Wylde Ride

Chapter 5: Getting There is Half the Fun

I sucked in a hard breath. Panicky, upset, bleeding and no helmet? Nothing good was coming out of this scenario.

"Between the blood and the pouring rain and the fact that he was too upset to be careful, well he got thrown from the bike, hit the road and smashed his head. He ended up in the hospital, and those three assholes in the back that we're supposed to work with are the ones who put him there."

I could hear the resentment in his voice, the anger, the need to lash out at someone who had hurt a person he loved. I knew that feeling, intimately. His thumb never stopped stroking my palm and I wanted nothing more than to snuggle against him. He seemed lost in his own brewing anger and that was never good. We needed to work past this issue, but nothing was going to happen in the van as we wound through Mt. Pleasent toward the islands. As much I wanted to kiss the scowl off his face, I figured that might not be the best way to start this team off, so I resorted to the one thing that had always worked on Dad and Riley.

"So, what do you call a cow with no legs?" No response. I hadn't expected one. "Ground beef." I swore I saw the side of his mouth twitch a millimeter, but he still wouldn't even look at me.

"What's invisible and smells like carrots?" I didn't bother waiting this time. "Rabbit farts." Yep that was definitely a twitch, and I'm pretty sure his shoulders were shaking.

"So, the other day a Prius tried to race me at a light. I totally had it for the first 100 meters, but I can only walk so fast." He burst into laughter and I smiled. Victory was mine.

"Oh geez," he said, when he could talk through his laughter, "you sound like my dad."

I grinned, "Which one?" He looked startled for a second then leaned back against the seat, all tension and anger gone from his well muscled frame. I felt a squeeze on my hand and was startled to realize I had forgotten he was holding it.

"Silas, he'd love those jokes."

I shook my head in disbelief. "No. No way. He looks so big and serious."

"He's mostly just a big teddy bear with a thing for bad jokes." Scott rolled his head to look me in the eyes. "Did you know?" he asked with sudden seriousness.

I knew what he was asking about.

"Not at first. Not the first time we met. It didn't take long to put it together though. You, the Tomas and the Andersons are kind of famous in the Academy around here. There's always talk, stories, rumors, that kind of crap. Then someone pointed Malory out to me as a Blackbourne kid. It all fell into place after that."

His thumb resumed the gently stroking it had stopped when he'd gotten upset. "Why didn't you say anything?" He sounded more confused than upset, and I was grateful for that.

I chuckled, "Come on, you know the answer to that. I didn't know what you knew. Just because your parents are Academy doesn't mean they told you anything. I had no way to know."

"You're right." He was giving me a look I couldn't quite place, but it gave me the warm fuzzies. He leaned closer and whispered, "Thanks." I knew what he was thanking me for. I couldn't help it this time. I closed the distance between us and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He flushed crimson, and damn if it wasn't the cutest thing. I laid my head against his shoulder, noting that even though the anger had left, the tension in him hadn't. I wondered if it was me or something else.

Not for the first time, I noticed the pendant hanging around his neck. I'd never really given it a good look before. I reached up, running a finger across the raised edge and examining it. The edge had scrollwork on it, but the centerpiece of the pendant was an upraised, wavy sun. The pendant was a simple, unpolished silver and hung from a black braided leather cord.