Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Following King to the eastern edge of town where the motorcycle dealership and Golden Lions’ clubhouse were located, Jayne had a fast and furious debate with herself.

King was a dozen years younger than she was, but that didn’t have to be a bad thing. Men her age relied heavily on little pills to satisfy a woman, but she had a feeling King would not need such crutches for many years to come.

She was tired of being alone, and the attraction between them seemed to be sizzling. She was just worried that she would not be woman enough for him.

Now that she’d retired, her interests had dwindled to making the stuffed critters that she sold or donated to various charities, reading, and trying the new flavors of coffee at the coffee shop that doubled as an art and craft store.

The last time she’d been on a motorcycle had been in college, and her boyfriend had been off, and that ride had scared her so much that she’d broken up with him after they’d returned to her dorm at the end of that date. She hoped King was old enough and settled enough that he would not be quite so crazy.

By the time she parked where one of King’s friends directed, she had decided that a ride on his motorcycle would be the litmus test for the future of any relationship they might have.

She was still debating with herself when King knocked on her window.

Opening the door, she unhooked her safety belt and twisted in her seat before pushing out and standing.

“Everything okay?” he asked as she flipped the seat forward and pulled out the bag of animals he had bought.

“Yes. Sorry, I was just thinking about our date.”

“Yeah?”

She turned and looked up at him, feeling the shivers in her belly that she had not felt since she was nineteen. The shivers that told her this was a man she wanted to spend time with.

“Yeah. I’d like to go out with you. Can we go on your motorcycle?”

“Have you ever been on a bike before?”

Jayne nodded slowly. “Once back in college. It wasn’t the best of rides. He seemed to enjoy hearing me scream as he scared me.”

King frowned as he lifted his gaze and looked past her. Taking a deep breath, he fisted his hands and then looked like forcibly relaxed them again. “That was a dick thing for him to do and I would never do such a thing. Especially with you on the back of my bike. I have a thing tomorrow, but could we get together say Tuesday?”

Jayne thought for a moment before nodding. “Tuesday sounds perfect.”

“Great, I’ll pick you up at ten and we’ll go to the beach before lunch.” King looked so happy that she could not help smiling back.

“I’d like that. I’ll see you Tuesday.”

It wasn’t until she arrived home and unloaded everything from the car that she realized she had not given him her address. Or her phone number.

Just then her left back pocket buzzed. She’d silence the ringtone, but allowed it to vibrate to notify her of calls and texts. Pulling it out, she saw there was a text from a number she did not recognize.

Opening it, she smiled as she read the note.

Hey Lady Jayne, it’s King. Did you get home okay? Do you need help unloading? Let me know and I can be there ASAP.

What impressed her most about his message was that he used complete words and sentences. After adding his number to her contact list and giving him a proper name, she thought for a moment before typing.

Jayne: I’m home, and everything is unloaded. Thanks for the offer. See you Tuesday.

King: I’ll need your address, unless you want to meet me at the shop.

Jayne: I can meet you at the shop. Ten o’clock on Tuesday.

King: See you then, sweetheart.

Jayne used a thumbs up emoji to answer before laying her phone on the coffee table. She needed a nap, snack, and a shower, though not necessarily in that order.

King forced himself to close the app and slip his phone into his pocket, though he really wanted to pick up on their conversation from earlier. But he knew she was tired, and he could use a shower and nap himself. He would text her tomorrow to see how she was doing. Instead, he would make sure everything was cleaned up, and figure out what to do with the toys he had purchased. Maybe they could put together a display in a corner of the showroom with the poster and flyers advertising next week’s toy run.

“Prez?”

King sighed and looked over his shoulder at the prospect who looked as uncomfortable as anyone could ever be. “What is it?”

“Ram told me to wash the dishes spick and span, but I wanted to check with you about that. My grandmama never let anyone clean her cast iron pans because they weren’t cleaned the same way as her other pans were.”

King closed his eyes and shook his head as he took a deep breath. It took a moment before he could answer the youngest member of the club. “You tell Ram that if anyone touches my pans, I’ll be using them to beat his skull in.”

“Yes, Sir,” the prospect said before hurrying away.

Looking down at the bag of stuffed animals, he gave weary sigh. “I guess you’ll have to wait until Monday to get out of the bag.”

Hefting the bag over one shoulder, King chuckled at himself as he stalked around the building and through the gate into the secure back parking lot. He continued until he entered the garage building located behind the showroom.

“Ram, you touch my pans and we’re going to have words,” he called to the group of men that were gathered around the industrial sink near the open garage doors.