Mace’s Madonna (Pagan Souls of Cherokee MC #5)

Jessamy

The wind whipping across my face felt good. The weather wasn’t terribly hot even though the sun was out. It was a wonderful day for a ride. The majority of the club was riding with us. It was Saturday, so they were off from work. Only Natalya, Tana, and Bodie stayed behind with the kids. Knight tried to stay with Natalya, but she insisted he ride.

The following Friday, everyone would go on the poker run. After our return home on Saturday, we would put the finishing touches on Twisted and Zari’s wedding preparation, which would be on Sunday, followed by a reception. I asked why they were combining it. The answer was since all the clubs they were friends with would be on the run, it made sense to have them stop on their way home to join the wedding. That way, they didn’t have to make the trip or take time off twice in a row. I could see the logic of it. While the women were doing some of the cooking, they’d catered a lot of it, so it wasn’t falling on their shoulders, and they’d be able to enjoy the poker run, wedding, and reception.

I had no idea where we were, but it didn’t matter. I was enjoying the ride. The other old ladies grinned at me as we rode. When we rolled out, I discovered that there was a riding order and how it worked. Who knew there was so much to learn about bikers? Yes, they lived by their wants and needs overall, but they still had structure and rules, just ones of their own making.

We’d rode for over an hour when Agony signaled them. I didn’t know what twirling his finger in the air meant, but the guys did. We were pulling off the road a minute later into a parking lot. I gasped at what I saw. It was a roadside open flea market from the looks of it. There were stalls set up all over a flat field. There were numerous vehicles in the lot.

The men found a large open area where they could park all the bikes together. Atticus, who was driving their crash truck, parked next to us. That was something else I learned. When they went on rides, most of the time, they’d have someone, typically a prospect, drive the crash truck. It was there in case any of the bikes broke down. If possible, they’d repair it along the road, or if it were too big of a fix, it would be loaded up and taken back to the compound.

I joined the ladies when I got off Mace’s bike. My legs felt shaky, and I had to stand for a minute or so before I could walk. We were all eagerly chatting about what we might find. It had been a long time since I’d been to one of these. Mace came up and put his arm around me.

“You ready, babe?”

“I’m ready.”

We headed toward the main entry. Our group garnered a lot of stares. Some were curious, others concerned. I saw a few where they were turning up their noses. I ignored them. People could be so ignorant. It wasn’t until we got inside that I saw people selling more than crafts. There were stalls where they were selling fresh fruits and vegetables from someone’s garden. When we got to the first one like that, I picked up a bright red tomato and smelled it. It was firm and smelled like a tomato. The ones you bought in a store didn’t smell or taste like one. It was because they had to pick them when they were still green.

“Babe, should I be worried that you’re feeling up and smelling a fruit?” Mace teased.

“Hey, for good produce, I’d sell you, so better watch out,” I joked.

“Damn, that tells you where you rank, Mace,” Pope jeered. The others were laughing.

“I was joking, but good homegrown produce is always better than store-bought.” I defended.

“You know, we should get some and see if Tana will teach us how to can,” Eliana said. She was picking up and looking at various ones. I saw a couple of women standing at the stall move off. We hadn’t crowded them, so I wasn’t sure why they left, but whatever.

“If you want to learn, I think I remember. Aunt June taught me how. It’s not that complicated, just time-consuming and messy,” I told her.

“Would there be enough time to do it before the poker run and wedding?” Agony asked.

“No, shoot, there wouldn’t. Darn it,” Eliana muttered.

The farmer who had stood there listening to us spoke for the first time. “I see your cuts say you’re from Cherokee. That’s not too far from where I have my farm. My garden is still producing and should be for a few more weeks. If you’d like some, but later, say in two weeks, I could have some set aside for you if you want.”

This got our attention. As we talked to him, he introduced himself as Ted Knowles. His farm was in Waynesville, which was about twenty miles from Cherokee. I discovered we were in Maryville, Tennessee. We got his information and told him we’d love to come and get stuff after next weekend. We spent a fair amount of time talking to him before we moved on.

There were cute items and such a variety that it was hard to know where to look. The club stayed relatively close together, but we made sure to be polite to those around us. We didn’t get in their way. We’d nod and say hello. Some responded in kind, and others kept walking without a word.

Not far down the line, all the old ladies gathered at a table with jewelry. We asked Zari about the items shown. After all, she was the expert since this was what she did for a living. The vendor also had loose stones, and she was checking them out. I was so into what she was asking that I moved and bumped into someone. Immediately, I turned to them, smiling as I did.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going. Excuse me.”

It was two women, I’d say, in their thirties. The one I’d bumped into was a brunette. The other had hair the color of mine. Both of them sniffed, then walked off. Rude bitches , I thought, then I forgot about them and returned to listening to Zari and the vendor talk. The guys were standing at a stall a little piece down from us where there were what I thought were car parts. Rune had stayed with the bikes, and Atticus was with us. He stood far enough back not to crowd us.

