CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
-:- RUGER -:-
“Jack, clean my hog and I’ll give you fifty bucks if you do a good job.”
“I’ll do it, Ruger. Don’t need your money,” Jack replies, but we all know he has to earn some money because what the club gives him is minimal.
“You’ll take the cash or you’ll not do the job, then of course, I’ll have to speak to Pres about our Prospect not doing his job.” I give Jack a cheesy smile, knowing I have him dead to rights.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever…” Not waiting for me to say more, Jack walks out of the kitchen. I chuckle under my breath and walk through the common room, giving Penny a wave where she’s sitting with Mia, and get my butt into church.
Axel is in church quickly, and we all settle down to hear from officers on how everything is running. We have no financial issues anymore, and it’s damn great to know we don’t have to struggle as we did at times previously.
“Okay, I’m going to tell you about Anderson.
He is, as you know, in the hands of Vitale.
I’ve spoken with Nell, and she told me Vitale did quite a number on Anderson, found out all about his scheming and controlling.
But not anymore, as Vitale threw him to Jaws once he’d seen his men being fed to them.
Damn scary, I imagine.” Now, Axel has that wicked smile on his face that says he’s enjoying the thought of Anderson being scared out of his mind.
“That’s the end of Anderson, and Vitale is going to clean up any residue, as he calls it. But we have news regarding Nell, too.”
Axel turns and looks at Buzz who in turn speaks.
“Nell said Jaws, Teeth, Shark and Jingle were all getting fat and lazy.” Buzz sighs, and I don’t know what’s coming, but the fucker has laughter in his eyes.
“With that in mind, you know with the gators getting too fat, with all the food they are getting of late. Nell decided, well actually, her boys as she calls them decided they needed something else. Hence, they went out and got themselves some hogs, wild pigs, feral pigs…” Giving us all a minute for that to sink in, Buzz laughs.
“Seems Graham, Richie and Tank thought it would be great fun to catch some, so after building a secure area for them they went out and did some hunting.”
“Fuckin’ hell,” Brag states, “I would have gone with them.”
“Yeah, me too,” Sting adds, along with Clay, Dice, Target and Chaos.
“Well, that gives us the gators and pigs to get rid of any nasty insects we come across,” Axel smirks, rubbing his hands together, but looking far too excited about it for my liking. I hope he’s not going to go out to find food for the pigs!
Buzz gets our attention again. “Rosemarie’s body was given to the pigs as a test, and yeah, they cleaned that up in no time. So, all-in-all, it’s gonna work out well.”
After church, I grab Hammer and get an update on the house. I’m delighted that it will be ready for the wedding and we can start buying furniture.
Now that I have this information I head to Specs' office and give him the updated information. “I need you to get my adoption of Punkin done, Specs.”
Specs gives me a raised eyebrow. “Well, it’s gonna be done in time. Stop stressing about things, you're going to give yourself gray hair.”
“I just want it done, so I can legally call her mine.”
“I know you do, Ruger. I’ll get it done, stop worrying,” Specs shoos me out of his office, and knowing it's Sunday, I leave him alone because he really needs to get out of there and get a life.
BS is grumbling about the amount of cardio he is doing as I pass him and Kya in the common room.
It seems BS isn’t happy about getting fitter than he already is.
Kya is telling him to chill out and she’ll run with him if he wants the company.
Shaking my head because honestly, I think that’s what he was after all the time, anyway.
Richard is at the clubhouse, and in the compound more of late I’ve noticed.
He’s interacting with the oldies and playing with the kids.
I think he’s going to be a great grandfather if Star and Meat ever decide to have kids that is.
He is called Gramps by all the kids that are able at this point, so he’s going to be a grandfather whether he likes it or not, regardless of being blood.
Sitting on the bench and watching everyone running around I can’t help but feel blessed.
I’ve a good woman and a daughter. I’ll get the adoption paperwork quickly, I’m positive of that.
Specs knows how serious I am about getting it locked down, and I’m going to give Punkin my last name, too.
Arabella Smith, daughter of Craig Smith aka Ruger.
It has a good ring to it. Ring! Oh, fuck, I haven’t got Penny a ring!
Penny is with Mia, so who can I get to help with this ring business?
My eyes flick around, and spotting Sybil I know she and the others will help me sort this out.
