No Luck
Morgan
I drove by Callie’s place a few times a day. Other than that, there wasn’t much else I could have done but wait to hear from Uncle Darren. Every morning when I woke up, I hoped that would be the day Callie showed up at home. Every night I went to bed disappointed.
On Friday, I met up with Claire, Josey, and Natalie for lunch in Clarity. It was never as easy as just showing up and enjoying the time I had with old high school friends. Strangers wanted to take pictures with me, and I signed a few autographs. Claire finally snapped at a fan when she approached our table after the food arrived. I appreciated it since I already had a reputation of being a snobby bitch. But seriously, they served our food. That woman could have waited and let us eat in peace. I would have been more than happy to speak with her after our lunch was over. I owed it to people in the public that watched my movies, but all I asked was to eat in peace before my food got cold. I was a paying customer just like everyone else.
Claire was still single, working as a paralegal to a lawyer in Clarity. Josey was engaged to a really nice guy that was a bricklayer. She was a first grade teacher, and I could clearly see the love in her eyes when she spoke of him. She said I’d get to meet him at the benefit the following day. Natalie was married to Tim Williams who just happened to be best friends with Josh Magnus in high school. She said they’re still friends and Tim stood by his side through everything Deanna did to him. Tim and Josh were also friends with Brett Darling, who was one of the lawyers Claire worked for in Clarity. The way Natalie explained the whole thing with Josh Magnus was that Deanna cheated on Josh and got pregnant. Before she miscarried, she tried to pin it on Josh, but he knew better because he always used a condom. There were already rumors that she was cheating on him, so he wasn’t buying it. The real father hung out with Shane Doyle, and she was too ashamed to tell anyone. She was little miss perfect to her parents and tried to say the pregnancy was the result of rape. She was mad at Josh, so she pointed her finger at him. The judge ordered a paternity test, and it was not Josh’s baby, and she knew it, so she admitted the truth before the test, and it ever went to trial. She ended up having a miscarriage later in her pregnancy. My heart broke for Josh. He was always really nice and would try to reassure me after Deanna was so cruel to me. He told me she was jealous and not to let it get to me. In fact, most of the guys in school looked down on the girls that picked on me. I was shocked to learn Deanna returned to town a few years back with three kids by three different dad’s and she was living in the trailer park I owned. How was that for karma? Unfortunately, Josh had already signed up for the Army before Deanna admitted the truth. It was too late for Josh to follow his dreams and play college hockey.
“I can’t understand why the tabloids always say you’re such a bitch.” Claire was dumbfounded.
“Hey now, I earned that reputation, so don’t knock it.” I laughed. “Its not because I’m a bitch to regular people, it’s because I have standards and will only work with a certain type of actor. I learned my lesson a long time ago about working with people with addictions. They don’t take our work seriously, they’re always late and they never know their lines. Being linked to them in any way is also harmful to reputations. I also guess its because I rarely do interviews and never give the paparazzi a really good look into my personal life.”
Natalie laughed. “Showing off your boobs and ass isn’t harmful to your reputation?”
I shook my head. “It’s for art and its not like I’m making porn.”
They all laughed. “Tell that to my brother.” Josey rolled her eyes. “I walked into his room when we were kids and witnessed some pretty traumatizing things he was doing to your poster and a sock. Never walked into his room without knocking again. You’d think he would have at least locked the door.” She gagged a little.
“Same, even my dad asks when you’re coming to visit. The booty shots have to stop, Morgan.” Claire was just teasing.
“Well, there’s some truth to what the tabloids are saying. I’m on a two year hiatus, but I will have to go back for the movie release and some contractual obligations, but I’m not accepting any scripts for new movies at this time. I’m burned out and can’t imagine making another movie. I love acting, but I’ve lost my inspiration, and Hollywood sucks the life out of me. I’m ready for something real in my life. I’m almost thirty and I haven’t had an adult relationship in years, and I want kids someday. I’m not getting any younger and I’ve made enough movies to retire. I could easily live just off royalties for the rest of my life. I don’t need a career anymore, but I do need a life.”
