Lady Guardians: Back Off

by Toye Lawson Brown

  I take a sip of the steaming liquid, feeling it ease the tension in my shoulders as it slides down my throat. I have to get Carrie off my mind and tend to the business of B2R. She’ll call me if she needs me.

  “She left on her own,” Cowboy says as he sits next to me. “You know she’ll be back.”

  “I’m sure, and with more bullshit.”

  “Are you going to warn Carrie?”

  I shake my head. “No. She doesn’t need to worry about Darla also. Look, have Smokie pay Darla a visit tonight; he’ll know what to do.”

  “Jonah?”

  He is looking at me, and I know that look. “I will talk to him first. Darla won’t disappear permanently—just a little insurance that Carrie won’t be hurt.”

  “Want him to take care of Tequeela too?” he asks.

  “Nope, that’s Carrie’s fight to handle. We’ll only help if she asks.”

  “Sort of her initiation to the MC world.”

  “Exactly.” I swat a fly on the bar. “Call the guys to come help us clean this pigsty.”

  Cowboy takes out his phone. “I’m on it.”

  My phone rings. I sigh, reluctant to answer. I hope there isn’t a crisis at the shop. I didn’t feel like dealing with the public and left the shop in the manager’s hands today.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, brother, how’s it going?”

  My mood lightens when I hear Cliff’s voice. “Hey, Cliff. What’s up, dude?”

  “Nothing. Checking to see how things are going.”

  “Same stuff, different days, my friend. So when are you coming home for a visit?”

  “Soon. I plan to ride with Carrie. I wanna help her raise money for the toy drive.”

  “Cool. I plan to ride too. I’m encouraging all the guys to ride.”

  “I appreciate your help, Jonah. I feel good knowing she has you in her corner.”

  “Always, bro. Have you talked to her lately?” I feel the hair on my neck stand up.

  “Briefly yesterday. She’s busy at work. I’ll call her later tonight. Is everything okay with her?”

  “Yeah, everything is cool. She had a little dust-up with Tequeela, but I squashed it.”

  “I knew you would handle that. So what else is new?”

  “Darla and I are off for good. I couldn’t get past what she did, man. I don’t need a woman like her in my life. I want a good woman, one I can trust.”

  “I’m glad that is over. Trust me, when you find the right woman, you’ll know it. I miss the club, but I love my life with my wife and kids.”

  “That’s what I’m aiming for. Hey, would it bother you if I took Carrie out sometime?”

  The line goes silent, then he replies, “My sister and my best friend… Um, yeah, sure, go for it. But, I’ll tell you just like I tell any man dating my sister: fuck her over and you’ll have to deal with me.”

  A ton of pressure lifts off my chest. I need Cliff’s approval before I pursue Carrie’s affections. “I believe you would beat my ass. But don’t worry, I don’t plan to hurt Carrie.”

  “Let me warn you. Carrie can be difficult. Don’t let her pretty face fool ya. The girl is headstrong and can be defiant as hell.”

  “She has a vulnerable side too. Carrie is beautiful, sweet, has a good heart, and is sex as…”

  “Dude! Stop. That’s my sister. And remember not to talk to me about your sex life. Damn, I can’t even say that without it sounding weird. You touching my sister… I don’t know if I can handle that, bro.”

  “Keep your pants on, man. I haven’t done anything inappropriate with your sister. I’m telling you what I see in her.”

  “Good to know. Seriously, will dating Carrie affect our friendship, Jonah? If y’all fall out, I’ll have to take her side. She’s family.”

  I rub my temple—our conversation is going way off course. “I want to take her to lunch or dinner, not marry her. Hell, I haven’t even asked her out yet.”

  “I’m covering the bases. Did you ever consider Darla wanting revenge and coming after you or Carrie?”

  “I can handle Darla.”

  “Can you handle her and the Hell Dolls? Listen, I’m not questioning you. I trust you with my life as well as any member of my family. But, I’m not close to help you or Carrie if any shit jumps off.”

