The woman was not smiling as we approached. She wrapped her arms around her wiggly son and glanced down at him as he tugged on her tank top. “Momma, can I haz a spetial cookie pweeeez?” He begged. The man standing next to her laughed at his son. He was a tall man with dirty blond hair and a slightly darker goatee. The laugh caused tiny little crinkles to form at the corners of his eyes that made me suspect that he was prone to laughter and smiles. If I hadn’t been in such a daze when he helped unpack my moving truck, I might have remembered that about him.
I responded in kind as I leaned forward to hand him the special cookie his son was talking about. “Whenever you’re ready for him to have that,” I suggested and the man took it while smiling at me then he held out his other hand. “We already met when you moved in, but I’m Bender. This is my old lady, and Smoke’s sister, Sophie. This little guy,” he added as he took his hand back from shaking mine in order to ruffle his son’s hair is our boy, Brantley.” The pride in his voice and his eyes could not be missed. That man was all about his family.
“Thanks again for helping move me in,” I managed to flounder out before putting my hand out to shake Sophie’s. She took it a bit reluctantly. I didn’t know what to make of her reluctance, so I decided to not let it bother me just yet. “I’m Poppy,” I offered. When she just stared blankly at me and didn’t engage in conversation I let go of her hand while I mumbled, “I’m Chief’s sister.” Bender was staring at his woman with confusion written all over his face and when I chanced a glance up at Smoke he did not seem very happy with his sister. She noticed where my eyes traveled and hers moved in the same direction. Whatever she saw in Smoke’s fierce look shook her out of her stupor.
“Sorry,” she rushed out quickly. “I was just confused by you showing up with my brother since you’re married and all,” she stated nonchalantly causing a couple gasps to go up from people who had been standing close by and watching this all play out. I was so damn embarrassed I could feel the flames of a deep blush rushing to my skin, which was going to suck, because when I got embarrassed it left a mark on my pale, freckled complexion, making those freckles stand out even more.
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me, Soph?” Smoke called out. I just put my hand on his elbow to get his attention and shook my head, not wanting any more attention drawn to our little corner of the room.
“I am still married,” I spoke, addressing Sophie. “I’m in the middle of a divorce at the moment, and while I would love that it was all over already, my ex is being a pain in the butt and trying to stall in order to get money for the sale of my family’s home and lands.” I put it out there as honestly and succinctly as possible. Sophie seemed to pale a little bit.
“He’s a brother in the club,” she whispered as though this meant something.
“Yes, he’s with the Sierra High Chapter,” I informed her.
“Why would he need your family’s money?” She asked.
I just shrugged. “I don’t begin to understand anything Walker does, so I couldn’t tell you. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if my brother’s around yet,” I told her, because I certainly didn’t intend to stand there airing my dirty laundry for anyone else in the club, least of all Smoke’s sister, and especially because Smoke and I hadn’t even discussed the latest news in my divorce drama.
“Poppy,” Smoke called to me before I was more than a couple steps away. I hesitated long enough to hear him say, “I’ll be right behind you in a minute. Chief’s at the pool tables.”
I nodded and walked off, headed in the direction Smoke had pointed me to, but I still heard him speaking in a scathing tone to his sister. “What the fuck is your problem?”
“I – I don’t know,” she admitted. I was on the move so I didn’t get to hear the rest of what was said. Instead, I searched out my brother, found him, gave him a big hug, and informed him the cookies were on the bar. He glanced over in the direction of Smoke and his family and frowned.
“What was that about?”
I shrugged once again, something the day seemed to be bringing out of me. “I’m guessing Sophie isn’t a fan of her brother hooking up with a woman who is still married.”
“What?” My brother hissed out angrily.
“Leave it,” I told my brother. “It is what it is. I’d probably feel the same if it were you until I got to know the woman and her circumstances.”
“Still, Poppy, she disrespected you by bringing it up in the clubhouse with people around to hear that shit?” He asked, knowing she must have since I knew why she didn’t like me.
“It is what it is, Chief. Let it go. I’m used to being the outcast in the clubhouse, remember?”
This did not appease my brother in the way I thought it would. “Yeah, and I wanted better for you here, because that shit should have never happened back home. Walk was any kind of man he would have nipped that shit in the bud for you instead of perpetuating it by not bringing you around and staking his claim the way he should have.” Chief shook his head at me while thinking before he spoke. “I always thought it was you just being shy or something, but I’m seeing that wasn’t the case. He was hiding shit from you, or keeping you away from his other shit all this time. I know it.”
I cringed. “Can we not talk about this right now. It’s bad enough to know what went down in the last couple months of our marriage. I don’t want to speculate that I was dumb enough to allow that to happen throughout our marriage. That will kill me, Keith,” I whispered the last to him, but he heard me, and managed to pull me in close to him while giving me a big brother hug I hadn’t realized I’d been missing out on all these years since he’d moved to Cedar Falls. “Should have went with you when you left,” I told him which earned me a kiss on my head before the warm presence of another body was at my back. I knew that body just by the scent of him, and I turned to smile at him as his arm came around my waist and gently pulled me from my brother’s embrace.
