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Chapter 1
Tessa Lee stoodin her classroom, looking out at her students. It was a study period, although several were drawing or reading books that weren’t textbooks. She wandered through the room, answering an occasional question and glancing at what they read or drew.
When she looked over Kayla Vonn’s shoulder, she saw a carefully drawn picture of a motorcycle. It was a big bike, with high handlebars and fat tires. She thought it was amazingly well-rendered and showed details that Tessa would never have imagined. The world was a changing place, but in her experience, a girl drawing a motorcycle or car was still unusual. Charmingly so. But then, Kayla was unusual—certainly, she was self-assured for a twelve-year-old. She was a good student too. Not gifted, but smart, and willing to study. For Tessa’s money that was better than being gifted.
“That’s quite a drawing,” she said. “You certainly know how to draw a motorcycle.”
“My uncle is a biker,” Kayla said.
“A biker?”
“Just like my dad used to be before he got hurt.” She looked up. “He had an accident. Uncle Ronan knows everything about motorcycles.”
“Everything?” Tessa teased.
“Everything worth knowing,” the girl said confidently.
Tessa looked closely at this young girl. She had a blond braid, pale blue eyes, and a small, pointed face. Tessa wondered about her home life. She’d never known any bikers before. “Was your father in a club?”
“The Road Kings,” she said proudly.
The year had just started, and Tessa was just getting to know her class, but Kayla Vonn had already impressed her. She was a bit of a loner. Although she got along well with the other kids, she didn’t seem to initiate conversations. She watched her classmates with her eyes darting over them as if she were studying them. When the kids were on their own, she seemed able to either stand and watch or take charge. The force of her personality gave her the potential for being a natural leader.
Now, hearing that this little girl spent her time around bikers sent up a red flag. It was hard to imagine that bikers would provide the ideal environment for a preteen. As always, the real question, her main concern, was if Kayla was safe and properly taken care of. She was thin but certainly seemed well-fed and healthy, so that part was fine. She usually dressed like a tomboy, but her clothes were clean.
Tessa tried to reconcile this happy kid with her preconceptions of bikers. She wondered if this club was nothing more than a social club. She’d read about the growing trend for weekend biker clubs. A lot of the people in those were lawyers and doctors. That wouldn’t be a reason for concern.
“What does your father do?” She tried to make the question innocuous.
“Right now, he’s recovering. He doesn’t always go to rehab like he should.”
“What did he do before his accident?”
Kayla shrugged. “I think he sold old cars.”
So much for her thread of hope.
“Uncle Ronan is picking me up today, along with Uncle Jett,” Kayla announced. She smiled in a conspiratorial way. “Jett isn’t really my uncle, since he’s my mom’s foster brother, but he and Uncle Ronan are like BFFs, so they usually hang out together, and I hang out with them.”
“Is he? I thought your mom was the one who does that.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about the child having two bikers influencing her.
“Yeah, but Uncle Ronan thinks she has enough to do taking care of Dad. She works too. She’s a waitress. Since I’ve been hanging out with Uncle Ronan and Uncle Jett in the afternoons, he decided they might as well pick me up and save Mom the trip.”
“Hanging out?”
Kayla gave her a huge grin. “At the garage.”
“What garage?”
“Uncle Ronan is a mechanic, and Uncle Jett restores vintage motorcycles.” Her dimples appeared. “That means they’re old, but people pay more for them if you call them vintage.”
It seemed obvious the little girl was quoting something she’d overheard. “This is a real garage? Or is it at your uncle’s house?”
“It’s a real business. Everyone brings him their bikes to fix because he’s the best. My dad is supposed to go to physical therapy in the afternoons, and he can’t drive, so my mom takes him, and I help out in the garage with Uncle Ronan and Jett.”
A picture of Kayla surrounded by bikers, an image right out of the movies, made Tessa shudder. “You help out?”
She smiled proudly. “Working on bikes. They’re teaching me stuff. Uncle Ronan promised today I can rebuild a carburetor all by myself.”
