I head upstairs and change clothes before leaving to go to the local Walmart. I walk up and down the aisles looking for her, and can’t see her. I’ve seen enough pictures of Ms. Janie Lynn around the girls’ apartment to know what she looks like. I’m about to give up when I see Ms. Jainie in the checkout line. I wait for her to finish before approaching.
“Hi, Ms. Janie,” I say politely.
“Well hello, Steve Hanks. I was wondering when you would come to talk to me about my daughter,” she says sweetly. My jaw drops. How the hell did she know my name? I know for a fact that Harley hasn’t told her family about us.
“Now, now,” she continues. “You think I didn’t know you’d had your eyes on my baby girl as soon as you moved to Winslow? I may have let my husband cheat on me constantly, but I am no dummy, Stevie baby.”
Nobody has ever been allowed to called me that, but for some reason, it doesn’t bother me when she says it.
“Well, the reason I wanted to talk to you is that Harley and I have been dating for a while now, and I wanted to ask your permission to propose to her. I plan on doing it on Christmas,” I tell her.
Her eyes light up, but she’s still serious. “Don’t you think you’re a little young to be married?”
“Yes, but I can’t imagine being with anyone else. Besides, my father is shady and I’m not trying to give him time to interfere in our relationship again,” I say.
“I see what you’re saying, Stevie baby. Well, you have my permission but you still need to ask her brother before you propose. The club is probably going to get involved too,” she informs me.
“I’m well aware, Ms. Smith,” I say.
“Call me Janie Lynn, or momma, baby. We’re about to be family,” she says. She pats me on the cheek and walks out of the grocery store, and I feel like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. That was much easier than I thought it would be, but now it’s time for the hard part.
Now, it’s time to approach Ace. I drive to the Burnt Kings clubhouse and pull up to the entrance. There’s a guy with a letter vest that says prospect on it at the door who stops me at the gate.
“I’m here to see Ace. Tell him Steve is here to talk to him about his sister,” I say knowing that would get Ace’s attention. If anything, he’ll charge out here to beat the shit out of me. Instead, I’m let through the gate and escorted straight to Ace’s office where he sits at his desk staring at me angrily.
“What the fuck do you want, kid?” he snarls.
“Look,” I say calmly. “I know I fucked up, and I already apologized to your sister. We’ve been dating for a while now.”
“What?!” he yells. “You’ve been fucking my sister and I didn’t know about it?”
“Yea,” I confirm. “She didn’t want to tell you for obvious reasons.”
He rubs his face with his hands. “I should’ve known this was going to happen as soon as she moved to Atlanta. You two have never been able to stay away from each other.”
“You knew I was in Atlanta?” I ask.
“I looked you up when you didn’t join the sheriff’s office behind your father,” he tells me. “I gained a lot of respect for you when I saw that. However, that doesn’t mean I want you with my sister.”
“Honestly, man,” I say. “I don’t really care what you want, but I do care that Harley wants your blessing. I plan on proposing to her on Christmas, and I just came to get your blessing. I’m marrying your sister whether or not I get your blessing, but I respect you enough to ask for it.”
He leans back in his chair and stares at me for a minute and then sighs. “Ok, but you have to atone for what you did to my sister in high school. It’s the way we operate. You’ll never get the club’s blessing if you don’t.”
“Y’all are going to beat the crap out of me again, aren’t you?” I ask.
He laughs. “We’ll stay away from your face so Harley doesn’t notice when you go back to the city. You’re not a bad guy, Steve, you just have a really fucked up dad. Hell, my dad is fucked up so that means you still have some hope. I take it you talked to momma, already?”
He nods. “Ok, well you can atone tonight so you’ll have some time to heal up.”
“Ok,” I agree. If this is what it takes for the club members to come to our wedding, then I’ll do it for Harley.
