Slate (Rebel Wayfarers MC)
Page 41
Frowning, he thought to himself that he’d have to prepare Benny so there’d be no problems. Maybe he should bring her out a couple days early, so the two of them would have time to sort their shit before things got crazy.
They were approaching an exit and Ruby tapped his shoulder, so he took the ramp, pulling into a gas station. Helping her dismount the bike, he was surprised when she leaned into him. She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and pulled his face down to hers. Sighing, she traced his jawline with the tip of her nose, and he slowly stroked her braid. “I love you,” she said softly, pulling back to look into his eyes intently.
Puzzled, he responded, “I love you too, baby.”
“I’m proud of you, Slate,” she told him. “You are such a good man.” She smiled, leaned in to kiss him, and then turned to walk into the store.
Shaking his head, he put down the kickstand and dismounted the bike to gas up, wondering what the hell that was about.
***
Sitting at the bar in Jackson’s, Slate felt like he had come home. He looked over at Ruby where she sat in a booth with Mica, Molly, Jess, and Brandy. The girls were doing shooters, while Ruby and Mica were drinking the herbal tea Mason insisted would be good for the babies. Mica’s look had nearly scorched the bar, but she relented when Ruby laughed, and they had both reached for the cups.
Ruby and Mica were due only a few weeks apart, and Ruby promised to come see Mica and Daniel’s little boy as soon as he was born. The two women had been chatting nonstop for a couple hours now, and didn’t appear to be running out of topics anytime soon.
Mason and Bones sat on stools at the bar beside Slate, and he had an odd sense that his life was coming full circle. These two men had influenced him greatly, and they would be at his wedding. His wedding...that still sounded odd, even when it was only in his head.
Mason laughed. “Did you hear what Daniel and Mica are going to name the baby?” Slate shook his head. “Jonathan Mason Rupert,” he said proudly, then laughed again. “Mica thought the first name should be after Daniel’s dad, but he argued for Jason. That would have made the kid Jason Mason. I told him it sounded like a fucking serial killer.”
Slate and Bones both laughed at that, and they looked up as Daniel walked in through the door. He first went to Mica, leaning down to speak to her, and then kissed her softly. Turning, he walked across the bar to the men, giving Merry a casual wave. Reaching out his hand, he pulled Slate into a brief, one-armed embrace. “How you doin’, Slate?”
“I’m good, man, real good. Ruby and I are getting married in a coupla weeks. You gotta bring Mica down for the wedding,” Slate laughed, “and Jess, Brandy, Molly, and her little man. Fuck, man, you’ll need to rent a bus.”
“I think Brandy is making the cakes,” Mason said with a grin, “so you’ll have to transport baked goods across state lines. You good with that, Daniel?”
“Fuck you, Mason,” he laughed. “I’ll get Dickie to drive; no one will be the same by the time we get there.”
Slate leaned back looking at Daniel, and then across at Molly, “I heard J.J. was interested in Molly. That shit stick, or did he move on?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “It’s sickening how they are around each other. He likes her, she likes him...but neither will act on it, so there’s this thick, cloying, sexual tension. He’s fucked in the head because of being in the wheelchair, and she sees herself as the unwed mother. I hope they figure it out soon; that’s all I’m gonna say. You decide where you’re holding the ceremony and reception yet?” Daniel asked Slate, who shook his head. “Okay, if you decide you want to use the Coliseum, let me know, I know the GM for the ECHL team there, so I bet I could help.”
“Fuck me, the hockey arena? I don’t think we need anything that big, man,” he started, and stopped when Mason and Bones laughed. “Seriously,” he started again, “I don’t think...” He trailed off, because they were laughing again.
Mason clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Slate, brother, I know of nearly four hundred Rebels who are going to be there, plus about a hundred Soldiers, and another couple hundred Machos. I’ve heard from Disciples, Dominos, Highwaymen, and Devil’s Sins—now that they cleaned up their shit. Bones, man, how many Skeptics you bringing?”
Bones laughed. “About a hundred.”
Daniel spoke up, “The entire Mallets team is coming, and since Jason is in Fort Wayne, he’s bringing a bunch of the local players too. By my count, that’s nearly a thousand guests, man. Let me know about the Coliseum.”
