Chapter Thirteen
Melissa
I HAVE NO clue what’s going on with Zeke and the woman inside. Frankly it’s none of my business. Yes, I know what Jace told me about Zeke still believing I’m his and the club knowing it. However, I’m not about to become a home wrecker because he’s involved with someone but wants me in his life too. That’s not who I am. It’s not who I’ve ever been. If I’m interested in someone and know they have a girlfriend or someone they’re talking to, I back away. It’s not my place to interfere in someone else’s relationship. Even if it’s one sided. Zeke can deal with this woman and figure out what he wants, but it won’t be while he’s trying to get back into my life. Or whatever his plan is.
Jace helps me outside with the kids as Zeke does whatever he is with the woman inside. I’m almost to my car when a brand-new SUV pulls into the lot and parks up on the opposite side of the door from the bikes. Jace turns to look at it for a second before continuing on toward me with my son in his arms.
“I appreciate your willingness to take the kids for a while today, but it’s not gonna happen,” I tell him as I get to my car and open the back door to get Delilah in her seat.
“Melissa, it’s not what it looks, or sounds, like. Let Homicide talk to you and fill you in on the details of Brenda,” Jace says as I try to hold back the tears.
I’m not sure what I expected in seeing Zeke for the first time in years, but it wasn’t seeing some woman claim him in front of me. I’ve seen enough of it over the years to know this woman feels she has a claim on the man I’ve always believed was mine. Even when he was thought to be dead. The club girls get extremely territorial over the guys and I’m new around here. Everyone has a place they belong and it’s clear she doesn’t feel I belong around Zeke.
Standing up from putting Delilah in the car, I go to respond to Jace but stop when a familiar name gets called out.
“Nova! Nova is that you?” a woman’s voice sounds from behind me.
Turning around, I find an older woman standing at the driver’s door of the SUV. She’s staring at me as if she’s looking at a ghost and I have no clue why. Nova is the name of my mom, but she’s been dead for a long time now. I don’t have the faintest clue if this woman knew her, or if I remind her of someone else from the back.
“No. My name’s not Nova. I’m sorry,” I finally say, still looking at the woman as she makes her way over to my car.
She’s wearing a rag over her tank top and the jeans she’s wearing fit like a second skin but don’t make her look slutty or over the top. She looks exactly like what I always imagined an ol’ lady would look like. Her hair is styled to perfection and I can see the tattoos covering her tan skin. This is a woman who is confident in her looks, abilities to kick ass and take names, and standing by her man’s side. It’s kind of who I hoped my mom would be if she were still alive.
“Do you know a woman by the name of Nova?” the woman questions as she gets closer to me. “I swear you could be her twin. Just a younger version of her.”
“Well, I don’t exactly remember her, but my mom’s name was Nova. She died when I was barely a year old. Do you know her last name?” I return, not sure if this woman is talking about my mom or not.
“Her married name was James. She married a man from Mirfield, if I remember correctly,” the woman answers me with hope shining in her eyes.
I gasp as I realize this woman somehow knew my mom. She could tell me about her if they were close enough. I’m not sure if that’s the case here though. I mean, she’s not spewing hate or anything toward me, but she doesn’t know for sure we’re talking about the same woman.
“That was my mom,” I say, tears filling my eyes because I’m apparently very emotional today. “Did you know her well?”
I’m not a crier. I’ve never been that girl who cries over everything. Jace walks up and wraps his arm around my shoulders in comfort as the woman continues looking at me. Before she can say anything more, the thunder of a loud set of bike pipes fills the air. The woman looks over her shoulder and a smile lights up her face. This must be her man. A woman only smiles and lights up the way she is right now if she’s in love. Truly in love.
The man parks on the opposite side of the door and immediately shuts his bike off. Getting off his massive machine, he makes his way over to where the three of us are standing. I watch on as he wraps a huge arm around the woman and pulls her into his body. Leaning down, he gives her a kiss that’s not appropriate for an audience. However, this man doesn’t give a shit about it as the woman pulls back and starts to sniffle a little bit.
“What’s wrong, Marie?” he asks, his voice filled with authority letting me know I’m standing in front of the club’s President.
I’d know based on his parking spot alone since it’s right by the door and my father’s club always parked in order of their position in the club.
“Remember Nova?” she asks, facing her man.
“I sure do. You two were inseparable. It killed you when she went off with that biker,” he says, not realizing I’m Nova’s daughter. “You tried to talk to her more than once until all communication was cut off by her.”
