“It was good.” Sean was practically beaming as he announced, “Coach said he was going to start me in this week’s game.”
“That’s awesome, Sweetie. I’m so proud of you.”
“I’ll be the only sixth grader starting. It’s kind of a big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal, and you totally deserve it. You’ve worked hard to get that spot.”
Unlike his brother, Sean had always been very driven. If he wanted something, he wasn’t afraid to work for it. I’d always hoped that Corry would find something that motivated him the way basketball had done for Sean, but that hadn’t happened. It seemed the divorce had made him even less motivated. It was a thought that had my stomach twisting into knots. As soon as Sean picked up on my change of mood, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking about what to get for dinner.”
“Hmmm...that’s not it. What’s really going on?” Sean’s brows furrowed as he asked, “Did Corry do something?”
“What makes you ask that?”
“Cause Corry is always doing something.” He shrugged as he let out a frustrated sigh. “Just wish things could be like they used to.”
“How so?”
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters. Tell me what you meant.”
Before he could answer, my car started to wobble and shake,, making it difficult to stay on the road. Sounding completely freaked out, Sean shrieked, “What was that?”
“I think we have a flat?” I eased over onto the shoulder and grumbled, “Good grief. I can’t seem to catch a damn break.”
Chapter 3
Widow
I was in a mood. A bad one. And I didn’t know why. For whatever reason, I was feeling on edge and wanted to be alone, so instead of hanging at the clubhouse and shooting the shit with the brothers, I headed home after work. I was looking forward to kicking back and watching an old western, but unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten far when I noticed a blue sedan on the side of the road. It wasn’t something that was out of the norm. Nashville was a big city. I drove by broken-down cars all the time. I’d help out from time to time, but tonight I just wasn’t feeling it and drove right by.
As soon as my headlight flashed across them, I was immediately hit with guilt. It wasn’t some guy changing a flat. It was a woman and her kid, and from the looks of it, they weren’t having an easy go of it. I’d barely driven past them when I found myself making a fucking U-turn with my motorcycle in the middle of the damn highway. When I pulled up behind them, I noticed that both the woman and her kid were using all their weight to turn the lug wrench, but the nut wasn’t budging. Thinking it would make it easier to see, I left on my lights and headed over to offer my help. “You guys need a hand?”
The woman glanced up at me, but only for a second. Hell, I didn’t even get a decent glimpse of her before she’d turned her attention back to the tire. Her long, black hair was down in her face, making it impossible to get a clear view of her as she replied, “No, thanks. I appreciate you asking, but my husband is on his way.”
“He is?” the kid asked, sounding surprised. “You haven’t even talked to him. How would he know to come?”
“Sean.”
“What?” The boy let go of the wrench and stood. “I didn’t hear you call him.”
“He’s coming, Sean. Now, hush,” the lady fussed as she pushed on that fucking wrench like her life depended on it. She was freaked out, and she had every right to be. It was dark, and she and her son were alone on the side of the highway with the likes of me—a roughneck biker from the wrong side of town. I could only imagine the terrified thoughts that were racing through her head as she whispered to her son, “He’ll be here in a minute.”
The kid looked about eleven or twelve with dark hair like his mother. I hadn’t been around many kids, but he seemed like a nice enough one. His blue eyes were fixed on me as he stood there considering a way out of the mess he and his mother were in. He was really giving me the once over, like he was trying to decide if I was an okay guy or if I was going to kill them both right then and there. After several moments, he looked back over to his mother, and when he saw that she wasn’t making any progress, he said, “Come on, Mom. Why can’t he just help us?”
“There’s no sense in putting him out when your father is on his way.”
The kid turned back to me as he asked, “We aren’t putting you out, are we?”