Ride to Restoration (Ride Series Book 2) (11 page)

Chapter
19

Tampa Bay

L
ast
night was a blur. So was this morning, as I woke abruptly from a fitful nights
sleep. Joseph was here, though not physically. Thank God. His scent lingered on
my skin, in my hair, everywhere. It’s not a bad scent mind you, just an
unwelcome one at the moment.
Girl, get your act together. You did what you
had to do, nothing more, and nothing less. Besides, it’s not like you haven’t
had his scent on you before.
Two years later, mind you, he’s back in
your life and you can either embrace him or reject him. The latter, until I am
sure D is safe is not an option.

A shower, that
’
s what I need,
a long hot shower. Surely, I can think clearer without these awful sensory
distractions overpowering my thoughts.
Grabbing my iPad, I turned on the Sinatra channel, loud
enough to be heard over the pulsating water. This is our music, D
’
s and mine, not to be shared
with anyone, especially Joseph. Last night was surreal. Washing, scrubbing,
cleansing every inch of my body, I longed to be clean again, to breathe again,
me.

Dressed
in my work out clothes, I traipsed into the kitchen to make a black and green
tea before a much-needed walk. This stuff is addictive. I have D to thank for
that. If he were here now, I
’
d complain in person. Clank, drag, clank, drag came the
sounds from somewhere down the hallway, announcing Giovanna was nearby, his
crutches leading the way.

“
Morning, Cuz.
”

“
Morning, Gio. When do you fly out?
”

“
We not leave, we stay. I make sure you OK.
”

“
I
’
ve got this, I really do. It
’
s just going to take time.
Besides, what can you do that I can
’
t?
”
My phone whistled, notifying me of a text message,
interrupting my conversation as well as my train of thought.

It
was from Marcy. I glanced it over before reading it aloud to Gio.
“
Found Major at Borderland
Pet Resort, call me.
”

Gio
could detect the excitement in my voice,
“
It
’
s good, yes? You leave
message. He call me, I tell him story.
”

He
has a point. Much better odds for D to call him than me.
“
Great idea, Gio. I am
grateful you
’
re staying for a while. Hold that thought. I need to call
Marcy back. Excuse me for a moment.
”

I
pressed send.
“
Girl, you really wanted that trip to Calgary, didn
’
t you? How long did it take
you to find Major?
”

“
I did. But more than anything, I want you to be happy. D
seemed to make you happy. I found his dog at the third of five kennels on my
list. I hope he still wants you. Candice, what
’
s the message you want me to
leave with them?
”

“
Tell them that D needs to call Giovanna, ASAP. Hold on a
sec, Marcy.
”

“
Gio, do we dial the country code along with your number
when you
’
re in the states?
”

“
Hmm ... think so, Candice.
”

“
Marcy, I
’
m back. Write this number down, along with the country
code. Read it back to me. Thanks. Can you leave them a hundred dollar tip
ensure they won
’
t forget to give him the message when he calls in?
”

“
I can. Anything else, Candice?
”

“
Not at the moment, girl. You
’
ve earned that trip to
Calgary and more. I just remembered. The family has to attend a masquerade
benefit for All Children
’
s Hospital two weeks from today. Can I fly you down here
for that weekend?
”

“
Let me check my work schedule and make sure I can get
someone to cover for me. If I can, I
’
ll fly myself down late
Thursday or Friday morning.
”

“
You
’
ll do no such thing. After all you
’
ve done, I owe you. I
’
ll send the plane. Call me
back with your schedule and we
’
ll work it out from there. Bye, Marcy.
”

I
ended the call and said,
“
Gio, now that you and Mile are staying for a while, would
you like to attend a benefit ball two weeks from today at the Marriott
Waterside? It should be fun. We can even dress in costume. Marcy
’
s coming, I hope. Would you
like to attend if you
’
re still here?
”

“
We be here till D come. You see; he come soon. Party good I
think. We be bikers. OK?
”

“
OK ... I left all my biker babe stuff in Canada. But, I do
have a brand new red dress. I could be Pretty Woman, aka biker babe. Maybe my
prince charming could swoop in and carry me away on a motorcycle.
”

“
We go shop, Candice. Always use more.
”

“
Whatever you say, cuz. Whatever you say,
”
I agreed without thinking. I was lost in the moment,
realizing for the first time we might be able to get a message to D sooner
rather than later.
Will he come for me or has he moved on and out of my
life?
Questions compounding questions consumed me and there were no
concrete answers to settle my already troubled mind.

Chapter 20

O
ver
a scrumptious late lunch of beef and broccoli with fried rice at Jamie’s
Chinese Restaurant, it seemed like a good time to plan the next leg of our
journey home. “Speaking of the ride, how’s your butt holding up so far,
girlfriend?”

“
Pretty good, not counting the welts from this morning,
”
I replied, sheepishly.

