Page 2 of Flick

“You riding with me or riding your own? I’m good with either,” Flick asked.

“With you. I’m a little tired and not sure I have enough brain cells to keep from being distracted,” Beth said.

Flick nodded. “You got it. I’ll swing by your house in about an hour.”

Beth waved goodbye and left. Flick decided that since he had some extra time, he’d clean up the area a little. He grabbed a trash bag and started filling it with empty beer bottles, plates, and plastic glasses. Twist joined him to help, along with Dex. In no time, they had the front of the clubhouse picked up. Flick knew some MCs had the prospects doing that, but they currently didn’t have any. They were doing better but still needed to add to their numbers.

He headed to his room in the clubhouse. He walked to his door and unlocked it. The majority of the time, he left it open. He didn’t care if they needed to use his room when he was on a shift, but with the wedding, there had been townspeople he didn’t know well enough to feel comfortable leaving his door unlocked.

He grabbed a sweatshirt to slip on under his cut, along with some clear glasses. He grabbed a small brain bucket. If the ladies of the MC saw him with it instead of a full helmet, he’dhear about it, especially after Cannon’s crash. But sometimes, he wanted the wind in his face and not have everything covered by a helmet. As an EMT, he rarely let himself not wear a helmet at all. Between Cannon’s wreck and a couple he’d been called out on where the rider didn’t wear a helmet, he fought with his need for no helmet and his brain reminding him he didn’t want to be like the guys he’d tried to help. He was an adult and could do what he wanted, but man, sometimes those women he respected could really make him feel guilty. They reminded him of his mom. She’d been gone for about ten years. He and Beth had each lost their moms to cancer and shared the crappy anniversary of both of them coming up on ten years. His mom had been his biggest cheerleader growing up. Even though she worked like crazy to provide for them, she always found time to tell her boys how much she loved them.

Which reminded him, he needed to check in with his brothers. His oldest brother, Brody, was forty-nine and was going to be retiring from the Army next year. His middle brother, Gunner, was forty-seven and was in Colorado. Flick, at forty-five, was the youngest. Usually, Brody did check-in calls with both of them, but Flick hadn’t heard from him in a month at least.

Flick had served eight years in the Army before getting out. As a combat medic specialist, his training had transitioned to civilian life easily. He had returned to the States and gone to paramedic school to become an advanced EMT. He’d been hired on quickly and gotten to know Cannon, Bear, and War at the police department because they ended up at the same scenes.

He headed out to his baby. He had a nineteen ninety-nine Harley Davidson Road King in Laser Red. It was the first item he’d bought for himself when he got out of the Army and accepted his first job after paramedic school. He’d bought it used from a biker who had moved on to a trike to take his wife on trips. Flick had considered buying another bike, but helived simply. He saved money because, after watching his mom scrimp for years, he always wanted to have enough to take care of emergencies. If he didn’t live in the clubhouse and had his own home, he knew he’d be a little bit of a prepper. There were too many times growing up that they were waiting until his mom’s next paycheck and had to make the small amount of food last.

He started Cherry. His baby, besides giving a fantastic ride, had gotten him out of many a sticky situation with overzealous women. He could always say, “No, honey, I’ve got to go meet Cherry.” His oldest brother had suggested this trick when Flick had complained about how some women wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Flick knew he was handsome because of how women treated him, but he didn’t see someone handsome when he looked in the mirror. He saw a guy who had black hair, a short beard, and blue eyes that his brothers had teased him looked like a girl’s. He didn’t realize until his butthead older brothers had teased him that eyes could depict sex. His skin tone was a medium tan color from his mother. He’d inherited her thick black hair. His eyes were from his father, but it had been so long that it was hard to remember what his dad looked like. His dad had died in an accident when Flick was eight.

Flick quickly navigated over to Beth’s house, using the keypad to open the gates installed by the bail bonds on that part of the compound. Flick despised the reasons they’d needed to add more gates, but he was more than happy with the safety the gates provided.

He pulled up in front of Beth’s house and shut off his motorcycle. He’d need to say hi to Beth’s babies before they left. He didn’t want to hear Lilly’s howling, which sounded like a car alarm if she didn’t get her way. He knocked, then walked in.

Chapter Two

Beth heard the door, and the dogs ran toward Flick. He’d been over enough that they adored him, especially since he was such a softy with the treats.

“Lilly is on a diet, so no treats, only hugs,” Beth yelled from her bedroom. She’d fed the dogs and let them outside. She’d changed into jeans, her motorcycle boots, a long-sleeve shirt, and a hoodie. She was braiding her red hair because not only did she dislike her hair flying in her face, but the tangles were so friggin’ hard to get out afterward.

She started to grab her leather jacket but then thought it was probably overkill. The wind had picked up a little, but it wasn’t freezing out. Coldwater Lake wasn’t that long of a drive. She did grab her gloves, though.

She walked out, and Flick was talking to Lilly.

“Now listen, sweetie, you being overweight is not good. Maybe I’ll come by and take you on a walk while Mommy is busy,” he said, scratching her belly.

Beth grinned. Flick loved her dogs as much as she did. Although Beth had been keeping in shape, she’d spent more time in the gym. She hadn’t been walking the dogs because pounding on a heavy bag at the gym had helped get some of the anger out of her system. What was crazy was that she wasn’t mad at Deputy Kerwin! She was infuriated at herself that she hadn’t realized what was happening.

“I’m ready,” Beth said.

Flick smiled. “Let’s go. I need some wind therapy in the worst way.”

She followed behind Flick, grabbing her helmet like Flick’s as she went out the door. He turned and waited while she told the dogs to be good and locked her door. It irritated her that they had to have gates now and lock their doors. But it was a different world from a couple of years ago.

She fastened her helmet while Flick got on, then she slid on behind him. They’d ridden together enough that they had a comfortable routine.

She still remembered the start of her and Flick’s friendship. The guys had been at the MC for about four months when she’d walked into the clubhouse. Flick had been sitting at a table with a bottle of whiskey, drinking directly from it. She sat down beside him and asked if he minded some company. His whole demeanor had screamedget away from me,but he shook his head no. After hanging out for a while, he’d admitted he couldn’t get the last call out of his mind.

They’d talked most of the night until it was close to sunrise. She’d gone and picked up her dad’s pride and joy, a seventy-seven mint green Monte Carlo, and driven her and Flick to Coldwater Lake. The quiet, only interrupted by the calls of wildlife, had been one of her happy places. She’d shared it with Flick, and it had become their place to decompress when one of them was upset about something.

They’d started hanging out, watching movies sometimes when she was in town, especially as more and more of the members had coupled up. Even though Flick hadn’t liked the deputy, he’d never said a word because Beth had liked him.

She still didn’t understand how she’d fallen for him, but she had. Flick made the turn onto the road that circled the lake and went to one of their spots. They’d found a couple that had decent places to sit and some wildlife to watch. He parked his bike and then waited for her to get off the bike before he did.

In silence, they walked to one of their talking spots. When they got to the area, Flick waited for her to choose her seat, then sat down beside her.

“This place feeds something in my soul,” Flick said.

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