I give Hulk a quick nod as he pulls out onto the road and fall in line behind him. The roar of the combined Harley engines of the club is deafening, but makes my heart race with an excitement I haven’t felt since riding on the back of my dad’s bike.
After the emergency crew and police arrived, we had all stood back and watched as the man from the truck was loaded into an ambulance and whisked away to the hospital. The police had taken our statements and thanked us for our quick action. They figured that he’d likely fallen asleep at the wheel and said that by the time the fire crews arrived, it would have been too late.
After that, Hulk had insisted I drive on to the next town with them to stop for the night. He was worried I would go into shock. Quite frankly, so was I. The thought of a hot shower and a stiff drink made my choice for me. Now, here I ride, amongst a long line of motorcycle men, ready to end this trip for the day.
After living all those years in monotony and boredom, these last couple of days have exhausted me. Watching that man get strapped to a gurney made me reflect on my decision to start fresh. Life can change or be over in the blink of an eye, and this man’s distress has only cemented my decision. I don’t want to be taking my last breath and looking back on my life, wondering why I had squandered it away.
We pull into a small motel in the middle of a tiny little town in Manitoba and I follow the guys into the reception area where I get myself a room. I turn to Hulk with a smile and hold up the magnetized key card. “Room 201.”
He nods. “Meet me out front in thirty.”
A thrill runs down my spine at those simple words said in that growly voice. Granted, I do not know this man at all, and the words we’d exchanged so far were few and far between. The thought of him waiting out front makes me very shy, all of the sudden.
“Okay,” I say, barely above a whisper. I turn and hurry to my room.
I drop my bag on the bed and head straight for the shower, stopping only when I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. God, I look like hell! I have a serious case of helmet hair and my face is covered in dirt smudges and sweat. There’s no way Hulk had ulterior motives for asking me to meet him out front. This face, mixed with the thick stench of smoke does not scream “Fuck me.”
Shaking my head, I turn to the shower and do what I need to do to get myself ready to meet a bunch of badass bikers for dinner and a drink. With exactly one minute to spare, I step out the door and see Hulk leaning against the wall, a cigarette dangling from his fingers.
“Those things will kill you,” I say as I approach.
He shrugs and steps on the butt, taking a step towards me. “We all gotta die sometime. You look nice.”
I do. I know I do. I took the extra five minutes on my mass of curly blonde hair, arranging it into an attractive messy bun, high on my head. I’d also taken the time on my make-up to give my eyes a smoky look, accentuated by a shiny pink lip gloss on my lips. For the first time in a long time, I actually care what I look like, and if feels damn good to look pretty for a change.
I answer only with a grin and ask, “Where to?”
He studies me a moment before nodding across the street. “Bear’s Den Tavern.”
I follow as he starts walking, eyeing up the bar as we approach. It’s a biker bar, that much is clear. Motorcycles line the parking lot out front, and several men are outside, leaning against the building with a smoke in their hands as they laugh and shoot the shit with one another.
Hulk holds the door for me and I step inside, my eyes taking it all in. The place isn’t packed, but it’s busy for what I would assume a regular weeknight would be like in this little town. The wooden floorboards are old and dusty. The tables are there for use, not décor. Not the type of place I had ever gone to before in my life. I feel Hulk’s hand on the small of my back as he guides me to a small table in the back corner, away from his friends, who I see sitting at a large table in the center of the room.
A waitress with a friendly smile, and a tired, raspy voice follows along behind us, then seats us and takes our order. I order myself a whiskey and coke and smile inwardly when Hulk looks at me in surprise. I finish my order off, asking for a plate of nachos, then it’s my turn to be surprised when Hulk makes the same order.
“So, where you headed, Holly?”
“Perth?” I say, but it comes out like a question.
His brows raise in surprise. “Ontario?” I nod. I know he knows where I’m talking about. The town is just an hour away from where he himself lives. “What’s in Perth?”
I let out a heavy breath and purse my lips. “Nothing anymore. It’s where I grew up.” He watches me, but says nothing. “My father passed away a few months ago, and he left me his house.”
He reaches across the table, placing his hand on top of mine. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
I smile softly and start fiddling with the paper napkin in my hand. “Thanks. I uh … I thought it would be nice to go there for a while. Be alone. Work through some stuff, ya know?”
His hand squeezes mine before he pulls it away. “From the sound of your voice, you might need that.”
I nod. “More than anything.”
“Want to talk about it?”
I begin telling him my story, and before I know it, I’ve told him everything. About my stressful marriage, and my father’s death. I tell him about the will and the message Dad had left for me in there. I tell him about the Harley shop, and how I hadn’t been on a motorcycle in years. I even tell him about my writing, and how I’ve wanted to be a writer my entire life, but that it just never seemed like a possibility until now.
Hulk proves to be a good listener. He pays attention to my every word, interrupting only to ask an occasional question. By the time I’m done talking, we’ve finished our food and have just started on our third drink.
I watch as Hulk takes a long swallow from his glass, watching me over the rim. Lowering his arm, he stares at me for a long time before shaking his head. “You’re one brave lady, Holly.”
I scoff and take a swig from my own drink, thinking it’s obvious he doesn’t know me very well.
“I’m serious. It takes guts to up and leave a secure life behind because you know it’s not what you deserve. It takes even more guts to jump on a motorcycle and drive across the country by yourself, ready to take on the world. Not only that, but I don’t know many women that would risk their own lives to pull a total stranger out of a burning vehicle. You have balls, woman.”
My cheeks burn as I smile shyly into my whiskey, but I don’t say anything. I have never really thought about it, but hearing it laid out like that, maybe I really am brave. To me I’m just trying to finally do what I need to do to fix the mess I’ve made of my life.
Looking up, I change the subject, praying that he will allow me to gloss over what he said. “What about you? What’s your story?”
Knowing exactly what I’m doing, Hulk chuckles, but allows the change in topic. For the next hour, Hulk and I talk, telling each other more than I would normally share with a complete stranger. I get the sense that this sharing is not normal for him either, but somehow talking to him comes naturally. I want to share my stories with him. I want to know all about him.
Finally, Hulk glances at his watch. “Holy shit. It’s getting late and we have an early start in the morning.”
“We?” I ask with my head tilted.
His lips twist up in a smirk on one side. “Yes, we. Perth ain’t far from where I’m goin’, so that means you’re ridin’ the rest of this trip with me, darlin’.”