Wild

by Laramie Briscoe

  Using my wipers, I clear off enough of the windshield so that I can see, put the vehicle in gear, and head toward downtown Bowling Green.

  Pulling up to Harper’s bakery, I see Dad’s truck parked outside next to the curb. This part of downtown is pretty quiet this early in the morning. Most everyone hasn’t begun to descend yet, but I do make notice of Charity’s SUV as she honks when she sees me get out of mine. I wave to her as she turns the roundabout to get to her office. Digging my hands in my hoodie, I burrow my head down against the cold wind.

  Walking up to the glass door, I knock, waving and giving my dad a smile. Even at his age, he’s an imposing man. Many of the girls I went to school with always wanted to know what it was like to have him as father. They always talked about how lucky my mom is, but I know we’re all lucky. He’s the best person I’ve ever met.

  He pushes off the counter where he’d been talking to Harper, coming to open the door for me. I’d like to be emo and tell you that I don’t care my dad’s taken time out of his day to invite me to breakfast, but I’m not. This means the world to me, even when my world is so muddled. Time with him is precious and well-spent. If I didn’t have him in my life, I don’t know what I would do.

  “Addie,” he greets me, a huge smile on his face, his arms held out wide, motioning me into them. Doesn’t matter how old I get, I’ll always find refuge where he is.

  I sink into them, wrapping my arms around his waist, snuggling in the way I’ve done since I was a kid. “Hey, Dad.”

  His heart beats strongly where I rest my ear, and the sound gives me confirmation that I’m where I should be. This man, who raised me when he didn’t have to, he chose to, is flesh and bone, he’s the real deal.

  “If you two wanna take a seat, I’ll grab your biscuits,” Harper tells us from where she stands behind the counter.

  “You’re not eating today?” I question, surprised she’s not joining us. Typically she has a seat and shoots the shit with anyone who comes to eat with her.

  “Not today, I’m going upstairs to help Jess with a scene in her new book, before I open to the public. She’s got a lady working in a bakery.” She rolls her eyes. “I read it last night, and that shit was so unbelievable.” She shakes her head. “I can’t let her publish it. So today, the place is all yours.”

  She brings out two plates and a pot of coffee before she goes out the door, locking it on her way.

  “You need a coffee cup?” I ask Dad as I get up and go behind the counter. “Or some mustard for your biscuit?”

  “Mustard would be nice, but I have my own cup.” He reaches into the bag he’s taken to carrying with him. He calls it a messenger bag with any of the essentials he might need it. Since he doesn’t ride his bike as much anymore, and doesn’t have the space of his saddle bags, he’s made do with what I like to call his purse, but real talk? I’m the only one allowed to call it that. And maybe Mom, too.

  I grab the mustard, along with a cup, walking back to our table. “Oh Jesus Christ.” I roll my eyes when I get a good look at what sits in front of him. “You brought your mug?” I reference the skull mug that’s the stuff legends are made of.

  “Never leave home without it. It’s my favorite.” He pours his coffee and puts some mustard on his sausage biscuit before he takes a big bite.

  “You’re ridiculous,” I laugh as I add sugar along with half and half. I can’t take it black, the way he does. Stirring it, I watch as he chews thoughtfully, before focusing on me.

  “I’m a badass.”

  My mouth waters as I take a bite of my own biscuit. Fucking finally. “You’re a big ball of mush,” I argue.

  “I fuck shit up,” he argues back.

  “Only sometimes,” I point out. “For the people you love, you’re their rock.”

  He takes another bite, looking at me with the piercing stare he’s perfected over the years. I shift uncomfortably under his scrutiny, unsure of what he’s seeing in me. He swallows, lifting his cup up, taking a drink, and that’s when I know I’m about to get hit with some Tyler Blackfoot realness. I can feel it.

  “Which makes me wonder, Addie, why in the hell you can’t tell me what the fuck is going on in that swirling mind of yours.”

  There it is.

  “Who says something’s going on?” I say as I feel the heaviness of the food I’ve just eaten in my stomach.

