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  Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blonde vision passing the window outside the diner. She looked through the window at him and came to a halt. Sam stopped and stared back. The blonde woman stood frozen and stared at Sam for quite a few seconds, holding a tray of Roosters coffee cups in one hand and a white bag in the other. She looked him right in the eyes with a surprised expression, eyes wide with her mouth opening and closing. He kept eye contact with her and let a smile start on his face as he tilted his head. She landed back in the real world with a jerk and suddenly spun on her heel, almost tripping off the curb as she headed around a shiny little Volkswagen beetle parked there.

  Sam watched the little blonde’s backside as she quickly walked away. Any breathing male of the species would have to watch something that perfect until it was out of sight. He watched her juggle the paper sack and the tray holding the coffees while she tried to open the door to her car. Just as he started to move to go out and help her she got the door open and bent inside to put down her food and drinks.

  Macy came up beside him, two empty coffee mugs hooked on one finger and her ever present coffee pot in the other hand. “New ladylove on the horizon there for ya, Mr. Duke? She doesn’t quite fit your type. Might fall right off the back of it when that bike gets to moving.” Macy smiled up at him and then moved past to greet his sister.

  Sam stood there and watched the little blonde. He heard her car start up and saw her head turn to look over her shoulder to see if it was safe to pull out of her spot. She popped out into traffic and picked up speed on her way to the end of the block. He noticed she turned left towards the residential part of town, rather than parking in front of another business.

  Sam turned away from the window and walked to the booth his sister was perched in. He slid in latched onto the steaming mug Macy had just gifted him. He listened to his sister and Macy chat about her parents for a second until Macy drew out her ticket book and a pen to take his order. He hopefully asked for two cinnamon rolls and was relieved when Macy wrote his order down. Kari was true to her word and ordered a chocolate malt with whipped cream. When their order was placed Macy shot them both a warm smile, grabbed her coffee pot and took off.

  “Can you believe little Macy is old enough to work here now? How did that happen? I remember the first time Bennie brought her to the clubhouse while we were there with Dad. Brenda and I both used to babysit that girl.” Kari gripped her mug with both hands and brought it to her mouth for a sip. “She’s going to think about hiring one of my girls for a part time lunch shift to help cover some of her regular employees when they want to take off. I have one of the girls that I think is ready to step out and get her toes wet pretty soon. But, back to you. I have a couple of ideas about what to do with Sarah and her car situation.”

  Sam smiled into his coffee. Here we go, right to the point, his little sister. “I noticed that your office is a mess, there is an inch of dust on everything in there and you have at least three washer loads of rags in that bucket. You, my man, need a cleaning lady.” She picked up her mug to take a sip but Sam didn’t reply. He knew she wasn’t finished getting him to agree yet so he shouldn’t even bother to wade in.

  “Sandra has dropped back to what? Two afternoons a week? She wants to get Tink out of there more often so they can putter around and love on their grandbabies. You’re probably busting it trying to do the phones, the regular everyday stuff, the office work and all that while what you really want to do is get your hands in some engine while you listen to your music loud or better yet take off on your bike. Can’t listen to that loud music while you answer the phones, can you? That must suck.” She smiled and tilted her head.

  The smile and head tilt told Sam, Torpedo has been launched and now she’s waiting for reaction, Captain. She has already prepared the rebuttals and arguments just in case this isn’t a direct hit. Sam decided to throw her a curve ball.

  “Sarah can start part time, five days a week, as soon as she is able. I have a list of stuff she can do around the place along with learning the books from me and Sandra as she goes. She gets it, she can come on full and work on Jace’s stuff too.” It was Sam’s turn to smile and tilt his head. He looked into eyes that reminded him of his mothers as and waited for her smug look to change. There it is. The confusion on her face said plainly - “No arguments? No need for persuasion? Is he feverish? Somethings wrong here. Mayday! Mayday!” Sam had always been good at keeping his sister off kilter.

  “Okay then. That’s that.” Such a quick recovery. “Now, she’s going to need a car to get back and forth to the shop. Since she is an employee of yours, any chance you can make that happen?” Another smile and another head tilt.

  “I’ll scrap out her junker as I can and then we can crush it and see what it brings in. I’ll talk to Jace about watching out for a repo to get her. She and I will work out a payment plan as we go. Knowing how Jace feels about her, she’ll probably have a sweet ride in a week or so and it will miraculously be absolutely free. That boy is gone for her. Just gone. It’s kind of embarrassing for him.” He grimaced thinking about his little brother’s unrequited love and sipped his coffee. “Maybe if she spends a little more time in town she can start to get even less skittish, you think?”

  “She’s had a rough time. Climbing those walls around her will take some time and dedication. Jace’s got both of those enough to cover it. I think it will all work out in the end. He hasn’t given up yet. With them bumping into each other at the shop more often sparks will fly and things might start to crumble a bit faster. But enough about those two. I want to talk about you.” Kari sipped her coffee and Sam grimaced because he knew where this was headed.

