A Family Man

by osborne, Sarah

  The doors opened and Samson marched in dragging the cold air behind him, and he pushed any thoughts of Maria and Amy to the back of his head as he followed his president into the chapel to discuss the upcoming run.

  ELEVEN

  Without doubt, this had been one of the worst runs Joe had ever experienced. The rain had been relentless and visibility was practically nonexistent. It was cold, too. Bitterly cold. Joe was beginning to wonder if he'd ever feel his face again. With no shelter in sight and a mere thirty miles to their destination, the little convoy of four bikes and one truck had no choice but to push on.

  Gritting his teeth, he looked over to his president. As usual, Samson looked unaffected by the biting wind and driving rain. Joe guessed the big Alaskan was made of tougher stuff than his puny Californian companions.

  No one was expecting an ambush, least of all Joe. If he was honest, all he could concentrate on was keeping his bike upright and trying to stave off hypothermia ,and as a result was completely blindsided when the black van came from nowhere forcing his bike towards the big eighteen wheeler. As he tried to right himself, he was aware in his peripheral vision of a bike going down, and the sound of gunfire. He couldn't get to his gun—his jacket was zipped up tight and he couldn't feel his hands—not that it would have made any difference as the van, again, swerved towards him, clipping his front wheel.

  He was losing it! Every instinct told him to hang on, but as he started to slide towards the wheels of the truck, self preservation took over and he threw himself away from his beloved Dyna and rolled to safety as it disappeared under the big rig's wheel with a sickening sound of twisting metal.

  He was alive. Of that, Joe was acutely aware. Death would be a lot less painful. He lay, face down in the road, and tried to assess his injuries. His left arm and shoulder were fucked, possibly his collarbone too. There was pain in his left hip, but he thought that was probably superficial, nothing broken. His face too, seemed to have taken a hit, although it was too numb to gauge. More worrying was the pain in his abdomen, deep inside. He coughed, tasting blood. If he didn't get help soon, he was going to die right here on the side of the road in this godforsaken country in the rain. He closed his eyes, too cold and tired to fight, only vaguely aware of a battle taking place around him and someone shouting his name over and over again.

  Warm. He was warm, and definitely not dead. With a groan, he forced open his eyes.

  "Brother. Welcome back." Samson grinned. "Big help you were."

  "Sorry, Prez." Joe croaked then groaned as fire invaded his guts.

  Samson chuckled. "That's okay, man. Fuckers got the jump on us. Managed to fight 'em off. We're all whole." He laughed again. "Apart from your bike that is. Sorry bro, we couldn't save it."

  Joe closed his eyes. "Shit."

  The door opened and a young woman in scrubs walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Taylor. I'm Dr. Jameson." She smiled. "You've been remarkably lucky. You had a ruptured spleen which we had to remove and some abdominal tearing which will heal in good time. You've also got a dislocated shoulder and a fractured ulna, both of which we've managed to fix. Everything else is superficial, just a bit of road rash and bruising. In a couple of months you'll be back on your bike, as good as new."

  "Thanks, doc." Samson winked and gave her his best grin, causing her to blush a pretty shade of pink. "When can we get him out of here?"

  "Oh he should be fit to travel in a couple of days or so, as long as he takes it easy."

  Joe lay, eyes closed, in a world of pain. He had a busted arm, his guts were on fire and his bike had been destroyed. How was that lucky? As if reading his thoughts, Samson laid a hand on his shoulder. "You ain't dead, Tiny. Count your blessings."

  He was right, of course. He could easily have met his maker under the wheels of that truck, but he had survived to fight another day.

  ~ oOo ~

  As Amy climbed out of her mom's car after yet another awful day at school, she failed to notice the nondescript, silver Honda parked on the other side of the road. She didn't even look up at the sound of a car door slamming. Not much caught her attention these days. Mom had enrolled her in ballet classes, but she had two left feet, and she had joined the tennis club, but she really wasn't sporty. Amy liked to ride her bike and climb trees, not dance around in a tutu or mess around on a tennis court. It had been two months and she still hated her life here. She missed her school friends, missed Beth and missed Nana Sophie. Most of all though, she missed Joe.