  He gives me a bored look. “You’re my kid. I know when shit ain’t right. You’re so much like me it’s fuckin’ scary, sweetheart.”

  And that right there is what has me all fucked up. I’m really not his kid, but I know if I say those words out loud, I’ll break my dad’s heart and mine too, because I’ve never said those words any louder than the whispers in my head.

  “I’m just dealing with some stuff, I promise.” I do my best to give him a smile and take another bite of my breakfast. He went to all this trouble to get me here, the least I can do is give him a good morning.

  “If you need help with that stuff, you know I’m here. No matter the time, no matter what I have going on, I’m here. I love you.”

  “I know, love you too.” I reach over, giving him a one-armed hug. “So what’s new at the house?” It’s still weird not living at home, but living with Tatum is so much better. I enjoy the freedom we’ve had since we graduated, and I’m not sure I could ever go back.

  The thing about my dad is he doesn’t pry, he tells you what he needs to and then moves on. Which he does in a big way as he lays down a seriously juicy bit of gossip.

  “Your brother is grounded.”

  I groan. “What else is new? Caelin will remain grounded until he moves out.”

  “Oh, he’s gonna be grounded a while, and what else is new is that you’re gonna see him around CRISIS. Your Mom is making him volunteer. She’s calling them community service hours.”

  “Shit,” I giggle. “What did he do?”

  Dad gives me a mischievous grin. “She came home early the other day…”

  “Oh no,” I laugh harder.

  “He was bare-assed fucking a woman on the couch, and when I say woman, I mean she was twenty, Addie. What are we going to do with him?”

  I’m laughing so hard I’m crying now. “Did this woman know how old Caelin really is?”

  Shaking his head, he chuckles along with me. “She had no idea he’s sixteen. She begged your mom not to turn her over to police, she didn’t want to be arrested for statutory. Needless to say your mom is not only horrified, but she’s pissed.”

  “There’s only one thing worse than getting on your bad side.” I look at my Dad, we grin and answer together.

  “Getting on Mom’s shit list.”

  As I take another bite of my food and another drink of my coffee, I realize I haven’t felt this good in a while, and maybe, just maybe, things are going to okay. I’ll work through this and forget this chapter in my life ever existed.

  Maybe…

  Four

  Wild

  “Shut the fuck up,” I groan.

  My hand hits my phone harder than necessary, where it lays in bed next to me. There’s no bedside table for it to go on, no dresser for it to sit atop. Nope, the only place for it is right next to my goddamn head on this twin mattress that kills my back.

  There’s a nagging at the nape of my neck that tells me I should be thankful. Skunk rents this apartment from the guys who fixed my bike, and while it is a roof over my head. This is the tiniest apartment I’ve ever been in, in my life. Not to mention the stairs up to this thing are a fuckin’ hazard. If either one of us ever come up or down them drunk, we’re breaking our necks. I roll over on to my back, taking a deep breath.

  “Goddamn, man,” I sigh as I get up, opening the door to the room that leads out onto a postage-stamp deck. There’s barely enough room for me to stand out there, but at least I can get some fresh air, instead of the pot I’ve been inhaling consistently since I started staying here. It’s cold as hell, but the jolt to my system does wonders in
waking me up.

  I’ve gotta make a plan, and I’ve gotta make it fast. Do I stay in Bowling Green, or get the fuck out? I’m looking for a sign of some sort. As I watch the road leading to the apartment, I see a SUV come to stop in front of it, before turning in, and someone I’ve been thinking about since last night steps out of the driver’s seat.

  “Shortcake!” I yell from where I stand.

  She glances up, shielding her eyes from the sun, before giving me a frown. “You might wanna put some clothes on, you’re giving the entire neighborhood a free show.”

  I look down, having forgotten that last night, I slept in the nude. All I’d been worried about when I stepped out was breathing fresh air and getting away from the musty smell. “Enjoying the view?”

  “Hardly.” She drops her gaze, before heading to the stairs that lead up to the apartment.

