Leave a Trail (25 page)

Adrienne was happy. She’d found work she liked. It was humble, but that was part of its appeal. She felt like she was doing a lot of the same things she would have been doing if she’d taken an entry-level job at a SoHo gallery, but this felt more worthwhile. Maybe that was nuts.

It didn’t pay much, but she didn’t need much. And if she could maybe get on full time, it would pay enough so that she could move out of the B&B and still save what was left of her mom’s money for something like a down payment on a house someday.

To see Show and Badger come back together was the icing on her Signal Bend cake. She didn’t know what had happened to make Show willing to forgive Badger and accept him again as a brother. When she’d asked, Badger had only shrugged. When she asked Show, he’d winked and kissed the top of her head. Not exactly answers. So something had happened in the club, and it was none of her business. She was going to have to get used to that.

And she was trying. Sometimes she felt like ‘Adrienne Renard, Girl Detective,’ running around town, questioning the old ladies. But after Badger had told her as much as he’d ever told her about what had happened to them in the fall, and what kind of business the Horde got into, she had to get her head straight. That night, he’d had nightmares again and had been desperate with her again. She knew she couldn’t leave him. She wouldn’t.

But she had to reconcile the Badger she knew and loved, the family she knew and loved, with the Horde he’d described. And she had to reconcile all that with who she was—or was becoming. All of that had already been in flux, but she didn’t want to lose herself in the undertow.

Then she’d thought about the women of the Horde. Lilli and Shannon, especially. She knew them well—she looked up to them both. She knew Cory and Tasha less well, but they, too, struck her as admirable women. Women with integrity and strength. They were fully committed to their men and to the Horde, and they were strong and good in their own rights. There was obviously a way to accept the life and not be swallowed up in it. So Adrienne asked.

And they’d told her.

They all had different stories, different takes. Shannon, happy at the thought of Badger and Adrienne settling down together, was expansive and encouraging in her answers; Lilli was direct. Cory was sad but honest. Tasha, who’d grown up in the club, was practical. What it all came down to, Adrienne had decided, was trust. These women trusted their men, and they trusted themselves. They trusted each other. They trusted the club itself. Within that trust, they loved unconditionally and took care of their family. The rest? Just details.

That made sense to Adrienne. It felt like the way family was supposed to be. Unconditional love and support. Sticking together no matter what. The way her own family had once been. Until her father had cast her off for not choosing to live her life in a way of which he approved.

Marcia came back from the workroom. “Dora says she wants one more coat of polyurethane on that chest, but leave a space for it, and she’ll put it up as soon as it’s dry.”

“Okay.” Adrienne turned back to the scene she was setting in the display window. Within a week of working this job, Dora had handed over the styling of the displays to Adrienne. When she’d been wandering around town, before she got this job, she’d liked the messy windows best. Now, though, with this big oriel window as her canvas, she’d changed her mind. She liked having a canvas like this.

It was almost the first official day of summer. To commemorate that, she was doing a sun theme, all gold and white and glittery. The crackle chest, with the sun clock on it, would be the centerpiece, but there was more. Among a host of other gold, yellow, and white pieces, she’d placed a mirrored nightstand in the space, in front of a pretty Andrew Wyeth print in a shimmering gold frame. She’d found a box in the back full of little disco-ball Christmas ornaments, and she’d draped yellow satin in the window and hung the ornaments from the ceiling. The light from the real sun and the reflection from the bright items made Adrienne feel like she was surrounded by warm sunshine.

It made her feel hopeful.

~oOo~

She’d just come back from putting away the ladder and the rest of the leavings from her summer window project when the bell over the door tinkled. Show’s daughters, Rose and Iris, walked in. They’d been in town about a week and would be around for two more. This was the first time that Adrienne had spent much time at all with them. Only once before had their visits coincided—a couple of Christmases ago. But Adrienne had only stayed the weekend for that trip.

Rose was seventeen and Iris almost fourteen. They were pretty, girlie girls who loved pink and glitter and nail polish—especially pink, glittery nail polish—and boys. Rose was quiet and sweet. Iris never stopped talking. Almost literally.

