Simple Ride (Hellions Ride Book 6) (12 page)

“
Always have been on her
side,” Keri huffs at Corinne.

“
I’ll always have her back.
You should look up loyalty in the dictionary. You wouldn’t want
your secrets shared with a stranger. Instead of thinking you were
helping, maybe you should have asked Pam yourself.”

Anger fills the room, and Keri puffs
up her chest in defense. “Whatever. Don’t turn her problems on
me.”

“
Don’t come around here,
and you won’t have to worry about it. You aren’t wanted, and you
aren’t welcome, so leave before I have to have someone take the
trash out or do it myself.” Without another word, Corinne turns on
her heel-covered foot and heads back to the bar, never missing a
swish of her hips.

Loyalty. That is the
Hellions.

Family. My brotherhood.

Why do I have all these people who
care and still feel like something is missing? Oh, that’s because a
certain purple pussy is missing. It’s not just the sex, either;
it’s her smile, her laugh, and simply who she is; the way she feels
against me, the way she soothes something deep inside of me that I
didn’t know was broken until she came along. Now she’s gone, and I
feel empty inside.

Corinne puts another longneck in front
of me after she pops the top. Her blonde hair is pulled back from
her face tonight, making her blue eyes stand out even
more.

“
She’s good, you
know.”

“
Who?” I ask, not
following.

Corinne looks directly in my eyes.
“Pamela, she’s good. Thanks to you, Boomer, she’s good.”

“
We all have a path to
follow. She has her happily ever after. I didn’t give it to her;
she found her own way there.”

“
Boomer, you gave her the
only bright moments in her darkest days. When the truth came out,
you accepted and adapted. You didn’t judge her. You didn’t question
her. You simply took care of her. She’s solid now thanks to you.”
She taps the beer bottle. “It ain’t much, but that one’s on
me.”

“
Thanks,” I begin, but she
shakes her head.

“
None needed. You gave the
only true friend I’ve ever had a real life again. Take care,
Boomer, and maybe take a ride sometime soon to the coast.” She adds
the last bit with a wink before taking off with a perfect sway of
her luscious hips.

Too bad I know there isn’t a
passion-fruit-purple pussy under that denim skirt she’s rocking. My
dick only seems to want to come to life when it can be near a polka
dot pussy that was molded just for me.

Maybe I should take a ride to the
coast.

I tip up the drink and take a long
pull. Would Pamela be open to a visit? I have called a few times
and make it a point to text every day to check in. Everything
between us seems closer than before.

She comes alive when she talks about
the boys, about her new home, and about her life, a life she has
built without me. How would she feel about me showing up? Would I
remind her of what happened to Dennis?

I haven’t seen her in so long. Maybe
it’s better if I stay away. After all, she has had this time to
heal and rebuild, and I don’t need to stir up bad
memories.

Corinne is back in front of me,
tapping a bottle opener to the glass of my longneck. “Don’t think,
Boomer. Go ride,” she encourages. “I know our girl. She needs to
reconnect, and from the looks of you over the last few months, so
do you.”

A simple ride to see a friend has a
definite appeal.

~Pamela~

“
Good morning,” I greet Amy
as I make my way into work.

My time is split between cleaning the
apartments for the guys, cleaning a few houses, the offices, and
working with Amy in the garage reception area.

She is nice enough. We aren’t close,
but from what I gather, she isn’t terribly close with anyone except
Frisco and maybe Sass. I don’t ask questions, because I know all
about wanting to leave the past behind you. I just know she has
panic attacks sometimes.

Whatever brought her to the Hellions
was traumatic, and I’m glad she has Frisco and the club to keep her
safe now.

Who would have thought I would have
found safety in a motorcycle club? Who could believe that earning
my place on my back would get me the chance to have a life with my
boys again?

It happened. Here I am. I have my
kids, my job, and I have my own place. I may not have a white
picket fence, or in Hellions’ form, a black picket fence, but I
have a new start. My bed may be lonely at night because I long for
the tall, scruffy, bearded man who gave it all to me, but that’s
okay since no one else measures up.

I miss Boomer. I miss him every second
of every day. It seems odd that he ‘claimed’ me so I could be in
this world and have the safety of the club, but he’s not with me.
The occasional call and daily text isn’t enough. I don’t want
distance between us. I also know his life is in Catawba. Besides,
my kids are good here, settled. I can’t just take that away for me
to take a chance on a man who may not want a family with me
anymore. Now that he knows the truth, he may not think I’m so great
anymore.

I worry about him, though. I worry
about whether he is sleeping okay, if he’s eating well, and I will
be honest, I worry about who he is sleeping with.

Corinne says he hasn’t taken anyone
home that she has seen. She also says he seems a little sad and
maybe haunted. Whether that is by what he had to do or not, I don’t
know.

I don’t have the balls to
ask.

Frisco walks in from the bays, smiling
and carrying two cups of coffee. He sets one on my desk.

“
Morning,
Pamela.”

I nod and smile. “Morning,
Frisco.”

He kisses the top of Amy’s head
innocently before setting her coffee in front of her. “Gonna be a
good day.”

“
Sure,” she whispers to him
unconvincingly. “Every day is a new opportunity,” she chimes the
practiced sentence she tries to live by.

“
I’m through the door if
you need me,” Frisco says, heading back out. “Have a good day,
Pamela,” he calls out without looking back.

Amy watches him leave, not commenting
further.

The way Frisco takes care of her
reminds me of Boomer. It makes me miss the nights he would take me
home and simply hold me so I could sleep.

I miss the way he seemed to know
exactly what I needed without me having to say anything. I miss the
way he smells, the way he talks, and my goodness, the way he
touches me.

