by Debra Kayn
Can't Stop Fate
Ronacks Motorcycle Club
by Debra Kayn
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Can't Stop Fate
Ronacks Motorcycle Club
1st Digital release: Copyright© 2017 Debra Kayn
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Epilogue
Author Bio
Debra Kayn's Backlist
~ Sneak Peek ~
Dedication
Long live the gang on Hill and River.
Acknowledgements
Haugan, Montana —In real life, Haugan is an unincorporated community in Mineral County, Montana. It's sixteen miles from the Idaho border and not far from where I live in Idaho. Haugan is the home to only one business, which happens to be one of my favorite places to go, Lincoln's 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar. I've fictionalized the town to include a main street with enough businesses to keep a motorcycle club afloat.
Chapter One
Three unfamiliar vehicles and a beat-up motorhome lined the curb in front of Pine Bar & Grill. Mel Davis rode around to the back of the building, parked, and unhooked his duffel bag from his Harley Davidson. Tourist season was officially in full swing, and despite it being Monday and the bar closed, cars lined Main Street.
He took out his keys and unlocked the back door. After two days away from Haugan on a run for Ronacks Motorcycle club, all he wanted to do was go upstairs, check on Raelyn and her son, Dukie, then sleep for twenty-four hours.
"I don't care how many reasons you give me, I'm not going to help you move that far away," shouted Raelyn from inside the bar.
"We're your family," said an unfamiliar female voice. "It's only ten hours away. You could visit when we get settled."
"No. Impossible," said Raelyn. "The guy who you claim loves you is taking advantage of you. It's ridiculous that we're even having this conversation."
Mel walked into the main room of the bar and dropped his duffel to the floor at the sight of two women and a teenage boy standing in front of Raelyn. His gaze met Raelyn's and his body tightened. Her firm mouth and taunt brows showed her frustration and anger.
"What's going on?" He walked straight toward Raelyn, ignoring the others looking at him in silence.
Raelyn crossed her arms. "Mel, meet my mom, Sharon. My Grandma June. And, that's my little brother, Carl. Everyone, this is Mel."
Her family? In all the years of knowing Raelyn, he'd never once met them. All Raelyn had shared was that she was raised by her mother after her dad ran off when she was young. And, every other Sunday, Raelyn went to her mother's house, preferring to visit them at their home and not at the bar where she lived.
He turned his gaze to the women, nodded, and lifted his chin at Raelyn's brother. Their presence meant nothing to him. He wanted to know why Raelyn was upset.
"What's going on, Raelyn?" he asked.
"Nothing." Raelyn ran her hand over the messy bun holding her thick, brown hair off her neck and then crossed her arms. "They were just leaving."
Her grandma walked forward, stabbing the floor with her cane with each step. "Can you help an old lady out?"
Raelyn's arms came uncrossed, and she raised her hands. "Enough already, Grandma June."
"I'm not talking to you." The cane came forward, and Grandma June tapped the floor between Mel's boots. "You. Mr. Mel."
"Excuse me?" said Mel.
"Do you have a little green leaf you can share?" whispered Grandma June, pinching her fingers in front of her mouth and inhaling swiftly.
"Don't help her," muttered Raelyn. "It's illegal in Montana."
"I have a doctor's prescription," said Grandma June with a smug smile, rounding her already round face. "Arthritis."
Raelyn groaned. "She doesn't have a medical card."
"A travesty." Grandma June scoffed. "I lost it."
Sharon joined Grandma June in front of Mel. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mel. Can I call you Mel?"
He dipped his chin, caught up in the women talking around him.
"Single?" Sharon, an older version of Raelyn with long hair and strategic rips in her jeans, ran her hand down Mel's leather vest. "A biker, hm?"
"God, Mom." Raelyn stepped in front of him. "You were just telling me you were in love with Keith. Please, go home."
"I wasn't looking for me." Sharon sniffed loudly and turned away. "We can't go home."
"Why not?" asked Raelyn.
Carl walked over and sat on a bar stool. "Mom forgot to pay the rent."
Raelyn's cell phone rang. She stepped over to the bar and read the screen. "Oh, great. Allison's bringing Dukie back from camp and he's going to walk in here to this momma drama."
Grandma June thumped her cane on the floor and patted her short curly, gray hair. "Good. We'll stay here and visit with my great grandson."
"No way. Not today." Raelyn cupped her forehead. "Mom, how late are you on the rent?"
Sharon looked at her long, fake fingernails. "A month."
"Five months," said Carl.
"Are you kidding me?" Raelyn lowered her hand. "Why? What did you spend your money on this time?"
"Keith," said Carl.
Sharon half turned toward her son. "Shut your mouth. It was not Keith's fault."
