“Why the fuck would she have a room here?” I asked.
“Thought the girls got housing,” he replied, and fury lanced through me. I remembered his assumption that Fee was a club girl when he first saw her, but I didn’t realize he actually believed it.
“Listen, fucker. Fiona is my girlfriend. I met her through my sister. Her only association with the club is through my family. There’s a lot more I want to fucking say about your idea that she’s a club girl, but you don’t deserve to know a fucking thing about her. I’m warning you, though, you treat Fee with anything other than the respect every Old Lady deserves, and we’re gonna have problems. I don’t care how much work you’ve done on theSeph’s Trail. I’ll make sure you never leave South Carolina again. Now fuck off.”
After that, Atlas didn’t try to ask me any further questions. I made sure to give Fee a heads up that he would be in town soon, but she shrugged me off with a cryptic comment.
“Jackson is gonna do what he wants to do. There’s no stopping him when he thinks he’s on a mission. Let him come try to save me. It might be time we talked anyway.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, and didn’t want Atlas anywhere near Fiona, period. I knew Fee was capable of taking care of herself, but she didn’t need any more strife, didn’t need Atlas’s venom spewed at her. I didn’t trust him not to hurt her, not with the opinions he had revealed so far. With that said, I had already learned my lesson, and had to trust Fee’s judgment. As much as I wanted to interfere, I knew Fiona could handle herself. The best thing I could do was hope that she would let me know if she needed my help.
On a positive note, Fiona convinced me to tell my family about my property. Finally sharing that with my family and friends was another weight lifted I hadn’t realized I was carrying. The Brothers all offered to help, and the guys at the garage were more than okay with the idea of me taking on the custom jobs since the business was already overbooked.
One morning a few weeks before, Fiona and I had been asleep at the farmhouse. Around 5 a.m., my phone went off. I remembered grabbing it and heading out of the bedroom so as not to wake a sleeping Fee. Seeing it was my dad, I answered as soon as I was far enough away from the bedroom.
“Dad. You okay?” I asked, instantly on alert.
“Why do you always answer like that? Do I got to be dying for you to pick up your phone?” he barked back, and I sighed, making my way toward the kitchen.
“Alright, you have my attention. What’s up, old man?” I asked as I started the coffee machine.
“I’m on my way over to see that property of yours. I’ll be there in ten minutes, so get decent and make me a cup of coffee.” He hung up, and I looked at my phone, confused. Leaving the coffee to brew, I put a tee and pants on before grabbing my boots. Just as I finished pouring the coffee into two mugs, I heard Dad’s bike.
Cringing, I turned my head upstairs, as if I could somehow hear Fiona waking up. I had worn her out the night before, and was feeling a bit guilty about how greedy I was. Trying to walk quietly, I slipped out the front door to stand on my porch, watching as my dad climbed off his bike.
Rather than walk over to me, he took a minute to look around, eyes taking in the entire property. I walked down to him and waited quietly, knowing my dad was in one of those moods. Guard was typically laid-back and easy-going. He was always the one to crack a joke to break up a somber moment.
It was rare that he spoke to us seriously, but every once in a while, we knew he had something on his mind that he had to get out. I was curious to see what he’d been stewing on. I made my way over to him, silently passing him a mug of coffee as we started to walk around the property as I pointed things out, explaining my vision.
“I’m going to convert the barns into garages for my custom work. The larger one is for cars and trucks. The smaller one is for bikes. Already got most of the rooms in the main house set up, walls and floors stripped. Maybe I’ll get some animals once construction is done and I get the fence line fixed...” I muttered. Stopping near the creek, the rest of the property was laid out behind us. Dad turned to me.
“There a reason you didn’t tell us? Not once did you mention it, not about wanting it or even when you officially purchased it,” he said. I sighed, having known the question was coming.
“Not a good reason, sorry to say. There was something about this place. I just needed to keep it to myself for a little. Figure out if this was a wild goose chase or something real for me. Then, the longer I went without telling you guys, the harder it got.”
“What changed your mind?” he asked.
“Fiona. She made me realize it was okay to have something, do something just for me. That you guys wouldn’t be upset or, I don’t know, think I was selfish or trying to get away from the family.”
“Smart girl. Notice you got her riding on the back of your bike,” he said with no follow-up question, which had me feeling tense.
“Yes. What about it?” I gritted out
“Are you ready for what that means? I’m assuming she doesn’t understand the significance.”
“Yeah, I’m ready. And she doesn’t understand, but she will soon. Gotta make sure I’m good enough, that she knows how important she is, and what it means to make her my Old Lady.”
Dad studied me, his face serious.
“Well, damnit, you just stole my lecture about doing right by that girl. Was sure I was gonna have to smack some sense into you.” Grinning, he shook his head.
“You’re definitely my son, though. I recognize that look in your eyes, and seeing this place now, I get why you told Fiona before us. Wanted to get the wife’s opinion first. Smart man. Make sure you learn now. That little woman is your new boss.”
I barked out a laugh, but couldn’t deny any of his words. Whether I realized it or not, I had been frozen at the prospect of moving forward on the property once the purchase went through. It wasn’t until I took Fee there, showed her around, andheard her ideas that I finally had a vision. Now, the house was being customized to all Fiona’s preferences.
The walk back around the land was more relaxed, Guard’s questions and warnings now entertained. He gave his two cents about what to add and what to get rid of, and soon, we were rounding the front of the main house again.
“I was thinking of giving Charlie my house on the compound,” I told him, gauging his reaction. “You know she’s been itching to get out of the house. My old place is on MC grounds. The guard booth and clubhouse are both close. She would be safe there and have some room to get out from under you and Ma.”
