Chapter 10 Lyric
LYRIC
ONE WEEK LATER…
“I’m heading out.”
I turn around to see Zombie standing just outside the door to my quarters at the clubhouse.
Mellie comes home from the hospital today, and he knows I’m pissed that she asked if he could pick her up instead of me.
She’s gravitated toward him over the past week, and he’s made a point to taunt me about the fact that she remembers him.
I know he doesn’t mean any harm, but I’m all kinds of fucked up since what should’ve been my wedding day.
“Sawbone still going?” I ask, referring to our club medic.
“Yeah, unless you order otherwise.”
I shake my head. “No. I want someone there that understands medical shit and what questions to ask.”
He stares at me for a moment before taking a deep breath. “You know you’re gonna have to cut the fucking attitude when she gets here.”
“No shit,” I scoff before sighing. “Just bring her home.”
His eyes narrow. “Got it, Pres,” he sneers as he spins on his heel and stalks away.
“Goddammit!” I shout at the empty space.
I stalk across the room and lift my cell off the small table next to the couch. After connecting the Bluetooth to the surround sound I’ve got wired throughout my quarters, I open my music app and hit the shuffle button.
Ozzy’s voice booms through the speakers as “Crazy Train” begins. Cranking the volume, I sing along, desperate to find solace in music like I’ve always done.
Song after song plays, and solace never comes. I smoke a joint, play my guitar, and let the lyrics bounce around in my head like a wayward silver ball in a pinball machine.
Finally, I collapse onto the bed, mental and physical exhaustion taking over.
“Where are we going?”
Mellie’s smile is wide and genuine, and I run my thumb over her bottom lip.
“Patience is a virtue,” I tell her, grinning wickedly.
“A virtue you know I don’t fucking have, Lyric,” she gripes with an adorable pout.
“C’mon, Mel.” I lift her and place her on my Harley. “Do you trust me?”
She reaches out to cup my cheek. “With my life.”
I give her a smacking kiss. “Good. Then shut up and enjoy the ride.”
Mellie playfully slaps me as I swing my leg over the seat. I fire up the engine and settle my hand on her thigh, and she wraps her arms around my waist. As soon as we pass through the gate and leave Kings of Anarchy property, I open up the throttle.
Twenty minutes later, I turn onto a gravel road that runs parallel to the coast. Mellie squirms behind me, and I can’t stop the grin spreading across my face. She loves the ocean, so I knew this was the only place that made sense for what I have planned.
“Why didn’t you just tell me this was where we were going?” she demands when I shut off the bike.
“You really don’t do well with surprises, do you?”
“Hi, my name is Mellie,” she teases. “Have you met me?”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “I have, and I love you, but shit… Can’t a guy get a break once in a while?”
She rolls her eyes and slides her arm around mine. “Fine. I’ll shut up. But I reserve the right to whine later if I don’t like this surprise.”
“She’s my kind of crazy,” I sing, my tone full of humor.
“Oooh, oooh, oooh… I know that one,” she says excitedly. “Um, Brantley Gilbert, ‘She’s My Kind Of Crazy’.”
“Oh, c’mon, like that was a hard one,” I taunt.
I lead her over the rocks to the beach, and her sharp intake of breath at the sight before us floats on the light breeze.
“You like it?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
She drops her arm and jumps up to wrap around me like a spider monkey, and I laugh while holding her tight.
“I love it,” she squeals. “A candle-lit dinner on the beach… What’s not to love?”
I jolt awake at the sound of banging on my door and groan at having my dream interrupted.
“This better be fucking good,” I grumble, getting to my feet and walking across the room to yank open the door.
“It is,” Sawbone quips, pushing past me like he owns the place.
“Sure, come on in.”
“Oh, stuff it, asshole,” he counters, not caring about the fact that I outrank him. “I came to tell you that Mellie’s here. Figured you’d want to help her get settled.”
I thrust a hand through my hair. “Oh. Right. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“What did her doctor have to say?”
“Nothing you don’t already know,” he says with a shrug. “Try to let the memories return organically as much as possible. Pictures, sounds, smells, blah blah blah might help. Basically, just do what you do best.”
“And what’s that?”
“Love her, ya idiot.”
I huff out a breath. “You make it sound simple.”
“Because, brother, it is. So what if she doesn’t remember you? You won her over once… fucking do it again.”
With that less than stellar advice, he walks out of the room. Before I can even contemplate how to go about making Mellie fall in love with me, my phone pings with an incoming text. I retrieve it from the bed and glance at the screen.
Quake: Bad timing but we got a problem
Me: ??
Quake: Accident report released
I stiffen at that bit of information. The last thing I want to do is put off assisting Mellie get situated, but some things can’t wait.
Me: Church in 10… spread the word