Ride Free by Debra Kayn Page B

talk?” he asked.
    She nodded and patted the ground. He sat beside her, his legs sprawled out, his back against the tree with his shoulder touching hers. His anger seemed to have dissolved, and he only appeared troubled, almost sad.
    “Reefer—”
    “Sarah, let me talk first…please.” He ran his hands down his thighs.
    The way they sat with both their backs against the tree trunk made her unable to see his face, and so she kept her gaze on his legs. Her heart sped up. She worried about what he wanted to tell her. What if he changed his mind about…everything?
    “I was five years old when my mom left us.” He paused. “I haven’t talked about my mom since I was a little kid. Not to anyone.”
    Sarah stared at the hand on his leg. It trembled, and she swallowed. The sympathy inside her for the little boy who’d lost his mother swelled in her chest. What kind of mother left a little boy? Her baby?
    “She and my dad loved each other, or at least my dad loved her. I don’t know what happened, but one day she up and left us. Dad almost went insane with grief. The only thing that held him together was the family, the other members.” His hand balled into a fist.
    She scooted around to face him and gathered his hand into both of hers. Afraid he’d stop talking if she interrupted, she kept silent.
    “I missed her, but hated her more for leaving. Years went by, and I swore to myself that I’d never speak of her again. Later, when I was a teenager, my dad got real sick. I found out he had a brain tumor too big to operate on.” He inhaled and lifted his face to stare at Sarah. “Couple weeks later, I was all alone. Thank God Knuckles and Sunflower stepped up and kept me with them.”
    “Oh, Reefer. I am so sorry.” She ran her hand down his face.
    He sniffed. “I saw that pin on your jacket, and I remember seeing one exactly like that on my mom’s shirt. She wore it all the time.” He snorted. “There’s probably a million pins with that saying on them, but for a minute it all took me back to that day I came home from school to find her gone, and I hated her all over again.”
    Sarah crawled over and climbed into his lap. “I’ll take it off the jacket. It’s only a token of my friendship with Ellen, and I don’t need a gift to remind me of that.”
    “No. Keep it. I overreacted.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I scared you. I hope you know I would never ever lay a hand on you or any woman. Even spitting mad, I’m not the type of man who’d harm you…although I’m sure once in a while my mouth will operate before my brain starts working.”
    “I know. It’s my experience with my da that made me run.” She played with the hair that peeked over the neckline of his T-shirt. “Everything is so new between you and I. We’ll learn how this all works.”
    “Yep.”
    She sat on his lap for a while, both of them lost in thought. She held him close to her, reluctant to let go. Their first misunderstanding showed her how fragile their relationship was, and she realized that spending more time together would only strengthen their bond.
    “I think we’ve sat out here most of the day. The sun is already on the downward drop.” She sat up and stretched her back. “Your legs are probably numb.”
    “Yeah. How about going out for a beer?” He used the tree to lever himself off the ground.
    She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t drink, but I’ll go with you.”
    “Okay, let’s see who else is going out tonight.”
     
    ***
     
    Thelma, Louise, Crank, Shadow, and Crowbar sat at the large round table in the back of the bar with her and Reefer. Sarah tapped her foot to the music that played out of the jukebox. The other members had already left for the night after deciding they’d drank enough and played too long.
    “One more game, pretty please?” Sarah leaned over and pulled at Crowbar’s arm.
    He growled and snapped his jaws like a dog, making Sarah laugh. Reefer banged the table with