When I finished entering the information in the computer, I straighten the desk, grabbed my purse out of the bottom drawer, and got up to leave.
Walking into the kitchen to grab the box Perry had prepared for me, I stopped to talk with him and Bud, the young man who helped Perry out in the evening. We ran a limited menu for the bar patrons: burger, fries, onion rings, and a variety of cold sandwiches with chips. Once a week Perry came in early and fried chicken for that night giving a change up in the menu. The men who frequented the place had come to enjoy Perry’s little change in the items. It never failed that someone would try to get him to add a special item every evening from wings to pizza. Perry’s reply was always the same, “Thought you came to drink and watch the girls, you want shit you get from your wives’ or mothers’ kitchens, then take your ass to the diner.”
“Hey, Perry, thanks for setting aside some chicken for me. Looks like it is starting to get busy out there. I don’t know if it’s the girls or your food that draws them in.” I can’t help but tease the man. For sixty-five years old, he was in great shape and he had been a godsend for this place.
“You’re welcome, sugar. You know angel face loves my chicken.”
“I don’t know why you call her angel face, the girl is like a tornado with legs and when she does sit still for five minutes I keep checking on her because it usually means she is contemplating her next move.”
“Sami, you need a man before that girl gets to her teens. You’re going to need someone to protect her or at the very least, look out that she doesn’t end up in jail. I’m undecided on how that is going to play out.”
I had listened to this from Perry almost every day on how I needed a plan of action started so I didn’t have to spend my free time beating some random boy off with a bat. Thank God I still had a few years.
As I told Perry bye and headed back toward the front, I waved to everyone as I went by. Frankie was behind the bar and Bull was watching the floor.
“Darlin’, come over here and have a drink with us. I promise we don’t bite, and if we do, it won’t be hard.” Stopping by the table closest to the door, I smiled. Roscoe was one of the club’s regulars and a member of Black Hawk MC. The man had to be close to Perry’s age but we have had the same banter every time he’s in the place and I pass by.
“Ahhh, Roscoe, that won’t be the only thing not hard if you keep drinking like you do.”
“Darlin’, even at my age, that particular organ has no problem getting hard. I am sure all it would take is you to sit that sweet ass on my lap and it would come to life.”
“Roscoe, you do realize you are old enough to be my grandfather, right?”
“You’re legal and a woman, age don’t mean nothin’ as long as you enjoy what’s being done to you. And, little girl, doing you would be a pleasure for both of us.
“If’n you need references, ask your girl, Candie, when she comes off the stage. Had her yelling my name last night and early this morning.” Every Black Hawk member that sat around the table burst out laughing.
“Oh my God, Roscoe, now that was TMI. I’m going home and work on getting rid of that vision. Behave yourself and, gentlemen, you have a good time and please don’t let him ride his bike back if he keeps drinking.”
They each gave a chin lift in agreement and I turned, leaving them laughing. When I reached the door, Brutus was working and held it open for me and watched while I walked and got in my car, then after I pulled out in the rearview mirror I saw him close the door.
“Mama!” was yelled as I stepped through the door into Mrs. Mayson’s house.
“Hey, baby girl. Have you been good?” I bent down to catch the little body aiming right for me.
“I was…good.” I caught her and she wrapped her little arms around my neck and squeezed.
“She’s getting as big as you, Sami,” Mrs. Mayson said as she walked out of the kitchen. “And, Ally, did I hear you say you were good today?” Sue Mayson smiled at me and winked. With that, it could mean that yes, she was an angel, which would surprise me more than no, she tied sheets around her and tried to jump off the roof. Sad but true, her tiny frame, her silky black hair to her gold speckled blue eyes yelled little lady, she was anything but.
“Uh huh. I ate all my carrots at lunch.” I looked at Sue whose pursed lips and raised eyebrows told me this was not going to be good, I just hoped it wasn’t anything like last week at school when she told her teacher, Mrs. Elderman, that she wasn’t growing boobies because then she couldn’t play outside without her shirt on.
