“Well, the guy’s going to harvest in about a week, and then it’ll need about a month to dry and cure,” I answered, eyeing up my shot and trying to decide if I wanted to drink it.
“We have Sturgis at the beginning of August, so end of June, beginning of July should work for most of us,” Sally said, looking at the calendar on his phone. “You’re going to Sturgis, right?” he asked me.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, man. I’ve heard some wild tales, and I’m ready.”
“Arizona will get you ready for a long ride, too,” Joker added. “And you’ll get to spend some quality time with your bike and your brothers.”
“Can’t wait.” I was curious about when I might see Krystal again. I wanted to be prepared in case things were awkward. “So do the guys bring their old ladies on these long rides?”
“Sometimes,” Sally answered. “We usually have one of the guys drive behind us in a van in case something goes wrong along the way. Sometimes an old lady or two will tag along. Why?” he asked. “You got an old lady?”
“Nowhere even close, man. Just curious.”
“Well, there won’t be a shortage of company on the road. We know folks along the way, and I’ll have us scheduled for stops in some friendly places, if you know what I mean.”
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. Was he talking about prostitutes? More MC girls? Thinking about girls made me remember Krystal from two nights before — how gorgeous she’d looked naked in my bed, how sexy her tattoo was. Maybe I should text her. What if Bug had killed her or something crazy? I didn’t actually think he would, but I didn’t know for sure.
“Excuse me,” I said, as I stood up from the table. “Need to see a man about a horse.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket in the men’s room and sent a text to Krystal before I could change my mind.
You okay? Just want to make sure you’re alive and safe.
I took another leak and checked my phone, surprised to see that she’d answered.
I’m fine. Can you talk?
Call you in five.
I walked back out to the table, where Joker and Sally sat, poring over a map.
“Wow. Still do things old-school, I see?”
“Google Maps don’t know where the pretty girls are,” Joker said with a laugh. “Have a seat and you can help us plan the trip.”
“I’ll be right back. I have to step outside and make a phone call.”
Joker put his hand on my arm. “Time you started to learn, son. Don’t say anything on your cell phone that you don’t want the police to hear. We’ll get you hooked up with a couple of our pre-paids, in case you need to talk business.”
“Thanks, man, but this is personal. Nothing I need to worry about.”
I walked outside and dialed Krystal’s number.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hey.” I wasn’t sure exactly what to say, and then I figured that since she’d wanted to talk, she could break the ice.
“Hey, I’m really sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have said what I did to you, and your joining the Savage Sons is none of my business.”
“You’re right. It’s not.”
There was a moment of silence. I figured that she hadn’t expected me to be so blunt, but I was done kissing people’s asses.
I decided to break the silence. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “I was scared to go home, so I’m staying with a friend from school.”
“You’re that afraid of Bug?”
“Yeah. Luke, you don’t know how out of control he can get. He’s one giant mean streak, and I was afraid he’d kill me.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“That’s part of why I wanted to talk to you. We talked this afternoon, and he told me that if I come back and agree to move in with him, he’ll forget about the whole thing.”
“What?”
“He said he’s sorry for having taken my money, and he wants to get back together.”
“What do you want, Krystal?”
“Well, I want to be alive this time next week. I’m afraid if I don’t take him up on his offer, that he’ll hurt me.”
“If I had some way to threaten him, I would, but I don’t.” I wondered if Krystal was fishing for me to offer to step in and save the day. “Krystal, I’m not gonna get involved. This is between you and Bug.”
“I know.”
I could hear the disappointment in her voice, and part of me wanted to go inside and pound Bug into the ground. That wasn’t how I dealt with my problems, though, and I wasn’t gonna start just because I was a Savage Son.