2

Jenna was walking on her own accord, which was a fantastic sign. Paige wondered how long it had been since she’d gotten her diagnosis. She placed Jenna in her late fifties, which put her in the ‘late onset’ category as Steel had said. Despite wearing two coats, she shivered like she was still cold. “Hi, Paige. How’re you?”

“I’m doing well. The bigger question is how are you?”

Jenna shrugged, trying to brush it off but Paige saw pain mixed with fear on her face. “I’ve had better days. My hands don’t seem to want to cooperate today and I can’t seem to get warm. Jack left me in the car with the heater running on high and I was still shivering.”

For some reason, Jenna referring to Steel as ‘Jack’ made Paige’s heart clench in her chest. She’d never heard anyone but Jenna call Steel by his legal name.

Paige was glad she’d cleaned up her second therapy room while Kelly had been resting in the first. Jenna’s symptoms did not surprise her. “Let’s get you back into my room. Steel, can you grab the heat lamp from the first room?”

“Of course.”

As they walked back towards the second therapy room, Jenna said in a soft voice. “They don’t know. I haven’t had the heart to tell them.”

Paige knew instantly who she meant. “You’re going to need to tell them eventually. You’ve got a doctor and a nurse living next door to you. They’re going to figure it out.”

“I know,” she said in a sad voice. “Maybe I’m just hoping to keep from burdening them a little longer.”

“You’re not a burden!” the women heard Steel call out from the other therapy room.

Jenna caught Paige’s eye and rolled her own. “Damn his Vulcan hearing.” The affection in her voice was accentuated by her smile. Jenna had the most beautiful red-orange hair Paige had ever seen. It always shone like her hair was on fire.

Once getting Jenna settled on the massage bed, Paige said, “Let me go get a new patient chart. I’ll be right back.” Paige passed by Steel carrying the second heat lamp on her way out. “You can plug that one in over there and get both of them turned on her how she needs.”

“Paige?” She turned around in the doorway to face Steel. “Grab some food while you’re out there. You still haven’t eaten. You don’t need to stand on formality with us.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he snapped, “Eat your damned lunch, Paige. Demo would never forgive me if I let you starve while sitting here talking to us.”

The mention of Demo brought a blush to her cheeks. She nodded. “Can I get either of you anything? There was some of the diner’s pie in the bags?”

Both Jenna and Steel shook their heads. Paige left to get a new chart and the necessary paperwork and then went back into the junk room to get one of the containers of lunch Demo had delivered for her.

Despite the sadness she felt at the knowledge of Jenna’s illness, the fact that she had three patients in a row was hopefully a sign that she was going to continue to have a good day.

Demo glanced down at his phone again. Still nothing from Paige. It was possible she was busy, but too busy to reply? He didn’t like the thought of that. Had he talked to too many people today and sent multiple patients over to the clinic where she couldn’t handle them and reception herself?

Maybe he should swing by the clinic after he was done at the club’s Harley-Davidson dealership. Though he had an office at the clubhouse and the club’s bar, Demon on the Rocks , Demo also kept one at the dealership. It was just easier to keep certain papers and items in certain locations while he, his laptop, and his legal pads traveled to where he needed to go on whichever date.

When the club had first put forth the idea over two years ago to purchase the dealership up for sale, Demo had gone through the old owner’s books with a fine-tooth comb. At first, he was fearful that the owner was fudging his sales numbers. How else could he explain selling so many motorcycles in the winter in Pennsylvania? But the man was a bit of a genius. He put forth and marketed such winter sales that people would come from all over the state and even surrounding states just to get a new Harley-Davidson that they wouldn’t be able to ride for months at a massive discount. He might have sold the occasional bike, but the real sales during the winter were on merchandise. Selling the amount of shirts, helmets, and even offering discounts on maintenance and services kept the dealership running just as smoothly during the cold, unrideable months as it did during the summer. The man never went into the red over the winter.