  Within minutes, I hear Skunk opening the door and voices in the front room. I don’t bother with a shirt, but I do put on a pair of boxers and sweatpants. Running a hand through my unruly hair, I open the door to the room I’m staying in, giving her a wave.

  “They need the rent, Skunk,” she’s telling him, holding her hand out.

  “Addie, we have a deal. I keep quiet about you coming into Mayhem, and you take care of a portion.”

  “A portion, not the whole damn thing. You still owe two hundred.”

  Skunk sighs, looking at me. “What’d we agree to?”

  “You told me I could stay here for seventy-five, and I gave it to you yesterday,” I remind him. One of the things I’m learning about him is that he can’t remember shit.

  “Alright, let me go get it.”

  He turns, dragging ass to his room. Skunk doesn’t get in a hurry for anything. I’m of the opinion that he’s smoked so much weed he’s in perpetual slow motion. When he enters his room, shutting the door, it leaves me and Addie alone.

  She pretends like she doesn’t know I’m standing in front of her. She makes a big deal of checking her cell phone. “Are you hitting up Mayhem tonight?” I ask her nonchalantly.

  “What if I am?”

  “That’s your choice if you do or not, I was just trying to make conversation.”

  We’re quiet for a moment. “Rather than ask me questions I don’t wanna answer, maybe you should convince your new roommate to pay his rent on time.”

  “So is this what you do for a living?” I cross my arms over my chest as I lean back against the wall and cross my legs at the ankle.

  Her dark eyes make a trip up and down my body, and if I’m not mistaken I see a flare of interest.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Scratching my fingers over the beard I’ve got growing in, I nod. “Actually yeah, I would. Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked. I don’t talk just to hear the sound of my own damn voice.”

  She lets out a long breath, and I have a feeling she’s going to leave. Before she answers my question, before she gets the money from Skunk, before I’m through looking my fill of her. Instead, she surprises the fuck outta me.

  Addie

  “I usually only do work for CRISIS, which is a center for women in trouble and their children, that my mom started years ago. But right now my brother is on her shit list and she’s got him doing most everything I do.” I shrug, a small smile threatening the edges of my lips. “It’s kinda funny actually, he rarely gets caught doing the really shitty stuff, but this time he got caught in a big way. I’m bored, and I need money to live, so I asked my dad if they needed any help doing anything. They bought some real estate a few years ago and started renting it out. So here I am, collecting money on people they know won’t be dangerous. A hard time maybe.” I lift my eyebrow to where Skunk is still behind closed doors. “But everyone I visit today isn’t going to physically hurt me. They’ll have to deal with my dad and his brothers if they do.”

  “So he really is part of a MC?” He asks, looking me up and down.

  My body heats in the wake of his gaze, and I can’t help but watch him too. He’s a snack standing across from me, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He’s not overly muscular but he obviously does work out and thank God for sweatpants. Very clearly I can see what he’s packing, and just like earlier, I’m not disappointed, even if I wanted him to think I didn’t care.

  “He is, he’s the VP,” I answer, running a hand through my hair. “C’mon Skunk, I don’t have all day. I have homework I need to do and I have a few other places I need to go.”

  “Plus you’ve got to get ready for Mayhem tonight,” the man staring at me interrupts.

  “For someone who’s name I don’t even know, you make a lot of assumptions.”

  “Well you have seen my junk, so you’re making out better than any other woman in this town, so far.”

  I can’t help it, I laugh. “Am I supposed to feel privileged? I don’t even know why you’re here.”

  “Most women who see my cock are.” He lifts a shoulder.

  Truth be told, it’d been a good size, even though it’s freezing outside. “Maybe I’m not most women.”

  “That you’re most definitely not.” He pushes off the wall, coming to stand in front of me.

  Today I’m not wearing the boots I normally wear to the bar. I’m in a pair of tennis shoes, which give me no extra height. He towers over me. My forehead doesn’t even make it to his collarbone. Stepping back from him being so far up in my personal space, I tilt my head so I can see him. “You still haven’t answered why you’re here, or what your name is.”

