by Jessie Cooke
Caitlin chuckled, and then she winced. It was easy to tell that she was in pain when she said, “She can talk about it all she wants. I’m an adult, and you all need to remember that.”
Joy curled her lip and said, “Good luck then,” like she didn’t mean it. Then, she stormed out. Caitlin looked at the officer then, and Dorothy and with a confused look she said:
“Who are you?”
Finn looked at Dorothy and said, “Her name is Dorothy. She’s my friend.” Dorothy smiled. She went over and squeezed Finn’s hand and then she stepped up to the side of Caitlin’s bed, leaned down, and whispered something in her ear that made Caitlin smile. When the older woman stood up, Caitlin reached up, her face showing signs of pain again, and she placed her hand on Dorothy’s face.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, dear. Get better, okay?”
“I will.”
Dorothy turned to Finn then and stood on her toes, pulling his face down to her with her papery hands, and kissed him on the cheek. “You take care of her...and you.”
“I will, Dorothy. Thank you for everything.”
“Oh, no! This was going to be the worst day of my life, and for just a little while, you took my mind off losing my sweet Barney, and I had fun! I think you for that.” She winked at him, and then at the cop, and made her exit. Finn hadn’t gotten along with his grandparents; he knew now that a lot of that responsibility was his. He wished that he had a grandma like Dorothy, though--she was quite a character. He looked back at Caitlin, who was still waiting for the cop to tell her what he was doing there. He seemed a little gun-shy after hearing Caitlin go off on her cousin, so Finn said:
“He was assigned to keep...anyone but family out of your room.” He grinned then and said, “Apparently, strange men in hospital gowns kept trying to break in. I guess word got out that you were here and the guards had to beat the boys off with sticks.”
She rolled her eyes but giggled. Then she looked at the cop and said, “You’re excused now. Relieved of duty, or whatever.”
“I’d have to call my desk sergeant...”
“Can you do it outside, please? I’d like some time alone with my friend.” The cop looked at Finn and sighed. Shaking his head, he turned and left. Caitlin smiled at Finn again and said, “Thank you.”
He pulled his brows together. “Thank me? For what, love?”
“Being the push I needed to grow up. I’m not sure what will or will not happen with you and me when I get out of here, but I do know that today was the first time I really felt strong enough to stand up to them. I love Joy, and my mom and my uncle, and I appreciate that they’ve been worried to death over me. But once and for all they need to figure out that I’m not five years old any longer. They can’t control my life.”
“So what did I do that gave you that push?” he asked, taking her hand.
“You made me want you badly enough that I wasn’t about to accept the answer no from anyone but you.”
“Well then, you won’t have to accept it at all.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. She smiled again and closed her tired eyes.
23
Finn sat in the office. Dax was on one side of him and Jace sat behind the desk. He was nervous. He’d tried to ask Jace what the meeting was about, but he wouldn’t tell him anything other than he would find out soon; they were just waiting for one other person. Finn was also anxious because he’d left Caitlin alone with her mother. She’d asked him not to do that, if he could help it. Her mother was...a piece of work. That was the only way Finn could think of to describe her. He wondered what Caitlin’s father had done to her because she didn’t seem to distrust just Finn, but men in general. Caitlin said her brother was the buffer between them, usually, but he hadn’t been able to make it out from New York yet.
Caitlin’s mother had an even worse fit about Caitlin and Finn than Joy’d had. Caitlin listened to her calmly, and then told her almost exactly what she’d told Joy. Finn could tell that Caitlin was trying to be gentler with her mother, but firm, at the same time. That day had ended with the older woman running out of the room in tears, telling her daughter she was never coming back. She’d been back the next morning and to Finn’s surprise, they’d had the exact same argument. Caitlin was supposed to be discharged soon, and her mother didn’t seem to believe that she wasn’t going to change her mind and go home.
This was the first time in three days since he’d been discharged from the hospital that he was at the club. He had originally been on his way to see his old man when Jace called. He was worried about him. He’d gotten a strange text from him, telling him that he might have to go to Dublin to take care of some business, but not to worry. Granite didn’t go out much, so Finn didn’t think much of his not coming to see him in the hospital, but Finn had been trying to reach him for two days since he got the message, and his old man wasn’t picking up the phone. He was sure it had to have something to do with O’Reilly and all of this shit that had happened, but because he’d been at the hospital so much, he’d been out of the loop. He called Bubba every day to ask about the status of Punk and O’Hare, but still, they’d found no signs of them. His heart ached over Punk. He was a really quiet, private guy, so Finn didn’t know him all that well, but what he did know, he liked. He also knew he was a really good friend of Beck’s and Finn felt terrible for her too. He didn’t know if Punk had family or not, but he was sure if he did, they were worried sick. He wondered if that was what this meeting was about...right up until Granite walked in.
“Hey!” Finn said, standing up when he saw his old man. Granite looked bad. He was extra pale and looked like maybe he’d lost ten pounds just in the few days since Finn had seen him. “Dad? What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”
“How are you?” Granite asked his son.
“I’m fine. I’m good...what’s going on?” He could tell by Granite’s affect alone that something was up. When Granite didn’t answer, he looked at Jace.
