Page 11 of Brage & Dinah

Chapter 4

Monica held a bag upin the air and gingerly stepped over the train tracks. Dinah sat on the step of the rental house and clutched her cell, praying her brother wouldn't call her again in the next several minutes until she could send Monica away.

"Why in the world would you wear four-inch heels to walk across the tracks?" Dinah stood and stepped down into the grass.

"Oh, trust me. It's not a mistake I'll make again." Monica made it to the edge of the yard and kicked off her shoes, leaving them behind, and approached her. "Roar wanted me to bring over these outfits and see if they'll fit you. They belonged to a previous employee but have been laundered. You're about her size, well before she got pregnant."

She removed one of the shirts, looked at the tag, and held it up. "I think it'll fit."

"If not, I'll order new uniforms for you. Since you were hired last night and plan on working tonight, we didn't have time to get everything together." Monica looked behind her. "It's strange to be over here. We're neighbors, but I've never seen the tracks from this side before. It really has an industrial feel. I'm surprised people wanted to build houses this close to the trains."

"Old homes. I bet they were here before the railroad came through." Dinah hugged the sack. "How long have you been living at the clubhouse?"

"A year, I think." Monica wiggled her toes in the grass. "It's been an adjustment."

"Where are you from?"

"Seattle." Monica blew her lips, making a raspberry. "I'm used to seeing the water. I miss it."

"What's stopping you from moving back?" Dinah waved her hand. "Not that I want you to move. I just met you, and you're my only friend around here."

Monica shrugged. "I go with the club, with Joel. I wouldn't be happy being apart from him. It's tough enough when he's gone overnight on a run."

In her life, she'd never had time to nurture a relationship. Simply trying to survive on her own took consumed her life. Not to mention bailing her brothers out of trouble all the time took up any freedom she had when she wasn't working.

"Yeah, I get that," she said softly.

Homesick to go back to Idaho, she understood living somewhere that would never be home.

"I better get back." Monica pointed behind her. "Joel's waiting for me."

She raised her gaze and followed the fence line in the distance and found a figure standing outside the gate. Finding it odd that Monica wasn't allowed to walk over without someone watching out for her, she kept her opinion to herself. "I'll see you tonight."

"Enjoy the rest of the day." Monica retrieved her shoes and slipped the heels on her feet. "Try and take a nap. You're going to be tired the first week before you rearrange your sleeping schedule."

"I'll try." She waved before returning to the house. Instead of staying outside, she walked in and texted Tony with information that pointed to Slag Motorcycle Club having come from Seattle. She wasn't sure if that information involved all the bikers or only Monica and Joel. Without knowing when the two of them became a couple, she couldn't be sure the details were correct. But, it was something.

Tony texted her back. Meet me tomorrow night at the boardwalk.

She groaned. Not having any idea where that location was, she replied that she had a job. She couldn't go anywhere at night, except on Sundays and Mondays. Besides, Tony wasn't supposed to travel out of Idaho. If he was in Portland, he was in big trouble.

When no reply came, she set her phone down and jotted the information Monica gave her in a notebook. Somehow, she needed to link all the little details together to get the bigger picture.

She stared at the bag Monica had brought with her. Her stomach fluttered. Despite being confident that she could tend bar at The Fire Ring, last night's test was hell.

On top of being clueless of the layout behind the counter, having Brage show up and watch her from the other side of the room made her self conscious. She couldn't read what was going through his mind.

Was he wondering what she was doing at the bar or if she'd come there to see him?

She had no desire to hook up again, despite how good the sex was with him. Though she couldn't deny her attraction to Brage was off the charts.

Stretching her legs out, she looked around the room. The bareness matched her mood. What did she really have in her life?

Nothing was permanent, except her brothers, and even they came and went whenever it pleased them. They never thought of her. Brad certainly hadn't when he broke the law and ended up in prison. She'd tried to convince Tony to leave Moroad Motorcycle Club and live with her, get a normal job, and get back on his feet, but he only told her to shut up.

She picked up her phone to call Tony back and then let her hand fall to her lap and closed her eyes. Tony wouldn't care if he could get in trouble.

He never cared.