  "Hey, sugar."

  "Joe?" Amy spun round. "Joe!" She ran towards him, as fast as her feet would carry her.

  Laughing as she launched herself at him, he pulled her close using only his right arm. "Hey, sugar." He buried his face in her hair. "Pleased to see me?"

  Laughing and crying in equal measure, Amy threw her arms around his neck, causing him to grunt in pain. "What did you do to your arm?" She noticed the plaster that encased it.

  "Came off my bike, sugar. Can't ride for a while, so I thought I'd fly out and see you." He looked up and his eyes met Maria's. "I'm staying in a motel downtown for a few days. I ain’t here to stir up shit."

  Maria smiled. "I know. But, please, stay out of Rob's way." She looked down at her daughter. "Maybe Joe could take you out for supper or something."

  Joe nodded and held out his hand to the little girl. "Wanna Happy Meal, sugar?"

  Taking his hand, she nodded and let him lead her to the little rental car across the road. "I don't know where a McDonalds is."

  "Don't worry, sugar. We'll find it."

  They never did find a McDonalds, but they did find a little diner. As they sat in a booth next to the window, Amy examined the man sitting opposite her. Most of the bruises had faded, but parts of his face were still scarred and discolored. "How did you fall off your bike Joe?"

  "It was raining and a van drove into me, I guess he didn't see me."

  "You will be okay, though?"

  "Sure. My bike was pretty smashed up though. Gotta get a new one."

  She fell silent and looked out of the window. She didn't like to think of Joe getting hurt.

  Joe frowned. "Don't look so worried, Amy. I'm okay." He passed her a menu. "Why don't you pick something to eat."

  "Anything I want?"

  "Anything at all." Joe grinned as she ordered the cheeseburger with extra bacon and fries, then promptly smothered them with ketchup and mustard, ignoring the disapproving looks of the waitress.

  They ate in silence, until it was broken by Amy's loud burp. She grinned. "Sorry."

  He gave a one shouldered shrug. "S'okay, sugar." Taking advantage of the break in the unfamiliar awkwardness between them, he started to speak. "Amy, what's going on in that head of yours?"

  She shrugged. "I hate it here. At school, they call me white trash, an' I keep on getting in trouble for stuff that ain't my fault." She sniffed. "I can't help it if I don't know stuff."

  "What does your mom say?"

  "She gets mad at me. She says I ain't trying. But I am, Joe. All the kids are smarter than me." She blinked and a solitary, fat tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't help it if I'm dumb."

  "You ain't dumb, Amy. You're the smartest kid I know."

  "You don't know any other kids."

  "True dat. Even so. I know you're a smart kid." Joe grinned. "Smarter than me, anyhow." Amy didn't smile back, and his cold, black heart broke for her. "Amy, sugar. I wish there was something I could do to make this better."

  "Take me back with you."

  "I can't, little girl."

  "Why not? I could stay with Beth, or Nana Sophie." She sighed. "Beth was gonna move here, but Rob said it was a bad idea, so mom told her not to. I don't think Rob likes any of our old friends or family. He gets weird if we talk about them."

  "Weird how?"

  Amy shrugged. "If I talk about my old friends, he says I'm an ungrateful bitch. He says my life is better now, but it's not."

  Joe's jaw clenched. Up until now, he had tried to stay o
ut of Maria's shit, despite every instinct telling him to do otherwise. He loved Amy, but she wasn't his kid and he was scared that if he pushed too hard he would be prevented from seeing her, and there would be nothing he could do about it. "I think it's time me an' your mom had a little chat."

  Amy nodded. She had always hated it when her mom and Joe got into fights. It was hard watching the two people she loved most in the world hurt each other. But right now, she didn't care. She just wanted someone to make her mom and Rob understand just how unhappy she was. And the only person who could do that was sitting opposite her right now.