I go home and put on my workout clothes to get ready. I’m a little nervous, but I know she’s worth it so I’m willing to do it. I take the next few hours to meditate and get myself prepared for the beating I’m about to get. I drive back to the clubhouse and the same prospect is at the gate. He lets me in without question, and I’m led to a shed in the back of the property. Ace and all his buddies are waiting for me. Ace directs me to sit in the chair before addressing the group of men.
“This is Steve,” he starts. “A few years ago, Steve gave Harley hope that they would be together and then basically pulled the rug out from under her feet by taking the sheriff’s daughter to prom. A lot of y’all remember how broken Harley was after that, and it’s the reason why we started throwing a separate prom and homecoming for the teenagers in the club. After that, Steve moved to Atlanta and became a police officer in the city. I heard he’s about to be one of the youngest detectives in the department.”
I’m surprised that he even knew that. He must’ve spoken to Loki after I left his office earlier today.
“As you all know, my sister and her best friend moved to Atlanta where Harley and Steve actually took a chance on their relationship. Now Steve has asked our permission to marry Harley and I told him that he had to atone for his previous mistakes, and he’s agreed. Each of you gets the opportunity to have one shot at Steve. You can choose to take it or not, but not the face. We don’t want Harley getting pissed at us.”
One by one, each guy in the club comes up and punches me in the gut. It wouldn’t have been so bad if most of the guys weren’t hitting me in the same exact spot each time...they clearly know what they’re doing because I’m going to have a big ass bruise on my abdomen by the time this is finished. Loki passes on his turn, and I look at him in appreciation. By the time it’s over, I can barely stand, let alone breathe. Ace calls in the club doctor to check me out, and once I’m cleared, he leads me back to his office.
“You’re coming with me to dinner at momma’s house tonight,” he tells me. “Have you gotten a ring for her yet?”
“No,” I say. He goes in his desk drawer, pulls something out, and hands it to me. I open the box and there’s a beautiful antique ring in the box.
“This was my grandmother’s ring. I gave it to my cheating ass fiance when it really should’ve gone to Harley. She’s always loved this ring and I want you to have it,” he says.
“Thanks, man,” I say while getting a little choked up. “I appreciate this.”
He pulls out a bottle and two shot glasses and places them on the desk. “Ok, the time to be sappy is over. Now let’s take two of these so the pain doesn’t seem as bad, and head to momma’s house for dinner. I already texted her and told her that you would be there, and she’s excited. Harley, Livy, and Brandon have already headed back to Atlanta to get an early jump on their finals so you’ll basically be getting interrogated by her closest family.”
“Who’s going to be there?” I ask.
“Momma, Livy’s dad Tank, our Uncle Joe, his wife, and Loki. Loki and momma are on your side so I’m sure you’ll be alright,” he says with a wink.
Great. I follow his bike in my car to Ms. Janie Lynn’s house and park in the driveway. As we walk to the door, it bursts open and Ms. Janie walks out to us with open arms.
“My boys!” she exclaims. “We were just waiting on you. Now, what can I get you boys to drink? I have some beer, sweet tea, and water in here. You’re an adult in my eyes Steve, so I don’t mind if you have a beer.”
I nod, grab a beer, and sit down at the table. Across from me is Tank, Livy’s dad, and he’s just staring at me. It’s a little unnerving if I’m being
honest. Ms. Janie ignores it and starts chatting up a storm. She asks me about my dad, and you can see all the men’s faces scrunch up. I know the type of person my father is so it doesn’t really bother me. Hell, that’s how I feel about him most of the time. When I talk about my mom, Tank can’t hide the interest in his eyes and I’m beginning to get a little mad. Why is he looking like that?
Dinner continues pretty effortlessly until Ms. Janie asks me and Tank to wash the dishes. I’m not sure I want to wash dishes with Tank, but Ms. Janie cooked dinner and I respect the hell out of her. We wash the dishes in silence until Tank finally clears his throat.
“Why is your mom hiding in our town?” he asks.
“What do you mean?” I say. I know momma’s been hiding from her club family in Atlanta, but I don’t think she thought anyone in Winslow would recognize her.
