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“I didn’t want to get the club involved. It was personal between him and I.”
“If there’s blowback from the Screwballs, I’ll take care of it. That’s a fucking promise.”
“I appreciate it, Prez.”
Going nomad, there’s a chance Judge could cut me off completely. I’d be my own problem, unless another chapter asked me to step in. But with no chapters in this part of the country, those requests would be few and far between.
“Fuck, I saw this going in a different direction,” I admit. “I thought Austin was it for me, my home. Turns out, I didn’t really know what home was until I met her.”
“I hear ya there, kid. Perspectives change when you have a good woman in your life, and leaves you wanting more. Are you ready for this big of a change?”
My pacing on the balcony stops. I look at Cora's sleeping form inside the room and smile. “For her, I’ll be ready for anything.”
“I’m proud of you, TK. I never thought I’d see the day you’d grow the fuck up, but you’ve done it.”
“I never thought it would either, Judge,” I admit with a happy, yet heavy heart.
“It won’t be the same without your annoying fucking ass terrorizing the clubhouse.”
“Meh. I’ll have to come back eventually to get the rest of my shit. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to piss you off between now and then, I’m sure.” I smile when Judge’s laughter flows through the receiver. “Besides,” I add, “between V and Priest, I think you’ll be fine. The good father has learned from the best.”
Judge pauses. “Have you heard from Priest?”
“Not since I left him on the highway outside of Sturgis yesterday. He said something about taking the scenic route since he didn’t have my ass to haul away from here, kicking and screaming. He’s probably in the middle of nowhere without a phone signal.”
“Could be… Or he might just be ignoring me like someone else I know.”
“Like I said, he learned from the best. If I hear from him, I’ll tell him to call home.”
“Appreciate that. I’ll let you get back to your girl. See you down the road, brother.” He hangs up without letting me get my own goodbye into the conversation. A blessing on his part as a tear rolls down my face.
No one ever said that starting a new chapter in life would be easy, but with Cora, I might just have a chance to make the next one worth the fight.
CORA
“I’m proud of you, Cora,”my mother says, moving to stand beside me on the back deck, watching TK and my father stack a load of wood. Harrison moves along behind them, picking up small branches and twigs, placing them into a bucket my father has set aside for kindling.
Not that I’m one to ever get upset when my parents are proud of me, but her statement confuses me.
“Why?”
“For a long time, I’ve watched you go through life, being the best mother you could be to that sweet little boy, and I was proud of you then. But I’ve also worried that you held everyone but your family at arm’s length. I know you had your reasons, but I’ve always been afraid that you would never release yourself from the guilt you felt about however Harrison came to be, so that you could learn to be loved by the right one.”
“I’m still not sure,” I admit.
She squeezes my shoulder until I turn and face her. “Even if he’s not the right one, you put yourself out there, and for that, I’m proud of you.”
I smile on the inside, thinking about just how much of myself I had put out there on the side of the highway the other day.
“Harrison loves him,” she continues, redirecting her attention to the men.
“Hey!” Harrison shouts. “Jonas, look at this!”
I watch with a happy heart as my son balances three full-sized pieces of wood in his arms, his knees nearly buckling with the weight as he teeters his way over to the woodpile.
“Good job, little man.” TK plucks the wood from Harrison’s arms and arranges it the way my father had instructed. “Pretty soon, you’ll have muscles as big as mine.”
Harrison gapes up at him. “I want muscles like Priest,” he declares. “They’re way bigger than yours.”