“Hi, girls. What’s up?”

Rose smiled. Iris bounced over, her long curls, the color of golden brown sugar, swinging from a high ponytail. “Bored. Got anything cool?”

Adrienne smiled. “You have money?”

Iris heaved a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes. “What good is it having a sister who works in a store if you can’t get free stuff?”

“Yeah…sorry. It’s still called stealing even if you know somebody on the inside.” She walked behind the counter. “
But
I get whatever I want for cost, and Dora did just come back with a bunch a jewelry from an estate sale.” She pulled a tray of vintage costume jewelry pieces up and put it on the glass top of the sales counter. One of her tasks for the day was ticketing everything in the tray. There was some real stuff, too, in the back, but Adrienne wasn’t going to offer to buy them actual diamonds and rubies. “I’ll pay for one thing for each of you, if you see something you like.”

They dove at the tray like seasoned New Yorkers at a sample sale. They went through every piece, holding it up, trying it on, conferring. Adrienne had never had a sister—except these two, she supposed—but one of her high school friends had had two. They loathed each other intensely and fought violently all the time. Rose and Iris were nothing like that. Even in the short time she’d spent with them over the years, she could tell that they were close. They fought and squabbled, but mostly they were like this—a team.

Her brothers were much younger than she was, and they were twins. She loved them, and they her, and she thankfully was able to keep in touch with them even though their father had cut her out. But they weren’t close. Maybe there was no way to be close with twins. They were their own family. So Adrienne had never known anything like the bond Rose and Iris shared. She felt a little jealous.

After deep, serious consideration of all the new offerings, Iris decided on a faux ivory (meaning plastic) stretch bracelet, the pieces seeming to be carved in an elaborate pattern. Rose selected a three-strand faceted crystal choker. Awfully fancy schmancy for Signal Bend (and one of the more expensive pieces in the tray), but it did look lovely on her long, slender neck. Rose’s beauty was of the ethereal variety—tall and willowy, all legs and arms, with long, flaxen hair and big, blue eyes. Iris was robust and gregarious, pretty in a kind of ordinary way, but her radiant personality took her looks up a level or two. Rose looked like she’d stepped out of a fairy tale, with the dainty, retiring demeanor to go with it. She was like something to keep safe in a glass case.

After they made their selections and Adrienne had paid for them, they wandered around the store for a few minutes, chatting about nothing much, obviously killing time. Then Iris, standing near the window, whistled, and Rose turned from the array of ceramic figurines she’d been fondling.

“Here they come!”

Curious, Adrienne looked out the window, too. Three boys, probably around Rose’s age, were walking down the boardwalk across the street. They turned into the sandwich shop. She recognized one of them—a tall, fit, cute blond—as a Horde hangaround. She couldn’t think if she’d ever heard his name, though.

If this was what it looked like, Show was going to lose his mind.

“Time for lunch!” Iris shouted.

Rose cringed a little, but she set the little glass bluebird down and said, “Bye, Adrienne. You coming for the barbecue tonight?”

Adrienne cocked an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, we’ll be there. Does your dad know about…” She nodded toward the window.

Rose’s alabaster complexion went waxy. “No. You won’t say anything, right? Please?”

“Come on, come on!” Iris pleaded from the door.

Adrienne shook her head and answered Rose with the truth. “All I know is you’re having lunch at the sandwich shop. For now, let’s keep that all I know, okay?”

Relief made Rose’s blue eyes glow. “Thank you! See you tonight. And thanks for the jewelry!”

~oOo~

As it happened, nobody had barbecue at Show and Shannon’s that evening. The day got much too exciting.

About two hours before closing, Badger called. Adrienne answered with a smile. He often called during the day, just to be sweet—to tell her he loved her or something sappy like that. Not a very biker-y thing to do, but totally awesome.

“Hiya. Having a good day?”

His voice, though, was serious and tense. “You need to come home, babe.”

“I’m alone in the shop, Badge. I’m closing on my own.”

“Then do it now. It’s important.”

“What’s wrong? What happened?” She thought about Shannon, about seven months pregnant and huge with twins. A healthy boy and girl. So far. “Is Shannon okay?”

