Page 150 of Roadrunner

Arthur was standing at the front of the Jeep with his hand on the hood.

He looked at me through the windshield.

He gave me the nod.

The settling nod. The one that meant something had been confirmed.

I nodded back.

I looked at Riley.

He was leaning against the building with his arms crossed. Looking at me. Directly and without apology the way he always looked at things.

He said nothing.

He didn’t need to.

I got out of the Jeep.

I crossed the parking lot.

I walked up to him and put both arms around him and held on.

He wrapped both arms around me.

Around us the club resumed its business. Voices came back. Someone’s bike started. Brisco announced something about food that redirected everyone’s attention.

I pressed my face against Riley’s chest.

“The scrape,” I said.

“I told him to keep it,” he said.

I held on tighter.

His chin dropped to the top of my head.

“The Jeep,” I said.

“The family’s back together,” he said quietly.

All of it. Every piece.

Jay found me later, once the food had come out and the parking lot had settled into the loose rhythm of a club gathering that had stopped being about any one thing. He handed me a plate I hadn’t asked for and stood beside me with the awkward formality of a man unused to being thanked.

“It’s perfect,” I told him, because it needed saying out loud and not just felt.

“Wasn’t hard,” he said.

It was what men in the world said about the things that had actually cost them the most.

“Riley checked on it more than I checked on it,” he continued. “Called me twice a week. Wanted updates on things that didn’t have updates yet.”

I looked across the lot at Riley, who was crouched by the Jeep’s front wheel with Arthur, showing him something about the new tires, unaware he was being discussed.

“Four months,” I said.

“Give or take,” Jay said. “He started the calls before you two were even engaged, far as I can tell. Before he told any of us why it mattered so much.” He shrugged, holding a plate in one hand. “Didn’t need a reason. Man wanted something fixed for you. That was reason enough for the rest of us.”