Knight In Black Leather by Gail Dayton (ebook reader ink .txt) 📕

other street into Marilyn's neighborhood, turning right instead of left and heading into the suburb's old post-WWII business district. He was almost to the turn when he saw a Harley sign on a building up ahead. And an empty parking slot out front.

On impulse, Eli pulled into the slot and got out, feeling fate was directing him. The small door beside the big garage-type door was open, the big bay inside filled with half a dozen makes and sizes of motorcycles along, with a few monster snow-blowers.

A burly man with a steel-gray ponytail halfway down his back stood and came toward him, wiping his hands on a red grease rag. "Frank Dicenzo," he said, offering a hand.

"Eli Court." Eli shook it with his left. "Looks like you got quite a bit of business here."

"Not bad. Can I help you with something?"

"I was thinking maybe I could help you. I've repaired a few cycles in my day. Ride a Sportster 883 myself." He lifted his right arm in its cast, gestured at the one on his leg. "I'm getting these off next Tuesday. Looking for work."

Dicenzo shook his head. "Sorry, man. I don't have any. Not unless you're in the market to buy the place. I'm closing down."

"Why?" Eli frowned, looking around at the machines surrounding them. "Looks like you got plenty of business."

"Yeah. Too much. More than I can keep up with." Dicenzo grinned, showing a couple of missing teeth. "Too many wild parties in my reckless youth. I'm so stove up now, I can hardly hold a wrench. Can't get up and down like I used to."

"Lots of business?" Eli looked around again, possibilities bubbling up in his mind. "And you're looking to sell?"

"Yeah." Dicenzo looked Eli over. "You looking to buy?"

"I could be, if the price is right."

"You any good as a mechanic? I don't want to turn my customers over to just anybody."

"You willing to stick around a while and see? How about you let me buy into the place? We work as partners for a while, split the take, and if we're both satisfied, I finish the buyout. If not, I get my money back, and you're free to find another buyer." Eli kept the excitement out of his voice. Cool was the ticket here.

"Might work." Dicenzo nodded. "How much you talking about here?"

"Ten grand cash down payment today."

The old biker's eyes widened. "That sounds...doable. I figure half of everything, including the building, at about fifty thou. Get a loan for the rest?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll have my lawyer draw somethin' up."

"You have a lawyer?" Eli grinned at the incongruous idea.

"Yeah, well--he's my wife's cousin's kid. He's pretty good. He'll do somethin' fair for both of us. Better to have the deal down on paper, right?"

Eli plucked a business card from the holder on the cluttered counter to his right and wrote his name and number, and Marilyn's phone number and address on the back. He handed it back to Dicenzo. "You can reach me at either place."

The other man looked at the numbers and frowned. "I know this address...yeah, isn't this the Ballard place? Bill and Marilyn were a couple years behind me in school. To start with anyway." He grinned his gap-toothed grin. "School wasn't my favorite thing, ya know?"

"Mine, either." This guy knew Marilyn? Eli revised his estimate of the man's age downward by about ten years. He really had been living hard if he was in this bad of a shape at his age.

"Shame what happened to her. I heard she moved out. You buyin' the house?"

Eli shook his head, deciding how much to tell. "No. She's moved back. I'm living there with her--me and my son."

Dicenzo's eyebrows climbed. "You living there, or are you living there?" The inflection and emphasis in his voice made it clear what he was asking.

"We're together, yeah." Eli indicated the card in the other man's hand. "That gonna make any difference in our deal?"

"Nothin' like that. I'm--surprised is all. Who knew Marilyn Franks was such a wild woman?"

"Yeah, well, don't let it get out." Eli knew it would, though. He was almost counting on it. "I better get back before she thinks I've gone AWOL. Call me when the paperwork's done."

"No problem."

So, there was that question answered. The one about what he would do if he stayed. He hadn't been worried about finding work. He'd always been able to do that, though most often he had to settle for appliance repair and ugly uniforms with his name over the pocket, rather than motorcycles and leather.

In the back of his mind, he'd always thought he'd own his own place someday. He'd been saving up his cash with that vaguely in mind, maybe in a few more years when he was ready to settle in one place. Was he ready now?

Eli started up the steep hill into Marilyn's neighborhood, mentally probing his internal processes. Nothing. In the past, when he thought about staying put, he'd get this pain in his gut. He'd get this feeling, like fate or destiny or--or ghosts or something was running up behind him, ready to slam him in the dirt if he didn't move on. But not this time.

This time, it felt like fate was pulling strings to hold him here. He felt good. And the only time he got that ache in his gut was when he thought about leaving. How strange was that?

The next few days settled into a strange kind of domesticity for Marilyn. Domestic, because after all, Eli and Pete were living there with her, but strange, because they were still getting used to each other. She'd been living with Eli for almost six weeks, but it was different now. For one thing, Pete was with them, changing the dynamics. For another, this was the house she'd shared with Bill, the place where she'd raised her children, and lost one.

She would round the corner and be startled to see Eli's shorter, leaner frame standing in front of the stereo looking