Chapter 5 Ride to School
Ride to School
“I’m going to drive ahead,” Becky said. “I’ll be waiting at the school when you arrive so I can take pictures, okay?”
“Okay,” Melanie said.
Tinker watched as Becky fussed with Melanie’s braid and made sure her thick hoodie was zipped all the way up. She was avoiding looking at him. He could live with her embarrassment. He didn’t want to shame her, but if it kept her from making another pass at him, he’d take it.
“You ready?” he asked Melanie.
She smiled wide. “Yes!”
He grinned. He was happy to see her smiling. She was a strong kid, and he hoped being physically abused by her mom’s ex wouldn’t leave deep, lasting damage.
“Hang on—I forgot something.” Opening his saddlebag, he pulled out a small vest and turned it so she could see the patch on the back. “I think this is yours.”
The vest was a miniature version of the Tarnished Knights logo, but instead of Ned on the back, it was a gold suit of armor and read Knight’s Squire.
Melanie’s mouth opened in slow motion right before she let out a high-pitched shriek and danced from foot to foot.
“I think she likes it,” Katherine said.
The other riders laughed and clapped as he helped Melanie slide into the vest. Becky adjusted the hood of her jacket. They spent another ten minutes taking pictures of Melanie with her mom and the rest of the club.
“We’ll see you at the school,” he told Becky. She nodded and kissed Melanie on the forehead, still not looking at him.
He settled a helmet on Melanie and adjusted the strap to make sure it was snug without choking her. “You good?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, hop on up.” He helped her onto the back of the seat and showed her where to put her feet, then sat in front of her and showed her where and how to hold on to him.
A thumbs-up to Sarah and Kevin, the road captains, and they were off. He fell into the middle of the column in his pre-coordinated position. They rolled out of the cul-de-sac, Melanie’s neighbors waving and taking pictures as they passed.
A short ten-minute ride later, they pulled onto the school grounds.
It looked like all the teachers had gathered out front to greet them.
He knew Prez had cleared it with the school principal and administration.
He slowed the bike to a stop and dismounted.
He helped Melanie take off her helmet and held out his hand for a high-five.
“That was so awesome.” Her cheeks were red from the short ride. Either that or the face-splitting grin she was sporting. He helped her off the bike and set the helmet on the seat.
She looked over at the teachers gathered around, clapping. “Ms. Abby! Ms. Abby!” She ran over to a woman with dark, wavy hair.
No. Fucking. Way.
Abby felt flames licking up her cheeks. It was like the time she’d had double spicy ramen and her entire face had been on fire.
Melanie had ridden in on the back of hot, sexy, tattooed biker guy’s motorcycle. Abby didn’t know what kind of karma was at work—good or bad—but she was convinced she’d done something wrong in a past life.
Principal Newton had sent out a notice about the ride on Friday afternoon and had asked teachers to gather in a show of support.
Melanie was one of Abby’s favorite students, and she hated that she hadn’t noticed the change in her personality.
Or the bruises. She couldn’t imagine the pain and anger her mom had dealt with.
“Ms. Abby! Look at my vest.”
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. Melanie was leading Hot Sexy Tattooed Biker guy her way—like a tiny, evil pied piper. She focused on Melanie, whose smile was as bright and beautiful as ever.
Melanie hopped to a stop in front of Abby and then hopped half a turn to show her the back of the vest.
“That’s so cool,” Abby said.
A woman joined them, smiling at Melanie. Abby schooled her features. She recognized the woman from the party Friday night. She glanced from him to the woman. The adoration in the woman’s gaze was palpable, but he was doing his best to pretend she wasn’t there.
Melanie grabbed his hand. “This is Tinker. He’s my protector. He helped me be brave when I had to go to court.”
Abby had no choice but to look at him. There was a twinkle in his eye like he knew a secret he was dying to share.
The woman stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m Becky, Melanie’s mom.”
Abby shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. We’re so happy to have Melanie back at school.”
The school bell rang and Abby glanced over her shoulder, finding Principal Newton gesturing for people to head inside.
“I know this is very exciting, but it’s time to get to homeroom,” she told Melanie.
Melanie hugged her mom and Tinker, then ran into the school.
Time to make a graceful and professional exit. “It was nice meeting you both.”
“Actually,” Tinker said. “Do you have a second?”
So much for that. “Uh, sure, but I need to get to class.”
“It’ll be quick.”
She glanced between him and Becky.
Tinker glanced at Becky. “David or Katherine can let you know what happens next if you have any questions.”
Her face fell like someone had told her there were no more free kittens. “Oh. Yeah. Okay.”
Abby shifted and secondhand embarrassment rushed through her as she watched Becky walk away. The exchange was uncomfortable with awkward undercurrents she didn’t really understand.
