Chapter Three.
Calamity - One week later
How Drake did this shit, I didn’t know, but getting everyone to where they wanted to be was like herding sheep.
My brothers were all over the place. We were meeting at the clubhouse with their old ladies as we began making plans for the move.
Obviously, some of the women had businesses or jobs, and they needed to be included in this stage.
“Order! Shut the hell up,” Falcon said loudly.
“Pardon?” Penny replied, giving him a dead-eyed stare.
“How can we organise anything with everyone talking over each other and not listening?” Falcon retorted. He didn’t seem fazed by Penny or the other dark looks the old ladies were sending his way.
“Just because you are pretty and have a gold medal…” Aurora began, and Falcon sent her a derisive look.
“One gold medal?”
“Several medals,” Aurora replied, and Falcon looked mollified.
“And yet again, we’re off subject. We’re trying to sort things out for everyone and get a compilation of priority needs. Aurora-Victoria, you’re not the focus as you already bought your shop, but what about Grace? Or Rosie, who’ll need a building for her new clinic?”
Penny and Aurora-Victoria subsided.
“Okay, we have a lot to resolve today. It would be great to have a list of what we require and a wish list,” I said.
“How’s this being funded?” Texas asked.
“RC, as the National Chapter, has offered to fund the move and buildings, but I’d rather us not owe a debt.
I’ll be funding this from my personal fortune.
Rosie and I don’t need the money, and it’s just sitting there.
We’ve discussed it, and we’re happy to buy whatever the club needs.
That includes shops for the old ladies, houses, and the clubhouse built,” I said.
“Will the club own our businesses?” Mina asked.
“No, they’ll be signed over to you; I’m just paying for them,” I replied.
“That’s generous,” Penny beamed.
“We also have to discuss when we can all go visit the site, and then decide on a clubhouse design and house designs. I’ll be honest, I like modern, but I’d rather fit in with the natural surroundings. But first, let’s sort out the businesses. Penny, what would you like to do?”
“I’ll manage the kitchen. We’ll need a couple of cooks, but I’m basically going to retire. I’ll ensure we’ve got food and plan the meals and so on, unless anyone has an issue. I don’t want to be getting up so early anymore,” she replied.
“Fine by me,” I agreed. “Amberlea?”
“I’d like an office for event-planning. I’ve looked, and Ortonville doesn’t have one. Gauntlet and I have been discussing it.”
“Good idea; that’s right up your alley,” I said.
Harley made a couple of notes on a pad.
“Grace, is there anything you’d like to do?”
“I was considering an arts and crafts store. There was one in Ortonville, but it recently shut down. Hell, our kids alone would keep me running,” Grace replied with a smile.
“I want stables. Maybe we can use horses if we open the camp,” Demi spoke up.
“We’ll discuss that, but sure,” I responded, and Demi smiled. If anyone knew their horse flesh, it was Demi.
“I have my shop,” Aurora-Victoria said, and I nodded.
“I’ll work from home as usual,” Mina stated. She’d been a famous actress but now was an author instead. She hated being in the public eye and was only relaxed around Rage. Somehow, I hadn’t expected anything different from her.
“We’ll need a daycare for the kids. If we’re all working, I’m not comfortable letting strangers have them. I want to run that, please,” Carmelle said, and Ghost looked at his wife, surprised. Carmelle smiled, and he returned it.
“Not got a problem with that. Texas, do you plan to continue with bike designs and painting?” I turned to him.
“No, I’m going to semi-retire like Penny. I’ll do a few designs, but only if they capture my interest. Same as the artwork. I’ll paint a tank if I want; if not, someone else can use my design,” he replied.
“Not a problem,” I said and caught Falcon’s gaze.
“I’ve still got quite a few years left in me. I’ll keep up with my swimming and ju-jitsu training. When I retire, I’ll look at opening a dojo,” he replied.
“How about now?” Aurora asked.
“Have you seen something?” Falcon inquired. Like all of us, he trusted Aurora-Victoria when she had visions.
“Yes, open it now,” she insisted.
“Fine.” Falcon didn’t bother arguing.
“I’m taking over the Phoenix Trust side of the charity permanently. Mom has agreed. I’ll have to spend one or two days in Rapid City a week, but I’ll require an office to work from,” Christian said.
“Is Phoe okay with you relocating with us?” Savage asked.
“Yeah, a little surprised, but she understands.” Christian, his English accent still strong, didn’t look too bothered, so I guessed Phoe hadn’t created too much of a scene.
“We know I plan to retire in a few years. I want to open an ice-rink and set a school up as we’ve done here.
There are enough retired players that I’m not needed here now,” Ice stated.
