Chapter 48
FORTY-EIGHT
“Motherfucker!”
I chuckle as Boot breaks a cue over his knee and tosses it on the pool table. Then he points at me from the other side of it and narrows his eyes.
“The only reason you keep winning is because of your physics shit.”
Mac snorts as he grabs the chalk and casually rubs it over the tip of his cue.
“Wrong type of physics,” I say, reaching into the pockets to roll the balls to the end of the table. “I’m in quantum mechanics.”
Boot’s forehead creases. “Well… whatever that is, you’re using it.”
“Sure,” I say, grabbing the broken cue from the table and tossing it back to him. “It’s the little things that count anyway.”
Confusion flickers across his face, but then he just picks up his broken pool cue and tosses it aside. “Rematch.”
But as a hand slides around my waist, a smile tugs at my lips.
“He’s busy,” Alder says, turning me away from the table, and his lips immediately find mine.
I kiss him back, letting my hands slide under his cut, and my fingers brush over the leather holster strapped to his ribs
“Fuck, baby,” he murmurs against my lips. “If this clubhouse wasn’t full right now, I’d bend you over that pool table and fuck you senseless.”
“Please don’t,” Mac says from beside us. “My kids are here. And me.”
I chuckle against Alder’s lips as he groans in disappointment and pulls me closer to him.
“Later then,” he says, running his lips along my jaw. “The second everyone clears out, I’m in that ass.”
I glance around the clubhouse at the busy room, as the club’s families set up food and tables for a barbecue, and nod. “Deal.”
Alder reaches around and grabs my ass, then releases me with a sigh as he tilts his head towards the bar. “Come on.”
I follow him to the bar where Caz stands behind it, cautiously staring at his exit, which is being guarded by Wingnut.
He turns to us as we approach, and he gives Alder a pleading look. “Please, man, I’m begging you. Take the duck. Let me live.”
“No,” Alder says simply, and reaches over the bar to grab a can of sparkling water and hands it to me.
Caz groans and glances at Wingnut again, just as the duck flares his wings and gives a single, menacing flap. “I just want to leave the bar…” he mutters.
Alder turns to face me and leans one elbow on the bar as his eyes flick down to the can in my hand. “I quit, too, you know.”
My eyebrow lifts, and he smiles.
“Smoking,” he says.
“Really…” I say slowly, not quite sure I believe that.
He nods. “It’s been two days.”
A slow smile spreads across my lips as I stare into his dark eyes, full of mischief, determination, and love.
“And why would you do a stupid thing like that?” I ask.
He chuckles, sliding a hand to my hip and tugging me closer. “Baby, there’s only one thing I’m addicted to.”
I pull a breath in and slowly exhale with a small nod. “Me too.”
And it’s true.
These past few weeks have been brutal. I’ve had to crack parts of myself open that I’ve spent years sealing shut, and there are still areas I haven’t reached yet.
I’m working through and facing the reasons I was drinking, and why I let myself fall so far…
and every session feels like I’m taking a crowbar to my own chest.
Some days it hits harder than others, and I wonder what one drink would do… and how fast it would make the pain go away.
But I haven’t. Because I’m feeling that pain… and that means something.
And even among those dark thoughts, there are moments of clarity. Where everything lifts and I can see how much better life can be. And not just a life without alcohol… but a life I actually want. One where I’m fully awake and reach for the future instead of folding under the weight of it.
I may not be there yet, but I’m on my way.
And he’s walking with me.
“Can you fucking move?”
We both turn our heads to see Maple standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Alder.
Alder glances behind him at the bar we’re clearly blocking, then slowly turns back to her. “No.”
She rolls her eyes with a heavy sigh. “Fucking insufferable.”
“Fucking entitled,” Alder shoots back.
Maple’s eyes narrow. “Ignorant fucking asshole.”
They quietly glare at each other for a moment before the corner of Alder’s lips twitches, ever so slightly.
Then he reaches around and grabs a beer from the bar and holds it out to her.
She stares at it for a moment before she slowly reaches out and takes it, and something in both of them eases… just a little.
“Don’t be ungrateful,” Alder says with a sly smile. “Say thank you.”
Maple huffs, rolling her eyes again as she turns to leave. But I see the small, reluctant smile on her lips, too, as she twists the cap off and walks away.
Alder watches her for a moment, then turns back to me. But his eyes catch on something behind me, and his lips quirk up.
“They’re here.”
I turn towards the door, where my parents and Darren stand just inside it, wide-eyed and frozen.
They look like they stepped through the wrong door and landed smack in the middle of someone else’s life.
Dad’s arm is slung protectively around Mom’s shoulders, holding her close as if he can shield her from everything in the room, while Darren’s eyes scan the clubhouse like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
But when their eyes land on me, I swear I see a breath escape each of them.
“Hey,” I say as I approach them, with Alder next to me.
“Hi, honey,” Mom says in a small voice. She gives me a strained smile and awkwardly lifts the container in her hands. “I brought a salad…” she trails off as her gaze lifts to Alder beside me, then quickly flicks back to my face like she’s unsure if she should be looking at him at all.
But Darren’s eyes stay glued to him. He stands beside Mom, staring straight at Alder with a mix of suspicion and unspoken challenge.
