Long Ride (Riding with Honor) (8 page)

“You’re here now… don’t regret the past… it’s time consuming and serves no purpose
,” he whispered, smoothing her eyebrows.

After a couple of minutes he pulled away from her
, got up and went to the restroom to dispose of the condom.  He returned a few minutes later and pulled her up to follow him down the hallway to the bathroom. 

Turning on the shower he then grabbed a couple of towels and laid them on the counter.  Then after feeling the temperature of the water he stepped under the spray and then
tugged her in with him shutting the door behind her. 

“I want you again but we are going to have to wait until we can get to the store.  I don’t want you to forget how good
this thing between us is though,” he said, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss and then releasing her while his hand slid down the wet valley between her breasts to settle between her legs.

Face to face under the spray of the warm water
, he held her around the waist with one arm while his other one remained between their bodies making her sing to his rhythm.  He hadn’t lied when he said he was good with his hands.  He was a good companion, a good friend, and a fantastic lover.

It
felt like he had unleashed a floodgate of emotions for the both of them making it nearly impossible not to touch and kiss.  The kissing and touching continued as they showered and even while drying off and dressing, until grinning he said, “If we cancel for tonight at Gran’s… we will never hear the end of it.”

Knowing he was right, she finally stepped back from his arms and said
, “Since we have to leave anyways to go to the store… we might as well go to the cookout.  What about the potato salad?”

“Shit… you get finished up and I will throw it together real quick
,” he said, kissing her again on his way out of the bedroom toward the kitchen.

She stood in the doorway watching him walk away in nothing but a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips.  He did not look anywhere near her age, let alone older.  It was no wonder old and young alike flirted with him.  She’d watched young college age girls approach him and talk to him on more than one occasion. 

Half an hour later they were out the door with lukewarm potato salad that looked rather mushy but wearing smiles that made people pause and take notice when they stopped at the drugstore. 

She must be crazy but she couldn’t stop the smiling… she felt like she was twenty five again… before life had kicked her down.  He smiled and winked at her as he handed money to the man behind the counter in the pharmacy.

The man eyed them both but didn’t say anything until Dickie said, “Sleeping with me agrees with her.”

The younger man snickered before catching himself and then said
, “I’d say that makes you a lucky man then, sir,” while handing him the change.

It looked like half the county had turned out for the cookout as cars were lined up along both sides of the street in front of Gran’s house.  Getting out of the
vehicle he came around and opened her door.  Stepping out she could hear peals of laughter coming from the backyard.  Grabbing her hand, he led her inside where more people were gathered. 

Chuck and Meredith approached and
Chuck reached for the potato salad Dickie held then said, “Where’s the spoon for it?”

Looking first at her and then at Chuck he said
, ‘I forgot one, I’m sorry.  This afternoon has been more than I can handle… non-stop.”

“No biggie, I’m sure Gran has something
,” Chuck offered.

Dickie’s
words only served to remind her of the shower earlier when he’d fed her hunger for him with his hands.  This is what he’d meant when he said he didn’t want her to forget… not for a second of this evening… he wanted it to be in her mind the whole time. 

Meredith looked at her curiously.  Were the feelings she couldn’t seem to control showing on her face?

She followed Chuck and Meredith into the kitchen just as Gretchen burst in through the back door dragging the diaper bag for baby Melody.  Chuck sat the potato salad on the counter, dug a spoon out of a drawer and set it on top of the bowl.  Then he reached down and picked up the diaper bag from Gretchen. 

Gretchen looked at her and said
, “You look awful happy today, Miss Becca.” Then hearing kid voices outside she said, “Ben and Matt are here!  See ya!” and disappeared back outside.

Lilly snickered and gave
Becca a knowing look.  Tommy opened the door for Dana who carried the baby in her arms.  Then kissing Dana, Tommy said, “I’ll bring her seat in,” and then he was gone back out the door.

“Wait I’ll go with you
,” Chuck said and followed Tommy out the door leaving the rest of the group in the kitchen. 

