Page 5 of Talon
She looked down at her hands where they rested in her lap.He wished he could see them, just to know if she was fidgeting with them.It might give him more of an indication of how nervous she was or if she was afraid of him.The last thing he wanted was for her to be afraid of him.How could he calm fears he didn’t know about?
“It does.The ache is always there, but time makes it less sharp.I found that as time goes on, I don’t think of my dad any less, but that sharp ache becomes softer.I remember him with more fondness, and I have fewer, ‘I should call and tell him’ moments, only to remember that I can’t anymore.Now I have more ‘Dad would have loved this.It would have been nice to tell him about it’ or ‘I wish I could call and get Dad’s advice about this’ moments.”
“I’m getting there.I think moving away from home helped.My dad had a really hard time losing her and while I hated leaving him, I had put it off long enough.I needed to move on.”
Talon nodded, he could understand.He’d already been out of the house when his father had passed away, but it had been tempting to move back home to take care of his mom.Not that she needed that.She was still young and more than capable of taking care of herself.Instead he’d made a point to call her every day.To check on her, to make sure she didn’t need anything.Over time that had changed.Now he called her at least once a week, but he still talked to her, he made sure she had anything she needed.It was what Dad would have expected.
4
Bytheendofthe meal, after asking for her phone number, which she’d given to him without hesitation, Talon walked her out to her truck.He waited until she was in the truck, the doors locked, and the engine started before he went to his bike and flung his leg over.She watched until she heard his engine roar to life, then pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
He'd asked for her number, and she’d given it to him, but she didn’t expect to hear from him again.Why would she?He lived far enough away that he would probably only contact her if he was back in the area, and how often would that happen?Not often, at least in her opinion.Time to move on with her life.Though, dinner had been fun.She couldn’t remember the last time someone had seemed so genuinely interested in what she had to say.In her as a person.She wished she encountered that more often.
Reaching her apartment building, she parked and sat for a moment in the truck before grabbing her things and heading inside.Not that she had any problems with her apartment, but sometimes, gathering all her shit and carrying it inside was more than she wanted to deal with.Mostly because of the stairs.Her legs and feet almost always ached, at least a little, after a shift, and climbing up four flights of stairs to her third-floor apartment was more than she wanted to deal with.And now that she was here, alone, the ache in her feet seemed to increase.
She stared at the building in front of her and wished for a moment there was an elevator.Especially for nights like tonight when she came in later than usual and it was dark out.Not that she wasn’t capable, but she hated when it was too dark to see what was around her.She’d already gone to the office and requested more lighting, especially around the stairs, but nothing had changed.
With a sigh, she picked up her bag, looped it over her shoulders, and pulled her keys out of the ignition.She positioned the kubaton between her fingers before opening her door and getting out.
She closed the door and thumbed the button on the fob to lock it before going to the stairs and starting up.After a brief pause to check her surroundings at the second floor landing she continued up.
At her door Madison looked around once more, making sure there was no one lurking around trying to get the drop on her, then she flipped her keys around and unlocked her door.Inside, she closed and locked the door before setting her things down and taking off her shoes.Home and feeling secure, she made her way into the bedroom, stripping it off her clothes as she went.After dropping her clothes in the laundry basket, she continued into the bathroom and started water in the tub.After adjusting the temperature and adding a generous amount of Epsom salts, she left the tub to fill while she fetched her reader.
If she was going to sit in a tub of hot water for a while, she might as well use her time wisely, by getting another chapter or two read in her book.She wasn’t a fast reader, but she was a determined one.It would take her at least a week, maybe two, to get through her book, but she would keep at it.The more practice she got, the faster she would get, she knew, even if it was frustrating now.
She found the reader on her nightstand, then went to the kitchen and poured a glass of ice tea, before carrying them both with her into the bathroom where she set them down and climbed in.Madison leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the warmth from the water seep into her bones and ease the aching in her legs and feet.When the water reached the level she wanted, Madison turned off the spigot, then set her glass on the lip of the tub and leaned back with her reader.
She barely made it through a dozen pages by the time the water turned cold as she couldn’t keep her mind on the story unfolding on the screen.Instead, her mind kept turning back to Talon and wondering if he’d made it back to the ranch safely.Would he call her?Or was his asking for her number just to make her feel good?There was no way to know.Well, no way other than to wait and see if he reached out.
“This is pathetic,” she said out loud, despite being the only one in her apartment.Giving up on the bath, she set her reader aside, took a long drink from her glass, draining the last of the tea before setting it too out of the way.She pulled the plug and turned the water back on, using the shower to rinse off and warm back up before stepping out and going about her evening.
5
Talonpulledintotheyard at the ranch a little after dark, and despite the urge to park his bike outside the barn and put it away tomorrow, he didn’t.He took the time to put it where it belonged, inside the barn with the rest of the club’s bikes.Once he finished, he headed into the bunkhouse to see what was going on.
“Hey, you made it back,” Watt said as he stepped inside and closed the door behind himself.
“I did.”
“Have any trouble?”Steele asked, glancing his way before turning his attention back to the screen where he was driving a car at a breakneck speed through a digital street.
“A little.But I got it worked out.”
“What happened?”Colt turned his full attention to Talon.
“Blew a fuel line.”
Steel crashed his car on the screen, dropped the remote on the couch beside him and turned his full attention to Talon.“How’d you get that back on the road?Did you have a spare on you?”
Talon shook his head.“I walked to the nearest store, but it was a little department store and didn’t have anything I could make it work.But I found a NAPA, and picked up a hose I could make work.”
“That’s good.If one blew, then the others are likely in similar condition.Wouldn’t be a bad idea to go through and double check them all, see if there are any others that need to be replaced,” Steele put in.
Talon nodded.He knew he had some work ahead of him on his bike especially before he took it on a long ride again.The last thing he wanted was to get stranded like that again, but he had to admit, if only to himself, that he was glad he’d met Madison.Thinking of her reminded him he needed to let her know he’d made it home.
“I need to do some work on the bike before I go out for another long ride.”He pulled out his phone and checked his message, but found nothing.He couldn’t help the pang of sadness that she hadn’t messaged him but why would she?
**Talon: Made it home safe, hope you are having a good evening.Thanks again for the help.
