Page 10 of The Night Ride
Never.I would see this mission through to the end if it killed me.When I saw Beth, it would just be as her brother’s friend and comrade, nothing more.
I took another swig of my beer even as I recognized it for the lie that it was.
“So we each take one and deliver it,” Ben asked with a raised brow.
“Did you not hear what he asked of us?”I asked him.Fucker hadn’t listened to what Evan wrote.He wanted our unit to complete this mission together.One last ride before we dispersed.
“Yeah, to hand deliver them,” Ben responded with a scowl.
“No, fool.He wanted us to go together, as a crew, one last time,” Lucas stated with determination.I knew him well enough.He was all in on the mission.
“I’ve only got a month leave before I start my new assignment.”Ben studied us.
I glanced up from the stack of letters I’d been thumbing through.“We’ve all got the time to take.I say we do it.I’m ready.”
James shrugged and rose from the table to retrieve another beer from one of the coolers.“We can do it in chunks, if necessary, between deployments and assignments.”
Wyatt scowled fiercely.“Speak for yourself, numb nuts.My life is my own in three months’ time.But I’m up for some government paid leave.”
“Okay, so the five of us are going to do this?”Ben asked, his excitement palpable at the prospect of the five of us, our Harleys, and the open road.
I had to admit, it sounded like the best fucking idea.
“Yeah, we travel light.Take the bikes.And hand deliver each one.We can leave tomorrow,” Lucas said all fired up.
Wyatt eyed us with suspicion.“Y’all sure you want to do this?I can take them once I’m retired in three months.I don’t mind.”
“No offense but shut the fuck up.We’re all going,” Ben firmly stated and held up his beer.“For Evan.”
James, Lucas, and I lifted our beers in salute.“For Evan.”
We glanced at Wyatt, consternation written on his face, until he finally sighed and said, “Fuck it.For Evan.”Then he toasted us with his beer.
We were doing it.One final ride—for Evan.
Chapter three
Bangor,Maine–TenDays Later
Friday morning dawned cold and blustery.Stuffing the baked goods from Rory into my trunk along with my rucksack, I made sure it was locked tight before climbing aboard.
With a final wave goodbye, Wyatt, Lucas, and myself drove off as a group of three.When we began this trip, there were five of us.We seemed to be dropping like flies on this trip.
Ben had stayed at our first stop and was in South Carolina helping Moira Kelly sort out her stalker situation.James decided to stay behind with Rory Ryder, Evan’s ex-wife.Apparently Rory and James spent a night together back in the day.Rory left town and moved to Bangor without informing him she was pregnant with his kid.James would stay with Rory and their daughter until it was time to report back to base in twenty-two days.I didn’t blame him.If I suddenly discovered I had a kid, I would stay behind too.
His daughter was a pistol.I envied James, even though the fucker was less than pleased with Rory for keeping their kid from him all these years.But it looked to me like they would work things out.If James could get his head out of his ass, and one never knew with him.
The rumbling motor of my Harley filled my ears as the miles passed.We selected the middle route to reach Saint Louis, Missouri.The northern route near Lake Eerie still had snow and ice.It’s not that we couldn’t handle that route.There was little the three of us couldn’t handle.
But expediency was key.We only had twenty-two days to deliver three more letters.If we were gonna make it across the country and back again, we had to keep moving.I didn’t even want to consider the shit show I would face if I failed to report for duty on time.I had been promoted to Senior Petty Officer with my own unit to command.If I was late getting back to base, I would wind up scrubbing latrines, possibly court marshaled, or demoted.It wasn’t the way I wanted to spend what was likely my last two years in the Navy.
We drove south through Maine into New Hampshire.Then stopped for lunch near the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut.
On a Harley was one of the best ways to see the country.We avoided New York City proper but hit traffic anyway because the urban sprawl and area surrounding the city was a clusterfuck.
Once we entered Pennsylvania, I relaxed some.The hardest part of our drive was done.But as each mile passed beneath the bike’s tires, I wondered how we would be received at our next stop, or rather howIwould be received.
It didn’t matter whether she was thrilled to see me or not.I had a mission to complete.Beth would take the letter her brother wrote for her, and we would be on our way.
