Chapter 2
Ringo
G etting to the clubhouse , I plan to go straight to my room for the rest of the night. I don’t want to go home to my empty house but I’m also not in the mood to try to keep up with the conversations of all the other guys from my club.
They’re really great guys and I see them all as brothers but sometimes they can be hard to be around. Mostly the unmarried guys. They still act as though they are teenagers having a party that mom and dad don’t know about.
Not to mention they expect me to join in on the conversations. Something I try very seriously not to do just in case I have a stuttering episode. As a child that shit was embarrassing, as a grown ass man it’s worse than embarrassing.
Several years ago, Timber, the Prez of my club, convinced me to go to a speech therapist. At first, I refused to go. That worked for quite a while until he got the women of the club involved. Who the fuck can really say no to those women anyway?
They bat their eyes at you and give you those mom looks that just tells your sixth sense that they would be incredibly disappointed if you don’t do what they want. So off to the therapist my big ass went and it does seem to have helped some.
I’ve learned that I don’t have to rush through all the words at once and people still listen to you. According to the therapist, my mind was thinking the words faster than my mouth could say them which had me jumbling them altogether.
I’m just walking across the room towards the hallway when I hear the Prez calling my name. Looking over I see him and a few of the other guys sitting at a table having a beer so I head in that direction.
“Prez.” I nod as I walk up next to him.
“Ringo. I know you just walked in but I was wondering if we could ask a favor of you?”
“Sure. What?” I ask with as few words as possible. No need to push myself too much in case it all comes out wrong. The Prez understands though.
“The twins need a ride back to their bikes.” He nods behind me and I turn, seeing Sprocket and Gear sitting at the bar like two kids that just got a lecture from their parents.
“Do I...need to ask?” I look at my Prez.
“They thought it a great idea to hop in the back of Fiona’s car and scare her. She didn’t find it funny and had their rides towed. I’ve called the towing company. Everything is already taken care of. Their bikes are sitting out front waiting for them.”
“Fiona?” I ask.
“My sister is fine. They are lucky that she only had their bikes towed.” Blood says with a grunt.
“If we know your sister, that definitely won’t be the end of it.” Blade says, drinking his beer.
“Can you take them?” Prez asks, looking at me.
“Yes.” I nod.
“Thanks, Ringo. The rest of us are tired of their shit tonight.” He claps me on the back as I turn towards the twins.
I head back to the door, not even looking at the guys, knowing they’ll follow me out. Since I can’t take my bike, I hop into one of our SUV’s parked out front that we all have a key to, starting it up and waiting for the two goofballs to get in. Soon as their doors close, I back up and head back down the road.
“She’ll be after us.” Sprocket comments from the front seat.
“Well she shouldn’t. Tonight was payback for what she did last week.” Gear huffs.
“Children.” I shake my head.
“What does that make Fiona?” Sprocket snorts.
“Both of you...are lucky.”
“Why do you say that?” Gear asks truly purplexed.
“Baratta had been there. You both would be dead.”
“He wouldn’t shoot us. Would he?” He asks his brother who looks over at me.
Instead of saying anything else, I continue to drive through town. The one and only towing company is on the other side of town as you’re leaving. They thought it a great setup as it puts them a little closer to the bigger highways.
The twins continue going back and forth over whether Baratta might have killed them had he been there as I’m driving by Bella’s Brew.
Looking in the parking lot, I see the car that the kid was sitting in still in the parking lot and I think I see someone inside of it.
My brows draw together wondering what could have happened and why they’d have just sat there instead of calling for a ride.
Getting to where the twins' bikes are, I pull up putting the SUV in park and wait for them to get out. They thank me but I don’t say anything back. I swear the two of them are complete dumbasses sometimes.
I follow them back through town but instead of continuing on, I turn into the Bella’s Brew parking lot next to the car.
One look tells me that not only is the kid asleep inside but so is his mother.
Getting out, I walk around to the driver side window and lightly knock, trying to wake her but not the kid. I don’t want to scare them but she jumps anyway when her eyes open and she sees me standing there.
“You alright?” I ask but step back as she opens her door, getting out and softly closing it again.
“I’m sorry.” She says.
“You two alright?” I ask again.
“My car wouldn’t start.” She looks over her shoulder at it.
“Is someone on their way?” I ask slowly as my mind begins to race like it does when the stuttering starts.
“No. I don’t know anyone here. We’re new to White Summer.” She begins to wring her hands together.
“I can...give you...a ride.” I point at the SUV.
“Um, I’m sorry. We don’t really have anywhere else to...to go.” Tears well up in her eyes.
Looking away from her, I look back into the car and realize there are bags of clothes in the back seat as well as blankets. They’ve been living out of this car for who knows how long.
“I have somewhere you can stay.” I say without fully making a decision. “No strings.” I hold my hands up when her eyes look a little suspicious.
She looks around for several long moments like she’s thinking it over.
“You...can’t...stay here. Promise..it’s a...safe place.”
“Where is it at?” She finally asks.
I breathe slowly, calming my mind so that I don’t make a fool of myself.
“Club owns...several cabins not too far...away.”
“What does it cost?” She stares down at her shoes.
“Nothing.”
“How can a place cost nothing?” She raises a brow.
“One of them...belongs to me. I stay...at the club...most nights.”
She looks at me for a long moment before looking back at her son asleep in the front seat. I honestly wonder how the hell he’s sleeping all scrunched up like that in the front seat. Even for the kids’ age, he’s pretty tall. He’ll most likely hit at least six feet by the time he’s sixteen.
