Chapter Twelve
AYDA
Riding back to The Hut on the back of Deeks’ bike was just what I’d needed to clear my head. The only thing that could have made it better was Drew being in front of me instead of Deeks. Thankfully, I did love the big teddy bear of a man who navigated us easily into the yard and delivered me safely to the rest of the guys, before taking off to find his ladylove.
I felt a little lost in the middle of the day with nothing to do but wait. I looked around for something to do or someone to bother, but everyone was doing something, and I tried my best to avoid the black hole that showed in everyone’s eyes as they worked.
Eventually giving up, I headed to the small mechanic bay where the guys kept tools to work on the repossessed cars and their bikes, knowing Tate would be around that area.
He spent most of his free time in there when he wasn’t with Libby.
Wearing a pair of grease-stained coveralls that were tied at the waist, he was sitting on a mechanics stool tinkering with the V-twin engine of his Harley. There was a greasy rag draped over his knee, and a book open at his feet.
“You know what you’re doing?” I asked, noting the slight jerk of his shoulders where I’d surprised him.
“No. I figured I’d fuck it all up and hope for the best,” he grunted, the sarcasm in his tone unmistakable.
I stepped around to the other side of the bike from where he was working and bent at the waist, resting my forearms on the seat so I was eye level with my kid brother, Waiting patiently, I held my silence until he finally glanced up at me reluctantly.
“Sorry,” he offered.
I waved him off and looked down at the parts he’d spread out in front of him. We’d bought him a brand new bike, but Tate had been purchasing upgrade kits for it at the rest of the club’s behest. Everyone had a suggestion on how to personalize it, and the bike was beginning to look better with every alteration. This process of disassembling and reassembling was teaching Tate how to do his own maintenance, which most of the guys had said was priceless.
“So, what are you doing on the bike today?”
“Just taking shit apart and putting it back together again. Eric said this was the best way to learn how the bike and partsshouldlook. You know,beforesomething goes wrong.” Glancing up at me, he offered a small smile. “Eric likes to help out Rubin and me when there’s nothing much going on. That one over there is what Rubin works on.”
I glanced over to where he’d nodded his head and saw a frankenbike that was almost stripped down to the frame in the corner, looking all depressed and naked.
“That’s nice of Eric to do.”
“He’s not a bad guy,” Tate said, glancing up when he realized I’d said nothing in response. “And it kinda meant that I got my bike back, so...”
“I got you.” I nodded and shuffled on my elbows. “Still no Rubin?”
“Nope. He hasn’t called or been to the extra practices coach set up for the team.” Tate picked up the rag and wiped off his hands before picking up something shiny and studying it. His eyes flicked between the part and the book several times before he began reattaching the piece to the bike and picking up a wrench to secure it. I was fascinated, watching him work. “I called his house from school, but his dad picked up, so I hung up. I know Eric sent him off to do something for a reason.”
I realized too late that Tate was feeling a little jealous and left out of everything. The Hounds of Babylon had come to mean the world to my kid brother since we’d become part of it all, and just like Rubin, he would have done anything asked of him by any of the men around here. Tate worshipped every one of them in his own surly way. I hated that he felt this way, and I wanted to reassure him that he was just as useful as everyone else, but I couldn't say anything of the sort to him without getting my head chewed off.
“Don’t look at me like that, A.” Tate worked the wrench competently and picked up another piece without looking up at me. “I’m not mad, confused, or jealous. I’m just keeping busy and staying out of the way until Icanhelp.”
“You do help.”
That got me a head-on glance, but it lasted only a second before he went back to work, attaching the part and sifting through the rest of the pieces with a methodical eye. He really did look like he knew what he was doing, and he was calmer than I’d seen in a while. Something I was happy to see after the craziness of the past couple of weeks.
“Are things finally settling down with you and Libby?”
“We’re fine. Everything that happened was just a misunderstanding. Libby got jealous, she’s apologized, as you well know, and we’ve moved on.”
“The shower was the apology?”
Tate snorted.
“Do you know any of Libby’s friends? Ones outside of The Hut?” I’d said it casually, conversationally, but I’d been thinking about her meeting with Rosie. Had she told Tate about it?
Blowing on a part, Tate looked up at me and shrugged again. “Wasn’t aware she had any. Libby spends all her free time here with us. When she’s not here, she’s visiting her grams in a nursing home down in Corsicana. She doesn’t go often, though. Why?”
“Just curious.”
