Ride Free (12 page)

***

They arrived in Northern California by sundown, stopping only for bathroom breaks and a quick lunch along the way. Sarah’s legs ached in a pleasant way that spoke of the miles they’d traveled. No doubt she’d get accustomed to straddling the bike before the trip ended and they left for the next adventure.

The stopped at the campground, and the park quickly filled with riders. A couple of the members pulling small trailers behind their bikes handed out tents and supplies to everyone, while Reefer headed back to the nearest town to purchase her a sleeping bag.

She wandered over to Sunflower’s campsite. Her gait was slow and awkward, and her thigh muscles protested each step. Even a bed on the ground sounded good to her, and she hoped Reefer didn’t mind calling it an early night.

Knuckles and Sunshine welcomed her to sit down with them, and she carefully lowered herself to a stump that surrounded their fire. She laughed through her groans.

“Please tell me my legs will get used to riding all day.” She ran her hands up and down her thighs and kneaded the sore muscles.

“Sure they will.” Knuckles placed another log on the fire. “Doesn’t take long, and pretty soon you’ll find you can ride all day long without a break.”

Sunflower laughed. “Wait until you hit fifty years old and the same muscles start screaming in protest again.” She rubbed her backside. “I’m getting old.”

Sarah gazed up at the tall redwoods towering around the campground. “I’ve never set foot in California before. I pictured the area more populated.”

“Wait until we go through the southern part of the state. Traffic is almost unbearable. I’m always glad to cross over into Arizona and leave the crazy convertibles behind.” Sunflower shook her head. “Tomorrow will show us some hard riding. None of the riders like stopping, so prepare yourself.”

Sarah nodded and turned to gaze over her shoulder. “Sounds like another bike coming in. Probably Reefer with my sleeping bag.” She stood. “Excuse me, but I’ve got a date with the ground.”

“Sleep well.” Sunflower moved over to sit closer to her husband.

“You too. Sweet dreams, Knuckles,” she said over her shoulder.

Knuckles winked. “I’ll be dreaming of Harleys and my woman…”

The rest of what Knuckles said got lost in the distance between them, and she hobbled back to the area Reefer chose for them to sleep. She forced herself to walk faster, despite the sore muscles, when she saw Reefer standing beside the erect tent. How he managed not to show any signs of exhaustion from the trip remained a mystery.

“I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my whole life.” She leaned into him and laid her head against his chest. “I’m pooped.”

“Go ahead and crawl in the tent. I zipped your bag up with mine, so you’ll stay warm tonight.” He unzipped the tent and held the flap open.

She bent over and crawled inside. She kicked her shoes off and shoved them in the corner. The sleeping bag open, she lay down and used her leather jacket for a pillow. She promised herself she’d only lie down for a few minutes.

***

By the time Reefer finished talking over tomorrow’s plans with Knuckles and walked back to camp, he needed to use the flashlight to find his way through the National Forest. He shone the light inside the tent and chuckled. Sarah lay sprawled out on her stomach sound asleep, her mouth open and breathing heavy.

He crawled in the tent and removed his boots, leaving his pants and T-shirt on in case he needed to jump up in the middle of the night. He pulled the sleeping bag up over the fully clothed Sarah. She didn’t move closer to cuddle, but instead groaned and turned her face away from him.

He leaned over and pecked the back of her head. “Sleep, Kitten. I won’t bother you tonight.”

After seeing she was asleep, and that nothing would wake her up, he lay on his back, his arm over his forehead, and listened to the crickets chirping their serenade. It always amused him that no matter what area they stopped in for the night, whether it was the city or smack dab in the woods away from civilization, the darkness played a litany of music. From the frogs that croaked or the owls that hooted, it gave him a soothing effect and let him fall asleep with ease.

“Reefer!”

He sat up, his gaze instantly drawn to Sarah, but she lay beside him, asleep.

“Reefer!”

The urgent call came from Crowbar, who stood outside the tent. He threw his pants over his shoulder, grabbed his boots, and unzipped the tent.

“What’s going on?” He hopped from one foot to the other in an attempt to get his pants on.

“Crank got himself tangled up with some locals down at the tavern. Split his head open pretty bad. Thelma, or maybe it was Louise, asked if Sarah might come over and patch him up. They think he might need stitches, and money is running short.”