Dana walked over to where Gran sat at the table and handed her the baby
.  The older woman’s face broke into a smile.  “I just don’t see a thing wrong with her Dana.  I realize those doctors are well educated but I think they are finding fault when there really is none.”

“Well she is finally holding her head up a little bit and she does respond to Gretchen now almost as well as Chuck
,” Dana said smiling at Meredith. 

Meredith sat down at the table next to Gran and Lilly sat on the other side
of Meredith after pulling up a chair.  Becca sat down next to Lilly.  After making a bottle and setting it in front of Gran, Dana sat down as well.

Tommy and Chuck came back through the door talking about work.  Tommy approached where Gran was sitting and
placed the seat on the floor.

Chuck stuck his head into the other room and said
, “Hey!  Foods on the counter in the kitchen and still warm on the grill out back.” 

Carla Johnson and her father followed Bobby and Dickie into the kitchen just as Lilly’s sister Sherri yelled from the front of the house
, “Where is everybody?”

“In here
,” Lilly hollered back.

Soon enough
Sherri joined them in the kitchen as well.  The room was small and with so many people it was full to capacity.  Chuck took a glass out of the cabinet then picked up a spoon and tapped it on the side of the glass. 

When all eyes turned to him he said
, “I, uh… I mean Edith has something to tell everyone.”

Everyone laughed and Meredith gave him a look
.  Then she smiled and held up her hand to show that her finger now contained an engagement ring.  The room suddenly broke into people congratulating the young, happy couple.  When the fluster of excitement started to die down Becca watched Tommy smile and whisper something to Dana.

“Hey
, Meredith!  I’ve got one of those too,” Dana smiled, while holding up her ring finger which also displayed a diamond.

More congratulations followed for Dana and Tommy.  After some of the excitement died down again
Becca was surprised when Dickie brought her a plate of food and a cup of Ginger Ale and set it down in front of her.  Then he leaned in to whisper, “Better eat…you’re going to need your energy later.”

The men all
got themselves some food and then went outside, except for Chuck who made a plate for all three of the kids and then yelled out the back door, “Hey, you bunch of punks, get in here and eat!”

The three kids ran into the house
.  After grabbing their plates and a juice box they headed back outside attempting not to spill their food.  Chuck and Nathan Patterson each made themselves a plate and followed the other guys outside. 

Once the little kitchen had cleared out
, some of the women went and got themselves something to eat.  Dana brought Gran a plate and took Melody to put her in her seat.  Once the women all had food and Lilly found a couple more chairs for Sherri and Carla, they all squeezed in around the table to eat.  The talk quickly turned to what, if any, wedding plans had been made. 

“While he’s outside I wanted to ask you guys what you thought about me trying to see if we can rent the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville for our wedding.  What do you think?” Dana asked
. “I mean music
is
Tommy and according to him… I’m the star of his show.  Is that corny and too precious or what?”

Gran patted her hand and said
, “Who cares if it’s corny?  It’s perfect for you two.  Besides I’d love to hear him and that little heathen sing in a place like that.”

“I want to call and see what they have available for next summer.  Then we will pick a date from
what they have open and then… road trip!  Melody will be around a year old by then so that should make it a little easier,” Dana said.

“We aren’t sure when or where we want to get married
,” Meredith said. “But I could use all the help in planning I can get!”

“So what about the dresses…?” Lilly asked
.

“I have a client that specializes in custom design wedding gowns… I’m sure she might be able to help
,” Becca said, finally able to get a word in.  Then she pulled out two business cards from her purse and wrote the website of the dress shop on the back.

“You’ll come to my wedding won’t you
, Becca?” Dana and Meredith asked her almost at the same time.  Then looking at each other they laughed.

“I wouldn’t miss either one
,” she smiled.

Melody fussed
so Dana picked her up and handed her back to Gran who worked on feeding her the bottle. 

Sherri suggested the rest of them play penny poker and everyone began digging in their purses for pennies, nickels and dimes.  Lilly went and found some cards and they sat around talking and playing
poker.

