“I’ve never been here before,” Kenzie said. “I’m just passing through.”
“Well, hopefully, so is he,” the man said. “I’m Gunner, by the way.” He shook Kenzie’s hand, leaning closer to her. “What do you say we get you a drink?”
“Oh,” Kenzie said, thinking of the babies. “I could have a tea, I suppose. Get out of the cold for a minute. I’m—I’m Kenzie.”#p#分页标题#e#
Gunner led her into the dark bar, helping her to a back booth. He ordered swiftly from the bartender, a frothing beer for him and a tea for her. He sipped the beer quickly after its arrival, making foam appear on his mustache. “What brings you all the way out here, then?” he asked, gazing at her. “You don’t look like you belong up here in the mountains.”
Kenzie swallowed, raising her shoulders. “Am I so obvious?”
“Where did you come from?” Gunner said.
“Concord. New Hampshire,” Kenzie answered, finally calming down. She nodded several times, trying to connect her thoughts to her mouth. “Sorry. I’m still just processing what happened out there.” She pulled the patch from her pocket and laid it on the table in front of them, feeling like Gunner was her last chance, at least for the night.
Gunner peered down at it curiously, his eyes glinting with familiarity. “Where did you get that?”
“Do you know it?” she asked.
“I might,” he said.
Kenzie couldn’t speak for a moment. What were the chances? She pushed the patch toward him, turning it around so he could really look at it. “You know the Blue Boys?”
“Who are you looking for?” Gunner asked, leaning toward her. His teeth glinted in the soft light of the bar.
“Bryce Walker,” Kenzie whispered. “Do you know him?”
The man leaned back, assessing her. His face had become gray. He’d forgotten his beer. “How do you know Bryce Walker?”
Kenzie placed her hand on her abdomen, feeling warm, knowing she wasn’t alone. “I met Bryce recently. Last February, in his cabin in the mountains.” Her eyes flickered toward Gunner, trying to deliver the severity of the situation. “If you know him, you have to tell me. It’s incredibly important that I find him.”
Gunner scratched at his red, cold face, pausing. “I do know Bryce,” he finally said. “I used to know him quite well, in fact.”
Kenzie perked up, righting her posture. She couldn’t believe she’d found it: her ticket home. “You know where to find him? You know about this motorcycle club?”
Gunner lifted his hands, stretching his fingers high. “I need to give you fair warning before I tell you,” he said.
Kenzie frowned, trying to align this warning with the Bryce she’d met, the man who’d held her as she’d ice skated, gliding backward so he could look into her eyes. She waited, realizing Gunner was pausing for dramatic effect.
“The man has demons, is all,” Gunner said, shrugging. “Demons I wouldn’t want to be involved with if I were a pretty girl like you.”
“What does me being pretty have anything to do with his demons?” Kenzie whispered.
“You want to know the entire story then?” he asked, sounding tentative.
“Absolutely. I wouldn’t have traveled all this way just to be left in the dark,” Kenzie said. She sipped her tea, watching him with cat eyes. “Go ahead.”
Gunner bit his lower lip, waiting. He ordered another beer from the bartender with a flick of his hand. The bartender smacked the glass on the table, allowing the foam to froth over the sides.
“I knew Bryce when we were younger,” Gunner said. “Quite a bit younger, actually. Maybe five or so years ago.”#p#分页标题#e#
“So you know about this Blue Boys Clubhouse?” Kenzie asked, tilting her head.
“I’m a Blue Boy myself,” Gunner said, laughing. “It’s a hokey name for our motorcycle hangout, but we go with it. It was passed down to us from other bikers, and the bikers before them. It’s like our church.”
“I see. A real community,” Kenzie said, waiting. All she wanted to hear was Bryce’s name. All she wanted was information about him. She was sitting at the edge of her seat.
“The clubhouse is local to Cambridge, just a few miles away. Bryce and I would spend long, hot afternoons there, drinking beer and shooting the breeze. He was a good guy, but he was guarded. He didn’t want to reveal a lot.”