“Yeah. It’s—your dad is here. With a van. Babe, he…he brought your stuff, I think.”

She ended the call without saying a word, without thinking anything. Like an automaton, she closed up the shop, remembering at the last minute to put the till in the safe. She texted Dora to explain, and then she locked up and left.

On the short drive back to the B&B, she tried to sort out her thoughts, but they were such a jumble she could only make the snarls tighter. Her father, in Signal Bend. She hadn’t spoken to him since the day he’d marked for her to be home. That was two months ago. He’d driven a van here? From New York? With her things? Did that mean that he’d finally accepted her choice and wanted to make up? Or was he giving up on her completely?

About a hundred yards from the entrance road to the B&B, Adrienne pulled to the side and puked into the goldenrod. Just the act of puking quieted her head some. When she was done, she grabbed a couple of wintergreen Altoids from her glove box and drove on, at a loss for what the immediate future held for her.

But Badger was there. She’d be okay, because Badger was there.

~oOo~

Badger, Show, and Shannon, as well as Beth, Steve, and Kenny were there, actually. As Adrienne pulled up, there was a veritable crowd standing on the porch and the yard of the B&B, appearing to be at some kind of a standoff with her father, who was standing in the middle of a loose ring of the Signal Bend people—and yes, her father had driven up in a small U-Haul moving van. When Adrienne parked, Badger broke from that circle and trotted to her.

He yanked her in for a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, babe.”

“What did he say?” She pushed loose from his hold and looked over at her father, who had not moved except to turn his head her way.

“He isn’t being exactly chatty. Just that he wanted you here and he has your things.” Shannon called Show. I think she was scared what your dad had in the van. Now we’re just kind of…stuck.”

“What else would be in there? A SWAT team? He doesn’t have a violent bone in his body. I don’t think he’s ever even thrown a punch. So if he says my things are in the van, that’s what’s in the van.”

She grabbed Badger’s hand and walked into the tableau on the yard. “Hi, Papa.”

“Adrienne.” He nodded but didn’t make a move toward her. “Since you have made your choice, I’ve brought your things to you. I would like to be on my way soon. I’d like to make some time homeward before dark.”

Badger’s hand tightened on hers, but she barely felt it. With those few sentences, her father—her
father
—had answered her most pressing question. He was giving up on her. Because she did not want her life to be what he wanted her life to be.

With a squeeze first, she wriggled her hand loose from Badger’s and walked toward her father. Show stood not far away, watching them intently. “Papa, please. Please don’t do this. I love you.”

Her father took the remaining steps between them and cradled her face in his hands. “And I love you, my dove. I always will.” She felt a small thrill of hope as he caressed her cheekbones with his thumbs. “But this I cannot condone. You have made a terrible choice. A dangerous choice. Unmake it, and come back with me. We’ll put your things back in our house, where they belong. If not, then I leave your things with you. With the family you’ve chosen. You cannot have both.”

The hurt and loss surged out of her heart and through her body so powerfully that she lost her feet and dropped to her knees. “Papa.
Papa
.” She was too shocked to cry. But she was not even slightly tempted to ‘unmake’ her choice. If anything, her will only hardened, even as her heart shattered.

Badger was on his knees at her side, his arm over her shoulder. She could feel the protective tension in his muscles. Show had stepped forward, too, his fists curled. There was potential for violence here, but not from her father. From her family.

“Adrienne, what am I to do? Decide.”

Taking strength from Badger’s hold on her, she looked up at her father, still standing before her as she knelt on the ground. She didn’t answer him—instead, she looked around him. “Show, will you help Badge and me unpack the van?” She didn’t check to see her father’s reaction. She kept her eyes on Showdown.

“You know I will, little one.” Then he turned hot eyes on the back of Charles Renard’s head. “Anything else you’d like help with? I got plenty of time.”

She did not want to give her father one molecule of justification for his position. She wanted him to leave Signal Bend without even a wrinkle in his pressed jeans. “No. No. Just that.” She made to stand, and Badger jumped up and helped her. “But let’s go fast. This man has someplace he’d rather be.”