Tinker stared at her for several, even more uncomfortable, seconds before a grin spread across his face in slow motion.
She braced.
“Hi, Abby.”
That was it? “Hi.”
“Do you remember me?” The low timbre of his voice suggested there was more to their meeting than there had been.
“I have a vague memory of talking to you.” She reached one arm across her lower back and grabbed the other arm.
His gaze dropped down to her chest, but he quickly raised it again.
She pulled her arms to her front and crossed them, but that gave her boobs a boost. She had no idea what to do with her arms. They’d only been attached to her body her whole life, but now it was like Frankenstein had given her someone else’s arms and she had no control over them.
She settled for uncrossing them and lacing her fingers together in front.
His mouth twitched as he watched her flail around. “What do you remember?”
More than she wanted to and not enough judging by Lindsey’s teasing Saturday morning. “There was a suit of armor.”
“Uh-huh. Do you remember telling me you thought I was hot and sexy?”
Her face was on fire again. “I was told I might have said something to that effect.”
“You should let me take you out, since you think I’m hot and sexy.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m sure there’s really nothing about me you’d find interesting.” She glanced behind him where the other bikers were getting onto their bikes to leave and sent a small prayer he’d be joining them.
He followed her gaze and nodded to an older man with his arm around Katherine. She waved at Abby and Abby waved back.
“You’re an art teacher, right?” Tinker asked.
She frowned. “Yes. What does that have to do with anything?”
He winked and walked away.
“What does being an art teacher have to do with it?” she called after him.
He tilted his head back and started belting out Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher.
Several voices chimed in to sing the last part. Including Katherine. Abby saw Angela on a bike riding behind Dani, both laughing. Had they just arrived or had she been so distracted by Tinker that she didn’t notice them at all?
And why couldn’t it be summer so a freak thunderstorm would roll in, and lightning could strike her where she stood, because that would be less painful than the embarrassment she was dying of.
She felt a presence next to her and found Lindsey and Naomi, her other best friend, laughing along with everyone else. Traitors.
“She gets out of school at four if you want to carry her books home!” Lindsey called out.
Tinker grinned and lifted his chin in their direction. What did that mean?
Abby glared at Lindsey. “I hate you.” She spun on her heel to go into the school.
Lindsey laughed again. “You love me.”
Oh. My. God.
He was actually there, waiting for her to get out of school. Well, Abby wasn’t interested. A tiny flutter in her belly called her out for the liar she was.
Tinker grinned when he spied her. He watched her while leaning against his bike, one leg over the other, and arms crossed over his chest. It was a total Jax Teller pose.
Okay, so she also watched Sons of Anarchy. Sometimes.
“I don’t have any books for you to carry,” she blurted out.
“Wanna split a milkshake at the malt shop?”
She grinned despite herself.
“How about dinner?” he asked.
“It’s four o’clock.”
“We can go for a ride, then get dinner.” He patted the seat next to him, the one Melanie had ridden on that morning.
“I have somewhere to be in half an hour,” she said.
“Boyfriend’s?”
“Don’t have one.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”
She smiled. “Don’t have one of those either.”
His face fell. “Husband?”
She shook her head. “Not in years.”
He nodded and seemed content to wait for her to say something. Mostly she wanted to know, “Why do they call you Tinker?”
“Because I’m good with my hands.” He wiggled his eyebrows and waved his fingers like jazz hands.
A little zing tapped her nether regions at the innuendo. Hello? Is this thing on?
She ignored her personal mic check.
“Why are you interested?” It completely baffled her. He was objectively hot, and she was kind of average. She wasn’t unattractive, but she was never going to stop traffic.
“You gave me a lecture on Ned.”
She frowned. “Who’s Ned?”
“The knight.”
“Ned begins with an N.”
He grinned and a major sense of déjà vu hit her.
“We’ve had this conversation before, haven’t we?”
“We have. He is a replica, by the way, but purchased in Germany so he’s an authentic replica.”
Her brain immediately veered off into the land of questions. What part of Germany? How expensive was it? Did they ship?
She reeled her thoughts back in and cocked her head. “That was all it took? A drunk lecture on a suit of armor?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a simple guy.”
She doubted that. This guy was infinitely more complex than his devil-may-care persona suggested.
He stood and pulled a wallet from his back pocket and took out a business card. “Here’s the deal, Abby. I’m giving you my number. I’ll give you the prescribed seventy-two hours to call me. After that, the ball will be back in my court.”
She took the simple business card, and he threw a leg over his bike and started the motor.
He revved the engine once. “Call me.”
She watched him drive out of the staff lot, then looked at the card. “Are you kidding me?”
His last name was literally Knight.
Christian “Tinker” Knight, Security Specialist for the Leonidas Corporation, was coming for her. Was that shiver down her spine worry or excitement?