  “Will that make a difference?”

  His tone challenges me, and interestingly enough I kind of like it. “Maybe tell me and see if it does.”

  He chuckles on a sigh. “My bike broke down right outside exit twenty-eight. Somehow Jagger and Layne knew I needed help. They showed up like some sort of mirage on a hot day.”

  “It’s because they keep watch of that exit,” I smile. “That’s the clubhouse exit and they make sure they know everyone who gets off and on that exit. If you’re riding a bike, they take particular notice of you. Chances are they saw you having issues and came to make sure you weren’t going to cause trouble.”

  That’s just the kind of guys the men of the Heaven Hill MC are, they make sure everyone they love is taken care of and the city they occupy is always safe. There have been times in the past where things have happened to scare us all, but I’ve always known my dad and the rest of the guys will make sure I’m okay if anything bad ever goes down.

  “Either way, they got my bike up and running again, but I didn’t have enough money to pay for the repairs, so they’re letting me pay in installments. Which is why I have this job at the bar and I’m sharing this tiny apartment with Skunk.” He seems to notice that Skunk still hasn’t come out of his room. “C’mon man, she’s got shit to do!”

  I love the authority he puts in his voice, it definitely makes me want to listen. “You’re here for a while anyway?”

  “I’ve got a three-thousand-dollar bill with Walker’s Wheels.” He nods. “Pretty set for a while.”

  Skunk comes out, a joint in his mouth, handing me a bunch of wadded up money. “Sorry it was in my hiding spot.”

  There is zero chance I ever truly want to know what the fuck his hiding spot is. I’m just happy he had it and I don’t have to go back and tell my Dad he doesn’t. “That’s okay.” I straighten out the bills, hoping like hell I don’t get pulled over because damn these things stink to high heaven.

  “You’ll be back in three weeks, right? I know I’m a little late.”

  “Right,” I answer him. “Will your friend still be here?” I point to the gorgeous guy who still hasn’t told me his name.

  “Unless he finds someplace better. Anyway, I gotta go make a drop. Catch you two on the flipside.”

  I watch as Skunk grabs a bag and heads out the door, shaking my head. “If he ever gets, caught, pot consumption in the Bowling Green/Warren County area will be the lowest it’s ever b
een, and I do believe one day he’ll get caught.”

  “Hell I’m lucky I don’t get caught, the way I smell after being in this place all day.” He leans back against the wall again.

  “You never told me your name,” I remind him.

  “Does it matter so much to you?”

  “Yeah, I’d like to know what to call you,” I say it like it’s a given, when in reality I like to know any information anyone’s hiding from me. I don’t do well with secrets from others, even if I keep a ton of my own.

  “So you’ll know what to scream later?” The raised eyebrow is enough to make me want to throw this money back at him.

  “Whatever.” I turn on my heel, heading for the door.

  When I feel his hand catch my arm, there’s a jolt of electricity I’m unprepared for. He feels it too, I know it by the way he drops my arm like it’s a fucking hot potato.

  “Wilder, my name is Wilder, but most everybody calls me Wild.”

  “Wild,” I try the name out on my tongue, focus on forming it, and letting it flow. Glancing at his unruly mop of hair, at the eyes that are so dark they almost look unfocused, and the bottom lip he keeps pulling between his teeth. “Suits you. See ya around, Wild.”

  And that’s when I have to get the hell out of there before I do something real fuckin’ stupid. Ya know, like admit how hot he is, or ask him to let me have his babies. Hot men make ya stupid, or so my Aunt B says, and for the first time, I think maybe she’s right.

  Five

  Wild

  Mayhem is hopping again tonight. The music is loud, and the drinks are flowing, but there’s also something else. An undercurrent of excitement, or maybe tension? Whatever it is, I can’t put my finger on it, but it has me paying attention more than I normally do.

  “You feel it?” Skunk asks, he walks over to stand beside me as we both wipe glasses down.