Slate laid his head down on the bar top; he was a little dizzy. “Fuck me,” he breathed, “a thousand people?”
An arm reached around him, pulling him back and depositing a plate on the bar in front of him. Twisting around, he looked to see who it was and grabbed the big man behind him in a tight hug, thumping his back hard. “Fucking Road Runner, man, I want you to meet my Ruby. I think you are part of the reason we’re together. I told her so many hilarious stories about your fucked up menus.”
Road Runner looked offended for half a second, and then the look fell off his face, replaced with a wide smile that split his beard. “Happy to help, motherfucker, and happy to meet the one who captured your heart.” At this, he clasped his hands in front of his heart, then nearly fell over laughing.
“Fuck you,” Slate chuckled at him.
“Before we go there, I want you to try this. It’s pan-fried mushrooms in a reduced sake and compote sauce and I like it, but I wondered...why are you laughing?” Road Runner’s face fell, and he yelled across the room, “Mica, Mason’s being an asshole. So’s your husband.”
The women crowded around them, and Slate found his smile was stuck on his face. He introduced Ruby to everyone who came into the bar, and she tried a half-dozen dishes for Road until she finally shook her head, biting her lips between her teeth. “No more, please. I’m so stuffed.” She hugged the chef, and he caught Slate’s eyes over her head, grinning and nodding his head in approval.
They stayed in Slate’s old room in the back of the bar. As quiet fell on the building after everyone left, he pulled her close to his side in the bed, listening to her slow breathing as she slept. “I love you, baby,” he whispered, kissing the side of her head, “so much.”
***
Pulling into the parking garage, Slate tensed, looking around. He’d done this every time he parked in here since Ruby was kidnapped; he just couldn’t help himself. Ruby started to get off the bike and he snapped, “Wait a min,” swiveling his head back and forth, looking for threats.
“Babe, it’s okay; there’s no one here but us,” she tried to soothe him, running her hands down his back. In his head, he kept thinking, She had been at my side when she was taken. Every time he remembered waking up on the floor of the garage without her, it stole his breath and reminded him nothing was safe.
Inside the elevator, he took a deep breath. I have got to get past this, he thought, shaking his head at himself. “Glad to be home, baby?” he asked Ruby. “Ready to sleep in our bed?”
“Ohhh,” she moaned, “you have no idea.”
Sitting in bed that night, she had her head in his lap and he was stroking her hair. “Ruby, we need to decide where we’re getting married. I was talking to Bingo, and he said there’s a state park not far that might work. They’ve got an inn on the place we can rent for the party after. We can let folks know they can camp there; plus, we can put a couple hundred up at the clubhouse. Pokagon sounds about right to me.” He leaned over to see her eyes were closed and smiled, tracing down her nose with one fingertip. “Okay, baby, you sleep. I got this.”
***
“That was a fucking awesome wedding, Slate,” Deke told him, clapping him on the shoulder. “I about lost it when I saw how many brothers came to honor you, man. I’m fucking proud of our club and members. This has been epic.”
Slate nodded, taking a deep breath. It had been epic, and amazing, and fucking scary at times, but it was behind them now. H
e looked down at the plain platinum band on his finger, remembering the intense look on Ruby’s face as she put it there, her pretty lips mouthing the phrase she’d had engraved on the inner surface, ‘For-fucking-ever, babe’, and he smiled.
“It was a good day, yeah?” He looked up at Deke, and then swung his gaze across the field, taking in the hundreds of people standing or sitting in large and small groupings. “I am humbled, man,” he said softly. “I love these motherfuckers, and they all came here for me and Ruby.”
The wedding had been casual; they’d gotten Preacher from St. Louis to do the vows, and had a small group of close friends and family to witness. The hog roast afterward had been huge. Mason had been right—there were nearly a thousand people who came, but he’d gotten help with the logistics of feeding and housing that many people, and it had gone pretty smoothly. It helped that the weather cooperated too, giving them beautiful, cloud-free days and warm nights.
He spent the next hour moving from group to group, thanking people for coming and accepting their congratulations. He knew Ruby was doing the same in a smaller way with their family, most of who were staying at the Potawatomi Inn. They had made plans to meet back at the Inn shortly, so they could get in the wind and away from everyone.
