3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Silver
She makes me feel things I thought I was incapable of. -Silver
I thought I lost the ability to blush years ago.
I haven’t blushed since I was fourteen and got caught looking in Misty Vann’s window while she changed clothes.
I got a black eye from her father that night and a stern talking to from her mother, but Misty gave me a kiss the next day, so it was all worth it.
The only lesson I learned from the whole thing was not to get caught.
Now, I feel like I’ve been caught again. Hell, I’m nearly forty. I know better than not to lock the bathroom door. I also should know better than to dream about the woman who is underneath my care, who has been underneath my care for the last three years.
I roll back my shoulders and look around the club meeting room.
Here, I’m in charge. Here, I know what the hell I’m doing.
People look at me with respect, an almost awed kind of respect that sometimes, well, sometimes makes me feel…
lonely as hell. I know I’m intimidating.
Hell, I thrive on scaring the shit out of people.
But there are times when I want to let someone else control everything.
Times when I want to just be a man. Charity gets to that part of me.
She makes me want to forget about all the responsibility and just let go.
I started this club fifteen years ago, at the tender age of 25.
The only thing I was thinking when I started this club was that I needed to create a hone for my little sister.
I needed a place where she could feel safe and grow up unincumbered by the past. Where she could forget my mother and the horrible life that she endured with her.
I found a home in the mountains of Holly Oaks, Georgia.
A town where people didn’t ask me much. They recognized me as a young veteran who needed the space the mountains could provide.
They didn’t ask uncomfortable questions about my past. After building our house up here, I started asking others to join us.
I wanted to have a family, but a family I created.
And I knew a lot of men in the military that needed a place that wouldn’t judge them.
In the last fifteen years, I’ve tried to create a safe space for all those that had none before.
Tornado enters first, his grin wide and contagious. He’s been wearing that grin since his wife had their second baby last week. There are dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, but damn he looks happy. I push aside the small ache of jealousy that tries to pour into my veins.
I clasp his hand in our normal brotherhood shake. “You look good for a man surviving on two hours of sleep.”
He runs his hand through his dark hair. “Hey, last night Selena gave us three. She’s a really good baby.” There goes that dopey smile again.
I slap his back. “Whatever you say, man. I think I would rather have my sleep.” No, I wouldn’t.
Brick and Scar walk in next, joking about something.
Brick lets out a loud, jolly laugh and I stare at him in wander for a moment.
When he came to me ten years ago, he was broken.
What a difference time and of course, his wife, Charlotte have made in him.
He’s got three kids now and there’s silver threading through his brown hair.
I usually make jokes about how his kids have caused those streaks, but right now all I feel is that damn spike of jealousy again.
Have I become a complete sap? Am I really jealous of my own guys?
I clear my throat. “Alright, enough kidding, guys. I called y’all here cause we got a problem on our hands. The Royals are having an uprising within, and King needs our help. It looks like a rebellion is stirrin’ and we need to help him tap it down.”
I glance around the room and see only serious faces and hard nods. This is what I’m about. Leading my guys. Fighting for the right side. Making sure our community stays safe. I don’t need Charity. I don’t need kids. I just need this.