An Outlaw Valentine

by Kathryn Kelly

  “You fuckin’ think?” Christopher asked, lifting his brow. “I ain’t fuckin’ her. You just a prissy motherfucker, ain’t willin’ to recognize you got a woman with a big fuckin personality and she need things to match.”

  “There you go!” Knox accused. “Thinking you know her better than I do.”

  “Seem to me like I fuckin’ do,” Christopher retorted. “Any-fuckin-way, do what the fuck you wanna. If Roxanne happy, I’m fuckin’ flyin’. You hurt her, though, and Ima fuckin’ bury you.”

  Knox scowled. “From what I understand, you’d have to get in line behind Mortician.”

  “Then I guess we gotta cut you the fuck in half so me and Mort can both fuck you up.”

  “That’s not fucking funny,” Knox said.

  “You see my ass laughin’?” Christopher replied, then stood. “Ain’t come here to talk ‘bout that. You takin’ the case or not?”

  “We are,” Cameron assured him.

  “Then this fuckin’ conversation over. Don’t take too fuckin’ long.”

  Digging in his jacket pocket, Christopher pulled out two straps of hundred-dollar bills. “Ima give you the other three straps, when you get my fuckin’ information.”

  Without another word, he walked out, satisfied he’d effectively shut them the fuck up.

  The sound of Harley pipes sifted through Meggie’s brain as she walked out of the grocery store. Of course, she was always hearing motorcycles. For some reason, she zoned in on them, if they were anywhere nearby. She grinned. Her awareness was all due to Christopher.

  Low hanging clouds indicated snow was on the way. The festive air came through in the Christmas decorations all through Hortensia. She’d done all her gift shopping, and gotten her kids their toys. She smiled. Maybe, she went overboard with them, but they were her babies.

  At her car, she unlocked it and slid in to turn on the ignition, so she could start heating up the interior. If a detail had been with her, they would’ve insisted she sit in the car, until her stuff was loaded up. But Christopher had relaxed his rules somewhat, so Meggie went out on her own whenever she could. The bikers had other things to do. Following her every where she went wasn’t a very exciting job for them. It involved a lot of waiting, and made her hurry through her day, so her guards wouldn’t grow too bored.

  Transferring her grocery bags from the basket and into her car, Meggie paused to glance at her watch. It was close to four PM, so all the kids, except Diesel, would be home. Her adopted son had football practice.

  “What are you doing out here all alone, sweetheart?”

  Johnnie’s voice startled her, and she jumped, almost dropping her last bag. Before she could place it on her backseat, he grabbed it and looked down at her.

  “Does Christopher know you don’t have guards?”

  Seeing he wasn’t putting her bag in the car, she reached for it, but he raised it higher than she could reach. She glared at him. “Yes. There’s no need for me to always have guards anymore, Johnnie. Everything’s calm.”

  “Did he know you were grocery shopping today?”

  She hopped in an attempt to get her bag. “Does it matter?” she asked in frustration, when he lifted the bag even higher. “Stop this, jerk.”

  He grinned at her. “Not a chance. I’m enjoying your tits bouncing up and down.”

  Immediately, she stopped and grew uncomfortably aware of Johnnie’s focus. “You’re being a jackass, jackass. It’s comments like that that puts Kendall in a bad way.”

  “Kendall is just fine. She’s adapting to being a stay at-home mom, my old lady, and being a part of yours and Zoann’s business.”

  “Kendall isn’t happy,” Meggie insisted. “She wants her career.”

  His humor evaporating, Johnnie shoved the bag at Meggie. “Don’t put this in her head. She’s doing fine.”

  After setting the last bag on the seat, Meggie slammed her door shut. “Every time she meets someone, she introduces herself as an attorney, not only a wife and mother. I’m telling you she misses her job.”

  “If you think that, then do something about it, Megan.”

  Whenever she’d tried to help Kendall, she’d been stabbed in the back. Now, they were cautiously friendly to each other. If anyone should do something about Kendall’s state, it was Johnnie.

  “Valentine’s Day is two months away,” Johnnie started, abruptly changing the subject.