"How? Why?" Raelyn shook her head. "Nevermind. I don't want to know. I don't even want to be involved."
Mel widened his stance. Though none of Raelyn's family was his business, he wasn't leaving her side until he knew she was going to be okay.
"I'm seriously in need of a break from...everything." Raelyn stepped over to her Grandma June and gave her a hug. "I love you, but everyone needs to go home. How much money do you need to make up for the missed rent payments?"
"It's too l
ate," whispered Raelyn's grandma.
Raelyn put her hands on her grandma's shoulders. "It's Sunday. Everyone needs to go home and tomorrow, I'll go to the bank and mail you a check to get you current on your rent."
"You're not listening." Grandma's eyes welled up with tears, and her chin trembled. "We don't have a home to go to, honey."
"None?" whispered Raelyn. "But, I can get you the money—"
"We've already been kicked out," interrupted Sharon.
Raelyn turned to her mom. "Are you living in your car?"
"No. Don't be ridiculous." Sharon's laughter ended with her biting her lower lip. "Keith has a motorhome. We're parked out front."
"Keith? Out front?" Raelyn turned her back on her family and gazed at Mel. "So help me, if I look outside and see a...a...motorhome, I'm going to lose my shit."
"Tell me what you need me to do," said Mel.
"Get them out of here," she whispered. "Find somewhere they can park away from where anyone can see them, and I'll deal with everything tomorrow. I'm ready to pull my hair out, and Dukie will be coming home any minute from day camp."
"Done." He stepped around her and motioned to the group. "Alright, let's go."
Sharon's head snapped back. "Where?"
"To find you a place to park off Main Street." Mel never missed a step when Carl remained on the barstool. "Kid, get your ass up and help Grandma June outside."
Behind him, Raelyn's mom spoke-whispered, "I like him."
"He's taken," said Grandma June.
"No, he looks single. He doesn't wear a ring."
"Raelyn would kill you if you take her man." Grandma June tapped her cane on the floor harder.
"She's not seeing him," said Sharon. "She'd tell me if she had a boyfriend."
"Look at the way he takes care of her. Besides, you're supposed to be in love with that boy out in the motorhome."
Mel unlocked the front door and stepped back to let Raelyn's family out, averting his gaze from their squabble. No wonder Raelyn's patience was gone. He wouldn't last ten minutes with two mouthy women and a kid that needed a lesson on respect.
At the back of the motorhome, Mel stopped walking. "I'm riding a motorcycle. It's parked in back. I'll swing out onto Main Street, and you can follow me. There's an RV park a mile out of town. They'll have some vacancies."
He waited for one of them to acknowledge the instructions and the two women stared at him. Carl turned away and opened the side door of the motorhome.
"Is there a problem?" he asked.
Both women jumped. Sharon shook her head. "We're ready to follow you."
"Right. Make sure you do." He strolled away.
In the parking lot in back, he looked up from starting his motorcycle to see Allison pulling into the vacate parking spot closest to the door. He saluted two fingers and rode out to Main Street. In the side mirror, he kept an eye on the motorhome pulling out into traffic.
He'd taken two things from watching the interactions between Raelyn and her family. One — Raelyn kept her family away from the club for a reason he failed to understand. Two —Her mother and Grandma June came to Raelyn when they ran into trouble. Both reasons irritated him. He'd known her for almost eight years, lived at the bar for the last three years, and not once had she trusted him enough to talk to him about her family.
That hurt.
He turned on his blinker and pulled into the winding road of Bitterroot RV Park, stopping near the one-bedroom log cabin where the caretaker resided. Without waiting for Raelyn's family to come to a stop in the motorhome, he strolled to the door and knocked.
Travis Carter opened the door. "Hey, Mel."
"Carter." Mel glanced over his shoulder at his entourage and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "I need to buy a pull-through spot for the night."
"That'll be twenty-four dollars. We raised our prices to match the State Parks. Check out time is eleven o'clock." Travis pushed back the bill of his Ford cap and whistled low. "I haven't seen one of those rigs since the late seventies."
"Make it two nights." He removed sixty dollars. "Keep the change and watch over them. It's Raelyn's family."
"No, shit?" Carter rubbed his hand over his whiskered jaw. "I'll give them the biggest spot with the river at their back."
"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Mel walked off the porch and approached the driver's door of the motorhome.
A whiff of skunk rolled over him, and it wasn't due to any wildlife hanging around. A man with long greasy hair hung his arm out the window of the RV.
"Dude." The man grinned. "I'm Keith."
"Follow the guy over there with the cap on. He'll get you parked for the night." Mel thumped his knuckles against the door and walked away.
No wonder Raelyn wanted to avoid any talk about a guy named Keith. If he had to guess, he'd think the driver was around twenty-five years old. Sharon had to be pushing fifty years old. There was a story there he hoped skipped Haugan and hit the highway soon.
