head went back in pride while throttling the bike. He pulled out of the parking lot with Cash by his side and two by two they drove down the mountainside with Shade and Razer at their back.
Beth looked beautiful standing with Razer. Winter could only cry as the couple exchanged their vows, not able to hold the tears back when she heard Razer’s voice break when he slid his ring onto Beth’s finger. Pastor Dean performed the traditional ceremony that was over too soon. The wedding ceremony was held in the huge backyard of the church, allowing those who attended to eat afterward at the tables, which had been set up with flower centerpieces.
Winter sat down next to Lily, as pictures of the bridal party were taken after the ceremony. There were several photos taken in various positions. First the whole bridal party, then the bridesmaids, and groomsmen, then the groomsmen and the bridesmaids. Winter hid her smile as the groomsmen became increasing aggravated, wanting the food at the table they could see clearly from their position. It didn’t help that the guests had began eating without them.
“Let’s finish this up,” Razer warned Beth, seeing their threatening glares.
“Alright, alright just a few more,” Beth soothed.