  “I got this. I’m not gonna let anything happen to Carrie or any member of your family. You have my word on that, Cliff.”

  “I hope you’re right. I gotta run. My kid’s school is having a father/daughter lunch, and I’ve been warned to be on time.”

  “Wow, never thought you’d be doing the daddy duties. Have fun and kiss Maggie and the kids for me.”

  I hang up and finish my coffee. Scrolling through my phone, I come across old photos of Cliff and me at various stages of our biker life. A few of the photos caught a much younger Carrie in the background. She is older and all woman now.

  I shove my phone back in my pocket. Sugar jumps on the bar sniffing around my coffee cup. I reach over and pick up the tabby cat who has been a part of the club since she wandered in filthy, infested with fleas, and sick with worms. After a visit to the vet, she came here to live.

  “Are you hungry? Sure you are.” I take Sugar to the kitchen. Carrying the eight-pound fur ball, I wonder if this is how my life will end up—no one to love but a stray cat.

  7

  Carrie

  God, help me—this is the day from hell! The phones are ringing off the hook. Patients are rude and yelling at the doctor. The other girls in the department are arguing over who will do what tasks. I take off my headset and toss it on the desk. I need a break, and text Dawn to meet me in the cafeteria.

  As I walk down the hall, I hear conflicts coming from other offices. I don’t know what it is about Mondays and why people are so grumpy. When I was younger, I thought of Monday as a new start to better myself. I was living at home having my needs cared for by my parents. Those were happy times.

  Entering the cafeteria, I see Dawn at the register paying for two coffees. “I’ll grab a table,” I say.

  Dawn hands me a coffee and straddles the chair. “Pepper and Anita said they’d try to come down. Millie is too busy to get away.”

  “Why is it such a madhouse today?” I add sugar and cream to my coffee and take a sip. “You’d think we are running a get a ‘check-up and receive a second opinion for free’ deal.”

  “My department ain’t that bad today. I should’ve called off and gone for a ride. Supposed to rain the next two days.”

  “Maybe we can go for a short ride after work. We can get dinner.”

  “We can do that. So, what’s happening with you and pretty boy?”

  I lift my brow and ask, “Who is pretty boy?”

  “Jonah. Don’t act stupid, Carrie.”

  “What would make you think we have anything going on? At the party, I sat with you. I was nowhere around him until we left.”

  She shrugs. “He’s into you. I caught him looking at you a lot.”

  “He was probably watching all of us since that was our first party with them,” I say harsher than I meant.

  “If I liked dudes, he’d be my type. He is good-looking, tall, got a nice ass.”

  I chuckle. “Are you a little smitten by him, Dawn? He talks about you.”

  She almost chokes on her coffee. When she stops coughing, her thick brows narrow. “What did he say about me?”

  “He thinks the LGs should have a harder shell and stand up for ourselves like you did to Tequeela. He joked that you probably wanted to kick his butt when he stopped the fight.”

  “See, the guy is smart, too. Be honest, Carrie. You like him. And ain’t nothing wrong with liking him. Maybe if you got some dick, you wouldn’t be so uptight.”

  I feel my brows snap together. “Dawn! Watch your mouth at work. Besides, I don’t have time for a man, and if I did, it wouldn’t be my brother’s best friend.”

  “Shoot, that’s an ideal arrangement. Dating
your brother’s friend means he will treat you right. He doesn’t want crap from Cliff.”

  Dawn has a point, but it’s not good enough to make me change my mind. I take another sip of coffee. I only have a few minutes before my break is over and I have to return to the jungle upstairs. “Jonah’s ex-girlfriend hangs out with B2R. I don’t want any problems with her.”

  “Who is she? Was she at the party?”

  “She wasn’t there, and I think her name is Darla. Anyhow, she isn’t our concern. Tequeela is plotting, Dawn. She’s not going to lie down and let us do what we want peacefully.”

  “She thinks we are a bunch of pussies, Carrie. Let me talk to her. I’ll have her eating p—”

  “Dawn!” I shout. I look around and just as I suspected, people are watching us. I cover the side of my face with my hand and say in a low tone, “From now on, we do not talk about motorcycle stuff at work. You get too riled, girl.”

