See You Smile (Reapers MC: Pema Chapter Book 3)

by Bijou Hunter

  “You took good care of me in the joint. Plus, Teigh and my parents always had money to pay their bills. You and I are square.”

  Heidi’s dark gaze holds mine. “No, we’ll never be even, Sam. When Teigh died and your kids had to move in with your parents, that was on me. Not her death, but how you weren’t there for your family. I asked you to help out Gunnar.”

  “If I remember right, I mostly offered.”

  “You knew what I wanted,” she says, allowing raw emotion into her normally controlled expression.

  “I knew I could do time in a way Gunnar and Brick couldn’t. Some men get caged and lose themselves. I’ve never been one of them.”

  “I know, and I heard you’re looking to do more work. However, you’ve only been free a month.”

  “I feel unsettled, is all,” I say and glance at where Maverick watches us. With the entire bar in between us, I doubt he can hear our conversation. But I wouldn’t put lip-reading past him. “Things changed in the club when I was away. I’d feel better if I knew where I belonged.”

  “If it was up to me, I’d just have you supervise Idyllwild.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Ride around, be seen by the locals, listen to what they say when they think you’re not listening. Construction is quieting down now that we have the Ellsberg transplants moved into their renovated homes. This place and The Solar are complete. We do have the church renovation, but that won’t take much effort.”

  “What do Colton and Maverick say?”

  “They’re in no hurry to dump work on you.”

  “They don’t think I can handle it?”

  Heidi gives me a soft smile. “Sam, things in Pema were rough for a while. Last year, the assholes in Idyllwild were pushing a lot of buttons. But things have quieted down. There’s really no rush for you to help at construction sites or check on dealers. You could take six months to get the lay of the land, and no one would be put out.”

  Heidi’s words sound good. I’m certainly enjoying my free time. Nev and I get to hang out a lot. So far, we keep it simple and usually naked, but I can imagine us venturing out more in the future.

  And I didn’t sit on my ass in prison. I took classes, read books, and learned things I never got around to learning on the outside.

  “Focusing on my family would sit real well with me,” I say, and Heidi smiles. “But I’ve got worries about not being viewed as valuable to the club.”

  Heidi studies me before catching on. “You think your only worth is as the fall guy.”

  “For the Reapers, it could be seen that way,” I say and then just spit out what I’m fussing about. “And I’m not looking to do anyone else’s time again. While I don’t regret my choices in the past, everything changed when I was locked up. My kids can’t go without me again.”

  “I understand,” she says softly. “And so do Colton and Maverick. Even before you got involved with Nev, they knew the score, Handsome Sam. You gave up a lot for the Reapers, and there’s no rush to get you back into the grind. But they do see what you bring to the club. That’s why you’re here for this meeting while other guys aren’t.”

  “Welp, that’s reassuring to hear.”

  “You know how I play favorites,” she says, and I grin at her honesty. “You’ll always be owed a debt by my family. If you need time off, a change in assignment, or any problems arise, just hit me up.”

  Heidi’s softer tone disappears once Colton and Maverick stroll over.

  “What’s this about?” asks my president. “Should I be involved?”

  “We’re talking shit about you,” Heidi replies instantly.

  “Why me?” he asks, sounding hurt. “I’m fabulous. Just ask my mom.”

  Heidi rolls her eyes. “I was telling Handsome Sam to enjoy a long vacation with his family. There’ll be plenty of work for him when Caesar and Raimi are settled.”

  Colton looks at me and nods. “What she said, but with more warmth.”

  “I’m not even dignifying that with a response,” she mutters.

  “But you just did.”

  Heidi walks to the back room with Colton following after her. I end up alone with Maverick. Brick always gets awkward around Avery’s brother. I don’t feel the same way. Maverick is a man of rules. He won’t lash out for no reason. Men like him are easy to work with, while men like Garbage took effort.

  “My parents are driving up today to see their grandkids. You should prepare for that,” he says in his emotionless voice before walking to the back room.

  I join the rest, finding a seat next to Brick. Gunnar and Jox stop monkeying around and sit. Colton and Maverick stand at the front.

