Page 27 of What They Say

Or overthink. He shook his head.

Bear straightened up from the workbench, wiping his own hands. “You’ve been quiet tonight, kid. Everything good with the band?”

Chase nodded, then shook his head. “Band’s great. Really great. That’s kind of the problem.”

Bear raised a bushy eyebrow and leaned against the truck. “Explain.”

Chase let out a slow breath and sat on the edge of the workbench. “A couple years ago, before OY was a real option, I told Mason I wanted to prospect. Patch into the RWMC. I thought that was what I was supposed to do. Be like him. Earn his respect the way everyone else does.”

Bear’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes softened a fraction. “And what happened?”

“I asked him straight up. He laughed. Told me to come back when I was eighteen.” Chase stared at the rag in his hands. “I was sixteen. It felt like a door slamming shut. Like he didn’t think I was ready...or maybe he didn’t want me in the club at all.”

Bear was quiet for a long moment. “Mason’s protective. Always has been. Especially with you.”

“Yeah. But then Benny and Vic pulled me into OY. And suddenly the music took over everything. Rehearsals, gigs, writing sessions...it felt like the first thing that was really mine. Not something I was doing to prove I belonged to the club or to my dad.” Chase looked up. “Now I don’t want to patch in. At least not right now. And I keep worrying that Mason’s going to be really pissed about it. Like I chose the band over the club. Over him.”

Bear studied him for a long beat, then gave a slow nod. “You talk to him about this?”

“I’ve been slow to reach that part of the process.” Chase swallowed. “I’m scared he’ll think I’m turning my back on him. On everything he built.”

Bear clapped a heavy hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Kid, Mason’s proud of you. He watches every show you play. Brags on you to the brothers when he thinks no one’s listening. The club will always be here. But you chasing your own path? That’s not turning your back. That’s growing up.”

Chase felt some of the knot in his chest loosen. “Yeah. Yeah, it is. Thanks, Bear.”

Bear’s grin turned knowing. “And what about that girl on my old blue-and-white bike? You gonna tell me you met her, or we pretending I didn’t see you grinning like an idiot when I mentioned her name the other day?”

Chase felt heat crawl up his neck. “I met her. At the diner. We talked. She’s...different. Sharp. Funny. Rides like she was born on it. We went for a ride today, and I asked her to go for another ride tomorrow. She said yes.”

Bear chuckled, low and warm. “Good. You deserve something that makes you smile like that. Just don’t let her break your heart before you figure out how to tell your old man you’re still choosing music right now.”

Chase nodded, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “Working on it.”

Later that night, after almost everyone else had gone home, Chase found Benny alone in the small writing room at the back of Slate’s studio. Benny was strumming softly on an acoustic, eyes half closed, the way he did when a new song was trying to take shape.

Chase hovered in the doorway until Benny looked up.

“Got a minute?” Chase asked.

Benny set the guitar aside. “Always. What’s on your mind?”

Chase sat on the couch across from him, elbows on his knees. “So. I met a girl. Her name’s Kath. She rides one of Bear’s custom bikes, the blue-and-white one. We talked for a long time the other day when I rode with her. She’s...I don’t know. Different. I can’t stop thinking about her.”

Benny’s grin was slow and knowing. “Slow down a little.” He patted the air with both hands. “The bike girl. Yeah, Bear mentioned something about that. You like her. Got more planned with her?”

“Yeah.” He dipped gaze for a moment. “Going on a ride again tomorrow. And with Kath, it’s more than like,” Chase admitted quietly. “She gets it. The music. The feeling like you’re trying to figure out who you are when everyone already thinks they know. She’s got her own shit going on—family stuff—but when we talk, it doesn’t feel heavy. It feels...easy. Like I don’t have to be anyone except me.”

Benny leaned back, studying him. “And that scares you.”

“A little.” Chase rubbed the back of his neck. “I spent so long thinking the club was supposed to be my thing. Then OY came along, and it took all my focus. Now there’s Kath...and I feel like everything’s all changing at once. I don’t want to mess it up. With her. With the band. With my dad.”

Benny was quiet for a moment, then said gently, “The deal is, you’ve got to learn to trust yourself. I can guarantee you that you’re not the same kid who showed up here two years ago. Even over the handful of months I’ve known you, you’ve grown into your own skin. I can tell you honestly that the band needs you. I need you. And if this girl makes you feel like you can be yourself...don’t run from that. Maybe she needs you too. Life’s too short to keep waiting for permission to be happy.”

Mercedes, who had been quietly listening from the corner of the room while reviewing Benny’s schedule, looked up with a small, approving nod.

“He’s right, Chase,” she added softly, her voice calm and steady like always. “Recovery taught Benny that real growth happens when you stop hiding the parts of yourself that want more. Sounds like this Kath might be part of that for you. Trust it.”

Chase let the words settle. For the first time, the worry about disappointing Mason felt a little smaller next to the possibility of something real with Kath.