Page 97 of Lost Lyrebird

My steps slow when I spy the dark-green Harley with the heart-shaped seat.Before I can get too deep in my feels about it, my attention is pulled away by a voice filled with pure grit.“Jesus, sweetheart!Where you been all my life?”

He’s a thick-chested biker with long, wild, red hair and an equally unruly beard.His cut is aged to perfection and riddled with patches that speak of a lifetime not only in the MC but on the open road.He’s standing against the building, wearing jeans and a black and white plaid shirt, with his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, which are covered in faded tattoos.He’s sporting a black bandana and large chunky rings, and a smoke hangs precariously from his lips.

I’ve run into him a time or two at the strip club, and so far, I’ve gotten away with my ruse.He’s given me questioning looks now and again, as if he’s trying to place where we’ve met before, but hasn’t yet pieced it together.

I give Griz a warm grin as I approach.“Looking for you.But you’re a hard man to find.”

His chuckle is both deep and sexy.

Deeds’ uncle is seven years older than Pappy, and has more silver running through his hair and beard than he did when I first met him, which was the night Goose popped back into my life like a resurrected ghost.

He’s the kind of person you fall instantly in love with.Down to earth, rock-steady, and funny as hell.Which is how this second meeting of souls pretty much goes.

He sidles up to me and places his hand on my lower back.“You gonna allow a man to escort your pretty ass inside?Make all these young fuckers jealous because I saw you first?”He jerks his chin toward the front door.“I’m not sure it’s smart to let you go in there lookin’ like that.Gonna break some necks when the boys catch sight of ya.Maybe even a few hearts.”

I chuckle heartily.“Yeah?Am I breakin’ yours?”

His gaze ventures down my front.“Darlin’, you’ve got no damn idea how smokin’ you are, do ya?”

“Maybe a little,” I confess.

“Damn.That’s even sexier.Confident, smokin’, and smart enough to know it.From what I’ve seen, talented too.You married?”

“Not yet?You applying for the job?”

“Let’s see where tonight goes, and I just might be.”

We share a laugh as he opens one side of the large wooden front doors.Then he extends his elbow to me and I give him a genuine smile as I wrap my arm around his.

“Surely, if seeing me dance at the club didn’t kill ’em, then I doubt my ass in a pair of jeans will.”

He shakes his head.“A great ass in denim is like kryptonite to these fuckers.Watch and learn, young Padawan.”He pats my hand.

“Well, I’ve worked pretty damn hard to keep it in shape.Let’s hope you’re right.”

It’s my persona talking, one that wears confidence like a second skin.And there lies the secret.I have to become this version of myself to pull it off with any success.To really and truly feel it down to my bones.

Griz’s gruff words bring me out of my head and back into the moment.“Ya gonna save me a dance, darlin’?”

“Oh, do they have a dance floor?”

“Sure do.You know how to swing?”

“Wouldn’t be a very good dancer if I didn’t.”

“True that.”He nods.“How about I come find you after you’ve settled in and found your people?”

“I’d love that.Do you happen to know where Raven is?”

Music reverberates around the bar.There’s a heavy scent of weed, and it’s packed with people.We get a few odd looks as people check us out, but I ignore them in favor of finding the woman with ebony hair who talked me into this adventure.

Framed pictures and beer signage cover the walls, pictures from a time long past—MC clubs from the sixties and seventies, and some of the Hollywood icons from that era, too.Plus, Woodstock memorabilia, old concert posters, and record covers.

I take it all in as I enter and search the crowd for Raven.

A large group is gathered in front of a massive dartboard to my right, and further back are three pool tables.A good many HOCs are in that area.Stone is currently circling a table, preparing to take his shot.

In the middle of it all is a sectioned-off dance floor, which is surrounded by hefty wooden tables and chairs.The place has a more saloon-like vibe than a bar, and reminds me of a place I once visited in San Antonio.