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Jett shook his head. “Sorry, man, but I’ve got the Wilsons’ bike to finish up before tomorrow.”
When Jett had crossed the shop to his workspace, Ronan winced as Slash asked, “How’s Linc?”
“So-so. If he actually starts doing the physical therapy they scheduled him for and takes his meds, they say he’ll stay able to walk fairly well. He won’t be riding again. He could do it, but any big jolt to the spine, even a hard bounce over a railroad track, could paralyze him.”
“Sorry to hear that. At least he’ll be able to move.” Slash watched Ronan run his hands over the engine. “Sometimes I think you work by Braille.”
“Sometimes I do. Something similar anyway.”
“Right.”
“Think about it. You know how sometimes you can walk into a bar and somehow you know somebody in there has bad intentions? I know you do that. I’ve seen you move before trouble had time to happen. For me it’s like that with an engine. Even turned off, it has a way of telling me things. If I don’t find anything that way, then I turn it on and feel how it hums. There’s lots of variations, but an engine has a feel to it. I’ve worked on yours enough to know what it should feel like idling. Now this problem is at speed, so that might not be enough, so I’ll listen, see if the sweetheart can purr or growl or roar with the right amount of encouragement.”
“Is this how you’re teaching Kayla to work?”
“It’s the only way I know, man. When I was in the Marines, I worked on choppers and it was the same thing. You can hear a rotor about to come off, or a bearing that is going bad. It’s more subtle with a bike, but the program is the same. Machined parts are whirling around inside and they make noise and vibration.”
“You love the damn things.”
“And you love what they do for you. We all do. But I love them for what they are too—cantankerous beasts that need a lot of coaxing to get them to do their best.”
“So, you coax, and when she’s doing her best, I’ll ride the crap out of her.”
“Let me see what I can do. I’ve still got several other jobs going on, too, you know. The parts came in today for Bernie’s rebuild. Seeing as Kayla will do the carb, I can take a bit to get your machine roaring again.”
“She’s got a knack for this stuff, Clutch. She really does.”
“And I’m all for her learning engines inside and out, as long as it doesn’t mess with her schooling.” He grinned. “I made a deal with Willow about that. She’s scared to death that because Kayla hangs out here, she’ll wind up being somebody’s old lady, with no job skills but being a waitress. This way she’ll have schooling and the choice of being a mechanic if she wants. If she hooks up with some biker, he’ll have the best running bike around.”
“Well, if anybody can herd a kid down that narrow path, it’s you. I’m with Willow. I’d hate to think how she’d turn out if she spent all her time around this crowd without that direction.”
“Well, your old lady is another good influence. Vanessa manages to be a biker chick and still have class.”
Slash smiled. “Yeah, she does that.”
“And you aren’t half as bad-ass as you make out.”
“Hush, damnit. We all have an image we need to project, dude, and I’m supposed to be the enforcer for this crowd. But I thought we weren’t allowed to say bad-ass after school.”
“The princess is occupied.”
“And you think she doesn’t hear every fucking word?”
Ronan shook his head. “You aren’t being helpful, pal. You want your bike fixed or not?”
“I’ll make myself useful and go find some beer.”
When Slash walked off to join Vanessa, who’d drifted over near Kayla, Ronan immersed himself in the repair. He was so distracted that he didn’t realize at first that Jett had crouched beside him, extending a beer. He shook his head. “Nah, not right now.”
“You’re in the zone. I gotcha.” Jett opened the beer and took a swig for himself. “I figured you’d say no, so I only got one.”
Ronan looked at his friend. “Then why’d you bring it over here?”
Jett took a long sip before smacking his lips. “The best cheap shit around.” He wiped his mouth in an exaggerated fashion. “I figured we should talk.”
“Huh? About what?”
“That luscious Ms. Lee. I know you were checking her out.”