On Mom’s other side, Dad’s eyes flick between Alder’s tattooed arms, Kurt and Dom smoking at one of the nearby tables, and the mugshot wall.
Then, all three of them flinch, and Mom clutches the container to her chest as their gazes fly to the other side of the room when Boot snaps another cue and lunges at Trip, while Mac steps in to hold him back.
I know they’re nervous about being here.
And I have to admit I’m a bit nervous about it too.
But Alder is part of my life now. An important part.
And these people are too. This place gave me something I didn’t know I needed, and I want my family to see that.
I want them to see that what I’m building for myself isn’t wild and reckless.
Or not completely, anyway. And not anymore.
What I have here with Alder is solid, and it’s safe.
And this man beside me will do everything to make sure it stays that way.
I want them to know the real Alder, and not the version that’s spread around the province, rooted in fear and misunderstanding.
I want them to get to know the man I love, for exactly who he is.
And not when I’m leaving with him on the back of a motorcycle.
“So…” I say, glancing between them and Alder. “This is Alder.”
Their eyes all land on him, and the tension is palpable. I shift on my feet, not quite sure what to do or say.
Until there’s a loud quack at our feet, and we all look down at Wingnut.
He’s standing near Darren’s feet, and when he quacks again, I brace myself for him to snap at Darren’s legs.
But he just wiggles his tail and gently pecks at his sneaker, then waddles away.
Alder lifts his chin and locks eyes with Darren. Darren does the same, and neither of them backs down as they hold each other’s gaze.
Then Alder extends a hand between them. “I knew I liked you.”
Darren looks down at Alder’s tattooed hand for a moment before he takes it in a firm grip. “I’ll like you as long as you treat my brother right.”
Alder smiles. “Now I like you even more.”
“Hello, my sweet darling!”
A woman with a long flowing dress and bangles clinking up her arms swoops in gracefully and pulls Alder into a hug as the scent of patchouli wafts through the air. She kisses his cheek and pats his chest, looking up at him with such unfiltered love that I can’t help but smile.
This has to be his mom.
“Mom,” Alder says, turning her towards us while she continues to wear a big, warm smile. “This is Cade, and his family.”
Her eyes widen with wonder as she gasps and steps towards me with her arms open.
“Cade,” she says softly. “Gorgeous. Stunning.” She pulls me into a firm, swaying hug, and I chuckle as I smell weed on her. Then she pulls back and holds me at arm’s length, looking me over. “Your spirit is beautiful. You’ve clearly got fire in your chart.”
Before I can even think of how to respond to that, she turns to my parents and Darren.
“Oh, I just love the energy here,” she says, smiling at them.
Then she spots the salad container in my mom’s hands.
“And you brought a salad! Aren’t you just divine?
Come, come, all of you. Let’s get you settled. Kurt! Come meet these lovely people.”
She loops her arm around my mom’s shoulders and links elbows with Darren, already leading them into the room like they’re long-lost friends. My family hesitates for a beat, but something about her easy touch and overflowing affection softens the moment, and they go with her.
I watch them go, and when I turn back to Alder, a young woman is standing next to him, probably about twenty years old, with the same dark eyes and a knowing smile.
“Hi,” she says, holding out her hand with a polite smile. “I’m Cedar. Nice to meet you.”
“Hey,” I say, taking it and giving it a brief shake. “Nice to meet you, too.”
When I release her hand, she glances up at Alder with a raised brow. “You really brought the duck?”
Alder nods. “Yeah. He likes it here. And…” he shrugs, “Caz.”
We all glance towards the tables where Wingnut flaps after Caz again, sending him weaving between chairs and nearly knocking over a kid.
“Fair,” Cedar says, then smiles between us. “I’m going to get a samosa before Cory eats them all.”
Then she leaves.
“She’s…” I start.
“Normal?” Alder offers.
I huff. “Yeah.”
“I know.” Alder shakes his head. “Poor thing. Don’t know where that came from.”
I turn to look at him and pause as I take in the sparkle of pure joy in his eyes.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I invited my family here.
I just knew it would be two worlds colliding.
But as I look around the room and see our moms chatting over salads, and Dad and Darren sitting with Kurt and Dom, trying their best to make small talk while a mugshot wall looms over them, my lips tilt up in a soft smile.
When two particles collide, they don’t always repel. Sometimes, under the right conditions, they entangle. Their paths shift, their states change, and they become something new… bound by the impact.
And when Alder’s world collided with mine, it didn’t push me away. It pulled me out of the depths of something far more dangerous than anything in his world.
I turn to face him again, slipping my arms around his waist and pulling him in as I press my lips to his.
This man is a fucking force. He crashed into my life, colliding with me head-on, and set me into motion. He’s the momentum I needed. And now our forces are in balance, carrying us forward together.
I pull back and look into his eyes again. “You were right, you know.”
“About?” he asks.
I pull a breath deep into my lungs and take a moment to feel his hands on my hips and his dark gaze on mine. “I just needed a bump start.”
A wicked smile spreads across his lips, and he grips my hips tighter, pulling me closer against him. “Baby… I’ll bump start you anytime.”
A laugh breaks free from deep inside me as his lips forcefully meet mine again, and I let him devour me.
I fucking know he will.