Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Linc’s lips started to lift in a sardonic smile.
“You know her well, don’t you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, didn’t like it, tried to return it, but they wouldn’t take it back.”
Linc’s lips quirked. “Well, I’ll be going then. I’ll call you and let you know when I’m home.”
I clapped him on the back as I walked him outside, nearly laughing my ass off when he clapped his hands in glee as he walked up to my old truck.
“You could always take your old bike, too. It’d serve the same purpose.”
Linc tossed an ‘are you kidding me?’ look over his shoulder and yanked open the door.
The outside was nothing special.
Outwardly, the 1978 Chevy C-10 appeared to be old, beaten up, and on its last leg.
It was the inside that counted.
Under the hood of that old truck sat a 454 big block that growled like a stalking panther. One slight touch of the gas pedal and you were going fifty miles an hour without even blinking. At stop lights, you had to put the beast into neutral to keep the motherfucker still. If you forgot what you were doing just for a second, it was trying to shoot you into oncoming traffic.
Linc had driven it all of three times, and each time I’d been in the truck with him to tell him what to do.
Now, he was sitting in the driver’s seat, petting the steering wheel like it was a cat.
“Stop feelin’ her up and get your ass into gear. I can tell you from experience that your mother’s a bitch to deal with when you’re late.”
I remembered that vividly, actually.
The one and only time I’d been late, due to Linc puking all over my lap when he was about a year old, she’d freaked out on me the moment I’d walked into the restaurant door.
She didn’t care that Linc had been running a slight fever. Didn’t care that I’d gotten there as fast as I could and had even called her to let her know I’d be late.
No, all she’d cared about was tearing me a new one for showing up late and humiliating her by standing her up.
“We’re just going to the Dairy Queen,” Linc said.
I didn’t laugh.
I just held up my thumb but didn’t tell him that we’d just been going to the Dairy Queen.
Let him realize his mom’s faults on his own time.
Big Papa’s words meant more than he knew.
If I could, I’d save my kid from all of his mother’s shit. I’d take him away, shield him and make sure he never realized what an asshole his mother was.
Linc hadn’t seen her in years, and the last time hadn’t been pleasant. But through the eyes of a kid, a parent can do no wrong, and unfortunately for me, Linc didn’t remember how bad those times he’d seen his mother had been.
But Linc was his own man now. He wanted to make his own decisions.
And even if they were wrong, I’d let him make the mistakes.
There was no other way to learn from your wrongs if you didn’t make any.
Linc started my truck up, and immediately started to laugh at the roar of the engine.
“Can you handle it?”
He grinned and nodded.
“I’m headed out with the club. If you need me at all, call me, okay?”
Another nod.
I ruffled his hair, causing him to curse, and me to smile.
There were, at least, a few things in life that were constant. My love for Linc, and my want for other things.
Things that included a certain brown-haired beauty that was never far from my mind.
***
An hour into our evening, shit hit the fan.
Ghost, one of the longest standing members of The Dixie Wardens MC- Alabama Chapter, was visibly distraught.
I didn’t know much about the man.
He wasn’t the easiest guy to get to know, and he had the most intimidating stare of all of the members.
I was able to get along with even Sean now, but Ghost was still a mystery to me.
He didn’t talk. Didn’t often attend parties, even the ones that were family-oriented. Didn’t even like being in the club as far as I could tell.
But I’d been in the club for a mere eight months. Likely, there was something more going on, and what I saw with my own eyes was clouding my judgment.
Even Big Papa had said that Ghost was acting weird.
But I’d never seen him like this.
“I need to ride somewhere, and I need all of you to go with me.”
Aaron, Truth, Tommy Tom, Fender, Sean, Big Papa and me all stared.
“Whatever you need, man. And we’re there,” Tommy Tom was the one who spoke.
“We’ll stay back with the ladies. You go ahead and do what you need to do,” Fender pointed to me.
My brows rose, but I realized that, due to my son seeing his mother, it was probably wise to stay back for the backlash that I knew was coming, despite my desire to go with them.