Ride to Restoration (Ride Series Book 2) (22 page)

Chapter
39

W
ell, big boy, what kind of
mess have you gotten yourself into? That’s the question of the day. What
happened? She cried … you caved. Sums it up. Call everyday. Really? Someone is
looking for me — whoopee, take a number and get in line.
I emerged from
the truck to find Greg, smoking his pipe on the basement patio, looking
somewhat out of sorts.

“Jon David, I’m going to meet a diamond broker tomorrow. You
stayin’ another day?” asked Greg. “You want to take my hunters out for me?”

“I’d like to, but I can’t. I need to get Vic back to Sioux
City and me back to fight the monsters
 
waiting for me at home. I promise, I will come back soon enough and hang
out. Just me and you. OK?

“Works. Victoria calls you, D. What ... should I call you
... now that you’re not ... you?”

“Call me anything you want,” I chuckled at his reasoning,
then sobered quickly to the absurdity of it all. “At this point in my life it
doesn’t matter anymore. I have no permanent identity to speak of. Recent
circumstances have seen to that. I’m doing what I can one day at a time to
survive amid the chaos.”

“You’re a survivor. You’ll come out on the top of all this,
yet. Especially, if you keep changing peoples lives, like Missy’s, for the
better. I almost forgot why I came out here looking for you. Debra said
breakfast is ready whenever you and your lady friend are.”

“Her names Victoria, Greg, Victoria. Why can’t you remember
it?”

Sheepishly
Greg looked at the ground, before replying, “every time I think of her, all
that comes to mind is smoking hot. Do you think it has something to do with her
red hair or her...”

I laughed,
“all the above, I’m sure. Damn you need a vacation with Debra in a bad way.
Your bride is just as beautiful and smoking hot as she is. Go away, spoil her,
pamper her, wine her, dine her and make love to her. Stop lusting over Vic.”

“I’m not ... uh ... lusting. I’m appreciating...”

“Whatever,” I relented, since trying to argue with his
little brain was going nowhere. “I’ll go rouse smoking hot and we’ll be up
shortly.”

Somewhere buried beneath the covers was my friend, my
confidant, my attorney. “Vic, it’s time to get up. Debra has breakfast ready
and we have a long ride in front of us. Today is Iron Butt II, 459 miles to
Winnipeg.”

Rousing sleepily from my current dream, “what time is it,
D?”

“It’s a little before seven, girlfriend,” I replied, rubbing
her shoulders with my left hand and running my fingers through her hair with my
right.

“Don’t
stop, D. I could lay here all morning with you touching me.”

“I’m sure you could. But like you said, the quicker I get
you home the better.”

“Don’t remind me. I only said that so you wouldn’t have to
keep fending me off.”

“I know. Thank you,” I added, “it goes both ways, especially
since you’re so smoking hot!” I was in the moment again before I caught myself,
while continuing to stroke her hair.
It wasn’t fair to continue, building on
something we’d both agreed to suppress, for now. I can’t believe it. I’m the
one saying for now. Who would have thought it a week ago? Surely not me.

I giggled. “Smoking hot, you think so? Where did that come
from?”

“Greg, he thinks you’re smoking hot. Me, I know it,” I
answered, rising from the bed before Vic had a chance to reply. “I’ll have your
coffee poured. See you upstairs.”

Vic and I dined alone. With a new group of hunters on the way, Greg and
Debra were busy preparing for their arrival. “Vic, I talked to Gio this
morning.” No response. “And Candi.”

No shock there. It’s about
time he reached out.
“Really? How did that go?”

“It was emotional. I made her cry. From what I gathered the video was as
much a surprise to her as it was to us.”

“You told her?”
Of course he did.
What happened to subtle?

“Not at first, but later on in our conversation. She asked me specifics
which only you could answer, unfortunately. Like what did the room look like,
what was she wearing, etc?”

“So… Candi knows I’m with you? I bet that rolled her.”

“Truthfully, if it did, it didn’t register. She was very apologetic from
the get go and was dumbstruck that she had been filmed. Pleaded with me to have
you erase it as well as Jim. It could wreak havoc on her professional career if
it got out.”

“D, it’s on your email. Remember? You’ll have to do that. You think
blackmail?”

