“Before I beg my Nanna to spend this money and send this in, tell me truthfully. You really gonna pick Arkansas?”
“Of course, those other coaches are gonna keep sniffing. The more I get asking, the bigger my draft prospect will be.”
“But that’s years away.”
“And still…” He tossed the football up in the sky then caught it with one hand. “We had to move here because we lost everything in Katrina. At least we had a place to go, but we came as a family. Now you’re part of that family, Sarah.” He straddled the picnic bench she was sitting, her backside pressing to his thigh. “When we ran I thought I was going to die. Watching the water rise with only our feet to carry us.” He brushed back her long hair and leaned in for a gentle kiss. “I prayed for an angel and I was sent you.”
“Angel huh?” she said as she signed the last line of her application.
“I know you don’t want to be far from your Nanna. That’s why I have no problem staying here. Razorbacks are ready for me as a quarterback.”
Everything was simple in his mind. Win the conference, work his way to state, win it, then graduate early, so he could start in the Spring term. She would stay behind, but he’d come back for prom and kiss her at graduation before she moved to Fayetteville too. Everything would have her away from New Bend before the summer heat hit.
A card stuck out from under the laptop and she tugged to see Doc’s number. Sending her a quick text, she requested a session. Topaz had pushed so many men aside over the years. Completely blocking her own happiness, even now, nerves ate at her body and psyche and she knew she would have to come to terms with what had been, so she could have what is. The love being offered by a man who saw past her pain and found the sliver of her heart that was still alive.
When her phone buzzed, she glanced down to see a message from Doc. I have time at one, so glad to hear from you again.
“I don’t need your pity I need your help to take these assholes down once and for all. I worry about the kids that aren’t blue eyed and blonde haired around here. Old Glen and Stimpy were racist and they wanted to do me damage. But they are part of something more, and taking Topaz and me was sending our club a message.”
His head pounded as he pushed away from the table. He had voting rights, being and enforcer and all, but telling his tale in church only made Onyx need the freedom to ride.
“I need air.” Leaving the meeting room, he cut through the clubhouse and stepped on the porch.
He was followed by Bounty, Hollywood, Baldy, Cass, Hack and Freaky.
“Last time I checked, I wasn’t a fucking duck. There a reason ya’ll are out here?”
“We all breathe,” Cass said, rage burning in his eyes.
Maybe Onyx shouldn’t have added the part about the kids in front of the man with three.
“I’m going to ride, tell me what you decide in there.” Onyx fished out the keys to his bike and stepped off the porch only to see the men doing the same. “You don’t need to go,” he snarled, this was about him clearing his head. Settling back to the norm. He understood the pain that needed to be released at a tempered rate because there was no second chance for him. There would be no questions why he did what he did if he didn’t calm down his rage and let it go like so many others had in the past.
“The hell we don’t,” Red announced as he got on his bike. “You’re not going out there alone. If you go for a ride then we all go for a ride. Until we deal with ACT Up nobody is going alone.”
Where in the hell did he come from? Onyx didn’t know he was just there. Wasn’t the man still in Church. Reviewing shit? “Red, you don’t need to go with and neither do these men. I can go alone. I just need to ride, I have a lot on my mind.” Onyx tried once again to convince the men they didn’t need to go with him.
“Get on your fucking bike and just ride,” Hack ordered. The former Navy SEAL didn’t mince words and though most men didn’t cross others in the Steels, Hack was the quiet storm everyone feared on the horizon.
The only solace came from the fact that not one man in the room questioned him. They didn’t think he imagined or misinterpreted. Belief, like the belief in his ability to save them. The same belief Topaz had in her eyes, fueled his hope for the world. Fresh air, freedom and sunshine from the ride was necessary to clear his mind. A lot had happened to him in the last few days. Topaz would be okay, but he wasn’t sure he would be. Losing his leg had fucked him up, but not like this. The words spewed at him running in an endless loop making him feel helpless and hopeless. There was no turning it off. There was no hitting pause. The men were dead, but thousands more were lined up behind them eager, and possibly jealous they hadn’t gotten to join what they thought was fun.
Onyx straddled his bike and started the engine.
The volume on the roar doubling then tripling and soon it became deafening as the brothers, disgusted by his account and the picture he painted showed they had their own shit to process.
One good thing his new sleeve had come in and even though his leg was still bruised, it felt good for the first time in a long time. Drugs, the love of a good woman and rest had healed a part of him. At