Rushing over, I wrap my arm around Sybil and steer her into the kitchen and the pantry. “Sybil…”
“Well, Ruger, I never knew you had feelings for me!” Sybil chimes, and she has a cheeky and mischievous look on her face.
“Oh, no, no, Sybil…” I gulp. “It’s not like that. I need your help.”
“Help? With what?”
That is when I explain the lack of a ring. Which earns me a slap around the back of my head, but I grin because she had to jump to reach me, and when you’re not young, you know, jumping’s not a great idea.
Sybil drops her voice as she scans the pantry. “I’ll get the ring size, and you get the cash. We’ll sneak out in the morning and get her a stunning ring, and you’ll be paying for it, so don’t be a miser about the money.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t be counting dollars or cents. I’m getting Penny a good one, and one she’ll love I’m sure.” I push past Sybil and walk out of the pantry, grabbing a bag of chips so it doesn’t look suspicious if anyone has entered the kitchen.
Outside I find Jack polishing up my girl. “You did a good job, Jack.” I walk around and inspect, nodding my head that yeah, he’s done a grand job of cleaning my girl. I take my wallet out of my back pocket and get the fifty bucks, handing it to Jack. “Thanks, I’ll be asking you again.”
“I don’t want the money, Ruger.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you want it or not, you’re getting it.
I said that is what I would pay you, and that’s the end of it.
” I push the cash at his chest, and he has no option but to take it.
I smirk because I know he needs this cash, and he’s a good young man and he’ll make a hell of a brother given time.
The rest of the day is spent with Penny and Punkin. We eat, drink and hang out with brothers and their women and kids. It’s such a great family here, and with us kicking club bunnies to the curb years ago we have no drama like many MC clubs have.
Monday morning came around faster than I would have liked, but it’s getting near to the wedding, and I can’t wait to make Penny mine.
“Stop daydreaming, Ruger, and come on. If you’re gonna help me get moved into my place, you need to move your ass.” Bones slaps my back as he questions if I’m going or not.
“Of course, I’m coming with you. I said I would, didn’t I?” I trudge behind Bones and jump into the Range Rover he purchased a week back. “Did you buy furniture?”
Bones chuckles. “Nope. The realtor said some furniture is being left, but I’ll not need any until I have done the place as I want it. I’ll be staying at the clubhouse or the bunk room at BaronsSecure until this place is ready.”
“Is Hammer aware you need this work done?”
“Yeah, he said your place will be done by Thursday, so Harris will bring his team over here and make a start on this place.” Rubbing his hand down his face, he continues.
“I’ve spoken with Harris, and he’s coming over tomorrow to get the plans for what I want done.
Once that is in place he’ll be able to order the supplies needed.
I’ve spoken to TwoCents, and he has set up my account to pay for the work.
I’ve thrown cash at him, so it can’t be said I wasn’t prepared. ”
“You know you don’t have to pay it all at once don’t you?
I paid upfront for my place, but I know the brothers are good with any of us using funds for our homes.
We just have a cut taken from our monthly divvy, and that’s it.
” I look out of the side window as we pull into the drive of the house and see the drapes twitch at Mrs. Lincoln’s place.
“You had a pop at Lincoln yet? You know about being related to this miserable bitch.”
“Yeah, he wasn’t happy. Kept saying the only living relative he has is Jo, and that’s it. But he also said If she starts shit while he’s here, he’ll be telling her where to stick her attitude.” Bones laughs, and I smirk as those drapes twitch again.
Walking into the house, I note the few pieces of furniture left, and the wear showing grabs my attention. “Furniture isn’t as good as it first looked when we did the walk round, Bones.”
“No, it’s all going. I’ve ordered a dumpster, and I’ve told the realtor they are paying for it because the furniture wasn’t part of the sale.
It’s more like it was dumped here for me to sort, well they can fuck off if they think I’m paying for this lot to be removed.
” Sighing Bones opens kitchen cabinets, then the fridge. “Fuck's sake, look, Ruger.”
Looking in the fridge, I’m surprised to see food still inside, stale and moldy food at that. “I reckon you need to just ditch the fridge, washer and everything else, brother. Start with new, and you know it’s all good. If you need any help to get shit, ask and I’ll be happy to help you out.”