“Possibly or some type of
coercion. Whatever brought it about devastated her.”

“It would me, too. I could
s
ee her slimy Ex using it as leverage to make sure
he got what he wanted. Poor Candi. So what’s next, D?”

“We go home. Two to three days hard riding. I hope you can handle it. I
hope I can handle it. When we reach Winnipeg nine or ten hours from now, we may
both need to sleep in tomorrow.”

“Whatever you decide, I’m good.” But I wasn’t. I didn’t want our trip to
end, not like this, anyway. Why can’t we be friends and still be intimate … at
least occasionally? I told him I wouldn’t press it and I won’t. However, if the
opportunity presents itself again, like this morning, I’m going to encourage
it. I will not take no for an answer, Candi be damned!

“Vic, do you mind clearing the
dishes from the table while I pack the bike? We best get on the road.”

“I’ve got this, D. I’ll be down in a few.”

After strapping on our gear, I found Greg scurrying around in the shop. “Let
me know if you have any problems selling the diamonds tomorrow. I’ll try to
find you another buyer if I can.”

“I got this, D. You’ve done your part. Now it’s up to me to do mine.
Candice Parker, right?”

“Yes, sir. Compliments of Candice Parker and her family. That takes you and
me out of the loop … I hope.”

I found the boys playing with their toys. Walking up to Greg, I kissed him
squarely on the lips. “Smoking hot, I like,” I purred in his ear. “Thank you
for such a wonderful compliment.”

Greg’s cheeks blushed crimson, “Uh … you’re welcome. Take care of him.”

“I’m trying, but it’s not easy.”

“You’ve just made his day, Vic.
Let’s get out of here before Greg gets any ideas.”

“Oh, I’ve got lots of ideas already,” Greg countered, just as Debra joined
us in the shop.

“Debra, thanks for everything. You and Greg have made Vic feel welcome.”

Of course they have
. “It was a pleasure meeting some of D’s friends. I
hope we’ll see each other again,”
 
giving Greg a wink that seemed to take him over the top.

Taking Vic by the hand, I led
her out the door. “What
was that about, girlfriend? You raised his blood pressure twenty points.”

“I like compliments, D. Haven’t heard any from you in a day or two.
Besides, looking at that bulge in his pants, that’s not all I raised.” I
grinned.
D got my hint loud and clear. For that I am certain.

Chapter
40

F
lustered and
speechless, I entered Winnipeg into the GPS, routing us east along Canada Hwy.
3 before turning south across the vast plains on the Saskota Flyway to Yorkton.
I only got as far as 2nd Avenue, about three hundred feet to be exact, before I
felt a tap on my shoulder. “Yes?”

All
this excitement amongst the men, I damn near forgot.
“
Turn left, D. Take me to the
hotel.
”

“
It
’
s
far too early for alcohol, girlfriend. Care to tell me why?
”

“
I have a proposition for Will.
…
One that I hope he won
’
t refuse.
”

“
Seriously, Vic, I didn
’
t realize how much he turned you on.
”
The spontaneous sideways slap on my helmet said otherwise.

“
Smart ass, a business proposition.
”
Men and sex
—
sex and men. Go figure.
“
Stay here, D. This won
’
t take long.
”
I climbed off the bike and ran into the bar / hotel,
finding Will snoozing behind the counter.
“
Wake up, Will, it
’
s Victoria.
”

“
Victoria
…
good
to see you again. I was just resting my eyes,
”
stammered Will, focusing his sleepy gaze on the red haired
vixen standing before him clad in black leather.

“
I
’
d like to invest in your establishment. You need to attract
more women, which in turn attracts more men. If you
’
ll reduce your rooms by five
and turn them into two full baths each, one for each of the remaining rooms
that will help you with your occupancy. Plus, add flat screen TV's with pay per
view options, new pillow top mattresses, sturdy, non squeaking beds and a
couple of pieces of decent furniture.
”

“
That
’
s
well and good Ma
’
am, but it takes money to do that.
Money that I don
’
t have.
”

“
Will, that
’
s where I come in. I
’
m prepared to invest up to
$200,000 to make this dream a reality, say ... for forty percent ownership.
”
I let him digest that for a moment before I continued.
“
Can you live with that?
”

“
Let me get this straight, you
’
re gonna put up $200,000 to
help me attract more women?
”
asked
Will, sporting a
‘
who the hell do you think you are
’
demeanor.

