“She’s the best. We’ll have to do a girls’ night out. We can go to Alfonso’s for margaritas and tacos. Have you been there?”
“No. Diablo and I usually go for barbecue. If we eat Mexican, we go to La Cantina.”
“We’ve got to go to Alfonso’s. They have the best margaritas in town. I’ll talk to Raven and we’ll set a date.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun. Let me know.”
Steel walked in, placed his hands on Breanna’s shoulders, and kissed the side of her neck. “Ready to head out?”
She tilted her head back and caught his lips.
Fallon turned away and opened the refrigerator, putting the leftover food inside.
“I’ll give you a call,” Breanna said.
Fallon turned around. “Great. Bye.” She watched them walk out, then smiled when Diablo stood in the doorway. “Did you want to go?” she asked. He nodded. She washed her hands, then went over to him.
“I feel like a ride to Chaco Canyon. You good with that?”
Grasping his hand, she smiled. “I’d love to go there. We’ve talked about it for a while but it seems like something always came up to keep us from going there.”
They said their goodbyes as they walked out of the clubhouse. Fallon couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around her man and feel the vibration of his Harley under her.
***
The desert landscapespread out before them, and shadows danced across the road in the late afternoon sun. The wind whipped around them, pressing Fallon closer against Diablo. The bike veered to the left and they left the main highway, climbing and twisting around roads carved out of the mountains. The heat from the desert dissipated the higher they climbed, and the brown scenery melted into green.
When they’d finally reached their destination, Diablo killed the motor and helped her off the bike. He seemed small in comparison to the noble walls carved by nature. All around there was raw beauty. The only sound she could hear other than their breathing was the distant rush of water echoing against the sandstone flanks.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said as she walked to the edge of the canyon. Looking down, the gorge spread beneath her, a river flowing in a dusty bed fringed by evergreens and pines. The water shimmered blue under the clear sky, the rocks sparkling like jewels.
Diablo came over and put his arm around her. “I’ve been wanting to share this with you for a long time.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad we waited. We know each other better, and I feel closer to you than I have to any other person.”
“It’s good to hear you say that. You mean more to me than anyone.”
She glanced at him. “What about your sisters? You never really told me about them. I’d like to hear about them if you’re up to it.”
Sighing, he walked over to his bike and took out a Native American woven blanket. He spread it on the ground and held out his hand to her. She came over and he helped her to sit down. Smoothing her fingers over the soft cotton, she said, “This is gorgeous. Where did you get it?”
“Steel gave it to me. He’s got an aunt who makes these blankets.” He stared out at the red cliffs for a while, then turned to her. “I don’t have any contact with Clarissa. She’s a couple years older than me. After we were farmed out to different foster homes, we lost touch. When I turned eighteen, I looked her up, but she didn’t want anything to do with me, Beau, or Taya. She’s been divorced twice and had her three kids taken away from her. She’s going the route of our mom—a meth junkie. As far as I know, she’s still in Salt Lake. I haven’t spoken to her in years.”
“You don’t have to talk if it upsets you.”
“It doesn’t. It’s just the way it is. My brother ODed in a back alley surrounded by trash. I couldn’t help him. The drug was too powerful. I did a stint in prison ’cause I beat the shit outta the perv who was messin’ with Taya.”
“I didn’t know you were in prison,” she said softly.
“Yeah. I lost my head when I saw what Taya’s foster fuck was doing to her. If I had to do it all over again, I still would’ve beaten his ass. No regrets there.”
“Do you ever see Taya?”
He blew out a long breath, leaned back on his hands, and stretched his legs out in front of him. “When I got out, I tried to find her. Word was that she was using and selling herself to support her habit. One day, I bumped into her and took her to the motel where I was staying. She told me she wanted us to get a place together and start over as a family. I was good with that. After she took a long shower, we went out to dinner. She ate like she hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. Taya was so talkative and friendly, but I cut through it all and told her that I knew the score. Of course, she denied turning tricks for dope. I told her I didn’t care what she did before, but we had a chance to have the life we should’ve always had. She agreed and I had a good feeling about it. I told her to crash with me until I made enough to get us an apartment. She told me she wanted to go into rehab and really turn her life around.” He pressed his lips together.
“Did it work out?”
He laughed dryly. “Something woke me up at about three in the morning. I saw Taya by the dresser. I asked what the fuck she was doing. She said she needed some aspirin. I told her I had some by the nightstand and went to sit up. She rushed over and before I could switch on the fuckin’ lamp, she clobbered me in the head with something hard. I blacked out. When I came to, she was gone and so was my wallet, money, watch, knives, and cell phone.”