Steel had put Demo in charge of the books for the dealership. As the club’s Treasurer and accountant, that made sense. What Demo had not been expecting was for him to suddenly have to become an expert in retail. That had been a bit of a learning curve. Thankfully, the previous owner’s records and notes were so meticulous that Demo had been able to catch on fairly quickly. After a couple of bumps and what Scotty would call an oopsie mistake, Demo seemed to have found his footing.

The biggest concern when purchasing the dealership was employees. One could not have a sales business without salesmen. The previous ownership had been family-run with only a few non-family members working. When they’d moved, they were taking a good chunk of the workforce with them. The idea had been put forth that the best representation for the club would be if the patched members were the salesman, except every patched member but Jumper already had full-time jobs and careers. Lucky had then suggested that the patched members be put on a rotating schedule. Rather than a couple of them working full-time at the dealership as salesmen, all members worked one or two part-time shifts during the week.

It had taken some finagling, and some Tetris skills Demo hadn’t known he’d possessed, but he’d finally been able to get a potential schedule to present to Steel, showing that Lucky’s idea held merit. Since then, the club had lost two members, gained two patched members, and had three new prospects. The ol’ ladies even took the occasional shift—so long as they were never left alone in the dealership.

Demo himself had purchased his hog from this dealership when it had been with the previous owner. Unlike Steel, Bulldog, and Jumper, he hadn’t come to the VDMC officer table knowing how to ride a motorcycle. Lucky, Bear, and Demo had gone through the classes to get their licenses together. Scar had just shown up one day with a motorcycle and no one had the guts to question him as to whether it was acquired legally or if he even had a license to drive it.

The service department was taken over by the club’s auto garage that Grumpy managed. Two of his techs were already certified in motorcycle repairs and one had been interested in getting the certification. Those three moved over to the dealership and Grumpy hired on new mechanics at his garage for the workload there. He’d since lost Jumper as a mechanic due to Jumper’s head injury.

Like Demo, Jumper had been severely injured in Jasmine’s kidnapping. His head injury had required surgery and resulted in him being unable to drive either his Indian or his cage for over six months. In fact, if Demo remembered correctly, he had a driving exam coming up to have his medically suspended driver’s license reinstated. While Jumper spent his days with Jasmine at her veterinary clinic and didn’t need his license during the winter, Demo knew that Jumper wanted to get it reinstated in time for Jasmine and Jumper’s honeymoon in April and May. They were taking their motorcycle with the sidecar for Aerial on a cross country trip to see some of the more famous National Parks, like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. They had other stops both there and back but hell if Demo could remember the long list. Their plan was to be gone approximately six weeks. A vet from Johnstown that Jasmine had worked with before and was considering offering a partnership to would be coming into town for the six weeks to cover Jazz’s clinic during her vacation.

Jasmine had taken the necessary lessons and classes to get her motorcycle driver’s permit. It meant she couldn’t drive a motorcycle without a licensed driver accompanying her, either riding behind her or separately next to her. Pirate, Jumper’s brother and Jasmine’s soon-to-be brother-in-law, had been helping Jasmine get some of her needed driving hours in prior to them having to put the sleds away for the winter. Once Jumper’s license was reinstated, the two of them could take turns driving during their honeymoon. While Jumper appreciated his brother’s help, there was also a strict rule in place that Jasmine and Pirate were to practice on separate bikes unless there was an emergency. Jumper trusted his brother implicitly, or he wouldn’t allow Pirate to be in charge of Jazz’s lessons, but that didn’t mean Jumper wanted Pirate holding onto Jazz while riding a motorcycle.

Demo certainly wouldn’t want Paige riding with any other brother unless absolutely necessary.

Fuck!

Talk about a full circle train of thought. How the hell had he gone from thinking about the dealership’s work schedule and inventory to Paige and not liking the idea of her riding as someone else’s backpack? Others might call it ‘riding bitch’ but many in the VDMC had gotten out of that habit due to Scotty and the other club kids. For a long time, Scotty, Jenna, and Sissy had been the only passengers on their club runs. It had seemed so disrespectful to say ‘riding bitch’ when referring to a child, an ol’ lady, and a young lady. The members said it when referring to each other having to double up on a bike for whatever reason, but not in deference to the women and kids.

