Tied to Him

by Tia Siren

  “Buck, I got news, and it isn’t good,” I said as I handed him the note.

  He took it and read, and then turned it over, looking for more writing.

  “This it?” he said.

  I was surprised by his careless demeanor. He barely batted an eye after he finished reading.

  “Yeah, Buck. You know what this means, don’t you?” I asked.

  “I do. It means we have to make the marriage a real thing,” he replied coldly.

  I sat on the stool and rested my head in my hands.

  “I don’t think that will work this time, Buck,” I said.

  He snapped open a beer and set it down in front of me.

  “I don’t take threats lying down. He’s calling our bluff, simple as that. I’m thinking I should go give him an invite to the wedding, personally.”

  Buck pulled his shotgun from behind the bar. I knew what his invites were like, and they usually came at you fast.

  “Buck, don’t do this,” I said, putting a hand on his arm.

  “I know what the note means, Tara. Whether we get married or not, he don’t care. He’s itching for a fight, just like me. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get the first punch,” he said.

  The door flung open again and in walked a bloody mess of a man. I ran over to him to hold him up; a couple other guys followed along.

  “What happened?” I asked. “It looks like you rolled your cycle.”

  The biker did his best to smile. I laid him out on a nearby table and was quickly surrounded by the rest of the gang. Buck stomped over and looked the man up and down for a second.

  “Two of them…” said the injured biker. “They ran me off the road, into a ditch…then bolted…Connor’s boys.”

  “This is becoming too much of a habit,” Buck said angrily. “Those bastards are going to get what’s coming to them.”

  The rest of the motorcycle club cheered. This was the start of something that I didn’t want to get involved in. I shouldn’t have come back.

  “Buck, I can’t do this anymore,” I said. “I’m going home.”

  Buck grabbed my shoulder with his massive hand.

  “Tara, I didn’t want you goin’ anyway. Take care of your momma.”

  That was the last thing I thought he’d say. When we were younger, he wouldn’t have ridden off unless I was right behind him. But now he didn’t want me. I had been hoping he would grab me and forced me to come along, just like the old days. He could have, and I would have followed along with a smile.

  “Good-bye, Buck,” I said.

  “Good-bye, Tara.” He sighed and gave me a push toward the door.

  Now that he wasn’t holding me, I felt something missing. I wanted to run back into his arms and just run away. An overpowering thought started running through my head: This would be the last time I’d see him.

  I turned to look at him while I walked out the door. He smiled at me. It wasn’t his regular smile; it felt like he was trying to say good-bye and thanks for the memories.

  I steeled myself and rode home. I could do little to hide my tears anymore, and they flowed freely.

  6.

  I tried to take my mind off the events that were unfolding. I kept wanting to get on my motorcycle and join in on the chaos that was probably ensuing. But then I would see my mother, lying in bed, barely able to move.

  I knew where I was needed, and it wasn’t in a warzone. Buck could handle himself; I just had to stay positive. I waited by the phone, expecting a phone call at any moment—one that would never come.

  “You look nervous, Tara,” my mother said.

  “There’s a lot going on right now,” I replied.

  “What’s keeping you inside? You used to like going for rides when you were like this before. Is it something Buck did?”

  I wondered if I should tell her the truth.

  “No, Momma. It’s nothing. Just get back to sleep,” I said, in a vain attempt at assuaging her curiosity.

  “I’m not stupid, Tara. You could just tell me that Buck is off doing something crazy, like beating up a rival gang.”

  I wondered how she knew, and my open mouth and gasps did nothing but assure her she was right.

  “How did you know?” I asked.

  “You know I was your father’s wife,” she said. “There’s a reason there weren’t any other motorcycle clubs around when you were growing up, and I was there for most of them. Why aren’t you with Buck right now?”

  “He sent me home. He didn’t want me there,” I said honestly.

  “He didn’t want you there because he couldn’t stand the possibility of you gettin’ hurt, Tara.”