  Rob's car was in the driveway as they pulled up outside the house. They both climbed out of the little rental car and headed towards the house. Joe knew this was a risky strategy. Rob was a jumped-up little shit, who would think nothing of calling the cops if he felt threatened, but it was a chance he was going to have to take. He didn't understand Rob's motivation, but he had seen controlling behavior enough times to recognize it. By isolating Maria he had her in his pocket, a willing slave to do his bidding. He wasn't happy about that, but she was a big girl and would have to look out for herself. Amy, however was different. He couldn't stand by and watch him chip away at her until there was nothing left of the little girl he loved so much.

  "What the hell are you doing here?" Rob pushed his dinner away and got to his feet. "Amy, go to your room."

  Amy tucked herself behind Joe. "I want to stay here."

  Joe gave a tiny smile as he felt her hand clutch at his tee shirt. "S'okay, sugar. You can stay and hear this." His eyes met Rob's, boring into them until the smaller man took an involuntary step back. "I want to talk to Maria."

  "I'm not leaving you alone with her. Who knows what you might do."

  Joe shrugged. "So stay." He turned to Maria. "I ain’t sure how this gets fixed, M. But you need to know how hard Amy is finding all this shit right now. The kids at her school are picking on her, and she's struggling to keep up with the work. She needs you to support her, M. Not yell at her. Why you suddenly hellbent on turning her into something she's not?"

  Rob stepped forward. "We are trying to give her the best opportunities in life. And that doesn't involve her hanging round with biker scum like you."

  Joe's lips curled up into a sneer. "Oh, I agree that I probably ain’t the ideal person for a kid to be hanging with. What with me being an uneducated criminal type an' all. But the difference between you an' me is, that I love Amy and will always want what's best for her."

  "And what might that be? Running wild on the streets, getting into crime, drugs?"

  "I ain't saying that couldn't happen, given her family history. But Beth's done okay. And growing up surrounded by people who love her has gotta be better than this."

  "We love her." Rob pulled himself up to his full height, which was still several inches short of Joe's. "This isn't about Amy, it's about me taking Maria away from you. And you losing your influence over her."

  "Don't flatter yourself, asshole. I don't give a shit about you an' Maria, cuz trust me, if I did…" He left the rest of the sentence unsaid, as Maria shifted uncomfortably in the background. "All I'm asking is that you give Amy a break, maybe look around for a different school. Somewhere she can shine."

  His eyes sought out Maria's. "Please, M."

  Maria nodded. "Maybe."

  Knowing that was the best he could hope for, he turned to the little girl standing behind him pulling his teeshirt out of shape. "I'll come, pick you up tomorrow morning. We'll go and spend the day on the beach or something."

  "She has school in the morning."

  Joe scowled. This asshole was really starting to push his buttons. "No, she don't." He bent and kissed Amy on the top of the head. "See you tomorrow, sugar."

  Maria stood and followed him to the door. "Joe."

  "Just have her ready for me at nine." He reached out and touched her face. "I'll see you tomorrow."

  TWELVE

  Grinning, Joe watched as Amy kicked her way through the waves. It was good to see her smile again. He had been afraid that Rob would try to sabotage their day trip, but he had prudently decided to butt out.

  He got that he wanted to keep them apart. He hadn't been lying when he said that he wasn't the sort of guy that should be allowed around kids. Not that he'd ever hurt them. He may have been one of the most feared of his brothers, and according to various psyche reports he'd had done in jail, he had definite sociopathic tendencies. But he wasn't crazy, and he'd never kill for fun. He understood loyalty, family, and he knew how to love. It still spoke volumes about Amy's life when the only person prepared fight her corner was him. It would have been so much easier if he had been her dad. If there was any way he could get her away from that douche, Rob, he'd take it. Surely Maria could see what he was doing. He had to get her alone, had to talk to her.

  Amy laughed at the feeling of the sand between the toes as the tide dragged it back, the tiny pebbles making a chattering sound under the waves. She looked over to where Joe was sitting, smoking a cigarette, and gave a little wave. Life was always better when he was around. She knew Rob didn't like him and for some reason thought that it was because of Joe that her mom got sick and sad. Amy didn't believe that. It was Joe who paid for her to go to the place to get better. And he and Nana Sophie always made sure there was food in the cupboards and that she had somewhere to sleep.

