responsible for the tag. I signed it over to you. Could you write that information down on this?” Tank handed him a small desk pad. He gave the paperwork to Eden and in precise letters put down his contact information and the address to Eden’s clinic, although he hadn’t asked her if he could use the office again. Actually, if he was going to build a business up north, he’d need to build a small office building up in Hollister. He wasn’t sure if Eden had cleared his use of the property with the county and he didn’t want to get her in any trouble.
Tank took the pad and slapped it against his palm. “Expect a phone call tomorrow.” He pointed at Eden. “You need to get that Royal out of my showroom before it brings down the property value.”
Eden smiled and walked over to the fierce biker and hugged him tightly. To say the man looked shocked was an understatement. His eyes were enormous and his face behind that silver beard turned a wicked shade of violet-red. Finally, he patted her on the shoulder as if he wasn’t sure what to do with the display of gratitude.
“Eden, let the nice man go before he has a heart attack.”
Tank blinked over at him.
Eden laughed and stepped away from the biker. “Thank you so much. Jeremiah knows how much this means to me, I only wanted to let you know, too.”
Tank stepped back and combed his beard with his hand. “Yeah, well, you be careful on those roads. Watch out for the assholes, you don’t want to lay her down.”
“I promise.” Eden beamed and put on her new helmet. Jeremiah helped adjust the chin pad and made sure the fit was good. The one they’d borrowed from Doc Macy, the local vet, was ancient, which meant it wasn’t as safe as it could be, plus it was too big.
Tank opened the double doors and Eden rolled the bike out onto the pavement of the parking area. She put her leg over the bike and started it. The sound was nothing less than perfection. He turned to Tank and extended his hand. “If your boy needs to talk, you have him call me tonight, otherwise, have him call tomorrow and I’ll set up an appointment.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Tank nodded toward Eden. “Make sure that little one doesn’t end up as a statistic.”
“I have every intention of making sure of that.” He headed to his bike, affixed the extra helmet, and put his on. Once he fired up his Hog, he extended his hand to Eden, giving her the lead. She released the clutch and eased into traffic, handling the smaller bike with ease. She signaled a left turn, and they made the corner together, riding side by side. As she worked them out of the city, his shoulders relaxed. Watching her handle the bike was a joy. She was a smart and safe rider. Eden took no unnecessary risks in traffic and she drove that bike like she’d grown up on one which, in reality, she had.
He followed her lead as they went into the Black Hills and meandered through the tall pines. When they finally stopped for dinner in Spearfish, she was still brimming with excitement. “Hold on.” She took a picture of the bike and darted over to him. “Take a picture of me with it, please?” He took her phone and snapped a couple pictures. “Thank you. I’m going to email these to my dad. He won’t believe it. She runs like a charm. The balance is perfect, no pull whatsoever, and I know it doesn’t have the horsepower your Harley has, but dang it, she can scoot, too.”
He dropped his arm over her shoulders as they walked to the entrance of the restaurant just over the river. “This place is amazing. They have the most eclectic menu, but all the food is fantastic.”
They sat down. Each ordered a beer and both of them chose the special. “What made you do that?” She leaned forward. The smile that had been on her face all day was still there, and he loved the fact that he’d put it there.
He shrugged. “I wanted someone to ride with. Don’t get me wrong, I love you riding with me on my bike, but when you talked about the freedom of riding, the longing in your voice mimicked everything I felt about when I ride. I met Tank on one of my solo trips down