“Sit,” Jace said to them both. Finn gave his old man his seat and he took one up against the wall. Even more worried now, he waited. Jace looked at Granite and said, “You want to tell him what’s up, or should I?”
“I’ll do it,” Granite said. He looked at Finn and said, “This whole thing with O’Reilly, it was my fault.” He started by telling Finn about Rowdy’s calling him and forcing him to agree to meet with Colin and find a way to launder the money through the few businesses that the club had recently acquired. Finn wondered what Rowdy could possibly have on Granite that he could “force” him to do that, or how it involved O’Reilly, but he sat quietly and listened. By the time his old man finished talking, Finn felt like he was in shock. When he didn’t speak for a long time Dax was the one that asked:
“Are you okay, Finn? You need me to have one of the guys get you a drink?”
He shook his head, not so much to say no as to clear it. What the hell did he just hear? If he processed it right, what his father was telling him was that his whole life had basically been a lie. He started to talk, had to stop and clear his throat, and started again. “You had an affair, with Aiden’s old lady, and then gave me to a tweaker, so Aiden didn’t find out you’d gotten her pregnant?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, son. Aiden would have killed us.”
“Oh, well then...you had to do it.” Finn stood up.
“Please don’t hate me. I’m so sorry, for everything.”
“You’re sorry, well...I guess that fixes it. It’s like I grew up all over again without thinking my mother was some street whore that my grandfather paid to go away, or that my father didn’t come around because he couldn’t stand the sight of me. At least now I know why.” Finn laughed. “I thought you were gay. I was totally okay with that. But now I find out you were not only a cheater, but you were willing to give up your own flesh and blood to cover up that fact. So in summary, you’re not gay. You have no fucking balls at all.”
“Ian...”
“Stop
it!” Finn snapped. “Don’t call me that! Ian was nobody. He was a kid that nobody wanted and a drug addict everyone hated. That’s not me...not anymore, not thanks to you. And please don’t even get me started on the fact that Caitlin was shot and Punk is missing...all your fucking fault. I was so proud of the relationship you and I have now. I was proud of myself for forgiving you, and I was even hating on myself for blaming you for my problems all those years. Now I find out this. So what are you going to Dublin for, Dad...to confess to Aiden and claim your woman?”
“No. Aiden knows already. Rowdy has already gone missing. I haven’t been able to get in touch with your...”
“Don’t you dare call her my mother.”
“I haven’t been able to get in touch with Eileen. She was always terrified of Aiden.”
“Did he beat her, or what?”
Granite sighed. “No. As far as I know he never laid a hand on her, back then anyway. But...” He looked at Dax, like he was looking for help. Dax’s blue eyes clearly told him that he wasn’t going to find any there. “Can I start from the beginning?”
“Sure,” Finn said, sarcastically, “Tell us how you fucked up so badly that it’s even touching lives twenty-six years later.”
Granite nervously cleared his throat. He was sweating. Finn didn’t care at that point. He’d spent most of his life angry with this man, but nothing, compared to what he was feeling at that moment. “My family had a home in London, as you know. We spent a lot of time there when I was growing up and after I graduated college I went there, to just take a vacation before I started working. By that time, your aunt had already married and moved to Dublin. I went to visit her first. It was only supposed to be for a week and then the rest of my holiday would be in London, and then I’d go back to the States and take a job in the accounting firm in Los Angeles where I did my internship. I thought I had it all mapped out and wrapped up.
“But while I was in a pub in Dublin, I met Rowdy. Rowdy is one of those guys who can make anyone like him. We had a great conversation. He shared with me about being in an MC and I told him about just graduating with an MBA in accounting. By the end of the night, he was asking me if I might be willing to come by the club and meet his president. He said they were having some difficulties with their finances and maybe I could answer a few questions for Aiden. I was pretty naive at the time. I didn’t see what it could hurt. So I went, and I’d never seen anything like that club. It was the middle of the day and still, it was like a big party. Rowdy took me to Aiden’s office and it was clear he wasn’t expecting us. He had some little naked club girl on her knees and they were just finishing when we walked in. I was shocked, to say the least...but never more so than when in the midst of that first conversation, a beautiful young woman walked in and Aiden introduced her as his wife.
“Anyway, moving on...my conversation with Aiden led to me telling him I’d take a look at his books. They were a mess, so that led to me trying to help them out, just out of boredom, and like I said, fascination with their lifestyle. That fascination only grew when Aiden decided I was his new project. He wanted to teach me to ride and I wanted to learn. Then the next thing I knew, he was talking me into staying in Dublin longer than I’d planned...and he presented me with a new Harley for my services. I was working, partying, learning...my life went from a rich college kid headed for a life in the corporate world to a guy with cool friends, partying and fucking beautiful women, almost overnight. I was hooked...addicted.” He paused on “addicted” like maybe he thought Finn should understand that, if nothing else.
