LLucy’s Revenge(Divine Creek Ranch 15)(100)

“I liked your wife’s suggestion. I’m going to talk to my men about getting a matching tattoo.”

He nodded and smiled. “My favorite tattoo is the one that pairs my wife’s.” He showed her the tattoo on his shoulder and then pointed at the tattoo on his wife’s shoulder and laid his hand over it. Lucy gasped.

The tattoo on his shoulder was a delicate, life-size, woman’s hand gently cupping his shoulder joint as though holding on to him from behind. On his wife’s shoulder was a large, masculine hand cupping her shoulder in a gentle-looking grasp. His hand.

Lucy caught her breath and felt tears sting the backs of her eyes. The shading and the details were so lifelike. Jayne and the woman were distracted by Lucy’s gasp and then the woman smiled and slid her hand around her husband’s shoulder. The hand was obviously hers.

The man explained. “When she was declared cancer-free five years ago, we had them done. You never know how many days God has allotted for you. Her having cancer brought home that the amount of time we have together is limited. We both wanted something from the other tattooed on our bodies, so that when one of us finds ourselves alone again, we’ll still have each other.”

Jayne sniffled and whispered, “That is the most beautiful thing. Can I take a picture?”

“Of course you can,” the woman said with a smile. “And we want to take a picture with Seth, too, since he’s the one who did them.”

Jayne grinned. Looking closer, she said, “I should’ve known. The work is definitely his.”

While they were talking, Seth joined them and greeted the man and woman as friends and talked with them for a few minutes and took the pictures before they excused themselves.

The rest of the afternoon progressed with a steady stream of traffic to Seth’s booth. Late in the afternoon, Val and Ransome took Lucy and Jayne for a bite to eat at one of the concession stands while Charity and Justin stayed at the table with Seth to talk to any other rally-goers who came by.

Music had been playing in the air-conditioned exhibition hall all day and as the sun began to set, the volume increased a bit. Outside the Expo Center, the bands who were playing in the various venues around the huge grounds were doing sound checks and getting ready for the evening’s entertainment before the parade got started late that evening.

Conscious of the way she was dressed, Lucy had been resisting the beat of the hard rock music that had been playing all day, not wanting to draw even more attention to herself. She’d discovered during the day that parts of her could blush from being stared at that she had no idea would do that. But once it was clear that she was there with Seth, and being escorted by protective men, no one groped her or made advances. None of the men would’ve tolerated it.

It seemed to be that way with all the women who were there. If they were single, like Lucy, they were looked after by their male friends. There were no gangs of youths wandering around anywhere, like she’d seen at county fairs or even at the Divine Trade and Craft Fair, making everyone uncomfortable. These bikers came together at these events and they were a close-knit community. They didn’t abide that sort of activity, not with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bikes, and beautiful women, all around.





Chapter Seventeen




The sun set and Lucy’s anticipation grew as the time when Beck and Patrick said they’d be arriving approached. Ransome and Val turned out to be great companions and conversationalists. They treated both Jayne and Lucy with deference as they found them a picnic table to sit down at and eat their food, and never left their sides.

“When are your men arriving, Lucy?” Ransome asked before he took a bite of his sandwich.

“Any time now.”

“This place is huge. Do they know where to go?”

“I told them where we’d be. They may already be at the table. Patrick will have to find someplace to park his truck.”

“He’ll probably have to park way in the back in the vehicle parking. Beck brought his bike?”

Lucy nodded. “He said he would. I’m hoping for a ride tonight.”

Ransome shared a look with Val. “You ever ridden on the parade loop before? You know how it can get at these events after dark, right?”

Lucy smiled. “You mean women going topless or near naked? And the poles that are set up on the parade route for dancing? Yeah. And I know about the drinking and…other stuff, too.”

Val chuckled. “You planning to earn some beads on the parade route?”

“Huh? Beads?” Jayne asked from her spot beside Lucy. The adorable clueless look on Jayne’s face made her giggle.