Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
MADISON
S triding toward the dining room I see it's empty, so I head for the common room. As I enter the room, I open my mouth to ask Jonah what he needs, and my mouth drops open.
My vision is blurred with tears that quickly spill over. For over three years I’ve been waiting for this day. Now that it’s here, I can’t believe it.
Is this real?
I almost want to slap myself to make sure this isn’t a dream. If it is, it’s a cruel one. “Mom? Dad?” I croak out.
Not even a second later, I’m engulfed in their arms as we cry. My dad places a kiss on top of my head and squeezes me tighter. I don’t know how long we stay like this, but the sound of my brothers’ voices breaks us up.
“You’re hogging her. Move over,” Ethan chides.
Mom and Dad move out the way and my little brothers have their turn. They squeeze me in between them both and I cry harder. I feel them chuckle against me and plant kisses on top of my head like Dad did. When they pull away, I notice just how much they’ve grown.
Austin was seventeen when I left home, and Ethan was fifteen. Now they’re young men. I smile up at them, still holding on to their arms, not wanting to let them go. I’m afraid they’ll disappear the second I do.
My tears haven’t stopped, and Ethan wipes them away. “Sis, stop crying. You’re going to make me cry and I really don’t want to do that in a room full of badass bikers,” he whispers, so Mom doesn’t hear him curse.
I giggle and look between my parents and brothers. “H-how are you here? H-how…” my breath hitches as I try to control the sob threatening to break free.
“Jonah arranged it,” my dad tells me.
I turn to Jonah and he’s standing to the side with a huge smile on his face. “You did this?” I ask him.
“With the help of the guys.” He nods.
I let go of my brothers and run into Jonah’s arms. When I’m close enough, I launch myself at him, and he catches me, holding me to him. Wrapping my arms around him, I bury my face in his neck. “I love you so much,” I cry.
“Love you too, baby.”
This is so embarrassing. I’m crying like a newborn baby in a room full of people, but I really don’t care. I’m so overwhelmed with emotion at having my family here. This is the best thing that anyone has done for me in a long time. Jonah holds on to me for a few moments before he sets me down on the ground. Grabbing my hand, he walks us over to my parents.
My mom stares at our linked hands with open disdain. She isn’t happy. As excited as I am about having them here, I dread the conversation that’s coming ahead. Every FaceTime call I’ve had with my parents since I’ve been here has been filled with warnings to stay away from Jonah.
It won't be easy to convince them to accept our relationship, but they will need to come to terms with it. I can't live without him. I’ve done that for ten years and I won’t do it for another second. Not even for them. I love my parents but asking me to walk away from Jonah is like asking me to walk away from my heart. He owns it.
Always has.
Always will.
“I know you all must be tired from the long drive. If you’re comfortable staying on the compound, my brother, Torch, has offered up his home for you to stay in. He doesn’t stay there for the time being, so you’ll have the place to yourself, and you’ll be close to Madison. If you don’t like that idea, we do have a hotel reservation for you,” Jonah tells my parents.
“Where exactly is this house?” Mom asks with a slight attitude.
“It’s in the back with the rest of the family houses,” I tell her, trying to save Jonah from her wrath. I know a blowup is coming, but I want to avoid it for as long as possible. I give my mom pleading eyes, begging her to drop whatever argument she has building up inside her. She sighs and plasters a fake smile on her face.
“We’ll stay on the compound, if that’s alright.”
Jonah nods and walks over to Torch. Cara approaches us with a small smile. “Now do you see why we don’t want you to cook?”
I nod with a huge smile. “How long have you known?” I ask her.
“A few days.” She shrugs.
Turning to my parents, I say, “Mom, Dad, this is Cara. She’s the one who provided the laptops for us.”