“Unfortunately, the other thing I became hooked on was Eileen. Of course I tried to pretend that wasn’t the case. I had already figured out that no matter how ‘fun’ Aiden seemed, he was a dangerous, lethal man if he was crossed. By that time, I’d seen some things with my own eyes that convinced me, even if I didn’t believe what I heard. Eileen started coming in to the office when I was working, bringing me lunch or whatever. At first it was completely innocent. She started sitting down sometimes and talking to me...and I guess I don’t have to tell you the rest. The first time things happened, we both promised each other it would never happen again. We always knew, right from the start, that we couldn’t ever be together the way we would like to be. But by that time I was willing to take whatever moments we could steal...and then she got pregnant.” He swallowed hard.
“With me?”
Granite nodded. “She was scared to death. She kept saying Aiden was going to kill her, and me and the baby. At first I told her I would go to Aiden and tell him and let him take his wrath out on me. She got hysterical over that, begging me not to. That was when she suggested we go to Rowdy for help. He was her brother and, by that time, my friend. We both trusted him, and that was the huge mistake. He came up with this plan for Eileen to go to the States under the guise of taking care of their father who lived in Iowa. Aiden probably would have never let her go, if not for Rowdy escorting her home and coming back and assuring him that it was just her and the old man and his female nurse at the house. Aiden called her every day, multiple times a day. Meanwhile she lived in fear that he was going to come out and see her. Rowdy helped with that as well. Every time it looked like Aiden might have time to take off and fly out, Rowdy would create some kind of chaos and Aiden would have to stay.
“Meanwhile, I implemented my part of the plan by going to your grandpa--” A hard look from Finn made him say, “...my parents, and telling them that I’d gotten a girl pregnant. They suggested an abortion and when I told them it was too late for that, but that she wasn’t in any condition to raise a baby, Mom came up with the idea for them to permanently move to London and do it. When you were born, Rowdy went back to the States and brought Eileen and you back. I met them at the airport...and I took you to Rowdy’s tweaker girlfriend, Melissa. She and I took you, together, to my parents. They gave her money that day...and from what Dad told me, many times throughout the years until you were about ten years old. She disappeared then; my guess is she overdosed or something. But she was never your mother, Finn.”
Finn snorted. “Even if we had been blood-related, trust me, I know that I grew up without a mother...and a father,” he said, narrowing his eyes on Granite’s face. “You could have raised me. You had the funds. You could have even lived with Grandma and Grandpa if you had to, until I was older. But you chose to abandon me instead. You’re a coward all around, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Granite said, softly. “I suppose I am.” He stood up and said, “My plane leaves in three hours. Aiden wants a face-to-face with me. This is the only way any of this is ever going to end. I doubt that I’ll be back.” He looked at Jace and said, “I took care of the money transfer this morning.” Finn didn’t know what money transfer he was talking about, but Granite looked at Finn then and said, “I only took what I’ll need to travel. The rest of the money I have left was in an offshore account. I transferred that money to Jace. He will make sure you get it...”
“I don’t want your money.”
He nodded, put his hands in his pockets and his head down and said, “I understand. Maybe the club can use it. I’m sorry, Finn.” Finn didn’t say anything. Jace, Dax, and Finn all three let Granite leave without another word. When Finn knew he was gone, he looked at Jace and then Dax and said:
“Do you think Aiden will kill him?”
Jace was a tough nut, but Dax Marshall could make a person believe he had pure ice running through his veins when he wanted to and at that moment he looked at Finn, and in a voice as cold as ice he said, “Not my problem.”
Finn was pissed at his old man, but his conscience was still eating at him. He almost wished he could be as cold as Dax. He nodded at Dax and looked at Jace. “Should I go with him?”
Jace shook his head. “This was his mistake, Finn. I believe you paid for yours, now it’s his turn. There’s nothing we can do at this point.”
Finn stood up and started to leave, then he turned back to Dax and Jace and said, �
��I’m sorry, for all of this. I hope you both know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done and are doing for me.” Neither of them spoke again so Finn walked toward the door. When he reached for the knob Dax said:
“Finn.” He stopped and turned to face his national president, one of the few men in the world who intimidated him on sight. “This club, from Boston to California to Phoenix, is built on the backs of men with checkered pasts. If I can send you away today with one thing that will help you get through the rest of your life and be a productive member of this club...it’s just simply this: screw up, own up. Take responsibility for your actions. Don’t let shit sit and simmer, because it’s always going to come out in the end.”
“Thank you,” Finn said. “I’ll remember that.” He turned to Jace and said, “As far as that money goes, maybe Boots can find a way to invest it for the club.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Jace said. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. Thanks.” Finn felt sick and he needed some time alone to process everything before he went to pick Caitlin up at the hospital. He didn’t want the cancer that was his past to infect any part of her life ever again. She’d already been through too much because of him, and his past. From here on out he had to concentrate on the future, hopefully, a long future with the club, with Caitlin at his side.
Finn didn’t make it out of the shop. As he was leaving, he saw the unmarked police cars and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s cars, two of them, driving up outside. Streak was already at the door, watching and waiting. “I’m going to let Jace and Dax know,” he told Streak, who just nodded. Finn went back inside and quickly to the office. Jace looked surprised to see him again so soon; he and Dax were in the middle of a conversation about something else. “I’m sorry to interrupt. The sheriff is here, and I think, that detective too.”
