12. Rory

12

Rory

R ory was excited. The Griffins were going for a day’s ride up Raton Pass and into Colorado. It had been quite a while since they had been able to organize a ride. He was looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Drake, Cat, and Savvy were already at the breakfast table when he made his way to the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he greeted them with a smile.

“Hi, Daddy,” Cat said.

“Hi, Daddy, “Drake echoed.

“What are you guys up to today?”

“We solemnly swear that we are up to no good,” Drakes quoted very seriously.

Savvy shrugged and said, “We’ve been reading the Harry Potter books.”

“We talk about bravery and whether the characters always do what is right and why,” Cat said.

“Wow, that sounds like grown-up lessons,” Rory said.

“Savvy says that as long as we understand what we are learning about she’s going to keep pushing us. If it’s super easy, we ain’t learning,” Drake said.

“Aren’t,” Savvy and Rory said at the same time.

“What are you going to do?” Cat asked.

“I’m going to go on a motorcycle ride with my friends today.”

“We need motorcycles,” Cat said.

“Yesterday, you wanted a horse,” Rory reminded her.

“We want one of those, too. One for each of us. Savvy, too, so she can ride with us,” Drake said.

“Yeah. You can ride motorcycles with us and Savvy can ride horses with us,” Cat said.

Rory looked over at Savvy, who was trying to hide her laugh.

“Is there anything else that you want?” he asked dryly.

“Not today. Just a motorcycle and a horse,” Cat said.

Savvy burst out laughing, while Amy and Rosa giggled. Colby looked around the room as if to say that he wasn’t in this conversation.

“I’ll think about it,” Rory said. “I’m not making any promises or guarantees.”

The kids looked disappointed, as though they thought that the result of his “thinking about it” was going to be a “no.”

He hugged the kids, told them to behave, and met up with the rest of the Griffins at their clubhouse.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was warm and the skies were pure blue. The ride was exhilarating.

Suddenly, several motorcycles, outside of their club, moved in on them quickly. Sebastian signaled, and the Griffins pulled into a rest stop with the foreign bikes following close behind. Rory groaned when he recognized the members of the Silver Fangs Club.

“What’s going on, guys?” Rory asked.

“We just wanted to know who was running through our territory,” Blackjack said.

“There is no territory. This is a public interstate, open to anyone,” Sebastian said.

“No. We own it,” Blackjack said.

Sebastian laughed and said, “You guys watch way too much television. You are nothing more than juvenile, wannabe gangsters determined to create chaos. Go back to your little playhouse and back off.”

Blackjack threw a punch at Sebastian. He ducked the punch, did a leg sweep, and had Blackjack pinned to the ground in a flash.

The other Silver Fangs members postured for a fight. The Griffins stood shoulder to shoulder. Rory grinned and said, “Bring it.”

He crossed his arms, shifted his weight to one foot, and said, “Well, are we going to do this or not?”

The rival gang members looked at each other and then back at the Griffins.

“Get the fuck off of me,” Blackjack said.

Sebastian, whose knee was on the other man’s chest said, “Say please.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s not very nice.” Sebastian laughed.

The Silver Fangs looked at their leader on the ground and then back at the Griffins. They were clearly outnumbered and likely outmatched. They walked back to their motorcycles.

Sebastian let Blackjack up.

“You’d better watch your back,” he growled.

“Anytime you want to fight let me know, unless, of course, you are going to be a coward who comes at me from behind – in which case, I will still take you down,” Sebastian said.

Blackjack spit on the ground near Sebastian’s boot and stalked back to his motorcycle. The group took off with their tails tucked between their legs.

“They sure know how to ruin a good day,” one of the Griffins said.

“Why? They didn’t take anything away from me. I won’t let a bunch of idiots ruin my day,” Rory said. “I intend to finish our ride and enjoy doing it.”

Everyone looked at each other and nodded. They got back onto their bikes and continued their ride.

Rory couldn’t help but worry about the trouble that the Silver Fangs might cause in the future, especially if they managed to catch a couple Griffins off guard and outnumber them. Then, he shook his head and told himself, “Practice what you preach. Enjoy the ride.”

He was tired by the time that he got back in town but decided to make a quick stop. The motorcycle shop was closed, but a quick phone call persuaded the owner to open the doors just for him.

“Sorry to bother you so late, Frank. My kids are asking for horses and motorcycles,” Rory said.

“I can help with one of those but not with the other…unless you count horsepower,” Frank said. “And don’t worry about it. You know I was here.”