“Don’t play dumb with me, boy,” he starts. “I prospected with the mother chapter once I got out of the military, and then started the chapter here in Winslow with my military buddies once they all got out of the military. You look exactly like your grandfather did when he was still VP of the club...before he became national president.”
My mouth drops wide open, and I look at him with disbelief.
“You didn’t know, did you?” he asks.
“I knew she had ties to the Burnt Kings Atlanta chapter,” I said quietly. “My police partner told me something about her dad, but I didn’t realize he was the national president of the Burnt Kings. It explains why she didn’t want me going into the clubhouse with Harley and Loki. I would’ve been recognized.”
“Most definitely,” Tank confirms. “I knew your mother looked familiar when we saw her at the girls’ graduation, but I’d only seen Ghost’s daughter a handful of times. I’d already started this chapter by the time he became national president.”
“Interesting,” I say. “Would you mind not telling anyone about my mom? My dad is a jackass already, and I don’t want him to find out. Granted, he may already know, but if it goes public then I’m not sure how he’ll react.”
“Of course,” Tank says. “However, let me give you some advice from a man who didn’t see his daughter for years...you should visit the clubhouse with Loki and Harley. Ghost needs family, and so do you. Besides, Ghost has taken the club legit now. If your mom wants to leave your dad, Ghost will take her in. Hell, he still keeps her picture on his desk at the clubhouse.”
That’s news to me. As I said, mom doesn’t really talk about her family like that. Hell, I’ve heard more about her side of the family from other people at this point. I may need to talk to her before I head back to the city tomorrow. I’m so lost in thought that I don’t realize we’ve finished washing the dishes until Tank pats me on the shoulder before heading out. I thank Ms. Janie for the meal before heading out to my car, and Ace stops me.
“Hey man,” he says. “I know you have a lot of shit going on with your dad, but I’ll always have your back if you need me.”
My eyes tear up, but I blink it away before he can see.
“Thanks, man,” I say. “I really appreciate it.”
I head back home, but my parents aren’t there. They probably went to another event so my dad could kiss ass with the other town leaders. I leave my mother a note since they’ll probably be asleep when I leave in the morning. My shift starts mid-morning so I need to leave extra early because I need time to shower and put my uniform on.
I go to sleep and wake up early. I get my stuff quietly to leave when I see my mother standing by the front door with her arms wide open. I walk up to her and give her a huge hug.
“I’ll miss you, baby boy,” she whispers. “Stay safe.”
“I’ll miss you too, mom,” I say. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she responds.
I head back to Atlanta with a ring in my bag, and hopes for a good future with the woman of my dreams.
Chapter 27 - Harley, 18 years old
Thanksgiving was so much fun. It was great to see all my family, and Brandon had a really fun time. At the end of dinner, he started crying and saying he didn’t think he’d find people to care about so quickly. Momma just wrapped him up in a hug and told him that not all family is blood...sometimes, the family we choose becomes more important to us than the ones we were born to. Momma always knows the right thing to say to people, and I hope to be like that someday.
We head back to the school the following day so we can get a jump on finals since they start next week. I haven’t picked a major yet, but I think I’m doing pretty well in all my core classes so far. Livy has already decided that she wants to be a teacher, but she hasn’t figured out which grade she wants to teach yet. I’m debating between math and computer engineering right now.
I haven’t seen Steve a lot lately because I’ve been so focused on school, and he’s got police stuff that he’s doing; however, we take every little chance that we can have together. His mother visits at least twice a month and we always go to dinner with her. Steve confessed that his mother is the daughter of the Burnt Kings national president, and I can’t say that I’m surprised. I’ve been at the clubhouse a couple of times so I haven’t really had a chance to look at Ghost, but ever since Steve said something, I look at Ghost a little extra harder. Steve wants to meet him but doesn’t really know how to go about it, so I decided to take things into my own hands.
