Page 470 of Hell Hath No Fury
“Well, why don’t you tell Briggs you hired a handyman and I’ll come by tomorrow after your shift and take care of it?” he offered. “You don’t have to tell him anything else.”
“You’d be willing to do that for me?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I shook my head. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Whywouldn’tI be nice to you?”
“I’m just not used to people being open books with me. I spent my entire life in the church and then half of that in the medical field. All I know are people who outright lie or at the very least, divert the attention away from whatever they’re doing so they don’t get caught,” I admitted. “In the first ten minutes of talking to you, you told me what had to have been something really difficult to deal with, and not once did you try to blame anyone else. Then, you protected me from my ex, made me laugh, and are offering to shield my kid’s feelings. It’s remarkable.”
“Jesus, you make me sound like a saint.”
“Well, I’ve been told that bikers were sinners my whole life and that I should only trust those in the church, but I’m finding that the worst sinners are those who claim to be saints and thebest of us are the ones the church deems the worst. I’m working my way out of my brainwashing.”
“Seems to me Jesus felt the same way.”
I met his eyes. “Church kid?”
He shook his head. “I’ve picked up things here and there. I’ve found wisdom in a lot of places. The Bible, Origin of the Species, A Brief History of Time, Mad Magazine… anywhere I can.”
I laughed. “That Alfred E. Newman was a wise man.”
“Nice to meet a fellow scholar,” he retorted. “I never could get past some people trying to tell others how to live their lives. I’ve always had to live my life my own way.”
“Doesn’t your club have rules?” I asked. “Don’t you have orders to follow?”
“Yeah. But there’s nothing a club member would ask me to do that they haven’t already done themselves or would do for me in return. I can’t say I’ve ever seen much of that in religion,” he said. “Plus, I wear this patch because Ichooseto wear this patch, not because an invisible guy in the clouds told me to, or because I was brought up in it. To wear this patch means you understand the value of loyalty and free will.”
“Maybeyoushould start a church.”
He smirked.
I bit my lip.
“Whatya thinkin’?” he asked.
“That I really want you to hug me again,” I admitted. “Is that okay?”
He held his arms out. “You don’t ever have to ask for that, Bryn.”
I slid my arms around his waist and settled my cheek against his chest. “I have never felt so safe with anyone before. I’m sure it’s the wine.”
He cupped the back of my neck and massaged it gently. “It’s not the wine.”
“I don’t know if I can get past the age thing.”
“Sure you can.”
“I’m too old to have more kids,” I said.
“So?”
“You’re young, Harm. You should have kids of your own.”
“Jesus, we’re all the way to kids?” he teased.
I leaned back to see his expression. “I’m too old to waste time.”