“Damn. What made him get into trouble this time?” Reefer laced up his boots.

The other man shrugged. “Who knows. He’s drunker than I’ve seen him in a long time. Between you and me, if I was married to Thelma or Louise, I’d have a problem with the bottle too.”

“Shit.” Reefer ran his hands through his hair. “Sarah is passed out from the trip. I hate to wake her.”

“She’s a nurse, man.”

“I know.” He paused. “Hang on, give me a few minutes to wake her up. Where’s Crank now?”

“Knuckles has him over at his campground. He’s acting up for the women, and his brother is in the same shape he is, except for the injuries.” Crowbar stepped away.

Reefer entered the tent and rubbed Sarah’s back. “Kitten?”

“Hm?” She wiggled.

“Sarah, wake up. There’s an emergency.” He pulled on her arm.

She struggled under the sleeping bag and sat up. “What? What happened? My da?”

“Oh, jeez, no. Sorry. It’s Crank.”

The night hid her face from his view, and he explained what he needed her to do while he searched for her shoes in the tent. He found them and helped her slip them on.

Sarah crawled out of the tent on all four limbs, groaning the whole way. “How long was I asleep?”

“A few hours.” He held her hand and shone the flashlight in front of them to light their path. “He’s over at Knuckles’ spot. Just to warn you, he’s giving the others a few problems because he drank too much. If you’re uncomfortable treating him, you don’t have to.”

“I’ll be okay. Does anyone have any first aid supplies?” She picked up the pace now that her muscles had loosened up.

“Yep. Sunflower carries a pack.” He led the way through the crowd of members who circled the campfire.

“Get the hell away from me!” Crank stood up and weaved past the others.

Knuckles held up his fist. “So help me, Crank, I will punch you in the face if you don’t sit down and shut up.”

Blood flowed down the injured man’s face, and in the light of the fire still going in the pit, the side of his forehead gaped open a good inch. Reefer’s jaw tightened.
Oh, Jesus.

Reefer stepped up and put himself between Crank and Sarah. “Sit down, Crank. I’ve brought Sarah to fix you up.”

He swung out with his arm. “I don’t need no help.”

“Fine, but your wife doesn’t want you back in the tent with your head bashed open.” He backed away.

Sarah stepped forward, and Reefer grabbed her hand. He didn’t want her to place herself in Crank’s path with him still riled up. She wasn’t aware of the temper Crank got under the influence. He’d witnessed the other man in action, and this was the second time he’d walked away with injuries that required medical attention.

“Stay back, Sarah. At worst, we wait for him to pass out, and then you can treat him.” Reefer glared at his biker brother.

Crank sank back on the stump, mumbled incoherently, and seemed to settle down. Sarah shivered from the cold, and Reefer wrapped his arms around her from behind. Hopefully with everyone ignoring him, the drink would soon overtake Crank.

“I think he’s out.” Knuckles waved his hand in front of Crank’s bowed head.

“Go ahead.” Reefer let go of her. “Let me know what you want me to do to help.”

Sarah inched closer. Sunflower handed her a wet towel. She bent over and examined the wound. Reefer stepped up to assist, but stayed out of the light from the fire.

She placed the towel on Crank’s head.

Crank burst from his sitting position. His hands swung out. One meaty fist connected with Sarah’s face, and she fell backwards. With a reflex that surprised him, Reefer punched the injured man and laid him out at his feet. Rage flared out every pore in his body, and he leaned over the man and punched him in the face again.

“Reefer, stop! You’ve knocked him out cold.” Knuckles wrapped his arms around Reefer and pulled him away.

“Let me go!” Reefer struggled against the bigger man. “He hit Sarah!”

“I’m okay.” Sarah struggled to her feet. “Let him go, Knuckles.”

She wrapped her arm around Reefer and held her cheek with the other. “I’ll be okay. Let me work on him while he’s out.”

“Let me see your face.” Reefer put his finger under her chin to tilt her head toward the light. “I’m going to kill him.”

“I’ll live. He needs that head wound treated and the flow of blood to stop.” She stepped around him and turned to Sunflower. “Will you help me?”