Plus, Scotty used to run up to random members before club runs and hop onto their back, yelling, “I’m a backpack!” Then he would proceed to be carried around on his uncle’s back while everyone was still getting ready for the club run. He’d been a lot smaller back then and there had been less club kids going for rides with them. He’d had his pick of drivers because, per Scotty, Lucky drove like an old granny.

Neither Demo nor any of the other brothers felt right about saying Scotty was ‘riding bitch’. In that regard, as well as many others, the VDMC was a tame motorcycle club. They did not traffic guns, drugs, or people. They ran legitimate businesses that were neither a strip club nor a porn company, and they were looked at respectfully by the town they called home. Demo knew that if Steel had propositioned him for a one-percenter club, he would have turned him down. That just wasn’t how Demo lived or wanted to live.

He loved that family meant everything to his club and it wasn’t just talk. Every decision their club made revolved around protecting the women and the club kids.

The number of club kids had exploded recently. Steel’s kids had never really been into the motorcycle life or lifestyle. When they attended functions, they wore their cuts, if only out of respect for their father. Melanie, Steel’s daughter, had never even ridden on a motorcycle and would instead drive a cage with a prospect if she was attending a club run. So while Carter, Jordan, and Melanie were ‘club kids’, they weren’t counted on for club run numbers. Sissy had been sixteen when the club had been formed and had gone on most club runs with her dad and brother.

Now there were Bree, Aaron, Ollie, and Lila who rode with them regularly too. Bree was Angel and Cage’s paraplegic adopted daughter, Aaron was Cage’s biological son, and Ollie was a foster child Steel and Jenna were looking to adopt. All three were teenagers at fifteen, sixteen, and sixteen, respectively. While Bree had a special harness that could allow her to ride on the back of anyone’s sled with them, Angel preferred Bree ride on her Harley-Davidson Trike. The three-wheeled motorcycle provided Bree with more balance and also meant Bree could remain on the hog while parked without risking falling off or over.

With the number of ol’ ladies also increasing, the club members would soon be outnumbered. Only a few of them even rode solo anymore. Sophia wasn’t a club kid or an ol’ lady and she also had a tendency to join them for club runs.

Demo wondered if Paige would allow Mikey and Nelly Bean to ride with them. Currently, when the boys joined the guys on their outings while the ol’ ladies had their get-together, they rode in one of the cages with a prospect and the other kids too small to ride. Hell, pretty soon Demo was going to need to look into purchasing another SUV or two for the club because they were running out of room with only three eight-seaters.

In Demo’s opinion almost four and five were too young to be on a motorcycle. Bulldog allowed Lila to ride. She was almost seven and had gone through a lot of practice runs around the club property before going on her first club run last April. Bulldog also placed her specifically with Ghost, his Enforcer, and made Ranger ride tandem to keep an eye on her. Despite her mischievous nature, Lila had not caused any problems or done anything dangerous while on a motorcycle. It would seem she took Bulldog’s warning of “one mistake and you’ll be riding in cages for a year!” very seriously.

Tessa and Harper would be out for most of the upcoming season. Neither of their men would allow them to ride while pregnant and neither of them would be in any condition to ride after giving birth. That meant Bear and Lucky were able to take a club kid riding with them. Sophia was almost always riding with Pirate.

Sissy usually rode with Demo. But with her girlfriend, Sara, about to be patched over, it would make sense for Sissy to start riding with her. Which would free Demo up to have Paige?—

“Hey, man.”

Demo looked up from his desk to see Keys and Pumpkin standing in the doorway. Pumpkin had some cloth wrapping around him that strapped SJ to his front. Though not without some learning curves, the man was thriving as a single dad. Demo knew how freaked out Pumpkin had been about the idea of having a son but was exceedingly proud of his friend for stepping up as he had.