  “Stew Krason is gone,” Colton announces. “The Cosgrove family’s story is he had a trashy secret lover who got knocked up. When they found out and confronted him, he took off with the church’s money.”

  “So, they got rid of a problem and stole from their own coffers,” Heidi says, tapping the table. “Who will they replace him with? Amon was better than Krason. What if they replace every fucker with someone shittier?”

  “We’ll eventually burn down their fucking church if that’s the case,” Colton says and smiles. “But Bufford’s my best friend now. If he assures me of a solid replacement, who am I to doubt him?”

  “People around Idyllwild won’t buy the Cosgrove family’s story,” Brick says in a quiet voice as if afraid to be heard. “We used a similar reason for why Amon was killed. Basically, the secret-lovers thing. Idyllwild’s locals will assume we killed Krason.”

  “It’s possible that was their plan,” Colton says.

  Maverick adds, “Or they lack the imagination to come up with anything else. Never assume your enemy is devious when they can also simply be stupid.”

  “The important thing is Krason is dead,” Colton points out. “Our Idyllwild spy said he went down screaming threats about God’s wrath.”

  “So, what happens next?” Heidi asks from her spot next to her hubby, Jox.

  “We continue with the plan for Pema,” Colton says. “Keep bringing in guys from Ellsberg as space opens up in Idyllwild for them to live. The next one up is Beckett Todds, who’ll run our Pema church. In a few years, we’ll start pushing toward Louisville and add dealers, pimps, gun runners into our territory.”

  “What if removing Krason was a diversion?” Heidi asks, glancing at Gunnar. “Do we really think the Cosgrove family will submit?”

  “They are no longer the main problem,” Maverick answers immediately as if waiting for the question. “The business types are pushing back. They backed Krason for months, using him to rile up the flock to turn against us. Those guys hope to use our club to get rid of the Cosgrove family while the Cosgrove family hopes we’ll do their dirty work with guys like Carl Motors.”

  “And Maverick thinks the Cosgrove family is the better bet,” Colton continues. “They act like the mob, silencing troublemakers and focusing on the money. Seeing Amon die didn’t wake them up, but us killing the cop they had in their pocket sure-as-fuck did. They realize we’ll kill anyone to win.”

  Maverick nods and adds, “When they tried to take out Avery and Kiefer, our guys came up in full force. All those tatted men in one place intimidated the locals into behaving. But the rich business types weren’t affected. It’s not their part of Idyllwild we rode through.”

  “That’s why we’ll make a habit of our people coming up and riding around,” Colton says, wanting to laugh. “Just being a nuisance to remind them of our numbers. Idyllwild will submit, or we’ll push out every troublemaker and replace them with someone loyal to us. The Cosgrove family gets that now. Carl Motors won’t have a chance to get on board. He’ll soon suffer a tragic accident, but his friends will get the message.”

  “And the new preacher will keep the sheep focused on problems outside of Idyllwild and Pema,” Maverick says.

  “What if,” Heidi says, playing devil’s advocate, “we bring up a bunch of our people, and the Cosg
rove family’s allies start fighting us? Like harassing our kids, starting shit in the public areas? Rather than the hot war we’re ready for, they pull the cold-war shit and pick at the weak links like our kids and parents?”

  Everyone senses this concern is related to me, leading the group to glance in my direction.

  “I assume I’ll keep a running tab on who’s who,” I say and smile. “Those troublemakers will suffer a little hurt until my family receives a wide berth. Seems like we could do that for everyone who fusses with any of our people.”

  “As long as we’re all on the same page,” Colton says, smiling at my words. “Maverick made clear last year when we took over the Pema chapter how patience was necessary to force a greedy enemy to submit. Nothing’s changed.”

  No doubt, much of our future will hinge on the new Idyllwild preacher. If the Cosgrove family hires someone they can control, the town could become subdued without more bloodshed. If the new guy is more of the old, I sense my long vacation will get shortened.

