Page 103 of Grace in Motion

“Being part of this club has to come from the heart, son.Not obligation.Not blood.Not guilt.If it’s not calling to you, then don’t force it.I’m proud of the man you’re becoming, with or without a patch.”

Two heavy conversations.Two weights lifted.

Chase looked out across the lot, a slow smile spreading across his face.For the first time in a long time, the future felt wide open.He was ready to cut loose and fly with OY.Ready to see what kind of music they could make together.

He hopped off the tailgate, grabbed his guitar case, and headed inside the garage.The band was waiting.

And finally there’d been a change.He wasn’t showing up as someone’s kid.

He was showing up as a member.

***

Chase sat in his favoritecorner booth at the little diner on the edge of town, forking through a plate of scrambled eggs and hash browns.The morning rush was just starting to thin out, and he was enjoying the rare moment of quiet.

A deep, throaty rumble cut through the morning air outside.

He glanced toward the window, expecting to see one of his dad’s brothers pulling in—Bear or Bones or Hurley grabbing breakfast before heading to the clubhouse.

What he saw made him sit up straighter.

It wasn’t a leather-wearing biker at all.

A bright blue-and-white custom motorcycle—and if he wasn’t making up things, it was the one Bear had been so damn proud of when he finished the paint job last month—rolled into the lot.The streaking design caught the sunlight like lightning across the sky.The rider killed the engine and swung a leg over, pulling off her helmet.

Her short hair was tousled as it spilled free, the white-blond of it catching the light.Even from across the parking lot, Chase could tell she was beautiful—sharp features, a confident posture, and the kind of presence that made the air feel charged.

He barely caught a full glimpse as she turned toward the diner, helmet tucked under her arm, but something stirred hard in his chest.A pull.A need.

Who the hell is she?

Chase watched, frozen, as she walked toward the entrance.His heart was suddenly beating louder than the bike’s exhaust had been.

For months he’d been focused on the music, on figuring out where he fit with OY, on not getting in his dad’s way.But in that single moment, watching a beautiful stranger climb off a bike Bear had customized with his own hands, something shifted deep inside him.

Heneededto know more.

Chase set his fork down, a slow, intrigued grin spreading across his face as the diner door opened and she stepped inside.

The future didn’t just feel wide open anymore.

It felt like it was calling his name.

END

The End