Claire sighed. “I feel it too. It’s that biological clock ticking.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, but I really just don’t want to make another movie. I’ve made six in five years. I own a beach house that’s usually sitting empty because I’m always traveling, and I’ve always wanted to retire to a quiet lake house. I don’t have anyone to share my dreams with, and I know I won’t find that person in California and probably not Cold Springs. I have some decisions to make and now I have time to really think about them. I won’t leave Cold Springs until I make sure Callie and Addie are safe. After that I have no idea what I will do.”
“Tristan is still in Cold Springs. Maybe you can reconnect with him.” Josey said.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe, I don’t know. He never liked the attention that came with me. It was too much for him back then and would be worse now.”
“He doesn’t actually ride on the garbage truck anymore. He’s now in middle management, so maybe that will help.” Claire said.
“What he does for a living doesn’t matter. Garbage truck or not, he’s a wonderful person that works hard and lives a quiet life. That’s exactly what I crave these days, and I don’t see that changing.” I was being honest with my friends.
After lunch, I went home and hung out with my mom. I still hadn’t visited with my grandpa like I promised. He was my great grandpa’s caregiver, and those two old men could find more trouble than Charlie Sheen at a bachelorette party. I wasn’t feeling it quite yet and hoped to visit when Patrick had time to go with me.
The next day I was excited about the benefit. I never saw a poker run, and Patrick offered to let me ride in his truck with him to the different bars the MC would be visiting. I had no idea it was more bikers than the guys who lived at the lake. That made me nervous once I saw all the bikes. There must have been hundreds of motorcycles. Patrick said I’d be safe as long as I stuck close to him. I found out the guys wearing jean and leather cuts with patches were Devil’s Rejects and hoped I had one chance to confront Shane. Although, I did have fears of his gang and didn’t like the idea of being recognized by them. I chose to stay in the truck for the stops and Patrick bought me a water or pop at each stop. We hit every bar in the county, which took hours. Finally, once we got to the Tavern in Cold Springs I had to pee so bad that I was in pain. Patrick was just as good as any body guard, but he was still just one man. I was scared to death, but if I didn’t want to pee on his truck seat I had to visit the bathroom.
“Wait here for just a minute.” Patrick jumped out and went inside the tavern. I bounced my foot and prayed to God I didn’t pee my pants as I waited. Patrick came back with men following him, but they weren’t wearing any vests or patches, just regular black t-shirts and jeans. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door. I heard one gasp after another from the six men he brought out with him. Patrick offered me his hand and I hopped out. They formed a wall around me all the way to the ladies room, but that did not protect me from being recognized.
“Holy shit, it’s Morgan fucking Rossi!” One guy yelled out as I walked.
“I’ve dreamed about having those lips wrapped around my cock for years!” Another said.
The Devil’s Rejects were yelling profane things at me all the way to the back of the tavern and still yelled them while I was in the ladies room. I knew my face had to be blood red from the embarrassment. I was relieved to pee, but still freaked out about the Devil’s Rejects. When I opened the bathroom door to leave, I gasped when I saw turquoise green eyes looking down at me. He was a tall man, absolutely beautiful and it took me a minute to remind myself to breathe. He had his arms crossed and Patrick was standing next to him, blocking my exit. He just stood there, looking into my eyes and I couldn’t peel mine away from his. He was the man from the airplane that made me feel all sorts of funny.
He finally tore his eyes from mine and looked at my brother. “Why the hell is she here? Could you have been more stupid?”
“She never saw a poker run and has been with me all day. She just had to pee and it’s the first time she left my truck.” Patrick explained himself as men were shouting about things that pertained to my vagina, but they were not that classy with their words.
The gorgeous man that had me awestruck looked at me again. “We will get you to the truck, but don’t hang around.” He looked at my brother. “Take her straight to the VFW and let your uncle know she may need eyes on her all night. The assholes yelling that shit won’t go to the VFW, this is their last stop, and they’ll head back up north. They’re not exactly big fans of Darren’s and won’t take the chance.”