  THE CRACKERJACK

  Just after I open up Whiskey Kirk’s, my parents arrive for lunch. Unaware they were in Pema, I instantly assume they’re here to check out Sam and the kids.

  With my older siblings’ relationships, Mom and Dad didn’t immediately warm up to their significant others. Whether it was good-natured Bjorn or painfully shy Max or traumatized Violet or grumpy Kiefer, my parents always took time to thaw. Now, my turn has come to deal with their disapproval.

  “Why didn’t you mention you were driving up?” I ask after taking them to the best booth.

  On the sound system, the Mamas & the Papas begin playing. I’ve never cared one way or another about the band, but Sam likes them. A few days ago, we sat in the backyard naked and enjoyed the sun. He switched on his music and tapped his bare toes to this very song. I smile at the memory while waiting for my parents to give me grief.

  “We wanted to check on the grand-angels,” Mom explains, looking over the menu. Her long blonde hair hangs loose, shiny against her tanned flesh. “I have too many favorite dishes to pick from.”

  Wearing his shoulder-length blond hair back in a ponytail, my still hot father sizes me up. “You seem happy.”

  “I am.”

  My parents don’t respond, too busy fussing over a menu they’ve known for decades.

  “Will you be dropping by my place?” I ask, now realizing they aren’t here to give me guff about Sam.

  Dad shakes his head. “We’re planning to hit up the grand-angels and let Avery cook for us before driving to Shasta.”

  I feel like they’ve punched me in the gut. What the fuck? The two meddling meddlers have meddled in the love lives of their four older kids. But when they get to me, it’s a big old shrug.

  “I’ll get you another waitress,” I grumble and turn to leave.

  Dad reaches out and snatches my wrist. “What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

  Though I consider letting my hurt feelings fester, Vaughn and Raven raised their kids to freely lose their shit. Besides, I’m no good at biting my tongue with them.

  “Why haven’t you freaked out about Sam like you did for every other significant other?” I demand, pulling my wrist free. “You even got weird about Yulia.”

  “She muttered too much,” Mom says, and Dad nods. “She was always talking under her breath. Life doesn’t offer a closed captions option, and I wanted to know what she was saying.”

  “She was usually mocking Sylvie.”

  “Unacceptable,” Mom mutters.

  Though I consider mentioning her hypocrisy—or her terrible lie for why she didn’t like Yulia—I frown at my father instead.

  “You meddle with everyone’s shit. Why not mine with Sam?”

  “Meddle isn’t the word I’d use,” Dad says, attempting to distract me. “Our concerns were shared with loving words and tenderly furrowed brows.”

  Mom grins at his bullshit and likely pets his cock under the table.

  “And you don’t have any concerns about Sam?”

  “He seemed cool,” Dad says, shrugging. “Solid member of the Reapers.”

  “That’s it?”

  “He helped out Gunnar, so he’ll always be solid in our eyes,” he adds. “Helped Kiefer, too. Yeah, solid member of the club.”

  “So, you don’t have anything else to say about him and me?”

  “What should we say?” Mom asks, acting confused.

  “Nothing,” I grumble, nursing my hurt feelings. “I’ve got everything handled. I just thought you’d care more.”

  “About what?”

  My ego screams in agony in reaction to my beloved parents’ disinterest. “About how I’m starting a new life with the man I love and his kids. I’d think you might, at least, be interested in knowing them. Geez, you raced up to Pema when Avery took in Jett.”

  Mom and Dad share a frown before she asks, “Wait, what’s happening now?”

  “Which part confuses you, Mommy Dearest?”

  “Whoa, Nev’s pissed,” Dad says, chuckling.

  Mom taps her phone. “You never mentioned this news in our many nightly conversations.”

  “I sent you pictures of us at the hotel.”

  “But we thought you were just having fun.”

  No way am I letting these two shifty fuckers gaslight me, even if I’ve always gotten a little weak under their disapproval. Still, I angrily ask, “Just casual fun with a man’s kids? Does that at all sound like me?”

  “No, but they’re not little,” Mom says, glancing at Dad as if he needs to fix shit. “Wasn’t that the issue you had with children?”

