Caden: Ride with Me

14. 14

Miles’ eyes narrowed as he watched her a moment, making Olivia wonder what he was thinking.

“Rick, Tom, Steve. What’s your last name?” Creases formed on his forehead.

Olivia frowned, wondering where this was going. “Duncan, why?”

“I knew it!” Miles slapped the tabletop with an open hand. “I know your brother Tom.”

“Oh? Does he annoy you as much as he annoys me?”

“Sometimes, he has that quirk of personality that makes him find annoying people funny.” Miles turned to Caden. “You do know you’re dating the chief of police’s daughter, right?”

Olivia’s stomach dropped. She’d already told him but who knew how he would react now that his friends knew too.

“I did. She told me. My dad was an MP. I get how it can be when your parent is responsible for enforcing the law.” He squeezed her hand, sending warmth through her.

“As long as you know what you’re getting into,” Miles said with a one shouldered shrug.

They went on visiting for a while. People drifted in and out. By the time they called it a night and headed home, Olivia’s head swam with names and faces. She knew she’d never remember even a fraction of them.

“Want to go home or for a ride? We’ve got a couple hours of daylight left,” Caden asked as they headed out to the row of motorcycles where he’d left his.

“A ride sounds nice.” Olivia smiled as she thought about sitting on the bike, her arms wrapped around him as they rode.

“Then a ride it is.” They reached the bike, and he handed her a helmet then pulled his own on.

This time getting it on and fastened was easier, she didn’t fumble her fingers as badly.

“You need help?” he asked once his was on.

Olivia shook her head, then tilted it back to let him see she’d gotten it down. She felt his thumb slide in between her cheek and the padding, but before she could ask, it was gone again. Caden swung one leg over the bike and settled in.

“Okay, your turn. Remember to keep clear of the pipes.” He held the bike steady while she put her hand on his shoulder then stepped onto the nearest peg and climbed on behind him. This time it seemed easier than the last.

He checked her legs, presumably making sure she wouldn’t get burned, then started the bike. Olivia let her arms snake around his middle.

“Ready?” His voice was clear in her ear.

“Ready.”

The bike eased out of the line of motorcycles then moved a little faster to the road. Her stomach flipped at the movement but soon settled. He pulled out onto the road, then after a few minutes they were on the interstate. She didn’t know where they were headed, but she didn’t care. It was enough to be on the bike, with him.

They had been on the interstate for about ten minutes when she paid enough attention to know where they were. She rode along for a few more minutes, content to be with him, when an idea struck.

“Do you have a destination in mind?” she asked.

“No, just riding, why?”

“Get off in Gladstone. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Okay. I’ve only been out here a few times. You’ll have to tell me where to go.”

“Not a problem.”

As they approached the exit, she started watching for what she was after.

“Turn right at the intersection and follow that road. We can stop if you want, but there’s no need. You can see it from the road.” She waited until he’d made it through the intersection before releasing one arm from around his middle and pointing out the first sculpture. It was a huge metal art sculpture of geese in flight.

“Wow. Who did that?”

“A local artist. He started with that one more than thirty years ago. Keep going.” She wrapped her arms around him again and let him keep driving.

A couple miles later she pointed out the large sculptures of a pair of deer, one leaping over a fence.

“Wow. He’s been busy. Want to pull off?”

“We can, but there are several more. Keep going.”

This time it was a longer wait until she pointed out the next sculpture, then they were closer together.

Maybe half an hour after they left the highway, they hit the small town of Regent, where the campground and gift shop for all the sculptures sat. Without her prompting, Caden pulled into the parking lot at the tiny building that housed the gift shop. He was disappointed to find them closed.

“I guess we’ll have to come back when they’re open,” he said as they made their way back to the motorcycle.

They eased through town, and she directed him take the loop that would take them around the Enchanted Castle hotel, not that she wanted to stay, but the latest of the sculptures was there and she wanted to make sure he saw it.

“Wow he’s put a lot of work into this. You said thirty years? That’s dedication.”

“It is, and it’s become kind of a thing around here. I’m surprised you hadn’t found it before, with the amount of riding you must do with your club.”

“We didn’t do a lot of organized rides until a few weeks ago. Now we have a couple a month, it’s been nice.” He shrugged, making Olivia wish she could see his face. “Where to next?”

“We can turn around and go back the way we came or continue down here for a quarter mile or so, then take the twenty-one over to the twenty-two, which will lead us back to Dickenson.”

“Make it kind of a loop.”

“Exactly.”

“You in a hurry or you want to keep exploring?”

“I’m in no hurry. But from where we are, time wise, it’s probably about the same. Unless you want to get home.”

“I’m good if you are, at least for a while yet.”

“Good.” She let him decide which route to take, but couldn’t help the satisfaction that bubbled through her when he headed south to highway twenty-one then along that. The country was pretty, but they’d passed all the sculptures, still she enjoyed the rumble of the bike beneath them and the peace of just the two of them and the road. The world seeming to speed by. It felt as if they were the only ones on earth, at least in that moment. At the very least they were the only two that mattered. She almost wished it could stay this way forever.

Almost.