Ride to Restoration (Ride Series Book 2) (7 page)

Chapter
12

“V
ic,
I wanted Candi’s first motorcycle ride to be memorable so I dreamed up an event
that would allay her fears, replacing her apprehension of being on the back of
my bike with unexpected, unbridled pleasure. Thanks to your desolate, straight
Iowa roads I was able to do just that. Dressed in our matching thongs, chaps
and raincoats, at least until we got out of town, I used the BOA to pleasure
her while she simultaneously pleasured me. Riding along the cornfield defined
highway, under a moonlit and starry sky, we were able to mutually climax with
no one else the wiser.”

Oh,
my God! Men
!
“
The
same
‘
boy
toy
’
you
’
ve been sharing with me?
”

“
Come on, Vic, that
’
s all you managed to glean
from what I just told you? It was exciting to take her mind off the bike and
have her focusing solely on her.
”

I
laughed.
“
You focused on her, D. She focused on you.
”

“
Whatever, it worked. Not one time on our ride did she ever
tell me she was scared. Mission accomplished.
”

“
In that case, I want you to recreate her ride with me. I
’
ve never got off on a
motorcycle
—
a plane maybe, but not a motorcycle. That intrigues me. I
deserve to know how you managed to pull it off. Did I say that right? You owe
me. Just call it professional courtesy.
”

“
You
’
re serious?
”

“
You betcha. I want to experience what Candi felt. I want
the chance to feel you while you
’
re feeling me cruising down the back roads at 50 mph. But I
’
m not wearing her red thong.
I
’
ve
got my own for that.
”

“
Vic, you
’
re twisted.
”

“
D, you
’
re the one that
’
s twisted. I
’
m just the pretzel that
wants to be entwined with you.
”

“
It
’
s a deal, I
’
ll never win this argument. Pack all your necessary stuff
in the backpack. The rest we
’
ll ship to your house, along with Candi
’
s. Don
’
t look at me like I
’
m crazy, we
’
re traveling light. If you
run short of anything, we
’
ll buy it. That
’
s all I know to tell you.
Look at this as an adventure of a lifetime, girlfriend.
”

If
we live through it.
“
By
the looks of things already, it
’
s going to be a fun, fun ride.
”

We
slept soundly, spooning most of the night
—
me in my sweats and Vic in the silks she evidently
appreciated. Morning came quickly.

“
Wake up, sleepy head, today we ride.
”
Rising from the bed, I began packing up my gear.

“
What time is it, D?
”
I asked, knowing by the looks of things it
’
s still dark thirty.

“
6:30, girlfriend.
”

“
You
’
re dreaming. It
’
s still dark outside. Come
back to bed
…
please.
”

“
Vic, we ride early, we stop early, long before dark. This
schedule works, I promise.
”

“
It does until it don
’
t. I
’
m the don
’
t caveat. I am not a morning
person.
”
Why on earth
haven
’
t you figured that out by
now?

“
Got it. We
’
re leaving at eight. That gives you an hour and a half to
wake up and get your happy face on. I
’
m going downstairs for tea.
What can I bring you?
”

“
Coffee, please. Black, and plenty of it.
”
Three, maybe four cups tops, to get my act together and put
on a happy face for this man I
’
ve
entrusted my life with
…
for now.

Chapter 13

W
alking
into the gardens, I cut off three red Mr. Lincoln Roses and added them to her
breakfast tray. “Here you go, Victoria. A carafe of Josie’s finest blend, along
with a freshly made breakfast sandwich and flowers to say how grateful I am you
chose to keep me entertained on this long ride home.”

He
can be really sweet sometimes
.
“
I know you care, D. These little things you do mean so
much. Thank you.
”

“
You
’
re welcome. Drink up; eat up. I
’
ll be back again in a few to
bring our gear down. Right now I
’
ve got a few calls to make.
”

It
was a little after 8 AM Central Time when I pulled out the sat phone and made a
call to Jim, my current baby-sitter in the WITSEC program. It went straight to
voice mail. I left a message.