  “I don’t like any kids or even teenagers.”

  “You’re not fond of a lot of adults, either,” Dad says.

  “So, all those nightly updates when I mentioned Sam and his kids and spending time at their house, you thought I was just in for the lulz?”

  “Nev, we just assumed it wasn’t more.”

  “Why?”

  “His junk, mainly,” Dad says, winning a glare from Mom.

  “And his kids.”

  “And his age.”

  “Well, Yulia was older, too,” Mom points out.

  Falling into their natural banter, Dad shrugs. “Yeah, I guess she was. But women age better than men.”

  “You have that backward,” Mom coos. “Men age better, but women live longer.”

  “But you’re hotter than ever.”

  Mom pats his jaw. “I’m the exception. You’re the rule.”

  I internally dry-heave at their horny banter. Outwardly, I unleash my death glare. “Okay, so I’ll see you later.”

  “No, come back,” Mom calls out, but I’m pissed, and she can suck it.

  As I stomp to the bar top, Dad follows after me. I consider wrestling him for the win, but I don’t want to injure my father. He craps on my concerns for his safety by tossing me over his shoulder and returning to the booth.

  “You’re going to hurt your back,” I mutter, wishing he wasn’t my dad so I could fuck him up and escape.

  “No, it’s fine, honey. I work out.”

  He plops my ass down next to Mom before crowding my other side to prevent me from fleeing again.

  “Baby, don’t be angry,” she says, trying to cuddle.

  Her touch instantly turns me into a hurt child. “My stuff doesn’t matter as much as everyone else’s stuff.”

  “How can you say that when we micromanaged your house renovation?” Dad asks softly. “Remember how obnoxious we were?”

  Crossing my arms tighter, I refuse to bow to their mighty charms.

  “If it was Sylvie, you’d be having tantrums from here to Ellsberg. For me, there’s nothing. I see how it is.”

  “We thought Sam was a phase,” Dad says as if that’ll help. “You went through the one where you didn’t like anyone. Then, you had your ‘biker dick’ phase. Then, you had your ‘dating a crazy redhead’ phase.”

  Nodding, Mom forces me to submit to her arm a
round my shoulders. “And then there was Yulia, which was your ‘big-girl relationship’ phase.”

  “Why do I have all these silly phases, but River has hookups or whatever? My shit is just as real.”

  “No, we know, but you were learning about what you wanted. That’s what we figured you were doing with Sam. He was your grownup-relationship phase two, but this time with kids.”

  “Yeah,” Dad says, wrapping an arm along the back of Mom and me. “Keep in mind, we didn’t freak out when Maverick first showed interest in Violet. No, we paced ourselves, waiting until they moved here together. Then, we arrived to make our freak-out known.”

  “Same with Avery,” Mom murmurs in her soft tone that I have trouble denying. “She and Kiefer flirted for months, but we figured she was trying to remain even with Savannah. Then, when she adopted Jett and moved Kiefer into the hotel, we went into red alert mode.”

  Glancing between them, I realize I’m screwed. I can push back against one parent but never two. They’ve got decades of practice at double-teaming opponents. Plus, they’re two of my favorite people. I’m at a clear disadvantage here.

  Though the heat from my anger is gone, I still frown and ask, “So, when were you planning to freak out about Sam and me? I mean, we’re moving in together soon.”

  “Wait, what?” Mom says as if suffering a senior moment.

  “I told you I was getting the smaller bedrooms ready for his kids.”

  “We thought you were redecorating for the cats,” Dad says with utter sincerity.

  “Why would I paint the walls for the fucking cats?” I growl, assuming they’re full of shit.

  “Don’t try to intimidate your father,” Mom warns. “He’s very sensitive.”

  Dad flashes me a big smile, and I tighten my lips to avoid grinning. He’s a difficult man to reject.

  “I love Sam, and I’m learning to love his kids,” I explain, unsure how they missed these details during the last few weeks. “You know how much more I hate small humans than I hate regular-sized people. But I’m opening myself up for Sam.”

  Mom and Dad share a frown before looking back at me.