THUNDERING MOTORCYCLE ENGINES caused Jackson's
beer mug to vibrate on the smeared copper bar. He twisted
the frosty glass, then took a swig. Someone put money in
the jukebox, sending an old Guns n' Roses tune blasting.
For a biker bar, Sal's was all right.
From the road, it appeared to be a quaint restaurant, with
French doors across the front and back walls. Maybe the
place had once done time as a fine dining establishment,
but now it was more of a beer, pizza and burger joint.
Outside, someone whooped as the definitive thump, thump of
another arriving Harley-Davidson filled the air. Jackson
glanced through one of the open doors just in time to see
a motorcycle come to a stop in the parking lot. He sat up
straighter, staring. Royal-blue paint etched with a red
scrollwork design covered the gas tank and fenders. The
rest of the bike sparkled with shining chrome. Whoever
owned that bike certainly hadn't purchased it straight
from the store. At the moment, the owner, or at least the
rider, of that racy machine claimed his undivided
attention.
"Definitely, a custom job," Jackson said under his
breath. "Doc ain't gonna ride nothin' but."
He jerked around to see the large, burly bartender
standing across from him. The guy scratched his ragged
beard then leaned nearer. "I guess you were talkin"
"bout the motorcycle. But now, Doc's a custom job
herself." He winked then clomped to the other end of the
bar to wait on someone.
Jackson couldn't help but be captivated by the driver of
the flashy motorcycle. She settled the kickstand in place
and slung her leg over the bike. There was absolutely
nothing but legs, forever. Bare legs. Her cutoff denim
shorts were short. Not indecent, he had to admit, but
really short. Underneath her thick leather jacket, he saw
flashes of a blue-and-red shirt with the same design as
the motorcycle. He wasn't surprised at all to see that the
bandanna tied around her head also matched the paint job.
Realizing he hadn't breathed for a moment, Jackson gulped
in air followed by beer. Checking out women was not why he
was in this bar. He'd planned to ride his Harley and
investigate his new hometown. Cypress Landing, Louisiana,
was a far cry from Chicago, but it was just what he
needed. Sitting high on the east bank of the Mississippi
River, it was a place where people seemed to be able to
know their neighbors. Calm and quiet, that's what he
wanted. Chicago held nothing but a life and memories
better left behind.
The woman, along with the other riders, crowded inside,
shoving tables together as the waitress chatted with them.
The biker girl pulled off her jacket, dropping it on the
back of her chair, then tossed her thick brown braid
across her shoulder. Legs weren't all she had going for
her. She definitely had plenty of curves in all the right
places. His hand tightened around his glass when a pair of
almond-shaped green eyes caught him staring. Jackson
realized he had spun sideways on his stool to watch her.
Now, he was busted.
He could vaguely remember when he'd found it easy to
attract a little female interest. What would it hurt to
practice some of those old charms? He met her stare for a
few seconds then gave a slow smile inclining his head. The
green eyes narrowed, and the biker girl — Doc — frowned
before dropping into her chair. Turning his back to their
table, Jackson grabbed a handful of peanuts from a bowl on
the bar. Possibly, his charms had rusted like an old lawn
mower left neglected in the rain.
Using the mirror on the wall, he studied the small group
directly behind him. A few of the other patrons in here
appeared to have been straddling a bike since they were
old enough to walk, and they sported the tattoos to prove
it. With their clean-cut looks and expensive leather,
Doc's group obviously didn't fall into that category. Much
like himself, they had become representative of the new
breed of motorcycle enthusiast, the middle-to-upper-class,
college-educated biker. A friend in Chicago had convinced
Jackson the bike could make a difference in his life. He
guessed in a way it had. He'd decided to move here not
long after the purchase.
He spotted the restroom sign over a hallway into which the
jukebox had been shoved. He sighed. Attempting to exorcise
the past from his mind every day exhausted him. He left
his stool and headed to the restroom, squeezing by the big
jukebox.
In the worn but decently clean bathroom, Jackson washed
his hands without looking in the spotted mirror. A pair of
shining green eyes would be all he saw and his eyes were
brown. It was that woman. Why had her image locked itself
in his mind? He hadn't thought twice about a woman in
years, not since Christa.
