Before Erik can respond, Grant chimes in. “If you’d pay attention, Son, I knew he was coming. That's why there are five plates in the stack on the table.”
Erik speaks for the first time. “She’s left for a conference in Seattle, for the week. I’ve got a meeting with a lawyer on Tuesday. Let’s get our fucking food and find a game on.” I can tell even Grant’s surprised by that. We all get our food and find a seat, while we find a Mariner’s game on television.
CHAPTER 5
Kierstie
Jane’s birthday dinner was fun, and even though it gives me the ick, I’m happy my brothers have found love and a great woman. During dinner and all the lively conversation, all I could think of was how much better it would’ve been if Shane was there next to me. Shit. When did I get all mushy like that? Must be the pregnancy, ’cause I’ve even been crying when I’m reading, and that’s usually a Mads thing. Other than Ma, it’s been hard to keep this from her. I’m gonna have to explain it all to her at some point.
Why are Monday mornings the day I seem to have the worst nausea? Probably because for the next few months, I can’t have my wonderful elixir that is caffeinated coffee. I’m not even having decaf thanks to my stomach. I’ve been rotating between ginger and mint tea. I drag my ass to work and get settled into the day. Something’s in the air and it’s got Juan all jittery. He’s been in here three times already, asking about nonsense. I just sent off a happy customer with a repaired car and a lower-than-expected bill. When I hear Jon’s office door slam open and shouting out in the bays, I go to see what’s going on. I see all three of my brothers running to either the trucks or their bikes. The only people left in the shop with me are Mayson and Micah.
“What the fuck is going on? I heard yelling.” Mayson walks toward me, and Micah is closing the bay doors.
“I’m not sure, but Shane called Pres ’cause someone attacked the guys watching Jane’s house. Some of them were going to make sure she was still at their place. I think Mario’s gonna be fine. Not sure about Tim,” Micah chimes in.
“We’re gonna close so we can go help them with what they need. Do we have more appointments coming in today?”
I shake my head.
“No, I keep Mondays open for drop-ins and cars that were brought in over the weekend. There are only two cars still left untouched from the weekend so I can call them and tell them we can get to them first thing tomorrow. Everything else should be fine till then. You said Shane called. Are he and Jameson okay?” My heart drops to my stomach with worry.
Mayson answers me. “They’re the ones who found the scene, but they weren’t there when it happened. I think they’re fine.” Before Micah can add anything, the phone in my hand rings. It’s the business phone so I answer it and take care of business. I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and see I’ve got three texts—two from Shane and one from Mads.
Shane: I’m fine. I want you to go to the club please. I need to know you’re safe so I can help.
Shane: Let me know when you’re there, gorgeous.
Mads: Jane’s been taken. Max is going to get Ma and bring her to the clubhouse. We need to get there. Need a ride from the shop?
I respond to both of them, lock up the front of the shop, and head out to my car. Mayson is waiting by his bike to follow me.
“You know my mom would kick my ass if I let anything happen to ya, Kierstie. Let’s go so I can help with whatever’s needed.” Even I know this is not the time to be argumentative. I really hope they find Jane soon and that she’s not hurt. My brothers might not know, but I have a feeling from last night that I’m not the only one who’s got a bun in the oven.
We pull into the clubhouse’s parking lot right behind Max’s truck. Mads is just parking as we park next to her. I can see the worry on her face and even a little on Ma’s before she schools her face into the pillar of strength we all know her to be.
“Girls, let’s go in there, get the coffee going, and see what we can do to help. We might need to make food, and I might need to send some of it to the hospital. But before we get into all that, let’s see what we need to do first.”
The next couple of hours are full of tension, fear, and relief, as they find Jane and take her to the hospital. She’s hurt, but not too bad and is going to be able to go home tomorrow. We all end up at the hospital and wait to see her and Mario, because that’s what you do for family. Ma, Mads, Max, Nicky, and I all walk into the hospital waiting room to wait for news. Nicky doesn’t sit down with us, instead going up to Ror and the Js to see how Jane really is.
