Moving On (Rolling Thunder #7) - P.J. Fiala Page 0,4

was too old for Dog to be attracted to her as a girlfriend. Plus, she was Gunnar’s mother for goodness sake! He was JT and Ryder’s father, but he wasn’t old. Joci certainly wasn’t anywhere near as pretty as she was, either.

When Joci became part of Rolling Thunder, it seemed Joci was always around Dog. She was livid and green with envy. Anger hadn’t begun to express her feelings; she’d felt as if Joci was stealing Dog away from her. The way he looked at Joci sent her into a rage. His treatment of Joci was like a stab in her back. Dog was hers and always would be, she fought to hold on to what she believed was the truth. Sadly, it was only her truth. And, it wasn't the truth at all. He only loved her as a kid; and she was so young she didn’t understand there was a difference between loving someone as a brother or friend and being in love with them.

Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Was he mad at you?"

The tension in the car had been too much. She hated that the mood had changed.

"I suppose. He didn't say much but he gave me a look I've rarely seen from him."

LuAnn turned and looked at Chase. She saw him swallow admiring his Adam’s apple as it moved up and down. There was something about an Adam’s apple that had always intrigued her. It was manly and so different from a woman's throat. He had a strong jaw, a distinguished profile. He was a handsome man. A few years ago, he had a crush on her. They rode together and more than a few times they had sex. It was always great sex, too. He always made sure she was satisfied before his own pleasure came. She was so dumb to look past that. How many women would have loved to have a partner who always put her pleasure before his.

"I'm sorry." After the words were spoken, she realized that he likely thought she meant the look Dog had given him. She'd meant about all the things she'd done to Chase in her selfish quest to get Dog's attention. She'd frequently used Chase and tossed him aside at a whim.

He glanced over at her then turned his head to look at the road. "It'll be fine. He knows I've stayed in contact with you and visited you. He also knows you need a friend right now."

"Thank you for that."

Locking her fingers together in her lap, she looked out her side window at the scenery as they breezed past it all. The smells of fresh cut hay, the flowers in bloom in the gardens they passed by and the occasional dead animal swirled around her. She'd tied her hair into a ponytail at her nape this morning, but the shorter whisps of hair had fallen from the binding and now blew around her head. She held her hand over her eyes to block the sun; she didn't have a pair of sunglasses.

"If you reach in the glove box, I still have your old pair of sunglasses."

Turning her head to look at him, he had a shy grin on his face and his right shoulder hiked up then dropped.

Reaching forward she opened the glove box, and there on top of his owner's manual and insurance papers lay her sunglasses from years gone by.

Pulling them out she turned them, to and fro, examining them and trying to remember when she'd left these in his car.

"You left them in the bag of my bike. We rode during the day, but when it got dark you couldn't see through them and wore my clear goggles. I thought you might need them today."

"Thank you so much."

She put them on, the immediate difference it made in her ability to see a relief. "I owe you so much, Chase. How will I ever repay you?"

She'd been wondering this for some time, actually each time he came to visit her in prison. She assumed he'd want sex from her, right where they left off, but he hadn't made any advances toward her today. A brief hug to comfort her more than anything was all he did. Surely, a man like him would have a girlfriend by now. He was a great catch. Handsome, strong, good job, smart and easy going.

"It'll all work out, LuAnn. Right now, you need to focus on what you want to do to make money. Find a job and