Angels & Sinners: The Motor City Edition (24 page)

When his family’s tragedy took place, and then later, his business venture including building the shop’s reputation and clientele, he didn’t see Dee Dee often. He’d heard she’d gotten married, and had some kids.

Then out of the blue Dee Dee answered the ad he had posted for his office manager. If Des had thought she was something in high school, he would have been wrong, because now, she was a total knockout. She was a curvy woman just the way he liked; she stood around 5’6” and had a shape on her that caught every guy’s eye. Dee Dee had an hourglass figure with a rack that drew his eyes all the time, a small waist, and hips with an ass that made his mouth water daily. Her legs were nice and firm and made her look taller than she was.

She had been in a brutal situation that had needed to come to an end. Dee needed a job with some form of income before she left the asshole she was living with. Turns out when Dee Dee took the job in the shop, her ex thought that meant a meal ticket. Des knew things weren’t healthy or safe, when she showed up to work one day with black and blue bruise marks all up and down both arms. She sported a busted lip, a black eye, had been holding her two small children’s hands, and asked Des for help. It was then that he realized how bad it actually was.

Des gathered up some of the guys from the shop to pay a cordial visit to the asshole. Dee never heard from him again. Des helped her into a house in town that had enough room for her and the kids. Time and less stress seemed to help Dee heal from her abusive relationship.

So, in return for his help, Dee kept the shop running efficient and she mothered all the guys in the shop. She never played favorites with any of the boys.

Between running the shop and raising her two kids, Dee stays busy. Her kids now work around the shop, on weekends and during summer break, for extra cash. Des likes both Jagger and Daisy, probably because they are from their momma.

They’re exceptional kids that work hard, and never seemed to give their mother a hard time, which for teenagers, was almost a miracle.

Jagger’s a fifteen year old, long-limbed boy trying to grow into his body. He’s quiet, even tempered, works hard, and never causes any trouble. Jagger seemed to like watching, both Wolf and Doc, build the bikes. In the last year, he had been helping with small repairs on the bikes. Jagger is saving all his money, because he wants to either build his own bike or buy one of the older ones in the shop. Dee is not too happy about that, but hasn’t told Jagger no yet.

Daisy is thirteen and a total knockout like her mother. She is a smart ass with attitude who loves to push everyone’s buttons. On more than one occasion, Dee has had to step in to rescue her young daughter from her smart mouth. Daisy has a crush on Cadence, and has been following him around like a little puppy for years. Dee has already had a talk with Cadence, warning him that if he ever touches or hurts her daughter no one would ever find his body parts. For once, Des saw Cadence actually have some real fear in his eyes. Cadence watches out for Daisy like he would a kid sister which Daisy is not fond of. She doesn’t think of Cadence as a brother since he is her first teenage crush.

On the whole, Dee Dee’s household is perfect. Des would love to pursue Dee, but as far as he knows she tends not to date at all. And, if it didn’t work out again, he would feel like shit, because it would affect the kids. Des, against better judgment, has come to care a tremendous deal for Jagger and Daisy. Not to mention how that would affect the dichotomy of the shop while he is the owner and Dee working as the office manager. If the relationship didn’t work out, it could mess with his shop.

The guys all assumed he wanted Dee for himself. They don’t know that after Dee left her asshole ex that for a while they had a sexual relationship. It didn’t happen overnight because she’d had to heal from the ex’s abuse in her body, her spirit and most important in her head, but it had happened.

Their connection was intense, hot, sensual and rewarding. But, for some reason they’d never taken it all the way to actual intercourse just oral, hand jobs, or finger fucking. They would spend time together, either at the shop or his house.
Remembering how she would blow him, instantly makes his cock start to harden.
But, as her children grew older, Dee didn’t want to give them the wrong impression. So, she’d explained this to Des, and, together, they had decided it was best to end that part of their relationship.