Well, thank fuck. Ry finally found someone worth outing himself for. He didn’t even think about where he was when he pulled Nicky into an embrace. I think he’s more shocked that all of us basically knew already. I’ll be giving him shit for hiding it at some point and, yes, the irony is not lost on me. However, in my defense, Ry’s been keeping his secret for years and I’ve kept mine barely over a month or so. Not the same thing, really.Oh, alright, I won’t give him that much shit. You happy now?Great. I’m arguing with myself again, ’cause that’s healthy.
Within an hour or so, the nurse comes in and lets my brothers back to see their woman. Ma goes with Anna and Ben to check on Mario, the prospect. Mads, Nicky, and Ry go and get real coffee, leaving me alone for a few minutes with Pa. I bring him a cup of the waiting-room coffee and sit next to him while checking my phone. Shane texted me that he’s safe and will be here as soon as he finishes with some club business.
Pa sighs after taking a sip of coffee. That sigh means he’s getting ready to say something, and something I need to listen to.
“You know you can tell your old pa anything, don’t ya, my girl?”
Leaning my head against his shoulder like I’ve done so many times in life, I say, “I know, Pa.”
“I know you got something brewin’ in that beautiful head of yours. Just wanted to remind ya that I’m here whenever you’re ready to share, my girl.”
“I know and I will, soon.” We sit there for a few minutes and a question I’ve been thinking about comes to mind. “Pa, what was my birth mother like? Was she on drugs when she was pregnant with me?” He shifts in his seat slightly.
“She was young, like eighteen, nineteen, young. She had been sweet-talked by my brother, and they went out for a few months. She didn’t know till she was almost four months along that she was pregnant. By then, he was back in jail, facing a few years in prison. She wasn’t on drugs at the time, but was working a minimum-wage job. She told us when she was more than seven months along that she was pregnant. Ma and I went shopping and got all the baby stuff she would need. We were young but not that young. In fact, I think Ma was just about your age at the time. I knew my brother, at that point, even if he was out of jail, wasn’t going to do anything to help her or you. Her apartment was small, but she was excited to be a mom. She didn’t have any family that she was still in contact with, having aged out of the system like us. She wanted to have that family with you. We saw her as much as we could, and Ma helped her with appointments and birthing classes. We were excited to be your aunt and uncle. I remember the day you were born. We got a call from her at the hospital. She was scared and alone. We went up there, and Ma was in the room with you when you came into this world. I got to hold you, my girl, within the first hour of your life. You were so small and perfect, but even just that first day your lungs were strong.” Pa chuckles.
“Yeah, yeah. I know, my mouth has always been my problem.” He shakes his head.
“Not a problem, my girl. People always know where they stand with you. That ain’t a bad thing. Anyway, after that day, we would see you at least a couple of times a week so she could go shopping, get a nap in, or even a quick shower. We didn’t live far, so it was easy for her to come over or for us to go over there. This worked for the first two, almost three months. I remember the exact day. She came over and announced that her mom had gotten in touch with her and she was going to take you for a visit. We couldn’t tell her no, but I know both Ma and I thought it was a bad idea. Her mom had lost all rights to her years before because of drug abuse among other things. She promised us it would just be for a couple of her days off and she would be back by her next workday. She didn’t come back. For weeks, Ma and I tried to find her but had no luck. She got evicted from her apartment. Luckily, her landlord was kind enough to let us in and get your stuff. He saw that we were trying to find you. As a grandpa himself, he let us in with no questions asked. Two days after getting all your stuff moved into our place, there was a knock at our door, late at night. I opened it and about keeled over in shock. There she stood on our porch, at least fifty pounds lighter. She looked like a completely different person. She came in and told us that her mom had all these plans for them and how she wanted to be with her mom, but that she couldn’t do that and have you. You could see she was coming down from a high. From what, I still don’t know. She said she wanted you to stay with us, that we were the most stable people she knew. Ma told her if she did that, she would have to be willing to sign papers and make it legal. Ma wasn’t going to have you bounced from home to home. She agreed and within a year, you were legally and completely ours. She never came back after that night. Not once. The drugs were too strong a pull for her. When you were about four, we saw in the paper that she’d passed. She overdosed and crashed her car. We paid to have her buried, as her mom was just going to let the state take care of things. When I told Abel about her death and that you were with us now, well, let’s just say his response is one of the reasons I no longer consider him my brother.”
