Fat Louise(61)

Jane stood still. “Tell me.”

Stud’s voice broke the silence at the table. “Cade’s gone. When I called to see why he hadn’t been in to pick up his bike, Rock went in his room to look. All his things are gone. When I came in, I checked, too. He just left. No word. No note.”

Jane stood numbly. Sex Piston reached out to take her hand, and Jane gripped it tightly, determined not to break down in front of everyone.

“You all expected it, didn’t you?”

Her friends couldn’t meet her eyes.

“He didn’t take his new bike?”

“No.” Stud’s grim voice had her giving him a weak smile.

“Then he must be coming back.” Jane tried to give herself hope. He had told her last night he loved her, and why would he tell her that if it wasn’t true? “He’ll be back,” Jane said more firmly.

“You’re right; he’ll be back.” Sex Piston tried to sound more upbeat, although Jane could tell none of them believed it.

“I’m getting a raise,” Jane told the group then listened to their forced congratulations.

“Want to go to the Taco Hut? I was going to get Cade to go, but…”

“Sounds good. I’ll even pay,” Crazy Bitch said.

As her friends all stood, ready to leave, Jane pushed her hurt back. She would deal with it later when she was in her bedroom alone. Right now, she needed to be with the women who were her sisters in every way except blood. That would make the hurt bearable because, unlike everyone else who swore they loved her, they were always by her side.

* * *

“We’re almost ready to eat,” T.A. said as she passed by with another casserole dish in her hands.

Jane stared at the huge dinner laid out at the clubhouse. They had pulled all the tables together to make a long one, and a huge, twenty-five pound turkey took the place of honor at the head of the table.

“I think I’m going to go back to the apartment,” she told Crazy Bitch, who was balancing several bottles of cheap wine.

“Don’t go. Stay.”

“You can bring me a plate of leftovers.” Her hunger was nonexistent, but she would force herself to eat something when Crazy Bitch came home later. She hadn’t had much of an appetite for the last three weeks that Cade had been gone.

Jane shrugged into her coat, going to the door.

“It’s snowing. You want me to drive you?” Crazy Bitch offered.

“No, my car has four-wheel drive. I’ll be fine.” With her mom still in jail, Jane had bought herself a new car. Stud had offered to go with her to buy it, yet she had refused, wanting to do it on her own.

Cade had left her with a broken heart; however, he had made her more confident during the time they had been together. She didn’t need to lean so heavily on her friends anymore. They might still be adjusting to her newfound independence, but they were enjoying the benefits of riding in a car with a functioning heater.

Outside, the snow was falling heavily. Jane tilted her head back, feeling the snowflakes land on her cheeks, when the sound of a bike’s motor resonated in the distance.

Jane’s eyes went to the road, seeing a lone biker drive into the lot, barely managing to keep his motorcycle from sliding. Jane recognized him through the snow, and his haggard appearance brought an unwanted lump to her throat.

Cade climbed off his bike and began to walk toward the clubhouse yet came to an abrupt stop when he saw her.

Jane stood still for a heartbeat then took off running toward him, almost slipping in the snow before she was caught up in his arms.

“You came back. You came back!” Her tears mixed with the snow.

“Of course I came back. I said I would.”

“I didn’t know. You left without a word…”

“What are you talking about? I left a fucking note in my room.”

“No one found it. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that you’re back.”

“It does matter, Jane. I wouldn’t have left without telling you why.”

“All I care about is that you’re here now. I understand that you wanted some time to think—”

Cade cut her off. “Jane, let’s go to my room. I have something to tell you.”

Was he going to leave again? Had he come back only to pick up his bike and tell her it was over?

When Jane followed him inside the clubhouse, everyone at the table went quiet as they saw Cade. Sex Piston and Killyama both flung back their chairs.

“I’m going to talk to Jane first, and then I’ll explain to the rest of you. But she deserves to hear it alone and in private.” Cade looked at Stud. “My old room still open?”

Stud took a moment before answering, “Always, brother. This is your home as long as you want it.” Stud ignored his wife’s gasp. “Skulls, quick hogging the ham and pass it here.”