by Wilder, L.
“If it makes you feel any better, I think you made the right decision.” His expression softened, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice. “They’ll look out for you and help out any way they can. Each and every one of them.”
“I don’t need them or anyone else looking out for me, Rider.”
He cocked his eyebrow at me as he gave me a look that had me shifting in my seat. “Someone having your back isn’t a bad thing, Darcy.”
“No. Not until the day they aren’t there when you really need them. That’s when you realize you can’t really depend on anyone but yourself.”
I could tell by his expression that he wasn’t expecting my response, so I wasn’t surprised when he asked, “What makes you say that?”
“Because it’s true. At least, it was for me.” I lifted my beer and finished it off before I continued, “Things at home had never been good for me or my brothers, but the day Mom walked out on us, things got even worse. Dad was already in jail. Danny and Eddie did what they could, but they kept getting into trouble with the law, too. That’s when I learned I had to survive on my own, or not at all.”
His eyes darkened with sympathy as he whispered, “I’m sorry things were so tough for you.”
“There’s nothing for you to feel sorry for. I’m sitting here right now, living and breathing. I’ve done okay for myself, so just save your sympathy for someone else.”
“Damn, Darcy.” Caleb leaned back and crossed his arms, giving me one of those looks that made me wish I’d kept my thoughts to myself. “If you put those walls up any higher, no one’s gonna get in or out, including you.”
“How would you know? Are you speaking from experience, Mr. I-grew-up-with-a-silver-spoon-in-my-mouth?”
“You don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
“I know you grew up with two parents who loved you and your sister, and they made sure you had food on the table and clothes on your back.”
There was no missing the pain in his voice as he said, “Yeah, but when things went south, they kicked my ass to the curb, turned their backs on me, and as far as I know, they never looked back.”
“I didn’t know they did that to you.”
“It wasn’t like I gave them much choice in the matter. Hell, I would’ve done the same fucking thing if I was in their shoes.” His eyes skirted to the floor, and suddenly it felt like he was a hundred miles away. I wanted to reach out and comfort him in some way, make him forget about whatever was weighing on him, but I just sat there and listened as he said, “I was a complete mess after the accident.”
Everybody in Oakland and three counties over had heard about the star quarterback who had almost lost his arm in the cotton picker, but I never knew how it happened. It couldn’t be easy for him to talk about, so I hesitated to ask him. Thankfully, I didn’t have to. After several minutes, he started, “I’d been sitting in the cab, letting the engine warm up, and was just about to go out into the field, when I heard this strange noise coming from the picker. I’d gotten out to see what it was and noticed that some spindles were hitting the head cover.”
“I’m guessing that’s a bad thing.”
“Well, it’s not good but could easily be fixed, I just couldn’t do it alone. I was about to get back up in the cab to kill the engine when it happened.” His face twisted into a pained grimace. “I don’t even know how it did, but my sleeve had gotten caught and my arm was pulled into the spindles.”
“Oh, God. You’re lucky you didn’t lose your arm.”
“I would’ve, if I hadn’t managed to pull it free, but I still fucked it up pretty badly.”
“How bad was it?”
“I was cut up pretty badly, torn muscle and tendons, and my wrist was dislocated. I ended up being airlifted to Vanderbilt. The muscles were damaged, so the surgeon there had to take some from my back and transplant them into my forearm.” It was difficult to hear about everything that had happened to him. I could only imagine how hard it must have been to actually live through it. Caleb let out a deep sigh as he lifted his arm and clenched his fist. “Thankfully, they were able to repair the tendons and restore function to my arm and hand, but my football days were over.”
“Everybody said you were the best quarterback who’d ever come through Oakland.” I could still remember the times I’d seen him play. The crowd loved him. They were always cheering him on and shouting his praises. “It must’ve been really hard to accept that you couldn’t play anymore.”
“Yeah. That was the hardest part of all of it.” He shook his head. “I didn’t see the point of doing all that damn physical therapy if I wasn’t ever gonna throw a ball again, so I eventually stopped going. I was all fucked up in the head. I closed myself off and started downing my pain meds like they were Tic Tacs. It wasn’t long before I found myself in a dark place...a very dark place.”
Rider
My addiction to painkillers wasn’t just about the high. It was the overwhelming need to find an escape. The accident had not only stolen my ability to play football, but it’d also stolen my identity. I had no idea who I was anymore. I felt empty, with no direction or purpose, and I hated myself for it. With each day that passed, the darkness inside of me grew stronger to the point where I was fucking drowning in it. Instead of reaching out for help, I’d just swallow another pill…and then another. When the doctors stopped filling my scripts, I found myself searching through my friends’ and family’s medicine cabinets. I’d steal whatever pain meds I could get my hands on. It took my folks several months to figure out what was going on, but once they finally did, they became desperate to help me get back on track. They tightened the reins, monitored my every move, and when that didn’t work, they’d sent me to a counselor in hopes that he could help put an end to my addiction. They just didn’t get it though. My need to forget the anger and resentment I’d felt for losing my one chance to get out of Oakland had taken its toll, and I was determined to find my next fix. No counselor was going to change that.
