Club Property: Adults Only Motorcycle Club Romance: Roadrunners MC (6 page)

Bella lifted her arms and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t see any reason for her to lie to me and didn’t get the impression that she was,” she replied. “Carrie told her she was going to San Francisco to visit the man she had a crush on when she was a teenager. I think that’s as much as Darlene really knows about what is going on.”

“He was a good man,” Samuel let out and shook his head.

“Do know anything about his whereabouts now?” his wife asked.

Samuel pursed his lips as he shook his head.

“It must be what… four years since he left the army and returned to civilian life,” he said. “It’s not like I keep in touch with everyone that was under my command.”

“Do we need to find him?” Bella queried. “I mean, Carrie will likely get to San Francisco and find he’s still married then return to college with her tail between her legs. If I remember rightly, she did have it really bad for him. Maybe this will let her move on and forget about him. You said yourself that Carl was a good man and it’s not like she will get in any trouble. She’s a big girl that can look after herself now.”

“I’m not prepared to take that chance,” Samuel said.

“So what do you suggest we do?” Kath asked.

“I might not know where Carl is,” Samuel said. “But I still have plenty of contacts in the army. I’m sure there’s someone that knows where he is and what he’s doing these days. I plan to find out, and if that girl hasn’t returned to college in a couple of days, I’m going to hunt her butt down and bring her home.”

“Good luck with that,” Bella commented. “Your youngest daughter is just as strong minded and stubborn as you are.”

“We’ll see about that,” Samuel replied in a determined voice as he got to his feet. “You keep in touch with her friends and let me know if she shows her face at college.”

Bella nodded her head to show that she would do as he asked. He walked out of the kitchen and returned to the bedroom to get his phone then began making calls to the army colleagues he thought might be able to help.

It was going to be a long day, but he fully intended to get the answers he wanted about Carl McCallister and wouldn’t let up until he did.

Carrie woke the following morning to bright sunshine streaming through the gap in the curtains and she got out of bed straight away. She was in and out of the shower in seconds then quick to get dressed in her army surplus gear afterwards. The place was quiet and a quick search showed she was alone. There was a pot of coffee bubbling when she went in the kitchen, so she suspected Crash couldn’t be too far away and wondered if he’d gone to the store. She walked across to the window to look at the scene outside and a glance down got her a sight of the man she was staying with sitting on the front steps of the building. In a matter of seconds, she was out of the door of the apartment and walking down to where he was.

“They’re bad for your health,” she said with a grin when she crept up behind him.

Crash sucked in the smoke of the cigarillo then slowly exhaled to release it. He looked at the half-finished length of tobacco when he removed it from between his lips before turning his attention to Carrie.

“I’ve survived worse,” he said with a smirk.

“Like Afghanistan,” Carrie went on. “How is the limp these days?”

“Not too bad,” he replied. “It can get a bit sore occasionally, and I’ll pass on playing any sports that involve running, but I get by.”

“Is that yours?” she asked and motioned her head to the truck parked opposite the apartment building.

“Yup,” he replied.

“One a mechanic, always a mechanic then,” Carrie said and laughed. “Is that how you earn your living these days?”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied, but said no more.

“What time do you need to get to work?” Carrie asked.

“I don’t have to go in today,” Crash answered.

She smiled as she sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“So… you have all day to show me some of San Francisco,” she said and laughed.

“No chance!” Crash exclaimed as he dropped the butt and extinguished it with the sole of his boot. “I’m not a fucking tour guide.”

“Come on,” Carrie urged him. “It’s my first visit here. You have to show me some of the sights.”

“Fuck me,” Crash let out under his breath then raised his voice. “Could you not just have been a good girl and stayed in college?”

“I prefer being bad,” she teased him then put on her best begging voice. “Please. You know you want to.”

Crash hung his head and tried to come up with any excuse that would get him off the hook. He was already regretting telling her he wasn’t working and wished he could just get in his truck and drive off. It was too late for that, though, and Carrie’s continued pleading eventually got to him when he couldn’t come up with a reason not to do it.

“OK,” he said to make her stop. “What do you want to see?”

“I don’t know,” she replied and shrugged her shoulders. “You’re the local resident. Just take me someplace nice.”

“You’re still a pain in the ass, I see,” he commented as he got to his feet.

“Yeah, but it’s a nice ass, don’t you think?” she joked and laughed.

“Wait here,” he told her and walked down the steps.

Carrie watched as he headed along the sidewalk then disappeared inside a nearby store. Five minutes later he was by her side again and she glanced down at the bag he was holding.

“Are we going on a picnic?” she asked.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?” he responded and handed over the bag.

She looked inside to see sandwiches, soft drinks and beer and when she looked up from it saw that Crash was walking inside the building.

“Wait for me,” she said.

“Just stay there,” he replied. “I’m just going to get the keys for the truck.”

Carrie stopped climbing the steps and sat down to enjoy the early morning sunshine. She turned her face up to it and knew that it would likely bring out more of her freckles, but wasn’t particularly bothered about that.

“Enjoying the weather?” Crash asked when he returned and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her.

“It’s nice,” she said and smiled. “I could get used to this.”

“Come on,” Crash told her and she got to her feet to follow him down the stairs and across the street.

He unlocked the truck to get in the driver’s side door and she walked around to get in the passenger seat.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Not telling,” Crash replied. “Just sit there and relax.”

“OK,” she agreed and did just that as the journey started.

