Chapter Seven
I’m nervous. Loyal is coming over to meet my daughter, and I have no idea how it is going to go.
Farrah wasn’t happy when I mentioned the dinner to her, but she is here and at least being quiet for the moment.
The doorbell rings, so I go to answer it.
“You look nervous,” Loyal says in lieu of greeting.
I hug him, letting him kiss my cheek. “I am.”
“It’s going to be fine,” he reassures me.
I wish I could believe that.
“Come in. Honey, this is Loyal. Loyal, this is my daughter, Farrah.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Loyal says, offering her his hand.
She ignores it. “So you’re Mom’s new boyfriend. What are you? Ten?”
“Farrah,” I chastise.
The corners of his lips twitch, but he doesn’t take the bait.
“No, I’m twenty-two, but I have a feeling you already knew that.
It’s okay to not like me. I know this is a big change for you, but I’m hoping with time you can see that I’m not here to steal your mom away from you. I only want to make you both happy.”
“I’d be happy if you left,” Farrah hisses under her breath.
“You will be polite,” I remind her.
She forces a smile. “My apologies. Can we eat? I’m hungry.”
She leaves the room and heads toward the dining table.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to Loyal.
“Stop apologizing for her. She is a teenager who refuses to accept the divorce of her parents. Of course she isn’t going to like the first guy you bring home. She will get used to it, though, because I plan to be the last too.”
He kisses my cheek quickly before going to sit at the table. I head into the kitchen and grab dinner, bringing it out to the table one dish at a time.
I can hear Loyal trying to make conversation, but Farrah isn’t reciprocating.
She needs time.
I remind myself of that as I bring the last dish in.
“My famous meatloaf with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, and corn. I made pineapple bubble cake for dessert,” I tell them.
“Looks amazing. Thank you, Mami.”
I watch as my daughter gives him a disgusted look but quickly hides it.
Progress?
We start eating in silence before my daughter speaks up.
“So what do you do for work? Or are you still in college?” Farrah asks.
I want to yell at her, but Loyal answers easily.
“I run a few businesses. College was never in the cards for me. Are you planning to go to college?” he asks her.
“Of course. What respectable person doesn’t go to college? Losers, that’s who,” she scoffs.
“Farrah Grace. You will apologize.”
“No. You are forcing this dinner on me, and now you want me to apologize to him? No. I don’t want to be here anymore.
I want to go to Dad’s. He isn’t bringing home strays and claiming they are his girlfriend.
He loves you, Mom. He wants you back, yet here you are parading a man in front of him that is ten years younger than you. It’s disgusting. I’m disgusted by you.”
“You will watch your tone, young lady,” I hiss at her.
She pushes back. “Or what? You’ll ground me? It’s better than being here right now. I’ll see myself to my room.”
She stalks down the hall, slamming the door behind her. I let out a breath and turn an apologetic look on Loyal.
He looks calm as ever.
“I’m so sorry,” I say for the millionth time it seems like.
“Stop it.” He takes my hand. “She is hurting. She doesn’t know how to process those feelings. It’s a big change, and adolescents are already prone to mood swings. Give her time. We will change her mind.”
“You sound like a self-help book,” I mutter.
“I did some research. Even called a family therapist and made an appointment. They gave me a lot of insight into the minds of teenagers. Especially in this situation.”
My mouth falls open. “You went to a shrink?”
He shrugs. “I wanted to be prepared to put my best foot forward. I want this to work. That means I need it to work with Farrah too. Even if she graduates in a year and moves out, she will be part of your life until we die. I can’t let her hatred of me come between your relationship with her.
So I will get her to like me. I will do everything I can to get her to accept this. ”
“You are insane. What person does something like that?” I ask, my mind still reeling at his confession.
“One who knows what he wants and is willing to do whatever he can to get it. I might have fallen for you, but you are a package deal. I won’t fuck this up. We will give her time and let her get used to me.”
“What if she doesn’t?” I whisper, scared of what the answer might be.
“That’s a non-issue because I have faith she will come around. I won’t give up until she does. You think a teenager can be persistent? You’ve never seen me when I’ve had a goal.”
I lean into him, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Yeah, I have. That’s how you got me, after all.”
He doesn’t deny it. Instead, he smirks. “Then you already know. This will work. We will make it work.”
“I hope you’re right. My heart hurts after that whole scene,” I admit.
“What can I do to make it better?”
There are a million things that come to mind, but none that are appropriate. So I settle for the tamest thing.
“Share some pineapple bubble cake with me? It’s my grandmother’s recipe.”
He laughs. “Of course. Bring on the cake.”
That’s how we spent the rest of the evening. Sharing cake and laughter while we both desperately tried to ignore the brooding teen down the hall. He promises that he will get through to her, but the fear that he won’t weighs heavily on my mind.
I can’t give him up, but I don’t want to lose my daughter.
It’s a real catch-22.