  “Sooooo, big brother,” Kari tilted her head down and raised her eyebrows. She looked like a little substitute teacher trying to make the class behave. “I heard from Tula that she saw Angie’s car at your house on Sunday morning as she left for church.” Sam waited silently for her to finish. “I thought you were done with her.”

  “She showed up early Sunday morning and offered to make me breakfast. I was tired, a little hungover and off my game. I hadn’t had my coffee yet so I slipped and let her in. Once the coffee started brewing I told her we were done again and we had the same knock down drag out argument we have been having for the past month. She has it in her head that she is going to move in and be my old lady forever and ever but I’m fucking done. She’s not gonna be, but she can’t see it’s done. Well she may have a better picture of it now. I told her that there was not a chance in hell for us together, we were never even really together in the first place. She was a warm spot for me to play in when the urge hit and nothing more. She ranted and raved and when that didn’t work she brought out the tears. Things got loud and heated and I said some stuff she didn’t like. She won’t like it even more the longer she thinks on it.” Sam grimaced and sipped his coffee. “That’s why we are getting our coffee here instead of over at Roosters.”

  “Dammit, brother. Next time I go in there I am going to be worried that she spit in my mocha. The bitch.” Sam threw his head back and laughed. He heard his sister giggle. The sound of that made his laughter stop and he glanced down at his sister and looked her in the eye. “I love that sound, Sissie.”

  Kari looked away quickly and took a second to stare at the cars on the street. Like nothing had phased her she suggested, “Maybe you could start looking for a woman who you have to work at rather than bedding anything that falls in front of your bike. She had to know it was temporary, every woman who has lived in this town more than a week knows there is no permanent spot in your life for anyone other than your ghost.” Kari was saved from his sharp retort when Macy arrived with her milkshake and two giant cinnamon rolls for Sam. Sam tried to let the ghost comment go and took a few deep breaths while he slathered butter over the top of the hot rolls.

  “Leave it alone, Sissie. Don’t start that up again. My life. My business. Not your problem to tackle. Remember the stones and glass houses thing Dad
used to say? Work that out.” He put a bite in his mouth and closed his eyes at the joy that was sticky and gooey and covered in pecans. “Want to talk about your dating life?”

  “That hit the mark. No more talk about your bedwarmers today, big brother. I’ll give you a reprieve. I just love you and I want you to be happy. Looking at the road behind you forever is going to make you miss something great up ahead.”

  “I was happy, Kar. Now it’s your turn.” The next few minutes were silent and just a little bit uncomfortable for both siblings until Macy came back with her coffee pot and struck up a conversation.

  3.

  “This coffee is fantastic. I am so glad to be close to my favorite coffee place again. It’s still the best I’ve ever had, bar none.” I sipped the dark brew and closed my eyes in caffeinated bliss.

  Lisa and I were sitting cross legged in the middle of my empty living room while we waited on the delivery men to arrive with my things. It had been five days since I got to town and started settling into my new house.

  When I saw the house listing on the internet I knew it would be perfect for me, Lisa and Joe so I bought it, even having never stepped foot I it. The house sat on a large lot in one of the newer neighborhoods of Rojo. A large covered porch with six small steps led into the front door, where a tiled entry that was separated from the living room by a short half wall. Two front windows were separated by the brick fireplace to the right of the front door. Underneath the windows were built in book shelves that on one side wrapped around the wall leading to the guest bed and bath hallway.

  The living room was large and flowed seamlessly into the kitchen. A large island with lots of wooden counter space held the stainless-steel sink. The island had room around it for five or six stools and I would use that as the center point of the house and also the dining table if I had guests over to eat. New stainless-steel appliances were already installed in the kitchen and the stove top was a six top gas unit that I was looking forward to cooking on. Straight back from the front door, in the kitchen was the back door with a large glass door instead of a screen. When the back door was left open you could see over the patio and down into the lush backyard. A guest bedroom, bathroom and another room for my office was to the left of the kitchen, to the right was my Master bedroom and bathroom going the length of the house from the back side of the porch.

  The covered patio out back was railed in and six steps up from the grass. Lisa had already found outdoor furniture for the front and back porches and I was looking forward to sitting outside and sipping coffee in the early mornings. Across the wide backyard was a huge garage with three bays in it, each having electric doors leading in from the drive and out through the back into the alley.

  Apartments had been built above the garage, stairs on either end leading up the apartment doors. Lisa had already moved her things into one of the apartments and Joe was in the process of settling into this.

  Lisa and I had finished the painting and worked at pulling up the carpets and refinishing the floors from dawn until we dropped for two days. I decided I liked the fire place, I used some sandpaper to run over the painted bricks here and there to give it that shabby chic look that was so popular. Everything in my empty house was new and shiny except for the tile in both of the bathrooms.

  Each morning Lisa popped out for coffee and usually breakfast to go with it. Knowing the direct path to my heart, each day she came back with a large mocha from Roosters and various pastries or donuts for us to enjoy before we started working. Every afternoon I forced myself to drink water and told myself I could stop the coffee addiction anytime. I could. Really. I raised my cup for another blissful sip. I could stop tomorrow.