The two women worked at cleaning up Crank. Sarah used needle and thread to make tiny, tight stitches across Crank’s hairline and covered it with a bandage to keep it clean. Reefer kept a close eye on any movement that came from the man, but he remained passed out.

“I’ll take the stitches out in a week. He might have a bigger scar than if a doctor stitched him up, but at least he shouldn’t get an infection.” Sarah gazed down at her blood-covered hands.

“I’ll walk you over to the bathrooms, and you can clean up.” Reefer guided her away. “He didn’t deserve your treatment. Trust me, when the asshole can remember where he is, he’s going to hate to see me coming at him.”

“Leave it, Reefer. I don’t want you getting hurt or harming someone else.” She yawned.

He snorted.
Like hell! I owe Crank an ass whooping for laying hands on my woman.

Chapter Fifteen

The birds chirped, and the light from the sun beating down on their little camping spot created a cozy haven inside the tent. Sarah stretched to test her muscles and smiled over finding most of the soreness gone. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around Reefer. Today’s non-stop journey would keep Reefer busy, and she wanted to get her snuggle time in before the long day began.

She smiled up into his face.

“That dirty son of a bitch.” He sat up, grabbed his boots, and tore out of the tent.

Sarah scrambled through the flap. “Reefer, stop—”

She smacked into the back of Reefer. Knuckles held Reefer’s arms to his side in a bear hug, not letting him go anywhere near Crank. The injured man stood off to the side, his head bowed.

“Get the hell out of here, Crank!” Reefer strained against the hold on him.

Knuckles used his heavier weight to push him back farther. “Hold on, Son. Crank came to say something to Sarah.”

Her gaze switched from Reefer to Crank and back again. She didn’t want trouble between the men. Last night’s injury to her face happened by accident. She understood and accepted it.

She stepped around Reefer and approached Crank. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Get away from him, Sarah.” Reefer grunted. “Let go of me!”

“I’m sorry. Knuckles explained what I did this morning.” Tears ran down Crank’s face. “I’ve never hit a woman in my life.”

“It’s okay. It was an accident. You didn’t know what you were doing, and it was just a reaction from the cold towel I laid on your head.” Sarah stepped closer.

“Sarah!”

She ignored Reefer. She brushed the hair off the bandage on Crank’s head and checked for leakage. The dressing appeared dry and clean. She patted his arm.

“Keep the bandage on for the rest of the day. Especially with us riding. I’ll take a look at it tonight, and we’ll see about taking it off and letting air to the stitches. Most important thing is to keep it clean and dry.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Reefer stayed back. “If your head starts to ache, let Reefer know on the ride, okay?”

Crank nodded. “I owe you. I swear I am going to make it up to you…” He lifted his head and glanced at the man he called brother. “And Reefer.”

Sarah patted his arm one last time and moved over to Knuckles. “You can let go of him.”

Reefer broke out of Knuckles’ grasp and stepped forward. She planted her hand in the middle of his chest. His chest rose and fell beneath her palm.

“Let it go. It was an accident.” She turned him around and whispered, “Come back to the tent. I think we might have a few moments, and I can think of a couple ways for you to relax.”

No sooner did they sit down in the tent, then Knuckles bellowed, “Ten minutes to ride.”

She stuck out her bottom lip, and Reefer tilted her face up. She shook her head. With no idea what her face resembled, she could tell from the way his eyes narrowed that it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“It doesn’t hurt. More of a dull ache from the swelling. He really didn’t mean to hit me. He was just fighting to get away from the towel that caused him pain.” She gathered his hand and kissed his fist.

“I know that, but it doesn’t change the fact he hit my woman.” Reefer snorted.

Sarah rolled the sleeping bags, and Reefer dismantled the tent. She carried their bags to the bike, and he ambled over to Vixen’s trailer to put away the supplies. She stopped a few feet from Reefer’s Harley. A handful of bleeding hearts lay on the seat. She picked them up and smiled. She didn’t have to guess who placed them there.

“Where did the flowers come from?” Reefer came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“One guess?” Sentimental tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

His arms lost their firmness, and he sighed. “Good. He owes you.”

One after another, motorcycles revved and moved in sync out of the campground. Reefer brought up the end, and she looked forward to viewing a part of the country she’d never experienced before. Yesterday’s disaster forgotten, she only thought of what lay ahead.