  “Well, if you have any trouble from either of them bitches, you call me. I’ll be fuckin’ happy to take care of ‘em for you.”

  I stand up, placing my hands firmly on the table. “No, Dawn. We will not stoop to that level. I started the LGs on the strength we could give to the community as well as the hospital. I’ll continue to bank on that strength and expect you and the rest of the girls to do the same.”

  She looks as if she wants to strangle me. “What?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

  “Don’t give me that look and pretend you don’t have something to say. Say it.”

  Her eyes flare with surprise, and then she replies, “You’re the president. I’m gonna leave it at that. I gotta get back to work.”

  I sit down, letting her go ahead of me. Fighting with my crew over another club is stupid. If this continues, Tequeela won’t have to destroy the LGs—we’ll end up doing it ourselves. Right now, I feel I’m over my head and don’t know what to do. Maybe I should talk to the president of another chapter of the Lady Guardians and see how she handles internal conflicts. Losing Dawn would be a massive blow. But keeping her under control will be a royal pain in my behind.

  Thank goodness today is over; it’s been one of the longest work days in a long time. I decide to stop at my mom’s house. I have my reasons for going there instead of home. I’m hungry, tired and Mom cooks every day. Plus, Dawn made up a lame excuse to back out of dinner tonight.

  “Mom,” I call as I open the front door and walk inside. The familiar aroma of Florence King’s famous barbecue sauce permeates my nose. Another sniff and I detect onions and garlic; Mom has made my favorite meal. Spare ribs, fried potatoes with onions and garlic, and her blue-ribbon-winning barbecue sauce.

  I remember at one cookout, Jonah poured the sauce into a bowl and slopped it up with bread to eat it. When he would come to check on Cliff, it was always when we were sitting down to eat. Of course, Mom would insist he stay and eat too. He was the first white man I’ve ever seen enjoy soul food as much as my family. Funny how I’m having a thought about him after the conversation with Dawn.

  I should make an effort to date more. The last guy I dated was challenging, to say the least. I believe Anthony used me to try to get into B2R. Little did he know Cliff wouldn’t recommend him anyway; he didn’t like Anthony. He rubbed Cliff the wrong way. He felt Anthony had an abusive nature by the way he talked about women and how they should stay in their place.

  Plus he had two kids with two different women, the last baby born while we were together. Anthony cheated and lied his way through our relationship and proved himself to be a man who couldn’t commit to me. Thank goodness I listened to my brother before I got too wrapped up in him. Cliff saw the trouble signs before I did.

  After the year-long fiasco with Anthony, I prefer men with no children if possible. I’m not convincing myself Jonah is the right man for me, but dang, he fits the profile. I want kids, but not until I figure out where I am going with my life. I don’t plan on working as a secretary forever and have my eye on the office administrator position in my department. The current office administrator is retiring, and she’s been grooming me to take over. Oh, and not to forget the fact that I’m a biker. Can’t strap a car seat to the back of a motorcycle.

  Mom responds, “I’m in the kitchen.”

  Mom loves to cook, and the kitchen is where she relieves her stress, even after working all day. She is at the stove, stirring sauce in a large pot. “Mm. You made your famous sauce.”

  She looks over at me and breaks into a huge smile. “I’m making a lot of it this time,” she says. “I want enough to last the rest of the summer.”

  I hang my purse on the rack by the back door before making my way to the fridge to get a cold drink. The kitchen is enormous, with a big island where Mom does all her prep work. One side of the island has four stools. I pull one out and sit down, opening a can of Pepsi.

  “Why are you making such a big meal on a Monday?” I place my elbows on the counter, rest my chin in my palms, and wait for her to respond. Sitting here watching her cook brings back so many childhood memories. Cliff and I would sit at the counter and do homework while Mom cooked. Dad played a large part of our life too, but he worked a lot of long hours so we could live the way we did.

  “I was off today and watching those food shows on TV. I got inspired. What brings you by? Having issues with the motorcycle club?”

