Chapter 24
Seek
Iwatched with apprehension as three women approached me. Dash had gone back to his brothers and they were all standing there, talking and drinking while their families hung out together.
The three walking toward me were the only women here. I’d been relaxed when it’d just been the kids, they were easier to impress. If I was going to be a part of Hush’s life I knew I needed to get along with the other women of the club.
“Hi,” I called out as they approached. They wore smiles that matched mine, cautiously friendly. We all seemed to be wondering the same thing about each other. Nice? Or a bitch?
“Hi, we met before when…” Susie paused and looked down at her son.
“I remember. It’s nice to see you again,” I told her.
“This is Daisha and Tory,” she replied, introducing her friends. “And Tory’s youngest Dylan.”
Tory held Dylan in her arms so she only waved, but I shook hands with Daisha. “You’re a big hit with the kids,” Tory said with a laugh.
“The dogs are great ice breakers,” I agreed.
“You’re here with Hush?” Daisha asked. I could see they were dying to ask more questions, but didn’t want to be rude.
A blush heated my cheeks, but I was happy to answer. “Yeah. I’m his old lady.” It still felt weird to say that phrase.
Their eyes widened and a rush of questions came crashing out into one jumbled mess of words. I laughed and we settled in to start getting to know each other. I answered every conceivable question they could come up with. “I don’t know much about motorcycle clubs,” I admitted.
“That’s okay. We’ll teach you,” a voice from behind me said. I turned and found Kit and another woman standing there.
“Hey!” I said, excited to see another familiar face. The girls with me had been super sweet, but I was happy to see Kit.
“Hi.” she replied and stepped up to give me a hug. It was a signal to the others that I belonged here. Not that I thought they needed the warning. They’d been incredibly friendly and inviting.
“Hi, I’m Ari,” the other woman said, introducing herself.
“Ari’s from Texas,” Susie said.
“Oh that’s nice. I haven’t been to Texas yet, but I hear it’s nice.”
“It’s a lot like here,” Ari said. “My husband, Rat, is in the Texas Chapter of the MC.”
I bit my lower lip, feeling woefully ignorant of this topic and hoping they weren’t going to laugh at me. “So there’s more than one club?”
“Oh honey,” Daisha said, looping an arm around my shoulders. “We’re going to need to give you a crash course on MCs.” They all laughed, but not at me so I chuckled along with them.
“Come on, you must be starving. We can answer any questions you have while we eat,” Kit said and led the way.
We walked over to a picnic table and I loaded up a hamburger with toppings.
“Thanks for that,” Kit said, motioning over toward Hush.
I frowned and glanced over at the guys while asking, “For what?”
“I haven’t seen him laugh in four years. Today is the first day that he really has looked like himself.”
My jaw dropped and I ripped my eyes from a still smiling Hush to look at Kit. “What?”
“Well he was gone for four years,” Susie added. “But yeah, after Daphne died he just shut down.”
The other two nodded sadly. “It’s nice to have him back.”
“He was with us over in Texas for two years. Took over six months for him to speak a complete sentence, but even then I haven’t seen him this relaxed, ever,” Ari said.
“And he hasn’t stopped staring at you this entire time,” Susie said with a giggle.
Sure enough, when I glanced over, I found intense blue eyes watching me.
I smiled at Hush and his lips twitched into an answering grin.
What these women were telling me about him was amazing.
Sure, he was quiet, but to not see him smile, laugh, or speak for such long a time…
I couldn’t imagine it. I didn’t want to.
“He’s making sure we’re being nice,” Kit said with a laugh.
“I appreciate you guys teaching me some of this stuff. You’re all with MC members, right?” I asked, changing the subject. It didn’t feel right to be talking about Hush’s grief.
“I’m not,” Kit said, “but the rest of them are old ladies.”
“Who are you two with?” I asked Daisha and Tory.
“My old man is Mel,” Daisha said, pointing over toward a blond-haired man who was standing next to a redhead. “And Tory’s is Bear.” She motioned to the other man.
“Why do some of the guys have nicknames and not others?” I asked
“Some just prefer their own name, or it suits them best,” Tory explained. “Bear’s real name is James.”
“And how do they come up with the names?”
“This club is made up almost entirely of veterans. Most got their names in the military and took it with them,” Kit replied.
“For the rest of them usually it’s a personality trait, or hobby, or physical thing. Rat got his name because he grew up on the streets. So they named him Streetrat. Over the years it got shortened.” Ari shot an affectionate look at her husband.
“That doesn’t seem like a very nice name,” I commented. I looked over to where her husband was standing, talking with Hush. It shocked me to realize Hush was now holding a baby in his arms, looking completely natural while bottle feeding. I couldn’t help the warm feeling in my body.
“The president that gave him the name was a dick,” Ari replied.
“His new president offered to change his name for him, but Rat said it reminds him of where he came from and how much he’s grown.
” She shrugged. She noticed my eyes glued on Hush.
“That’s Isabella. She and Roman are mine.
I’ll introduce you later.” Pride made her glow.
“I can’t wait to meet them.”
Kit laughed at the look on my face as the men each took turns holding the babies and watched over the other children. “One thing you’ll figure out quickly with this bunch is they love kids. If there is a baby around you’re going to have to fight to hold it.”
My face heated up as I realized I’d been caught staring. “Sorry, they just seem…”
“Like huge, burly bikers?” Tory asked with a laugh. “They are, but they have good hearts. They’re family men, first and foremost.”
“I can see that,” I said with a smile.
“Don’t get it wrong,” Kit added. “If you piss them off they’ll come at you like a rabid dog, but for their family?”