“No strings?” She asks, grabbing my attention again.
“No strings.” I shake my head.
“Okay. Let me grab a few things before we wake up, Remmy.”
She opens her rear door, grabbing their bags and I help her put them into my SUV. She grabs a few more things from the front seat before she walks around to her son's side of the car, opening the door.
“Remmy?” She gently shakes him. “Come on baby. We’re going to a cabin for the night.”
She gets him out of the car, helping his sleepy frame to the SUV and I open the door for him. She settles him inside and I swear he’s back to sleep before we even shut the door.
She locks up her car before getting into my passenger seat and I walk back around, climbing behind the wheel.
“I have to be back here for the morning shift.” She says as we pull out onto the road.
“I’ll take care of it.” I see her start to fidget in the passenger seat so I make a decision to stop back by the club before taking her to my house.
Blade and Bella should still be at the club. It would most likely be best to let Bella know what is going on with her new employee.
I also need to ask the Prez if we can send one of the prospects to pick up her car so I can look it over tomorrow in our shop.
“Is it much further?” She asks, looking back at her son in the back seat.
“No.” I answer with a shake of my head. “I just need...to stop at the club to get my keys first though.” The lie slips out without any problems.
“Okay.” She says softly, turning to look out her window.
“Why didn’t you...call Bella when...” I start.
“When my car wouldn’t start?” She asks and I shake my head. “I couldn’t possibly impose on her like that. What would she think of me?”
“She’d think that you needed help.” I answer softly just as I slow down to turn into the drive to the clubhouse.
The music from inside is loud even out here but the kid in the back seat never moves. I can’t stop the grin from crossing my face as I look at him in the rearview mirror.
What I wouldn’t give to be able to sleep so soundly. Pulling all the way up, I put the truck in park and turn to look at Kimmie.
I’m once again struck with how truly beautiful she is but looking closely into her eyes I see a deep sadness there that I would like to know the cause of.
“I’ll only be a few minutes.” I say, getting out of the truck.
Kimmie
I watch out the window as I wait for Ringo to come back. Several men as well as women come and go from the door. Some of them even look in my direction but don’t say a word to me.
There’s a lot of men here wearing the same kind of vest and jacket that I noticed on Ringo as well as Bella’s husband.
Some even look like the type you wouldn’t want to cross paths with in a dark alley. While most are handsome, they all have a look about them that just screams that they are deadly.
I’m starting to get really nervous when I finally see Ringo step back out the door but my heart races like crazy when I see Bella right behind me. I’m about to lose my damn job and I need it more than ever with my car acting crazy.
“Hey, why didn’t you call me?” Bella demands softly once she has my door open.
“I didn’t want to bother you.” I answer, looking anywhere but directly at her.
“You are not a bother. Ringo says you and Remmy have been living out of your car. Is that true?” She asks and I shoot a look at Ringo who only gives a small grin back. How the hell did the man even know?
“I figured we could make do for a few nights. Until I got my first check.”
“Well you’re in luck. There’s no need to ‘make do’, Ringo says you can stay in his cabin for now. I’d give you one of the rentals to stay in but they are currently booked up for the next couple of weeks.”
“I’m sorry to be such a bother.” I rub my forehead with my fingers as I feel a headache coming on.
“Hey! It’s not a bother. Okay? Ringo, take her to your cabin, let her get some rest.” She looks over at him before turning back to me. “As for you, you sleep in tomorrow and come in for the afternoon shift. We’ll start morning shifts the day after.”
“So I’m not losing my job?” I finally look up into her eyes.
“Hell, no. You worked harder today than any of my previous employees I’ve gone through this past year.” I smile as she giggles.
“I need your...keys.” Ringo holds his hand out to me.
“What for?” I ask, grabbing my purse to fish them out of the bottom.
“We’ll tow it to the shop and I can look at it tomorrow.” He thumbs behind him and I see a giant mechanic shop in the distance.
“You don’t have to do that.” I start to protest.
“That’s the perks of your job. It makes you sorta part of the club. The club takes care of their own.” Bella smiles down at me as I finally find my keys and hand them to Ringo who walks away yet again.
“He’s a good guy.” Bella captures my attention again.
“He’s really...”
“Handsome?” Bella giggles and I grin at her.
“I was going to say quiet.”
“Yeah but you were thinking what I said.” She laughs as I feel my face flush with heat. “He is quiet. For good reason but that’s not my story to tell. Just when he’s talking, give him time to finish what he’s saying.”
I stare at her for a few minutes trying to read between the lines before I finally shake my head in answer. I’ll try to figure out what she means later. Right now, this headache is becoming something fierce.
A minute later, Ringo is climbing back into the driver's seat.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest, everything will be okay.” Bella says.
“Thank you, Bella.” I say genuinely. She has got to be the nicest person I have run into over the years. Certainly anyone else would have fired me on the spot and had my car towed away.
We get back on the road but only drive for a few minutes when we pull up to a cute little cabin tucked back from the road. Even without any lights on, it looks so beautiful lit up by the light of the moon.
“Wow. You don’t like staying out here?” I ask.
“Sometimes. When the noise is too much.” Looking over at him, I know exactly what he means.
Sometimes the noise of everything around us gets too loud to deal with. It’s the cause of the migraines that I get sometimes. Like the one I’m starting to get now. I prefer to listen to nature. The natural sounds around us.
Too bad I’ve not been able to relax long enough to do that in a really long time.
“Come on. I’ll help with your son.” He says, getting out of the truck.