Still, to this day, the sexual tension is there, and he can feel her eyes on him when they are in the shop together, but he has not stepped over that line again. That was what Katie was for, the occasional sexual encounter with no commitment. But, that didn’t work out like he thought it would as tonight revealed. He is getting too old to sit around and wait for the perfect time to become involved with Dee again while fucking all the easy women, around town and surrounding areas.

The time might finally be right to see if he and Dee Dee have anything besides just the obvious chemistry and undeniable friendship. Des thinks, ‘just maybe’ because of her most welcome, but unscheduled visit tonight.

CHAPTER 8—WILLOW & ARCHIE

Time went by and Des’s business grew at the shop, so he hired two part timers to help out Dee. Willow and Archie. Both girls were in their mid-twenties and couldn’t be more different.

Willow’s name fit her to a tee. She’s tall 5’9”, thin but curvy, simply stunning with long mahogany hair, and bright sky blue eyes. Willow is extremely shy and quiet, too. She helps with the books, fills orders with Dee, and books appointments. Willow is a wiz with the electronics and has helped Dee Dee update all of the phone and computer systems in the shop. She is always educating Des and the guys on the newest advances in technology out there. Everyone that meets Willow, seem to love her the instant they connect.

Willow loves to work outside with flowers, so she is now in charge of all the landscaping and flower boxes around Des’s shop. Over the last year or so, Willow’s, single handling, changed the appearance of the exterior of the shop. Willow even got both of Dee’s kids involved; Daisy, with Willow’s help, maintained the flowers and Jagger was instructed to maintain the lawn.

Willow is fascinated with Wolf, and if she is not working with Dee or in her flower-beds, she is keeping a close eye on him. Des worries about the situation because Wolf seems clueless. Willow has a crush, a hero worship or some kind of fascination with him. Des doesn’t want Willow to get hurt, but he wants to give it some time to see where it leads. Already, he has watched Willow fall apart or worse draw into herself as one or more women flirted with Wolf, a couple of different times. Even though Wolf has not shown any interest towards Willow, Des can see her heart’s gentle feelings written all over her face. Since she started working at the shop, Willow has never dated as far as Des knew. It is more than likely, she is waiting for Wolf to wake up and notice her.

Archie is loud, obnoxious, and a serious tomboy. She has shoulder-length, auburn-colored hair and hazel eyes.

She has multiple piercings and is now starting to get tattoos. Archie already has half of a sleeve done on one arm in brilliant colors.

Archie takes no shit from anyone and is always punching and pinching the guys when they tease her. She hides behind her tough exterior, but Des knows that she is hiding something more. There are times when she doesn’t think anyone is watching, she lets her guard down, and looks like an inexperienced young girl who is troubled and confused.

Archie can hold her own next to any of his guys when it comes to working on cars or bikes. She never told them how she came to know so much in regards to the mechanics side of the business, but she is in fact exceptional at what she does. There’s been many times when she’s stepped in to help when he needed it. If they were behind or one of the guys called off sick, he knew he could count on her. Des has begun to let Archie handle all the small jobs including oil changes, tire rotation, tune ups, etc. Archie seems to feel more at home in the shop than in the office with Dee & Willow.

Des keeps a close watch on both Willow and Archie because neither have family in town. They share an apartment together that Des made sure it was not just functional, but safe before they moved in. He has regular visits to not only check in on them, but also to fix things for them when needed.

Sometimes he feels like their dad when they have an issue or concern because they always come to him first for his advice, because they both trust what he tells them.

Des begins to relax and he comes to the realization that he has built his own tight knit group, or family in other words, inside his shop over the past few years.

All of them have come to mean so much to him. Even though he doesn’t on the surface show his emotions, he would do anything to help, nurture, and protect each and every one of them.

As the night seems to fly by, he finishes his pizza, cleans up the kitchen, and is relaxing and watching some shit on TV when his mind grabs hold of a couple of things.

First, he still has Katie’s bra, which he will need to return, and it sucks, too. Because that means, he will be forced to have at least one more interaction with her after this extremely fucked up night. He didn’t have a positive feeling about seeing her again so soon after ending their arrangement. Katie doesn’t seem to be the type of woman who can be mature in situations like this.