“Teddy bears,” Daisha said.
I laughed and shook my head. “Not sure I can imagine a teddy bear when looking at any of them. So, I know how the guys get their names now. But there’s a few I don’t understand. What does Smokehouse stand for?” I asked, changing the subject back to the men’s names
They all giggled and I was even more confused by their reaction. “Not that we know from first-hand experience,” Kit said, “but supposedly it’s because of his huge cut of meat.”
I was even more confused. At least, I was until I saw the wicked grin spread over Kit’s face. I gasped as the meaning suddenly hit. “You mean?” I tossed a look over at the man who was standing in the circle.
“I heard it’s porn star big,” Tory whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” Susie asked with a laugh.
Tory rolled her eyes. “I made the mistake of asking Bear about it once and he about shit a brick. I make sure not to talk too loudly now. Not worth the trouble.”
“The guys are a bit protective,” Ari explained.
Kit snorted and shot her an amused look. “Try possessive.”
“Yeah, they’re not big on talking about another guy’s dick,” Tory said with a nod. That got us all laughing.
“Okay, now that I know that one. What about Lockout?” I asked when the laughter had died down. I didn’t really want to be talking about another guy’s dick either.
“Lockout got his name because there are times when he’s so balls to the wall nothing can stop him,” Kit answered. “He was a pilot, and in a helicopter, if you put the engine in lockout, the engine just revs up uncontrollably to max power. Just like our Lockout.”
“The man never stops moving, planning, or thinking either. It’s all go, all the time,” Daisha added.
Staring over at the men in curiosity, I watched them for a few minutes.
I hadn’t been around any of the others enough to know what they were really like.
That did possibly explain why Lockout had interfered before Hush had a chance to come to me himself.
He was used to being in charge and giving orders.
“Do I want to know about Butcher?” I inquired. The laughter died from the group and they all got more serious. Unease slithered through me. “Do I need to worry about him?”
“God no,” Susie said with a smile. “None of Hush’s brothers would ever hurt you. In fact, they’d all protect you with their lives. Butcher is a bit different, though.” She looked over at Kit for help.
“We’ll let Hush explain about Butcher. You’ll get to know them all soon enough,” Kit said with a laugh.
“Whether you want to, or not,” Susie said in agreement.
“Yup,” Ari said. “Welcome to club life.”
* * *
Hours passed while I chatted with the girls.
I found out all kinds of information about the club—or their rules anyway—and about the men who formed it.
Most of them were still single, which was why there weren’t many women here.
They’d informed me there’d be more during events and parties because the ‘sweet butts’ would be around for those.
That’d gotten us off on a whole different topic as I learned about the women who hung around motorcycle clubs hoping to get the status I’d just been given.
“Hey Hush,” Ari said, giving him a hug as he walked up.
She’d explained to me that she and Hush were good friends.
There wasn’t an ounce of jealousy that I felt toward her announcement.
My gut was telling me that was all that was there and I trusted the feeling.
It was sort of sweet knowing Hush was the Godfather of her kids.
“Hey. Givin’ my girl a run down?” he asked, his deep voice moving over me like a physical touch.
I tried to hide the shiver of desire it created. Those piercing blue eyes didn’t miss much, and they didn’t miss my reaction to him judging by the smirk on his face.
“Yup,” Daisha giggled. “She now knows a lot more about club life.”
Hush narrowed his eyes on the women, though his expression was stern, it was clearly forced. “How much more?”
“I know what a sweet butt is,” I offered.
His glare was real now as he pinned the women with a look. “That’s what you taught her?”
“Oh, they taught me so much more,” I promised, tone wicked.
“Let’s get goin’ before they corrupt you,” he muttered, making the women laugh.
Ari started a chain reaction of hugs as she stepped forward and yanked me into her arms. “I’m so happy for you both,” she whispered.
The others came in for their hugs and my chest warmed. I had a feeling I may have just made some good friends. The kind I could keep as we moved through the various stages of life because the club would hold our men together and in turn us as well.
We packed up the dogs and Hush left his bike here, choosing instead to climb into the truck with me. I pulled out onto the road, heading home. Neither of us had needed to talk about spending the night together. It’s what we both wanted.
“Everyone was really nice,” I told him after a few minutes of quiet.
“Good. They know to behave when someone is introducin’ their old lady to the club.” He smiled over at me. “They all like you.”
Something he said caught my attention. “Wait.” My curiosity was humming. “What was the barbecue for?”
“You.”
My gaze shot over to him. “What?”
He chuckled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “It was to introduce you to the other women. We’ll have another one in a few weeks and the guys will get to know you more then. We like to give the girls a chance to figure out if they can be friends first.”
“How… How did they even know to have the barbecue?” I asked, confused as hell.
Hush grinned over at me. “Lockout. Between me tellin’ him I was going to get you back and him makin’ sure you came to find me, he figured it was a good day for a gatherin’.”
“What if I’d said no?” I asked.
Hush shrugged. “No one thought that was an option. We’re pretty single minded that way. Besides, we try to get the families together a lot. It’s the whole point of bein’ a club.”
That made sense and I was looking forward to the next time and seeing the girls again. It’d been too long since I’d had friends my age to hang out with. Most everyone in the club—men and women—were older, late twenties and up, other than one or two of the guys.
We chatted the whole way back about the club and its members. It’d turned into a wonderful day. One where I’d gotten the man I was interested in and had met a whole slew of new friends. Judging by the hungry looks Hush was throwing me, I was about to get something a whole lot better too.