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“Jade” She said holding out her hand “Nice to meet you.”
“As I was about to say, this is Saint. But seeing as you two have already taken care of the introductions, I’ll just get down to business? Saint is President of the Hell’s Keepers MC and Reign’s father. The kid who was hit by that truck two days ago. He wanted to meet you.”
Jack’s eyes went wide and she looked like she might fall over again and we both reached out the grab her “You good?”
“Yep. All good” she said steadying herself. “Let’s go inside. You want coffee – or something stronger?”
“Stronger? It’s a bit early.”
“It’s after 10” she said “pubs are open. What are you having?”
“Neither thanks” we said in unison “just finished a cup.”
“Guess I’ll stick to tea then” she said sounding almost disappointed as she went about putting the kettle on.
Saint leant against the counter, watching her as she did her thing in the kitchen. He was clearly mesmerised by the swing of her tiny hips which travelled in the opposite direction to her long dark hair flowing down her back as she pivoted from one thing to the next, to the point that he almost forgot what he came for. He managed to catch himself and close his open mouth just as she turned to face him. “I, um, wanted to thank you for helping Reign. Thanks to you, he’s going to be okay. It will be a few weeks before he’s up and about fully, but he pulled through. That tourniquet you applied stopped him from bleeding out. The boy and I are in your debt and if there is anything you need, all you have to do is ask. You’ll also have the protection of the club….in case old Mrs Kite gets too hard to handle” he said with an easy laugh.
“Her I can manage…I think. Pretty sure the Hell’s Keepers are already in her bad book. But seriously, I’m just happy to know Reign is going to be ok. Neither of you owe me anything. You can’t even begin to imagine how happy I am, just knowing he’s ok, it’s really made my day. I can get back to doing – well not much really – and stop worrying.”
“Yeah well, I’m grateful for what you did for Reign. If there is anything I can do for you, all you have to do is call. Pass me your phone, I’ll save my number for you.” He grinned as he saved his number under Ain’t No and handed the phone back to her.
“Time for us to go brother. I’ve got a bar to open up. Jack, I’ll see you later. Oh, and keep away from Mrs Kite.” I said with a grin “I’ll see you this afternoon”
Saint
“I thought you said her name was Jack. Why did she call herself Jade?” I asked as we got back to the bar.
“Sorry Saint. Didn’t think about that. She walked in her 3 months ago for a drink, heard my accent and started calling me Jameson due to being Irish and the big bottle of Jameson Irish Whisky on the shelf back there. I called her Jack because that’s what she drinks.” I said pulling out one of the pre-mix bottles to show him. “The name just sort of stuck. But yeah, her name is Jade.”
“You two got something going on then?”
“Good Lord no! We just sort of clicked. Aussies and Irish just do, but gorgeous as she is, she’s not my type. Reckon it would be like fucking my sister. Just all wrong. Why? You interested?”
“Maybe. Saw her the morning of Reign’s accident and she caught my eye. Smoke and I stopped for a coffee at that new spot in town so we could talk over final touches for the new clubhouse and she was there. She was face timing with someone, talking cars while she had her coffee and was laughing really loudly. Got my attention. Anyway, she caught me looking a couple of times. And then, when she got up to leave, I noticed she’s got more than a great laugh. Then today, my cock noticed too. So yeah, I might be interested”.
“Well, she’s in here most afternoons. You could always swing by. But hey, she’s a friend I’d like to keep and it would seem she’s been through a lot. Don’t be your usual asshole self, okay?”
“Scout’s honour. No asshole self. I promise.” I said with a grin “Anyway, time to go. I’ve got a workshop to run. See ya Dublin.”
“Boy scout? mumbled Dublin “Bullshit.”
Jade
I stared at my phone and grinned at the name now at the top of the list. So the good looking man from the coffee shop has a sense of humour. I started mentally ticking off boxes – rides a Harley, tall and very well built, handsome, fabulous eyes that seem to look right into my soul, great hair, even better smile and to top it off, a sense of humour. Only a couple of boxes left – I wonder what’s under those snug fitting jeans and cut?
I pull myself up at this point and mentally give myself a slap. Surely it’s too soon to be having these thoughts. Pipes hasn’t been gone all that long. Aren’t I supposed to be still grieving? What would people think? What are the rules around this anyway? I stare at the brightly coloured tattoo on the inside of my left wrist like it will give me the answers. Talk to me babe.
Times like this require a distraction so I moved into the kitchen to do what I do best. I rummage around the fridge and freezer to see what I have the makings of and make a list for a quick run to the store for the rest. Creating tasty finger food for others to nibble on is my favourite pastime. I grab the keys to my bike and my helmet and head out the door. The grocery story is only a 5 minute ride away. I bought the bike when I got here and travelled around on it for a few months before I settled here. I rarely ride it now. Mostly I walk to and around town. This business of riding on the wrong side of the road is mentally exhausting. But today, I’m in a bit of a hurry, so ride it is.
The ride to the store is thankfully uneventful. As I exit the store, I see the reason for my troubled mind having a smoke in front of a garage across the street. My first thought is to run for cover. Instead, my heart decides it would be better to have some fun. A little bit of fun can’t hurt right? My head disagrees but my heart wins. I generally don’t have to work hard to attract attention and neither does my bike. It’s a Harley of course. Nothing overly flash but it’s new and it’s loud and has had a few modifications made to it. I make sure to make plenty of noise as I exit the carpark and flip my visor to give him a smile and a wave as I pass by. The look of surprise on his face is priceless and brings a big smile to mine. His wide, green eyes follow me all the way down the street. To hell with the rules. It’s not like I know anyone here anyway and I’m way overdue for some fun.
I set up the speaker on the kitchen bench and start up my favourite Spotify playlist, grab myself a Jack & Coke and set myself up for a few hours of cooking. I have the makings of beef and red wine party pies and arancini. Good snack and drinking food. There’s no way I’ll eat them all but I can drop most of them off to Jameson. He can either eat them himself or serve them at the bar.
I take my time making the risotto and the beef with red wine casserole making sure I get the flavours just right. While the risotto cools in the fridge I pull apart the chunks of meat from the casserole mixing it with generous amounts of sauce and deposit it as filling into the mini pie crusts I prepared while the casserole was cooking. I top them off with rounds of puff pastry and pop them into the oven to cook while I shape the arancini around pieces of mozzarella and crumb them ready for deep frying.
After about four hours and a couple of drinks I’m done, the kitchen is cleaned up and smelling amazing and I have two big trays of pies and arancini in front of me. I have just enough time for a paddle before I want to drop these at the bar.
It’s cool outside but not officially cold yet. Hopefully I’ve still got a couple of weeks before I have to give it up for the winter. I pull on my wetsuit, wheel my paddle board across the road and head out for some fresh air and sunshine. The freedom of being out on the water with the breeze blowing across me is just as good as being on a bike. Nothing around me except what I’m wearing and the sunshine on my back. I stop not far from shore and lay down on my board with my paddle resting across my stomach. I put my hands behind my head, close my eyes and listen. The only sounds are the water lapping over the edge of the board and the cries of the ever present falcon soaring overhead. All thought disappears out here and I can truly relax. In the distance, the sound of straight pipes has me opening my eyes. As I look up, I see two bikers riding along the lake edge. As they pass, I notice their cuts do not have the Hell’s Keepers insignia on the back of them. The rockers on the back are unusual with the stitching being purple. I’ll ask about them later.
