“Family, my ass,” Boxer muttered irritably, as he stood next to Jim outside the barn. It was hotter than the seventh level of hell this side of the mountains, and Jim wanted to climb on his bike and ride, mostly to cool off but also to get back to Susan. The trip out had been flawless, and they’d gotten the bills and blanks into the barn without too much hassle.
There had been a matter of blanketing the floor to keep it clean and covering it with more sheets to avoid sun damage from a few cracks in the roof. With the stack of cash he was leaving with the people who owned the barn, those cracks had better be fixed by week’s end.
However, their mousy little Russian brother, who had appropriately been nicknamed Fievel had generously exaggerated by referring to the woman who owned the barn and her brother as family. When they’d arrived around three o’clock this morning, Fievel had lifted the woman—Jim thought her name was Daisy—into his arms, carried her into another room, and had his way with her so loudly they could hear it out in the barn.
Jim didn’t care, but at this point, he agreed with Boxer and wanted to get the hell out of Spokane. However, Fievel and his little bed buddy were in the midst of a very passionate, very public, and very disgusting make out session on the front patio of the house. In fact, Jim was on his third cigarette since the two had started the long, drawn out goodbye. He had half a mind to demand that Fievel stay out here and protect their livelihood for a couple of weeks, just so the rest of them could take off; but, the truth was, the little man was one of the few from their club that the Diamondbacks were willing to meet with. That meant Jim needed him.
He’d send him packing to come back here as soon as the guns exchanged hands.
“Hey, Fievel! I’m gonna melt into a puddle of stagnant water that’s perfect for breeding flesh-eating mosquitoes! And when I do, I hope they attack your face and leave you without lips and a tongue!” Jim couldn’t help but laugh at Digger’s graphic and impatient demand. He wished he’d thought of it himself and decided to save it for a rainy day.
He threw his leg over his bike and made it a command. “It’s time, Fievel, and no one rides alone. Break it up, or I will, and I’ll use a bullet to do it!”
Reluctantly and with a scathing look at all of his brothers, Fievel walked heavily toward his bike. “The prodigal son returns,” Boxer muttered.
Jim rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, Fievel,” he assured. “I’m sending you back to stand guard in a few days. But if we don’t get out of here now, by the time we fill up down the road and get to the pass, we’re going to be knee-high in mudslides and flooding, and we’re going to catch our deaths in the freezing rain.”
“I get it,” Fievel growled in a squeaky voice that only made his name more fitting. He was such a pussy on the outside, but he’d proved himself long ago as a prospect that he was one of the most ruthless of his bunch. He remembered what Susan had said about seeing what’s inside, and he smirked as he revved his engine, thinking that perhaps she’d think his teddy bear insides would be more appropriately housed in a body like Fievel’s. Of course, then she wouldn’t get anywhere near the pleasure out of their physical relationship.
They pulled into a gas station on the west side of Spokane to fill up the shipping truck and the bikes, and Jim headed to the restroom, calling Susan. “Hello, beautiful. Guess what?”
She made a humming noise like she was thinking. “You met someone else and you’re leaving me here to be a sad and lonely old woman with my father?”
“Never,” he said adamantly. “But I am on my way back to put a smile on your face and keep you young and vibrant as long as possible.”
“That sounds enticing.”
“Good, that was the point. Anyway, we’re just leaving Spokane, so I’m hoping to be by your side a little after midnight. I’m going to task a couple of my boys with getting the truck back where it belongs safely since they live in Oly anyway. That way, I can cut out the extra hour.” He patted his pocket with the signed delivery papers, which he’d file tomorrow. Tonight, he had one goal, and that was to find warmth, comfort, and release in his bed with his woman.
“Just be careful, Jim. They’re saying the storm’s going to be the worst one so far this year. If it starts to get dangerous, pull over and stay somewhere safe. I’d rather have you a few hours later than not have you at all.”
The sentiment grabbed at his heart, and he smiled. “You have my word. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now get off the phone and get on the road,” she giggled as she hung up. Shaking his head, Jim stuffed the phone deep in the inside pocket of his jacket and hurried out to join his brothers for the home stretch.