“Rooster, this is Nova’s daughter,” Marie says, turning to face me again as tears roll down her face. “I don’t know her name or why she’s here, but this is her daughter.”
“Um, my name is Melissa,” I add in, not sure what else to say right now.
“Melissa,” Rooster says, turning his attention toward Jace.
The two men have one of those annoying silent conversations for several minutes while I stand there in silence with Marie. Finally Rooster turns his attention back to me and I have no clue what he’s thinking or feeling right now. His face is completely blank as he looks me over from head to toe.
“So, you’re not only Nova’s daughter, but those kids in your car are Homicide’s. You’re the one he’s been lookin’ for since the day I met him. How did you end up here? And why are you with Jace?” Rooster questions me, keeping his ol’ lady close to his side as they both wait for my response.
“Well, I guess I’m the one he’s been looking for. I mean, we knew each other until a few years ago when a ton of stuff went down. Today’s the first time I’ve seen him since that night. Um, it was interrupted by his woman or whatever she is. So, I’m heading home now. I won’t come back if it’s going to be a problem. As for why I’m with Jace, it’s because he’s one of my best friends. I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you if it weren’t for him,” I inform Rooster respectfully.
“I heard about all of that. Just didn’t really know about Jace’s role in the events followin’ it. I don’t give a shit if you come back here or not, Melissa. You’re always welcome here because you’re Homicide’s. He’s practically claimed you before he even knew where you were or saw you. You’re always welcome at the Dirty Slayers’ clubhouse, more than a lot of other women,” Rooster says cryptically.
I’m not sure what he means by that and I’m not ready to ask him.
“Melissa, I’d love to talk to you about your mom. Are you sure you can’t stay for a little while?” Marie questions me, her face genuine and filled with want to know about her from me as well.
“Well, I’d rather not go back in there. I can meet you at the park down the street. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do,” I tell her, looking over my shoulder at my kids. “I just have to change them and grab a few things before I make my way there.”
“I’ll meet you there then. How long do you need?”
“Um, maybe fifteen minutes. I just have to run home and get what I need before changing them. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
With a nod of her head, Marie and Rooster leave Jace and I.
“So, that’s the club’s President and his ol’ lady. You’re already part of the family, Melissa,” Jace tells me, laughter filling his voice. “If you’re in with Marie, you’re in the club. She’s gonna love hearin’ about how you broke Brenda’s nose. I’m sure it’s the first thing she’ll be told when she gets inside.”
“It doesn’t really matter to me, Jace. Yes, I’ll meet with her to find out what I can about my mom. You know that’s something I’ve always wanted. She can’t give me much from her later years obviously, but I can learn the type of person she was before they didn’t talk any longer,” I tell him. “I’m not gonna come between Zeke and that woman. He needs to figure his shit out before even bothering to call me. Not that he has my number. He can see the kids and leave me alone until he’s done with her or she’s out of here.”
“Melissa . . .,” Jace begins as I make my way around my car and toward the driver’s door.
“I’m not talking about this Jace. You know how I feel about being the side piece or however it’s seen in this situation. We’ve had this conversation more than once. So, I’m going to head home before meeting Marie at the park so the kids can play. Thank you for feeding them and helping out while Zeke and I talked for a while. For now, let me have this and know I don’t want to talk about it,” I beg him before getting in and shutting the door behind me.
***
I ’ve got the kids in the swings when Marie pulls in and parks next to me. She’s not alone either. I’m not sure who’s with her, but I wasn’t expecting anyone else to show up with her. This is definitely more than I was expecting and I have a feeling Jace has something to do with this. He wants me to be more comfortable at the clubhouse and around the guys and ol’ ladies. Jace wants me to be in Zeke’s life as we were before.
“Hey, Melissa. I’m sorry to bring company with me, but Kimber wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Marie says, walking up to where I’m gently pushing both kids in the swings. She’s Brick’s ol’ lady. He’s the Secretary of the club.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Melissa. You’re children are so adorable. Brick has our kids at the clubhouse with him. I thought I could keep an eye on them while you and Marie talk,” Kimber says, holding out her hand for me to shake.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Um, I don’t think I’m really comfortable with stepping too far away from them. No offense, but I don’t know either one of you like that,” I say, still trying to remain respectful to these women.
“I completely get it. And no offense taken. We’re complete strangers and you never know what someone’s true intentions are,” Kimber says, her voice filled with pride.
