The following morning Tammy woke up early, knowing that she had to pull herself together and head over to the diner for yet another shift. She had wanted to take the day off but knew she was better off busy, especially when she was in a funk. The more she thought about her friend Lexi finding love, the more she found herself craving a man of her own.
She jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. The air was muggy and hot, so she turned the shower on cold and gasped as she stepped into it. She washed away the grease from the night before and got out as fast as she could, wrapping her hair up tightly in a towel and shivering as she pulled her robe around her shoulders. She had so much energy considering she had been up until the very early hours. As she dressed quickly and dried her hair, she cranked up the radio and tried to stop feeling sorry for herself.
As she pulled into the parking lot at the diner, she could already see the buzz of life inside and knew she was in for a busy day. Luckily, she didn’t have to be there too long; she had arranged with Jamie so that she could leave in the middle of the afternoon, rather than working up until the night shift girls came in.
A line of trucks were parked outside, and there were some unfamiliar cars, too, suggesting they were tourists or travelers passing through.
“Morning,” Jamie grinned as Tammy opened the front door and smiled as wide as she could.
“Good morning!” she replied.
“Well, someone is certainly in a much better mood,” Jamie joked.
Tammy rolled her eyes with a smile as she went behind the counter and reached for her apron. She was starving and knew the chefs would rustle something up for her fast, but she didn’t want to look like she was taking liberties. She got straight to serving as many customers as she could.
Today is a day for engaging and keeping busy, she thought as she approached her first table with her pencil and notepad ready. And I am not going to feel sorry for myself anymore!
The next few hours passed quickly in a haze of cooked breakfasts, large pots of coffee, and the sweet smell of maple syrup. When the lunchtime rush had calmed slightly, she finally took a break and let one of the chefs make her a grilled cheese sandwich before she started clearing tables again.
She kept thinking about how happy Lexi sounded on the phone the night before, and she really was pleased for her. She knew how hard it was to find someone to love. But she also had an unsettled feeling, like something bad was about to happen.
She made her way over to one of the corner booths and started to stack up the dishes as high as she could. She gathered them into her arms and walked around the back of the counter and into the kitchen. She ditched them on the side and went back out into the main body of the diner, when suddenly the door burst open and the bell rang. For the second time in twenty-four hours, Tammy felt as if their friendly psychic connection had pulled them together. Lexi came rushing into the diner with tears rimming her eyes.
Lexi sat down at a booth in the corner, shaking and wiping her eyes on the corner of her sleeve. Tammy felt her jaw drop as she quickly ran over to her.
“Oh my god!” Tammy hissed. “What happened? Did that biker hurt you?”
“No,” Lexi breathed. “My mother… She’s really done it this time.”
***
The girls had been friends their entire lives, and although Tammy knew that Lexi had problems with her mom, she never could have been prepared for what she was about to tell her… Lexi shook with both anger and disbelief as she told Tammy about how her mother had lied to her for her whole life, convincing her to stay away from the bikers, then admitting that morning that it was because her father was one of the Forsaken Riders who was still alive and possibly in Slate Springs.
“No way!” Tammy gasped.
Lexi’s mother had always let everyone think that Lexi’s father had died, and now here she was, telling her that he could be very much alive and could have been living down the road the entire time.
“She’s kept me away from the bikers out of spite,” Lexi sniffed. “It had nothing to do with her being afraid for me or my safety… She was being selfish and cruel because he broke her heart…”
Tammy nodded and then sighed.
“I can’t believe she never told you… God, he could have been here this whole time.”
Lexi started to cry, and Tammy wrapped her arms around her.
As Tammy tried to reassure her, she knew that her friend would soon be on a one-woman mission to find out the truth, and she was going to have to help her. Tammy had always tried herself to stay on the right side of the law, and she had never ventured to the other side of town where the bikers lived, played, and hung out at their elusive clubhouse, but now she didn’t see how she could possibly avoid it.
“Go back to my place and sort yourself out,” Tammy said as she handed her a key to her apartment. “I’ll be done here in the next couple of hours, and I’ll come over to the bar with you for your shift tonight. Let’s talk to King and see if he knows anything.”
“Thank you so much,” Lexi smiled as she hugged her friend. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
As Lexi left the diner, Tammy let out a huge sigh of relief. The past week had been a crazy one thanks to her friend, and she rubbed her temples.
“What was that about?” Jamie asked. “Trouble with Marv?”
Tammy thought back to what Candy had said the night before about one of the bikers going into Red X and threatening the owner… if King had done that for Lexi, God knows what he would do about her mother. Tammy swallowed hard and knew she wasn’t going to be able to work any longer.
“I’m sorry, Jamie,” she said in a daze as she grabbed her purse and made for the door. “I’ll cover you another day, I’ve just got to get out of here.”
Jamie looked at her dumbfounded as she crossed the parking lot and jumped into her car.
“I wished my life had a bit of excitement,” she said to herself as she started the engine.
She flew down the highway and headed for home. She was going to have a long day ahead of her, calming Lexi down and getting ready to go and help her with the inevitable round of questions. If Lexi’s mother was telling the truth and her father was part of the Forsaken Riders, then he could be there at the bar… she may have even met him without knowing. Lexi and Tammy had been such good friends for as long as she could remember, and she knew that Lexi wouldn’t want any other person with her. Even though she was partly nervous and partly excited at the prospect of setting foot in a biker bar…she also knew she was obligated to do it for her friend.
She thought back to the previous evening and of how a group of them had thundered past her on the highway. Their mean demeanor and wild ways were so different to anything Tammy had ever known or experienced. She didn’t have a clue how she was going to remain calm being around them. But if Lexi had found something with one of them… then surely they couldn’t be all bad? Lexi had a wild side and had always been the more outgoing of the two girls, but she had a heart of gold and wouldn’t settle for anything or anyone that wasn’t worth it.
Tammy pulled up on the driveway of her apartment building and raced to the door. As she pushed it open and went inside, she could hear Lexi’s sobs coming from her front room.
“How could she do it to me?” she cried. “If you can’t trust your own mother, who can you trust?”
Tammy wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.
“You can trust me,” she said seriously. “And we’ll sort this out, okay?”
“I need to see King.”
“And I’m going to come with you,” she said with a flicker of excitement. “Let’s relax now and get ready. We’ll head out when you’re due to start your shift.”
“Are you sure?” Lexi looked up at her with hope in her eyes.
“Of course,” she stroked her head with her fingertips. “Even if the idea of going to that side of town does scare me half to death.”
“We’ll be fine,” Lexi sniffed with a smile.
Tammy left her for a moment to collect her thoughts and went to her bedroom. She quickly yanked open her closet and rooted through it to uncover the most badass outfit she could find. After having such a sheltered upbringing, she was going to have a hard time finding something even remotely risqué, but she had to give it her best shot.
Her hands closed around a low-cut black tank top and a tight pair of jeans.
“These will have to do,” she said to herself as a little smile flickered across her lips. Even though she was worried about Lexi, she knew everything would work out in the end, and her curiosity was reaching a boiling point just thinking about stepping inside The Bleeding Bullet.