For the information of readers, this story runs concurrently with part of my Stolen series. But this is Ren's side of the story. I hope to take his story past the end of Stolen and tell how his life goes for a while.
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Ren neatly folded a change of clothes and packed them into the leather saddlebag that could be attached to his bike. He double-checked that he had his wallet then picked up the saddlebag and headed for the front door.
"You off somewhere?" Brad asked as he looked over his shoulder from where he was making himself a sandwich.
"Going to go see Jody." Ren said.
"Good for you!" Brad grinned.
"Why don't you come along and visit Tessa?" Ren asked.
"Tessa is a nice chick but she ain't really what I'm looking for. Besides I might stick around and make sure Hawk keeps his temper to himself." Brad said seriously.
Ren hesitated as he thought of the situation between Hawk and his young girlfriend; he glanced at Brad with a frown.
"If things get bad there give me a yell. I type of plan on being away a couple of days." Ren told Brad.
Ren turned and continued on his way out of the house, he had several things he wanted to do and it took him nearly twenty minutes before he was able to ride away from the house.
The ride ahead of him was about four hours long but he was looking forward to the time alone. He was the undisputed leader of the group he had just left, a position he had never sort but had somehow fell into naturally. Most of the men were good guys in general and there had never been any real problems until just recently when Hawk had gotten himself a girlfriend.
Ren was aware that most of the other men were like him and did not care for the way Hawk treated the girl he called Sky but their relationship was his business and until recently no-one had said much to Hawk. Although just a few days earlier Ren had broken his own rule of minding his own business and had had words with Hawk over his treatment of his girlfriend Sky. He had been happy to note that he was not the only one in their group sick of Hawk's abusive treatment of Sky.
As the kilometres rolled away under the wheels of his bike Ren found himself relaxing and enjoying the ride. Thinking of Jody he knew his time away would be enjoyable and he was glad he was taking the time to visit her. He had only met her close on ten days ago when he had ridden off from the group needing time to chill out. At the time he had been looking for a quite bar and minimal company but he had found a pool competition and Jody instead.
A smile came to his face as he thought of Jody. Unless you looked at her and studied her features one at a time she was an average lady with average looks, but when one looked closer they noticed certain things. For instance the sparkle in her eyes that told of a lively nature, the smile that lit her face making it a thing of beauty.
Ren was able to forget his worries as he rode the powerful bike handling it with ease, it was a pleasant day for a ride and the road was fortunately in good order. Traffic was light and no problem as he rode enjoying the break by himself.
When Ren finally reached his destination he parked his bike in front of the pub and removed his saddlebags to carry them into the pub under his arm. He walked to the backroom where the pool tables were and approached the bar.
Ren stood at the bar watching as Jody served the customers at the other end of the bar, she was laughing and chatting as she pulled their beers and made change when they paid for their drinks.
Jody turned from serving two of the regular customers and glanced along the bar, she was surprised to see Ren standing there with his cheeky grin. He had told her he would be back but when he had not turned up for the weekly pool competition the previous week she had thought his remark had been an empty promise. Slowly she made her way down to where he stood, she didn't want to seem too eager to see him.
"Yes, what would you like today?" Jody asked in her usual friendly manner.
"A Tooheys New thanks." Ren replied then asked, "How have you been?"
"Pretty good thanks, your self?" Jody replied as she expertly pulled the beer.
"Oh can't complain, never does no good and no one listens." Ren said easily.
"Well then you're obviously mixing with the wrong crowd." Jody told him.
Ren noticed Jody was slightly stand offish and wondered if it was because he had taken so long to return or if it was because she had become interested in someone else.
"What time do you finish your shift or do you have someone coming to pick you up when you finish?" Ren asked.
Jody was silent as she studied him for a few moments. "I finish at eight tonight." She finally answered.
Ren glanced at his watch, it was only just passed four-thirty. Some one called to Jody from the other end of the bar and she turned away to go and serve them. Ren took his beer and belongings and sat at a table not far from the bar, he leant back and took his time enjoying his drink and relaxing.
When he was finished his drink he got to his feet and carried his glass to the bar, Jody saw him and walked over to him once again.
"Another one?" She asked.
"No. I think I might go look around town. Mind if I come back about a quarter to eight?" He asked.
"Tessa should be home by now. Why don't you go around there and wait for me?" Jody suggested.
"Can do." Ren said as he gave her his slow and sexy grin.
Jody watched as Ren left the bar room, collecting his leather packs from the table as he went. She smiled to herself as she thought of the night to come. Man was tonight looking good!
* * * * *
Jody opened her front door and walked into the house to the most mouth-watering smell she could remember in a long time. When she walked into the kitchen she found Ren standing at the stove stirring something in a pot, he looked over his shoulder and grinned at her.
"I hope Tessa wasn't mistaken when she told me you like Italian pasta." Ren said.
"I think I've died and gone to heaven!" Jody exclaimed as she came to stand beside him as she drew in a deep breath of the aroma coming from the pot.
"Wait until you taste it." Ren said with a grin, glad his thought to cook a meal for her was approved of.
"Is it nearly ready or do I have time to take a quick shower?" Jody asked.
"Tessa told me you like to wash the smell of work off you first thing when you get home so I timed this so you have about fifteen minutes." Ren told her.
"You wonderful wonderful man! I'll make sure I don't hold the meal up." Jody promised as she hurried off towards the bathroom.
True to her word Jody was finished in the shower and back in the kitchen when the meal was ready to dish up. Tessa joined them and the three helped themselves to large servings of the delicious pasta and sauce.
"Where did you learn to cook such heavenly ambrosia?" Jody asked.
"I type of just picked it up." Ren replied. He didn't tell her he had studied to become a chef in the family business and had helped expand the modest family restaurant into three high-class prosperous establishments. He had inherited the businesses when his parents had both died in a car crash and now he was well off enough to travel at his leisure and spend his time however he wanted. He did periodically visit his different restaurants and check on them but he had good reliable men working for him and knew it was safe to be away for extended periods of time.