  “Christmas isn’t even here yet,” Megan reminded him.

  “I already have her Christmas present. She likes unique gifts, so I’d like something custom made for her for Valentine’s day. I need time for that.”

  “There’s your answer then.”

  “Come on, baby. I’ve dropped twenty thousand dollars on the purse she wanted Papa Noel to bring her.”

  Meggie blinked, unsure if she wanted to drop her mouth open over the cost one gift or the fact that Johnnie referred Santa Claus as Papa Noel. She gritted her teeth, annoyed. Kendall downed Christopher but Meggie wondered if she knew Christopher was responsible for her lifestyle. The medical lab had been his idea. True, Johnnie ran it for him, but if Christopher hadn’t thought of it, Johnnie wouldn’t have.

  Since Meggie had met Christopher, he’d even acquired a chain of repair shops for motorcycles and cars. He had enough legitimate businesses to keep most of his brothers in the chapter employed. He’d also invested in Bunny’s brother’s tattoo shop and purchased a funeral home.

  Well, the funeral home…she knew they laundered money through it, but it was also rather…convenient, a fact Meggie refused to dwell on.

  Johnnie grabbed Meggie’s gloved hand. “Has Kendall mentioned wanting anything in particular for Valentine’s day, sweetheart?”

  Valentine’s Day. Duh. Meggie had been so focused on her upcoming anniversary, she’d forgotten all about St. Valentine. But that was perfect. She’d incorporate both the holiday and her anniversary into one big party.

  “Does she want diamonds?” Johnnie pressed. “She had to have mentioned something to you. I didn’t get your location for nothing, did I?” He smiled at her. “Sorry, sweetheart. I guess you didn’t know Christopher has your car bugged with a GPS.”

  Snatching her hand away, she gave him a dirty look. “It so happens that I do know, so try again to stir up trouble between my husband and I.”

  He had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m sorry, Megan. That was unworthy of me.”

  “It was,” she agreed. “As for what Kendall wants for Valentine’s Day, we really haven’t talked about it. I think it slipped both our minds that it’s so close.”

  “Has she recently talked about anything she’d like to have?”

  “Yeah, I guess. Let’s see.” As she yanked her car keys from the pocket of her jeans and snatched her purse from the basket’s child seat, she came up with a few ideas. “She’s talked about some gold and diamond pieces. The word ‘love’ is formed by the diamonds and the rest of the jewelry is gold. She’s also talked about a lace bodysuit. A calf’s leather crossbody bag. And, oh yeah, a pair of studded sling backs.”

  He drew his brows together.

  “You know? Shoes. I’m surprised you don’t know what they are. Christopher always asks what this or that is called.”

  A bleak look entered his eyes and he glanced away for a moment.

  Meggie pretended she didn’t recognize his sadness. Kendall and Johnnie would either find their way or they wouldn’t. They could get advice from anyone. Unless they acted and recognized each other’s feelings, and really listened to each other, they’d always be miserable.

  She cleared her throat, hurting for both of them. She knew they loved each other. If only they could come to a meeting of the minds. “I have to get home, Johnnie,” she said softly. “If Kendall mentions anything else, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  He slammed her back door shut, then opened her door. “Thank you, sweetheart. Valentine’s Day is really important to her.”

  Meggie nodded and slid into
her seat. “I understand. Tell Christopher what you might like, so he could tell me and I’ll pass it on to Kendall.”

  “Can’t I just tell you and you make Kendall believe you got it from Christopher?” he asked.

  “Nope,” she answered. “Sure can’t. If I say that and she discovers I’ve lied, all hell will break lose.”

  “Not only from my wife,” Johnnie reminded her sharply. “Your husband would overreact, too.”

  She shrugged. “So why even open that can of worms?”

  “Because I feel like a fucking ass, dropping hints about Valentine’s Day, to make sure Kendall knows what I want.”

  “Don’t, Johnnie. It’s okay,” Meggie soothed. “Christopher likes Valentine’s Day, too. All the guys do. They just won’t admit it.” Which would make a club wide celebration perfect.