Maybe it was the way they made her feel like she was a member of the group, or maybe it was having made love with Dickie
earlier, but her smile never disappeared for long.  Maybe it was the fact that her heart was still soaring high from the knowledge that Dickie not only wanted her, but he
loved
her.

Whatever it was
, she found herself having more fun than she could remember having in a very long time.  Lilly, Meredith and Sherri were comical and several times she found herself wiping away tears of humor along with the rest of them.

It seemed there was no subject that was taboo or off limits.  They discussed the guys, the shop, kids and pregnancy
, including Lilly’s Lamaze classes and Bobby’s reaction to them. 

Then the topic changed to food
, then sex and then moved back to the weddings.  When Becca excused herself for the restroom some time later, she realized it was dark outside and glancing at the clock realized they had been hanging out for more than three hours. 

Dickie had gone outside and had not come back in
.  She’d survived on her own in an environment that used to make her nervous.  The women in this group were fun to be around and had put her at ease.  They were some of the same women who had given her a pep talk in New York.  They were friends…
her friends.

As she stepped outside of the bathroom, Edna cornered her in the hallway and handed her a manila folder of papers. 

“Not tonight or even tomorrow… but sometime when things settle down a bit I want you to take a look at those documents for me and let me know what you think,” she said while handing her the folder.

“Of course
,” she smiled. “Might I ask what these documents are?”

“It’s my will.  It’s all handwritten so I wanted you to type it up official like and file it or whatever is done with them so when the time comes, everything will be taken care of
,” she said, taking Becca’s arm and leading her back toward the kitchen.

Upon making it back to the kitchen
Becca noticed that Tommy and Dana appeared to be leaving as was Carla, her father and the two boys.  Dickie was talking to Tommy and Chuck but upon seeing her he smiled and winked at her.  His good looks and devilish grin did wicked things to her legs and the wink was like a caress she felt clear across the room.

She watched him for a few minutes until he
affectionately smacked the men on their arm and then headed toward her.  Her gaze locked with his and she could feel the heat build the closer he got to where she stood waiting.  He kept coming at her until he was almost flush up against her then he leaned in toward her and whispered, “I can feel you watching me, Becca.  We should go now if you’re ready.”

“Yes… I’m ready
,” she whispered back breathlessly.

Taking her hand in his he announced they were leaving too and soon enough she was receiving hugs from all the women and Chuck
, who then turned back to the group and said, “I’ve had more women in my arms tonight than some men get in a lifetime.”

The laughter followed them outside and only ended when the car doors closed and the atmosphere between them changed from carefree fun to something warm and sensual. 

After pulling out and heading up the street, he reached over and linked his fingers with hers.  Comfortable silence accompanied the whole trip back to his house.  The anticipation of being with him again was almost more than she could bear. 
Would they never get to his house?

She snickered at the direction of her thoughts.  She went from swearing off the man and hoping to avoid him as much as possible because of the small sliver of feelings she felt for him, to hardly able to think of anything else
but
being with him
because
of those feelings.

“Penny for your thoughts
,” he said with a grin.

“What do you think I’m thinking…?”
she asked smartly, grinning back at him.

“Well if it’s anything like the thoughts racing through my mind, we’ll be lucky to make it in the house without giving the neighbors a show
,” he laughed.

“What is wrong with us?
We’re acting like teenagers!” she laughed in return.

“I think all that tension that built up for the past few months finally caught up to us
,” he smiled as he pulled into the driveway.  “I’ve never enjoyed being out of control so much in my life as I do right now.”

Putting the car in park and turning it off
, he turned to her and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.  She reached for him but he caught her arms and said, “Oh no, we’ll never make it in the house if you do that.  Let’s move this inside.  Grab your papers and let’s go.”

Grabbing the envelope from Gran she followed him in the house and laid her purse and the folder on the chair.  He turned and opened his arms to her and she went to him without hesitation.  All that passion and fire kept dormant for so long was a damn shame, but he was glad she was letting it out for him. 