Chief just grinned and went right back to his game of pool that had been put on pause while I was talking. Again, something my ex-husband wouldn’t have done. He would have made me wait until the game was over before interacting with me. Why was I just now seeing all this? Why couldn’t I see it before, as I was wasting ten years of my life with a man I thought I loved and whom I thought had loved me?
“Food’s up out back. You want to go grab something?” Smoke asked me, and I nodded while following him as he took my hand in his own and led me to the back yard area of the clubhouse. They had an amazing array of multi-level decking leading to a sunken large deck in the middle that had a fire pit, coolers along the sides, and plenty of benches wrapping around the whole thing, except where narrow steps came in down the middle of all four sides. Those steps lead up to a deck on the right where all the grilling was apparently done, a deck on the left that held a hot tub that was already seeing some action, although from clothed individuals since there were children present. There was a slim deck beyond that funneled out even lower into the grassy lawn area that seemed surprisingly well maintained. Then there was the deck I was currently standing on that opened up from the clubhouse to the others. Scattered lawn furniture and deck chairs were everywhere. Personal coolers were sitting beside some of the chairs and there were men all over the place decked out in denim and leather, t-shirts and a few flannels. The women seemed to be congregating around the food to serve the men or take care of the smaller children.
I wasn’t certain of my place in all of this since I wasn’t an old lady to Walker anymore and Smoke and I were something new. At best, I was now simply family to Chief. So, I stayed glued to Smoke’s side as he moved us over to where the women had set up an elongated table with tons of sides, chips, and cupcakes all over it. Smoke walked us over to the table and smiled at the women who were eyeing us curiously.
“This your new woman?” A younger girl with bleach blond hair and bright blue eyes asked. She was wearing what I’d normally associate as club skank wear consisting of shorts so shor
t parts of her were hanging out that shouldn’t be on show and a top that was cut off to a point that her underboobs were going to be visible to any of the children who dared get too close to her. Her tone wasn’t exactly mean or anything, but she didn’t acknowledge me at all, aside form asking Smoke the question.
“Poppy is my woman. She’s also Chief’s sister.” He scored her with a heated look before issuing a warning. “Be nice, or we’ll have problems. Don’t care who your dad or your man is now.”
Well, obviously there was a story behind those words, and it made me wonder what, if anything, had gone down with Smoke and this woman previously. She sucked her lips into a pucker as if she’d tasted something sour. Then she turned and walked away from the table.
“Don’t mind her,” an older, blond haired woman told me with a smile. “That one has always had a bad attitude. She didn’t grow up in the club thanks to her no-good momma. Didn’t have much of a good influence for the same reason, so make no mind.” She held out her hands. “I believe we actually met a few years ago when you came up for an event. I’m Cindy, Hopper’s old lady.”
I smiled at her. “Hi Cindy, I do believe we were introduced once before.” I looked around at all that was on offer at the table and then laughed. “We left the cookies I brought on the bar inside,” I lamented.
“Oh lord, those boys probably done ate them all up then,” she laughed. Then she mock-glared at Smoke. “You should have known better than to do that.”
He gave her a sheepish grin before picking up a plate and starting to pile sides on it. “We got sneak attacked by Brant, and then I had to introduce Poppy to Soph.”
“How’d that go over?” Cindy asked cautiously.
“Not as well as I’d have liked,” Smoke told her honestly which made Cindy sigh.
“I was worried about that since everyone was gossiping about what went down in Georgia to bring Chief’s sister up here.” I turned all my attention back to Cindy then.
“Gossiping about me?” I asked.
“Sure, sugar. Nothing bad was mentioned, just that you were leaving your old man, and from what everyone says, he deserved to be left.”
I nodded, and was happy to hear that I wasn’t being made out to be the beast in all of this, but it still sent my stomach to turning on itself, and suddenly the food I’d been placing on my plate didn’t seem quite as appetizing. Cindy reached over and patted my hand in a kind gesture. “You ever need to talk, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to vent to, you call me up, sugar. I might listen in on the gossip, but I don’t run my mouth. You have something to say or get off your chest it’ll stay with me if you need it to.”
“Thank you, Cindy,” I told her as Smoke took my hand again and began walking us toward the deck with the grill so we could go grab some of the ribs the boys were cooking.
“Cindy’s a good woman. You can believe her. That woman locks secrets up tighter than a vault.
“Good to know.”
When we got to the grill I noticed Ghost, the president of the local club, as well as the national president of Aces High, was standing there manning the ribs. He tipped his chin up to Smoke before his piercing turquoise colored eyes landed on me. The smile he gave me then was genuine. “Hey there, Poppy.”
“Hi, Ghost. See you’re the one to complain to if the ribs suck,” I teased. He grabbed at his chest as if I’d just broken his heart and he was holding the organ in.
“You wound me!” He exclaimed loudly.
I just giggled. Ghost and I had a cook off once when he was down visiting with his daughter who was married to the president of the Sierra High Chapter as well as being President of her own female motorcycle crew. We pitted our ribs against each other and came out with a draw in the end. No one could decide whose were better because they liked them equally and for different reasons.
