Chapter Twenty-One
Ryder
Everyone had left. We were prepared for tomorrow; well, as much as we were going to be. Ellie still insisted we were underestimating what it was going to be like.
When Banshee had picked up lunch in the diner for us, Joellen told him there had been a steady stream of strangers in the diner since early this morning.
I made the decision after that to close the store for the rest of the day while we got everything set up.
I was more than a little concerned with the traffic Ellie was predicting. More than anything, I needed to make sure my girls and Charlie weren’t in any danger. I took Sam’s advice and planned on my parents having the girls for the day. They could bring them in later in the day before closing.
Tonight, Ellie would be putting them to bed, and I would be going for a bike ride with my best friend.
I didn’t get a chance to ride as often as I would like. Being a single dad of two girls didn’t leave a lot of time for me. I wouldn’t change a thing though. My girls were my world.
That world would get a little bigger now with Ellie in it.
Straddling my Softail slim, I rode through town beside Blade. When we were kids, we started out on bicycles. Riding all over town, the back roads, trails up the mountain. When we graduated to dirt bikes, sometimes we brought Beck and Rachel along with us. I missed those days. Just the four of us.
After graduating high school, I worked more hours in the store and saved up enough to get a motorcycle. I loved that bike.
This one was even better though. I couldn’t wait to get Ellie on the back of it. If she would ride with me.
Tammi never did. She hated my motorcycle, so I didn’t ride it as much as I would have liked. Then Chrissy was born, and when I realized Blade wasn’t going to tell me who he was, I sold it.
When Tammi left, the first thing I did was buy a new bike.
I followed Blade down the back roads to the trail I was familiar with. Rach and I had been up here a few times after he and Beck were both gone. It helped us feel closer to them. Didn’t stop us from missing them, though.
We rode up the trail to Lookout Mountain, and Blade pulled his bike off the trail and turned it off.
Shit.
I pulled up next to him and turned off my bike. I didn’t immediately get off, though. I sat there for a few minutes, wondering how I didn’t see this coming.
This was where he fought the world. The place he felt safe and in control. I knew that. I had been up here with him when he was angry with his dad. I knew he and Beck came up here a lot when we were kids.
I also knew this was where he brought her when he finally told her everything.
I slid off my bike.
Blade had walked over to the edge that looked out over the town.
I walked over and stood beside him.
“I’m sorry, Micah.”
He turned and looked at me.
“What the fuck do you have to be sorry for?” he asked.
Taking a deep breath, I put it all out there. Every thought, every hurt, every fear I’d had since he moved back here.
“I should have told you I knew it was you, long before I did. I was angry. Rachel told me, and before you get upset with her, you need to understand we only had each other when you and Beck left. Rachel and I don’t keep secrets, ever.”
“I get that. I’m not surprised she told you.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me?”
Blade sighed.
“’Cause I’m an asshole.”
He turned to look back out over the town, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Has Becca told you anything?” he asked.
“No, she told me to talk to you. My mother told me to talk to you. Ellie told me today to talk to you. That’s why I’m here now.”
I saw him smile.
“Ellie’s a great girl. You better snatch her up quick before the rest of the guys get a look at her.”
“I told her I loved her today.” I said it so quietly I wasn’t sure if he heard me.
“Ry, man I’m glad to hear that,” he said, slapping me on the back. “She’s nothing like Tammi. I don’t know how the fuck you got mixed up with her. She was always a bitch.”
“She got pregnant.”
“Is that why you married her? Fuck, man. This isn’t the 1950’s. You didn’t have to get married just because she was pregnant.”
“Yea, well, my best friend wasn’t here to knock some sense into me,” I deadpanned.
“Right,” he sighed. “Everyone knew my dad was shady as shit. The short version is, we came here as part of the WITSEC Program. When I was fifteen, our handler told us we had been discovered, and we had to move.”
He ran his hands up and down his face. “Fuck, I’ve died so many times I’ve lost track. I told Becca that when I do go, I don’t want a fucking funeral. Burn me up and let the new RC ride around, spreading my ashes on the road.”
It was morbid to think about death, but given the life he’d led, I could understand it. Hell, I’d thought about death. With two little girls I’d had to. I updated my will when Tammi left, to make sure my parents get my girls.
“When I turned eighteen, my dad died in front of me. My mom was killed the year before. Apparently, she wasn’t as innocent as I’d always assumed. My dad was in the mob. I was two when the FEDs convinced him to turn. I guess this branch of the mob has some morals, and because I was a baby, I clearly hadn’t had anything to do with turning against them, so they let me go.”
