Page 73 of The Belle and the Biker

“Axl’s not into prim, prissy chicks. And he wouldn’t have dated you that long if he wasn’t into you.”

“Yeah, sure. Anyway.” She frowns, staring off into the distance. “Remember the other day when you were asking me how I’d feel if you did a Southern deb makeover on me?”

“I was just making a point about why I wasn’t comfortable in biker chick clothes, though. Mostly.” I’m also a compulsive makeover giver.

“Not entirely, though. So obviously, there’s room for improvement.”

“No!” I protest. “There’s a difference between improvement and trying new things. And it would just have been for fun. Like, for one day. I wouldn’t ever in a million years expect you to walk around dressing and looking like me every day.”

“Yeah, but maybe I should.” She sighs. “I see how all the guys fall all over you because you’re all girly and shit.” Then she stomps her booted foot on the ground. “You see? I can’t even talk like I have fucking class.” She smacks her face, almost putting an eye out with her ring. “Ahhhh! I just can’t stop!”

“But Tawny, that’s just you. Why should you stop?”

She grabs me by the arm. “If Axl is cheating on me, I’ll break his face and walk away forever. But if he’s not cheating on me, then I want to give it one last try. You’ve got to teach me how to class up. Make me into a delicate Southern freakin’ debutante.”

I draw in my breath slowly.

She gives me a resentful look. “You think it’s hopeless,” she accuses me.

“No, not at all. That’s not the issue, and I just don’t think you should change yourself for someone else.”

“What if I want to change for myself, too? It couldn’t hurt to be less…”

“Yourself?”

“Crude and loud and stuff.”

I sigh. “Did you want that before you and Axl started having problems?”

She scowls and stares at the ground. I don’t think I’m going to be able to dissuade her.

“All right. I will tell you what I can do and teach you the basics. I’m just telling you you’re a great person, and if Axl can’t appreciate that, you might as well cut him loose.”

We go back in the trailer and toss Crash out because Tawny wants to keep our little “My Fair Lady” project a secret, which is understandable. The Iron Ride has always treated her like she’s one of the guys, and if they caught wind of what she was up to, she’d never hear the end of it.

As soon as we get in the trailer, my phone rings.

Crash knocks on the trailer door. “Who is it?” he yells.

Was he seriously standing right out there and listening?

I answer the phone quickly. “Hold on one minute.”

Then I yell to Crash, “Who were you talking to this morning?”

Dead silence.

Yeah, I thought so.

“Go away and let us have our privacy!”

I watch out the window as he walks across the parking lot toward Sparky’s.

“Hello, Carlisle,” I say into the phone. “I heard what happened. I am so sorry.”

“Don’t give it another thought, madam. It is I who must apologize for not returning your call in a more timely fashion. I was up north for the day, ice fishing with some friends, and did not get your message until I returned today.”

“Ice fishing! I didn’t even know you enjoyed that.” I can’t picture elegant Carlisle ice fishing. And…he has friends? I guess I never paid attention to what he did during his time off.

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