The sun rose the next morning as Tess looked out from her childhood bed. She and Nitro were staying at her mother’s place while they were in town. Tess wanted to spend a few days at home so that they could visit some more with Andrew. She also had to talk with her father some more before they went back to New York. She knew chances to talk with him alone were rare, so she had to take advantage of those times when she could.
A knock on her door made her get out of bed and open the door. Her mother stood there looking like she hadn’t slept all night. “I’m sorry to wake you, honey. Your father wanted me to come see if you’d meet him out on the front porch.”
“Sure, just give me a bit to change. Did you get any sleep?” She asked, looking at her with concern.
“Not really, no. I’m so worried about your brother and your father. I feel like there’s nothing I can do for either of them.”
"I know the feeling. This is all my fault and I can’t even figure out what to do to help either.” Tess reached for her jeans and a shirt and threw them on. “What’s it like outside?”
“You won’t believe me, because it’s April Fool’s, but it is snowing right now.”
“You’re right, I don’t believe you.” She chuckled and then went to open the window, looking outside. Sure enough, snow was falling from the sky in big, heavy flakes. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered.
“I hope you brought warm clothes with you,” her mother said with a smirk. “I guess we weren’t done with winter after all.”
Tess shook her head and looked out at the window. “I did, yeah… We have the club hoodie that I bring everywhere. New York gets pretty cold in the evening.”
“Are you liking it, honey? You happy with the move and everything?” She asked as she leaned against the door jamb.
“Yes, definitely. It was absolutely the right move. I miss you guys a lot, of course, but I knew that I needed to get away from everything that happened with Will. Lot of good that did, huh?” She asked as she threw on her hoodie.
“We miss you a lot, Tess. I understand why you left when you did though… Dad said you told him about the baby finally?” Her mom was the only one she had told about it all.
“I did. Nitro was there too. They took it well, I think. Well as they could.. I didn’t want to shock them but I had to explain why I left. I’m just glad they understood.”
“Well, I think your dad wants to go for a ride with you, so go on and get some breakfast and you two can talk some more.” Mom came over and hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispered.
“Thanks, Mom. I love you," Tess said and then went to find a croissante in the kitchen. She ate it with some butter on it and then poured herself a coffee in a travel mug before heading out to find her father.
Richard Crenshaw was waiting on the front porch, sitting in his rocking chair. He looked like he’d gained thirty years overnight and Tess knew that all of this was wearing on him. “Ready to go ride?” She asked, stepping over to him.
“Sure, let’s do that.” He stood slowly, clearly taking a lot of effort to do so. Tess couldn’t resist and stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. He blinked at first and looked in her eyes. “What was that for?” He asked curiously.
“Just thought you looked like you could use it,” she admitted, stepping back. “How is Andrew doing this morning? Have you heard anything?”
“He called me first thing… They say he should be able to send him home today. Still has the cast on his leg though. That’ll take a couple of months to heal from… but he’s in good spirits, all things considered.” Richard nodded towards the bikes and they went over to them. “I’m still getting used to you having one of these,” he admitted as they climbed on and started their engines.
“Andrew taught me how to ride a couple of years ago… we just didn’t want to tell you ‘cause we figured you wouldn’t like it,” Tess told him honestly as they started out towards the city.
“That figures. You two were always trouble makers.. I should have known,” he chuckled as they drove. She was glad to see that she’d made him smile, even a little bit. “So I figured we should go out for a ride with the two of us. It’s something we’ve never done before.”
“It meant so much to be able to join in on your ride last night, Dad. I know you made an exception for me to be there.”
“I did a lot of things wrong with raising you, sweetheart. I should have included you more in my life. It wasn’t fair to shut you out the way I did, and I’m truly sorry.”
“I understand why you did it though, Dad,” Tess said as they stopped for a stop light. “Now that I’ve seen the inside of the MC world… I get it. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on that I would not have been able to handle growing up. Especially knowing that you and Andrew were involved in all of that… I can see why Mom worries.”
Richard nodded and said, "It doesn’t mean I should have shut you out like I did. You’re welcome to come home and visit anytime honey, you know that. We don’t have to wait for the next tragedy to do this again.”
“I’ll take you up on that, I promise.” Tess smiled and then looked over at the park to the right. “Looks like we found another MC out for a ride. Maybe we could join them?”
“Sure, we could do that,” he said and looked over towards where she was looking. “I know them well, so we should be fine to join in.”
They rode over to the other MC and the president greeted them warmly, glad to have more people join in on the ride. Tess and her father took a position in the back of the group near the Tail Gunner and rode along with them. On the president’s bike, there was a truck bed type thing being pulled behind the bike and on the truck bed was a pole where two girls were dancing while he drove the bike. Tess was amused and asked the president how he could focus with such activity going on behind him. He just laughed and his wife, one of the ones dancing, said that it was ride entertainment.
The group was a blast to ride with as they rode through the city. When they got back to the clubhouse, Tess and her father waved goodbye and headed back to their place again. Tess hoped that she would be able to go on more rides like that one with her father again soon.