  The other thing my mother is known for? Being perceptive. As kids, Cliff and I couldn’t hide anything from her. It’s like she had extra sets of eyes and ears. She knew every move we made.

  No matter how much I smile, she knows when I’m bothered. “Not with the club, just Dawn.”

  “I told you not to get involved in that life, Carrie. You’re twenty-seven-years old. You should be thinking about getting married, and giving me grandbabies I can see every day, instead of on holidays, like your brother.”

  “Mom, don’t take Cliff’s moving away out on me. You and Dad were happy when he settled down and got out of the biker life.”

  “I didn’t think he would stay in California. They went there to visit her family and never came back. He might as well stab me in the chest with a knife, the way he hurt me.”

  “I miss him and my nieces too, but he’s happy. We haven’t seen that in him in a long time.”

  “Well, he says he’s happy. We don’t know much about his wife other than her people live out there. My grandbabies don’t know your father or me the way they know them.”

  My mother doesn’t dislike Cliff’s wife, we just don’t really know her. But, I trust Cliff, and he wouldn’t marry a woman that wasn’t up to his standards. And she makes sure Cliff calls and sends cards on birthdays. Maggie always posts photos of the kids and reports regularly about their progress. That’s not enough for Mom. The girls are still small, and she feels she’s missing out on the best years of their lives. I agree with her and would love to play auntie and dote on them, but we don’t have control over what they do.

  “I know it’s hard, Mom. He’ll come for a visit soon. So, what else are you cooking besides ribs?” I take a sip of my Pepsi, hoping I’ve deflected her tantrum.

  “Chicken, fried potatoes, macaroni and cheese, greens, sweet potatoes, and a pound cake,” she says, as she continues to stir the pot of sauce. “Now, tell me about Jonah. I heard you two went out?”

  Where are her informants hiding? “We went to a party together. He was with his friends, and I was with mine, so it wasn’t a date.”

  “If you say so, Carrie; there are things I know. So don’t think I’m clueless. Cliff has him checking on you.”

  “Okay, he does offer support for my club, but I don’t talk to him every day.”

  She opens the oven and removes the pan of macaroni and cheese. It smells so good, and my stomach is growling like crazy. “Jonah is a nice young man. He’s respectful and has a successful business. I have him over for dinner at least twice a month.”

  “I know you do that, and I think it’s g
reat he keeps in touch with the family since Cliff left. But what are you getting at, lady?” I ask, getting a little annoyed.

  “You could do worse. And don’t take that tone with me, young lady.” She is pointing the end of a spoon at me, so I shut up. “Jonah is like a son to me. I’m not saying for you to get with him. I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

  I run my fingers through my hair. “You don’t care that he’s white?”

  “I don’t care what color he is as long as he doesn’t treat you how Anthony treated you. That man was horrible, and I prayed you’d get rid of him. But you didn’t do it quickly enough, so Cliff had to run him off.”

  Hungry or not, I see it was a bad idea not to go straight home after work. It will not happen again. “You’re only saying that because you know everything about Jonah.”

  Mom shakes her head. “I don’t know everything about him. He never talks about his family.”

  “Exactly! Why doesn’t he mention his mother or father? Do you know if he has siblings? Because I don’t. Shoot, Cliff might not know.”

  “He’s a private person, Carrie. He could be ashamed of his family, or maybe they are mega rich, and he doesn’t associate with that lifestyle.”

  I nod. “That is possible, or maybe they disapprove of his biker life just like you do and have disowned him.”

  She looks at me and frowns. “Jonah is a good kid. He has never given me any reason to believe otherwise.”

  I raise my brow. “I respect that, but I’m not dating him. Mom, please don’t get your hopes up thinking it will happen. He has a girlfriend.”

  “Since when?” Mom asks. Her hands are on her slender hips as she waits for me to answer.

  “I don’t care when he got her. Even if they aren’t together anymore, I’m not dating Jonah, and that’s final.”

  “I’m going to ask him about this girlfriend. He has not mentioned her to me.”