Ally let me go, looked toward Mrs. Mayson and then faced me. “I punched Benji in the nose,” she said with no apology in her voice and the expression on her face said she wasn’t sorry for doing it.
When I looked up at Sue, she shrugged her shoulders and smiled. Ally never lied, at four she spoke well for her age, was starting to read, and had a stubborn streak that rivaled a grownup’s.
“Spider, why did you punch Benji?” Benji was five and went to the same preschool as Ally. They constantly argued. So much so, Mrs. Elderman separated them in class.
“He said I couldn’t go to school because I didn’t have a daddy,” Ally said and the only hint that what he said hurt her feelings was she sucked her bottom lip in. It was a sure sign she’d been upset.
“You know no matter what people say to you, even if it is ugly, we don’t hit them, Ally.” She shook her head in agreement but looked none too happy about it. “Go get your bag so we can go home and let Mrs. Mayson get to her errands.” Ally left to get her things and I looked at Sue and sighed. “What am I going to do with her?”
Sue chuckled, “She will grow out of it, Sami. She is rough and tough now, which isn’t a bad thing. One day, instead of wanting to do what boys do, she will want to watch the boys doing it.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me of that. It’s not that I don’t want her to take up for herself or even being tomboyish but, Sue, I can’t get her in a dress. Last week, she even asked Thelma while we were getting our haircut if she would cut her hair short like a boy’s. Now, she has moved on to fighting, what is next?”
“Ally will be fine. Mrs. Elderman wasn’t upset, she scolded Benji for saying that to her, but she also said it would depend on what Benji’s parents said when she informed them when they picked him up. She didn’t seem to think they would make too much of a fuss over it since Benji was wrong in saying that. However, luckily she didn’t hit that hard, his nose was red and his lip was swelled a small amount.”
“Great.” I might have to tell Perry to put his money on jail time for Ally, she seemed to be leaning in that direction.
“The reason that all happened was because in a few weeks they are having a day where the dads come to the school and do crafts and eat lunch with the kids. That was when Benji said she couldn’t come that day because she didn’t have a daddy.”
“Well, I can’t run out and buy her a daddy. We’ve had the talk, she knows why she doesn’t have a daddy. At least as close to the talk as you can have with a four-year-old. She knows he is gone. She knows he didn’t know about her when he left. I explained the best I could to her when she asked why she didn’t have one,” I whispered, not wanting for Ally to hear any of our conversation.
“Oh, honey, there are men out there who don’t have a problem raising other men’s kids as their own. But if you don’t go out you won’t find one. And don’t say you are around men all day.” She smiled.
Knowing she was right and actually doing something about it was two different things. Between Ally and my job, there wasn’t much time for socializing. And when I was off, it was time to catch up on chores and spend extra time with Ally.
When Ally walked back in dragging her bag, nothing else was said. She hugged Sue goodbye and I told Sue we would see her later. Sue would come over to my house next door and stay with Ally while I went back to the club.
“Come on, baby girl, let’s get you cleaned up and your pj’s on before Mrs. Mayson
gets here.” Ally finished her dinner while I straightened up the kitchen.
“Can I see what candy Perry sent me now?” She pushed her plate away and smiled at me. I hadn’t said a word to her about the chicken being Perry’s and she still knew. She also knew those men wouldn’t forget to put something in the box either.
“There wasn’t any candy in the box, baby girl.” I watched her brow furrow, it would be the first time she didn’t get some kind of candy from Perry or one of the guys. Tank must’ve told Perry what I said so yes, they went in another direction. I was undecided which would be worse where they were concerned. “But…” I paused, dragging it out.
“But what, Mama?”
“No candy but they sent you a cupcake.” And I had to smile as she bounced in her seat when I picked up the small box and set it down in front of her.
