AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re not over her yet, are you? Even after she cheated on you?”
“To be honest, I haven’t dated anyone since the divorce,” Barrett admits while folding a napkin into triangles. “I wish it was as easy as flipping a switch, but it’s not. Your list definitely helped,though.”
“Yeah? I can keep going.”
“I think that’s enough Laurel talk for the day.”
“I agree.” Propping my chin on my fist, I stare at his perfect face while he’s not paying attention until he eventually looks up and catches me. Crap. “Ah, so, um, tell me more about your friend’s nonprofit.”
Barrett clears his throat and goes back to unfolding and refolding his napkin like I’m boring him out of his mind. “Well, like I said, it’s just in the early phase.”
“Still waiting on Form 1023 approval?”
“Ah, probably so.”
“And what is the organization’s objective?”
He finally lifts his eyes to mine again and says, “You’re probably not going to approve.”
“Now I have to know.” He doesn’t think I’ll approve? Of a nonprofit? Unless they kill endangered baby animals for fun, I’m in.
“It would help vets find jobs and, ah, also helps pay to relocate them to be prospects for MCs like the Savage Kings if they’re interested.”
“Huh.” Combining military men with the MC? That could be a lethal combination…
“Hear me out before making a snap judgment.”
“Okay.”
Leaning forward, he lowers his deep voice, captivating me with every word coming out of his full, kissable lips surrounded by his tidy beard.
“After I was discharged from the army, I came back to the only place I’ve ever known as home, and I felt like a stranger for those first few months. My dad and brothers’ lives had all been going on without me. I wasn’t just out of the loop – I felt like I was trying to fit back into the family, even though my ‘spot’ wasn’t there anymore. I realized I had missed so much that I no longer felt like I belonged in the only house I had ever lived in. I didn’t wake up in the mornings to go to a job. I didn’t even have any goals to accomplish each day. Ididn’t have anything. And all I could think about was that if I didn’t belong here in my hometown with my brothers, then where did I belong? Back in the army? I hated it while I was enlisted – I never got used to being barked at and ordered around. So I kept trying to figure out, what I’m longing for, what is it I miss so much? I felt like my life was in some sort of limbo, stuck between the past and the future for months.”
Wow. I never thought about how soldiers would likely feel detached from the rest of the world when they come back home.
“That’s completely understandable,” I reply. “You give up a part of yourself, four years of your life, for this country. It’s a huge sacrifice, one that sometimes leaves men and women with life-changing scars or even makes them consider taking their lives.”
“That’s the thing. I get that this ‘resource’ might not be for everyone, but for me…it was exactly what I needed. Joining this club with my brothers gave us a new shared experience, a new bond to help reinforce…well, where some others had gotten broken. The MC is just going to be like a support group – the real service we will be providing will be job and housing placement services. The stuff with the club…the best way I can explain it is to compare it to therapy. Some of these guys – some of us, I should say – need help making new bonds as civilians.”
“You see the club as a means to try and prevent suicides by throwing them a life preserver?” I’ve heard reports on the news about the high rate of suicides among military vets. I bet Barrett has even lost someone he knew.
“Exactly. Some may still drown, but if it could save a few…”
“Then it will be worth it,” I finish for him. “It seems like you’re deeply invested in making your friend’s charity a success.”
“Ah, yeah. I guess I am.”
“Well, even though I don’t approve of outlaw motorcycle clubs, I do understand the brotherhood aspect and support they provide. MCs are like tight-knit communities, always there for one another, picking each other up off the ground when needed.So, if you could put a good word in with your friend, I would push my bias aside to help.”
“Are you sure? You seem pretty down on bikers.”
“More than the use of animal hide, the culture of violence offends me. It’s…personal for me, nothing against you or your brothers.”
“Growing up with a dad in that particular club couldn’t have been easy.”
“No kidding. And now that he’s president, I’ve accepted that he’s never going to leave it. The club and those people are his entire life. He spends more time at the clubhouse than at home.”
“Your grandma is the one who really raised you and Laurel, right?”