Both of my parents shake her hand with a thank you. Cara smiles and waves her hand, telling them it was no problem at all. She gets ready to head for the kitchen when Austin grabs her arm. Cara turns with furrowed brows as my brother puts on a sexy smile as his eyes roam over her body. She turns to me with wide eyes, bewildered by his behavior. Before I can tell my brother he’s barking up the wrong tree, he opens his mouth.
“Well, I think I should thank you properly , gorgeous.” He takes her hand and starts to bring it to his lips.
A curse sounds in the background and Cara snatches her hand away before flashing him her ring. “Happily married, young buck.”
She runs over to Viper who is striding across the room, looking ready to kill. Patting his chest, she rises on her toes and plants a soft kiss against his lips. He kisses her back while keeping his eyes trained on my brother. There’s a warning in his stare. My brother gulps and nods his head in understanding.
Jonah returns with a small smile as if he’s trying to stop himself from laughing. I narrow my eyes at him, and he barks out a laugh. “Come on, I’ll take you all to the house so you can get settled in.”
As we walk out of the common room, I turn to Austin. “Rule number one to coming on to a woman. Always check her ring finger,” I hiss.
Austin nods while checking behind him. I’m guessing to make sure Viper isn’t after him.
Jonah leads us to the front door and opens the passenger door to the club SUV for me. I hop in while my family loads their bags in the back before piling in. Once we’re all settled in, Jonah drives around back and pulls into the driveway of Torch’s house. It’s beautiful—sleek and modern. Not at all what I expected.
I’ve seen these homes every day for the past month, but I didn’t know who this one belonged to. Jonah hops out and takes my mom’s suitcase before she can protest. She huffs and narrows her eyes at his back. “Mom, please be nice,” I whisper.
I speed up, not giving her a chance to argue and walk through the front door. I gasp when I look around at the beautifully decorated home. This is a bachelor pad for sure. There’s a huge black leather sectional decorated with white-and-gray throw pillows. A gray rug lies in the middle of the room with a black table in the center of it. He has a huge television mounted to the wall right above an electric fireplace.
Ethans gasps beside me and throws himself down on the sectional. “I could get used to this,” he says, crossing his arms behind his head and propping his feet up on the end of the couch.
Mom grabs his feet and swings them off the sofa. “Act like you have some manners, Ethan. This is someone’s home.”
Ethan smiles sheepishly and sits upright.
“I’m going to get going, babe. I know your parents are dying to get you alone. Call me when you’re ready to return and I’ll come back to get you,” Jonah tells me softly.
I huff with a small smile. “Jonah, I can walk back alone. It’s not like I’ll get lost or anything.”
He raises a brow, not impressed with my answer. “Call me,” he says firmly. Planting a quick kiss to my lips, he moves toward the door and leaves. I’m so lost in the moment, smiling to myself, I totally forget my family is in the room. My mother gasps, stunned, and the smile is wiped from my face.
“What is going on with you two, Madison?” Mom hisses.
“Mom, please, you just got here. I really don’t want to spend the night arguing. Can we just enjoy our time together?”
My mom opens her mouth but Dad silences her by placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking his head. “Not tonight, Martha. Madison is right. We haven’t seen our baby girl in three years. We don’t need to waste time arguing.”
I mouth a thank you to my dad and take a seat next to Ethan. “Look at you, all grown up. And look at the peach fuzz,” I tease, pointing at his chin.
“Ha ha, you just wait. Now that I’m a man, I’ll have a full beard before you know it.” He rolls his eyes and smacks my hand away.
“You’ll always be my baby. I don’t care how old you get,” Mom tells him.
Ethan groans and sighs in annoyance. “Mom, you seriously can't say those kinds of things in public. I’m going to be a man in two days.”
Mom tears up and pats his cheek. “You sure are, baby.”
Austin and I snicker and Ethan narrows his eyes at us. Turning to my dad, I ask, “How did all this happen? I know you said Jonah arranged this, but how?”
“He called me a few days ago and asked if he could arrange for us to come here for Thanksgiving would we be interested. We had a long conversation and he told me as much as he wishes he could bring you home, it just isn’t safe with Thomas still on the loose. So, here we are.”