  The guys could enjoy the day without having to admit they looked forward to celebrating and the women would know for certain they’d do something that night.

  “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have ideas on what Christopher would like,” Johnnie said sharply, breaking into her thoughts.

  She couldn’t do that, so she stayed silent.

  Johnnie squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. We’re friends. You’re just venting.”

  “Yeah, sweetheart,” he said on a swallow, then met her gaze. “I miss seeing you at the club every day.”

  “With the business and the house and the kids, Roxy decided I was stretching myself too thin. That’s why she took over cooking at the club, six days a week. I pop in all the time. You know that.”

  “Usually, when I’m not there.”

  “That isn’t my fault. My schedule doesn’t revolve around you. Besides, we see each other every week at our family dinners. And, once a month, during our double dates.”

  “I can’t talk to you with Christopher and Kendall around, and I don’t feel comfortable opening up to Roxy.”

  “Roxy is probably the best person to talk to,” Meggie reasoned.

  Johnnie stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “I’m going to let you go, but I have one last question.”

  Meggie shoved her key into the ignition and started her car. “Okay, shoot. I’m all ears.”

  “Does Kendall ever mention me or the kids during the day?”

  “Um…”

  “Don’t lie to spare my feelings, Megan.”

  “Okay,” she said on a sigh. “She talks about you all the time. She mentions the kids every now and then. Or when she asks me if I mind Rory coming over.”

  Johnnie gave her a bleak look. “Do you think she’s right to bar the kids from certain rooms in our house?”

  “Every woman has a different mothering style,” she reminded him. “Kendall is raising your kids the way she, herself, was brought up. I don’t think she means to be so harsh, but she has nothing else to go by. Unless you set an example for her by stepping in and handling Rory, Matilda, and JJ with a little more love and care. Kendall looks up to you, Johnnie. Tell her her way is good, but you’d like to try your way for a while, she might bitch about it. As long as you stand firm, though, she’ll give in and then she’ll see how much happier the kids will be.”

  “Suppose she doesn’t agree?”

  “She will,” Meggie said with certainty. “What she didn’t learn from her mother, she picked up from Charlotte Redding.” The club attorney’s wife looked down on all things biker. “Not the best role models. You can show her what it means to love a child.”

  “That should be instinct.”

  “Not necessarily,” Meggie argued. “You live as you were taught.”

  “Really?” Johnnie barked a laugh. “Christopher wasn’t ‘taught’ love and ‘adoration’—” he used air quotations— “yet he worships you and is crazy about his children.”

  “Christopher and Kendall are entirely different people. Growing up, Christopher had his mom. Zoann. Ophelia. You. He had Big Joe. Kendall had absolutely no one. And the people she did have made her give something in return to get their affection.”

  A thoughtful look crossed Johnnie’s face.

  “Be the man I once knew. For yourself, your wife, and your kids. You and the children are all the family Kendall has.”

  He winced. “Don’t give up on her.”

  Sadness went through Meggie. “Unfortunately, Johnnie, she gave up on me a long time ago. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Before he responded, she grabbed her door out of his grasp, slammed it shut, and sped off, hoping she’d gotten through to him, but knowing she more than likely hadn’t.

  Opening the door that led from the garage to the laundry room, the scent of something delicious greeted him. Christmas lights blinked outside. Inside, Kendall had elegant silver and blue decorations.

  After Megan sped off, he’d rode around, thinking about her advice, replaying her parting words over and over in his head.

  As far as he knew, the girls were getting along. He’d heard of no cat-fighting, so what did Megan mean when she said Kendall had given up on her a long time ago? That wasn’t the case. His wife considered Megan one of her very best friends, and it would devastate her to discover Megan felt differently.

  Reaching the foyer, Johnnie found Rory standing in a corner, hidden in the shadows.

  “Dad!” Rory screeched, focusing on Johnnie’s face.

  Johnnie grinned, and lifted his son into his arms, throwing him up in the air a few times, and enjoying his childish laughter.

  “Where’s your mom?” he asked, once he’d put Rory down. “What are you doing down here all alone?”