I explain what I want to do to Loki, and he’s all for it. He knew Steve’s mom, Jamie, was acting suspicious, but I don’t think he ever suspected that she was Ghost’s daughter. Loki and I ride our bikes to the Burnt Kings’ mother chapter. I love the way this chapter is set up, and it would be so cool if Ace could do it like this. The club bought a warehouse, which is the clubhouse. However, all the surrounding homes are owned by the club, and that’s where most of the men with old ladies and families live. It’s like they were able to carve out their own little neighborhood within an entire city.
Loki and I pull into the parking lot, and the guys in the chapter start whistling and cheering when I pull in behind Loki. Ever since meeting me, they’ve all been teaching their daughters how to ride and I love that. Ace taught me to ride and we bonded a lot during that time. We walk into the clubhouse and go straight to Ghost’s office. I knock quietly and wait to hear a response.
“Come in,” he says. I walk in slowly and sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Hi Ghost,” I say quietly. I’m nervous as hell. Ghost is tall and lean, and it seems like he has the wisdom of the world in his eyes. He also has this huge grey beard so it’s hard to read his facial expression behind all that hair. I never know what he’s thinking and it makes me uncomfortable.
“Harley, right?” he asks. “You’re the best friend of Tank’s daughter, right? Your brother is VP of the Winslow chapter?”
“Yes, sir,” I say.
“Hey now, none of this sir stuff. Just call me Ghost, little lady,” he says.
“Um...well. I’m dating your grandson,” I blurt out. Ironically, for a name named ghost, his face went paperwhite.
“I don’t have a grandson,” he says quietly.
“You have a daughter named Jamie, right? She ran off and got married to some dickhead cop?” I ask.
At this point, he’s speechless. He just nods his head and his eyes start to tear up. Shit, I didn’t mean for him to cry. I pull out my phone and look for pictures of us together, and show him a picture of Steve. He gasps and pulls out an old, worn down photograph. The photograph makes me gasp because the man in the photo could literally be Steve’s twin. I flip the photo over and read the back, which says “Ghost and Jamie”. Wow, if I didn’t already know Ghost was Steve’s grandfather, this would definitely prove it.
“Do you know where my Jamie is?” he asks. I nod.
“I do, but I think she’s too ashamed to approach you. She didn’t want Steve coming here with me because she knew you would recognize him. He wants to meet you, though,” I tell him.
>
“He does?” Ghost says with excitement. “Well, we’re having a club Christmas party right before you guys head back home. He’s more than welcome to come if he wants to. I’d love to meet him.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Young lady, in my long life I’ve regretted many things. One of those things was letting my daughter go. I tried to find her for years, but she did a fantastic job of hiding herself from me. Her best friend, Doug, probably helped her out with that. Now you’re telling me that there’s a young man living in my city, and he’s my Jamie’s son? I would love for nothing more than to meet him,” he tells me.
“Well, I’ll let him know and we’ll be here for the Christmas party,” I say. I get out of my chair and turn to leave his office.
“Harley?” Ghost calls out behind me. “Thank you for giving this to me. This is the best Christmas present ever.”
I smile at him before leaving. I’m really glad I could do this for Steve. I got him presents, of course, but I think this will be the best gift of all. I have a feeling this year will be the best Christmas ever.
Chapter 28 - Steve, 19 years old
The Christmas holiday is coming up and I’m taking off work for the holidays. Normally, I would work during the holidays but the chief gave me the day off after I told him I planned to propose to Harley over the holidays. I’ve been talking to Ms. Janie, Ace, and Loki about the proposal, and I think we’ve come up with a really good plan for Christmas Day.
My parents won’t be at home since they’ll be handing out toys to foster children with all the other prominent people in the city, and mom is pissed that she’s missing the proposal. I’m going over to Ms. Janie’s house in the morning and hiding in another room, and Ace is going to text me when Harley sees the ring so I can come out and propose. I’m still trying to figure out what to say to her, but everybody keeps telling me to just speak from the heart.
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