Chapter 7
Creedence
Remember how, when I was nine years old, I told you that my birth mother wasn’t deserving of that love?
Well, it was even more true now as I watched her and her man, Gus, being hauled through the clubhouse and into the shed at the back of the property.
Uncle Knox winked at me.
My dad locked his eyes on mine and asked, “Have you decided yet?”
I knew what he was asking.
And yes, I had decided.
It had been decided way before now, but this—her kidnapping my mom—sealed it. And yes, Valerie had become my mom in more ways than one.
And for the love she gave me freely when she didn’t have to, I locked my eyes with my dad’s and said, “She doesn’t deserve my love.”
He nodded, then walked through the clubhouse to the shed.
Just then, a wave of sadness hit me for something I’d never had.
And I didn’t even know that tears were forming in my eyes and then sliding down my cheeks.
Not until I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me and pull me into a body.
I inhaled.
Musk. Fabric softener. Pine.
Alexander.
I pressed my body into his and buried my face in his tee.
And then... I let the tears fall.
I didn’t ask what happened after my dad and my uncles walked back into the clubhouse.
I also didn’t ask where they were putting her body.
No, all I asked was what was going to happen to the brother I just found out I had.
His name was Connor.
***
For eleven months... I loved my life.
I had my family, which now included Connor.
I had the club.
And I had Alexander.
If I were being honest, he was the best part of my life.
Some days, it felt as though my day didn’t truly start until I laid eyes on him.
And from the looks he gave me when he saw me, how his body seemed to relax, how his shoulders loosened, he felt the same way.
Man, but that gave me a head rush, goosebumps, and made butterflies in my belly take flight.
And today of all days, I couldn’t wait for school to be over so I could see him.
But first, I had three more classes to go.
And in this class, World History (a class I loved), I hated my assigned seat.
I hated it because it put me right beside Tanner Albright.
I couldn’t stand him.
He was the pitcher for our baseball team and thought he walked on water. Newsflash: he didn’t.
And he definitely didn’t after he popped a freshman’s cherry over the summer and then proceeded to brag about it to the whole school once classes started.
The poor girl was so embarrassed that she talked to her family and changed schools.
I would have told her to “buck the fuck up”— one of Uncle Xavier’s sayings—stare him down like he didn’t matter, and let the comments roll off her back.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t that close with her, and I never got the chance.
And unfortunately, Tanner was already in his seat.
Wonderful.
I just set my things down, laid my textbook on my desk, and slid into my seat when he started.
“Looking good, girl. Meet me at the pizza parlor tonight? We’ll split one.”
I sighed, “No.”
He winced in mock hurt, “Don’t you know how lucky you are that I’m giving you my attention?”
I snorted, “Lucky would be if you never spoke to me again.”
His shoulders tensed. Yep, damage a man’s ego, and he comes out swinging.
“Girl, why you gotta be like that? You’d think with who you are, you’d be bending over and leaving your ass in the air for anything that moves,” he sneered.
See, I may look like my birth mother... but I acted like my father.
A father who had a short fuse for anyone who wasn’t me or my mom.
And just like my father, that tether I held to my anger started to fray.
In a low tone, I asked, “What did you just say?”
The entire classroom, which was now full, seemed to freeze.
He snorted, “I know you heard me, cunt.”
And that was when my temper was unleashed.
Without a thought, I grabbed the textbook on my desk and slammed it into the front of his face.
***
I got suspended for three days.
My dad took me for ice cream.
Mom winked at me and gave me a spa day.
The brothers of the club fist-bumped me and then took a drive to that boy’s house.
His seat was moved to the other side of the room.
His broken nose was still blue and purple.
Whoops.
As for Alexander, he heard the story, and for the first time since I met him, he let others see him as he burst into laughter.
The brothers gave me chin lifts at the sight.
***
If he wasn’t doing prospect things for the club, he was at our house.
And one evening, one of my favorite movies was coming on.
I was planted in the corner of the couch in the living room with a bowl of popcorn loaded with butter and Reese's Pieces mixed in. And a Cherry Lemon Sun Drop.
The perfect concoction of salty and sweet.
The opening credits just rolled across the screen when I felt the air shift.
I looked away from the television to see Alexander.
He looked at the screen with a furrowed brow, “What are you watching?”
I grinned, “Just one of my favorite movies of all time, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
He lifted a brow, “What’s that?”
I gasped, “Seriously?”
He shrugged.
“Only like the best movie franchise on the planet,” I patted the seat cushion beside me, “Plop your handsome butt down and enjoy the greatness that is Harry Potter.”
He stood there unmoving.
I frowned, tagged the remote and pressed pause, then I looked at him, “What?”
He swallowed, “You think I’m handsome?”
Now it was my turn to swallow. Crap, I really said that.
Well, following Uncle Xavier’s wisdom, I bucked the fuck up.