“
Morning Jim, thanks again for your assistance. I
’
ve probably screwed myself
right out of the program. I got it. I
’
m leaving Calgary this
morning and will be back in the states in a few days. I
’
ll check my messages late
tonight to see if you
’
ve got any news for me. Later
.
”

Now,
I needed to call the kennel and check on Major, my 105 lb. blond labra-doodle.
They
’
ve
been great at taking care of him on short occasions, but never this long. After
two rings it went straight to voice mail. Another dead end call, another
message to leave.

“
Hi guys, D here. How
’
s Major? Is he walking you
everyday? I
’
m running behind schedule at the moment. It may be another
week before I get back. If you need to reach me, best to send me an email and I
’
ll call you back within a
couple of days. Thanks.
”

Enough
with the phone
—
two calls and two messages, no live people. Emails and
texts are totally the future.
Making my way up the stairs, I was pleasantly surprised to
find Vic adorned in leather carrying on a spirited conversation with Josie.

“
Which way are we going, D? Josie said there
’
s a really great mineral spa
we need to visit in Moose Bone.
”

“
Moose Jaw, Vic, I
’
m pretty sure it
’
s Moose Jaw,
”
I chuckled.

“
It
’
s a bone of some sorts, whatever. I
’
m giving you a heads up. If
we
’
re
going in that direction, we
’
re stopping.
”

“
Honey, it
’
s Moose Jaw, like the bone. That
’
s what I said,
”
offered Josie, almost apologetically.

“
I got it, Josie. We are going that way and if Vic can
manage to be
‘
Miss Iron Butt
’
for a day, we can make it.
”

You
just watch me
!
“
I
’
ll do whatever it takes to
be pampered in a spa, D. You say ride, we ride.
”

“
We ride.
”
Giving
Josie a hug goodbye, I carried our gear to the bike while Vic worked out the
details for Josie to ship the rest to Sioux City. Bringing the bike to life was
her cue that I was ready to go. Rushing out the door into the early morning
sunshine, Vic looked stunning in black, her long auburn hair tied into a pony
tail.
“
Let
me guess, you
’
ve ridden long distances before?
”

Climbing
on behind him, grasping a bulging handful of blue jeans between his chaps as I
settled into him,
“
yep, but not with someone as well packaged as you.
”

“
Cute, girlfriend cute.
”
And with that we were off. The mountains behind us, the
route before us passed through endless miles of prairie and rolling hills along
the Trans-Canada Highway, a 4800 mile ride that starts in Victoria, BC and ends
in St. John
’
s, NF.

One
hundred and twenty miles into our ride, I felt a distinct tapping on my
shoulder.

My ass is numb and I have to
pee, but I won
’
t
be a pansy in his eyes.
“
How
long before we stop, D? My butt is on fire.
”

Laughing,
“
Iron
butt you
’
re not, Vic. Whiney butt, maybe. We
’
ll be in Medicine Hat within
the hour. Can your pansy ass wait that long or do you want me to pull over now?
”

Shifting
my weight from cheek to cheek trying as I might to squeeze off my bladder, I
extended a gloved forefinger across his shoulder, pointing forward.
Pansy
asshole
!

“
That
’
s my girl,
”
I
chuckled,
“
ride baby ride.
”
A sign, Welcome to Medicine Hat, home of the world
’
s largest teepee greeted us
at the city limits. After crossing the South Saskatchewan River Bridge, I
pulled into a Shell Canada Station to fuel, stretch our legs and clean off just
about every species of bug in Alberta from our windshield.

I
breathed a welcome sigh of relief.
“
Finally,
D. Help me off please. My butt is completely numb and I can
’
t feel my legs.
”

“
Gladly Vic, I
’
m proud of you. You
’
ve got a great bladder
tucked away in there, I might add.
”

“
Nope, I do not. I usually have an over active bladder, but
now I can
’
t feel that either.
”

“
Walk it off and by all means pee while I fuel and scrape
the bug splatter off the windshield. You
’
re doing great. Do you think
you can make it another 300 miles today?
”

“
Does that get us to Moose Bone ... Jaw?
”
Whatever the
hell it is. I should be in a good mood. I asked for this ride. Suck it up girl.