“After going through what you did, no one could blame you for winding up in such a dark place.”
“Don’t try to justify it. There’s no excuse for the things I did, Darcy.”
“You were hurting,” she replied softly. “Not just physically, but mentally.”
“Yeah, but I should’ve sucked it up and moved on. Instead, I wallowed in self-pity and hurt the people I cared about most.”
“It wasn’t like you set out to hurt them.”
“No, but I did so just the same.”
I could still remember the look of horror on my parents’ faces when they discovered that I’d not only hocked my grandmother’s wedding ring, but also my mother’s earrings so I could buy more pills. On that same day, they found out that I’d completely wiped out my college fund. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t stolen from them before, but by then, they’d had enough and kicked me out.
My old buddy, Bryce, was going to college at Memphis State, so I went to stay with him for a while. Unfortunately, with no job and an endless addiction, it didn’t take long for me to wear out my welcome, and he sent me packing. I hit up another friend and then another, but the results were always the same. Eventually, I found myself strung out and living on the streets. It wasn’t something I was proud of. Hell, I hated myself for letting things get so fucking bad. It took almost freezing to death one night in the snow for me to realize that it was time to make a change.
I was lost in my own head when Darcy placed her hand on my knee and said, “We all make mistakes, Caleb. We just have to learn from them and move on. From what I can see, you’ve done that.”
“I’ve definitely tried.”
“That’s all anyone can ask for.” Darcy removed her hand from my thigh as she looked up at me with warm smile. “This might not be the life you were planning on, but it seems like you’ve done pretty well for yourself.”
“I like to think so.”
A spark of mischief crossed her eyes
as she announced, “I do have one question for you.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“After everything that happened, how’d you end up with Satan’s Fury?”
I finished off my beer, then stood up. “That, my dear, is a story for another day.”
Without arguing, she followed me out the door and to the parking lot. We’d just walked up on our bikes when she turned to me and said, “You could at least tell me where the name Rider came from?”
“Yeah, I could, but I’m not.” I threw my leg over the seat of my Harley. “Where you headed?”
“Home.”
“All right then. Lead the way.”
Darcy’s brows furrowed as she asked, “What do you mean, ‘lead the way’?”
“I mean exactly that,” I answered flatly. “I’m going to make sure you get home okay.”
“I’m a big girl, Rider,” she fussed. “I can make it home without a chaperone.”
“I’m sure you can, but I’m following you home just the same.”
A determined look crossed her face as she slipped on her helmet. “Fine. Follow me if you want to, but you’re going to have to keep up.”
With that, she hopped on her bike and started the engine. I knew I was in trouble the second she pulled out of the parking lot. Darcy never let off the gas as she whipped out into traffic, leaving me in her wake. Cursing like a madman, I tried to catch up to her, but she was already several blocks ahead of me. Hammering down on the accelerator, I tried to catch up to the yellow blur ahead of me, but lost all my momentum when I got stopped by a red light. Just like that, she vanished off into the distance. Refusing to let her get the best of me, I pulled over and called Riggs at the clubhouse. As soon as he answered, I told him, “I need Darcy Harrington’s address.”
“That the new painter Blaze just hired?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
There was no missing the curiosity in his voice when he asked, “There a particular reason why you need her address?”
“We went to grab a beer after work, and I just wanted to make sure she made it home okay.”
“Why didn’t you just follow her home?”
I sighed as I answered, “I tried.”
“Oh. Well then...just give me a minute.” As the club’s computer hacker, Riggs had a way of finding things that no one else could, so there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he’d be able to track down Darcy’s address. Just as I’d hoped, he came back to the phone and said, “Got it. She lives at Thirty-two Shady Pines in Millington.”
“Shady Pines?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s a trailer park for the retired. Any idea why she’d be living there?”
“Got no idea, but I’m about to find out.”
I hung up, then shoved my phone into my back pocket and started towards Shady Pines. It was about a thirty-minute drive out to her place, but with the way she drove, I had no doubt that she’d gotten there much faster. Not long after I entered the park, I spotted her yellow crotch-rocket parked at the end of the lot next to one of the older trailers. It was pale yellow with flowers planted at the mailbox, and a small white awning covering the wooden deck that led up to the front door. As I got closer, I noticed her old pickup truck from high school was also parked in the driveway. What used to look like an old clunker held together by rust was now painted candy-apple red with a sweet black trim. I pulled up next to it, and once I was parked, I killed the engine and removed my helmet. I was just about to start up her front steps when I heard a woman call out to me. “Well, hello there, young man.”
I looked to my left and found two elderly ladies, both reminding me of Aunt Bee from the Andy Griffith Show, sitting on the front porch of a neighboring trailer. I smiled at them both as answered, “Hello, ladies. How are you doing tonight?”
