Chapter 6
Mason
The smell of charcoal, grilled burgers, and fresh-cut grass hung heavy in the afternoon air.
It was one of those perfect North Carolina afternoons where the sun was warm without being unbearable, a light breeze carried the laughter of children across the backyard, and for once... there wasn't a single problem to solve.
No rival club.
No blood.
No guns.
Just family.
I stood behind the grill with a pair of tongs in one hand, flipping another row of burgers while grease hissed against the flames. Beside me, Stryker was working the hot dogs while Devil stood behind us pretending he wasn't stealing fries off one of the serving trays.
"I can see you," I said without turning around.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You've eaten half the damn tray."
"I am quality control."
Justice walked by carrying two beers.
"I'd believe that if you weren't on your third quality inspection."
Devil pointed a fry at him. "You're just jealous because I got here first."
Justice snorted. "I don't eat food you've breathed on."
"I've got great breath."
"You smell like onions."
"That's flavor."
The entire group burst into laughter. I shook my head while flipping another burger.
"You idiots ever gonna grow up?"
"Nope," Stryker answered immediately.
"Absolutely not," Devil agreed.
Justice took a drink from his beer.
"Growing up sounds terrible."
"I've got kids," I reminded them.
Justice shrugged. "That's your poor decision making."
Without looking away from the grill, I reached behind me and smacked him across the shoulder with the towel hanging from my waistband.
He stumbled dramatically. "I've been assaulted!"
"You deserved worse."
"I usually do."
More laughter. This...This was the side of club life nobody outside the gates ever saw. Everyone looked at the cuts on our backs and assumed violence, danger and crime. They never saw afternoons like this.
Brothers laughing over burnt hamburgers.Well, only when Justice cooked. Kids chasing one another through the yard. Old ladies sitting together swapping stories. This…This was home.
A pair of small arms suddenly wrapped around my leg and I looked down. Madison. She'd somehow escaped the playpen and toddled all the way across the yard with her little hands reaching up toward me. Her tiny Minnie Mouse bow had slipped sideways, making her look even more adorable.
"Well, hello there."
I bend down and scoop her into my arms. She immediately buried both hands in my beard.
"Easy."
She giggled. Then tried pulling it again.
Justice laughed. "Looks like she's got you figured out."
"She's been trying to rip my face off since she learned to grab."
Madison squealed happily.
A second later Maddy came toddling across the grass after her sister, arms stretched toward me.
"Oh no," Stryker laughed. "You've got another one coming."
I laughed and reached down with my free arm, lifting Maddy onto my other hip. Now I had one daughter on each side. Both immediately reached for my face.
Demon points, laughing. "He's completely defenseless."
Justice grinned. "Quick. Somebody steal his burgers."
I shot him a look. "I'll throw you on the grill."
"You wouldn't."
"No..." Stryker smirked. "But Kelly might."
Almost on cue, Kelly stepped out the back door carrying another tray of food. She stopped the second she saw me. One daughter on each hip. Hair being pulled in opposite directions. My beard under attack.
She smiles. The kind that still made my chest tighten after all these years.
"You look busy."
"You wanna trade?"
She laughed. "Not a chance."
She stepped close enough to kiss my cheek. The girls immediately tried grabbing her hair too. Kelly shook her head.
"They're little gremlins."
"They get it from their mother."
She gasped dramatically. "My mother was a saint."
"I wasn't talking about her."
She swatted my arm. The girls laughed like they'd just witnessed the funniest thing in the world. For a moment... Everything else faded away. It’s just me. Kelly. Our daughters. The smell of food cooking. The sound of our family surrounding us. Then Johnny came sprinting across the yard.
"DAD!"
"What?"
"I won!"
"Won what?"
"The dinosaur race."
"There was a dinosaur race?"
"There is now."
He took off again before I could ask another question. Justice shook his head.
"I understood maybe three words of that conversation."
"You'll catch up eventually."
"I doubt it."
A little while later the food was finally done. Burgers. Hot dogs. Chicken. The brothers lined up with paper plates while teasing each other about who got the biggest burger.
After everyone had eaten and the kids disappeared back into the yard to play, I finally found a quiet minute. Johnny was sitting beneath the big oak tree with a juice box, watching the other kids chase each other. I walked over and sat beside him.
He leaned against my shoulder without saying anything. For a while we just watched. Tara was laughing with two other little girls while the boys played tag nearby. I smiled to myself.
"So..."
Johnny looked up.
"So?"
"I saw what happened earlier."
His little face immediately turned pink.
"I wasn't being mean."
"I know."
He picked at the grass between his sneakers.
"I just..." He hesitated. Then sighed. "I like her."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You do?"
He nodded.
"She's nice."
I looked toward Tara. She'd just fallen over laughing after one of the boys tripped over his own feet. Johnny smiled watching her.
"I don't want the other boys taking her."
I bit the inside of my cheek.
"You mean...You don't want to share?"
He nodded firmly. "She's my friend. My best friend. And I don't want another boy making her laugh more than me."
I couldn't help it. I laughed. Johnny looked horrified.
"It's not funny."
"I'm sorry." I tried to stop laughing. "I really am."
He crossed his arms.
"You laughed."
"I know."
"I wasn't joking."
"I know you weren't."
I wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"You know something your old man learned a long time ago?"
"What?"
"You can't make somebody be your friend."
Johnny frowned.
"I can't?"
"No."
"But..."
I nodded toward Tara. "You can be kind. You can make them smile. You can be someone they like being around. And if you're lucky...They'll choose to spend time with you."
Johnny thought about that for a long moment.
"So... I shouldn't tell the other boys to go away?"
I chuckled. "Probably not."
He sighed dramatically. "This friendship stuff is hard."
I laughed again. "It gets easier."
He looked at me suspiciously.
"Does it?"
I thought about Kelly. About everything we'd been through to get here. Then smiled.
"When it's the right person... Yeah. It really does."
Johnny nodded slowly. Then looked back toward Tara.
"I'm still gonna make sure she has fun today."
I smiled proudly.
"I think that's a much better plan."
He stood up.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask her if she wants to play dinosaurs?"
I grinned. "I think she'd like that."
He took off running toward the group of kids. Halfway there he stopped. Turned around.
"Dad?"
"What?"
"I still think she's prettier than the other girls."
I laughed so hard the brothers looked over from across the yard. Johnny shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then he ran off to join his best friend. I leaned back against the tree, watching him go.
Somewhere behind me, Kelly's fingers slipped into mine. Neither of us spoke. We just watched our children laugh. And for the first time in a long time… Life felt exactly the way it was supposed to.