CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

"She's tuned-up, waxed, and she runs better than ever."

 

Colt had been standoffish so far. He'd been trying to treat her like daughter, but at the same time, Joe had made it pretty clear that his dirty-old-man tendencies were liable to come out now and then. But as if to atone for any perceived impropriety, he'd outdone himself, Ruby decided, as she set her eyes on what he had unveiled. He stood in the backyard in front of the pole shed, looking benevolent and satisfied, like some kind of bizarre leather-clad Santa Claus.

 

The black and silver super-low Dyna Glide was exactly the way she remembered it--only better. Colt had done such a thorough job that it looked like it had never even been ridden, except that she recognized the customized leather saddlebags and the crooked mirror that Kyle had never bothered to fix. Colt had left it as it was meant to look, and she appreciated that beyond words.

 

"It took me forever to find it. They had turned it over to evidence. I had to call in a favor from Madelia PD, who called in a favor from Oakland PD. Luckily, they owe me a lot of favors."

 

"I'm not sure 'owe' is the operative word there," remarked Holly, who stood nearby, hugging herself, content to watch the astonished expression in the younger woman's eyes as she took in the present. "More like 'have to do what you say if they want to keep their families fed.'"

 

"Hey," Colt said, holding up his arms. "I don't believe in bribery. I believe in reciprocal friendship. When you live in a town with a police department that's two cops strong, is it a crime to buy them a few rounds now and then?”

 

Fox had offered to buy Ruby a motorcycle many times. But the idea of riding around on a brand-new Harley seemed ridiculous to her when she had done nothing but avoid them for most of her life. This was totally different; this was a part of Kyle that she thought she’d lost forever. It was like part of him still inhabited the bike. She could still see him on it, helmet over his chestnut curls, hunched over the broken mirror, pointing at her as he rode away. She reached out a finger to touch one of the handlebars, as if she expected the polished chrome to shock her. It didn't though. In fact it did the opposite and seemed to feel very right under her touch.

 

"The thing is, I couldn’t figure out why I had to have it. It wasn't until now that I realized the answer." He looked at Ruby proudly, almost fatherly. "Try it out."

 

"I--I've never." She shook her head. She winced, expecting Colt and Holly to be shocked that the sister of the Steel Jockeys' late president had never driven a motorcycle before. She remembered Fox's words at the dealership. A pretty girl on a bike. It's like poetry. Well, she could take care of that, anyway, she thought, hopping up in the saddle. She felt instantly stronger and more powerful, almost scarily so.

 

"The keys in the ignition," remarked Colt. "I had to get a new one made."

 

She took a deep breath and turned the key. Her stomach lurched as the bike seemed to leap forward, excited to run after so long sitting in a lonely warehouse somewhere. For some reason, she thought of the guys she'd met at the Bird. Kyle's extended family, and by proxy, her own. Why had she waited so long? Why had she denied her nature? This bike, and this life really, was a part of her. She stopped, watching her white knuckles grip the handlebars.

 

"Ruby?" Holly ran over, looking stricken. "Are you okay?"

 

"What? Of course."

 

"You're crying."

 

She swiped at her face. “No,” she said, smiling. “Well, maybe a little.”