Page 15

I patted Piper’s knee under the table. “Never said my friends were normal.”

Henry hooted with laughter. “Biggest frickin’ understatement of the decade!” He turned and headed back to the front of the diner.

“You still okay?” I moved a ketchup bottle to the side of the table. “I know they can be a bit strange, but Henry and Ruth are some of the best people on the fucking planet.”

“Don’t worry about me finding things strange.” Piper smiled wryly. “My mom was a Vegas stripper, remember? I’m not sure I’d recognize normal if I saw it.”

Fuck, this woman was perfect.

“You planning on going much further today, Beast?” one of the bikers hollered back at me. “Weather service says there’s a storm heading this way, and it’s moving fast. You might want to hunker down for the rest of the day.”

“Those guys are wrong more than they’re right.” I glanced outside. “Sun’s shining and there’s not a fucking cloud in the sky.”

The biker shrugged. “Your call. Just thought you should know.”

I caught Piper looking out the window. “You want to stay put? I’m sure Ruth and Henry would be happy to put us up.”

Piper shook her head. “No. You’re right. Those guys are not very reliable. We could stay put, and the storm will blow in tomorrow when we go to leave. Or it will circle around us completely. We can always pull off somewhere up the road if it gets bad, right?”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

Ruth came bustling down the aisle balancing a couple of plates on her arm. “You always have to sit with your back in a corner, don’t you, Beast.”

It was a statement, not a question. Old habits died hard, especially ones intended to keep me from meeting my Maker. If I backed myself into a corner with an escape route handy, I was much more likely to make it out of a shithole alive.

“That smells heavenly!” Piper stared down at the plate Ruth set in front of her.

“Thanks, sweetie. It’s a hamburger steak with fries and gravy and the salad fixings are from my garden out back. Enjoy.” Ruth looked over at me and winked, letting me know she approved of Piper. Not that I needed her approval, but it was nice to have it.

We ate in companionable silence. Breakfast hadn’t been all that filling, and we were both hungry. Finishing up her salad, Piper let out a contented sigh. “That was amazing. Do you have friends all over the country just waiting to feed you or put a roof over your head on short notice?”

“Hell, yeah.” I grinned and downed the last mouthful of my hamburger steak.

“Seriously though, I tend to plan my routes to touch base with the guys I served with as much as possible. This is a route I take a lot. There’s a motel a couple hours up the road, although we don’t need a place to stop today.

Might drop in and say hi, depending on how our time goes. ”

I pulled out my phone and checked for messages. Nothing. I took that as a good sign. I glanced at Piper. “I should touch base with the twins. They’ll be expecting me to call before they take off for Europe.”

“Go ahead. You want some privacy?”

“Nah. After that shopping trip, they’re big fans of yours.”

She grinned at me. “I think they’re fans of your credit card.”

“True. But you’re the one who talked me into letting them spend that much.”

“Well, you don’t want Europe thinking you’re stingy.”

“Why would I care what Europe thinks of me?” I thumbed the FaceTime app and waited for Jasmine to answer before adding Jewel to the call.

“Hey, Dad!” Jewel grinned at me on the screen. “We’re just trying to fit everything in the suitcases. Thanks so much for all the new stuff. And thank Piper for us.”

“Thank her yourself.” I angled the phone so Piper was included in the call.

“Thanks, Piper,” they chimed in unison.

“You’re in leather.” Jasmine tilted her head. “You and Dad biking it? I thought there was a bus.”

“The weather’s good so we’re taking advantage.” I nudged Piper’s leg under the table to warn her not to mention the threat.

“Lucky! I bet it feels great.”

“Better than being cooped up on a bus.” Piper glanced at me.

“You two look cute together.” Jewel wrinkled her nose. “Any chance there’s more shopping trips in our future?”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “That’s her subtle way of asking if you two are into each other.”

“Into each other?” I raised one brow. “We’re fond of each other, if that’s what you mean.”

Jewel shook her head and looked at Piper. “You can be fond of a cat. We want to know if you and Dad are more than just friends.”

“Are you okay with it if we’re more than friends?” Piper asked.

Both girls nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely. It would be so great if Dad had someone to concentrate on other than us.”

“You mean you think you could get away with more?” I tried to look stern.

Piper frowned at me before turning her attention back to the girls. “Good to hear. We’re exploring things right now.”

“Dad’s a good guy.” Jewel’s expression sobered. “He gave up a lot for us. He deserves someone to make him happy.”

Her sister nodded. “He does.”

My heart melted. “You two are worth everything to me. You give me so much more than you think I gave up. I can’t imagine life without you to keep me on my toes.”

Jasmine turned her head at a sound in the background. “That’s Mom calling us. We have to go.”

“Just finishing up, Mom. Be right there,” Jewel yelled at her mother, before turning back to wave at the screen. “Have fun, you two!”