  I knew she was speaking the truth. Buck really did love me, and I just seemed to slap him in the face every time he showed it.

  “I gotta go, Momma,” I said as I ran to the closet and threw on my jacket.

  “Take the shotgun with you,” she said. “I won’t need it.”

  I did as I was told and lumbered out with the shotgun in tow. My heart raced, as I knew that what I planned on doing was incredibly crazy. I also was scared of what Buck would do if we actually survived this.

  I rode as fast as I could. I wasn’t sure if I was headed in the right direction, but the place that was most famous for settling disputes was the old quarry. I wondered what I would do when I got there. Sometimes it was best not to know.

  7.

  I was still half a mile out when I heard engines in the distance. The roaring thunder of motorcycles gathered en masse. It was impossible to make that sound any other way.

  Rounding the corner, I saw Buck and the gang standing in a stalemate on the north side, while Connor and his gang were lined up on the south side. I could see the two men yelling at each other, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying over all the noise.

  I cut a path through the bikers, heading straight for Buck, coming to a screeching halt just in front of him.

  He looked at me with rage.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he shouted.

  “Why the hell wouldn’t I be here?” I shouted in response.

  “Because I need to know you’ll be okay. Get the hell home. Now!”

  “I’m not leaving your side, not until this is all through,” I said.

  I took my place next to him, lifting the shotgun under my arm. Connor looked over at the two of us and laughed.

  “I guess you guys really do love each other,” he said.

  I looked up at Buck, who didn’t change his expression in the slightest.

  “I won’t ever leave my man,” I shouted.

  Buck leaned over and pulled me in for a hug. I forgot how strong he was; it felt like he would break me in half with the force of it. I didn’t want him to stop, and I didn’t think he wanted to either.

  “Buck, I thought you loved me,” I heard a screeching woman’s voice say.

  Looking over, I saw that Gracie had decided to come. I wanted to put her in her place, but I didn’t want to be the person pulling the trigger first.

  “Gracie, you better crawl back into whatever hole you just crawled out of,” I shouted, only to have Buck throw his hand over my mouth.

  “I can speak for myself, Tara,” he said.

  He took a couple of steps forward. The lights of the other cycles were near blinding, and I couldn’t make out anyone’s face behind Connor and Gracie.

  “Gracie, you know what we did. We weren’t nothin’ more than a good afternoon. Just tell your brother you’re done and then this whole feud can come to an end.”

  Gracie started laughing.

  “You think we were just some afternoon fun? I thought we were something more than that. My brother is going to kick your ass,” she said.

  “Connor, can you control that woman? I don’t think she speaks for you,” Buck said.

  Connor rubbed his forehead and clenched his teeth.

  “Gracie, shut the hell up. We’re tryin’ to hash this out without people gettin’ killed, and y
ou’re just makin’ things worse,” Connor said.

  “You’re takin’ his side instead of your own sister’s?” Gracie said. “What the hell is wrong with you, Connor?”

  Connor turned and gave her a good smack across the cheek.

  “You heard me, Gracie. Stop talking,” he said.

  Gracie panicked. She started pounding her fists into Connor’s chest, but he didn’t budge. She cried and wailed, and then she collapsed to her knees in a crying mess.

  “Connor, I got no beef with you or your gang. I just want us all to walk out of here and forget any of this happened,” Buck said.

  Connor thought for a moment, looking to his sister crying on the ground. I could see his embarrassment at having her by his side.

  “Gracie, get up,” Connor said.

  He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the loose gravel. She didn’t resist; she seemed to have lost all interest in what was happening.

  Connor pulled her back and sat her on his motorcycle. She sat without a sound, motionless. Then Connor turned back to Buck and me.

  “Buck, I got nothing against you. I was just tryin’ to do right by my sister. When you said you were gettin’ married to Tara, I thought you were joking. I had a feeling you were just saying that cause you didn’t want to end up with Gracie. I don’t blame you; if she weren’t family, things would have been different.