“Hey,” Demo responded automatically.

“What’re you up to?” Keys asked as they walked into the office. Keys took the chair opposite Demo’s while Pumpkin started doing some weird bouncing-walk back and forth across the office parallel to Demo’s desk.

Demo’s eyes glanced down at his laptop, only to see it had gone dark. How long had he been sitting there lost in his head and not working? “Not much,” he said nonchalantly. “Just catching up on some invoices.”

Keys glanced at the back of Demo’s laptop and then back up at Demo, clearly not believing the line of bullshit Demo had just tried to feed him.

“How did your treatment go this morning?” Pumpkin asked, his big hands rubbing up and down the back of SJ’s covered back. He wore a skullcap with the VDMC logo on the rim.

“Better than expected,” Demo answered honestly. “I can’t remember the last time my shoulder didn’t feel like there wasn’t a twenty pound weight sitting on it.”

Neither Keys nor Pumpkin responded right away. Both were just staring at him. Pumpkin had even stopped pacing.

“What?” Demo demanded.

“Dude, you’re smiling.” Keys said it like Demo had just walked on water.

Demo felt his cheeks fall and knew that Keys had not been lying. He tried to school his features better. “It’s just a relief to not have a stabbing pain every time I move my arm.”

Pumpkin’s eyes narrowed on him. Even from across the room, Demo felt like his friend was looking at him through a magnifying glass. “No, it’s not that. There’s something different about you.”

“No, there’s not,” Demo insisted. He was not sure if that was a lie or not.

“Is it Paige? Did you find something out about her parents?” Keys asked.

“No—” Demo started but Pumpkin cut him off with a loud exclamation. “It’s Paige! Holy fuck!”

Both Demo and Keys looked at him in surprise. There was an innocence to Keys’ expression, almost like confusion, that made Demo take a second look at him. The kid wasn’t that young. He knew he’d been with the Honeys at parties and such.

Pumpkin continued, pointing an accusatory finger at Demo, “You fell for her! What the hell, man? We were supposed to go down as the last of the club’s bachelors!”

Demo knew the vehemence in Pumpkin’s voice was feigned. They’d never once said such a thing to each other.

Before Demo could argue Pumpkin’s statement, Keys turned back around towards Demo. “You fell for her? How? You said you’d never met her before.”

“I hadn’t,” he told Keys. “And I didn’t,” he told Pumpkin.

“Oh, please.” Pumpkin resumed his pacing. “I know that look. You’ve got the same look on your face as the others after they met their ol’ ladies. You fell.” Then he leaned forward and slapped Keys on the shoulder. “Text the women. I need them to know I wasn’t the next to fall.”

Keys looked both shocked and confused. “Fall for what?”

“Kid, we need to get you out from behind your computer screens more if you’re not following along with this conversation,” Pumpkin told him with all seriousness.

Demo had to agree with that statement at least. “I didn’t fall for her!” he insisted again. “I like her, yes, and I enjoyed my morning with her, and I wanted to ask her out but she reminded me how unethical that would be, plus she still thinks she’s married, for Christ’s sake, and I don’t want to move too fast… I just think it’s best for us to be friends.”

Both Pumpkin and Keys stared at him for another long moment.

Demo sighed in frustration, “What?”

“Okay,” Keys nodded, “now I see it.”

Pumpkin let out a loud laugh. His son started to squirm and he quickly cut off the sound. Increasing his bouncing and rubbing his son’s back, Pumpkin said in a much lower voice, “Friends, my ass. I’d bet SJ’s entire college fund that you were daydreaming about her when we walked in here. You had the goofiest look on your face.”

Demo’s eyes narrowed on him. “You have, like, ten bucks in his fund.” Demo would know; he’d been the one to set up the fund as soon as SJ’s social security card and birth certificate had come in the mail.

