Billie turned back to watch Kenny as his father parked. “Your parents are the coolest.”
“Not when they drive their bike on my walking path,” Dare grumbled. “Jesus, Pop. How many times do I have to tell you not to ride on the walking path?”
Billie glanced at Tiny, who was wearing dark sunglasses and his cut, his beard and mustache lifting with his grin.
“’Bout the same number of times I had to tell you not to ride your freaking dirt bikes on the horse trails,” Tiny drawled. He put a hand on Billie’s lower back and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re out here, sweetheart.”
“I am, too,” Wynnie said, hugging her. She looked pretty in a purple sleeveless blouse and jeans. “This is a big step for you. How do you feel? Are you holding up okay?”
“I feel amazing. I’m glad Dare talked me into it.”
“She managed to put away her snark and let her natural teaching ability come through,” Dare said.
Billie narrowed her eyes. “I’ll give you snark.”
“That’s our girl,” Wynnie said. “I never doubted you’d be a good teacher. You have to be a patient person to put up with this one.” She hugged Dare. “I love our boys, but they’re each a handful in their own right.”
“How’s the kid doing?” Tiny lifted his chin toward the track, watching Kenny come down the other side. “He looks good out there.”
“He’s doing really well. He’s a great listener, and he didn’t push any limits, which I know is hard for a teenager.” Billie glanced at Dare, catching a flirty spark in his eyes. “But your brilliant son gave him a few goals to work toward, which probably helped keep him in line.”
“My brilliant son? Was Doc here?” Tiny teased.
“Jackass,” Dare said, eyes locked on Kenny.
Tiny chuckled. “I’m kidding. Cowboy’s the brilliant one.”
“Tsk. Tiny!” Wynnie chided, earning a hearty laugh from Tiny. “What goals did you give Kenny, honey?”
“I told him if he kept his nose clean, he could prospect the Dark Knights when he’s eighteen, just like someone did to all of us.” He cocked a grin in his father’s direction.
Tiny didn’t look away from Kenny coming down the home stretch as he said, “You didn’t listen too well when you went away to college.” He turned to Dare. “But you got your ass in line and turned out to be a damn good man.”
Dare put his arm around Billie. “You have Mancini to thank for that.”
“Now, that’s a story I’d like to hear,” Wynnie said.
“Maybe another day,” Dare said as Kenny neared, stopping a few feet away and cutting the engine.
Billie ran over to him as he took off his helmet. “Nice ride, dude. How did it feel?”
“Fuckin—” Kenny looked at her and the others with regret. “Sorry.” His eyes lit up again. “It was freaking awesome!”
Everyone laughed, and Tiny commended him on the correction.
“Did you feel like you had control over the bike? How comfortable are you with shifting?” Billie asked.
“I had no problem controlling it. Shifting took some getting used to. I think I’ve got it now. I’m still catching myself wanting to use the hand brake, but I’ll work on that.” He gripped the handlebars. “That was the best ride of my life.”
“That’s great. Shifting and braking can be tricky. It’ll take practice before you really get the hang of it.”
“Can I go around again?” he asked excitedly.
“You sure can,” Billie said. “But let’s stick with the same speed and stay on the outside track, okay?”
“I will. I promise.” Kenny looked at Tiny, Dare, and Wynnie and said, “Thank you for giving me a chance to do this.”
Tiny gave a curt nod.
“You earned it,” Dare said.
“There’s a lot of good, clean fun to be had in this life,” Wynnie said. “Sometimes it just takes stepping outside what you know and opening your eyes to new people and experiences to find out what they are. If you’re lucky, you’ll discover more about who you really are along the way.”
“I’m a dirt bike rider for sure,” Kenny said, and put on his helmet. As he drove away, Tiny took off his sunglasses and set his serious dark eyes on Billie. “He’s following the rules now, but kids get cocky. Don’t let him give you any grief.”
“Tiny, do I ever let anyone give me a hard time?”
“No, I guess you don’t. You’re a smart girl.” Tiny lifted his chin. “But the next time you show up in my house at mealtime, you’d better sit your ass down and visit, you hear?”
Tiny had not been happy that she hadn’t stuck around to eat breakfast yesterday morning. She’d forgotten just how important family breakfasts were to him, and she was thrilled to still be considered part of their family. She’d be sure to make it up to him one morning when she and Dare weren’t busy doing dirty things to each other instead of getting up early.
Feeling ten years old again, she said, “Yes, sir.”
“Cut the sir crap. You belong at our table—always have, always will.”
“Okay, thank you, Tiny.” It suddenly became clear where Dare had picked up his confident possessiveness.
With a curt nod, he clapped a hand on Dare’s shoulder. “This was a good idea, son. Maybe Cowboy’s not the genius after all.”
“Ya think?” Dare shook his head, smiling broadly.
“You boys.” Wynnie shook her head. “We have to head back out. Tell Kenny we’re proud of him.” She gave Billie a quick hug and kissed Dare’s cheek. “See you later.”
“I’ll try not to spin my tires on the way out of here,” Tiny said, but behind that promise was a mischievous look that brought a boatload of memories of Billie, Dare, and Eddie spinning their wheels and leaving Tiny hollering at them in the dust.
Tiny and Wynnie climbed onto his motorcycle, and sure enough, Tiny spun out, leaving Dare hollering at him and Billie laughing.
Kenny practiced for another hour, and when he climbed off the bike for the last time, he couldn’t stop talking about how much fun he’d had and how it had felt to be on the bike. “That was so cool! Can we do this again?”
His enthusiasm was contagious, and Billie was surprised at how much she wanted to do it again, but that wasn’t her call to make. “That’s up to Dare.”
Kenny looked at him hopefully. “I’ve been doing all the work Cowboy gives me without bitchin—complaining—and I won’t mess up again. I won’t steal cars or skip school. I won’t do anything that’s against the law. I promise.”
The look on Dare’s face told her he, too, was remembering how they’d promised their parents everything under the sun in order to be allowed to ride dirt bikes.
“I’ll want to talk to Billie about it first,” Dare said. “It’s a big commitment for both of you.”
“I’d like to,” she interjected.
“Yeah?” Dare asked with a hint of surprise.