The break in had been a wakeup call and now that he had claimed her for his own, he’d make damn sure if he wasn’t there to protect her that in a pinch she could protect herself. 

“I told you earlier today that tonight we would start teaching you some self-defense techniques
,” he said, holding her tighter. “What would you do if it wasn’t me holding you, but someone who meant you harm?  How would you get free to run?”

She froze.  Taking a hold of her a little tighter he whispered
, “You’re trapped in my arms, and being this close to me at this angle would make it unlikely that you could successfully knee me in the groin.”

With that he caught one of her hands in his and guided it into the small space between their bodies and placed it on the bulge present there and cupped her fingers around him
.

“You’re knee might not work but your hands will.  Pull and twist his junk and he’ll release you.  When he does you run and you scream
,” he whispered against her hair.

Her facial expressions changed so rapidly he could hardly keep pace.  The distraction of her hand
, that rather than causing him immense pain, was having quite the opposite effect, made reading her expressions that much harder. 

Her hand released him only after she managed to ensure he was fully aroused and then slid up his arm.  Standing on tip toes she pressed her lips to his and said
, “Did I execute that move well enough while tired?”

Then she was kissing him in the way that
forced him to give over control to her and all kidding aside, have her way with him. 
She was wild and untamed and God Almighty he liked it.
 

The following morning he made every effort not to wake her as he gently rolled from where he had been sleeping plastered against her backside.  She stirred when he made it to his back and mumbled
, “Don’t leave… stay for five minutes.”

He grinned at her quick wit in using the words he’d spoken to her the first night they arrived.  After several minutes passed she stirred again
. “I have a ton of work to do today and for the first time in perhaps my entire life I don’t want to do any of it,” she laughed.

“I’ll make you coffee
and waffles if you’re done with me now,” he offered.

“I do not have you tied to this bed…
so you are free to get up when you choose,” she replied, rubbing her backside against him.

Getting up he laughed and said
, “Do you want to tie me to this bed?”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?  I think you bring it up every chance you get
,” she giggled.

“If you were the one tying me up, hell yea I’d like it
,” he replied, leaning down and kissing her naked shoulder blade as he fastened his jeans.

She finally managed to pull herself out of the bed and get in the shower.  Looking at herself in the mirror
, she realized that she not only felt different being with him, she was beginning to look different too.  The bags of skin beneath her eyes were fading as were the dark circles. 
She’d slept the entire night in his arms… with no meds.

Upon exiting the shower
, Becca heard him knock on the door of the bathroom and say, “When you get done your breakfast is on the table.  When I get done with my shower we’ll go take a walk.”

The walk energized her and upon their return she sat down and pulled out the papers that Gran had given her.  On the top of the stack was a handwritten note.

Dear Becca:

Though we all have things in our lives that we regret, an unkind word spoken in haste, a poor decision made before thinking of the consequences, I have tried not to dwell on those things throughout my life.  At this point in my life though, I find myself revisiting some of those areas, wanting closure though the wrong may
never be righted.

Bobby only asked about his mother once in his life,
on his first day of Kindergarten when he realized that other children did not live with their grandparents.  I simply told him that she left but that was not the full truth.

My daughter Caroline began seeing a neighborhood boy when she was fifteen years old.  The boy was a no good bum much like his parents.  When she became pregnant at sixteen, my husband Robert and I forbid her to continue seeing the boy and even began homeschooling her.  When Bobby was about six months old we thought she was finally starting to see the error of her choices and was ready to start turning her life around. 

She enrolled in some night courses at the community college downtown but not more than two weeks into her first set of classes she disappeared.  We weren’t sure where she went and after filing a missing person report that resulted in nothing, we settled in to raise Bobby as our own.  When Bobby was three, my husband and I received a phone call from the police asking us to come down to the morgue to identify her body.

