Page 2 of Blade

I stood there staring at her, not believing what I was seeing.

“Oh my God, Rachel? Wow, you look amazing and so different.”

Rachel was one of my best friends, and one of the less than popular girls from school. She was a brunette in high school and a little on the bigger side. She was quiet when we were kids. Shy and always wanted to be in the background.She never wanted to be noticed. Now she was blonde, thin, and stacked.

Hey, I could appreciate a beautiful woman when I saw one, and unless she had drastically changed her personality, she was even more beautiful on the inside.

“Rachel, it’s so good to see you! I was so sorry to hear about your mom. I wanted to come…”

And it was good seeing her as I grabbed hold of her and hugged her tight.

I’d been home for exactly two days and hadn’t connected with anyone but Grams.

“I understood. You had just left. I didn’t expect you to come back, especially for a funeral,” Rachel said, letting me off the hook again. She never guilted me about my grief. She was my rock, always telling me grief was personal. No one could tell you how you should do it or how long. “I didn’t know you were back. Grams never said a word.”

The familiarity with which Rachel talked about Grams shocked me. I didn’t realize Grams had kept in touch with any of my friends. Though Diamond Creek was a small town, it shouldn’t have surprised me.

What did surprise me was the leather vests they were all wearing, including Rachel. Grams mentioned she sold the land across the road to a motorcycle club that moved in a few years ago, and that’s where they built their headquarters. I wondered how many of them there were and if they all looked as good as these four.

“Beck, let me introduce you. This is Jack, short for Jackass. You’ll understand why if you get to know him at all.”

“Hey, I was the only gentlemen to help the poor woman off the ground,” Mr. Blue Eyes called out with a tinge of indignation in his voice. Aside from his beautiful blue eyes, he had dark brown hair and a matching goatee. His jeans hugged his thighs, and his black T-shirt hugged his biceps.

Yes sir, you can pick me up anytime.

Who said that?

“You knocked her there to begin with.” Rachel laughed and wrapped her arm around the man with blond hair and a beard that was a bit more than scruff, but not quite full. His arms and neck had tattoos covering them, from what I could see.

“This is my old man Cash.” He tipped his chin as if to say hello. “That’s Jingles.” She pointed to the clean-cut blond man, and he smiled. Even without a beard, he was no less manly, for lack of a better word, than the other three.

I wasn’t sure manly was the right word. I thought back to watching Little House on the Prairie as a child, and Almanzo Wilder had nothing on this guy.

“And of course, this is—”

“I’ll see you all inside.”

“Blade.” Rachel frowned as she watched him walk through the door.

I didn’t get a good look at him aside from his black hair and full short beard. The mirrored sunglasses hid his eyes as well.

“Blade can be a little rough around the edges. He doesn’t play well with others.”

I stood there stunned, as Jack spoke.

Rachel’s words pulled me out of the daze I found myself in as I stared at the door. “Beck, come inside with us. We have so much to catch up on.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I have a list of errands to run for Grams.”

“Please, just for a bit. I’m so excited you’re home.”

As I looked through The Diner’s window, my stomach chose that exact moment to let me know there was no way to get out of this.

“I guess I could use a break for some lunch.”

Jack threw his arm around my shoulders and smiled at me.

“You can sit beside me.”

---