“Considering that you live in the apartment above your shop, I had an idea that you would be home. You really need to join the Griffins. We had a great ride today,” Rory said.

“Maybe soon. I’m supposed to be getting a prosthetic leg soon. It will make it easier to maneuver everything. Meanwhile, I’ll just live vicariously through you guys. So, what about those bikes?”

“They are still little, so I was just thinking maybe a little eighty CC Kawasaki for each of them. One blue and one green. Cheaper and easier to maintain,” Rory said.

“Lower to the ground and don’t move as fast and unpredictably as a horse,” Frank said.

“Unless you unintentionally pull the hand brake.” Rory laughed.

He put in the order and paid for the motorcycles. Rory hung around and gabbed with the old-timer for a while. He knew that Frank got lonely and enjoyed the company.

When he got back to the house it was quiet. He figured the pups were already in bed. Savvy wasn’t out back so he took a chance that she might be in the library.

Just go to bed. Leave her alone.

He ignored his advice and headed into the library. She was curled up on the sofa in the library, engrossed in a book. A purplish dragonfly was perched on her shoulder as though the insect was reading along with Savvy.

She must have sensed that she wasn’t alone anymore because she looked up at him and smiled.

“Who’s your friend?”

“She wandered into the house and perched on my shoulder. Dragonflies are good luck so I let it hang out with me. I’ll help her get back outside later.”

“I’ve always liked dragonflies. There’s something majestic about them,” Rory said.

“I agree. How was your ride?”

“It was good for the most part,” he said.

“For the most part?”

“We were about halfway up Raton Pass when we noticed that we were being followed. It seemed that the Silver Fangs decided that they were going to act like some kind of thug street gang. They said that we were riding in their territory. Then, their leader, a fool who goes by the name Blackjack, swung at Sebastian.”

“I imagine that didn’t turn out so well.”

“No. Sebastian never even threw a punch. He ducked, and then swept the man’s legs out from under him, and then pinned him to the ground.”

“Oooh, not good for the ego,” Savvy said.

“No. I imagine that we haven’t seen the last of them. The others bowed up like they wanted to fight, but decided that the odds were against them. They gave us a cheesy warning like watch your back or something stupid like that.”

“So, they are twelve, huh?”

“Something like that,” Rory said. “I made a stop on the way home. I ordered a couple of motorcycles for Drake and Cat.”

“Uh-oh,” she said. “I guess I’d better call my friend and have her make a ton of that healing salve.”

“The bikes are small and they don’t go very fast. They’ll have helmets, elbow and knee pads, and little boots to protect them. They can’t get hurt too badly.”

Savvy giggled and shook her head. “They’re children. Besides, look at me. I’m slow and low to the ground. I’ve tripped over air and banged myself up pretty good.”

There was something about her smile and sparkling blue eyes that drew him in.

“You are just so damned adorable,” he said.

“Aw, shucks. Thank you,” she said, making a heart-shaped sign with her hands under her face. “I practice in the mirror.”

He grinned. The chemistry between the two of them was thick.

Just then, the dragonfly flew off of Savvy’s shoulder and buzzed right by his ear. He watched the beautiful insect head out of the library.

“I hope she doesn’t get stuck in the house and starve to death.” He paused. “You know, I don’t remember seeing dragonflies in the area before,” Rory said.

“Maybe you haven’t looked in the right places,” Savvy suggested. “You know, dragonflies and bats are great to have around. Dragonflies eat up to a hundred mosquitoes a day. Bats will eat up to a thousand of them bloodsucking pests.”

“Maybe I should put up some bat houses and whatever attracts dragonflies,” Rory said.

“That sounds like a terrific idea,” she said. “I, for one, am not a fan of mosquitoes.”

“I don’t think anyone is except for dragonflies and bats,” he said.

She grinned. Her smile seemed to light up the room. He looked at her, stretched out on the couch, wearing a long, white T-shirt and what he figured was a pair of shorts. Rory remembered spreading those legs, bending them at the knees, and then pushing the knees to her chest while her silky walls massaged his shaft.

He groaned as he felt himself start to harden at the thought. She bit her bottom lip and looked at him as though she knew what he was thinking.

She folded her book and stood up. “Those young’uns are going to be up early. I better get some rest.”

Savvy touched his arm when she left and flashed him another grin. “Sweet dreams.”

The pressure in his pants increased, and he watched her ass twitch as she walked out the door. He wanted so badly to go after her, throw her down on her bed, and bury himself deep inside of her.

Cold shower, big boy. Hands off the nanny.