Chapter Twenty-One
“All right, this is it. You still okay with this?” I check in with Farrah for the third time since we left the house.
“Yes, Mom. I’m fine,” she teases.
After the almost breakup, Farrah has been a different person. More like the daughter she used to be. Friendly and kind. She has even been nicer toward Loyal, although things are still tense.
I was worried it wouldn’t stay that way. She went back to Billy’s for a week, and I braced for the worst. Instead, she came back and told me everything he wanted her to do. The weasel wanted her to plant cameras in the house so he could spy.
Instead of following through with it, I called him immediately and told him I found them when cleaning up Farrah’s things. Farrah played her part as a disgruntled teenager, and I took the brunt of Billy’s anger.
I know it’s not over, but it’s a step in the right direction.
“Come on. Loyal looks like he is as nervous as you are.” Farrah gets out of the car, walking over to meet Loyal first.
I reach into the back seat, grabbing the pineapple bubble cake I made for the occasion as I watch them interact. They don’t touch, but she does smile and greet him kindly. He smiles back at her and says something making her laugh.
When I walk up, Loyal turns and grabs the pan from my hands.
“Let me get that for you, Mami,” he says, easily taking it before leaning down to kiss me lightly on the lips.
“Gross. PDA. Can we go inside now?” Farrah asks.
“Yes, come on.” He walks ahead of us, holding open the door.
Inside, there are people milling about, but the vibe is different than the last party I attended. First, everyone has their clothes on, thankfully. Second, it feels more like a family picnic than a biker party.
“We are grilling out back. I know the girls want to see you and meet Farrah. We can start there,” Loyal says, guiding us through the clubhouse, only stopping long enough to hand off my cake to one of the brothers.
“You made it,” Cami calls, standing from Fang’s lap to come greet me.
“I did. This is my daughter, Farrah. Farrah, this is Cami.” I push Farrah forward.
“Hi,” she mutters.
“Hello there. You are as beautiful as your mama. You are going to have the boys going crazy before you know it.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t want to have to castrate some asshole kid for trying to take advantage of her,” Loyal grumbles.
“You’re not my dad, so you wouldn’t have to,” Farrah says, looking at the ground.
He nudges her arm. “Yes, I would because I care about you, kid. No one fucks with those in my circle. That includes you.”
Farrah relaxes, a small smile on her face.
“Hi, Farrah. I’m Bailey. This is my friend Laura, and that over there is Viv.” Bailey changes the subject.
“And those are my brothers. Savage, Fang, Tiny, and Happy.” Loyal points out each man who waves.
“You have a lot of brothers,” Farrah says, making everyone laugh.
“They are the brothers I chose. The family I claim because I want to, not because of the blood running through my veins. Kind of like how I claim you even though you are not mine by blood.”
She nods. “That makes sense. You promised there would be people my age here. Well, other than you,” she teases. “Can I go find them now?”
Loyal nods. “You see that group there? That’s who you are looking for. Want me to go introduce you?”
She shakes her head. “That’s embarrassing. I’ll figure it out. Thanks.”
She takes off, but toward where the drinks are instead.
“You think she will be okay?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, she can’t get into too much trouble here. The alcohol is monitored. The kids are good for the most part. She will find her footing.”
“What about you? Will you be getting into any trouble, Miss Margarita?” Cami teases.
“I get drunk one time and never live it down. You guys are worse than Gina,” she teases.
“Oh who is that?” Bailey asks.
“My best friend and coworker. Actually she would love this place. She is already jealous about my hunk of a younger man I have managed to catch. She’s in her twenties, though, so she can’t go much younger,” I joke.
“She’s got a few years before becoming a cougar,” Happy throws in.
“Exactly. Besides, she is a handful for me. I’d feel bad if she managed to snare one of you.”
“One of who?” Rex asks, walking up with a beer.
He offers the extra one in his hand to Loyal, who takes it with a nod.
“You bikers,” I answer warmly. “She would have you running around chasing her while she caused chaos. Yeah, better to leave her out of this.”
Rex smirks. “I don’t know. I enjoy a bit of chaos. Isn’t that right, Happy?”
Happy snorts. “I once bet Rex here he couldn’t catch an armadillo with his two bare hands. One broken nose later, and well, he had himself an armadillo.”
“Eh, it was only the third time I broke my nose. Not even the last time.”
“Wow. That’s…doesn’t it hurt?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Pain is only temporary. The memory lasts forever.”
“Amen, brother,” Fang says, holding up his beer.
Cami smacks him. “Don’t get any ideas. I like your pretty face.”
As they continue to talk, Loyal finds a seat and pulls me down into his lap. I look around at the people that I can now call my friends and smile. This is what I have always been missing.
As my eyes flit toward Farrah, I smile when I see her sitting with the other teens, talking. Watching a smile light up her face, I know I made the right decision.
Loyal might be the vice president of the Lotus MC, but that is only a title. Something for people to judge him for.
The truth is he is a protective man who cares deeply for those he loves.
Somehow I think I managed to become one of those people.
I told Sami I wanted to go inside to use the restroom, but the truth is, I want to check on Farrah. I know she has been hanging with the teens, but once it got dark, they managed to slip out of the view of everyone.