Ghost pointed to the two different containers holding the ribs that were already done. “I made two batches, darlin’. There’s my brand of spicy and your brand of sweet.” He pointed in kind to each dish.
“You made my ribs today?” I inquired on a surprised breath.
“Been making both since we had our cook off all those years ago. Thought it’d be prudent since most of the women preferred your sweet to my spicy.” He offered with a wink.
“Well, damn, now I have to try them and make sure you’re doing my recipe justice.” He laughed then.
“Shit! Do not shoot the cook! I make no promises that I got them right. They’re always missing a little of your magic when I attempt them.” Smoke had remained quiet during this exchange, but when I glanced over at him he was grinning from ear to ear.
“What?” I asked.
“Didn’t know you were the one responsible for the sweet, southern ribs Ghost started making, honey.” I didn’t know what to say to that so I didn’t say anything at all. “They’re my favorite.”
Ghost laughed at that. “He isn’t joking. The women always complain when he gets to them first, because there are never enough.”
“Maybe you should take a hint and make more of the superior ribs then?” I asked on a laugh.
“Blasphemy!” Ghost bellowed out while both Smoke and I laughed. “Okay, darlin’ what’s it gonna be?” He finally asked.
“I’m having some of each. Have to make sure you’re doing my recipe justice, but I also love your spicy ribs. It’s a good change of pace from mine.” I offered up on a wink as I grabbed a couple of each.
“Well, next time, you can prep your own recipe so that you know it gets done right.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed with a smile.
“And maybe some of that triple chocolate cake you made before because Leanne loved that shit, and I was supposed to get the recipe for that too, but I didn’t and she’s been harping on my ass about it for years. Woman’s tried to find something similar since then and to no avail.”
“Aww, you could have called. I would have given it to her.”
He looked at me funny then, almost hesitantly, before he spoke. “I did call. Walk told me he didn’t know what I was talking about that he thought you bought it at the store.”
I know I must have paled considerably. “Are you serious?” I gasped out. Ghost nodded as I shook my head. “It’s my grandma’s recipe that I tweaked a little over time. I can’t believe he told you it was store bought.”
“Sorry to bring up bad shit, darlin’.”
“No worries. Just another reminder why my recent life change was for the best.”
Ghost nodded then tipped his head to Smoke. “I need you both to know something before you run off today.” He had both of our undivided attention with that statement. “If I were to pick a person for each of you, this would be it. I approve. No matter that her divorce hasn’t gone through,” he told Smoke. “No matter that you were once with another brother,” he informed me. “I like the two of you for each other. So, if it works out, you have my blessing all the way. It doesn’t work out, make sure you don’t disappear on us, darlin’, because you’ll always be family. That’s something Sweet should have conveyed to you, and I’m damn disappointed he didn’t.” Sweet was Ghost’s son-n-law and the president of the Sierra High Chapter of Aces High.
I felt tears brewing at the backs of my eyes then. “Thanks,” I whispered as Smoke let go of my hand in order to put an arm around my shoulder and pull me into his side instead.
“Appreciate all that, Ghost,” Smoke let him know before we moved off to find ourselves a table to sit down and enjoy our feast.
“That was sweet,” I told him, speaking about what Ghost had just said to us.
“Yeah, honey, it was. He likes you. Never seen him joke around like that so easily with any of the other women outside of Leanne and Angel Girl when she’s around.”
“We bonded over our ribs years ago,” I explained.
“I see that. Damn proud to know those ribs I’ve been eating up all this time came from you in a round about way.” My smile lit up my face with h
is praise.
“Thanks. I’m just glad someone other than the clubwomen actually likes them. “Ghost won’t tell you this, because it might mean he loses the cook-off you had, but the sweet ribs are always gone long before the spicy ones and that isn’t on account of just the women eating them.” At that I laughed.
“Good to know,” I told him.
“Make sure no one gets eager enough to touch my food, honey. I’m gonna go snag us some drinks. You want beer, water, coke, or something else?”
“Coke’s good to wash the ribs down. Little too early for beer for me.” He gave me an odd look, but went about going to procure our drinks anyway. I never drank early at the few club events I went to. Mostly, I knew that I’d have to pace myself, and stop drinking after one or two anyway, because Walker almost always got out of hand and forgot I was there. I’d have to find a ride home or be the one to drive us home on the days I’d driven my car to the clubhouse because Walker had taken off without me. Most times he’d told me it was because he knew I’d have a bunch of shit to take with me that wouldn’t fit on the bike. It still sucked to show up alone and have to drag my stupidly drunk husband out after he allowed other women to paw on him in front of me without putting them in check. It was definitely making me wonder how long Walker had been messing around behind my back and just being more cautious about who was seeing it.
Once again, I found myself having to remind myself that it didn’t matter what Walker had done, what I had been ignorant of, found out about too late, or anything else. The only thing that mattered was that moving forward I didn’t have to deal with any of it. It was my past. The speculation could stay buried in the past with all the other not so pleasant memories our separation had allowed to surface. Instead, I decided to tuck into the ribs on my plate, and the minute I did the flavor exploded on my tongue. Ghost had done my recipe proud.
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