I
laughed.
“
It
’
s decision time. Are we going the long fast route or the
long, long fast route home?
”
Option
one is to ride south through Williston, ND and the Bakken oil fields, which
will be crowded with trucks and oil rigs. Or do we ride due north and then east
to Winnipeg, Manitoba before heading south to Sioux City and home? Regardless,
we
’
re
three days out hard riding through North Dakota and possibly even five days out
with stops through Winnipeg.
”

Only
time will get Candi out of his head
.
“
Choices, choices. Have you been both routes before? Which
is the most scenic, D?
”

“
North, for sure. There are thousands of lakes in southern
Saskatchewan filled with millions of ducks and geese heading south this time of
year. Plus, you
’
ll most likely see quite a few white tail and mule deer, a
couple of moose and maybe even a bear or two.
”

“
Ooh. I
’
ve never seen a bear in the wild before and I
’
ve sure never seen a moose,
except on TV. Let
’
s go north, if that
’
s OK with you.
”

“
North it is. If I can remember the name of an outfitter
friend from up there that I hunted with a while back, maybe he can put us up
for a night. That is, if he
’
s still in business. I
’
ll look him up on your iPad
when we get back to the room. Speaking of moose, I
’
ll run you by the city
’
s claim to fame, Canada
’
s largest moose on the way
to the resort.
”

“
First the teepee, now a moose. What is with the Canadians
having to have the biggest things on display?
”

“
Cold winters, baby
—
cold, cold winters. What else do they have to do on those
long winter nights, but dream, dreams and make up big things?
”

“
D, I could think of a wide array of things to do on a cold
winters night
 
... with you.
”
I winked ...
He so caught my drift.

We
arrived at the resort late in the day; it was too late to think of eating
again, but not too late to drink.
“
No more Molson
’
s for me today. I
’
ll be a good boy and split a
bottle or two of wine with you if that
’
s OK, girlfriend?
”

“
D, surely you know by now, you don
’
t have to get me drunk to
take advantage of me.

“
I do. Tonight, I
’
ll try to forgo getting in
your pants. I
’
m rather hoping to get in your head.
”

“
Oh...
”
Imagine that. He wants in my
head?

After
numerous searches, I found Greg
’
s number in Tisdale, SK and made the call to his office. No
answer. Another voice mail! Rarely, does any human voice answer the phone
anymore.
Is it like that for everyone or just me?

“
Greg, It
’
s Jon David, don
’
t ask. I
’
m an asshole; I got it. A
lot has happened since Texas. I
’
ll fill you in later. My lady lawyer friend and I are in
Moose Jaw on my bike. We
’
d like to stop by. She would really like to see a wild bear
or moose in the woods if at all possible. We
’
re not hunting mind you,
this trip we
’
re tourists. If we shoot anything it will be by camera. I
’
ll pay you whatever you need
to make it happen if you can pull this off on such short notice. Leave a
message on this number. It
’
s a sat phone, which I check periodically. Thanks, Pal. We
’
ll catch up tomorrow if you
’
re around. Or not. Later.
”

Vic
and I snuggled on the bed and drank our wine as we watched some chick flick on
HBO. We were each waiting for the other to bring up the events from earlier in
the day. Sleep crept up on us, silencing the demons we would eventually still
have to face.

My
alarm went off at dark thirty. I hit snooze, realizing I was completely clothed
and cold. Vic on the other hand, sometime in the night managed to snuggle under
the comforter without me.
“
No fair, why didn
’
t you wake me?
”

Rousing
faintly,
“
I tried. You were out like a light. Do you know how loud
you snore on your back? I finally managed to push you on your side so I could
go back to sleep. What time is it, anyway?
”

“
Dark thirty. I
’
ve never heard myself snore.
I
’
ve
heard I can raise the roof, especially when I
’
m tired. I
’
m sorry. If you
’
ll excuse me, I
’
m going to their gym and
grab a quick workout. You
’
re welcome to join me.
”

“
I
’
m fine right here, thank you. I will consider a ... joint
... workout if you
’
re not too stinky and sweaty when you get back,
”
I countered, before rolling over and dragging the comforter
over my head.

Twenty
minutes on the treadmill at its highest incline at only 3 mph gets your heart
pumping at 80%. Twenty minutes on the nautilus afterwards didn
’
t slow it down either. I
returned to the room untouchable, stinky and sweaty on both counts. After a
quick shower, I emerged from the bathroom to find Vic awake and patiently
waiting for me, gloriously clothes free. Not one to miss an opportunity, I
accepted her subtle, non-verbal invitation. We romped and rolled just long
enough for my hair to dry, but not long enough to stop the sweating.
“
We should have wrestled
first, girlfriend. I left way too much of me in the gym.
”

“
By the feel of things, you left quite a bit in here, too,
”
I acknowledged, rather candidly.

“
You make joke, funny girl. Share another shower with me. I
’
ll clean you up for free.
Then we pack, we eat, we ride.
”