Wild Man Creek (Virgin River #14)(49)

A half hour later, as Colin was getting ready to leave he stopped on the porch and looked at Luke’s Harley. “Hey, would you loan me the bike for a few hours?”

“You up to that?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, Ma—I can handle it,” he said with a laugh. “I’d like to take it up some of those mountain trails. I’ll bring it back in a couple of hours.”

“It’s a heavy bike, Colin, and if you’re still kind of—”

“I’m good,” he said. He put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I won’t hurt the bike or myself. I promise.”

“I’m not that worried about the bike, man.”

“Aw,” Colin said with mischievous grin. “That’s sweet.” Then he laughed. “It’ll be okay, Luke. I’ll bring it back before dinner.”

“I guess so,” Luke said with a shrug, digging into his pocket for the key.

“Here are the keys to the Jeep, in case you have to move it or use it or something. I’ll see you later.” And Colin was on the Harley and driving away before Luke could change his mind.

Shelby came onto the porch carrying Brett just in time to see Colin headed down the drive. “Where’s he going?”

Luke turned and looked at her, a frown wrinkling his brow. “You notice anything different about Colin?”

“Like?” she asked.

“Like he’s all mellow and actually nice?”

“I’ve always thought Colin was nice.”

“But to me?” Luke asked. “He’s really smoothed over. You don’t suppose he’s taking drugs again, do you?”

“Luke, you have no reason to ask that, just because the two of you can finally get along for a half hour. Besides, if Colin wanted drugs I doubt he’d hang around you. He’d go someplace none of his brothers could find him.”

“I guess,” Luke relented. “It’s just… I’m not used to… Ah hell, maybe he’s just starting to feel a lot better. I’m not used to him being calm, nice and agreeable. He said he’d babysit Saturday night.”

“Good. See if you can just focus on me for a while,” she said, patting his cheek and giving him a smile.

He smiled back. “I can do that, yeah. In fact, I don’t have to wait for date night to do that. Does Brett have any more naps scheduled today?”

Colin drove to the Victorian and went around to the back where he found both Jillian and Denny working in the garden. She got to her feet when she heard the motorcycle coming toward them. When Colin pulled off his helmet and revealed himself, she laughed and walked toward him, wiping her hands on her jeans.

“What in the world is this?” she asked.

“My brother’s Harley. Come for a ride with me.”

“I’m working. I’m planting.”

“You work seven days a week. Tell Denny he’s on his own for a while. Come for a ride with your boyfriend.”

“Have you upgraded yourself to boyfriend?”

Colin winked at her. “I’ll tell him you’re going for a ride with your sex slave…”

“Okay, you aren’t allowed to talk to anyone about us,” she said. “I think you like to make trouble. I can’t, Colin. I’m all dirty.”

“I like you dirty.” He grinned evilly. Seductively. “Come on. Really, come on.”

She sighed. “I have to wash my hands, my face, brush my teeth….”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to get all prissy—you’re going to get bugs in your teeth anyway. Hurry up—I have to return it before Mother Luke starts to worry and sends out a search party.”

“Let me talk to Denny.”

Jill went back to see Denny and, to his credit, he had gone right back to work and didn’t stand to stare. “I’m going for a ride with Colin, Denny. I might be back before you’re done for the day…I might not. But you know what to do here, right?”

He looked up at her over his shoulder. “Transplant the starters according to your chart and mark them.”

“Exactly. Thanks.”

Then he smiled and asked, “So now is it official?”

She smiled right before she said, “Shh. Still casual.”

Such a lie! There was nothing casual about it, but that was her business. She ran into the house, washed up quickly, tossed off her muddy jeans and shirt, grabbed some clean clothes and was out the door so fast it would be obvious to anyone she was dying to get on that bike with him. It must certainly have been obvious to him—he was smiling. He handed her a helmet; she pulled it on and mounted the bike.

Ah God, she thought as they roared down the driveway and up highway 36. This is almost as good as sex, hanging on to him, laying her head on his back and smelling him, having this monstrous machine vibrating underneath her.

Not a lot of talking goes on while riding a motorcycle and Colin hadn’t explained if he had a destination in mind. He just drove, then got off the Highway onto a narrow side road that wound up into the hills. They passed by the occasional isolated cabin, but they were getting too high for crops, too remote for livestock. The road wound around and around the mountain, the views were awesome, the drop-off’s harrowing, the dirt road beneath the tires was kicking up a lot of dust. And she loved it.