I wasn’t really hearing all he had to say because my eyes were trailing down that magnificent body. My God, my sister was right if the man in front of me was Creed. He was beautiful and took my breath away. The bikers, some that were wearing cuts and had patches, formed a wall on both sides and the beautiful man that just called my brother stupid, led the way to Patrick’s truck. All my insecurities faded away as I watched the man walk in front of me. Not even Jake had that fine of an ass. Once I was up in the truck, the man shut my door and through the window pointed to my seatbelt. After acting totally mature and rolling my eyes, I snapped it on, and he gave me a nod. Patrick got in behind the wheel and I watched as the most beautiful man on the planet walked away while shaking his head.
“Who was that gorgeous and totally fuckable man?” I looked at Patrick and he scrunched his nose.
“Don’t ever talk like that to me, and that was Creed. He is the President of our local motorcycle club.”
I felt a smile form on my face as Patrick backed out of his parking spot, cursing because some of the Devil’s Rejects kept acting like they were going to step behind the truck. I turned and saw some of the men in black t-shirts step in and clear a path for us.
“Since Creed’s group is throwing the fundraiser, I’ll get to see him again?” I didn’t feel one ounce of unease, but I did get goosebumps when he was looking into my eyes.
“Don’t get your hopes up with that guy, Sis. Those are very private people, and they don’t exactly welcome strangers into their lives.”
I glanced at him as he drove. “What do you think they’re hiding?”
He glanced at me. “What makes you think they’re hiding anything?”
“Well, they all have this military type of look, they ride motorcycles and won’t let anyone into their gated community. It honestly sounds like a compound and they’re probably hiding some top secret government stuff.”
Patrick laughed. “You’ve read too many Hollywood scripts. Your imagination is running a little wild. Do you think they’re hiding aliens or something?”
“Not aliens, but something top secret. I’ve been on enough USO tours to recognize men in the military.” It was something with the way they walked and the entire feeling I got from them.
“Duh, they’re all Veterans. I think Creed was in the Green Berets or something.” He said.
“Is that like the Navy Seals?” I asked.
“Tougher, and I wouldn’t be shocked if it was Delta Force. They’re all some serious badasses and Creed has visited dad at work after a few meth fires. Anyway, as far as anyone is concerned they build bikes and that’s all we tell people. Nobody really knows what happens on that lake.”
“I look forward to learning more about them.” I felt that sinister side of me take over my mind again. I definitely pictured some very dirty things I could have been doing with Creed. Damn, I really needed to get laid. It had been a few years for me, and I was far beyond just being horny.
“Leave them alone. They’re…well there’s women that live with them. We see them in town from time to time and I don’t think they’re exactly girlfriends if you know what I mean.”
“Then what are they?” I asked.
“The guys at the firehouse think they are like groupies. They’re on site for sex and that’s it. They probably pay them or something. None are from these parts and they’re all hot as hell. Everyone knows it’s hands off when it comes to Creed’s girls.”
My heart plummeted. Creed’s girls? He sounded like a pimp or something.
“That’s unfortunate.” I said in a sigh.
He chuckled. “Why’s that?”
“I could never be with a man that paid for sex. Its kind of a red flag for women.”
“I don’t know that for sure, it’s just a rumor and you know how people talk in this town. As far as I’m concerned, if it hasn’t hit St. Paul’s bulletin yet, it’s just talk.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I’m not sure Father would allow the church ladies to publish that in the newsletter.”
He let out a quick laugh and I looked at him. “It wasn’t that funny.”
“No, I just remembered something. Did you notice the church got that new electronic sign?” He asked.
“Yeah, I actually did.”
“Well, a few months back the church was hosting a seminar type of thing. It was the ill effects of porn on society and why Catholics should avoid it. Unfortunately, when they advertised it on the sign it wasn’t very descriptive. It said “Join us Saturday for popcorn and porn.”
I giggled. “How did they not see a problem with that?”
His eyes creased at the edges with his laughter. “Grandpa showed up with a bottle of Jameson and a deck of cards. Him and a few of his buddies threatened a protest if they didn’t get the porn started already. People showed up from all over the county and it was the largest turnout yet.”
“Good Lord, Grandpa. Please tell me Great Grandpa wasn’t with him.” I was amused with the way my brother was laughing.