“Are you sure you have to go? I know we said no more sneaking around, but I really don’t want to be alone,” she whispers to me as she sees me out the front door.
If it were any other night, I would already be in her bed, but tonight I can’t.
“I have some club stuff to handle, but if you are still awake, I will come back. I promise.”
She nods, leaning up to press her lips to mine. I kiss her passionately before I pull away.
“Lock the door.”
I wait until the door closes and I hear the lock before I leave.
Tonight has been a shit show. Farrah isn’t an easy nut to crack. She really does hate the idea of me with her mother, but I have a feeling it has more to do with the way her father speaks about her mother and me.
He would never want to admit he lost his wife to a man like me.
Pushing the thoughts away, I get on my bike and head to the clubhouse. Tiny is there when I pull up.
“Took you long enough,” he says as his greeting.
“I told you I had plans tonight and that I would be here at ten. It’s nine fifty-three. I’m early. Shut up.”
He pushes my shoulder, so I push him back until we are roughhousing.
“Enough,” Savage hisses, coming out of the clubhouse.
We both stop but grin at one another. It’s how it is with us. Tiny is like a brother to me. An annoying gnat, yet a man I have love for nonetheless.
“I swear I am dealing with children sometimes. It almost makes me miss the army.”
“Nah, you love us,” I tease.
He rolls his eyes. “You are picking up the product from the Medina Cartel in Del Rio and bringing it back here. You’ll swap with Fang and Happy. They will take it over to Louisiana to meet up with the Saint’s Outlaws guys. Understood?”
“Got it, boss,” Tiny salutes him.
I nod but don’t speak.
“Oh, and take the prospect with you.”
I groan along with Tiny. Our newest prospect is an eighteen-year-old with ego problems. Savage has been working with him, but he is still a pain in the ass. After dealing with Farrah tonight, I don’t want to deal with his ass too.
These teenagers are going to kill me.
“Prospect,” I call out, pulling the boy in question from the gate.
He jogs up our way.
“Suit up. We leave in five.”
I hear him ask where we are going, but I walk away. I take my phone out and text Sami.
Me: Looks like it’s going to be a late night. Maybe I could interest you with some breakfast in my bed?
It doesn’t take her long to respond.
Mami: I’ll look forward to it. Farrah will be gone by eight for the away football game.
Me: Can’t wait. Keep that pussy hot and ready for me, but don’t you dare come without my permission.
Mami: Yes, sir.
I laugh as I read the last bit in her sassy tone. As if she would obey me. She is a strong independent woman. It’s what I love most about her. I enjoy when she defies me.
“Ready?” Tiny calls out.
I nod and head his way. Within minutes we are on the road. The two-and-a-half-hour drive only takes us two. The roads are empty at this time of the night, and I have a feeling the cartel has diverted any cops that might bother us for the evening.
When we arrive, I turn to the prospect. “I know you have a lot to say. You let your emotions rule you. This is not a situation you want to speak in. You keep quiet or they will blow your head off, and we will help them clean up the mess. Understood?”
“Yes,” he says through gritted teeth.
He doesn’t like it, but if he’s smart, he will listen.
As a group we walk over to Medina’s guys.
“Passcode.”
I clear my throat. “Estar hasta las narices.”
The Spanish rolls off my tongue fluidly, making my mouth taste like ash. Other than the occasional word here and there, I don’t really speak Spanish. It reminds me too much of my childhood. My ability to speak it is the reason I am the point of contact with the cartel, though.
They can’t sneak anything by if I can understand them.
The man looks at me like he’s waiting for me to complete the sentence, then realizes that’s the complete password.
To be fed up.
Not the weirdest one I’ve ever had to say, but weird enough.
He nods and steps aside. “Welcome. We have your packages over here.”
“Thank you,” I tell him.
Tiny and the prospect go to load the packages while I accept the envelope from the man.
“Good doing business with you.”
“Hey, watch where you are going” I hear someone say from behind me.
I turn and see the prospect push on one of the Medina men. I sigh as the man pushes him back.
“He’s an angry kid,” the man says.
“Only eighteen with a fucking chip on his shoulder. If you have to make an example out of him, we understand.” I shake my head.
“Fernando,” the man calls out.
The man that was about to pummel the prospect turns and looks at him. They don’t say a word, but Fernando nods and backs down.
“He gets a free pass today. Teach him some respect before you bring him back. Next time, he won’t leave.”
“We appreciate your mercy,” I tell him, making my way over to Tiny and the prospect.
“You better have piss running down your leg because I just saved your life. You owe me a fucking life debt.” I smack him across the back of the head. “Get your ass on that bike and ride.”
He does as I ask, leaving me with Tiny.
“He is a ball of fucking angst,” Tiny says low.
“Yeah, and a fucking time bomb waiting to go off. Let’s get home.”
With that, I climb on my bike and lead us back to San Antonio.
The prospect needs dealing with, but I have more important things to do. Like making breakfast for my woman.