Chapter Eleven

Rascal held Meg's hand as Roam finished the last of the coloring on his tattoo. They'd been back from getting Meg's furnishings for a week. Roam had fit him in this morning, and then Rascal had something he wanted to share with Meg.

When they'd returned and moved her items into the house, she'd mentioned that although they loved each other, they had a lot to learn about each other. She'd come up with the idea of each of them sharing something from their life that had made an impact on the other one. Last night, Meg had shared about when her parents had died, and as an only child, she'd been alone in the world. Even with it being over ten years since she'd lost them, her tears had soaked his shirt. Grief was a journey. Waves crash into your life at different times. The strength of the waves sometimes pulled you under until you thought you couldn't ever reach the surface again, and other times, it was a small reminder of the hole they'd left in your life.

With her sharing, he knew it was time he opened himself up, too.

"This is gorgeous, Roam. I can't wait until I get mine."

"Well, I'd be happy to do yours too, Meg, so that the work looks the same."

Even though he heard the teasing in Roam's voice, Rascal couldn't help but growl, "Not if you want to live," at one of the men he considered a brother.

Meg's giggle had her hand shaking, holding his. This woman brought love and laughter into his life when he'd thought he'd never find someone. If it took baring his heart for them to grow closer, he'd do whatever he needed to do.

Roam wiped along his chest one last time, then grabbed the clear wrap and adhered it. "All done."

Rascal stood up and looked in the mirror on the wall. He turned to Roam, sliding his hand on his neck. "Brother, have I ever told you how immensely talented you are and how happy I am we became partners? Thank you."

Roam smiled and nodded. "I will forever be grateful for you taking me under your wing, Rascal. We're brothers, but you're also like a second dad to me."

Rascal heard a sniff and turned to Meg. "Darlin', don't cry."

He walked over and pulled her into his arms. "I'm crying because I'm so happy to see you happy. I'm also thankful I was fired from my job because I found all of you."

He brushed a kiss against her forehead. Meg was fierce but also so incredibly soft-hearted.

"Let's take a bike ride."

Rascal led her out to the trike and helped her get on. He knew today was going to be hard but needed. Once Meg had realized how bad his back was, she asked him why he didn't have a trike to make riding easier. When he'd told her he did but he hadn't wanted her to think he couldn't ride his other bikes, she'd just shaken her head. He'd realized he didn't need to worry about her thinking less of him when he had back issues. He needed to take Meg on her own and quit projecting previous women's views onto her. She was unique and perfect for him. She accepted him with all his faults and failures.

He started the trike and headed to the cemetery. He was opening up today and sharing with the woman he was spending the rest of his life with.

Meg held Rascal's hand as he led her through the cemetery toward three headstones with motorcycle silhouettes in metal mounted on top of the marble. He paused by the stones. She read the stones while she waited on Rascal to gather his thoughts.

Frank "Shale" Smith, Beloved Brother and Friend, May Your Road Be Smooth

Earnest "Shim" Jones, Beloved Brother and Friend, May Your Ride Be Happy

Charles Weston, Prospect, Gone Before We Knew You

"Two and a half years ago, we'd taken a trip to Texas. Gage, who is one of Baron and Regina's kids you haven't met yet, was just opening the brewery, and we went for the grand opening. Locks stayed behind along with Baron. The bail bonds was low on personnel and behind, so he couldn't leave. Baron stayed because Regina had caught a virus from Grant, and he didn't want to leave her. So Roam, Compass, Shale, Shim, and I headed to Texas. War, Bear, Flick, Cannon, and Scoop hadn't joined us yet. It was a fantastic grand opening. Gage was so happy and proud. Baron had really wanted him to stay in Bluff Creek, but Gage knew that since he was young, the old guys would have a hard time seeing him as an adult.

He's the VP in the Cider Creek chapter of Bluff Creek Brotherhood and so happy. We headed back home. It was November. Texas had beautiful riding weather, though it was getting cooler. As we rode through Oklahoma, a front moved in, and the temperature dropped.

One of the prospects from Cider Creek was interested in possibly opening a tattoo shop. He had some fantastic drawings. He had a real gift."

Meg's heart hurt hearing the pain in Rascal's voice. She stepped closer, sliding her arm around his waist. He slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"But he had a crap bike. It broke down outside Oklahoma City. We stopped and worked on it a little but needed a part. He and I stayed with his bike while Compass and Shale rode back and got the part. We debated if we wanted to go ahead and stay the night. It had dropped to the thirties and sleet was lightly falling. Shim, even though he was my age, was quite the ladies' man and had a woman, who he wanted to see. Even though we still had two and a half hours riding and it was eleven, he pushed for us to go on."

Rascal paused and pulled out his phone, pulling up a picture. It was a picture of a photograph of the guys when they were still in the Army together and looking oh so young.

"That's Shim and that's Shale," his voice trembled a little when he pointed them out.

"What do their names mean?"

Rascal chuckled. "Shale was the youngest of us but quickly proved himself that he was like a rock under pressure. You knew no matter what happened, he'd be cool and collected. Shim was a big guy but could squeeze through the tiniest places ever. Heck, one of the guys wondered if he was like that character in the Fantastic Four that could make his body change sizes."

Meg leaned up and kissed Rascal's cheek. "They sound like good friends."

Rascal nodded as a small tear slid down his cheek. "The best," he croaked.

"We got back on the road and headed home. The turnpike wasn't bad. The crews had treated the roads. When we turned toward home and took 160, the roads weren't quite as good, but everyone wanted to continue on. We were cold and just wanted our beds. We weren't in our usual formation. Shale, who was Road Captain, wanted him and the prospect in front so if there was another issue with the bike, we could stop. Shim was next. Compass and I were riding side by side at the back. We headed up a hill, and the guys rode onto a bridge. Black ice had already formed, and the prospect had only learned to ride a bike in the last couple of months. He'd never ridden in bad weather. He lost control, and he and his bike hit Shale's bike, knocking it into the oncoming lane with an approaching car. Compass and I stopped our bikes and ran to help, but we both lost our footing because of the ice. While I laid there trying to get up, a semi crested the hill and drove directly into the car, Shale, the prospect, and Shim, who had stopped his bike in the middle of the road and gone to check on the guys. The semi dragged all of them for at least a hundred feet before he got the truck stopped.

I'd thought war was bad with the blood and wounds, but I will never get those images from my mind. They all had fatal injuries. The prospect was still conscious, but there was no way he would live. Nobody could lose that much blood. Compass and I called for emergency services and tried to help, but nothing worked. I always wondered if I would have pushed for us to stay the night in Oklahoma, would I have saved my friends?"

Meg leaned up and wiped the tears from Rascal's cheeks, swallowing around the lump in her throat. She wanted to comfort him but wasn't sure she could talk. The horror he'd gone through trying to save his friends and being unable to had to haunt him.

"We can spend our lives second guessing what we could have done. You have no way of knowing that the next morning wouldn't have been just as bad. I'm so sorry you lost them and have to live with the images. Sometimes things just don't make sense."

She stood with her arms around her man, offering comfort while he dealt with his loss. She couldn't change what he'd gone through, but she could stand by his side reminding him how much she loved him.