Page 59 of Chubs

Craig drops off the rail immediately after speaking, then walks to intercept Luke. Instead of taking his turn, he climbs up the saddle and sits behind it on Lucky’s rump. Luke signals Lucky to move, and the boys start making laps.

“I wouldn’t worry, Lucy. I’m sure it’s not bad news,” Bella quietly says, then leans into my side.

I put my arm over her shoulders, lean into her, and whisper words I don’t believe.

“You’re probably right.”

After several minutes, Bella climbs down and goes to take her turn riding. When I hear soft whining, I look behind me and find Thor. Jumping to the ground, I turn a pail upside down and take a seat on it. Thor immediately moves close, resting his chin on my thigh as I stroke his fur. Soon after, Ivy’s blue heeler appears and sits on my other side.

It's been over an hour since the men went to the bunkhouse, and my nerves are shattered. I know this has something to do with Chubs, but I have no idea how. Are these women searching for him too? Are they law enforcement? How do they know him, and how well? I don’t want to think it, but the thought crosses my mind regardless. Is one of them his wife, an ex-girlfriend, a relative? Did he leave me to be with one of them? I didn’t get much of a chance to study them, but one was close to Chubs in age, the other not. A mother and daughter, maybe.

Trying desperately to distract myself, my eyes find the kids, still taking turns riding. Luke is acting normal and thoroughly enjoying himself. Bella is being watchful of the boys, the horse, and me, but keeping the boys busy. Craig is unusually quiet and seems to only be going through the motions. His eyes land on me often, then dart away. He’s worried and concerned, and that scares the crap out of me.

I look up quickly when I hear a door shut and find Gunner coming in my direction. I look toward Bella, and she says, “I got this. Go.”

Standing, I wait for Gunner. When he arrives, he says simply, “Let’s go in the house, Lucy. We need to talk.”

Taking seats at the kitchen table, Gunner pulls a sheet of paper out of his pocket, carefully re-folds it, and sets it in front of me.

“Do you know this handwriting?”

Looking down, I can only read the first sentence.

“Prez, I need a favor. I don’t deserve one, but I’m asking anyway.”

“Lucy?”

Looking up, I nod slowly.

“It’s Chubs’ handwriting.”

“I thought so too but needed your opinion. Thank you. You deserve the truth, and I’ll give that to you, but I need to ask you for a favor first. Can you take the kids back to town tonight? Horse will follow and stay with you until Candy gets off work. When I get things figured out, we’ll talk. Stick close to Candy or one of the guys.”

“Okay. I’ll get them and leave now,” I say while standing, picking up my briefcase, and walking to the door.

“Lucy.”

I turn back to face the club president and wait for him to say what he feels he needs to say.

“I’m sorry for how things have been for you. You deserve better than this, and that will be the first thing I explain to him if I ever set eyes on him again. Explain it in a seriously harsh way.”

“You’ll have to get in line behind me, but I appreciate it, Gunner.”

Candy shows up at Lisa’s condo, grocery bags in hand, and surprises both of us when she starts cooking dinner. As she moves comfortably through the motions, she notices our stares. Stopping only long enough to set drinks in front of us, she resumes chopping and sauteing.

“What? Please, don’t tell me that neither of you can cook?” she asks in mock disgust.

“I can’t boil water without causing a fire, but I can prep things somewhat,” I mumble in embarrassment.

“I can cook,” Lisa says, then elaborates with a smirk. “If instant oatmeal, chewy pasta, salads, and sandwiches count.”

“Yeah, no, they don’t, but I got us covered. I’m not an expert, but Ava’s been teaching me the basics. She’s so fucking awesome at it. She lets me help in the kitchen, and I’ve learned a lot from that,” Candy replies. “I want to be her when I grow up.”

“We all do,” I answer.

While eating a delicious stir-fry, I explain what happened to Lisa and Candy. We talk for a few hours about who the women are and why they’re here but come up with little. Candy’s no-nonsense advice is to not worry until we need to, and Lisa and I agree. When my phone rings, I’m surprised to see it’s Axel calling.

“Hey, Axel.”

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