  She was really beginning to hate Rob. She was too young and lacked the skills to verbalize what it was about him that made her so uncomfortable. When Joe hugged her, she felt safe, like nothing could hurt her. But Rob. On the rare occasions that he did hug her, it just felt… wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. He didn't touch her in the places that the school nurse had talked to her about after seeing Joe picking her up from school one day. But his hands were never still and when he tucked her into bed he would tell her that she was his special girl and how he planned on doing special things with her when she got bigger. Amy wondered if she should tell Joe, but decided against it. They were having a nice day, just the two of them and she didn't want him getting all mad and taking her home.

  She trotted across the hot sand and sat down between his legs, with her back to him. "I'm hot, Joe. Can we get a drink?"

  "Sure. He scrambled to his feet, wincing as his hip twinged.

  "You okay?"

  "Yeah, sugar. Just got a few bumps and bruises is all." He took her hand, and they walked slowly towards a little beach side café, a short distance away.

  Of course, once they got there, Amy decided she was hungry. Joe laughed and said she had hollow legs. She looked up from her lasagne. "There's an aquarium down the road, can we go?"

  "Are there mermaids?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Joe, that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. So can we?"

  "Of course we can, sugar. This is your day, we can do whatever you want."

  Amy loved the aquarium, as did Joe. They stroked the stingrays and walked through the tunnels, marveling at the sharks and other wonders of the oceans. Amy slipped her tiny hand into his. "I'm having a lovely day."

  "Me too, sugar."

  Joe gave her hand a little squeeze. He knew there was something playing on her mind, but he knew he couldn't push her. She had to trust him enough to share any troubles she might have and she wouldn't do that if he pushed.

  As they walked back to the car, Amy started to drag her heels. "I don't wanna go home yet, Joe."

  "I know, sugar. I'm sorry, we can't put it off forever. We could stop for ice cream on the way, though."

  "Yeah, okay."

  Joe drank his coffee as Amy dived into an enormous ice cream sundae. "If you puke in the car, you're cleaning it up."

  "I never puke." It was true, she never did. The kid had the most robust constitution, ever.

  "Just saying."

  She rolled her eyes and gave him her trademark lopsided grin. "You wouldn't make me clean it up anyway, you love me waaay too much."

  "You keep t
elling yourself that, Amy. C'mon, let's get you home, before your mom sends out a search party."

  They drove home in silence. Amy looked out of the window and watched the scenery go by. Tomorrow, Joe would be flying home and she had no idea when she would see him again.

  Joe pulled out his cell and dialed. "M? We're on our way, be about half an hour."

  She was leaning on the gate as he pulled up outside the house. "Hi sweetheart, you have a good time?"

  Amy nodded and turned to kiss Joe. "Will you call me when you get home?"

  "Of course. You know the score, sugar. You wanna talk about anything at all, at any time of day. You call me, understand."

  She nodded again and ran into the house, not wanting Joe to see her tears. Maria watched as she entered the house. "You leaving tomorrow?"

  "Yeah, first thing."

  "Where you staying tonight?"

  "Little motel next to the airport." Their eyes met and he swallowed. "Same goes for you, M. You need me. You call, okay."

  She nodded and turned away. "I better get in. Take care."

  He watched as she followed her daughter before climbing back into his car and driving away without a backwards glance.

  ~ oOo ~

  It was after midnight and sleep still eluded him. Joe laid on the narrow, musty-smelling bed and gazed at the water-stained ceiling. There had been several times when he had thought that Amy was going to tell him something but at the last minute, she had backed off. It wasn't like her to keep things from him, and he was starting to get a really bad feeling about all this. He closed his eyes; maybe he should get someone to check this Rob out. Shit, maybe he should have done that right from the start. Well, there was nothing could be done tonight; he may as well try and get some sleep.