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twenty-four
Tabitha nearly had her nose pressed to the glass, hiding in the darkness outside the front door. The interior of the shop was brightly lit, and inside she could see a group of large men, all in blue jeans and leather vests, plus Delaney, clustered around one of the motorcycles she had up on a lift. Wyatt was there, too. He was excited, circling the men like he was part of the conversation. Tabitha wondered how long Wyatt had been back.
Trinity had just started whapping her tail with impatience when Delaney looked over, squinting at the glass. Tabitha waved, feeling foolish, like a window peeper.
Delaney jogged over and unlocked the door. As she pushed it open the cool air leaked out into the muggy night. “Hey, girls.” She smiled down at Trinity. “C’mon in.”
“Sorry to bother you.” Tabitha stepped inside. She nodded toward the men. “I didn’t know you’d have visitors.”
“It’s okay. These are just my bum uncles.” Delaney raised her voice on the last two words, making the men burst into smiles and laughter. “They rode all the way from Omaha to check up on me. C’mon over and meet them.”
“Don’t listen to her!” one of them shouted. “We just wanted to go for a long ride. Pippie just happened to be at the end of it.”
Raucous laughter followed.
Tabitha drew closer, Trinity at her side, calm and alert. Wyatt rushed over to greet her, maybe remembering her from before. His entire backside wagged as he pressed his muzzle into Trinity’s face. Trinity maintained her composure, tilting her head this way and that to deter his eager greeting.
“Wyatt, come,” Delaney said, and the dog went, after some consideration, to her side.
Tabitha assessed the four men who faced her and knew immediately that these were probably not genetic uncles, at least not all of them. Despite the similar clothing, not one guy looked much like the other.
“Tabitha, this is Boom.” She pointed to a huge guy with a barrel chest and legs to match, his umber skin highlighted by a white T-shirt and a salt ’n’ pepper beard. “Donnie.” She patted the potbelly of a slighter shorter guy with a bushy beard and a hoop earring in the left ear. “Zip.” Delaney waved a hand at a tall, skinny guy with knobby elbows and thick eyebrows, drawn in at the center, perpetually thoughtful. “And Sal.” The last guy was shorter than the rest and had the most tattoos. From what was showing on his forearms it looked like he had two full sleeves, along with a couple on the sides of his neck and even some on his fingers.
“Hi.” Tabitha waved, feeling completely at ease with the uncles, even though they might give some people pause if they were clustered outside a bar. “Omaha, that’s a long ride.”
“Well, if Pippie would stay put for more than a damn day, we wouldn’t have to work so hard to see her.” Boom, who obviously got his nickname from his voice, clapped a hand on Delaney’s back like she was just another big dude in the lineup.
She lurched with the impact. “With uncles like these, who can blame me for leaving home first chance I got?”
The laughter went up a notch, filling the room with male rumbles, finger-pointing, curses and testosterone. Tabitha didn’t know if she should be scared or jealous. Her quiet life of churchgoing and crossword puzzles, all under the watchful eye of Auntie El, was clearly an entirely different world from what Delaney had grown up in.
“How long are y’all staying?” Tabitha didn’t know if the usual small talk was appropriate for this bunch, but it was all she knew. She couldn’t talk motorcycles and had no idea how to deal with father figures. They were like this strange, foreign, scary and yet desirable entity that sent her running and yearning at the same time.
“We’ve been here a few days,” the one with tattoos said. Tabitha was pretty sure it was Sal. He had a gentle lilt to his voice. “We’re headed back tonight. Just a quick visit.”
“Had to check on our girl,” Donnie added. “See how she’s doing. See with my own two eyes.” His voice softened.
“Awww, you guys.” Delaney pretended to sock him in the gut. He caught her wrist and pulled her into a bear hug. The other three closed in, like a giant football huddle. Wyatt came alive and ran around them, rising on his hind legs and barking.
Trinity took it all in with quiet patience. Tabitha tried not to laugh, but when Delaney emerged from the circle, looking like a girl bursting through the surface of water, out of breath, she couldn’t help loosing a smile.
“You ride with Pipsqueak, here?” Sal looped his arm around Delaney’s waist and drew her to his side.
“Um, no.” Tabitha had come out here feeling down and a little lost, her need to glom on to some of Delaney’s strength like a desperate pull. She’d never expected to discover thepipsqueakside of hard-ass Sergeant Monroe. “I’ve never ridden a motorcycle. Not even on the back.”
All of the big uncle men exchanged horrified looks. Delaney followed this with a grin. “You’re in trouble, Steele,” she said. “You’re going to be on the back of a bike before the night is over.”
The next half hour was filled with conversation, most of which Tabitha couldn’t follow, despite the herculean efforts of everyone to make her feel part of the family. They sipped coffee from paper cups, brewed in the pot beside the register, and ate mini chocolate bars from the bowl next to the coffeepot, until Boom decided he was way too hungry to keep eating “baby chocolate” and needed real food before they got on the road.
“It’s All You Can Eat Pasta Night at Nonni’s, across the street,” Delaney said. “I go every Wednesday.”
“Let’s do it,” Boom agreed, which is when Tabitha tried to mind her manners and head home.
“No way.” Delaney squeezed her shoulder. “You’re coming along.”
Tabitha almost protested, not wanting to interfere, but Auntie El was at book club tonight and the choice between sitting at home alone with a sandwich and sitting in a warm Italian restaurant, eating pasta with friends, was an easy one.
Everybody geared up and headed for the door, which was when Wyatt tipped his head back, ears flopping, and let out a long, low howl.
