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He rolls to his back, the tension in the room building like a summer thunderstorm. Even Jack notices and jumps off the bed. His back claws scrape on the hardwood floor as he scurries away.
“It’s long and complicated.”
I inch closer to him. “I’m here to listen. Plus, I want to get to know you more.”
He sits up, resting against the wall, his gaze trained on the ceiling. He inhales a deep breath and slowly releases it. “You already know we share the same dad, different moms.”
I sit up, wrapping a blanket around me and crossing my legs like a pretzel, giving him my undivided attention.
He continues. “Might as well start from the beginning. Our dad and my mom met at a party after college graduation. Mom wasn’t a student but was at the party. They had a one-night stand, they went their separate ways, and Mom found out she was pregnant. She spent years hunting for him, but every lead turned into a dead end, and it was taking a toll on her. Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money, but we scraped by.”
Without saying a word, I rest my hand on his forearm. I want him to know I’m here for him. He glances down, the corner of his mouth twitches into a slight smile.
“When I was around five years old, she found him. But she was devastated to learn he got married and had a kid.” He blows out a long breath before continuing. “She confronted him. Had a DNA test done. He offered support financially, but that’s when my mom spiraled out of control.” I brush my thumb across his arm, encouraging him to continue. “From then until I was about fifteen, she got into drugs and made poor decisions in the guys she dated. She stopped being a mom, and essentially, I raised myself. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. Eventually, she found herself in the back of a cop car and behind bars for trafficking methamphetamine.”
“I’m so sorry, Ledger. That must have been so hard.”
He nods. “After that, they forced me to move into my dad’s house. Punk kid moving from the bad neighborhood to the one with mansions and swimming pools.” He huffs out a humorless laugh. “It was a recipe for disaster.”
Tilting my head, I ask, “How so?”
“I tried to be on my best behavior, but have you ever tried to tame a wild animal? It only lasts for so long before all hell breaks loose. And that was me. I never had to live with rules and suddenly I’m being told where I needed to be, how I needed to dress, what time to be home. It wasn’t what I was accustomed to. Trey and I are close in age. I’m a year older than him, so throughout high school it felt like a competition. He was the good kid that everyone loved. All he had to do was skate by. And I was the young punk that had to bust my ass to get noticed. Obviously, we ran in different crowds so that fueled our hatred for each other. Then girls got involved.” He glances up toward the ceiling and huffs out a small laugh. “It’s like they all wanted bragging rights that they were with two brothers. One would date Trey and then me or vice versa. It basically became a pissing match that drove an even bigger wedge between us. But then I met Archie, and he kicked my ass into shape.”
I scoot closer to him. I love that he’s opening up to me and I want to know everything about him. “How did he do that?”
“One night I was out with some friends, and we broke into a mechanic shop to steal some tools to pawn. I can’t remember how, but we got caught. Well, I got caught. My friends ran away. That’s when I met Archie. He said he wouldn’t press charges, but I had to work off the damage we did. I remember he told me,” his voice lowers, “‘If you don’t show up for work, I’ll hunt you down.’ He never finished that sentence, and I didn’t want to find out what he’d do if he had to hunt me down, so every day I made sure I was five minutes early.” He laughs at the memory. “Archie saved my life that day. He took me under his wing and put me to work. He helped me build my business to what it is today.”
I scoot closer to him. “Wow. That story is just…wow.” I pause, unsure of what to say. “Archie sounds like an incredible man.”
“He is. He’s a hardass, but he saw something in me. He knew exactly how to motivate me to stop being a punk and grow up. You’ll have to meet him someday.”
“I would like that.” I shift to sit next to him, loop my arms with his, and rest my head on his shoulder.
“Me too.”
EIGHTEEN
UNWELCOME SURPRISE
Ledger
As each day passes with no sign of Stevie, I wonder if she’ll show up at all. I just hope she’s okay. A part of me will always care for her, but we’re not good for each other. Too bad it took years of arguments to figure that out. While I wasn’t looking for marriage and kids, I wanted to settle my life down and grow some roots, mainly with my shop. Stevie has always been a free spirit, going wherever the wind blows. While it was fun for a while, I didn’t want that anymore. The last time she took off when I wanted to stay was the last straw. When she returned and found my house locked, she realized it was finally over. We’ve seen each other sparingly over the years and a few times have jumped back into bed after a few too many shots of whiskey, but it’s never been the same. It never will be.
I ratchet in a spark plug in my 1980s Harley Davidson Shovelhead. For the past five months, I’ve spent my spare time restoring and rebuilding the engine and it’s finally time to test it out. The frame sits on a jack stand. It’s all bare bones except for the engine, gas tank, and rear tire. I stand and grab the gas can and pour a little into the tank.
“Are you finally going to fire her up?” Jay walks into the shop and stands beside me.
“Yep.”
He rubs his hands together. “I can’t wait to listen to her purr.”
I turn the key and press the electric start. It sputters a little but doesn’t start. I pull the choke lever to give it a little more gas and try again. This time, she rumbles to life. I rev the engine, the roar echoing off the walls in the shop.
“Hell yeah!” Jay shouts over the noise.
A small smile plays on my lips. After five months, I was able to make her rise from the dead. Granted, I still have a lot more work to do with the body, but the heart and soul of the machine is alive.
Jay clasps me on the shoulder. “This bike is going to be so bad ass once you get it on the street. I’m glad I was here to witness the first start.”
