Chapter 22
Under different circumstances, Chris might have considered these people friends.
Audra taught him about friendship. About trust. She bared her soul to him, even when his brother Pike stripped her of everything.
Now someone else raised her son. It didn’t matter if the little boy belonged to him or Pike.
She should have told him what was going down before it happened.
In a matter of days, he would have gotten her a new ID and made sure she was set up somewhere safe.
Would have...
But Audra was dead, and after spending time with Larry and the Thunder Valley Riders, a part of him became grateful for Charlie’s help to keep Audra away from Pike. Another part of him remained bitter for the old man’s help. He had a history of taking in strays, like Haden.
Audra wasn’t a stray. She was lost, but Chris found her.
Not Pike. But her mother had a drinking problem and sold Audra out to Pike.
Anger boiled just under his skin. The woman spent enough time in the hospital.
He hoped she learned her lesson. Audra deserved so much more.
Yet Larry tried to explain to him that God would forgive the woman.
Maybe Audra would have, too. She was her mother and Emma’s.
Chris never forgave his mother. She got what she deserved. His father made sure of it. No, Chris couldn’t trust these people. They forgave people for the darkest sins.
And his were dark. So very dark.
Pike made him do it. His brother pushed him and pushed him, and Chris had finally thought he had outsmarted him.
Pike intimidated those around him, using his leadership of the Sharks to get what he wanted, including Audra.
Chris might have used his tech skills to gain him favors and amass his own wealth, but it failed to gain him competent contract work.
No one would ever get the best of him again.
Chris stepped closer, drawn by the sound of Larry’s voice.
At the last meeting, they mentioned helping at an event this month.
They were discussing their plans for the Gettysburg Biker Week.
Some members took turns handing out tracts and water, with the other Christian motorcycle clubs attending.
They discussed bike blessings. A concept Chris found intriguing.
Did these people think if they prayed over a motorcycle, nothing bad would happen?
He held back his snort with the thought and lingered close to the conversation.
Many of the men planned to take their significant others with them. Some of the unattached men grinned.
“Captain!” A tall man with blonde hair held up his hand to Haden as he appeared inside the restaurant. Haden walked toward them with his Holly at his side. Every time he saw her, the woman kept a planner in one hand and held onto the club’s Vice President.
“It’s Vice, now, Dave,” another man, in his mid-thirties to early forties, corrected.
“Hey, Axel, long time no see.” Haden clasped the dark-haired man’s hand and then Dave’s. “Was wondering if something happened.”
“Work.” Axel rubbed a hand over his short beard. “They’ve got me running stuff up to Canada now, and last week, I made three trips to Alabama.”
Chris half listened to them talk, surmising Axel was a truck driver, and Dave, with the build of an Olympic wrestler, worked for a roofing company. Haden introduced them to Holly. She smiled with those peach-glossed lips of hers.
Today, she wore a long-sleeved t-shirt and a black leather vest with the club patch. Her jeans and boots looked faded and the opposite of her usual high heels and blouse he’d seen her in during previous meetings.
“Are you attending biker’s week? Or are you too busy planning a wedding?” Axel asked.
“Oh, we’re doing both,” Holly assured them.
Her arm stayed intertwined with Haden’s.
Chris tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling gripping him.
Never did he ever want a relationship with a woman where the woman could control him.
By the look on Haden’s sloppy grin, the man lost the battle long ago.
Holly had him wrapped around her finger. Poor bastard.
“Biker’s week first.” Haden motioned to the waitress and pointed to the two vacant seats at the end of the nearest table. “Coffee, please.”
“And there will be a wedding.” Holly snuggled close to him.
“We’re getting hitched in a barn,” Haden said, ever so enthusiastic.
“In Gettysburg?” Larry’s wife, Marge, asked. “Oh, what an answer to prayer. What did your mother think of the location? Will Charlie still be able to walk you down the aisle?”
Walk being the proverbial word. Everyone knew because of a motorcycle accident, Charlie Brooks would never walk again.
Pike wanted to make sure Charlie understood not to get involved with his business.
Trying to help Audra cost Charlie his legs.
Chris tried to talk to Pike before having Charlie’s bike altered.
Not having the ability to walk wouldn’t stop a man like Charlie Brooks.
Chris wanted Audra safe from Pike, but he wanted to be the one who saved her.
He wanted to be the one she came to for help, not Charlie.
They all thought him too weak, but he outsmarted them. What he did, he did for Audra.
Holly sighed, the look of a dream in her eyes. “It’s perfect for us. Mother will attend because it’s my wedding. We’ve worked out the details for Charlie to give me away.”
Chris watched their exchange with curiosity. After being estranged from her father for years, she and Charlie reconnected. It was a God thing, according to Larry and their talks over the past couple of months.
Chris remained unconvinced.
If God only wanted the good for all, then why had Audra died? Why was her son being raised by her sister? Where was his and Audra’s happily ever after?
“Congratulations,” Chris said, entering the group conversation. “I hear those kinds of things are the trend. Non-traditional, I mean.”
“It’s not what we originally planned, but our dates kept getting booked and my mother kept vetoing every place until Haden remembered Beast’s family has a stable in Gettysburg. We’d gotten to where I feared we’d have to elope and throw a party later.”
Chris’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as Holly beamed about the wedding plans. “How... quaint.”
“I did like the idea of an ice cream social,” Rosco ribbed Haden, all in brotherly love. Chris hadn’t noticed the trash man joining them until now. He glanced around, searching for Audra’s sister and the baby.
His finger itched, and he wiped his hand down on his blue jeans. Soon. He promised the Devil Demise no more stalling.
“No wife or baby today?” Chris tried to sound casual.
One thing he came to look forward to in these meetings was to see Audra’s son.
But today, Holly’s news offered something even more hopeful than expected.
Anticipation flowed through him. A wedding in a stable?
Perfect. A smirk played on his lips as the others continued around him, oblivious as in his mind, he made plans.
“Isaac had a rough night, so I let him and Emma sleep in,” Rosco said.
“Everything okay?” Chris asked, a palpitation of panic erupting in his chest.
“Teething.”
“That can be brutal.” Silver-haired Marge patted Rosco on the arm. “I’ll pray for you throughout this time. Poor baby.” She frowned and moved to the table to join Larry.
Rosco nodded in agreement. He moved for a cup of coffee, probably needing more than anyone else.
Holly flipped her hair from her shoulder and pulled out her planner.
Chris glimpsed a small cross hanging around her neck.
He both envied and pitied them all at the same time.
To misplace one’s trust in something… someone…
whom they’d never met or seen. His own mother wore a cross like the one around Holly’s neck. It did nothing to save her, either.
“We should all go to biker’s week,” the balding guy said from beside Larry. “It’ll be a great way to get away from the day-to-day grind and reconnect with others.”
“Yeah,” another member chimed in, “and we can line up our motorcycles for Holly to walk down the aisle with Charlie for the big day.”
Haden held out a chair for Holly, and they were the last to take their seats before the server arrived. “I like that idea. You’re all invited.”
“So, bikers’ week?” Chris took a seat beside Larry, who insistence on sharing his faith everywhere they went.
The older man made it his mission to get Chris to ask Jesus in his heart.
At first, Chris found it admirable, then annoying.
If Larry could see all the things in Chris’s heart right this moment, he would stop trying to save Chris.
No matter how much God forgave, it wouldn’t stop him from following through on the promise he made. It was do or die.
And the only one dying was Beast.
“It’s like the one we have here in Johnstown,” Larry explained. “Can we count you in?”
“Where do I sign up?”