“Of course, and he attempted to hit Mr. Chase over the head with his cane. Uncle Darren had to bring a few deputies with him to drag all the old men out. Mom was devastated and it took a month for her to show her face at Mass again. Grandma put Grandpa on house arrest for a month and she did zero baking for them the entire time. They are still pissed.” He was still laughing as he told the story.
“Let me get this straight. Grandpa thoroughly believed a church, whose religion doesn’t even allow marriage for their clergy, would play porn movies and serve popcorn? He has lost his ever loving mind.” It was a perfect example of how my grandfather’s behaved. Who takes their ninety five year old dad to watch porn? Only my grandpa.
When Patrick parked the truck at the VFW, there were no bikes yet, but the parking lot was packed. As soon as I stepped out of the truck with my bag to change into a summer dress, I smelled it. “Indiana festival fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. Other than a donation, it’s the only reason I wanted to come today.” It smelled amazing. There was nothing like biting into the salt and peppery crust of Indiana festival fried chicken. It was literally one of my favorite things about growing up in Cold Springs.
“Tis the season of fried chicken and festivals.” Patrick locked his doors and the truck beeped. We walked up to the entrance and had to show our ID’s so we could drink alcohol then move on to the raffle and dinner tickets. Instead of paying the ten dollars per plate and twenty for five raffle tickets, I wrote a very sizable check then only accepted the five raffle tickets like everyone else. A purple wristband was placed on my wrist to tell the bartender I was old enough to drink and I bought a dinner plate.
While Patrick ordered our drinks from the bar, I visited the ladies room to change into my summer dress and walked out to the raffle area. After I wrote our names on our raffle tickets, I stuck all of mine in the box to win a gorgeous quilt. Patrick told me to stick all of his in the box to win a new gun.
“Morgan?”
I turned and smiled when I saw Lacey Deters and her group of friends I knew from high school. They were among the few girls that would talk to me back in the day. I had a reputation of a lot of things thanks to Deanna and Bethany, but that also included being a snobby bitch, just like the tabloids called me. But thankfully, there were a handful of female students that were too smart to pay attention to rumors.
“Lacey! It’s great to see you.”
“Welcome home, Morgan!” She squealed then hugged me. I recognized each of the girls by name and they all gave me hugs then welcomed me home. The entire time we talked my dinner ticket was burning a hole in my pocket and my mouth was watering because of the greasy but delicious aroma in the air. I knew I had to get my plate before they ran out of the chicken.
Finally, Patrick returned with my beer, and I excused myself to stand in line for dinner. The line was long, and I sent Patrick back to the bar for more beer twice before I made it to the food. I put my beer on the tray then made it down the line as the auxiliary women placed the food on my plate. Then I got to the desserts and once again my mouth watered. I understood the long line at that point. It took me forever to choose which dessert I wanted. They were all on individual paper plates and ready for my taking, but I couldn’t decide if I wanted apple pie or a piece of cake.
“Keep the line moving, Morgan! You’re embarrassing me.” Patrick complained.
“There’s too many hard decisions to make. These are all homemade!” I defended my inability to make what should have been an easy decision. I resorted to eeny meeny miny moe and the pie won.
Patrick and I found our parents and sister sitting with Uncle Darren, a few deputies, and they had saved seats at our table for more people to come. I didn’t pay much attention because my eyes were focused on the chicken on my plate. Nobody could ever understand what summers were like for a Hoosier that missed out on festival chicken every year. I gave myself a moment of silence and appreciation before I lifted a beautiful leg to my mouth and was just about to take a heavenly bite, when the building began rumbling and I could feel the vibration of engines.
“They’re here!” Someone announced. Most people stood to walk outside and greet the bikers, but fuck that! I had a piece of greasy heaven in my fingers. Of course, just when I thought I was going to take a bite, someone would ask me a question. Finally, my dad started telling a story and the focus was off me. I shut my eyes and was just about to take a bite for the second time when I felt goosebumps rise on my skin and the aroma of the chicken was shared with a familiar scent.
“Creed! We saved you a seat!” Savannah hopped up and made her way behind me. I was guessing she was giving him a hug, but not even Creed and my body’s reaction to him would ruin the moment I finally bit into that glorious piece of chicken and moaned.