glanced back over his shoulder and asked, “You doing okay back there?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” I ran my hand across his back. “What about you? You doing okay?”
“Doing just fine.” He reached down and gave my thigh a gentle squeeze. “Like having you on the back of my bike.”
“I like being on the back of your bike.”
“Well, aren’t you two just the cutest fucking thing,” the guy next to us teased.
“Mind ya business, Country!”
“Now, we both know that shit ain’t gonna happen.” Country chuckled as he said, “Not when my boy Widow is over there acting all sweet.”
Before Roman could respond, the light turned green, and we took off. I thought that would be the end of it, but Country wasn’t ready to give it up. He eased up beside us and slid his glasses down his nose, pretending to check me out. When we slowed at the next light, Roman inched his bike closer to Country, then said, “I know you’re still on the mend, but that doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass.”
“Alright, alright,” Country threw up his hands in surrender with a chuckle. “You win.”
I wasn’t exactly sure where we were going until the group started towards the State Park at Oak Hill. I’d been there many times. I loved hiking the trails at Radnor Lake. With its scenic route around the lake and all the different picnic areas, it was the perfect place for a last ride. When we got up by the lake, the guys pulled in to one of the rest stops. Everyone was somber and quiet as they got off their bikes. Without saying a word, Roman took hold of my hand and we followed the others to the water. Once we were all gathered around, one of the older men stepped out in front of the group. He was tall and muscular with a fierce expression, and like many of the others, he was covered in various tattoos.
As he held up the urn of ashes, he said, “Badger. We wanted to take this moment to thank you for your dedication to the club. You would’ve made a hell of a brother.”
He stepped over to the water and as he started to release the ashes, he recite the Irish Blessing:
“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
Once the urn was empty, they all shouted, “United we stand. Divided we fall. Hoo-Rah.”
With that, they all turned and started back towards the parking lot. As we were walking, I leaned over to Roman and whispered, “That was really sweet. I’m sure it would’ve meant a lot to your friend Badger.”
“Yeah, it would have. He was a good kid.”
He didn’t say anything more. I didn’t really expect him to. He’d been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing. He hadn’t even told me how Badger had died. I didn’t push then, and I certainly wasn’t going to push now with all his brothers around. When we got back to the parking lot, I was pleased to see that the brothers’ moods had lifted, and they were all starting to talk and cut up with one another. I was standing there taking it all in when Widow gave my hand a squeeze and said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
I watched as he stepped over to Menace and started talking. I was feeling a little out of sorts standing there alone, but that feeling quickly faded when a group of three women came over to me, each of them young and beautiful and, thankfully, smiling. The pretty redhead was the first to extend her hand and say, “Hey, I’m Delilah, and this is Marlowe and Remington. We just wanted to come over and welcome you to the club.”
“Thank you.” I shook her hand as I said, “I’m Frankie. Roman...I mean Widow has told me a lot about you. It’s really nice to finally put faces with all of your names.”
“So, he’s told you about us?” Remington asked.
“He’s shared a story or two,” I answered with a smile.
“Well, he hasn’t told us much about you, so you’ll have to fill us all in.” Marlowe giggled as she said, “Sometimes it’s like prying teeth to get these men to tell us anything.”
“I’ve noticed that.” I glanced over at Roman and smiled before saying, “I’ll be glad to fill you in