I don’t blame them. I was their age once, but I know they will be up to no good. I need this to go well. I don’t want Sami having any reason to think these kids are a bad influence.
Rounding the clubhouse, I move silently as I listen to the chatter.
“So what is an old lady anyway? Is that what my mom is?” I hear Farrah ask.
“Nah. Not yet, at least. There will be a party when he claims her. It’s a big thing. It’s basically biker marriage. A lot of them get married on paper too, but being an old lady means something more,” Abel, Toker’s boy, tells her.
“Oh, so like you don’t have an old lady?” she asks.
The group laughs, but it’s Jackie who answers her.
“No, we are too young. They won’t let you claim one until you are in the club. In order to do that, you have to prospect. Abel here can’t prospect until he turns eighteen.”
“Oh? Why the rules?” Farrah questions.
“They have their own way of doing things. Years ago, you could join as young as you wanted, but they started cleaning themselves up and becoming more legitimate. As the times changed, the club needed to adapt so they didn’t die out.
Now, they have morals. Things they won’t do that a previous president might have done.
It makes the club safer,” Abel tells her.
“That is good…right?” Farrah looks around the group.
“It is. Means the brothers are safer and so are the families. It’s why you see more young kids here today. There’s a reason there are only the six of us. Not a lot of teens because it wasn’t smart to have something that could be used against you back in the day,” Ryder adds.
“I hadn’t really realized. Sorry, am I asking too many questions? I’m being a buzzkill, aren’t I?” Farrah asks, already starting to stand to leave.
“Not at all. Why don’t you stay a while longer? Ryder here snuck a few beers from his dad’s stash. We could drink and play spin the bottle,” Able offers.
I know I need to make myself known sooner rather than later, so I back away a bit and then head around the corner, making more noise.
“Shh. Hide them,” I hear as I round the corner.
“There you are. Can I borrow Farrah real quick? I want to introduce her to someone.”
Abel looks up at me, meeting my eyes. At least the kid has balls.
“Farrah, we will be here when you are done,” Abel promises her.
I don’t miss the blush on her cheeks as she follows me back to the party. Instead of going where anyone is gathered, I stop at an empty picnic table and take a seat. She moves to sit next to me.
“I thought you wanted to introduce me to someone,” she says.
“I lied. I didn’t want to ruin your street cred,” I joke. “I wanted to check in. You doing okay with all of this?”
She nods. “I am. My dad has this place all wrong. They…” She looks back to where we came from. “Welcomed me in without question. I keep waiting for them to decide I don’t fit in, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
I shake my head. “It won’t. This is a family. They will protect you because you are part of this now by extension of me. I mean, if that is what you want.”
She is quiet a moment. “You know I’ve seen them at school.
Well, not them personally, but biker kids.
They are always hanging out and having a good time.
I looked down on them like the rest of the school.
Thought they were trash. Yet they are actually a lot better than the so-called friends I had who dropped me when the rumor mill started being about me. ”
I sigh. “I don’t know much about teenage drama.
I’ll admit I didn’t stick around school long.
It wasn’t my thing, but I know about the Lotus MC.
We are loyal to one another. We might fight or bicker, but at the end of the day, we would take a bullet for each other.
Those kids? They were raised with those values.
It’s not too late for you to adopt them too. ”
She looks over at me. “You think so?”
I nod. “I know so.”
“Thanks, Loyal,” she says. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch to you. You didn’t deserve that.”
I chuckle, “I deserved it a little. I mean, you should protect your mother. I never blamed you for it.”
“I know, but I don’t think I have to worry about that anymore because you are going to protect her now, right?”
“Yeah.” I bump her shoulder with mine. “I am. I’m going to protect you too.”
She beams up at me. “So does this mean you will ask my mom to be your old lady?”
I smile as I wipe a hand down my mouth. “Yeah, if I can convince her this is a life she wants to live. That might start by you not partaking in underage drinking on the side of the clubhouse with boys.”
She groans. “You heard that?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to tell on us?” she asks.
“Nope. I was your age once. I do want you to promise me something, though.” I turn to look at her.
“Sure. What is it?”
“One beer. No hard liquor. You can kiss, but nothing more. If he gets handsy, you kick him in the balls and run. I’ll handle the rest.”
Her eyes widen. “No. I’m not. I mean, who would I even kiss?”
I give her a knowing look. “It’s natural, but don’t let them take advantage. You do not have to put out to be liked. These boys are used to strong women, so show them the strong woman your mom raised you to be.”
She nods, looking down at her hands.
“Go back to your friends. Make sure you get some gum before we see you again. I’ll come get you when we are getting ready to leave.”
She stands and takes a few steps away before she turns back to me. “I was wrong about you.”
I nod. I know she was, and that’s okay. It’s not her job to know who I am. It’s my job to show her.
After she walks away, I get up and head back toward Sami. As I pass by Toker, I say, “Your boy’s out there with the others drinking.”
I smirk when I hear him curse and set his own beer down.
When I reach Sami, she lets me take the chair before sitting back in my lap.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Everything is perfect.”