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“Okay,” she agrees.
We lie there in the dark, me holding her, until her breathing grows deep and I know that she has fallen asleep.
I carefully roll her to free my arm and turn on my side. I toss and turn as flashes of the wreck keep replaying in my mind. Finally, I give up on sleep and slip from the bed.
I walk quietly to the living room, pour myself a tall glass of whiskey, grab the remote, and settle in on the couch.
I find an old black-and-white Western and let Steve McQueen and Johnnie Walker keep me company while she sleeps.
It’s going to be a long day.
Maxi
“Hey, what’s shakin’, biker babe?” Erin greets as I enter the Rocky Pass Vacation Rentals office.
I remove the sunglasses from my face and place them on top of my head.
After the concert last night, I let her talk me into taking her for a spin around town on Suga. She locked her arms around me like a vise and screamed every time I made a turn, but by the time we made it back to the fairgrounds, where Jena was waiting with her car, those screams had turned into shrieks of pure joy.
She has been bitten by the Harley bug.
I have no doubt Ted will be shelling out a small fortune for a hog before too long.
“Are you here to take me for another ride?” she asks.
I shake my head, and she frowns.
“No. I’m in my truck. I came to pick up my stuff from last night,” I tell her.
“Oh, right.” She turns and calls down the hallway, “Sara-Beth, where did you put Maxi’s bags?”
Sara-Beth and Leona appear from around the corner.
“Hello, Maxi. I have them right here.” Sara-Beth walks over to Taeli’s desk and opens a bottom drawer to retrieve the black plastic bags containing my purchases from the rally. “Here you are,” Sara-Beth says as she hands them over.
“Thank you again,” I say. “Oh, and I have next month’s rent.”
“Next month’s rent? It’s not due for three more weeks.”
“I know, but tips have been good this week and I like to stay ahead of the game when I can,” I say.
I reach into my back pocket and hand her the folded check. She sits in Taeli’s chair and opens a book to write out a receipt.
“Did you girls have fun at the concert?” she asks.
“We did. The bands were so good. I wish I could go tonight, but I have to work.”
“Bummer,” Erin mutters.
Standing over Sara-Beth’s shoulder, Leona leans in to see the names listed on the check and looks back up at me. “AJ Burke? Why does that name sound familiar? Is your family from around here?” she asks.
My mother and I shared a bank account and I have yet to order new checks with her name removed.
I shake my head. “No. We’re from Maryland, but my mother’s parents owned a vacation spot on the river. They used to come here in the summers when she was a girl.”
“What were your grandparents’ names?” she inquires.
“Clifton and Candice Burke.”
