Page 14 of Weatherman

Weatherman cleared his thickening throat. “You’re ready to go as far as I can tell. Know where the DRMC garage is located? Drive there and I’ll follow you to make sure you get there without any more problems.”

Her eyes darted to him, and her full mouth thinned as she pressed her lips together. “Thank you, but I can take it from here.”

Weatherman pointed to his cut. “How much do you know about motorcycle clubs?”

He watched her shut down. Physically. Immediately. Completely. The light drained from her eyes, and her body locked tight.

“More than I ever wanted,” she stated, her words devoid of any emotion. “I need to go. Thanks again.” She turned to leave.

“Hold up.” He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder and get her attention. Her reflexes were lightning fast.

“Keep your hands off me!” she hissed and stepped away.

He held both hands up, palms toward her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, lady. Calm down. I was just going to say the Dragon Runners have a code when it comes to taking care of the womenin this town. You see a man wearing this emblem, you can trust that he won’t leave you on the side of the road until you’re safe.”

The baby started fussing, making Opal more upset. Her face screwed up in frustration as she jiggled the toddler. “I don’t need anyone taking care of me. I appreciate your help, but that’s all you’re gonna get from me. Just my thanks.”

What the hell?His tone became acidic. “I didn’t ask you for anything, did I?”

That stopped her. “No,” she begrudgingly admitted. Pearl let out a squall. “Now see what you’ve done?”

Weatherman threw his hands in the air. “I give up. Get yourself to the garage and take care of that tire as soon as possible. I’m outta here.”

He turned to his bike and strapped on his helmet. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her put the baby in the car seat and then get in the driver’s side. The car cranked up, and she drove away without looking back.

“Crazy woman,” Weatherman declared as he revved up his bike. Her defensive reaction to him made him wonder what had happened to her to make her that way, but it wasn’t his problem. “Not my circus, not my monkeys. I got enough on my plate to deal with right now. I don’t need something else to worry about.”

He still followed her until he saw her pull into the garage before breaking away to go to the station.

CHAPTER 8

This was so notmy scene. Kimmie had been at me for days, pushing and pushing and pushing until I finally gave in. I hadn’t mentioned anything to her about Tambre’s concerns, but she’d been coming into work on time recently and seemed to have cleaned up her act. She continued to go out almost every night, though. It bothered me, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Being the supportive friend was a role I thought I needed to play for her and for myself. That was one reason I was outside the River’s Edge Bar on a Friday night with Kimmie while Deandra babysat for me. My goal was to be done and home by midnight at the latest, and Kimmie had already made fun of me for making this plan.

“Jeez, you used to be fun. Now you’re like some old person.”

I never thought twenty-six was old, but in her eyes, I guess I was. As a working mom, I had to prioritize my time to take care of my daughter and my job. Anything else stayed on the back burners, and some of them were turned off permanently.

I shut off my car and took a deep breath. Kimmie rummaged in her purse and pulled out a plastic bag with three tightly rolled joints in it.

“You’d better not think you’re gonna smoke those in here,” I snapped.

Kimmie huffed as she pulled one out and placed it between her lips. “Fuck, Opal. What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me. I just don’t want the smell of pot in my car.”

She found a cheap lighter and flicked the wheel with her thumb. It sparked a few times but didn’t ignite. “Damnit, I’ll save these for later. Got ’em from a guy over at that other place in Maggie Valley. Real shithole, but damn, they know how to have a good time! Let’s get inside and get a drink. Hopefully some lucky guy in there can get the stick out of your ass for a change.”

I bit back a nasty retort and asked myself for the hundredth time,Why did I come here?

The gravel crunched as we walked across the parking lot to the log cabin–styled building. It was bigger than I’d expected, with a long line of bikes in a regimented row along the front. Music spilled out from the door, and I recognized the tune, but I couldn’t name the song. I saw through the opening that Stud stood up front with a bass in his hands and was singing into a mic. I’d met him and his wife, Eva, when they brought their girls in for cuts. He was one of the hottest men I’d ever seen. His full mouth made this half smile that had this sexy come-hither vibe to it. The ladies in the crowd squealed like obsessed teenagers. Then Eva arrived, and I saw that smile was totally for her.

My heart jumped a little. Someone smiled at me like that. Once.

“For fuck’s sake, Opal, come on!”

Kimmie’s impatience started to irritate me. I had to be at the salon by nine in the morning for a cut and special color palette that would take me about four hours to do. Bad idea to start that kind of work if I was too tired, or even worse, hungover. “I’ll be the designated driver. I don’t want to do any drinking.”

She threw her hands in the air and huffed out an impatient breath. “Fine. You do you. I’m gonna have some fun. Feel free to leave me anytime. I can get a ride from someone.”

---