He gave me a quizzical look, and I continued.
“You protected me from all the guys who would have probably done far worse,” I said. “It’s too bad I didn’t meet you sooner.”
He guzzled down the last of his beer and set the glass on the table. Then he reached out and pulled me in for a hug.
His warm embrace left me dumbfounded, and I wished, again, that it wouldn’t end.
“Come visit sometime,” he said.
I nodded and strained to hold back a couple of tears. I needed to get out of there as soon as possible.
9.
“Did you have a safe flight, sweetie?” my mom asked over the phone.
“Yeah, Mom. I slept through the whole thing,” I replied.
I had left before the reception ended. My mom was sad to see me go, but she understood I had a life to return to. I wished her all the best and gave her one long hug before I left. I even got another bear hug from Duke; he was almost as emotional as my mom was, but he expressed it very differently.
“So tell me, will you come visit me soon?” she asked.
I laughed. “Mom, I barely even got home.”
“Oh, I know, but considering it was near three years since I saw you last, I was hoping you’d come back for the holidays this year,” she said.
“Okay, Mom. I’ll be back this year for the holidays. I promise,” I said.
A knock at the front door startled me, followed by the jingling of keys unlocking the lock. Joyce and her kids ran in and started attacking me with hugs; they were really sweet kids.
“Mom, I’ll have to call you back. I have company,” I said.
I clicked the receiver off after we said our good-byes and turned to Joyce, who looked about as tired as I expected her to be.
“How long have you been back?” she asked.
“I just walked through the door about ten minutes ago,” I replied.
Joyce walked over to the window and looked down at the street.
“Did you get a load of the package out front? It has your name on it,” she said.
I stepped to the window, a confused look plastered over my face. Looking down I saw a package, still wrapped up and waiting.
“That’s for me? You shouldn’t have,” I said, making my way for the door.
“I didn’t,” she replied. “Secret admirer? Maybe Mark wants to win you back.”
I bolted down the stairs, my curiosity giving me chills as I walked. I started forming all sorts of crazy theories, but none were as crazy as the truth.
A card sat perched on top and read as follows:
“Hellen,
“Maybe this will give you a taste of freedom from your cage. From Axel.”
I ripped at the paper to discover the gorgeous bike I had seen in his shop, shiny and new. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen, and it was apparently all mine.
“I didn’t know you liked to ride,” Joyce said.
“To quote you: You gotta keep an open mind,” I said.
I threw a leg over the seat, and it felt comfortable. Then I realized there was a slight problem. I didn’t know how to ride…yet.
*****
THE END
MOTORCYCLE CLUB Romance – Outlaw Biker’s Bride
1.
Good people were hard to find, and sometimes you had to rely on bad people to get the job done. I was used to dealing with bad people. Jimmy wasn’t the worst, though. I had been used to much worse in my youth, and I swore I’d never go back.
“Come on, man, how much farther?” I asked in a whisper.
He leaned around the corner of the alleyway.
“This is it, I think,” Jimmy replied.
When you were desperate, you did a lot of dumb things. The dumb thing I was doing this time involved Jimmy, some dealers, and a whole lot of drugs I had stashed in my jacket.
“Okay, just wait here. They don’t know I brought you, so don’t come out unless I say it’s safe. If this works out, you’ll make an easy two-large,” he said.
I nodded and leaned against the wall. I just wanted this to be done so I could go home and relax. None of this would have been a problem if I hadn’t decided to quit my job. And I probably wouldn’t have quit if my boss knew how to keep his hands to himself. Now I was stuck with college tuition that I couldn’t afford.
Jimmy strode out from the alleyway confidently. I was surprised he was able to muster up much of anything in this situation. I couldn’t stay my curiosity about where we were, so I peeked around the corner as Jimmy had done.
I was looking out at a loading dock, not particularly big, but large enough to fit a pair of small trucks inside. A few large men were standing around in the dim light that exuded from the dock interior, looking as intimidating as possible.