“Yay! My favorite,” as she dived into her chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing from Claire’s Bakery in town. Which meant one of the guys would have had to run there and back to pick it up. They spoiled the girl rotten.
“Finish that and then you can get in the bath.”
“‘K,” she said around the cupcake.
Ten minutes later, Ally was in the bathtub and I was redressing in work clothes out of my sweats I’d put on to lounge around the house comfortably.
When the doorbell rang we were just headed down the steps. Me ready for work and Ally ready for a little TV before bed. Pulling the door open for Sue, I quickly stepped back before Carly barreled in instead of Sue.
“Ugh, I have had a shitty day, do you have any wine, beer, poison?” My friend headed straight down the hall toward the kitchen and as she passed Ally, she yelled, “Hey, short stuff.”
“You said a bad word, Aunt Carly,” Ally yelled back.
“Yeah, yeah, what are you, kid, the word police?” Ally giggled and Carly opened the refrigerator, then I heard the top pop on a beer. As she walked in the room where I was now sitting on the couch with Ally, she plopped in the chair across from us and sighed.
“So, bad day on the criminal front?” And that was all it took for my closest friend to start.
“I had another run-in with Mr. I Look Good and every woman should want to have a piece of me.” She took a long pull on her beer.
“What did he do now? And remember little ears are in the room, she knows way too much now as it is,” I reminded Carly about Ally before she got wrapped up telling her story and forgot Ally was in the room.
“Oh, yeah, don’t want to further her education. Though she should learn that some men are not worthy of an ounce of our time. What the…” Carly paused, probably to think of a word that wouldn’t be so bad if repeated by Ally, “jerk did was ride by me today with his friends and as they passed he flips me off. I radio in to Mabel at dispatch that I was going to follow them and then the sheriff comes on and tells me to head back to the station and pick him up, he went with me. Said we needed to get whatever was going on with Mr. My Personal Pain in the Butt and I because he was getting tired of listening to the bitching about their club. Can I help it if the man provokes me at every opportunity? He has since I got the job of deputy last year. What the effin hell, should I just let them run over me because they are big bad bikers?” she huffed.
“Well, umm…is there something going on with you and him?” I inwardly cringed because that was going to set her off. We’d grown up in a club and moved to Black Hawk territory on my dad’s request, only reason given was there was stuff going on in the club that needed taken care of and he didn’t want to have to worry about us being caught up in the middle and used against him. I hadn’t wanted to up and move but my father was a no argument type of man. And being raised in a club and knowing that sending us into another club area meant what was going on had to be serious. I had to admit though, Carly had it rougher, but she never would tell me everything that had gone on in her house. As I watched Carly rub the label on the bottle I knew she was thinking of that time. Growing up in the Haven MC hadn’t been bad, we were a family. Even when we’d walk in the clubhouse and catch one of the men getting sucked off, we either continued through as though nothing was going on or we turned around and left. It was part of life in the MC and usually if we did walk in on things we shouldn’t have, it was likely because we weren’t supposed to be there.
“No there is nothing going on. You know I don’t want to get swallowed up by a club again. My dad was bad enough before my mom died, the drugs and booze, then the fighting because they were so messed up. After was too much. He changed from a protective dad to he didn’t care if I had lunch money or even if I went to school. From the time I was fourteen, he told me every day that he couldn’t wait until I was gone or someone else’s burden. You had and have a great dad.” She smiled for the first time since she entered.
“I don’t have a daddy,” Ally said with her eyes still on the TV. I looked over at her and then at Carly. Evidently my baby was still thinking about earlier today with Benji. I so didn’t want to get into this with having to go to work in just a few and I didn’t want to have to explain to Carly what brought this on. But Carly was close to Ally and I knew she wouldn’t let it go.
“Spider, you don’t need one, you have a ton of men who care about you.” Carly raised her eyebrow at me signaling what the fuck. I watched Ally’s face as she turned toward Carly.