“Is that all you two talked about?”
“No.” I wait for more, but Dad doesn’t say anything more. Eyeing my mom, I decide to bring it up later. Having a conversation about Jonah will only set her off again.
“What’s the plan for Thanksgiving?” Austin asks me.
“Well, the Ol’ Ladies are cooking a feast, and the other two chapters of the club will be coming in. There will be around eighty people here tomorrow.”
“Ol’ Ladies? And how in the hell do they plan on cooking for that many people?” Mom asks.
“Ol’ Ladies are the wives of the club. If anybody can get the job done, it’s them. There’s going to be a huge spread and I can't wait. Those women can cook like something I haven’t seen before.” Mom frowns at me, clearly annoyed with the high praise. “Just wait until you taste their cooking for yourself. I’ve gained ten pounds since being here.”
“Do we have to spend Thanksgiving here? Can’t we go out as a family?” Mom asks.
My shoulders drop and my stomach churns with hurt. I know she’s only being protective, but I don’t want to spend the entire time they’re here being a referee. I need her to give Jonah a fighting chance. And the club. I love it here. I know she would too if she could get past the anger and resentment she feels toward Jonah. It isn’t his fault his uncle is a manipulative sick bastard.
“Honey, I know you’re angry, but it's aimed at the wrong people. Jonah and his club have protected Madison without question. They opened their doors and welcomed us so we could spend the holidays with her. It would be rude to turn down the invitation and I’m pretty sure Madison leaving isn’t the safest thing to do,” Dad tells Mom.
Mom huffs and nods in defeat. Her attitude is really getting to me and I find myself wanting to get out of here as fast as possible. Maybe with a night of rest she’ll wake up with a different attitude.
“Sweetheart, what time will the food be served tomorrow?” Dad asks.
I open my mouth but quickly realize I don’t know the answer. I pull out my phone and text Jonah.
Me: What time is the food being served tomorrow?
Jonah: The girls said they’re aiming for two, but they’re not making any promises.
Me: Lol. I don’t blame them. I saw the list of food they have to prepare.
Jonah: Is everything going alright?
Me: Yes and no. I think Mom is having a hard time with all this. I’m going to let them get settled for the night. I’m ready for bed.
Jonah: Ok, baby. I’m on my way.
“Jonah said the food will be served around two. I’ll come and get you guys and we’ll walk over together.”
“You’re leaving?” Mom asks as she rushes to her feet.
Walking over, I hug her and hold on tight. “Mom, you have yawned three times in the past five minutes. You’re tired and so am I. I worked a twelve-hour shift today. We still have the rest of the time you’re here. How long are you here for?”
“I could only get a week off from work, so we’ll be heading out Tuesday,” Dad says as he joins in on the hug. We hold on to each other in silence for a few minutes before there’s a soft knock on the door. I say a quick goodbye to my family before leaving. When I open the door, Jonah takes a step forward as if he’s about to walk in and I shake my head. He steps back in confusion, and I grab his hand.
“Mom needs time. She’s struggling with all this.”
Jonah nods in understanding and leads me to the clubhouse. We make it to his room and the exhaustion of the day sets in. Jonah takes me to the bathroom and turns on the shower. He washes my body like he does every day and I melt into him, needing his comfort and pampering. Once we’re finished, he takes me to bed.
We lie in comfortable silence as he holds me against his body.
“Promise me everything will be okay,” I whisper.
Jonah sighs and tightens his arms around me. “If you’re referring to your mom, I wish I could, Maddy. But I can promise you something else.”
Raising my head, I look him in the eyes. “What’s that?”
“I promise that no matter what happens, I’m never leaving your side again.”
Smiling, I lift my head and bring my lips against his. Jonah keeps the kiss gentle and sweet before pulling away. I settle against him with a smile on my face. Sleep takes me in no time.