Leaving everyone in Carter's good hands, he headed back to the bar. His appetite returned, and his need to sleep hit him hard. By the time he pulled into the lot and walked through the door, he was ready to put Raelyn's family behind him.
Raelyn's son, Dukie, ran around the corner and skidded to a stop in the hallway. "Guess what, Uncle Mel?"
At five years old, Dukie never stopped moving. He had more energy than all the members of Ronacks Motorcycle Club put together. The only time he sat still was when he was allowed to watch cartoons every morning for an hour while his mom got dressed and ready for the day.
"You swam the length of the pool," said Mel, knowing it was swim day at day camp.
Dukie laughed, throwing himself forward, and hooking his arm around the back of Mel's thigh. "I got to go down the curly slide."
"Whoa, buddy." Mel ruffled Dukie's blonde hair. "Good job."
"I held my breath and floated." Dukie skipped beside him as they walked into the main room of the bar.
Allison hovered over Raelyn behind the counter. Mel took in the situation instantly and cleared his throat. "Allison?"
Dukie's babysitter and one of the regular women who hung around the Ronacks clubhouse when she wasn't going to college and babysitting raised her head. He motioned his chin at the boy. "Why don't you take Dukie up and get him a snack for a few minutes and I can talk to his mom?"
"Oh, sure. Sounds good." Allison held out her hand. "Come on, Dukie. I'll race you up the stairs."
Once he was alone with Raelyn, he parked his ass on a stool at the counter. The absolute despair shown in Raelyn's hunched posture and solemn face had him thinking he should've escorted the motorhome out of the state.
"What's going on that's upset you?"
Raelyn inhaled deeply and ended with a laugh. "When my family shows up, even I don't know what is going on."
"You're going to have to give me more." He took in her dull hazel eyes lacking their passion.
He'd spent the last three years falling in love with Raelyn, in which she was clueless. Before that, he'd witnessed her losing her husband, Duke, his MC brother. He'd become the person she leaned on for support. Together, they'd made their own make-shift family living above the bar, attending club get-togethers, and eating dinner together most nights he was around.
There were times he knew Raelyn better than she knew herself. But as he sat across from her, he wondered how much she'd kept from him and if she'd ever give him a chance to be more than another biker in the Ronacks Motorcycle Club.
"My family is what you'd call eccentric." She leaned forward and planted her elbows on the counter. "I love them, but..."
He tilted his head. "But?"
"Trouble has a way of following them." She wrinkled her nose. "Their problems become mine, and before I know it, my life is consumed by the same kind of drama I swore never to involve myself in since I moved in with Duke and started my own family."
"Do you think you're in danger?"
"No, of course not." Sh
e gave a tired sigh. "Mom thinks she's in love with Keith who is younger than me and lives in a motorhome. They have plans to move to the coast in Washington state, obviously brought on by that loser. They've run out of gas money and want to borrow from me —which they'll never be able to pay back. I know my mom. She'll last a couple of weeks living somewhere else, decide she's not in love, and I'll end up having to figure out a way to bring them back to Montana. Keith is a moocher, and I don't know what kind of trouble he can get my family in before mom uses her brain and leaves him."
He didn't like her answer. Raelyn and Dukie deserved a stress-free life. In the last six years, they'd all gone through more than their fair share of shit.
Chapter Two
The television blared from the living room of Raelyn's apartment. She stumbled over a pair of Dukie's shoes in the kitchen. Catching herself on the chair, she grabbed her son's backpack off the table.
"Turn the television off," she shouted. "Allison will be here in five minutes to take you to day camp. You don't want to be late. It's soccer day."
The only way she could get anything done during the summer was to take advantage of the community kids camp put on through donations from the citizens of Haugan. Dukie loved the activities, and she enjoyed staying ahead at managing the bar for Ronacks Motorcycle Club. One small bump —a cold, a club meeting, a hiccup in one of the orders — and it took her forever to catch back up.
She picked up the shoes. "Dukie, are you listening? It's time to go."
Her kid and his cartoons. She exhaled and walked to the living room. Through her impatience, she counted herself lucky. The television was the one thing that kept Dukie entertained why she showered and dressed.
"Come on, son." She rounded the couch and stopped.
The floor in front of the television was bare. Her heart raced, and she dropped the backpack and shoes. She should've checked on him immediately after her shower.
"Dukie!" She hurried to his bedroom and found it empty. "Where are you?"
Searching the rest of the apartment, she ran to the front door to go check downstairs and almost collided with Mel, holding Dukie's hand.
Relief swept through her and then anger filled her. She pointed her finger at her son. "You blew it, son. No tv tomorrow morning."