I was holding a cute bracelet I thought Cara would like. I was turning to ask the other women what they thought when I was jarred. I scooted to make room as I waited for the person who bumped into me to say excuse me. That wasn’t what I got.

“Why don’t you move along and let the rest of us look? You and your bunch have been here long enough,” a woman snapped.

When I glanced to my left, I saw it was the brunette I’d bumped into earlier. Her friend was with her, as well as two other women. They were all glaring at me.

“There’s plenty of room for all of us. If you want to get to something, all you have to do is say excuse me. No need to be rude,” I told her.

“I don’t need lessons in manners from a biker bitch,” she snorted.

“I beg to differ. Someone needs to teach you what you’ve obviously never been taught. I know three-year-olds who have better manners. And I wouldn’t call anyone a bitch until you check the mirror,” I replied. It just came out. I didn’t pause to think.

All four of them gasped and stared at me as if shocked I dared to say anything. I felt the old ladies move closer to me.

The friend with her from before snapped, “How dare you?”

“How dare you? What’s your problem?” Joli asked.

Out of all the Pagan ladies, Joli struck me as the biggest scrapper. Her cousin, Chaos, was part of the Pagan chapter in Georgia in Lake Oconee. I figured she’d learned to take care of herself from him.

“Shut up. We’re talking to her. We’ll get to the rest of you,” the third woman said. She was blond.

“Ladies, you doing okay?” Atticus asked us, but he was eyeing the other women.

The four of them appeared uncertain for the first time. They stepped back from him and didn’t say a word. I was about to suggest we leave them there. I didn’t want to do anything to ruin the great day we were having. Before I could say it, a man interjected himself into the conversation. There were three guys with him. If I had to guess, they were the men of the four bitches glaring at us.

“What the fuck? Are you talking to our women, biker trash? I suggest you and those whores with you walk away,” the tallest one said.

“I don’t see that happening,” Atticus told him calmly. He was standing there wearing an unconcerned expression.

“Punch him in the face,” one of the other men egged his buddy on.

I knew that Atticus could probably take care of himself in an even fight, but these four would all jump him, I had no doubt. I was turning to see if I could see Mace and the others. I should’ve known they would be watching out for us even if Atticus was. Suddenly, all twelve Pagans were standing behind us, forming a semicircle around us, and the eight that were facing off with us.

“Would you like to repeat what you said about trash?” Hulk asked.

I’d learned a lot about the various positions in a club from Mace. I knew the enforcer was the primary protector of the club. And at six and a half feet tall, Hulk was more than capable of doing it. Not that any of the others weren’t. They kept themselves in peak shape and were ready to handle anything that came along.

I saw the four guys pale, and exchange looks. How they hadn’t seen the men, I don’t know. I couldn’t prevent a smile from forming. Their women looked appalled and scared. I lifted an eyebrow at the brunette. She grabbed the arm of the man who spoke to us.

“Let’s go,” she hissed.

The other three women latched onto one of the other men. They began to drag them away from us. We didn’t stop them. We kept an eye on them until they were out of sight, then went back to shopping. I heard Dare tell Atticus to stand guard with Rune. He nodded and left.

“Do you think Rune needs help?” I asked Mace. He was standing next to me.

“Probably not, but better safe than sorry. Don’t let it worry you. If they need us, they’ll text us. Come on, show me what you found.”

It took effort to get back into it, but I did. We spent another hour there before we decided we were ready to go. The guys said they knew of a place nearby where they wanted us to go for a late lunch. We were hungry, so they got no objections from us. Mace carried my few purchases. I had tried not to buy anything since I couldn’t access my money, but he handed me several bills and insisted I get what I wanted. We needed to have a discussion about my money and apartment. Since I planned to remain here, I needed to close my account and get with my landlord, assuming he hadn’t given my apartment away. I was overdue for the rent. Shit, I hadn’t even thought of that. Yes, after we got through the wedding, I had to talk to Mace about it.

When we got to the parking lot, Rune and Atticus were leaning against the truck. They straightened when they saw us. As we got closer, I saw Rune had a red mark on his cheek, and Atticus had a cut under his eye.

As we reached them, Agony asked, “What happened?”

“Those four idiots with their bimbos thought they’d come over and fuck with your bikes. We changed their minds,” Atticus told him.

“Why didn’t you message us?” Hulk asked.

“Because we could handle it ourselves. It’ll take more than that to get the best of us,” Rune added.

The men shook their heads. “Damn it, when something like that happens, let us know. Even if you can handle it, we want to watch the fun,” Dare grumbled. The others all nodded in agreement. This remark made the prospects grin.

As Eliana fussed over Atticus and Rune’s faces and skinned knuckles, I had to say to Mace. “Men are really just little boys looking for trouble at heart, aren’t they?”

He grinned. “Damn right, especially bikers.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help giggling. Once Eliana was satisfied they were good, we got on the bikes and headed out to eat. Even this run-in didn’t spoil how great a day I was having.