From what the police were able to tell us, she had again hooked up with the boy and ran off with him.  Though we knew he was no good, she did not or could not accept that reality and it cost her dearly, the ultimate price… her life.  I don’t think Robert ever forgave himself for not finding her in time and he worried for Bobby.
  Unlike my Caroline, you made a choice when you left your past behind and I sincerely hope you can find the strength to try for a future.

I had planned to take t
he name of Bobby’s father to my grave as he is famous but not for any good deeds.  He was in fact the monster that society deemed him to be, and I would not want that to impact the man Bobby is.  I knew early on there was no chance of Bobby becoming the man his father was, though he can be violent when provoked.  He has too much of Caroline’s personality, though he looks much like his father.

I tell you this and ask that you hold on to this knowledge in case it should ever be needed.  However, if you
ever find it is needed then I ask that you tell him first before using it.  I pray daily that he never has to know and I trust that you will ensure he doesn’t unless absolutely necessary.  When I die and he is left alone, I hope that having Lilly will be enough to keep him from questioning the past… but if not I ask that you do all in your power to keep him from ever knowing.

My Sincerest Thanks,

Edna Jackson

It somehow seemed unfair of Edna not to tell Bobby the truth about his mother…
and father.  From what she had garnered from Lilly, he was under the impression his mother was still alive and living somewhere else and no one knew who his father was.

Beneath the letter was a stack of newspaper clippings that included a photo of Bobby’s mother and an article on a man charged in the case.  Further down in the stack which appeared to be in chronological order was an article about the execution of the man.  He had been charged with
multiple
murders… besides the murder of Bobby’s mother.

Edna’s opinion on the matter suddenly made perfect sense.  If Bobby had no idea that his mother had died…
been killed
… he wouldn’t focus on finding out how she died.  She respected the old woman for not wanting to taint Bobby with a sometimes common belief of ‘like father, like son’ and hoped she too would never have to approach it with him. 

Bobby Jackson seemed like verifiable proof that nurture won over nature…at least in his case.  Chuck being as well rounded, artistic and full of life as he was argued it was nature over nurture.

At the bottom of the pile were copies of several documents including a life insurance policy and the deed to her house, along with another handwritten note stating Bobby was to get everything except for her collection of music which was to go to Gretchen.  

Information on how and where she was to be buried was also included in the documents.  The woman had planned everything down to the last detail.  She called her personal secretary and asked her to send her a template of a will that she could use to type up
this one for Edna.

She would keep Edna’s secrets… that was part of what she was paid for… keeping secrets for clients.  After gathering up the documents
, she placed them back in the manila folder and put it in her locked briefcase.  Then she pulled out the file on the two foster girls.  After thumbing through the file, she decided that in light of her more recent relationship with Dickie, she should make Carmen James aware.

Digging out her cell phone she dialed
the case worker’s number and waited.  When the she received Carmen’s voice mail which indicated she was out to lunch, Becca glanced at the clock and was shocked that it was lunch time already.  After leaving a message she went in search of Dickie.

She could hear sound coming from his one car garage.  Opening the door her eyes were drawn to his strong shoulders and back that were bare and shiny with sweat. He looked to be fixing his bedroom door and was focused on his work.  Leaning against the doorframe she watched him.

He looked so rugged and masculine even with his hair being too long.  His jeans rode low on his hips making him appear even taller than he was… and bigger. 

“See anything you like?” h
e asked with a grin. 
Busted.

“Hungry?” s
he asked in reply.

“Yes
, ma’am, I am.  Are you going to do the cooking?” he asked.

Laughing she said
, “I can make a lunchmeat sandwich.  I may not have your culinary skills but I haven’t starved to death yet.”

He went and rinsed off in the shower while she was making the sandwiches.  Sitting down at the table he grinned and said
, “How about a night ride later?”

“You will
not
get
me
on the back of your motorcycle,” she said.

“Oh I will and you’ll love it.  Remember you said you didn’t want to have your way with me but you were lying.  I think you’re lying about wanting a ride on the back of my motorcycle too
,” he said with a grin.