“Have a great trip and send lots of pictures.” Piper waved back.

“We will. Look after Dad for us, Piper.” They blew kisses at the screen before the picture winked out.

I turned the screen off and slid the phone back in my pocket. “I think we can safely say they’re okay with you and I being together.”

Piper nodded. “They’re great kids. You’ve done an amazing job raising them.”

“Thanks. They are my world.” I glanced outside.

“We should probably get moving.” I stood up and tossed a few bills on the table to cover our meal.

I knew if I tried to pay for it, Ruth would get on her high horse and talk about friends and all that shit.

Friendship didn’t pay the bills, and I wasn’t short on cash.

This way, it saved her pride and my dignity.

Henry? He was smart enough to stay out of it if Ruth got to arguing.

It was early afternoon. We still had lots of daylight left, and I was in no hurry for the ride to end.

I took it easy, puttering along so slowly you could actually read the road signs.

For a short time, we could forget about Drake and hit men and the rest of the world.

It was just Piper and me and the open road.

Biker heaven.

Ruth had packed a snack for us to take, and we stopped at one of those roadside picnic areas to stretch our legs and sample it. Damn woman sure liked to feed people. No wonder Henry now sported a sizable beer belly, despite the fact he didn’t drink.

Piper glanced up at the sky. It wasn’t as bright as it had been earlier. Dark clouds had started to gather to the east. “You think it’s going to storm?”

I considered it. “Maybe, but we should be safely at our destination by then. The clouds aren’t moving very fast.”

She nodded, her attention turning back to the food. “These scones are amazing. You don’t suppose she’d be willing to share the recipe, do you?”

“You want a recipe? I’ve never seen you go near a kitchen, much less show any interest in cooking.”

“I can cook. Just haven’t had the chance lately. Cross-country bike rides, and then a concert tour? Doesn’t leave much time for domestic stuff. I’ll have you know people rave about my fried chicken.”

What were the chances she’d know that was my favorite food? “You’ll have to prove that to me the next time we’re near a kitchen for more than half an hour.”

She laughed. “You just want a free meal.”

I tried to look hurt. “Not me. I can resist liver and onions until the end of time, free or not. Can’t resist a meal that has grease dripping from it, though.”

Piper shook her head. “And here I thought the way to your heart was through your pants. Turns out it’s your stomach.”

“Oh, the pants thing works too,” I assured her. “Combine them and I will be your fucking slave for life.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “You are incorrigible!”

“If that means horny, then yeah. That’s me.”

Piper laughed again. I loved that sound, the way her entire face lit up. Out here on the open road, she didn’t worry so much about her asshole of an ex. The chances of him finding us when we were on the move were slim.

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Sure. Can’t promise I’ll answer.”

“All the guys at Riptide, and all these friends you have on the road seem to be good guys, like not murderers or drug dealers. Heck, my father trusted you to bring me back here. You work with the FBI, and you were all in the service. How did you end up being a biker gang?”

“Fair question, but it’s kind of a long story.”

“Short version?” She didn’t plan on letting this go.

Everything Riptide meant to me flashed through my mind.

I took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, hoping she could understand.

“War is hell, and trying to fit in when you land back stateside is tough. We found each other and figured out a way to make it work for us. We make a difference, get to do something that makes the world a better place, and we have a family. Not one made from blood ties, but one we made for ourselves.”

“Wow.” Her expression softened. “That sounds amazing. I’d love to hear the long version some day when we have more time.”

I glanced up at the sky. The clouds were moving faster now, and getting stuck out in the rain on a bike was no fun. “You will, I promise. Right now, though, we’d better get back on the road.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Piper helped gather up the remains of our snack and dumped the garbage in the cans provided for it. I had a strict no littering policy.

We were back on the bike, cruising down the road at top speed within minutes. Those fucking clouds were moving faster though, and we’d barely made five miles before the first fat droplets hit us.

I felt Piper try to squirm in closer behind me to avoid them, and I doubled down on the throttle.

There was a deserted cabin up ahead that I sometimes camped out in overnight when I was out this way.

Door didn’t really close, and most of the windows were boarded over.

It was surrounded by mounds of wild peppermint, and the pungent odor of the plants kept most of the native rodents and insects away.

It wasn’t much, but at least we’d be dry while we waited for the rain to pass.

The storm ramped up, gusts of wind pushing the bike sideways at irregular intervals.

I struggled to keep the machine under control.

Between the slick pavement, the unpredictable wind gusts, and the water streaming off my helmet, it was a fight.

If I’d been on my own, I would have just pulled over and waited it out.

Piper hung on like a trooper, though, and I was determined to get her to shelter.

The cabin finally came into sight and I let off on the throttle just as the bike hit one big-assed puddle and started to skid.

Shit !