Happy Lowman is the quintessential biker badass. He loves the biker lifestyle: drinking, carousing, and taking care of business. What happens when fate literally puts him in the path of a woman that has always lived a simpler life? Will he be able t...
Happy came awake slowly, disoriented for a moment until the events of the night before came back to him. He groaned at the jackhammer in his skull as he slowly threw the covers back and sat up on the side of the bed. He let his eyes adjust to the brightness of the morning light filtering in through the white frilly curtains at the window, seeing that his gun was still laying where Josie had placed it last night. Now, beside the weapon, was a cordless phone, a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water.
He sighed gratefully as he shook four pills out of the bottle and swallowed them with half of the water. As he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, he noticed that his kutte had been cleaned of blood and was folded neatly across the arm of the chair. His clothes had been washed and were also folded, but laying on the seat of the chair.
He stood up, testing his legs and finding that he was getting steadier by the second. He found the bathroom and took a quick shower. He dressed slowly, taking his time with his shoulder and leg, then grabbed the phone and dialed a familiar number as he stood looking out the window. When the call went through, he heard a familiar voice answer.
Josie was just finishing up feeding the cows when she heard a throat clear from the doorway of the barn. She turned and grinned when she saw Happy standing there leaning against the door frame. She shook her head and thought to herself that she was right the night before. He was beautiful.
"Morning, sweet pea. I gather that you found the meds I left."
Happy nodded as he stood straight and stepped into the shade of the barn. He brought a hand up and patted her horse, Winnie, on the neck, whispering something to her that sounded a lot like praise. "Yeah, thanks. I called for a ride. They should be here soon."
Josie turned to put her pitchfork away, hiding the look of disappointment on her face. She knew it was silly and that he would leave as soon as he was able to, but it didn't stop her from wanting him to stay, if for just a little while. She may live out in the country and have animals as companions most of the time, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew just from the way he had shown up last night and the condition he'd been in, not to mention the gun that he carried, that he was a dangerous man. She also knew what the vest on his back meant, but that didn't stop her from laying awake most of the night, highly aware of him sleeping just down the hall, and wanting to know what he would feel like laying beside her.
She shook her head at herself before turning back to him with a small grin on her face. "Well, come on then. I'll make you some breakfast while you wait on your ride. My mama would turn over in her grave if I sent a man off hungry."
Happy took a sip of his coffee as he watched Josie prepare their breakfast. He'd tried hard to keep from staring at her in the barn, but now, with her back to him and her mind busy, he let his eyes get their fill of her. She was beautiful, a fact that hadn't dawned on him the night before, but he chalked that up to the pain and the time of night. Now, in the light of morning, with a somewhat clear head, he let his eyes roam over her form.
Her hair was a bright auburn and piled up on her head in what he'd heard Lyla call a messy bun. He could see slim streaks of gray showing here and there, telling him that she wasn't on the young side. He would guess that she was closer to his age. She had on an old faded Zepplin t-shirt over a pair of well-worn cutoff denim shorts. He let his eyes travel down her shapely thighs and calves to the pair of dusty cowboy boots on her feet. He realized he was licking his lips and cleared his throat as he took another drink of coffee and tried to get the image of those legs wrapped around him out of his head.
"You live out here alone? No man?"
Josie turned her head to smirk at him over her shoulder, shaking her head. "Nah, just me."
Happy nodded, thinking to himself that her being alone was a damn shame, ignoring the part of his brain that was rejoicing at the fact that she didn't have a man warming her bed. "Lot of work for just you, little girl."
Josie shrugged as she set a plate piled high with bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and toast in front of him. She set a smaller portion in front of herself as she sat down. "Maybe, but I get it done." She nodded at his vest. "I've never seen your kind around Hopewell. Where ya from, sweet pea?"
He nodded as he chewed before swallowing to answer. "Charming? It's about forty or fifty miles north of here."
Josie nodded as she sat back in her chair. "I've heard of it. I have family there."
Happy looked up from his plate in curiosity. "Oh yeah? What're their names? I may know them."
Before she could answer his question, they both heard the distant sound of motorcycles. She grinned and nodded toward the door as the sound grew louder in intensity. "I think your friends are here, sweet pea."
Happy nodded as he stood up to walk to the screen door. He pushed it open, absently noticing that it needed oiling as he stepped out into the morning sunshine and watched as Chibs and Bobby pulled up in front of the house behind Josie's truck with Tig in the panel van behind them. He stood on the porch as the men got off their bikes and Tig got out of the van, all walking up to the steps.
He didn't need to hear the squeak of the screen door to know that Josie was outside, because three pairs of eyes were openly appraising the smaller woman as she stood at his side. He rolled his neck, trying to ease the sudden tension he felt there as he heard Tig give a low whistle.
"Damn! I did not know they made country girls that looked like you, sweetheart. If I had, I'd come this way sooner."
He wanted to smack the shit out of his best friend as Josie chuckled and shook her head. "Well, my, aren't you the charmer?"
Tig just grinned and winked at her as Chibs cleared his throat. "Your bike's in the van, Hap. We found it about a mile down the road. You'll need some repairs before she's rideable. Galindo?"
Happy just nodded and gave the Scot a warning look. "We'll talk about it later." He turned to Josie and looked down at her. "I need to get going. Thanks for the help last night." He lifted a hand to push a stray lock of hair out of her face before cupping her cheek gently. "I'll be back soon, little girl."
Josie shook her head and smiled at him. "You don't have to make promises that you don't intend to keep, sweet pea. I'm just glad that I was there to help you out."
Happy gazed into her eyes for a moment longer before giving a nod and letting his hand drop. He walked out and got in the van as Tig joined him and soon they were off down the road. They rode for a while before Tig finally spoke up from the driver's seat.
"Wanna talk about what happened?"
Happy just shook his head, knowing that Tig would understand that he meant he'd talk about it later. Right then, he just wanted to close his eyes and think about Josie. He had a feeling he wouldn't be forgetting her any time soon.