“
Stop looking at my boobs. Read my lips. More women is more
men, more alcohol sales, more rocking and rolling in your rooms, more
everything. Got it?
”

Scratching
his chin, pondering the thought of a female for a partner, Will stood up and
extended his hand.
“
I got it. Can we shake on it?
”

“
We can,
”
I
replied, extending my right hand while handing him my card, Victoria R. Lawson,
Attorney at Law.
“
Even better, I
’
ll draw up the documents
when I get home. Meanwhile, you need to have a contractor you trust write us a
proposal for ten tiled baths with tub and shower combinations. Then send me a
list of the rest of the items you'll need. I'll shop those in the states,
first. I
’
ve got to run. Call me when you have it.
”

 
“
Well, that was a quickie,
Vic. Was it as good for Will as it was for you?
”

“
That
’
s yet to be determined. You
’
re now looking at the new
minority owner of this fine establishment.
”

I
scowled.

“
Seriously, after all your preaching about paying it
forward, don
’
t give me that look. I had an epiphany the last time we
were here. Private baths, new beds and new furniture, equate to more women,
more men, more partying, more sales. I volunteered to help him do it with my, I
mean your, I mean our money, of course.
”

“
Congratulations. You can be unselfish when you want to be.
”

“
I
’
m not that unselfish, D. I asked for forty percent.
”

“
In that case, you
’
d make a great Madame, if
you decide to eventually turn this into a whore house,
”
I chided.
“
Can we ride now?
”

“
We can,
”
I
beamed, thoroughly proud of myself, even if I did ask for a pittance in
ownership. Giving comes hard for me, I mused. I
’
m a lawyer first, but I
could be a Madame second, I betcha!

Finally,
our last detour behind us, we were on the road rolling down Highway 3 to
intersect the Saskota Flyway that takes us to Winnipeg. Reaching Yorkton, I
announced, while pulling into a Canadian Shell for fuel,
“
Last pitstop for quite a
while. How are you holding up, girlfriend?
”

“
My butt is tingling, along with my ... hoo-ha,
”
I laughed.
“
Otherwise, I
’
m good.
”

“
You
’
re a tingling troubadour. A rare find up here, your lady
parts notwithstanding. Let
’
s hope that
’
s all you have to complain about two more stops from now.
”
Turning left onto Yellowhead Highway, driving southeast, we
crossed into Manitoba just after eleven. There was not much to see for the next
five hours, but an endless supply of rolling hills, sporadic farmhouses miles
and miles of black asphalt. On the outskirts of Winnipeg, I squeezed Vic
’
s knee.
“
Your hoo-ha still tingling,
girlfriend?
”

“
I forgot what eight hours on a bike felt like. My face is
wind burned, my hoo-ha and ass are numb. And my legs are frozen stiff in their
current position.
 
But, other than
that, I
’
m
good.
”

“
That answers my next question. We need to get you a room
with a big soaking tub.
”

I
squeezed him as tight as my thighs would allow.
“
That would be a Godsend.
”

The
iPhone found us a boutique hotel called Maria
’
s where I booked the red
bricked road suite, featuring a two person tub with adjoining wet bar. Twenty minutes
later we were driving into the parking lot as the rain began to fall.
“
I couldn
’
t have timed it better if I
had tried. Go check us in please, Vic. Leave a key at the desk. I
’
ll be along in a while.
”

“
Gladly, D. My back thanks you. My ass thanks you and my
hoo-ha adores you.
”

“
Hey, girlfriend, I didn
’
t tell you. They have a spa.
Bet you
’
re
ready for pampering, round two. It
’
s probably too late to book
a massage tonight. See if you can schedule one for first thing in the morning.
”

“
You don
’
t mind?
”

“
I do not. One day, give or take, won
’
t make much of a difference.
Will it?
”

For
a brief moment I processed his request ... I had clean clothes, what few there
were, compliments of Debra, and another night with D
…
and a tub.
“
Ab
–
so-lutely not!
”