“I’ve done some research. There is an ice-rink in Ortonville, but it’s small and dated.
It’s also up for sale. If we buy it and expand it, it will work better for us. ”
“We’ll put in an offer,” I approved with a nod at Harley and Texas. Texas would look into buying it after the meeting.
“Are we opening garages? If so, I’ll remain a mechanic,” Savage spoke next. He and Gauntlet swapped glances.
“There is one, but it’s extortionate to go there, and the reviews speak of dodgy work. Calamity, starting our own garage would bring business as we’ve got a solid rep,” Gauntlet stated.
“Then you, Savage, and Hunter, will find and open one,” I ordered. Hunter nodded. He did bike design and specialised paintwork.
“I’m working with Rosie,” Klutz interjected. He was also a qualified vet now.
“Perfect,” Rosie beamed at him.
“Blacksmith for me. I want to return to that when I retire,” Harley said.
“Tattoo parlour for me,” Ghost announced, surprising everyone.
“You’re going back to it?” Texas inquired, shocked.
“Yeah. I’ll be like Texas, picky about what I do, but I loved tattooing. We’ll need to recruit a couple of other artists as I want to semi-retire too,” he stated with a look at Carmelle. She smiled at him.
“What will you do, Prez?” Demi asked.
“I’ll work on the design part-time. I think running the club will take up a lot of my energy,” I admitted.
“You wouldn’t be wrong,” Texas said.
“So, we’ve gotta start looking for empty buildings. I bet there’s some available right now. I’ll begin researching. Are we planning a date we can all visit?” Harley muttered as he wrote in his notepad.
“Yeah, we have to begin getting things moving. Can everyone get away on Wednesday, and we’ll return on Monday?” I suggested.
A chorus of agreement arose, and I nodded.
“Our homes here—we’re going to sell them, I guess. What are we doing about housing there? I like what Unwanted Bastards and Hellfire are doing,” Carmelle spoke shyly.
“What makes you like their idea?” Ghost asked gently.
“They’re building a community, a family. I’m sure you said there was a lot of land there. Is there enough to do something similar?” Carmelle blushed a little.
“I agree. Let’s vote on it,” Falcon suggested.
I went around the table, and everyone agreed. Some conditions were added, such as each home being detached and having large yards for the kids. And having space between them. We had acres of land, plenty to do what we wanted.
“We can decide what to do with the campsites when we get there,” I said, and nods rebounded at me.
“This is so exciting,” Amberlea announced with a huge grin. Yeah, it was.
Rosie
“This is a total dump!” I exclaimed as we looked at what had been the campsite. By the expressions that those around me wore, I wasn’t far wrong.
“It’s been completely vandalised,” Calamity agreed.
“Those cabins are rotting; there’s no saving them,” Texas added. “Plus, the layout is shit.”
“I ain’t disagreeing,” Falcon muttered.
“Okay. We have a map of the area of our land. I suggest we examine the other sites,” Calamity said, referring to the RV and tent campsite.
We stomped off down a badly pitted lane that led to a water-soaked field with a derelict shower block in it.
“Well, damn, that’s a craphole,” Hunter declared, frowning.
“The RV site isn’t much better; come take a look at this shithole,” Savage called from further up. We marched up to him and recoiled. It had been used as a dumping ground, and the wilderness was out of control.
“Dare we check the other cabins?” Aurora asked.
“We gotta. Need to make sure we have the measure of everything,” Apache said. He’d accompanied us to help design what we wanted. Right now, it looked like everything had to be torn down.
Silently, we retraced our steps and hit our bikes again. It was too far to walk, and Calamity didn’t trust anyone not to get hurt. We took it slow because the potholes, which were in abundance, would damage the bike’s suspension.
“Damn!” I exclaimed again. This time it was with mixed feelings. We crested a hill, and the road dipped down. Calamity had pulled up, and I could see the lake, the shoreline, and some woodlands. We witnessed fallen buildings and shook our heads. This was a real disaster.
“Let’s check the peninsula out. There’s planning permission for it, and we own that,” Calamity stated as my stomach dropped at how much work there was to be done.
“Stop a moment,” I said, pointing at a patch of land. “Do we own that?”
“Yes.”
“Klutz, wouldn’t that make a perfect spot for the animal sanctuary, and it’s close to the shoreline. If we built a platform out there, we could take in water creatures as well. Create several large pens in the river,” I called.
Klutz cocked his head as he tried to envision what I was imagining. “Not a bad place at all. Looks like we need to find a space for the veterinary.”
“Build that closer to the road. That way, the public can have easy access, but the sanctuary is off limits if we enclose it,” I suggested.