She stared out of the window for a couple of minutes to watch the passing scene before turning her attention to the man she was sitting beside.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Would it make any difference if I said no?” Crash replied.

“Not really,” Carrie said and laughed. “Why did you and Sally break up?”

Crash was silent, as if he was mulling over the question before he finally answered.

“We should never have got married, to be honest.”

“Did you love her?” Carrie went on.

“I thought I did,” he replied. “But things quickly fell apart between us when I left the army. Too many arguments and fights that showed we weren’t really suited. It ended up being brutal living together, and in the end we couldn’t do it, so we decided to go our separate ways.”

“Sorry,” Carrie said.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said.

She couldn’t stop herself teasing him.

“Not even a little bit?”

“Shut up,” he complained.

“Oh come on,” Carrie said. “You must have heard the rumors about it.”

“What?” Crash asked. “That I went out with Sally just to avoid the attention of a pretty little cock tease?”

Carrie let out a raucous laugh.

“I was not a cock tease,” she protested.

“Yeah, OK… if you say so,” Crash replied.

“OK, so maybe there is the tiniest bit of truth in that,” Carrie admitted and let out another loud laugh before going on. “Did it work on your cock?”

“Fucking hell,” Crash complained and shook his head. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“You just got lucky, that’s all,” Carrie told him. “How come you never got with anyone else after Sally?”

“I was busy with work and never met anyone I wanted to be with,” he told her.

That was partly true, although the experience with Sally was one that put him off women and he’d gone out of his way to avoid getting in a similar situation. He knew the marriage tainted his view of the opposite sex, but couldn’t help it.

“Admit it,” Carrie joked. “You were just waiting for me to come in your life once more, weren’t you?”

“What makes you think that anything will happen between us?” Crash went on. “Shouldn’t you find someone your own age?”

“Na,” Carrie replied. “I tried and found that boys my age were too stupid and brainless.”

“Listen to little Miss Mature,” he said.

“I know what I want,” she said and turned to smile at him.

“Didn’t your parents explain that you don’t always get what you want?” he remarked pointedly.

The smile grew wider on Carrie’s face.

“Yeah… but I never did listen to them,” she said.

“I don’t think you ever fucking listen to anyone,” Crash said and shook his head. “Now shut up for a while and just enjoy the view.”

For once in her life Carrie did what she was told and simply looked out of the window at the scenery for the rest of the journey.

“What is this place?” she asked when they finally came to a stop.

“A national recreation area,” Crash told her. “It’s acres and acres of open space. I like to come here when I just want some peace and quiet. It’s good for the soul and the beaches are some of the best spots to relax. You get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge from a few of them. Come on.”

He grabbed the bag with the food and drink then got out of the truck and waited for Carrie to join him. They wandered down to one of the beaches and sat on the sand to just enjoy the beautiful views around them.

“It’s difficult to believe the city is so close,” Carrie said as she ate a sandwich and drank a beer. “I could really get used to this.”

“Yeah, well don’t get your hopes up too high,” Crash said.

She ignored his comment to just relax, and the morning went quickly as they enjoyed their impromptu picnic then went for a long walk. It was her first visit to a beach in a long while and she shrieked as she went paddling in the lapping waves.

“Come on, granddad,” she teased Crash. “Get your feet wet.”

“I’ll leave the paddling to the children,” he joked.

The urge to just act like a kid and have fun was too much for Carrie to resist, and she ended up exhausted and lying in the sand with the sun beating down on her.

“Have you finally run out of energy?” Crash asked as he stood over her.

“Uh huh,” she replied and shielded her eyes to look at him. “Help me up.”

She reached out a hand and was aware of the bristling tingle of electricity when his fingers closed around hers. He hauled her to her feet, but was quick to release his grip when she was standing. Carrie grabbed hold of her clothes to shake them.

“I think I have sand everywhere,” she said as she squirmed and wriggled her butt.

“I could do with a shower myself,” Crash said. “We should go home.”

Carrie wasn’t about to argue and just agreed with him. It was now early afternoon and spending the day alone with Crash was making her ache for them to make love more than ever before. Going to the apartment for a shower might give her a chance to take advantage of the situation, and that was all she could think about on the trip home.

The sense of anticipation was palpable when Crash brought the truck to a stop on the street outside the apartment. She was sure he was aware of it just as much as she was, but suspected that he would fight it. When they walked through the door, she knew that he needed to take a shower first to give her a chance to act out her fantasies and get them together, so she tried to make it happen.

“Age before beauty,” she said with a grin.

“No, it’s…”

“It’s your home,” she interrupted him. “You can have a shower first. I don’t mind waiting.”

“OK,” he agreed and headed towards the bedroom.

Carrie gave him a few minutes before walking to the bedroom door and listening. She could hear the sound of splashing water and her anticipation soared as she quickly walked in the room then began stripping off her clothes. Her breathing became ragged as she removed her bra and panties to get herself completely naked. She looked down and grinned at the speckles of sand she could see sticking to her skin. It was now or never, and she was about to find out if her long held desires were going to be fulfilled.

That brought out her trepidation as she moved to the bathroom door and slowly pushed it open. The steam of a hot shower obscured her view at first as she stepped in the room, but she began to get a clearer look at the man she wanted to be with as she moved closer to the cubicle. He was facing away from her and she recalled staring at his denim-clad butt the previous day. There was nothing covering it now and she unconsciously licked her lips when her gaze settled on the muscles of a taut ass.