I’m not sure why she’s proud of me right now. It’s not anything I wouldn’t do if someone else came up and said they’d watch my kids. Oaklynn and Jace are the only two I’ve ever left them alone with. Jace has watched them more than Oaklynn has recently and Zeke and Delilah love him. I can tell by how they both light up when he’s around and starts playing with them or sits at the table to help me feed them.
“So, you knew my mom?” I ask Marie, knowing this is why she’s meeting me here today.
“I did. We grew up together and were closer than sisters. Nova was more than my best friend. I loved her and she loved me in return. Not in a sexual way or anything, but that’s just how our friendship was. I know she’d do anything for me and I’d always have her back no matter what. There wasn’t a single day we weren’t together. At least until she moved to Mirfield with that biker,” Marie says, her voice filled with pain. “You said she died. Can you tell me what happened to her?”
“I was told she was killed by a rival club of my father’s. A way to hurt him and make him suffer for something they believed he’d done. My father removed everything of her from the house, sold it, and refused to talk about her for any reason. I asked so many times growing up for stories about her, the smallest pieces of information and he refused. My father would get pissed and so I stopped asking him. No one else in the club would talk about her either.
“I’m honestly not sure how much they knew about my mom because ol’ ladies weren’t allowed at the clubhouse. In fact, having one was highly discouraged. The only reason I was at the clubhouse is because we didn’t have a house for most of my life and I had to sleep and eat somewhere,” I inform Marie as tears fill my eyes of the reminders of those times before I truly knew what a monster my father was.
“I’m so sorry, Melissa. Nova was such an amazing woman. She loved with her entire heart and was such a free spirit. I was always pushing her to do more and go out more. Your mom was the type of girl who didn’t have a problem getting into trouble, but she didn’t go out looking for it. She was more comfortable staying at home than anywhere else. I mainly went to her house, but she did come to mine a lot too. I’m actually how your parents met,” Marie says, a touch of anger lacing her voice at her last words. “I wanted to go to a big bike rally but wasn’t about to go alone. Your mom went with me. I met Rooster and we were hanging out with his dad’s club. This guy walked by and your mom was a goner.
“She spent the rest of the rally with him before he left her behind. I thought it was over. Just a few days she spent with him. What I didn’t know was she remained in contact with him. They talked on the phone, he came to see her a few times, and one day she just disappeared. I didn’t hear from her for a few months after she left here. When Nova left town, it killed her parents. They didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry to say they’re no longer alive. Died a few years ago during a storm. A tree fell on their house and they didn’t get rescued in time. Anyway, it’s the first time Nova ever kept something from me. We shared it all until she met your father.”
“It really doesn’t surprise me. Turns out my father wasn’t a kind man at all. Not the man I grew up with. I wasn’t abused by him or the members in the club growing up. My father and his club members actually taught me how to fight, shoot, and a ton of other things I’d need to protect myself. I was always at the clubhouse hanging out and never made to feel uncomfortable. Until it all changed,” I say, keeping my eyes locked on the twins as they swing happily.
Marie and I talk for a while longer. She shares more stories about my mom and what a close friendship they had. I learn she was a cheerleader, was popular in school, and always helped anyone in need. Marie describes her as the light in a dark room. Everyone was just drawn to her and couldn’t stand not being in her circle.
“I’ve got some pictures of her at home. I’ll dig them out and show them to you sometime,” Marie says when I let her know I have to get heading home.
“I’d love to see them. Thank you, Marie, for sharing your stories about my mom with me. It’s nice to know the kind of woman she was before everything went to hell,” I tell her, genuinely happy to learn about my mom from someone she was so close to.
“What I’ve told you today is just a drop in the bucket, Melissa. I’ve got so many stories about her. Pictures of her from the time we met until the day she left. It’s nice to know there’s a piece of her alive. You look so much like her and you seem to have the same spirit she does as well. Strong, confident, protective of those you love. Get these babies home and we’ll talk again soon. I’ll make sure Jace gives you my number. I’m always here no matter what you need, Melissa,” Marie says, giving me a hug before Kimber follows suit.
I don’t move as I watch both women walk to the SUV they arrived in. Then, I make my way to my own car after getting Zeke and Delilah out of the swings. We make our way home where I lock us away for the rest of the night. I have so much racing through my mind and not the first clue how to being processing it all. Mainly the situation with Zeke and what needs to happen moving forward. He deserves to see his kids and spend time with the twins. I’m not ever going to hold them from him for any reason. It doesn’t matter what’s happening between us. The kids are more important than either one of us and what we have going on in our personal lives. Or any type of relationship we may or may not have in the future.