Page 37 of Tangled Threats on the Nomad Highway
Einstein
He stared out at the groups of men dottingTruck’s yard. They’d spread out and grown over the past half anhour, early arrivals coming out to greet those who’d just gottenhere.
In the four months since he’d left Baker inhis dust, things had changed here on the homesteads. What had beena rough field with uneven camping had turned into a cultivatedspace complete with thick grass. Someone had crafted more firerings, and large logs had ass-sized scoops shaped out of them,creating seating at each.
Through the gossip grapevine, everything hadsounded good—sometimes too good, as if the storyteller wanted thenew chapter to be a grand success. In person, he found that thestories had actually been downplayed somewhat.
“Einstein.” Laughter wreathed the sound ofhis name, and he turned to see Horse was the one who’d recognizedhim. Lifting a hand, he gave a wave in response. Horse gestured andcalled, “Come on over, brother.”
Brother.
That right there was the one downside of thenomad rocker. Bama Bastards was a small club, tiny when compared tothe bigger players like Incoherent and Rebel Wayfarers. Even FreedRiders was a larger club, with multistate chapters as notches inits organizational belt. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missbeing around people he knew…and trusted.
“Horse, good to see you.” Their palmsslapped together; then Horse adjusted his grip, pulling Einsteininto a one-shoulder clinch. “How is it I’m back in Baker and you’reback in Baker? You stalking me?”
“No. If I was gonna do that kind of shit,I’d have just locked you down when you came to visit a few weeksago.” Blackie and Horse had given Einstein a warm welcome, offeringa room in their clubhouse for him to rest his head. “You look alittle better now than you did then.”
“Asshole, I’d just run through ahailstorm.”
“So you say. I’m not convinced the black andblue you were wearing were caused by itty-bitty balls of ice, butwhatever you want to believe. Whatever.” With a final thumping hitagainst Einstein’s back, Horse pulled away, still grinning. “Youknow you’re welcome anytime, right?”
“I know. Know and appreciate the trust,brother.” He thudded his fist against Horse’s shoulder. “Tell mewhat I’ve missed.”
“Clubhouse here is done-done. Fuckin’finally. I didn’t think Bane’d ever get it finished to hissatisfaction. Your drawings and information helped out a fuckin’ton, man. Great job there.” Stepping away, Horse leaned against atree. “Gunny’s settled in better than anyone expected. Man’s amenace, but he’s also kinda a fuckin’ genius when it comes todealin’ with Bane’s patch-overs and prospects.”
“I’ve heard only good things about him.”Einstein paused and considered. “Well, mostly good things. He had amoment a few years ago when he was helpin’ RWMC deal with someshit. Heavy-handed, but it all sorted out in the end.”
“Brother, we’ve all got those kind ofstories in our rearview.” Horse’s chuckle was wry. “At this point,if you don’t have shit stories about you somewhere in your past,you’re probably too much of a lightweight to play with the bigboys. Too much happening in our world between shitty clubs, RICO,and bullshit overseas beefs coming home to roost.”
“True. Some of us more than others.”Glancing around at the clustering men, he picked out several womenstanding close to their better half, either legal or of the moment.“Hey, you ever meet Bane’s old lady?” It had become a running jokebefore he’d left Baker. Neither of them had met Myrt officially.Caught glimpses of her from a distance, but between her exhaustionand morning sickness from the pregnancy, she hadn’t made manyappearances. “She’s about due, right?”
“Should be. As you know I’ve been runnin’ myass off between the two chapters but stayin’ at the clubhouse herewhen I’m in town. So nope, haven’t met her to speak to.”
Movement in the distance caught atEinstein’s attention, and he grinned as he stepped towards the widepath between the two houses. “Hey, Marian’s on the front porch. Yousaid hello yet?” Horse lifted a shoulder. “What? You ghosting herfor some reason?”
“She’s not the reason I come to Baker,brother.” Narrowed eyes stared at him. “Business comes first.”
“Always.” Angling his head to the side,Einstein took another step away from Truck’s place. “Stay here ifyou want. I’ve got no reason to steer clear of Marian. She’s a goodgirl.”
“Woman.”
“What?” The flat statement pulled Einsteinup short. “What does that mean?”
“Means she’s no little girl, much as Gunny’dlike to pretend. Woman who can make up her own mind on what shewants.” He lifted that single shoulder again, the black leather ofhis vest swinging heavily against his hips. “If she wanted to sayhello, that door swings both ways.”
“She ghostedyou.” The realizationhad tension in his chest easing. He glanced at the porch,disappointed to find Marian had disappeared. “What’d you do?”
“Why does everyone immediately go there?”Horse pushed off the tree and turned, walking next to Einstein asthey made their way towards Bane’s house. “I didn’t do a damnthing.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
A couple of RWMC members he knew fell intostep with them, and they shared quick greetings.
He blinked at a small woman waddling theirdirection, preceded by a round belly. “Is that Myrt?”
“Looks to be.”
They stepped to the side and gave herrespectful greetings. Those bits of conversation quickly turnedinto a rescue of sorts, Einstein and Horse crafting a carry chairwith their arms. That moment then morphed into a request from thewoman, one that had Horse smiling wide in agreement.
