“Oh God, April!” a woman exclaimed, and I stiffened. I recognised that voice.
“Edie, how are you?” I said weakly as Stone’s mom came out from behind her cart and grabbed me in a bear hug. I limply patted her back and tried to break away.
“April. You look amazing,” Edie stated as she checked me over. I continued to try to free myself.
“Thanks, you too,” I replied politely.
“Stan! Guess who I found,” Edie announced loudly as I glanced up and saw a pair of blue eyes, so like his own son's. I flinched.Stan reflected my wince, and we stared at each other. He’d been like a dad once. Pain surfaced, and I swallowed hard.
“You look well, lass,” Stan muttered.
“Thanks, you do too,” I repeated, seeking an escape route.
“Come to dinner; we’ll catch up,” Edie exclaimed, getting excited.
“No, that’s not happening, not ever. Excuse me, I need to get back to Clara,” I said and rushed away. I heard Edie utter a muted cry, and Stan murmured some soothing words. I wanted to beg their forgiveness and apologise, but it wasn’t me who should be doing that. Only one person was to blame for the estrangement and distance between us. And Stone wasn’t here right now.
Harlequin
I stared at the house; nothing had changed much. As I was dithering about what to say and how to approach, the door opened. A middle-aged woman stepped out. Rose.
“You’re him, aren’t you?” Rose called.
I didn’t bother wasting her time or mine. “Yes.”
“Leave. Neither Clara nor April wishes to see you. From what I can tell, you’ve done enough damage to their family. Should you continue to linger, the police will be contacted.”
Rose shut the door in my face, and I started my bike and rode away.
???
“What’s with you and the nurse?” Chance asked later as I sat at the bar. It was my day off.
“It’s an old story and not relevant today.”
“No? Seems to me, prospect, the hate emanating off her isn’t history,” Chance challenged.
“It’s simple. We were together, then I broke up with April and fucked her best friend. Nothing more to say,” I said and rose to my feet.
“Yeah, alright,” Chance murmured, but his eyes held worry. “Why were the cops talking to her?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. Pres, April’s not my business anymore. I’m going for a ride. Catch you in a bit.” Before Chance could reply, I left. Maybe on the road I’d find some peace and quiet. Sadly, that wasn’t to be.
As I raced down the highway, planning to head to Rapid City and back, I spotted a vehicle stopped with its hazards on. Growling at the sight of a female shape, I pulled over and headed towards the car.
“Hey, you okay?” I called out, stopping a short distance away. I groaned when I saw who it was. Nanci, Inglorious’s woman, glowered as she kicked the wheel of her car in temper.
“It’s screwed,” Nanci stated.
“Is that so?” I asked, amused at her analysis.
“Yup. I’ve been meaning to take it in as it’s been making a right noise, but I kept putting it off. An hour ago, it released a puff of smoke, and I smelled burning. Ain’t gonna be able to fix that on the roadside,” Nanci griped.
“I’ll stay until Inglorious comes,” I replied. No way would I leave the old lady of an ally standing alone on the road.
“Small problem, my phone died, so I couldn’t call Inglorious, and this is a dead zone.” Nanci sighed. She clearly felt put upon.
I pulled out my cell and checked for a signal. Nanci wasn’t wrong, which left me with a serious dilemma. Nobody got on the back of a bike unless they were our old lady or a blood relative. Plus, Nanci was a Queen Bee, a president’s woman, which made her getting behind me one thousand times worse. And on top ofthat, it could be construed that I was challenging Inglorious for Nanci. But I also couldn’t leave her standing here while I fetched the Unwanted Bastards president. Fuck my life.
