“Oh, well, let’s hope you haven’t had any mishaps.” I giggled as I teased, “I’d hate to see you end up on Jerry Springer.”
“Not gonna happen.” He chuckled as he took a quick glance of the yard and house. “So, what line of work are you in?”
“I own a coffee shop near the college. There were times when I actually thought I was going to go under, but one day the place just took off.” I smiled proudly as I told him, “It’s called the Coffee Shop on the Corner. You should come by and check it out sometime.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to do that.”
“What about you? What do you do?’
“My brothers and I manage Stilettos.”
“The gentlemen’s club?” I asked, sounding more surprised than I intended.
“There are two, but yeah. It’s a gentlemen’s club.” He cocked his eyebrow as he asked, “You ever been?”
“Me? Nooo.” I shook my head. “I’ve never been to any strip club before, and I’m not looking to go anytime soon.”
“So, I take it you won’t be putting it on your bucket list?”
“I won’t say no, but I’d say it’s doubtful.”
“Understood.”
Widow put out his cigarette right before my front door opened. We both turned to find Sean standing on the front porch. Sean’s eyes widened with surprise as he gasped, “Widow!”
“Hey, man. How’s it going?”
“Good.” Sean skirted down the steps as he asked, “What are you doing here?”
I’d been so wrapped up in our conversation I’d forgotten to even ask why he’d come by or how he’d even gotten my address. I don’t know what had gotten into me. I was usually so careful, especially around strangers, but I’d all but lost my head when it came to this man. Regardless, I was beyond relieved when he replied, “I came by to drop off your mom’s wallet.”
I shot up from my spot on the steps. “You found it?”
“I meant to say something when you mentioned losing it, but you were kind of on a roll.” As he offered it to me, he continued, “Must’ve fallen out when you stopped to fix the flat. I had to look at your license to get your address, but everything should still be there.”
“I was just about to cancel all my cards.” As I took it from his hand, I smiled and said, “Thank you so much for bringing it by.”
“No problem.”
“Hey,” Sean started. “I looked up some of those motorcycle safety videos on YouTube last night.”
“That right?”
“Yeah. There are a bunch of them. I’m gonna work on learning all the different hand signals.”
While I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of Sean becoming so interested in motorcycles, it was nice to see him so excited about something. I looked over to Widow as I teased, “Looks like you’ve started something here.”
“Looks that way.”
“Everything okay out here?” I looked up to find Corry standing on the steps with a concerned look on his face.
“Yes, sweetheart. Everything’s fine.” I motioned my hand towards Widow as I said, “This is Widow. The man who helped us with the flat tire.”
“Oh, right. Thanks for helping my mom like that.”
“Glad I could help.”
Corry’s eyes drifted to the driveway, and as soon as Corry saw Widow’s motorcycle parked behind my car, he gasped, “Is that the Harley Sean’s been talking about?”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Sean answered excitedly. “Isn’t it cool?”
“Hell, yeah it is. It’s totally badass!” Corry turned his attention to Widow as he asked, “Can I go check it out?”
“Absolutely.”
As soon as he gave the okay, both Corry and Sean raced over to his motorcycle and started fawning all over it like it was the most amazing thing they’d ever seen. Widow and I stood there silently watching them for several minutes before he finally said, “I think you’ve got some future bikers on your hands.”
“Maybe it’s just a phase.”
“Um-hmm. Keep telling yourself that.” His eyes met mine, and I held his gaze—right up until the moment he said, “I better get going.”
“Oh, okay.”
He didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at me like he was trying to commit my face to memory. I knew then it was doubtful I’d ever see him again. I figured it was for the best. I had two impressionable boys and a heart that had already been damaged beyond repair. I wasn’t ready to take a risk, not one this big, so I didn’t try and stop him. Instead, I simply said, “Thank you again for returning my wallet.”
“Sure thing.”
With that, he turned and started towards his bike. The boys were all smiles as they said their goodbyes. They were still smiling as they watched Widow put on his helmet and start the engine. As he pulled out of the driveway, I could hear them talking about how awesome Widow and his bike were. It seemed Widow hadn’t just made an impression on me; he’d made one on my boys as well. It seemed a shame we’d never see him again.