He rolled his shoulders to loosen a bit of tension at the
base of his neck, then shoved through the door as though
hurrying would clear his head. Just as he reached the end
of the hallway and prepared to squeeze by the jukebox, a
figure in blue turned the corner. He tried to slow down
and even made a grab for the glass in her hand, but he'd
been traveling with much more purpose than he'd realized.
The woman called Doc bounced off his chest and banged
against the wall, her drink soaking the front of her shirt
while her handful of coins clattered to the floor. Jackson
gripped her shoulders in an effort to steady her. Even
before he met her eyes, his body tightened in a gut
reaction. Some kind of soft powdery scent, mixed with
fresh air from her ride, floated around him. This woman
had a presence. That was for sure. Their surroundings
seemed to shrink into the background when he finally
focused on those eyes.
Beneath his fingers she quivered like a scared puppy for a
moment, then she wrenched from his grasp with a force that
surprised him. The liquid remaining in her glass landed on
the floor.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You could hurt somebody
barreling down the hallway like that. Why don't you watch
where you're going?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you." He squatted to round up her
change. The bartender appeared beside them, and Jackson
thought the guy smiled before he handed her a towel.
He frowned at Jackson. "You need to be more careful, big
fella."
"Thanks for the towel, Mick," Doc called as the man
lumbered away.
"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't see you. I didn't mean to make
you spill your drink."
"Or knock me into the wall?"
"No, I didn't mean that, either." He didn't know what else
to say. It had been an accident. She scrubbed at her wet
shirt while Jackson wondered what to do next.
"I'm really sorry."
"You said that already."
He had, but she hadn't accepted it.
"Why don't you go and cause someone else trouble?"
Did bumping into someone always make her this mad? Of
course, her soaked shirt wouldn't help her mood and she
might even have a lump on her head, considering how hard
she'd banged it against the wall. "You didn't hurt
yourself, did you?" He lifted his hand in an attempt to
check her for injury.
She jerked away, her arm raised defensively. "Don't touch
me."
He took a half-step back. "I'm just concerned. I'm not
trying to hurt you."
"Yeah, well, just give me the money."
Her voice carried in a temporary lull in conversations and
a few people looked their way. She scuffed the toe of her
boot almost self-consciously and stuck out her open hand.
Jackson quit any attempts to respond and emptied the coins
in her palm. What kind of person went berserk when someone
bumped into her? She began dropping coins in the jukebox.
He had to wait until she finished because he couldn't get
past her without knocking her into the machine. The idea
was tempting after her rudeness, but she remained stiff,
tense, as though waiting to spring into action if he
should try to get past. That's when he noticed it. Her
fingers trembled slightly each time they deposited money
into the slot. When the last coin dropped, she left.
He returned to his seat hoping there wouldn't be more
trouble from her friends. He didn't know how or why he'd
upset her. But he had.
In front of him, the bartender set a fresh beer on the
counter. "Looks like you need this."
What was the guy's name? Rick? No, Mick. "Mick, I didn't
mean to cause trouble."
"Aw, Doc ain't hurt. She'll get over it. She just gets a
little wired up over some stuff."
"I'd like to buy her another glass of whatever she's
drinking, since I spilled most of the one she had."
"That ain't gonna help. "Sides, I took her one already."
"Yeah, well, what else can I do?"
Mick shrugged then filled a glass with soda and left the
bar. In the mirror, Jackson saw him place the glass on the
table with a few words. The woman only shoved the full
glass to the center of the table. He couldn't be sure why
he felt disappointed. The whole jukebox thing was a
misunderstanding and he didn't like being misunderstood.
When the bartender returned, Jackson reached for his
wallet.
"Don't worry, her drink's on the house. And don't leave
yet."
"Why?"
Mick bent to rinse a glass, using a clean towel to pat it
dry. "The races will start in about an hour."
"What races?"
"Every Saturday afternoon folks show up here with their
bikes and race on the old highway, just the other side of
the store. Sometimes there's even a little friendly
betting."
Motorcycle races sounded interesting. What else did he
have to do but go stare at half-unpacked boxes?