“Yeah, well, that’s what you said about the espresso machine, Noah, buddy. But now it burns you whenever you even get close to it, huh?”
Noah sighed and sniffed at the same time. “I do like it when he calls me buddy.”
Shepherd’s daughter had her elbows on the driver’s window and her chin in her hands. She watched his steady approach with drooping eyelids. “Can you just ride it already? I’m so bored.”
“I’ve got a process, Lex,” he said, keeping his eyes on the bike, sweat pooling on his neck and upper lip. “Trust the process.”
Max and Chris waited by the engine, their arms crossed and their eyebrows furrowed. “Shepherd,” Chris said, “you’re scaring me.”
“Good,” Shepherd said. “The bike can feel that.”
He grabbed onto the handlebars and pulled the bike away from the truck. The bike was heavier than anticipated and did not want to be pulled away from the truck. Straining, Shepherd finally got the bike away. He huffed out a laugh. “Got it.”
“Right,” Max said. “Sure. Lex?”
“Already on it,” Lex chirped, suddenly awake. Shepherd glanced above him; she had her phone out and the flash on. “You’re doing great, Dad.”
Ignoring his only child, Shepherd swung one leg over the bike. It was higher than he expected, and his groin twinged, but he powered through and sat himself on the leather seat. “See?” He grinned at his chefs. “Easy peasy.”
“I have so much respect for you now,” Max said. “Congratulations, Boss. You sat on a motorcycle.”
“Do you know how to start it?” asked Chris.
Shepherd huffed. “Of course I know.” He had no idea. Something about turning the handle and putting his foot down? On something? A kick stand? Or was that for a regular bicycle? He dropped his voice and whispered, “Is Ginny watching?”
Lex, Max, and Chris all glanced towards the restaurant’s back door at the same time. He groaned and forced a smile. “Subtle, guys, thanks.”
“She’s gone, Boss,” Max said. “But the door is open, and Noah’s still there, so I think she just went back in for a drink.”
“Or her phone,” Lex added, her fingers moving across her phone screen. “Smile, Dad. This is your close-up. I’m calling it Moments Before Despair and Embarrassment.”
Shepherd continued ignoring her. “Guys,” he said, “I’m gonna need one of you to start this before she comes back. And if any one of you tells her I didn’t know how to turn this thing on, I’ll fire you both.”
Lex asked, “What if I do it?”
“Then you’re disowned. I’ll leave all my old socks to Noah when I die.”
“Aw, man, I had plans for those!” She made a wistful noise low in her throat. “Gross, disgusting plans. To take over the world. Who would stop me when in my hands is the ultimate weapon?”
Chris shook his head and waved Shepherd off the bike. “I’ll get it started for you. You want some tips on how to ride it?”
“What do I look like—a baby?” Shepherd got off the bike, but then the bike tried to follow, and it was only thanks to Chris’s speedy reaction that the bike didn’t fall on Shepherd’s leg. He grimaced. “Yes, I would like some tips, please. Thank you. Don’t tell Ginny.”
“Don’t tell Ginny what?” Ginny had returned from the restaurant, with her phone in one hand and a coolada in the other, and both of her ears working. Her eyes, too, probably.
Shepherd turned away with a grumble, throwing a glare at Chris as he got the motorcycle roaring to life for good measure.
Max clasped his shoulder. “Look, OK? The worst is over. You couldn’t start the bike—she saw that. It’s over. Right?” He gave Shepherd’s shoulder a squeeze. “It can only go up from here.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
It took only four false starts, two almost-collisions while Ginny watched—and one full-on collision after she’d gotten bored and gone back inside the restaurant—and a burn on his calf before Shepherd figured it out.
“You’regonna drive the bike, Chris,” Shepherd announced. “I’ll follow in my car, we will switch about a street away from the clubhouse, and, as God is my witness, I’ll watch enough YouTube videos tonight to learn how to park this thing in front of all those bikers.”
Chris did a double finger-guns that Shepherd took to mean acceptance of the plan.
Max shook his head. “Dude, Boss,” he said, unnecessarily using two nouns, probably just to piss Shepherd off more, “you really are in love.”