  “Get outta here, Buck,” Connor said. He backed up, eased onto his cycle, and kick-started it. “You got a hell of a girl there,” he added.

  “I really do,” Buck said.

  Buck turned and started walking back toward me. I was glad things had ended so easily, and without a fight. But then again, I did miss watching Buck get ornery.

  “I’m the only one you should ever love,” shouted Gracie, and then she turned her gaze on me. “He would love me if you were dead!”

  Gracie held up a revolver, taking aim straight at me. I started to duck, but everything moved incredibly slowly. I looked at Buck, who had a horrified expression on his face.

  I could remember the first time I saw him. He wasn’t as big then, but he was scrappy. I wondered if he ever thought about me when we were younger. I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge the bullet at this distance, but I supposed there were worse ways to die.

  I closed my eyes as I heard the shot, waiting for the pain that would follow, but it never came.

  I opened my eyes a second later to see Buck hovering over me. Blood poured from an open wound in his shoulder. I stared into his big eyes, and he into mine.

  “I love you,” Buck said.

  “Don’t die,” I squeaked out.

  “Ugh, it’s just a shoulder shot,” he replied. “I didn’t like that tattoo anyway.”

  He collapsed on top of me. I hadn’t realized how much he really weighed until then.

  8.

  Everything was a blur the rest of that night. We ended up at a hospital where he got his shoulder sewn shut. I stayed with him the whole time, and we exchanged knowing glances.

  He wasn’t the man I remembered at all. I wanted to hold him and never let him go. I knew he would always be there to protect me, and that was a feeling I never wanted to lose.

  Connor turned in his own sister for what she’d done. I think he knew that if Buck decided to go after her, she wouldn’t make it far. Connor even visited him in the hospital to make amends.

  The next morning the hospital released Buck. He was built like a tank, and it would’ve taken a lot more to do him in.

  I met him out front with his motorcycle, the old hand-me-down he received from my father. With his arm still in a sling, he hopped on the cycle.

  “I think I’ll take the lead on this one, Buck. You can’t brake with only one arm,” I said.

  “This is my bike; I’m the only one in this saddle,” he said.

  I cocked an eye at him, the same look my mother had given me a million times. It had always worked on my father when he was alive, and it looked like it might just work with Buck.

  He let out a drawn-out sigh and scooted to the back seat of the bike. I hopped into the driver’s seat and he threw his arm around my stomach.

  I finally felt like I was home.

  *****

  THE END

  Outlaw Bad Boy Biker

  1

  Jennifer Walters groaned as her six-year-old son leapt atop her. She was in bed, and after opening one eye and squinting at her alarm clock, she saw it wasn’t even seven in the morning. In fact, it wasn’t even six thirty.

  “What are you doing up so early?” Jennifer asked the little boy. His name was Jaxson, and he had the same blond hair his mother did, though his green eyes were his father's. That man was long gone, out of the picture and out of the state. It was just Jen and Jaxson, together in Arizona, in a small town named Harrisburg. It was dusty and hot, and Jennifer owned a small bar right at the end of the main drag, a place called Chuck’s, named for the man she had bought it from. Chuck’s was the local biker hangout, and there were plenty of bikers in and around Harrisburg.

  “It’s not early, is it?”

  “Six twenty is pretty early,” Jennifer groaned. “Go back to bed.”

  “I don’t want to. I’m too excited about school.”

  Jaxson was in first grade, and he loved it. He was bright and was already reading far beyond his level.

  “Why? You go five times a week. How could you be excited?”

  “Today is Chris’s birthday, and he’s bringing in cupcakes,” the little boy said with a huge grin.

  “You got me up so early because you’re excited about cupcakes?”

  “I guess so,” Jaxson said.

  “Do you know how late I worked?”

  “Yeah. You didn't pick me up until two in the morning. I woke up as we were driving home.”