“Kid’s barely three months old. I’ve got like eighteen years to build it up,” Pumpkin said with defense.

Demo chuckled. “Look, yes, I like Paige. But nothing can come of it while she still thinks she’s married.”

Pumpkin waved that off. “We’ve faked worse.”

Keys snorted. “Yeah, you helped so much with that,” he said dryly. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Pumpkin gave the kid a cocky smile before turning back to Demo. “If you like her, go after her.” Then he added, “Just make sure the ol’ ladies know you were the next to fall. Apparently, they think babies will automatically attract single women like sharks to blood and I was going to be the next to fall.” Pumpkin rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a woman to raise my son.”

Demo had to bite his tongue against reminding Pumpkin he’d been singing a different tune not too long ago. “Are they still placing bets on us? I thought that stopped after Bulldog took the last plot in the Pentagon?”

The Pentagon was the club’s name for the five houses that had been built on club property. When the club had purchased the former distillery, there had been the main building, a large garage, an outdoor pavilion area, and a lone rundown house that Steel and Jenna had moved into with their two teenage kids. One of the first projects that the club did together was rebuilding Jenna’s new house to her specifications. Nearly five years later, Lucky had added a modular home next to Steel’s house after his had been burned to the ground by Richard Hannigan. Four months after that, Bear and Angel added their homes following Tessa and Bree entering their lives. Angel’s house was handicap accessible and designed specifically for a wheelchair user. The four houses had remained there for nearly six months with no club member claiming the fifth and final plot in the pentagon shaped area.

Then Abby had returned to Bulldog’s life.

“It did,” Pumpkin nodded, “but they recently started it back up again. Something about the next plot of land…” He shrugged. “I don’t know about you but I have no desire to move out of the clubhouse anytime soon. Steel even gave me permission to turn my apartment into a double with the one next to mine once SJ gets old enough to need his own room.”

Demo was impressed by that news. Steel would have never allowed that if the Honeys were still around. He wondered if it would affect any of the single men living in the clubhouse to have a kid living in there too. Before club kids had only visited the clubhouse, but none lived there.

Then Demo frowned. He hadn’t included himself in that wondering.

He was single. Nothing about Paige’s and his flirting during his treatment that day had changed that. And yet…

Demo didn’t want to be single anymore. He hadn’t since he’d gotten shot. But he also hadn’t been actively looking for a woman. Between healing, therapy, and the nerve damage, finding a woman had been put on the back-burner.

Paige had been right under his nose for nearly two years. He knew a lot about her life from tearing apart Richard’s finances with Keys. But today had been the first day he’d spoken with her. If only he’d known…

Known what? It was ridiculous to think he was in love with her. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. Love took time, energy, and commitment.

But hadn’t Bear taken one look at Tessa and known? Lucky made it sound like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer rather than Cupid’s arrow when he’d laid eyes on Harper for the first time. Jumper had been secretly in love with Jasmine for four years before the two of them got together. Despite his womanizing ways, Cage claimed he knew he wanted Angel from the very beginning but overheard her tell another brother that she would castrate any patched member who tried to hit on her with a dull spoon.

Abby and Bulldog were in a league all their own that transcended the laws of physics, time, and space.

Was it so out of the realm of possibility that Demo had fallen for Paige after just one meeting? His eyes landed on his phone next to his right hand. He’d been checking it all day like a dumbstruck teenager who had given his number out to his first crush and wondering why she hadn’t texted him back yet. Hell, he’d just been considering going back to her clinic to check on her because she wasn’t answering him.

Keys tilted his head. “What’s going through your mind?” Demo noticed he’d been squinting his eyes more recently and wondered if the kid needed glasses.

“Contemplating how much stalking I can get away with before it becomes creepy,” Demo muttered without thinking. Then felt his cheeks heat when he realized he’d said that out loud.

Pumpkin threw his head back and laughed. “None! Fuck, man, you have it bad.”

Sadly, Demo wasn’t sure he could argue with his friend.