  “Mom is upstairs, and I was waiting for you. Can I go to Aunt Megan and Uncle Christopher’s house tonight? CJ came over with Aunt Roxy and asked if I could come over.”

  “I already told you no, young man,” Kendall said coolly, advancing to where they were. “Go upstairs to your room and wait for me there.”

  Rory hung his head. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Uh, son,” Johnnie started, crouching down, “go pack a little bag for your sleepover. I’ll call you when I’m ready to walk you to CJ’s house.”

  “Johnnie!” Kendall cried. “Rory, you may not—”

  “Go upstairs,” Johnnie interrupted.

  Rory smiled at Johnnie and ran so fast by Kendall that her silk robe blew open and revealed her long, pretty legs.

  “How dare you! I’m his mother. What I say goes.”

  “You think?” Johnnie retorted, heading to the dining room and going straight to the liquor table. He poured himself a whiskey. “I’m his father, so I get to have a say in what goes on in his life, too, Kendall. Tonight, I say he goes to play with CJ.”

  Kendall huffed out a breath. “Fine.”

  Sipping his drink eased his annoyance. Once he drained his glass and poured himself another one, he went to his seat at the head of the table. Kendall had seated herself to his right, but their big table seemed so empty with no one to fill it. Every seven weeks or so, they hosted the family dinner. However, Kendall rarely used this dining room, even when everyone came over.

  So much of their house, their lives, was going to waste.

  “Gorgeous, I need you to lighten up on our children. They’re small kids. They’ll have time enough to learn.”

  Tears rushed to her eyes and she glanced at him through her lashes. “You don’t understand. You’re just a man,” she cried. “Being a mom is so taxing. You have the easy part. Making the babies. I had to carry them, suffer the heartbreak of two miscarriages, and guide them in the way they should be raised.”

  “You make it sound as if I’m not at your side, ready and willing to give you a hand.”

  She pursed her mouth. “As long as what I believe or want to do is in line with Christopher, you’re at my side. Otherwise, no. Take my job, for instance. What would you say if I told you I had a case and wanted to represent the defendant?”

  Megan’s words about Kendall mi
ssing her job pounded through his head. Obviously, she’d seen something in Kendall that he’d missed. “I’d say fuck no. Not because of Christopher, but because of me. You. Us. The last time you practiced law, you almost got yourself fucking killed.”

  “I won’t be doing anything dangerous, Johnnie, and I damn sure won’t be interfering in club business.”

  “No.”

  “Goddamn you,” she screeched. “What do I have to do to get you to agree?”

  “Not a fucking thing. Because you’ll never get my agreement.”

  Her face reddened, and she narrowed her eyes. “Of course not. Your allegiance is to Christopher,” she spat. “Not me. If it were, you’d fight for my right to practice law.”

  Johnnie pounded the table. “Not this shit again. Are we going to go through this every few months? You can’t work as a fucking attorney. Deal with it, Kendall.”

  “Fuck you. I can do what the hell I damn well please.”

  Not unless they left the club. The thought drummed through his head. Fuck, he’d already tried that. While Kendall was ecstatic, Johnnie had been miserable. “Picture this,” he started in as reasonable tones as possible. “I tell you to fuck what Christopher said. You get an office. Start practicing law. Suddenly, Christopher finds out. Do you think either of us would live to explain why we disobeyed him? You betrayed the fucking club, Kendall. You’re lucky to still have a brain in your head.”

  “I never thought I’d see the day that you’d turn into a fucking coward. But that’s exactly what you are. Afraid of that asshole.”

  He sidled a glare at her, but decided not to answer, since, deep down, he knew she was right.

  “Well, I’m not scared of that motherfucker. He can’t tell me what to do.”

  Fuck! Why the hell did she always put him in these situations? “Who the fuck do you want to represent? Tell me, so I can hunt whoever it is down and fuck them up for putting this idea into your head!”

  “It’s Randolph,” she said after a moment of hesitation.

  Johnnie narrowed his eyes. Randolph…? He didn’t know…an image of that motherfucker from last night popped into his head…NO! She couldn’t.