It’s all gone now. I need to let it
go.

I have my boys, my mom, and we are
safe. I need to be happy with where I am in life. I don’t need
more.

Keep it simple, sister. I have what I
need in life: my boys safe and healthy. I can’t ask for
more.

The day passes by quickly as Amy and I
work together to keep parts ordered and appointments scheduled for
the garage. It’s late afternoon when the front door chimes, and as
I look up, I swear my eyes are deceiving me. I blink. His beard is
still there, and a cocky smile stretches across his
face.

To hell with it! Boomer is here, right
in front of me. I’m not going to waste a moment
questioning.

I take off from behind the counter and
rush to him. He stands in front of me, and I take the biggest risk
I have taken since the day I left Dennis. Reaching up, I wrap my
hands around his neck and pull him down to me.

My lips brush softly against his, and
he growls before opening to me. Timidly, I kiss him before his
hands come around and cup my ass firmly as he takes over and
devours my mouth. Rather than a simple hello, we are embraced in a
loud, sloppy kiss, and I want nothing more than to keep it
going.

He pulls away slowly. “Miss
me?”

I smirk at him. “I won’t even try to
deny it.”

“
Good. This mean we’re done
playin’ and you’re gonna be mine?”

It’s like a bowl of ice cold water is
dumped on my head, and I pull away.

His grip tightens.

“
Boomer,” I
whisper.

“
Keep it simple,” he says,
and I stifle a laugh since I was just reminding myself of that.
“You wanna give this a chance? See what we could be?”

“
Yes,” I whisper, trying
not to look at him.

“
One step at a
time.”

“
It’s not that simple—” I
start, but he puts a finger over my lips to quiet me.

“
I know you’ve got the
boys, Pami. When the time comes, we will tackle that, but first, we
gotta do you and me together.”

“
Boomer, you live in
Catawba.”

“
No, I live where the road
takes me, and it took me here to you.”

I open and close my mouth
like a fish with no words coming out.
What
are you saying?
I want to ask, but I can’t
make the sounds work.

“
I haven’t had much to
believe in throughout my life, but I believe in us. I believe in
you. I wanna see where this goes. I’m willing to come here for that
chance. You just gotta decide if you’re gonna give it to
me.”

I bite my bottom lip. This is crazy.
Regardless, I nod my head because, once again, I can’t get the
words out.

He believes in me—he really does—and I
believe in him. I believe in the man he is and the values he stands
for. I believe in the things he can teach my boys just by being the
man he is and setting a good example. I believe that, when he
loves, it’s with his whole heart and mind. I believe that Nathan
‘Boomer’ Vaughn is my hero, my savior, and my love. I believe, with
him beside me, I can have no fears, and I can face whatever life
gives me.

“
Words, Pami. I want
words.”

“
Yes, Boomer, I’m gonna
give it to you,” I add with a wink.

Chapter Twelve

~Boomer~

Waiting for Pamela to get off work
seems to take forever. Knowing she is here, I am here, and we
finally seem to be on the same page, I just wanted to take her off
for a ride. When five o’clock hits, I make sure to be there to take
my woman away.

She smiles at me, making her way
outside.

I take her by the hand and
lead her to my bike. After I hand her a helmet, she steps
back.

“
Boomer, my car? My
kids?”

“
I know. I’ve got Ruby
taking your car home. Your mom knows you’ll be home late, but
before the boys go to bed.”

She blinks. “Ummm, I
can’t.”

Frustration builds inside
me. I can’t take the push and pull. I want her, and she wants me;
why can’t we simply be?

“
Can’t or won’t?” I ask,
feeling like we have been down this road enough times.

“
Both,” she replies
honestly, and my face hardens. I’m ready to give up when she
squeezes my hand. “Boomer, I don’t wanna miss dinner with my boys.
I had a lot of missed meals, and I don’t want to miss another one
if I can help it.”

I’m an ass. I didn’t even
think. The boys—of course she wouldn’t want to miss dinner with
them.

She reaches up and her
soft hand runs over my beard. “I’ll call you after the boys are in
bed. I don’t want to put more on them by trying to have you in our
home, but I want to see you. I know they know you as my friend from
Ruby and Vida’s house, but it’s all been so much, and they are
settling in finally.” She is rambling, so I reach up and cup her
chin.

“
I get it.” Without another
word, I lean down and kiss my woman.

She opens eagerly, and our
tongues dance like long-lost lovers. When I feel her pull on me,
ready for more, I pull back.

“
Until tonight, Pami.” I
can give her this. More than that, I can give her boys the time
they deserve with their mom.

She rolls up on her toes
and gives me a soft kiss before pulling away. I then watch her walk
to her car, and I swear she has more sway to those luscious hips
than ever before. Watching her makes me hard.

My phone rings a few hours later, and
I smile. For the first time in my life, I am looking forward to
something. For the first time, I am really living. This isn’t out
of duty. This isn’t out of obligation. For the first time, I don’t
have the urge to take off on my bike until the memories haunt me
again. No, for the first time, I want to look ahead. I want to have
a future with the beautiful, strong, and amazing woman who found
her way into my life.

“
Hey gorgeous,” I answer,
wanting to laugh at how much of a pussy I am over her. I don’t
care, though. As long as I can keep this feeling, I don’t care if I
have to shave my beard and turn in my man card. She can have it
all.

“
Hey, Boomer,” she
whispers.

“
Boys in bed?”

“
Yes. So, ummm …” I can
hear the hesitation in her voice.

Trying to hide my disappointment, I
give her an out. “We can take this slow, Pami. If you’re tired, we
can go out another night. There is no rush, honey.”