Page 55 of Healing Souls

“Hey, girly, talk to me for a second. Don’t go runnin’ off. What can’t ya do?”

Without turning back towards him, I say, “Any of this. I don’t know what I’m doing.” I slowly turn back around to look at him, frowning.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asks with a head tilt. I shake my head immediately, and he nods. “Alright. How ‘bout you learn about me then?”

“What about you?” I ask as I step back towards him. I know nothing about him besides the fact that his road name is Sugar, and he’s my mom’s half-brother. My uncle.

Not the same, not the same, not the same, I remind myself repeatedly.

Thinking of an uncle… it just makes me think of Fath–Richard. Part of me is still worried that he or the others are just as bad as the men I have encountered when my mom died or that my mom grew up around. Yet since I’ve been here… they’ve shown me nothing but the opposite of the things I have heard and seen in the past.

There is no harm in trying to get to know Colton, and part of me craves it. To expand this newfound family. I want to know the man who is related to my mom. Will I see pieces of her in him?

“Well, I joined this club when I was eighteen. Fresh outta highschool. I did follow in my father’s footsteps, but I joined for more than just him,” Colton explains.

“Why else?” I ask, curious as to why someone would want to join this club.

“Cause I love bikes. I learned to ride before I was even your age. Riding was my freedom. I had a good childhood, but Mama struggled with depression off and on, so she was kinda absent.

“My dad was always here. I’d come whenever he’d let me. Explore the grounds, hang around with other members, bug my dad. It was fun. But then he passed away when I was still pretty young. The club took care of my mama and I for years. As I got older, I noticed how there was an underlyin’ family dynamic. Things were messy back then, the club was a mess, but they were still a family and I wanted that.”

“Where is your mom now?” I ask, peering down at the bike he’s working on.

“She lives in Alabama. She comes over here every once in a while, but she is healthier mentally there.”

“Why didn’t you go there with her?”

“Well, come here, girly.” He beckons me to the side of the bike.

I walk around and stand a few feet away from him, observing as he squats down and shows me a black zip bag on the back side of his bike.

“This is a saddlebag.” He unclips it from where it is attached to the bike and tilts it so I can see the bottom of the front of it. “See that?” He runs his finger over old black duct tape that is holding the bottom of the bag together. I nod. “Under this tape is a big hole. When I was probably about twenty-sevenish, I went to visit my mama. She left the day after I turned eighteen, and I was not happy about it, so I didn’t go and see her for a few years. Then I started goin’ once a year. But this time, when I left, I got into an accident.”

“What happened?” I whisper. Colton speaks about everything with such a light demeanor, as if he is fine and happy now. I don’t really understand it.

“I was ridin’ in the middle of summer, the wind blowing on my face, taking everythin’ in, and got distracted. Took a sharp turn too fast and flew off my bike. Luckily, nothin’ was too bad, and my bike had minimal damage.

“But I called the club and let them know, and immediately some of my brothers came to get my bike and make sure I was okay and give me a truck to take so I could go see Mama still. I was about five hours into my trip.” He reattaches the bag and stands up again. “That’s why I stayed. I will always stay. The people who came to me that day? Rage, Axe, and Stone. My brothers.”

“They’re your family,” I murmur, gently running my hand over the seat of his bike and up to the handlebars.

He nods. “Yes. Somethin’ that is odd, but it’s the most amazin’ thing in the world. I wouldn’t be me without them.”

Not wanting to talk about how much these people are family to him anymore, I change the subject to something that caught my attention. “You said riding makes you feel free?” I glance up at him from where I was staring at his bike.

He nods and smiles. “Wanna learn, darlin’? There is no better feelin’ in the world.”

My eyes widen. “You’d let me?”

His brows drop as he frowns. “Of course. Anything you want. Just ask, girly.”

“I want to learn how to ride.” A huge smile breaks out over my face.ThisI can get on board with.

Atlas, Linc, and Ryan own motorcycles, but they only go out every once in a while on them. I only saw them ride them once, but I was interested right away. I wonder if my excitement over them is why I never saw them again. I know Bri wasn’t happy about it. The thought causes me to chuckle.

Colton’s head snaps up, and he looks at me with wide eyes.

“What?” I ask nervously.

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