“Just like that?” I asked.
He snorted. “Not exactly. They keep tabs on me. Making sure I’m not saying anything to anyone. I didn’t tell Becca that part, so keep it to yourself. I won’t have her worrying. Especially now.”
I smiled at that. He told me in the hospital that Beck was pregnant. I was thrilled for them both. Beck would make a great mom. Micah, though, he was going to be a nutcase. The only person who would be worse as a dad would be King. Not because they were bad guys, but God help either of them if they had a girl.
“I think the only reason they haven’t given me shit about Declan is because they knew The Silver Shadows in Little Rock are a one percenter club.”
“How often do they check up on you?” I asked.
“Just a phone call about every six months or so. I talk to the boss, tell him what he wants to hear, and he leaves me alone.” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
“You know that’s fucked up right?”
“Hey, I’m alive, aren’t I? Besides, King knows. Hell, even Steele knows. I had to tell him everything when I first joined the club.”
“What mob was it?”
“That I will not tell you,” he said, pointing a finger at me.
“You know I had to ask,” I replied, smirking at him.
“Yea, Becca asked too. That woman is going to put me in an early grave, I swear. The pregnancy has made her worse. Those damn hormones have her looking under every nook and cranny for her blog.”
I knew he loved her. He always had. It was great to see him truly happy, finally.
“I’m glad you’re back,” I told him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I got back. There was so much shit between the checkups and the lies from Connie telling me Becca had moved on. I hadn’t planned on coming back at all. Then, when King wanted to open a new chapter, I knew this place would be perfect. I honestly thought no one would remember me.”
“Fuck you, Micah. It had only been five years.”
“I’m not saying that out of some misguided insecurity. Hell, maybe I am. A lot changes in five years. People change. I’ve changed. Arkansas was a lot. Always trying to outrun the law made me understand my dad a little. The money, the adrenaline. Shit.”
I didn’t say anything and waited for him to say something that would explain why he kept himself away.
“Before we moved up here, King and I, along with the officers, came for a visit to check out the area. I introduced them to Grams, and she sold us the property. I thought about coming to see you, but I rode through town and saw you with Tammi. She was pregnant with Chrissy. Then, we moved up here, and Chrissy had just been born. Jack and I had come by that day, and you didn’t recognize me, and I figured it was better that way. We had decided to go legit in this chapter, but until I knew for sure it would stick, I didn’t want you anywhere near the club. After a while, when things stayed the way we wanted them to be, you were getting to know me as Blade, not Micah. And I just didn’t know how to tell you. It was the same with Becca. I really screwed it up. Thank God she forgave me.”
“She loves you. She’s always loved you; there’s no way she wouldn’t forgive you. She would forgive you for anything. Except cheating on her, she’ll cut your balls off for that.” I laughed.
“No shit.” He grinned.
“When Gunner said you didn’t want them to approach me, I thought it was because you didn’t want me to be a part of your life anymore.”
He opened his mouth to say something, and I held up my hand.
“Ellie pointed out to me that I was still in your life. She’s been here two months and saw what I hadn’t seen in five years.”
“She’s a smart woman.”
“She is,” I agreed.
“Are we good? ’Cause the last few months have been shit with you mad at me.”
I laughed at that. “Yea, man, we’re good.”
After a quick manly hug, we walked back to our bikes.
“So, about you joining the club…” He smirked.
I just looked at him, wondering where he was going with this.
“Your cut’s in King’s office, waiting for you.”
I paused on the way to my bike. I didn’t know how to answer him. For five years I had wanted to be a part of the club. I didn’t have siblings. When Mom married Dad, they wanted more kids. It just wasn’t in the cards.
I had Rachel, and she was my sister in every way but genetics, nothing would change that, but I had always wanted brothers.
Micah was my brother growing up. Mom and Dad both thought of him as a son, just like they thought of Beck and Rach as their daughters, but the club was something different.
It was a family. A family I desperately wanted to be a part of.
“I need to talk to Ellie.” Was the only answer I had to give him.
Blade just nodded with a grin. “Yea, gotta get permission from your old lady.” He winked and fired up his bike.
I shook my head as I climbed on mine and started her up. We rode back down the trail toward home.
The home where Ellie was taking care of my girls.
I couldn’t help but smile and wonder how she would feel about being an old lady.