Second, he needs to have a meeting with his employees to inform them of his upcoming plans. Des knows that he is going to need everyone on board, because there are some major changes that are coming to their sleepy, little town. For some of his employees, it’s just going to be more work, but for others, it may very well turn out to be a life or death situation.

His last thought, Des decides it is time to shit or get off the pot. He is going to pursue Dee Dee in a real relationship. The thought scares the shit out of him, but he wants it all, including her kids and maybe even some kids of their own. He just has to be careful, so he doesn’t scare her off and screw this up with his insecurities about relationships in general.

Later that evening as he lay in bed, Des thought about what was coming next and all of the excitement that the changes would bring. He set his alarm for the next morning and turned on his iPod. Since he was a kid, he‘d always needed music on so he could fall asleep. When he closes his eyes, the first verse of, “Bless the Broken Road,” begins to play. The words seem to come straight from his heart. They speak of going down a narrow way and finding a true love along that broken road. Des feels like the words are his words about his life.

As his mind started to shut down, and he drifted towards sleep, Des realized how true this song reflected his life. Deep down he wanted, no needed to find that one person that completed him. And shit, he had gotten lost a time or twenty. But, he had come to realize where the road had been leading him to, time again. Dee Dee was always at the end of his road. He just needed to get there in one piece.

CHAPTER 9—THE FUTURE

With the beginning of a new day with the sun starting to rise, Des is woken from a deep sleep by the light filtering through his blinds. Stretching his arms above his head, he runs his hands through his hair and climbs out of bed. Des is hoping that today is a better day than yesterday; with all the drama, and then his reflections of his crew at Wheels and Hogs. Going down memory lane, remembering how they all came to him made Des realize how truly blessed he is, having all of them in his life.

After taking care of business in the bathroom, running some water over his face, and brushing his teeth, Des heads to the kitchen. He can still smell the pizza he ate for dinner the previous evening. He starts the coffee and heads to his office. He has a lot of work to do in order to get his plan in place. After sitting at his desk he thinks about the enormous task he has taken on, but he knows Doc and Fern are worth it.

After Des spoke to Doc, two weeks ago, he knew something had to be done. The tests Fern had undergone showed that her cancer had not gone into remission, but had continued to grow. That meant the treatment course they were currently on wasn’t working. The next step would be to go to a stronger treatment and that meant a bone marrow transplant. The thought shook Des to his core, because if they couldn’t find a donor or it didn’t work, it meant they would lose Fern. That is not an option he is willing to accept.

Des headed back to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of Jo and added some cream from the fridge. Looking out his window to the deck he sees two squirrels playing around the furniture. The sight brings a smile to his face; he realizes the simplest things in life can bring a smile to your face and lighten the load in your heart.

Back in his office he opens the file on his desk, and then turns on his computer. He has some research to do so when he presents the plan to his crew they will understand that he had done his due diligence in order to help the Murphys. He wants to show them that the plan isn’t just a long shot, but could actually be a cure for their beloved Fern. Looking at his emails, he sees a response email from the Bone Marrow Registry. Opening it, he finds one of the longest emails he has ever received. Setting his coffee down, he begins reading. The contact from the Registry, Sue Thompson had gone into extreme detail to explain how they would be able to assist with the plan Des concocted. According to Sue, the registry was in need of donors so she thought that if Wheels & Hogs did a Charity ride for Fern and included the registry both Fern and the Registry greatly benefit. Fern could get her donor, God willing, and the registry would be able to increase their donor population. Des had no idea about all of the regulations and rules that were involved in the undertaking he had planned, but he was determined.

After reading Sue’s email he starts opening the list of attachments she’d forwarded to him. Holy shit, he is going to need an attorney to look over all of these forms. His initial plan was to have the entire donor related information at the end of the charity ride in his small town in Indiana. He figured that would be the easiest way to keep this under control. Sue has other ideas about setting up something similar to kiosks at all the stops so if someone who has signed up for the ride decides they don’t want to do the entire ride they can still be tested by the organization.