  “I saw him. Sam. Sam Duke. The guy. The one.” Lisa blurted out.

  I stopped my coffee cup on its way back to my waiting lips. I was frozen for a second with flashes of Sam going through my brain.

  Long hair falling in his face, a faded black Metallica t shirt, jeans so worn and comfortable they were almost white with holes here and there, ever present motorcycle boots on his feet, strong hands gripping the front of the car. He was bent over the hood looking into the engine, shaking his head at me with that grin on his face. He glanced his eyes up at me with his chin tilted down and I could see the twinkle in those bottle green eyes.

  My insides melted like it had happened seconds ago, but that memory was in the summer right before our Senior year started at East High School in Rojo. I had used most of my savings to impulsively buy a ‘clunker with promise’, a 1970 Mustang whose previous owners let her go for a steal because they had ragged out the engine and put dents all over her body. I saw a heap that could be a beauty and promptly named her Betty. Sam and I worked together on Betty, restoring what we could and building new of what we couldn’t. We spent hours alone in the garage together, listening to music and stopping here and there for kisses and other fun stuff.

  Betty’s promise lasted longer than the ones I made to Sam and she had stuck with me for all these years. Betty was currently adjusting to her newest home in my insanely large garage, back here in Rojo. Just a few miles from where she and I originally met. A few miles from the spot that memory of Sam came from, at Duke’s Garage in old town right across from my favorite coffee place. Oh. Coffee. Yes. Okay. Back on track.

  “Any time I say his name you stop and get a faraway look. It happens every single time. Where do you go?”

  “I go to my happy place. For a few years that place was anywhere Sam was. I thought I would be there for eternity but Uncle Joe and I got yanked away and I couldn’t even say goodbye. I only had enough time to jump into Betty and haul ass. Joe and Sheila followed as quick as Sheila could throw things that she thought would be important into a few boxes. I had one picture of my time here, one set of clothes other than the ones on my body, and the jewelry I was wearing when I left.” I took a sip and looked up at Lisa.

  “Joe told her it could happen any time and she could come with us, but it would have to be fast. He had cleared it with Frank and he and Joe had explained the rules to her. When it did happen, I think she was surprised at how fast our version of leaving was. Sheila was a trooper though. She loved him, and he loved her so much it was just enough to make up for having to leave damn near everything she had worked so hard for. After that things got even more hectic and never really calmed down again for a few years. And then they ended suddenly. Memories of him have kept me together for so long I don’t even know for sure they are real anymore.” Another fortifying sip. I hoped it would help the lump in my throat go away.

  “Was he alone?” I had to know what I was up against. I tried so hard not to ask her because I tried to tell myself I should be happy if he had a woman and was happy.

  “No. He was walking through the Benson’s place behind a brunette woman. She had her hand on his arm but when he paused to look out the window she walked ahead of him.” Lisa looked over at me. “I didn’t really pay attention to what she looked like once I realized that was him. I did notice she had on some killer boots though.” Leave it to Lisa to pick up the most important stuff.

  “That could have been his sister but there’s really no way to know for sure. How did he look?

  Happy?” I wanted her to say yes, but I also wanted to hear no. It had been years since I had seen my Sam. Enough years for him to have moved on and found the woman who could warm his bed, give him babies, ride with him under the stars, love him almost as much as I did.

  “He looked hard. Like granite. His face was still, only his eyes moved. No smile, no nod, nothing. He just stared at me with the most intense look. Good Lord it was hot. His hair is long, his beard is long, his eyes are just intense.” Lisa fanned her hands in front of her face for a second trying to recover. “Then he tilted his head and one side of his mouth kind of started to smile. I couldn’t take it. I actually ran to my car.”

  “The stare was hot? And the almost smile? Yeah, that one is a scorcher. But, oh honey, wait until you see a smile. J
ust wait. We’ll have to make sure to keep the smelling salts handy for you. When he smiles there is no running away. It freezes all of you except the important parts. Trust me.” She and I shared a laugh but stopped when we saw the moving truck pull out up front. We jumped up to get started on our new adventure.

  ~*~

  The sun in my eyes brought me slowly awake. I rolled over in bed and found myself face to face with Tuff. I softly rubbed my hand along his side and let my mind wander.

  “Are you sure I don’t need to bring anything? I can take Betty if I need to.” I asked Sam.

  “Baby trust me. The ladies will have so much food you won’t know where to start. Besides, if you take Betty, how will you have your arms around me?” Sam put his hand to my neck and pulled me close to rub his nose against mine. “Your uncle okay with you staying over tonight?”

  I had explained to Uncle Carl that I was going to a cook out at Duke’s Garage. The garage that Mr. Duke owned and his three sons and daughter all worked at after school. Everyone knew that Duke was President of the Knights Motorcycle Club, and their cook outs were legendary. The food was good, the music was loud and at night the bonfires lit up that corner of town until the sun rose again.

  ‘Uncle Carl’ trusted me to make the right decisions, and he trusted Sam to keep me safe no matter where we ended up. Carl knew I had more experience with danger than most girls my age and that I could take care of myself if it was necessary.