I nodded, “Yeah. You really are.”
“You know you're gorgeous?” he asked as he took a seat beside me.
I flipped my hair to the side and mimicked wiping my shoulders, “Sho nuff.”
He chuckled, “Alright, smartass. Show me this greatness that is Harry Potter.”
So, I did.
We shared the bowl of popcorn goodness, and I had to pause the movie for a bathroom break and a drink break.
And as the ending credits rolled one hundred and fifty-two minutes later—yes, I knew how long it was right down to the minute—he asked, “Are there more?”
I grinned, hit the guide option just to make sure, then smiled, “Yep. The second movie is called Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
He nodded, then seemed to settle in for the second movie.
And that was how my dad and my mom— who had just come home from a date (oh, I forgot to mention, they were officially a couple)—found us.
Seated beside each other as that movie’s ending credits rolled, and the third movie started.
It was also that night that I knew I was in love with Alexander, because as I fell asleep halfway through the third movie, I curled into his side.
And the events that followed that movie night were recorded on the home security system Dad had installed in the house.
It was the next day, as I was cleaning my room, that my dad walked in with his laptop.
I smiled at him, “Morning, Daddy.”
He winked, “Morning, princess.”
I nodded in the direction of the laptop, “What’s up?”
He sat down on my bed and said, “Come here.”
I sat down beside him as he opened the laptop, hit some buttons, and then I saw Alexander and me on the couch.
“Watch.”
I did.
I watched as Alexander laughed softly.
I watched as I looked at him and giggled.
I watched as I slowly started to doze off.
I watched as Alexander shifted my body into his as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rested his boot-covered feet on the coffee table.
I further watched as he pressed a kiss on the top of my head, his lips lingered there for a moment, and then with his free hand, he tagged the blanket that was draped on the other end of the couch and settled it around me.
Dad hit a key, and it stopped.
I looked up at him, not realizing a tear had trailed down my cheek until he used his thumb to brush it away.
“If you ever tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it,” he said.
I nodded.
“Never thought I would find a man good enough for you, but there he is.”
***
It was five days later, and we were at the clubhouse for the monthly hog roast the club put on.
I was swaying to an old Creedence Clearwater Revival song—the band my dad named me after because it was his favorite—in front of the table that was laden with food, when I felt it… that all too familiar presence I knew belonged to him.
I smiled and then looked up at him, “Having a good time?”
He lifted his chin.
“Don’t lie to me, Alexander. Please.”
He searched my hazel eyes with his own and said, “Too many people here.”
“What would help?” I asked.
He snorted, “To not be here.”
I stared up into his mossy-colored eyes and had a thought, “Have you eaten yet?”
He shook his head.
I grinned, “Okay, fix your plate and follow me.”
He lifted his brow but nonetheless did as I said.
Once our plates were full, I led him into the clubhouse and to a room that Cotton had created for the ol’ ladies.
It was quiet in here.
He sighed, “Better.”
I grinned.
We gathered around the coffee table and started eating our food.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Did you suspect your dad was hurting your sister?” I asked.
He looked at me and seemed to take a beat, then he shared, “Not until that day.”
I smiled sadly, “I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head, “Nothing for you to be sorry for.”
I shook my head, “No, but still. To have to go through that. To see all of that. And she was only thirteen.”
“You feel for others, don’t you?” he asked.
I nodded, “For the ones who mean a lot to me, yeah.”
He stared at me, taking in my words, then he swallowed. Words so full of meaning fell from his lips, “You're one of a kind, you know that?”
I grinned, “Sure do.”
He winked.
We had just finished eating our food when he said, “Can I ask you something?”
I nodded, “Anything.”
“Your birthday is tomorrow, right? Do you have anything you want?”
I bit my lip.
He chuckled. “What is it?”
“To go back out there, have them play my favorite song, and dance to it with you.”
He stared at me, then he tilted his head to the side, “Really? Anything you want, and that’s it?”
I shrugged, “I’m a simple girl.”
He seemed to think about that for a moment, and then he nodded, “Let’s go.”
I giggled as he stood up, then offered me his hand to help me up.
And then... for some reason, he held onto my hand as we walked through the clubhouse, out to the courtyard, and over to Eric, one of the prospects who was managing the speaker.
Eric looked at Alexander, then at me, and smiled, “Hey.”
I smiled, “Hey, can you play Night Moves?”
He winked, “Sure can.”
Then Alexander led me to the area that was the designated dance floor, placed his hand on the small of my back, took my right hand in his left one, and then... we danced.
And as the stars shone down on us, our family gathered around us, time seemed to slow.
Just as it always did when I was with him.
Alexander
I always heard that a man should keep his cards close to his chest.
But if I knew anything, it was that I couldn’t do that—not with the woman who was currently in my arms.
I had a wish: to have a single moment in time where I was well and truly happy.
My wish was granted with Creedence in my arms.