Page 4 of Jake

Jakecouldn’tbelievehe’drun into Heather, here of all places, in the motorcycle museum in Sturgis, South Dakota. The last time he’d seen her was just before his family had moved out of Mobile, as they’d followed his dad on the first of what had turned out to be many moves. Thankfully, he’d only had a couple of years left at home before he’d joined the military and had moved out.

He’d moved just as much as his parents had after that, but at least it had been following his own life, and not theirs. He’d always regretted leaving Mobile though. In high school he’d always had a crush on the sweet redhead now standing in front of him, but hadn’t had the nerve to do anything about it. Maybe that could be different now.

Jake turned to meet her cousin and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “You’re one of the Kings?” He held out one hand. “Good to meet you, I’m Jake.” He shook the newcomer’s hand.

“I’m Iceman.”

“I’ve heard of you. I didn’t know you were from Alabama.” Jake motioned toward Heather.

“I’m not. She is. But I didn’t know anyone in the Souls was from there either.”

“I haven’t been back in a long time.” He turned back to Heather, feeling guilty about ignoring her to talk to her cousin. “I’d hoped you were doing okay.” Crap. He hadn’t meant to say that. Now she knew he’d thought about her after they’d moved. And he had. A lot. But he hadn’t planned on telling her that.

“I was for a long time, but I just needed to get away for a while. It seemed like a perfect chance to come up and visit my favorite cousin.” She leaned over and rested her head on Iceman’s shoulder, batting her eyes at him. Iceman rolled his eyes, but wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close.

“I’m glad you did. I missed you too.”

Jake got the feeling he wanted to say more, but didn’t because of how public they were, and maybe what he wanted to say was private. He wondered if Iceman would have said it if he wasn’t here or if they were just around the Kings.

“We were just headed back to the park,” Iceman said. “I guess we’ll see you there?”

“I just got here, want to take a turn around the place then I’ll be back. I need to be there before they start serving to make sure my men are lined out on how things work.”

Iceman frowned for a split second then turned to Heather. “You ready?”

“Whenever you are, but don’t rush on my account.”

“I didn’t. I’m done.”

“Okay.” She turned to Jake. “I guess we’ll see you at the park then.” She headed for the door.

Jake couldn’t help but watch her go, hoping she’d be around long enough he could see if what he’d felt for her all those years ago was still there, and that maybe she felt something similar. He was determined not to let this opportunity slip past him. He wouldn’t lose what might be his last chance at the only girl he’d wanted to spend time with before he’d been forced to leave her behind, not again, not if he could help it. He took hope that she was at the event with her cousin. Hopefully, it meant she wasn’t with one of the Kings. And maybe open to something with him.

Jakewanderedthroughthemuseum, reading plaques, and admiring some of the more extravagant bikes. He didn’t know why, but he found his thoughts kept drifting back to Heather. It wasn’t like he’d never thought of her. Several times over the years, he’d wondered what had happened to her, and hoped she was happy. Now it appeared his hopes had been for naught.

She’d had a hollow, almost haunted look in her eyes that made him want to pull her close, to tell her everything would be all right and then to shelter her from the world. That wasn’t practical, and he knew that, but damned if he didn’t want to.

He glanced at his watch as he walked through the last room of the museum, taking in the different bikes and looks as he noted he still had almost an hour until Miles told him he needed to be back. Did he want to do something else or maybe go back to the park and mix with the Kings? Hadn’t that been where Iceman said they were headed? If he went back, he might get a chance to talk to her again, maybe ask a few questions. Find out if maybe he could see her again.

Granted five hours between Gillette and Dickenson might make it more difficult, but since when had difficult kept him from doing anything he actually wanted to do? Not since he’d been in high school wishing he had the nerve to ask out a certain redhead.

Now, he took his time as he made his way through the rest of the museum, even browsing through the giftshop, and dropping an extra fifty in the donation box before he headed back out to his bike. Time to put his regrets in the past and see if maybe Heather could be talked into seeing him again.

He considered options and tactics as he made the short ride back to the park, then walked his bike backwards into line with the rest of his brothers’ bikes. Jake still hadn’t settled on a plan when he spotted her, a can of beer in hand as she chatted with a couple standing with Lurch, Tuck, London, and Kerry. He couldn’t help but smile, as he noticed that she fit right in, as if she hung out with club leadership all the time.

4

Mattwaiteduntiltheywere back to the park to start questioning her. “Are you sure he doesn’t have ties to the club in Mobile? The one your dickhead ex got mixed up with?” he asked as he dismounted from the bike.

“While I can’t be a hundred percent sure, I’d say ninety-nine percent sure.” She handed him her helmet so he could secure it. “He was a nice kid. His folks moved him out of Mobile while we were still in high school, and he said today he hadn’t been back. Aaron could have lied, but why?”

“Why? Because he is mixed up with those assholes and doesn’t want you to know.”

Heather fought the urge to roll her eyes. Usually, it was her being paranoid about anyone she didn’t know being tied to that club in Mobile, but then again, she felt like she knew Aaron.

But did she? It had been so long since she’d seen him last. And while she thought she’d known him then, she also thought she’d known Mitch, and look how that had turned out. Her mind began to spiral. Was she wrong about Aaron? Was he here looking for her? Did he plan to take her back to Alabama and the hell she had no doubt waiting for her there?

She shook herself and told herself that was stupid. Aaron had always been the first one to step up and stand up for anyone being mistreated or bullied. While she had no doubt he’d changed in the interim years, she didn’t think he’d changed that basic part of himself.