“
It does. I promise we
’
ll stop every hour or so
from now on. I just needed to make sure you could deliver on your end,
”
I confessed, eagerly slapping her numb butt,
“
before I make reservations
at the Garden
’
s Resort.
”

“
I
’
ll make it, big boy. Go ahead and make the reservations
right now. Set me up for an hour long massage while you
’
re at it.
”

Making
the room reservations was the easy part. Trying to get Vic scheduled for a
massage at a specific time was a little more difficult. I finally convinced the
receptionist at the spa to give her a one hour body soak at five o
’
clock, followed by a one
hour massage at six, their last slot of the day. Three hundred miles in five
and a half hours can be done easily enough, but we
’
ll have to limit our
sightseeing opportunities.

Fueled,
scraped and cleaned, I brought the bike to life and rumbled up to the front
door.

Pain
relievers, I need pain relievers.
“
D,
do you have any Aleve close at hand or should I buy some while we
’
re here?
”

“
Close is a relative term on a bike. Go ahead and buy some,
Victoria. Are you hungry? I remember seeing a Tim Horton
’
s here my last time through
—
great coffee, awesome donuts and sandwiches. You game?
”

“
I am. Let me grab the butt relievers and we
’
ll be off.
”

Vic is a refined young
woman, a little gruff around the edges, but still refined. I didn
’
t hit on her,
wouldn
’
t
have either, because in my mind I
’
d
have never stood a chance. That
’
s
how I remember Candi, too. Had she not almost wiped me out in the drive-thru at
Starbucks, I would have never struck up a conversation with her. I
’
m no catch.
Look at me, a little too much belly, a little too many crow
’
s feet and my
hair and beard boasting a few too many shades of grey. Just what do these
beautiful women see in me?

Walking
back to the bike, I stood there for over a minute watching a man completely
zoned out in the clouds.
“
You look like your head is off in another planet, D. You,
OK?
”

“
I am. Just wondering why you
’
re here Vic and what you saw
in me the first time we met?
”

A
pity party, that
’
s what he was dwelling on?
“
Let
’
s get on the road. Did you
make me a reservation? I
’
m not ignoring your last question. We can talk about your
sudden pity party when we get to Tim
’
s.
”

Cranking
the bike, over the roar of my slightly baffled exhausts, I answered,
“
Tim Horton
’
s, not Tim
’
s. And yes, you
’
re all set for a two-hour
soak and massage that starts at five. We
’
ve got six butt-numbing
hours ahead of us with stops.
”

Joy
.
“
Then let
’
s ride.
”

Stopping
on the other side of town at Tim
’
s, I ordered a large coffee and two cake donuts while Vic
ordered a soup and sandwich combination. Sitting in an out of the way booth,
Vic carried through with her offer to answer my last question.

I
’
m sure I don
’
t want to hear the answers,
but.
“
What
’
s got into you today, D?
First, I enjoy being around you. You have an innate way of making me feel
special. Sure you
’
ve got some road wear on you. Who doesn
’
t? Yes, you
’
re flawed like me. That
’
s why I think we get along
so well. I read people, but don
’
t trust them. You trust people, then read them. That in
itself makes me a little more opportunistic because you
’
re always challenging me to
come up with ways to protect you, from you.
”

“
I sure could have used you a long time ago, pre Standford,
pre Candi. Maybe my ass wouldn
’
t be in this crack.
”

Placing
my hand on his,
“
D, whatever happens I
’
m here for you. That
’
s why I chose to ride back
and skip flying. After all you
’
ve gone through, I didn
’
t want you to be alone. Lots
of windshield time is manageable when you
’
re happy, but, trust me, it
sucks big time when you
’
ve just been screwed to the max.
”

“
We still don
’
t know if I
’
ve been royally screwed, or just a little screwed.
”

“
Pardon me, you are correct. I
’
m jumping to conclusions
while you
’
re still dreaming to find that illusive pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow. Whatever happens when we get back, however it happens, just
know we
’
ll
get through it, one way or another.
”