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“How’d you find me?”
“I stopped by the Rusty Cantina. One of the girls said you frequented the restaurant and offered to help.”
He seemed to accept the answer she and Brewer concocted that morning. It wasn’t false.Technically.
“It’s possible I’m your dad.” Shovelhead sighed. “There were quite a few ladies back then.” He chuckled. “But I do remember an MJ. She looked a lot like you. Well, I guess it’s the other way around, isn’t it?”
Delphi wasn’t sure if his admittance should comfort or perturb her. If her mother was simply another notch on his endless bedpost, why would he know her name?
“If you remember her, maybe you two were together.”
He shook his head. “I’ve never done relationships. Too much drama.”
“Surely she meant more than just one night,” she pressed. There was more to the story, and she’d be damned if she didn’t get it out of him.
A cloud shaded the sun’s usually bright rays, casting them in a dark shadow. Shovelhead rubbed his wrinkled hands up and down his thighs.
“You sure you want to hear this, girl?”
“Absolutely.”
He picked at a scab on the back of his knuckles, eyes averted. “Your mom was a club hopper back then.”
Delphi’s eyes bugged and she choked on her saliva. “Excuse me?”
Shovelhead shrugged and leaned back against the bench. “You heard me right. MJ was well known around the clubs.”
“Which clubs?” Her stomach felt queasy. She couldn’t accept his words. Surely he was lying.
“The Greenback Cutthroats for the most part, but I’d seen her at Macha too, on occasion.”
Leaning over, she breathed in through her nose and exhaled out her mouth. “No, no, that’s not possible. My mom was a kindergarten teacher.”
“Yeah, she was, but only afterward. During college, MJ…. Well, she was popular with the MCs.”
The food in Delphi’s stomach crept up her throat. Suddenly, the truth didn’t seem so important. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Shovelhead offered her a weak smile. “Sorry, kid. Either way, I might be your daddy, but there are plenty of other possibilities.” He looked her over and she tried not to squirm under the intense scrutiny. “I don’t see any resemblances between us. You kind of remind me of a guy from back then, but no clue if your mom slept with him too.”
Delphi covered her mouth, bile rising faster than she could control. Before she could stop it, she leaned behind the bench and emptied the remnants of her breakfast.
A large hand patted her back, but she felt anything but reassured.No wonder Mom wanted to keep me away from the clubs.One of the bikers was my dad, and she didn’t know which one.Avoiding clubs meant she could keep avoiding the truth and also keep Delphi from anyone else she was potentially related to. Considering her mother remained adamant about that, then her father must still be around Snowshoe somewhere.
Sitting up, she wiped her mouth. A flash of metal caught her eye, and she noticed Brewer closing in on them. Rubble flanked his left, with more Macha bikers heading their direction. A new surge of bitterness crawled up her throat, but she pushed it down. There’d be time to discuss this with Brewer later.
“Your mom was a good lady. Really sweet and quite the looker.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
He chuckled. “I mean it. MJ was special. It’s probably why your dad was so insistent on getting her out of club life.”
His words temporarily calmed her. Even if the man she grew up calling Dad wasn’t biologically hers, he was still ten times the man who’d impregnated her mother.
“I’m not a good man, Delphi.” His eyes momentarily met hers. “I’m the worst kind, in fact. You’d do yourself good staying as far away from me as possible.”
“What do you mean?” She straightened, needing to hear more even if it’d make her sick again. “What’d you do?”
The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, and Shovelhead closed his eyes. When he opened them again, she noticed a sense of urgency in his words. If he’d seen the approaching MC members, he didn’t let on.
