Chapter 2 #2
He laughs and nods. “Swear to god. That’s Jacob ‘Tiny’ Wellington.”
“What the fuck happened to him?” I stare, stunned, remembering the short skinny guy who followed the guys around school.
“He calls it a growth spurt, but…” Tessa says, smirking as she loops her arm through mine.
“But what? The last time I saw him he was six inches shorter than me. “Now he looks like he eats small cows for breakfast.”
The group bursts out laughing. As we start heading inside, Tiny steps down from the doorway and before I can even brace myself, he scoops me up into a massive bear hug, squeezing me so tight my feet dangle off the ground and I let out a surprised squeak.
“Scarlett motherfucking Blackstone,” he rumbles, voice deep and warm. “Missed you, Sparky.”
I pat him hard on the shoulder, laughing breathlessly. “Okay, big guy, you proved your point! Put me down before you crack a rib!”
He laughs and sets me back on my feet gently, ruffling my hair like the old days. Despite everything, I’m grinning from ear to ear.
We walk inside and my chest tightens in the best way.
A huge “Welcome Home Scarlett!” banner stretches across the far wall, surrounded by streamers and balloons.
Perdition, the bar attached to the clubhouse, is closed down for the day.
It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon, and the whole place has been transformed into one giant family reunion just for me.
The room is packed, there have to be close to a hundred people crammed in here.
Pretty much the entire club has shown up.
Patched members and their old ladies filling every corner, laughing, talking, and passing around plates of food.
Kids weave through the crowd like it’s their personal playground while the older ones hang near the edges, sneaking beers or scrolling on their phones. It’s loud, chaotic, and perfect.
Chloe and Dagger, Steele’s parents, wave me over with big smiles.
Bella and Switch, Jax and Knox’s folks, are setting out plates.
Tank and Sophie, Cole’s parents, laugh with Rev and Brooke as their children weave through the chaos.
Blade and Bri, Lucky and Savannah, Riot and Anya, and Ghost and Rae are all here too, surrounded by their families.
There are babies on hips, toddlers clinging to legs, and the older kids who used to trail after me now towering over everyone.
I can’t believe how much everyone has grown.
The little ones who used to chase me around the lot are now in college, while others are navigating middle and high school.
How the hell did I miss all of this? Eight years of birthdays, holidays, milestones…
all gone while I was playing the perfect girlfriend in a world that never really wanted me.
Despite all the changes, the marriages, the new generation tearing around the room, the sheer size of this welcome, I feel the knot in my stomach finally ease. These are still my people. They don’t look at me like I’m broken or an outsider. They look at me like I belong. And damn, it feels good.
Dad walks up and puts a heavy arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side. “Good to be home, baby girl?”
I nod and rest my head on his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of leather and motor oil. “Yeah. It really is.”
Tess lines up five shot glasses across the bar and pours something bright green into each one.
Erica wrinkles her nose. “What the hell is that?”
“A green tea shot,” Tessa says without looking up.
“There’s no tea in that.”
“Correct.”
“Then why is it called a green tea shot?”
Tessa shrugs as she slides the bottle aside. “I don’t know. I didn’t invent it.”
Hadley laughs and sets a basket of fries in the middle of the bar. “Just drink it.”
“I don’t trust any of you,” I say.
“You shouldn’t,” Tiny says from beside me.
Tessa points at him. “See? Tiny gets it.”
Tiny nods solemnly. “Never trust a woman handing you mystery alcohol.”
“Especially this woman,” Erica mutters.
“Rude.”
Tessa passes out the shots before lifting hers in the air. “To Scarlett Blackstone finally getting her ass back home.”
Everyone reaches for their glasses.
“To Scar.”
I can't stop myself from smiling as I clink my shot against theirs. “To being home, I guess.”
We toss them back together.
The shot goes down way too easy.
I stare at the empty glass in my hand. “That’s dangerous.”
“Exactly,” Tessa says with a grin.
“Give me another one.”
“That’s my girl.”
Hadley groans. “We're all making terrible decisions tonight.”
“Correct again,” Tessa says as she starts pouring another round.
A couple of hours later the pile of empty shot glasses has grown, the music is louder, and the bar is packed.
Somewhere along the way the guys wander over and claim every empty space around us.
Wyatt slides in beside Hadley and immediately steals her drink.
“Hey!” Hadley smacks his arm.
“What?” Wyatt asks innocently before taking another sip.
Weston reaches over, takes the drink out of Wyatt’s hand, and downs half of it himself.
“That's mine too, asshole,” Hadley complains.
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Weston says.
“I don't think that's how that works.”
“Sounds right to me.”
Cole walks up, takes one look at the collection of empty shot glasses covering the bar, and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Tess.”
“What?” she asks.
“You’re drunk.”
“No I’m not.”
“Tessa.”
She blinks at him.
“You just called Tiny a majestic woodland creature.”
The entire bar goes quiet.
Tessa points dramatically at Tiny. “Tell me I'm wrong.”
Tiny looks down at himself, spreads his arms, then slowly nods. “Honestly, I kind of see it.”
Erica immediately folds over laughing.
Hadley nearly chokes on her drink.
Even Cole has to turn away to hide his smile.
“See?” Tessa says, throwing her hands up. “Nobody appreciates my vision.”
“Your vision is drunk,” Cole tells her.
“Maybe.”
“A lot drunk.”
“Maybe a little.”
Cole takes the drink out of her hand.
“Hey!”
“You’re done.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I've heard that before.”
The conversation shifts after that, bouncing from one story to another. Wyatt starts telling an embarrassing story about Weston getting arrested at eighteen, which turns into Weston reminding everyone about the time Wyatt accidentally drove his four-wheeler into a pond.
Tiny is laughing so hard he's wiping tears from his eyes.
Erica nearly falls off her stool.
Hadley has actual tears running down her face.
Even I'm laughing hard enough that my stomach hurts.
For the first time since everything happened with Ethan, I'm not thinking about him or the cheating or the disaster my life turned into. I'm not replaying that hotel room in my head, and I'm not wondering what people online are saying about me.
I'm just sitting here with my family, listening to them argue and laugh and give each other shit the way they've always done.
A little while later the clubhouse doors open and for some reason, I look up. Maybe because people have been coming and going all day, or maybe because the room shifts just enough for me to notice. Either way, my eyes find the door and my breath catches.
It’s Rook, he's hours late, but I guess better late than never. I honestly haven’t thought much about him over the years.
The first thing that hits me is how different he looks.
When I first met him, he was this gangly seventeen-year-old kid Dad brought home.
Then he left for the Army, and by the time he came back, I was too wrapped up in Ethan to pay much attention to anybody else.
Now he's taller somehow, broader through the shoulders, tattoos disappearing beneath the sleeves of his black t-shirt and cut. The years have hardened him. Made him look rougher. More dangerous. He pauses just inside the door, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on me for half a second. There’s no smile or reaction, then he looks away and heads straight for my dad.
Across the room, Rook stops beside Dad and Uncle Mason.
Dad reaches out, and they exchange one of those half-handshake, half-hug greetings before falling into conversation.
Whatever Rook says earns a laugh from Uncle Mason, and Dad shakes his head like he's heard it a hundred times before.
Then Dad glances in my direction, and a second later, Rook does too.