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She remembered her parents thinking she was nuts when she’d bought her first bike. Too dangerous, too unpredictable, too easy to get hurt. They’d never understood the thrill of the wind blowing past you, the feel of the road right there beneath you, the raw and unfiltered experience of flying through the air with nothing between you and the world.
Everything seemed right when she was on her bike. Sane. There was a rhythm to it, like the rhythm her life had fallen into. Predictable. Understandable.
Until now. Now, it seemed like her life had become a crazy, chaotic mess, with this new gig at the MC and her sister getting arrested. Everything felt out of control.
She leaned into her bike as she took a curve on the back roads leading into town. This, at least, she could control. Her motorcycle. It would respond as it always did, and as much time as she spent on it, Piper had complete confidence that she could make her bike do just about anything she wanted.
As much as she wanted to forget the world and lose herself to the ride, the world kept pushing back in around the edges ofher mind. She really needed this bartending thing at the MC to work out.
Lately, she’d been letting herself get caught up in the romance of it all. Working around outlaw bikers who gave zero fucks what the world thought of them, letting her wild side out as much as she liked.
And, in the process, flirting harder and harder with Pony. Was that a mistake? Was she letting the thrill of being around bad boys all day alter her judgement?
After all, Pony might not be the man she wanted him to be. That she imagined him to be. That could just be her hormones talking. It was almost certainly a bad idea to pursue anything with him, especially as much as she needed this bartending job to work out right now. That sort of involvement could derail her already complicated life.
Now she was in the lights and traffic of town, and slowed both her motorcycle and her thoughts so she could navigate the streets. She needed to keep her head on straight.
She spotted the flower shop where she was supposed to have her little secret meeting and slowed down, looking around for a suitable parking spot. Piper looped around the block twice before she found a spot a little ways down the street from the shop and pulled in.
She left her helmet on as she made her way down the street, and only took it off once she was inside the flower shop. A quick look around told her that the place was nearly empty, with only the cashier and the man she was here to meet.
There he was, casually browsing the shelves, the man she called her father. Even this late in the evening, he was still wearing his suit and tie. She was pretty sure he slept in it.
“Piper,” he said, smiling and beaming once he saw her. “So good to see you.”
“You too, Dad,” she said.
He gave her a big hug, then stepped back and looked her over as if to check for hidden damages.
“Have you been taking care of yourself?” he said.
“Always do.”
“It’s been too long,” he said.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s always true. I worry about you, you know.”
“I know,” Piper said. “But everything’s fine. Really.”
He looked around the shop, once again seeming like he was looking for hidden damages or maybe wayward leaks or some other gremlin that might be lurking in the shadows. Always on high alert. Always looking for signs of hidden trouble.
“Come on over here,” he finally said. “There’s something I want to show you.”
“Sir?” the cashier said. “We’re closing in ten minutes.”
“Okay, thanks. I just want to get my daughter something quick.”
He led her over to a part of the store that was about as far from the cash register and the cashier as they could get and still physically be inside the store. The entire way there, he ambled slowly, chattering away about some vase that he’d seen that he thought would really spruce up her living room with the right flowers inside of it.
“Gee thanks,Dad,” Piper said.
Once they were far away from the cash register, he looked around carefully again, up the aisle, down, then up on his toes to look over the shelves. He didn’t speak until he’d looked in every possible direction around them.
“All right,” he said once he seemed satisfied. “There’s nobody else in the store. The cashier won’t be able to hear us from over there.”
“As long as we keep our voices down,” Piper said.
