17. Rooster
ROOSTER
“So, what about you and Mom?”
“What do you mean?”
Nathan grimaced as he asked, "You like her, huh?"
"Your mom is an amazing lady.”
“That’s a yes.” Samantha smiled wide as she chimed in, "It’s pretty obvious. He smiles whenever he looks at her."
“Is that right?”
“See?” She giggled. “He’s smiling right now, and we’re just talking about her.”
“Like I said, your mom is an amazing lady.” Nathan and Sam trailed beside me, their feet leaving imprints in the damp sand as we made our way down the coastline. “And I really like spending time with her.”
“You guys gonna get married?”
I could see that he was concerned, so I did my best not to take the question lightly. “I’ve got no idea what the future holds, but yeah, I could see myself hitched to your mom. That’s if she’d have me.”
“Would you guys live here?”
“I would hope we all would.” I stopped and turned to face him. “Your mom made it clear that you three were a package deal, and I was good with that. I still am, but I’m not looking to do anything until everyone’s ready, including your mother.”
“Does that mean I can have the room I’m staying in now?”
“If that’s the one you want.”
“Me, too?” Sam asked excitedly.
“Sure thing, kiddo.” I didn’t want us to get ahead of ourselves, so I added, “Consider those rooms yours any time you come.”
“Awesome.”
We continued walking and talking, and just before we headed back inside, Nathan stepped over to me with another one of his looks. “Mom said we’re going to your clubhouse tomorrow.”
“That’s the plan.”
“What’s it gonna be like?” Samantha asked. “Is it just a bunch of hairy guys and their bikes?”
“Hairy guys?”
“Well, yeah.” She motioned her hand towards my beard. “I mean, look at you. You’re pretty hairy.”
“Yeah, she’s got a point.”
“I got a beard, kid. That doesn’t make me hairy.”
“Don’t most bikers have beards?”
“Some do.” It was clear that neither of them knew anything about bikers, so I told them, “No two bikers are the same. The same goes for the clubs.”
“Some bad.”
“That’s right. Everybody is different, so you gotta find which one is best for you.”
“Did you do that with yours?”
“I did, and I learned real fast that it's best not to judge a book by its cover.”
Samantha’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Some of the biggest, scariest looking dudes are some of the best guys you’ll ever meet. You just gotta take time to get to know ‘em.” I gave Nathan a playful nudge. “That goes for the ladies, too. Just because they’re all dolled up doesn’t mean they’re one of the good ones.”
“I wish my dad knew that.” Nathan rolled his eyes. “Crissy is pretty, but that’s about it.”
They went on to tell me all about Crissy and how she was their father’s fiancé, and neither of them was a fan.
I was glad that they felt like they could talk to me about it, but the last thing I wanted to do was add fuel to their fire.
So, I did the only thing I could. I kept my trap shut and kept my two cents to myself.
When we got back to the house, we found Maggie had woken up, so the kids helped me grill up some hot dogs for lunch, and we all ate while we watched the big game in the living room.
We’d just started to clean up when I got a message from Wrath telling me that I was needed at the clubhouse.
As much as I hated to leave Maggie and the kids, I had no choice.
Thankfully, Maggie was understanding and had no problem with me going.
By the time I got to the clubhouse, Torch, Q, and Wrath were waiting for me in the bar. I could tell by the look on their faces that they were about to hit me with something I didn’t want to hear. “What’s going on?”
“We got the new dishwasher, and when we installed it, the power went nuts. Lights were flickering, and the whole left wing went dark.”
“Probably an overloaded circuit.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Then, why didn’t you fix it?”
“Cause I put in the dishwasher, and look what happened,” Torch answered. “Besides, you’re the electrical guy.”
“Yeah, whatever.” I started back to my truck as I told them, “I need to get my tools.”
Once I got everything I thought I’d need, I headed inside. When I got to the kitchen, I was hit with immediate aggravation when I found it in complete disarray. Torch had shit everywhere, and the old dishwasher was still sitting in the middle of the room.
The overload could’ve happened for any number of reasons.
I wasn’t looking to rebuild the entire electrical system, so I decided to go with the easy route and tried to reduce the load.
I started by unplugging some non-essential appliances that shared the same circuit.
After I assessed the power distribution, I redirected the new dishwasher to a less burdened circuit.
Just as I’d hoped, it was enough to keep the dishwasher going without kicking the power off to anything else. I’d just started to put my stuff away when Wrath, Torch and Q came strolling into the kitchen. “You got it?”
