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Leaning my elbows on the island, I smiled. “Why don’t you come with me?”
Her eyebrows lifted. “To New Hope?”
“Yeah.” Before she could answer, I continued. “I’m going to find Tank and pay him back for the hotel room and then ask him if he might be willing to help me.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s the only plan I have right now,” I explained. “I don’t even know where to start. I’ve never made a decision for myself.” I shook my head. “I’m thirty years old, Rachel. How sad is that?”
“It’s not sad,” she replied. “It’s just how we grew up. We did what was expected. We were never given choices, only reminded of our responsibilities.”
“I guess you’re right.” I reached my hand across the island and grabbed hers. “Come with me today. It’ll be an adventure, and if nothing else comes from it, we can at least say we stepped inside a motorcycle club.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think it’s dangerous?”
“No. If they wanted to hurt me, they could have. I was at their mercy that night. But they were nice, and they helped me.”
“True.” She agreed but still looked hesitant.
“It’s a little over a two-hour drive. We’ll just tell everyone we went shopping or something if they ask, and we’ll be back tonight.”
I could tell she was considering it when she looked over my shoulder. Her eyes met mine briefly before she looked down at her clothes. “Do you think what I’m wearing is alright?”
I squealed, and she laughed. “So you’ll go?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “But seriously, does this seem like a motorcycle club outfit?”
“I don’t know.” I laughed and glanced at her outfit. “I think what you’re wearing is okay.”
“Are you wearing that?”
Looking down at my jeans and blouse, I shrugged. “I guess so.”
My mother always said a woman should dress as if expecting company, so I’d always lived that way. My mother hated jeans, but I liked them and often wore them when I knew I wouldn’t see her. If she had her way, I’d be in a dress or something more feminine. I had a hunch it wouldn’t matter what I was wearing where we were going, and truthfully, I could only tackle one thing at a time.
Putting my glass in the sink, I faced Rachel. “You ready?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted with a laugh. “But I’m still going to say yes.”
We grabbed our purses and headed outside to my SUV. I started it and programmed New Hope into the GPS.
“Do you know where the motorcycle club is?”
“No.” I frowned. “I hope it won’t be hard to find once we're there. Maybe we can go to the hotel where I stayed and ask.”
She nodded, and I pulled out. We drove for the next two hours, listening to music and talking about nothing in particular. We were both nervous driving away from our lives, knowing we were about to go to a place we had no experience.
It felt like it was only minutes when, in fact, it was hours when I saw the sign for New Hope. I didn’t immediately recognize where I was until I saw a sign for Main Street.
Pointing at it, I spoke up. “I remember leaving town through Main Street.”
“Then turn there. Maybe you’ll remember where the hotel was from there.”
I nodded and turned, smiling when I saw the street that seemed so quaint and welcoming when my mother’s driver drove me home all those months ago. From memory alone and a few wrong turns, I eventually found the hotel where I’d stayed. After I parked, we both got out and made our way inside.
The girl behind the counter smiled when we approached. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I was wondering if you could tell me where the motorcycle club is?”