The last group he stopped at was filled with his friends: Watcher, Mason, Bones, Bingo, Mica and Daniel, Molly and J.J., Jason, Bear, Duck, Digger, Tug, Estavez and Carmela, Blackie and Lottie...so many familiar faces around him. He realized he’d been there longer than expected when he saw Ruby making her way over to him, and within minutes, he felt the familiar tug of her fingers winding their way into his belt loops.
Reaching back, he loosely clasped her wrist, pulling her up alongside him, tucking her into his side. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he covered her belly with his palm, dragging his fingertip across the waistband of her pants. Leaning down to kiss the top of her head, he said softly, “You ready to go, baby?” He felt her nod against his chest and leaned down, scooping her up into his arms as she squealed and giggled.
“I’m taking my woman away now, Brothers,” he announced to the crowd. “Last one out, turn off the lights.” He smiled, hearing the catcalls and laughter from around them, and turned to walk her to his bike. Slate stopped short when he saw the lines of people stretching across the field; he would have to walk between them.
“Ready, baby?” he whispered to her.
“Always ready with you, Slate; let’s go,” she whispered back, and he began striding between the rows of their friends. Hands were slapping him on the back and ruffling his hair, but there were also hands that reached out to drop things in Ruby’s lap. He saw patches, jewelry, money clips with cash, cards...it seemed nearly everyone had something small they wanted to give, and Ruby’s hands were working overtime to gather them all.
Slate leaned his forehead against the side of Ruby’s head as he walked, carrying her. “I love you so much, Ruby. Love our Peanut, too.” He kissed her neck.
“Love you too, babe,” she told him. It took them nearly twenty minutes to transit the field, and her lap was overflowing by the time they arrived where Susan, DeeDee, GeeMa, and Ben were standing near the bike, waiting to say goodbye.
DeeDee had a duffle in her hand, and she laughed when she saw the piles of gifts stacked and strewn across Ruby’s belly and chest. “I heard there was a gift line and thought you might need something to carry it all in,” she said, coming over and holding the bag open for Ruby. “Love you, baby girl,” she said, leaning in to kiss first Ruby’s and then Slate’s cheek, “ and love you too, big guy.” Slate put Ruby down and watched as she hugged his family. Fuck me, he mouthed as his heart clenched; she was his family now.
Sitting astride the bike, he held out a hand to help her up onto the pegs and onto the seat behind him. “Hold on, baby,” he called, and they moved slowly down the drive. Once on the highway, he opened the throttle up, feeling her fingers tighten around his waist. Tipping his chin, he pointed the bike south and put them into the wind.
***
THANK YOU FOR READING Slate!
This is Book #2 in a series. I hope you enjoyed and fell in love with the characters as much as I did while writing Slate’s story. You can learn more about Mason, Bear, and Eddie’s story in Book #3 of the Rebel Wayfarers MC book series, Bear, available December 2014.
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Goodreads.com/book/show/22610747-slate
If you didn’t enjoy it, please let me know! How, you ask? Website…social – I’m easily found!
MLdeMora.com
Facebook.com/mldemora
Twitter.com/MariaLisadeMora
Pinterest.com/mldemora/
REBEL WAYFARERS MC BOOK SERIES
While these books are intended to be readable as standalone stories, there is a sequence if you are reading the series:
Mica – Book #1: Amazon.com/dp/B00L7H0W9O/
Slate – Book #2: Amazon.com/dp/B00M4TEDCQ/
Bear – Book #3
Jase – Book #4
Mason – Book #5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raised in the south, MariaLisa deMora learned about the magic of books at an early age. Every summer, she would spend hours in the local library, devouring stacks of books in every genre. She still reads voraciously, and always has a few books going in paperback, hardback, on devices, on napkins! On music, she says, “I love music of nearly any kind—jazz, country, rock, alt rock, metal, classical, bluegrass, rap, gangstergrass, hip hop—you name the type, I probably listen to it.
“I can often be seen dancing through the house in the early mornings. But what I really, REALLY love is live music. My favorite way to experience live music is seeing bands in small, dive bars [read: small, intimate venues]. If said bar [venue] has a good selection of premium tequila, then that’s a definite plus! Oh, and since I’m a hand gal, drummers are my thing—yeah, Paul and Alex…you know who you are!”