Chapter Twenty #3
“Please don’t be mad at me, Ashleigh. You’re the only person in the family that actually gives a shit about me besides Mom.”
“Oh, you mean the woman who up and moved to the Bahamas after asking for the divorce? The one who hasn’t talked to any of us since. Good luck getting a hold of her.” She glares at me from over the hood of the car before we both climb inside.
My hand hits her shoulder as she clutches the steering wheel, knuckles straining to a pale white.
“I’ve lost Mom, Dad’s a workaholic and stays away from home, and my brother just got out of prison declaring he’s running straight to a motorcycle gang.
How I’ve managed to stay the sane one in this family, I’ll never know,” she grumbles under her breath.
“It’s because you’re a good person, Ash. Always have been.”
She blows out a frustrated breath. “Is this what you really want, Wes? Is this the kind of life you want to lead? One where you’re constantly having to look over your shoulder because someone is always out to get you?”
I shrug. “It’s the only life I know, Sis. Please don’t be mad at me.”
Her breath blows out in utter frustration. “I’m not mad at you, Wes, just worried. I saw you almost die; I never want to see that again.”
“You won’t.”
“You can’t promise me that.”
She has a point, but I still promise it anyway. “But I just did.”
Her head flops over to look my way mid eye roll. “You’re impossible, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, but you still love me, anyway.”
For the next hour, we only talk about her, avoiding the taboo topics that had us fighting before we started the drive. She tells me about her life these past few years, about how she met a guy at UNR and now they’re talking about engagements and weddings.
“Damn, I can’t believe my little sister may be getting married before me.
Who would’ve thought?” The familiar Virginia Mountain range comes into view, tips topped with freshly packed snow, the scent of dry desert winds and sagebrush whipping through the air.
It’s a scent I’ll never forget even if I lose my ability to smell.
“Nicholas is a nice guy. You’ll like him.”
“I’m not going to like any guy you date,” I answer truthfully. “But I’ll be civil.”
She laughs, pulling up to a driveway that leads into a tow yard. “This is as far as I’ll go,” she states, tears forming all over again. “Just promise me you won’t do something stupid and end back up in prison, Wesley, or worse… dead.”
“I won’t.”
We hug for far too long before she finally pulls away. “Are you gonna see Dad anytime soon?”
I shrug. “Probably not.”
She nods her head, knowing the wound between us is too deep to mend. “Well, for whatever it’s worth, he misses you.”
“It’s nice of you to say that, Ash, but we both know that’s not true.”
Her mouth twitches into a frown. “He may not say it, but I know he does. Anyway, I guess tell Eddie and Rich hello for me. I love you, Wes.”
“Love you too, Ash.”
She stays parked at the gate until I’m inside and almost to the door, then I hear the tires kick up gravel as she pulls away. We both know it will be awhile before we speak again.
“Damn, had I known I would come home to this kind of welcome, I would’ve at least knocked,” I joke, after entering the shop and finding my best friend lips deep in a brunette bombshell wearing coveralls and grease as accessories.
It’s weird to see him with someone who isn’t blonde and Amber. It feels wrong, like he’s committing a felony or something right before my eyes.
Eddie freezes and slowly turns his head, his face going from concerned to excited as the biggest smile ignites across his face.
The girl whispers something to him, and he immediately breaks into a sprint, not stopping until he’s practically knocking me over and his arms are wrapped around my torso.
It’s the kind of welcome back hug you’ll always remember.
“What the fuck? I thought you weren’t getting out till later?” he exclaims, face still animated with life.
“I wanted to surprise you,” I say casually, frowning when I realize he’s analyzing my face and all my new scars. I got a pretty evil one that goes over most of my face, and I’m pretty sure he notices my crooked nose too. None of it has healed very well.
“You should’ve seen the other guy… or guys,” I comment, trying to play it off like I’m not still reliving the moment in my head.
“I still can’t believe they did this shit to you. I’m sorry I got you dragged into this, Brother.” Eddie looks genuinely sorry, almost as if he’s been thinking about it nonstop since it happened.
It kills me to see him beating himself up like that, so I take a step back, grinning too wide.
“I honestly had it coming. I pissed quite a few people off while locked up. They just happened to be friends with that Moseley bitch.” My eyes briefly settle on his new friend before I whisper loudly, “Who’s the fox? ”
“That’s Sammie. She’s my latest hire.”
