Page 3 of Two Weddings and a Shoot Out

Clara settled in her seat and pulled out her crocheting. “Okay, I think better while I crochet. Let’s hear it. Who is it, and why do we need to keep you from falling into his bed?” Clara asked.

“I tell myself that I won’t say yes to having sex with Locks because the morning after makes me nauseous because he’s so cold. Then he leans closer and kisses my neck some evening, and boom! My panties fall off,” Hope said.

Maureen giggled along with everyone else. Clara cocked her eyebrow at Stella.

“Oh, fine,” Stella huffed. “So you may not know that for a couple months after I came here, Locks and I had a friends-with-benefits situation; at least that’s what I called it in my mind. It was actually just a scratch-an-itch kind of thing. We never, like, slept, slept together. Just sex and, umm, we actually didn’t kiss. I know it makes me sound horrible, but I just wanted a safe way to relieve some tension. The only reason we acted like wewere dating was so it wouldn’t cause problems between Scoop and Locks. I’m positive my son couldn’t dream his mom would want to play hide the pickle or ride the salami. I mean, he was probably conceived immaculately, and for sure I don’t have needs,” Stella said, rolling her eyes.

Maureen wondered how Hope felt hearing that about Stella and Locks. It sounded like it was all before Hope moved here, though.

“Oh, isn’t that the truth? War, Roam, and Brew think it’s horrible if they come into the house and their dad is showing me some attention. But they have no problem letting me see them with their hands all over their women or, in Brew’s case, every woman,” Regina said.

Giggles and laughter consumed the women. Maureen didn’t think that as irritated as she’d been, she’d be laughing today, but it was so good to share with others. Men could be so satisfying but so equally irritating.

“I do want to clear the air. It doesn’t bother me that you and Locks had sex, Stella. I hadn’t met him yet. Let’s face it—we all have a past,” Hope said.

Regina was still contemplating things, so Meg started the conversation about the D-Day commemoration.

“We’re two weeks away, so let me go over what is planned so far, and then I need you all to think of what we might have missed. We’ve changed the format from last year. This year, we’re kicking off with the Poker Run on Friday, early morning. The route will take the riders to Nelson’s in Dodge City, where they’ll have brunch and then bring them back to the park. They should be showing up between noon and one-thirty, depending on how long they hang out at brunch. Then, from two to five p.m., we have tours of our businesses in town with special discounts for all the riders. Bluff Creek Ink is having twenty percent off tattoos booked for any riders and completed in thenext month after the celebration. Rascal is adding in some extra days to help cover the demand. Regina’s Roadside Refuge is offering a twenty percent discount on any items bought in the store.

“I have down we’ll need to add people to sort items upstairs to easily replenish the volume of shirts and items we’ll be selling. Clara had an idea about that; I’ll let her tell you.”

“Well, a couple of the women we’ve been teaching to crochet and quilt have been making items, but their only options for selling them are online. I think everyone is usually in a giving mood during these events, so I thought we should have their items for sale here. We could charge them a small percentage, which would go toward the charity for the weekend. I wanted to talk to both of them about possibly taking commissions for the coming year, too. One of them quilted a beautiful motorcycle hanging, as well as a quilt with a motorcycle on it and tire tracks. They’re gorgeous. She is very talented. I think we might need to have a bidding process because everyone is going to want it. I suggested she look at the cost of her supplies and then figure out how long it took her. I think she could have orders for the next year easily,” Clara said.

“I love that idea. We could have it open just during the afternoon, and then the shop wouldn’t need to be staffed any other time,” Stella said. “Since Flick will still be on assignment in Texas with Beth, I’ve arranged for his EMT partner to have the park as the staging area during the weekend for the ambulance. They’ll still be on call, but they’ll take care of small things as needed, too,” Stella added.

“Okay, now back to the schedule. Supper is available in the park from food trucks. There were just too many meals to supply for the weekend, and we can’t expect the diner to do them all. Then the First Annual Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC pickleball tournament runs from seven to ten p.m.