  On nights that Jennifer worked, which was most of them, an older woman named Barbara, who lived down the street, watched Jaxson. After leaving the bar, Jennifer would swing by and pick him up. Being a single mother was tough, but Jennifer wouldn’t have had her life any other way. Jaxson’s dad had been an asshole, one of those tough guys Jen always found herself chasing after, and when she had gotten pregnant, he had disappeared. She was better off without him.

  Jennifer’s mother lived across the country and wasn’t able to visit much, and she’d had no money to send when Jennifer had needed help.

  Buying Chuck’s had been a big gamble, but it had paid off. Jennifer hadn’t gone to college. She had worked in the dingy bar for a couple of years. And then, when she was twenty-three, Chuck retired and offered the bar to the few employees he had. Jennifer was the only one who had expressed interest in buying it. She got a loan and did so. She wanted to make a better life for herself and for her son.

  Twenty-three turned into twenty-four, and that gave way to twenty-five, and the bar stayed afloat, finally giving her a monetary cushion. She wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck anymore.

  But she did stay up late, and she was tired, and she felt as though she was missing out on Jaxson, particularly since he was in school until three and she went to the bar at five, six times a week.

  “Turn on the TV, but keep it low,” Jennifer groaned as her son cuddled up beside her. He searched for the remote, tossed among the blankets on the bed, found it, and turned on the TV that sat on a long dresser against one wall of the bedroom. Blue light flooded the dim room, and Jennifer groaned once more for good measure before pulling her pillow over her head and going back to sleep.

  When she awoke again, it was because her alarm was going off. Seven twenty, time to get her son ready for school. Cartoons were on the TV, but Jaxson was sleeping beside her.

  “Get up,” she said, nudging her son.

  “I’m tired now.”

  “Moms are allowed to sell kids, you know.”

  After they climbed out of bed, she made breakfast and got him dressed. He was at school by eight, and she was back home ten minutes later. She collapsed into be
d and went back to sleep.

  Jennifer rose again just after noon. Her cell was ringing. She searched for her shorts; her phone was still in the pocket, and she had taken them off just before getting back in bed. She found her phone and looked at the screen. A name was there across it: Ryan.

  Ryan was a nice guy. Maybe that was why she didn’t like him. He came into the bar sometimes, completely out of place among the blue jeans and leather. He always looked nice. He was a fit guy, a bit on the thinner side, and he wore khakis and polo shirts. His shoes were nice and shiny, and his arms were bare of tattoos or scars. He was wholesome. He had a good job—he was an accountant at a company twenty miles to the east, in a much bigger town called Grove.

  And he was interested in Jennifer. He hit on her whenever he came into the bar. In fact, she was pretty sure he only came in to see her. She wasn’t sure how he had come to find his way into Chuck’s the first time, but he had seen her behind the bar and kept coming in. And he kept asking her out. For over a year now. She flirted with him, teased him; she found it fun. She was stringing him along, and she knew it. He was handsome, tall, and dark, his skin tanned, his smile dazzling. It was just those khakis. She didn’t like those kind of guys. Something was wrong with her. She needed a good guy. She knew it. So maybe she would give one a chance.

  She answered her phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Oh, hey. It’s Ryan.” The man sounded surprised, as if he hadn’t expected her to answer. Probably because she usually never did.

  “I know. What’s up?” the young woman asked. She lay back against her pillows, holding the phone to her ear.

  “What are you doing?” Ryan asked. Jennifer smiled to herself.

  “Lying in bed. I’m not wearing pants.”

  She giggled. She knew that would drive Ryan crazy, and she knew that was rude, but she liked messing with the man too much. She heard him gulp, and she found herself thinking that it was cute how intimidated he was by her.

  “Oh, I can let you go,” Ryan said.

  “Why did you call?” she asked.

  “I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me on Saturday. I have a work thing, down in Tempe. I know it’s a bit of a drive, but it’s a dinner. I’m, uh, getting an award, and it’s a get-dressed-up sort of thing and go have a free meal, listen to boring people talk about boring accounting things, and I don’t know why I’m even bothering to ask you, because it’s starting to bore me just talking about it.”