She’s pretty, I’ll give her that. A tiny little pint-sized firecracker with long brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and eyes that could knock a guy off his feet.
But she’s not Amber, and even though she’s hot as fuck, something just feels off about her.
“I’m guessing you didn’t hire her for her mechanic skills? ”
Eddie immediately gets defensive, slapping my shoulder in the process, “No, fucker, I did. She’s better than me at a lot of shit around here. The fact that she’s hot as fuck is just a bonus.”
Laughing, I shake off my warning bells, and do my best to be happy for him. “Damn, dude. It’s good to see you smiling again. I haven’t seen you smile in forever.”
“That’s because you were locked up, my friend.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. But seriously, even the few times you came to visit me after the ‘incident’ you still didn’t smile. Between Amber leaving you, and your dad, I wasn’t sure if you’d ever smile again.”
“I’m smiling because you’re home, Voor, that’s it.”
Voor… it feels so weird being called something other than Wes or Wesley.
It isn’t the first time they’ve used it on me, but it still feels strange, like it doesn’t quite belong to me yet.
I haven’t earned it like the other guys have.
My gaze instantly falls on a pair of bikes in the corner.
Looking at them sitting there all chromed out and beautiful, makes me jealous.
I’m ready find out which one is mine, so I can ride freely with my two best friends.
It’s something I’ve been dreaming about, almost as much as I dream about Poppy.
“And having some shop eye candy helps.”
She overhears our conversation, her cheeks flaring an embarrassed pink.
“It definitely helps,” he says almost dreamily. Then he quickly snaps out of it, looking at a car in the bay like it’s a monumental task for him. “Man, I got a few things I need to do around here, so I can’t really shoot the shit like I’d like to. Unless you wanna get your hands dirty?”
I haven’t touched a car in years, but the thought of getting greased up and wrenching again, has me practically bouncing on the balls of my feet. “Fuck, dude, I’m not even out of the clink for five minutes, and you’re already putting my ass to work? Damn, it’s great to be home!”
After throwing my bag onto a chair, I hand him a wrench, leaning over the car to watch him take a few bolts off an alternator on a Mercedes. He’s quiet for way too long, and I break it by asking about the only woman left in his life that I know. “So, how’s your mom?”
He pauses for a second, then shrugs it off like he doesn’t care. He does. He’s just not great at showing his emotions. “I don’t know. She hasn’t talked to me since Dad died.”
“That doesn’t seem like her.” His head shoots up, eyebrows scrunching into a caught off guard scowl.
The man’s a pro at facial expressions, but he can’t hide the pain in his eyes.
He needs his mom right now, and even though he’ll never say it out loud, all he wants is for her to forgive him. Though I don’t know if that’s possible.
His mom, Bunny, is a psychic, one that reads palms and tarot cards, and spouts prophecies like she’s a shaman.
She’s never been one to turn her back on her family, but according to Rich, it was kind of Eddie’s fault that his dad died.
Had I been there, I would’ve jumped in front of that bullet and taken it for both of them, if I could.
She’s always been the most loving person ever, so to hear that she’s hardened to the point of pushing her only son away, has me wishing even more that I could’ve been there that day.
“Then again, the woman could always hold a grudge,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. It doesn’t help.
“When I tried to see her during the holidays, she told me to fuck off and get off her porch. It’s why I moved into the house Old Man Peterson left me. My presence at the house in Reno just made her even angrier.”
“Do you think she’ll ever forgive you?” I question, handing him a tool before leaning over the side of the truck again.
“I hope so. But it would take a miracle for that to happen. Like my dad would literally have to come back from the dead and tell her to forgive me in order for her to let me back in.”
“Damn, I’m sorry you’re going through that, Brother.”
“It’s okay; things are starting to look up. You’re home now, and now there’s this… development.” He motions to the girl in the corner, who can barely see over the side of the car she’s working on.
“She is fucking hot.” But something tells me that’s all she has going on.
“Wait till you see the Annies. They’re gonna love you.” Eddie grins, but it’s hard to share in his joy. The thought of touching a woman that’s not Poppy, makes me itch.
“Damn, it’s been a long fucking time since I’ve gotten my dick wet.” Too long.
“No butt buddies in prison?”