“Saturday morning is the commemoration ceremony at ten a.m. Everyone is on their own for breakfast. We’ve arranged for one of the donut mobiles to come from Wichita to supply pastries and coffee for people to buy. The diner will only be available for pre-ordered takeout meals of sausage biscuit sandwiches. Orders will be accepted through Wednesday the week of the event.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Clara said.

“Now, on to Sunday. We’ll have a huge barbecue in the park at one p.m. to allow anyone time to sleep in if they partied a little hard the night before. Locks, Rascal, Baron, and Compass, along with the current officers, will present the charity with the money. I asked about depositing it, but Rascal said they wanted to have a visual display of the cash raised. Then everyone’s free to do whatever. I’m guessing we’ll all be passing out from being so tired,” Meg finished, laying down her spreadsheet and clipboard.

“I wouldn’t know if you missed anything, but it sounds wonderful,” Hope said.

“I’m excited, at least about that,” Maureen said.

Regina snickered. “Okay, I’ve had time to think about it. And remember, you asked for my opinion. No killing the messenger if you don’t like my suggestion. I’m starting off with Locks. Now, Kathryn was my best friend. She was actually the first woman I was ever friends with when I came to Bluff Creek. We had babies together, griped to each other about our overprotective men, but she would have never expected Locks to be alone for the rest of his life. Before she died, besides making me promise to watch over his girls, she told me to make sure he found someone who loved him and who he could grow old with. When I see him stare at you, Hope, when you’re not looking, I see that look of a man in love who is torn. Whether it’s guilt for falling for another woman after Kathryn or whether he’s worried how the girls will take it,I don’t know. If you’re serious about him, which I think you are, then I think I should get his girls involved. He may need to hear from them that it’s not a betrayal of Kathryn. It’s a testament to the power of love to overcome our deepest grief.”

Hope nodded at Regina’s words. “I’m serious about him, but I can’t live with the hot and cold. It’s like he’s tearing a piece of my heart off every time he turns cold.”

Regina nodded. “Leave this to me, and we’ll get him moving in the right direction. Now, on to Compass. I still remember my first Christmas with Bluff Creek. I was still leery of these big, rough-and-tumble men. I’d only been here a short time. But they saw I had nothing for my boys for Christmas besides these small packs of cars, which were going to be their stocking stuffers. I felt so guilty for not being able to provide more for them. Baron told me to let them handle it, and Compass even came and asked me questions about the boys’ interests. Compass bought two big wheels and then painted them with exhaust pipes so they’d look more like motorcycles. He’s giving and has one of the biggest hearts of the guys but…”

“There has to be a but. Man, I wish we had popcorn for this story,” Clara said.

Regina shook her head at Clara’s antics, but Maureen was invested in this story. She’d come to love the man, but as far as understanding him, she didn’t have a clue why he didn’t move their relationship to the next level.

“Compass wasn’t the typical biker taking whatever the bunnies offered. That’s what the guys called the women who hung around the club, providing sex, cooking, and a little cleaning. Baron and the guys got rid of them, except for certain times after the boys and I moved into the clubhouse. But back to Compass. I’d never even seen him take one of the girls back to his room.

“We were out on a run, and there was a woman walking down the road. She’d left an abusive boyfriend and was hitchhikingto somewhere new. Compass said he’d give her a ride to our compound, and the guys offered her a job helping out. No sex, just helping. It was great because it was after Rascal got custody of Bear and after we’d had Brew. We needed all the help we could get.

“I could tell Compass liked her because he spent time with her, but he hadn’t even kissed her. I asked Baron about it, and he said Compass had grown up in a household where you didn’t do anything prior to marriage. He also hadn’t dated at all in the military. Baron said he was almost positive Compass was a virgin. The woman he gave a ride to eventually became his wife, and I know for a fact they didn’t have sex before the wedding. Lucille was not a virgin and had been so surprised that Compass was.

“I know his name comes from always knowing which direction to head, but it also is because he’s been their moral compass, always making sure the guys were doing the right thing in the military. Maybe he’s being respectful of you. Has he mentioned marriage?”

“Oh no, this is all my fault,” Maureen said, covering her face with her hands. She had caused all this with her flippant words. How could she fix this?

A hand on her shoulder, patting her, had Maureen pulling her hands away.

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