She shrugged. “A domineering father. A stepmother I can’t stand and who can’t stand me.”
Cole watched her, and she knew he could see her face change as a wall came up and her smile disappeared.
“Sorry,” he said. “I guess we all have family issues.”
She shrugged again. “It’s no big deal.”
“Any brothers or sisters?” he asked.
“Just me.”
“And your mom?”
“Died when I was little.”
“Sorry. That’s got to be rough.”
She looked down. “It’s okay. I’m fine now.”
He nodded. “Sure. I can see that.”
Angel looked up at him, hearing the sarcasm in his voice. He stared back at her. She couldn’t hold his gaze, and so she looked away and drank her coffee.
“Why did you pick California?” Cole asked.
She shrugged again. “I don’t know. The ocean, I guess. Something different from the desert.”
He nodded.
“Ever been there?” she asked.
“Where? The desert?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head.
“You’d like it. Phoenix is on the edge of the mountains. It’s really rugged and beautiful. Kind of makes you feel like you’re on a Western movie set.”
“So what’d you do as a teenager growing up there?”
She smiled. “I wasn’t riding dirt bikes.”
“I figured that.” He laughed. “So what did you do?”
She shrugged. “Different things. A lot of times a group of us would drive out and tube down the Salt River.”
“Tube?” Cole frowned.
“Float down in one of those big inner tubes. Sometimes the guys would put a cooler of beer in one of them.”
He nodded and smiled. “Sounds like fun.”
The waitress returned and set down two plates full of food. “Need anything else?”
“No. Thanks, Mona.” He smiled up at her.
“Enjoy.” She walked away.
Cole poured syrup all over his pancakes. “Ever been down the coast?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve only been here a couple of months. Spent most of it near San Jose.”
“I think you’ll like it.”
They finished eating and headed out to the parking lot. They had gotten a late start on breakfast, and it was about noon by the time they headed out to the bike. As they got on, Cole’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open.
“Yeah?”
Angel sat listening to the one-sided conversation.
“Shit. That’s today? …Yeah. Okay. Where you at? … What time’s it start? …You headin’ there now? …Yeah. Okay. See ya there.” He flipped the phone closed and turned back to Angel. “We’re gonna have to postpone this trip, darlin’.”
“Something come up?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right.”
“Maybe tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure. So, now what?”
“I gotta meet up with Crash and some of the guys. The War Dogs are having a big gathering and cookout today. I forgot all about it.”
“War Dogs?”
“They’re a lot of ex-military guys. They don’t carry the MC patch though.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re not outlaw. Just a riding club.”
“I thought you didn’t have anything to do with clubs like that.”
“These guys are different. Mack served with several of the older guys. They’re okay. Anyway, Evil Dead needs to make an appearance. It’s an annual party they throw.”
“And me?”
Cole thought about it for a minute. “Hell, I guess you’re comin’ with me.” He turned back to her. “You okay with that?”
She nodded.
They headed back across town. About a half an hour later, Cole pulled into the gravel lot of an old junkyard. There was a chain link gate that was open. He pulled through and around an old building that was covered with hubcaps. There were several rows of bikes already parked in the gravel lot in back.