“Perry sent me a cupcake and I punched Benji in the nose.” And as quickly as she started, she stopped and turned back to the TV. And Carly laughed.
“Okay then, would you like to tell me what that was about?” she asked me.
I filled Carly in on Benji and the nose, along with Perry’s cupcake instead of candy. When I finished the doorbell rang again and I looked at my watch. Yep, time to go to the club and Sue should be on the other side of the door.
As I opened the door and Sue came in, Carly went in the kitchen and threw her bottle away.
“I shouldn’t be past eleven, Sue. I’m not closing tonight.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll be here whenever you get home. Carly, good to see you.”
“You too, Sue. I’m going to head home, yell if you need anything while Sami is gone. Later, short stuff.” And as fast as she’d entered earlier, Carly was out the door.
Sue was sitting with Ally on the couch when I walked back in with my bag and keys in hand.
“Give me hug, baby girl,” and Ally stood on the couch to reach so she could wrap her arms around my neck, “love you, baby, and be good for Mrs. Mayson.”
“Love you too, Mama,” she said and flopped back down on the couch.
“Thanks, Sue, see you in a few.” I reached the door, opened it and before I closed it behind me Ally’s voice rang out.
“Mama, can you bring me home a daddy?” And I heard Sue’s chuckle as the door clicked shut.
“Yeah, let me get right on that,” I muttered to myself as I got into my car. Seemed my daughter wasn’t ready to move past the daddy issue.
Yay me!
Chapter Four
Speed
When my eyes snapped open, it took me a few minutes to realize where I was. Home. It’d been a while. I stretched and then sat on the side of the bed taking in the room. It had to have been Shakes. She had all Cutters things boxed, furniture switched out in the main bedroom with mine from the bedroom I’d used up until I’d left for the service. The woman was a sweetheart. She’d even labeled what was in the boxes that now were in the other room: clothes, shoes, personal items, and papers.
Yeah, I’d get to those soon. Just not today.
I stood, headed to the bathroom, sleep had come first after Crusher left, now it was time for the shower, then a look around the place.
With two of the s’s done, I went in search of my clothes, the third ‘s’ I decided to skip. Being out of the military it would be a trial to see how long it would take for the stubble to get on my nerves.
Stepping out the back door of the cabin, I looked around, the place had been well taken ca
re of while I was gone. More of Shakes work, I’m sure. I headed across the grass not sure if I was ready for this next step as I stuck the key in the lock and opened the door on the side of the garage. When I flipped the light switch, the open space lit brightly. Scanning the space, I overlooked the benches holding every tool you would need to work on bikes, even spare parts that lined the shelves. Nope, my focus settled on the tarp off to one side.
Reaching it, I grabbed the end and pulled the tarp back revealing the mangled bike beneath. As I ran my hand over the dented, scarred, and broken metal I thought of my dad and for the first time ever wondered what had gone through his mind in those last seconds before he crashed. My plans were to strip the bike down and start from scratch piecing it back together. It was my last tie to him and I planned to keep it as long as I could, even if it was only the rebuilt model.
Harvey Weston had been a great dad. He made mistakes along the way, but who doesn’t, but he also admitted to them too. Not often mind you, but some. Mistakes made still didn’t keep him from being a great dad.
Clarice, my mother, I use the term lightly, was a club whore. She’d grown up in Shades Valley, from what I had been told about her, lost her parents at an early age and ended up being raised by an aging grandmother, who died leaving her without family at the age of eighteen. She worked at the grocery store in town, lived in the local trailer park, and spent her weekends at the club partying. That was where my dad came into the picture, really all the men in the club. He just happened to be the one she set her eyes on.
I didn’t remember much about her and I never asked. What I learned was told to me by Cutter when I reached horny teenager status.
“Kane, noticed you’ve been sniffing around a few of those girls in your class. Boy, have you got your dick wet in any of them yet?”
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