“We’re doing just fine.” The lady in the bright-yellow “old lady” dress with a front zipper and slip-on house shoes lifted her glass. “We’re having ourselves a little nightcap.”
“Is that right?” I chuckled. “Well, it’s a nice night for one.”
“Um-hmm. We thought so.” She lowered her glasses down the bridge of her nose as she gave me a quick once over. “Haven’t seen you around here before. Are you a friend of Darcy’s?”
“Yes, ma’am. I guess you could say that.”
“Well, you sure are a handsome fellow.” She gave her friend a little nudge as she asked, “Don’t you think so, Frances?”
“I sure do. I think he is very handsome indeed.” She nodded and smiled so wide, I thought her dentures might fall out. “If I was a might younger, I’d go after a fella like him. I sure would, and I’d show him a real good time.”
“Um-hmm.” With a humorous smile and a shake of her head, the friend replied, “I’m sure you would.”
“Well, I’m going to let you ladies get back to your drinks.” Fearing what they might say next, I told them, “I’m going to check in on Darcy. You two enjoy your night.”
“You too, handsome.”
I could feel their eyes burning a hole in me as I started up the steps. Once I got up to the door, I knocked and waited for Darcy to answer. After several loud thuds and bangs, the door flew open and the air rushed from my lungs when I found Darcy standing there in nothing but a white wife-beater tank top and a pair of black lace panties. Her long hair was pulled back away from her face, revealing her gorgeous blue eyes and the tiny freckles on the bridge of her nose. I couldn’t have dreamed up a more beautiful sight, and the look of absolute surprise on her face only made her that much more irresistible when she gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you,”I shrugged, playing off my intrusion, “I wanted to see that you made it home okay.”
“Yeah, but how did you know where I lived?”
“You gotta remember who you’re working for.”
I could see the wheels turning in her head before she replied, “I didn’t give my home address on my application. I used my PO Box.”
“Like I said, you’ve gotta remember who you’re working for.”
“Damn, I don’t know if I should be impressed or pissed off as all hell.”
Darcy was still glaring at me as I took a step back and casually looked around her place. It was an okay place, but there were several things that needed work. Some of the boards on her porch had buckled and the nails were exposed, the light beside her front door was busted, and the chain lock on her door no longer had a chain. There was literally nothing to keep someone from breaking in on her. That bothered me the most. As I stared down at her door, I said, “You don’t have a lock on your front door.”
“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to fix that.”
“And you don’t have any cameras or an alarm.”
She shrugged as she replied, “Nope. Sure don’t.”
“The lighting isn’t all that great either.”
Her hands dropped to her hips, and she gave me an angry scowl as she snapped, “The lighting is just fine, and I don’t need a deadbolt, security cameras, or alarms. I have Thelma and Louise living next door. They’re all the security I need.”
“Thelma and Louise are almost eighty years old, Darcy. How the hell are they going—”
“They watch this place like a hawk. Hell, there’s nothing that goes on here that those two don’t know about.” She cocked her eyebrow and snickered. “I bet they noticed you the second you pulled up here.”
There was something about that determined tone in her voice that stirred something deep inside of me, and if I wasn’t careful, I would end up doing something I might regret. Knowing I was fighting a battle I couldn’t win, I shook my head and said, “Fine. I won’t say another word.”
“Good.” She opened the door further. “Do you want to come in, or are you going to stay out there all night?”
I stepped inside and told her, “I can’t stay long.”
“I take it you’ve gotta get back to the clubhouse.”
“I do.”
“Figured as much.” She turned, and as she started to saunter down the hall, I couldn’t stop myself from staring in awe at her perfect ass as it peaked through the edges of her barely-there black lace panties. Fuck. I’d never seen a hotter sight. The girl was killing me. I needed to get a fucking grip. I was still staring down the hall even after she disappeared into her bedroom and shouted, “Give me just a second.”
“Take your time.”
I used the moment alone to check out her place. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the inside of her trailer was in much better shape than the outside. It was small but comfortable, with a tiny kitchen that was connected to her living room. The furniture was sparse, but what she had was nice. I could tell that she’d put a lot of work into making it something she could be proud of. I was still standing at the front door when Darcy returned wearing a pair of oversized sweats, but the vision of her in those black panties was burned into my brain. Hoping to shake the memory from my mind, I asked, “How long have you been living at Shady Pines?”
“I moved in about two years ago.” She walked over next to me and leaned against the kitchen counter. “I was looking for a place of my own, and this was something I could actually afford. I mean, I have to do a little work here and there, but it’s worth it.”
“Sounds like you have a sweet deal going here.”
“I guess so.” Her nose crinkled into a grimace as she said, “As much as I like being here, I’d really like to find a place closer to work.”
“I’m sure your lady friends next door will miss you when you go.”