Checkmate With Bishop: A Hellions MC Novel by J. A. Hornbuckle Page A

as he went back into his room.  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Bastian.”  He stopped and turned back.  “Hey, could you take me for a ride sometime while we’re here?  I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before.”
    “If it’s cool with your mom, absolutely.  But only if you promise to show me how to beat level seven.”
    But J.R. knew me too well and didn’t press the issue.  “It’s a deal!  See you!”
    I sat back down as J.R.’s door thudded closed.  “So that’s my kid.”
    Stan was watching my face closely, so closely in fact that I felt the need to babble again.  “Actually, he’s pretty good.  Gets great grades, helps out at home as well as the shop and other than the occasional teenager attitude and smart mouth, a joy to be around.”
    “Nice grip when he shook my hand.  Looked me in the eyes when he spoke, which tells me a lot about how he was raised,” Stan responded.  “You’ve done a great job with him, babe.”
    “Thanks, Stan,” I muttered, my heart clenching at the admiration I could hear in his voice.  It was one thing to hear good things about J.R. from teachers or the girls in the shop but quite another to hear it from the man who had sired him.
    The silence between us drifted in again and I raised my face to find Stan staring at me.  “What?”
    “I don’t know.  There’s something different about you and I don’t mean just in how hot you look with the new ‘do,” he began.  “You’re stronger now, not as hesitant as you used to be.”
    “I’m older, Stan.  And as a mom, I’ve had to learn to be strong.”
    He nodded and pushed back his chair.  “I should shove off.  It’s late and you’ve been driving all day.”
    I held up a hand as a silent request for him to stop.  “Wait!  You said we had stuff to talk about?”
    His eyes held mine as he sank back into the chair.  “Yeah.  But I’m betting you’re fucking tired as shit after your drive.  You’re gonna be here for a few days, right?  We’ll talk later, babe.  Clear the air.”
    I felt my eyebrows raise as I wondered what it was Stan thought he needed to tell me.  That was so important that I needed to be rested in order to hear.  But I felt relief as well since that meant I didn’t have to expose my own secret so soon after rolling into town.
    “Okay then,” I started, getting to my feet.  “Thank you.  I mean not just for coming by but for getting the rooms.  Ally said the tab was being paid by the club.”
    “It’s the least we could do for one of our own, babe,” he said, his hazel eyes a warm caress as he gazed down at me.
    “Even one that was allegedly considered dead?”  I couldn’t help the words as they shot out of my mouth but I tried to soften them with a grin.
    “Especially, babe.”  The firmness of his deep growl was only superseded by its tender tone.
    The urge to hug him was so strong, I could only restrain my hands from making the move by shoving them in my back pockets.  “I got some stuff to take care of before we go back on Tuesday.  Are you sure you’ll have time to see me?”
    “Count on it, Dory,” he rejoined and reached to pull me into his chest, a place I so wanted to be.  And as his arms came around to hold me to him, my hands did exactly as they’d ached to do and slid behind him, gliding as they roamed up his back.  I turned my face, pressing myself against the biker I used to call ‘husband’ and breathed in the aroma of the man who was once mine.  “Feels good to have you back in town, babe.”
    “Good to be here,” I murmured, closing my eyes to better savor the feeling of being held by him.  “Even if it is only a brief visit.”
    “I’ll call you tomorrow and see what’s doing.  Maybe we could go to lunch or something,” he said, dropping his arms and taking a step back, taking all the warmth and emotion of the moment away with just that small movement.
    “That sounds great,” I agreed, tucking my errant fingers back