Rick didn’t look so comfortable now. “I’m man enough for anything,
babe.”
“Good to hear. My boyfriend is inside. He’s about your height, but
he’s got a real man’s body.”
The hand holding the card dropped to Rick’s side as he scowled at her.
Faith easily sensed that his pat lines had been forgotten and his mind
was too slow to think of new ones.
Faith eyed him closely. “Yeah, his shoulders are about the size of
Nebraska, and did I mention he’s an ex-Navy boxing champ?”
“Is that right?” Rick pocketed his card.
“Don’t take my word for it; he’s right there. Go ahead and ask him.”
She pointed behind him.
Rick whirled around and watched as Lee came out of the building
carrying two helmets and two one-piece riding suits. A map was stuffed
into his front jacket pocket. Even under the bulky clothes he was
wearing, Lee’s impressive build was very apparent. He glared
suspiciously at Rick.
“Do I know you?” Lee asked him gruffly.
Rick smiled uneasily and then swallowed with difficulty as he looked
Lee over. “N-no, sir,” he stammered.
“Then what the hell do you want, kid?”
Faith piped in, “Oh, he was just asking me the sorts of things I liked
in my riding equipment, right, Ricky?” She smiled at the young
salesman.
“That’s right. Yep. Well, see ya.” Rick practically ran toward the
shop.
“Bye-bye, sweet thing,” Faith called after him.
Lee scowled at her. “I told you to wait across the street. Can I not
leave you alone for one damn minute?”
“I had an encounter with a Dobie. Retreat seemed the wisest course.”
“Right. What, were you negotiating with the guy to jump me so you can
get away?”
“Don’t get crazy on me, Lee.”
“I kind of wished you had. It’d give me an excuse to kick the shit out
of somebody. What’d he really want?”
“Junior wanted to sell me something, and it wasn’t a motorcycle. What’s
that?” she asked, pointing at what he was carrying.
“Necessary equipment for motorcycle riders this time of year. At sixty
miles an hour, there’s a tiny bite in the air.”
“We don’t have a motorcycle.”
“We do now.”
She followed him around back to where an enormous Honda Gold Wing SE
road bike sat. With its slick chrome and futuristic design, high-tech
equipment and full windshield, the motorcycle looked like something
Batman might tool around on. It was painted pearl-gray-green with dark
gray green trim and had a king and queen seat with a padded backrest.
The passenger would fit snugly there, like a ball in a glove. It was
so big and elaborately equipped that it looked like an open-air
recreational vehicle.
Lee stuck a key in the ignition and started putting on his suit. He
handed the other outfit to Faith.
“Just where are we going on this thing?”
Lee zipped up his suit. “We are going to your little place in North
Carolina.”
“All that way on a motorcycle?”
“We can’t rent a car without a credit card and ID. Your car and mine
are useless. We can’t take a train, plane or bus. They’ll cover all
those places. Unless you can sprout wings, this is it.”
“I’ve never even been on a motorcycle.”
He took off his shades. “You don’t have to drive it. That’s what I’m
here for. So what do you say? Want to go for a ride?” He flashed a
grin at her.
Faith felt as though a brick had hit her in the head when he said those
words. Her skin was afire as she looked at him perched on that
machine. And at that exact moment, as though by the will of God, the
sun broke through the gloom. A shaft of light came down and ignited
those already dazzling blue eyes into flame-filled sapphires. She
found she couldn’t move. Lord, she could barely breathe; her knees
began to quiver.
It was fifth grade, recess. The boy with the man-size eyes the exact
color of Lee’s had ridden his bike with the banana seat up to where she
sat on the swing reading a book.
“Want to go for a ride?” he had asked her. “No,” she had said, and