chapter twenty-four.
(belle)
My hands gripped his leather cut tight. The roar and rumble of the motorcycle chased away any thoughts I could have. I peeked over his body to see the open road flying at us. It was so powerful it stole my breath away for a few seconds.
I had no idea where we were going.
Just cruising from the town to a more country type setting. We weren’t going anywhere near my house or the land.
Minutes gave us miles away from everything wrong. And it felt good to be with Duke. Just like we used to be. Riding on his first motorcycle, getting ourselves into trouble, never thinking for a second that anything bad could happen to us.
Funny how innocence made you feel so invincible.
We ended up twisting and turning through about a hundred roads and then ended up at some flat land with trees. It was green, vast, and beautiful. Duke pulled over and killed the engine on his motorcycle. We climbed off and Duke nodded to the open field.
“It’s a nice little spot,” he said.
“How many women have you brought up here?” I asked. I instantly felt stupid for asking the question, sounding petty and jealous.
Duke touched my cheek. “Only you, sweetie. This is where I come to think. To just waste some time and clear my head a little.”
“You seem more the type to clear your head with your fists.”
“That too, sweetie. But since I can’t go out and get arrested, I figure why not come up here for a little bit.” Duke opened the bag attached the back of his motorcycle. To my surprise there was a small blanket and a few bottles of beer. “Had prospects pack me up. They’re circling around too. But they’re not watching us.”
“Circling? Prospects?”
Duke smiled. “Prospects are guys that aren’t patched in yet. Runts. Newbies. Trying to earn their way into the MC. I can’t travel alone, just in case we get attacked. So we’re safe with them cruising around.”
“Attacked?”
“Sweetie, this is war. I’m sorry you’re involved in it now but this is it.”
“What about the police?”
“Not for this shit.” Duke had the blanket and beer in one hand. He grabbed my hand with his other. He started to walk. “Nothing the PD could do for this. It’s old demons still struggling for power. It’s how we survive. None of that needs to be on your mind.”
Duke chose a spot between two thick and tall trees. The branches and leaves spread across and created a natural canopy. He spread out the blanket and twisted off the cap to a beer and handed it to me.
We sat next to each other and it was almost like the old days.
“So what did you have to do to get patched in?” I asked Duke.
“You don't want to know,” he said and winked.
“As much as I know about you, Duke, you’re a giant mystery to me.”
“I’m an open book, sweetie. My mind is just all twisted and fucked up. Every decision I made seemed like it had purpose at the time.”
“It did,” I said. I grabbed for Duke’s hand. “You can’t change anything.”
“I miss Big Jim,” Duke said. “He was a good man.”
“I miss him too,” I said. I felt my stomach flip. “I can’t believe the way it all happened.”
“You know, he really did a lot for me. He shaped me in a lot of ways. Kicked my ass when I needed it. Bailed me out when I needed it. But the best thing he ever did was trust me with you. He could’ve kicked my ass up and down that driveway a hundred times but he didn’t. I told him once that I was going to take care of you for the rest of your life.”
“No you didn’t,” I said.
“I swear on it, sweetie.”
“Right after I joined up and Jim did. Your old man called me out on the porch and gave me a beer. I thought he was going to beat my ass for having Jim sign up with me. But he was proud. Of both of us. He told me that. My old man never said that to me. He only reminded me of how much of a mistake I was before trying to hurt me. But Big Jim told me he was proud. That I kept my nose mostly out of trouble. Then he looked me dead in the eye and wanted to know how I felt about you. He knew I was beating up all the guys interested in you. So I told him the truth. I told him I cared about you. That I waited until you were old enough to make decisions before I decided to make you my girl. He wanted to know what my plan was. Shit, I was young, Belle. How the fuck was I supposed to have a plan? I was old enough to buy beer. That was my excitement. But when I thought about you, it all clicked. Next thing I knew I was telling Big Jim that I planned on marrying you and loving you for the rest of my life.”
I let out a gasp and it cracked as the emotion got to me. “You really said that?”
“Yeah. And I fucking meant it. Then and now, sweetie. Shit just got so messed up. I came back and it was like everything was missing. I had no family. I had nothing. I was portrayed as some kind of hero while Jim was the one suffering. He was the hero, not me. He pushed two men out of that truck and saved their lives.”