Page 9 of Property of Riptide
“That’s all I want. What else would I be here for?” I inquire.
“Money,” BamBam states. “Which there is none of if that’s what you’re after.”
“I’m not. I have a job, we skate by and don’t need anything other than what I can provide.” Inhaling, I pluck a toy from my backpack and hand it to Gagey since he’s starting to get fussy. As I do this, I tell them about how I met Gage three years ago. I go through our relationship, giving them the cliff notes version,progressing through him leaving, my pregnancy, and reading about him passing in the paper. When I get to the part about me showing up here to find out the truth, the room is so quiet I have to check to see if they’re still listening.
Rio clears his throat and says, “There are some things I can tell you, Van. But you need to come back to the clubhouse with us for that conversation. I can’t take any chances of someone overhearing us.”
“Will you tell me everything?” I question.
“As much as I can, that’s the best I can do,” he supplies. “We have a crew coming in from East Texas, can you give us a few days to get them settled before we have this talk?”
“If there’s no other choice, then I’ll have to,” I submit.
“In the meantime, I’d like to get to know you and Gage’s son. Is that alright?” Isla asks.
“Yeah. That’ll be fine. Would you like to come back to the cabin and have lunch with us?” I ask, handing her an olive branch.
“I’d love to if you could give me a ride back to the ranch afterward,” she answers.
“It’d be no trouble, Isla. Rio, it was nice to meet you and I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” I hold out my hand and shake his. I ignore the giant in the background because he’s so damn rude that I don’t want to acknowledge him. I don’t know if it’s me he has issues with or the man who fathered my son. Either way, he needs a lesson in manners because if it’s not me who spit in his cereal, then he shouldn’t treat me as the one who offended him.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Riptide
The ride from East Texas to West Texas is dry and boring. The road stretches for miles and miles without anything to look at outside of dirt and empty land. “I should have been a cowboy,” plays out in my mind and I sing along to the tune in my brain as I see the town we’ll traverse through before hitting the ranch come into view.
Five of the eight hour journey in a barren atmosphere has my eyes crossing. Finally, there's something worth seeing. It's not much to look at, but at least I'm not waiting for tumbleweeds to come rolling out from the desert. We pull into the first service station we see so we can fill up our tanks. As I swing my leg over my bike and stand upright, I begin to rub my lower back to ease the stiffness in it. “That's one hell of a ride,” I tell Indiana.
“One I don't care to repeat,” he derides.
“Unfortunately, it's the same route we have to take back home,” I remind him.
“At least we get a few days reprieve between now and then,” he concedes.
I lean on my bike as I gas up. Scanning my surroundings, I notice Rio coming out from a coffee shop. I go to raise my hand at him and greet him but am stopped short when I notice the woman with the baby attached to her hip come out behind him. She and Issy are looking at the boy with stars in their eyes.
“Who the fuck is that?” I ask myself, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. It’s not her looks that have captivated me though, it’s the way the men have surrounded her like she’s somebody important. Rio never mentioned a new person entering the picture. I wonder if one of the men has found themselves a new old lady.
Indiana must’ve thought I was asking him that question because he answers, “I have no idea. Should we go over and say hi?” I notice he’s having issues with his mobility so I raise my brows at him but he waves me off. “I’m fine.”
I roll my eyes at him because he’ll never admit that he’s struggling. This is his first long ride since the incident at the clubhouse and his surgery afterward. But if he wants to play that set of cards, I’ll let him win this hand. “Nah,” I say, shaking my head. “I’d rather get to the clubhouse and walk out this stiffness. He seems busy and I don’t want to intrude.”
Zoey and Elodie step out of the SUV, and Icer moves over to them like a guard dog. “Elodie needs to potty and so does her mama,” Zoey informs us. “Does anyone need anything from inside while we’re in there?”
“We’re good. Give me a kiss before you go,” Indiana tells her. She complies but as I hear the rev of Rio’s bike, I avert myattention and watch as the woman and Issy drive away. Knowing Icer and Indiana have Zoey and Elodie, I don’t feel bad about not watching them as they head into the convenience part of the store.
When Rio and BamBam notice us, they turn their wheels and come into the parking lot to greet us.
“Rip, it’s good to see you, man,” Rio says as he sits on his bike, letting it idle. It only takes a few steps to get to him, and once I do, I pounce. I wrap my arms around him and pound on his back. Once I step back, he sighs. “Need to talk to you privately before you go to your room and bunker down.”
“What’s going on, cuz?” I inquire.
“Shit that I don’t want to step in but don’t have any other choice,” he states.
“That’s ironic considering you live on a ranch that’s piled high with it,” I joke.
