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I grab her hand and thread our fingers together. “Just making a purchase.” I tell her. She hasn’t started the baby shopping yet. She doesn’t like that she doesn’t have her own money to purchase the baby’s things yet. I’ve tried to tell her that she works. She should be paid for all the hours she puts into the shop and the bike building aspect of the business. Things are looking good, so good that I hope it makes Cut see how things can be. We still have the little factor that Louie hasn’t given up his father yet, but word is, Louie Sr. is found, so it’s now just a matter of time.
“What are you doing, Matthew?” She uses my name when she tries to butter me up. It doesn’t take much, because I would give my left nut to make this girl happy.
“Just thinking of the baby, sugar.”
“No.” She gasps as we pull into the dealership. The car is already picked out and paid for.
“Yes.” I throw my mother’s car into park. In the rearview mirror, I see Hawk and Lick pull in right behind us. “No arguing. This is a need, not a want. The baby needs something to travel in and we won’t have to be borrowing wheels to get around.”
“It’s too much.”
“No.” I shake my head. I take her hand and press my lips to her knuckles. “I got a killer deal. Took your fancy car as a down payment so it worked out well.”
That was tricky. I had to call in a favor through the club for that one. Luckily, some of our customers had to do some matters of business on the down low. Getting someone to forge Tyson’s signature was easy. Being the big shot that he is, his chicken scratch is all over the internet. “How?” She questions and I just give her a pointed look. Which in turn she gives me an eye roll.
“I don’t want you to change who you are.” She tells me. I know her worries. They’re the same as mine, but here’s the thing that I’ve finally come to understand. We are better off as changed people, both of us.
“You aren’t changing me in any ways that I don’t want. I’m still me. Still the biker with the fucked up past. But we are both better now as the people we are becoming. I'm one hundred percent certain of that.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. I’m out of the car before she can continue to tell me how she hates me taking care of her. I’m not just taking care of her, I’m taking care of us and for the first time in a very long time, I enjoy that I’m thinking of myself right along with someone else.
“What did you get yourself?” Lick asks as they approach us. “Got yourself a pussy wagon, didn’t you?”
“Fuck you.” I tell him as I bump my shoulder with his. “It’s a midsize SUV, not a fucking pussy wagon.”
“I have to admit, man.” Hawk cuts in, “I was thinking of a minivan.”
“Jesus you two, I’m carrying one child, not an entire soccer team.”
“Not saying you were, sweetheart, but Lord knows that man is going to have you knocked up before the first one’s off the tit.” I give Hawk the dirtiest scowl I can manage.
*****
Savannah is waiting in the service area as they give the car one more go through. Lick has taken my mother’s car back to her while Hawk waits with me. “What do you have planned after all this?” He asks me.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve got the girl and the soon to be baby, but you can’t think you guys are going to continue to live in your room. That’s not gonna work, and there’s no way in hell Tyson is going to allow is child to live in a biker club.”
“Well, first off. Redding aint got shit to do with the baby. Not now and not ever. I don’t give a shit if my DNA isn’t running through her little veins; she’s mine, through and through. That fucker better not step foot into their line of sight for the remainder of his miserable life. “
“Alright, I got you on that.”
“As for the living arrangements? I’m going to talk to my brother about that. The club isn’t as big as it used to be. Those houses are sitting empty and I think it’s time to bring life back into them, into the club. Starting with him and his wife.”
“You think he’ll bring Lily into the fold?”
“I think he will once he gets out of his own head about the dangers of what the past might bring to the present. Once Louie Sr. isn’t walking God’s green Earth, my brother is going to feel better about a whole lot.”
“True that.” Hawk agrees. “Hey, man,” he looks down at his chucks. “I need to take some time away. It’s my mom.”
Rose left Hawk before he could realize what a good mother actually is. I don’t think he was even in school yet when she took off. Her abandonment of him scared him big time. He doesn’t see that commitment can be real and feels love is a falsehood. My mother gave him everything that he needed. She attended every mother-son activity in school, but the thing is, everyone knew, he knew that she wasn’t his mother, but a substitute. A better one than the real thing in my opinion. I’ve learned never to push Hawk when it comes to his feelings because the only thing that will happen is that he’ll close you off. So I nod, without so much as a comment, only a question. “When do you leave?”
“Tonight.”
I hope he knows what he’s doing.
“Mijo.” I hear my mother’s voice from behind me.
I’ve been trying to get as much work done as I can on the special project that I started a few weeks back. I know Savannah has a little over two months left before the baby gets here, but I need to get this thing done. This is the prototype of what the investors are waiting to see. They wanted to see some diversity before they come to a deal with our brand. After the impromptu meeting I attended, they requested to see something up close, and not just on the sketchpad. They want to see my ability to build, so I’m bringing my ‘A’ game. This is my best work to date. I have to say that Savannah is a huge reason for this, all of it. This is what all of Savannah’s hard work has been building up to. Her countless emails, conference calls, and support have gotten my passion noticed in the best way possible. This isn’t just about me, but about the club, my brothers who’ve supported me when I gave them every reason not to. If the moneymen like what I produce, then the deal is done. Devil’s Fury will be branded, Fury by Choppers West. Our style of choppers with a bigger name backing us. “Mama.” I look up and see she’s holding a brown paper bag. “What do you have there?” I ask.