“Yeah, you’re all set.” I glanced over the old dishwasher as I told him, “Have a couple of prospects carry this out to the dump and clean up this mess.”
“Already on it.”
“Good deal.” I picked up my tool bag as I asked, “What did Prez decide about family day?”
“Not gonna happen. Not after what happened on the run,” Wrath answered. “But he’s not calling for a lockdown. Just wants us to continue to stay alert.”
“Understood.”
As soon as Wrath walked away, Torch nudged me and teased, “Shouldn’t you be getting home to your girl?”
“Yeah, I’d be there now if you hadn’t fucked up the dishwasher.”
“Hey, that shit wasn’t on me.”
“Yeah, whatever you say, boss.” I turned my attention to Q as I asked, “What do you and Jules have going on tonight?”
“Nothing much,” Q answered. “We’ll probably go out and grab a bite to eat. Maybe stop by here and see what’s going on.”
“What about Savage? You got any idea what he’s got going on?”
“He said something about running by her folks' place to help with one of her mother’s projects first, then they’re supposed to come back here to meet up with us.”
“Okay, good deal.”
“Why? What do you have going on?”
“I was thinking of bringing Maggie and the kids by so they could check out the place.”
“You didn’t ask what I was gonna be doing,” Torch asked, sounding wounded. “What’s up with that?”
“I know what you’ll be doing,” I answered. “It’s Saturday night. You’ll be here, soused, and looking to get laid.”
“Touché.”
“I’ll see you boys tonight.”
“Later.”
I went back out to my truck and groaned when I saw that I’d been gone for almost two hours.
I was worried that Maggie would be pissed, but when I got back to the house, she seemed perfectly content.
She was in the living room, curled up on the sofa, watching a movie, and the kids were upstairs doing their own thing.
As soon as she spotted me coming towards her, she sat up and said, “You’re back. ”
“I am.”
“How did it go?”
“It went.”
I lifted her legs, then sat down at the end of the sofa. As soon as I started to rub her feet, she settled back on the sofa with a smile. “Are you trying to distract me?”
“I don’t know.” I kept massaging. “Is it working?”
“As a matter of fact, it is.”
I rubbed a little longer, and it wasn’t long before she was a puddle in my hands. Her eyes were closed, and she was perfectly relaxed. I figured now was as good a time as any to tell her, “There’s been a change in plans with family day.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it’s been postponed.”
“Oh, man,” she mumbled. “That’s too bad. I was looking forward to going.”
“Good, 'cause I was thinking we might run by there tonight.”
Her eyes flew open as she gasped, “Ummm, what?”
“Torch and a couple of the brothers are gonna be there, and I thought we’d just stop by for a bit.”
“So, it would be just a couple of the guys?”
“And their ol’ ladies.”
“What about the kids? What will they do?”
“Oh, there’s plenty for them to do. There’s a family room full of TVs and pool tables. Trust me. They’ll love it.”
“Okay, sounds good to me.” She sounded a little uneasy when she asked, “What time are we heading over?”
“There’s no rush. I figured we’d have dinner first.”
“So, I can finish my movie?”
“Absolutely.”
A sigh of relief slipped through her lips as she nestled back into her spot.
We finished her movie, and when it was over, I fried up some pork chops and made a batch of homemade mashed potatoes.
Maggie seemed cool as a cucumber all through dinner, but when it came time to get ready, she went off the rails.
“I don’t know.” She held a sweater up to her chest. “I’m afraid I’ll get hot, but it’s pretty cold outside.”
“Yeah, the sweater would be good, but you could always wear what you’ve got on.”
“I’m not wearing sweatpants to the clubhouse!”
I sat on the bed and watched with amusement as Maggie sorted through her suitcase. In a blink, my bedroom became a flurry of fabric as she tossed one outfit after the other onto the floor. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her indecision. She looked up at me with a scowl. “It’s not funny, Ronin.”
I appreciated her effort to make a good impression on my brothers, but she had nothing to worry about.
I knew there would be no convincing her of that, so I just kept my mouth shut and watched the show.
After several outfit changes, she finally settled on a pair of distressed jeans with a fitted sweater and boots, and she looked amazing.
Maggie was still unsure and shot me a hesitant glance, seeking reassurance. “You look great, babe.”
“Okay, then let’s do this.”
With that, we gathered the kids and headed out to my truck.
Once we were all loaded up, I drove us over to the clubhouse.
The kids were talking back and forth the entire way, but the truck fell silent the second we pulled up to the gate.
They shared a few apprehensive glances as they looked up at the tall, imposing fence.