“Thought you boys could use a healthy meal before I head in,” Melissa deposits some eggs, bacon, and toast on the table between Dad and me. She’s a general surgeon on staff there and has helped out our club on many occasions.
“Thanks, Melissa,” I voice as she comes out with a large pot of coffee.
“Y’all try to stay out of trouble,” she tells us bending down to kiss Dad. “Come by on Saturday for a meal with Allison and Annie.” She directs her words towards me. She’s taken on being a good mother-figure to Allison since her family abandoned her.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say.
She was married before, but her husband was killed in a car accident years ago. She relocated to Texas after leaving Portland, Oregon saying that it held to many memories for her to stay there. Her and Dad were married a year before his ambush that put him in a wheelchair. She hasn’t left his side, even though he tried pushing her away and demanding a divorce right after learning he would never walk again. She stuck by him through his stubbornness. They are truly happy together. She gave him back the light in his eyes after Mom was killed. She’s a great woman and is so good with Rocky. He calls her Momma, and she treats him like she’s been with him since birth. They have a special bond. I think that is why I know Raegan will fit here perfectly with us.
“What’s the personal thing you wanted to talk about?” Dad asks after Melissa leaves for her shift.
“I met someone…” I say trying to put into words how I feel about Raegan.
“Really?”
“Yeah, she’s not from our world though.” Although her hacking into top secret companies and countries along with her hobby for illegal street racing is right up there with outlawing.
“So, what does that have to do with the price of beans? You can’t help who you fall for.” I think about what he’s saying and know that this is a totally different type of life than what Raegan is used to. We’re criminals who choose to break the law on a daily basis.
“But what if she can’t take our lifestyle? She doesn’t know that I’ve killed people before or done time. What if she gets in too deep and then decides this isn’t for her?”
“That’s a lot of ‘what ifs’, son. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, hell, we might all die in our sleep tonight, then what? Don’t have any regrets in life. We live each day like it might be our last.”
I try not to but can’t help what I say next.
“I’m scared that she will end up like Mom, caught in the crosshairs of club wars.” I hang my head in my hands but then feel a strong hand on my shoulder.
“What happened to Anna was my fault. I was stupid and let my pride get in the way. I thought nothing could touch me and that left my family at risk. If I’d just listen to Gunner then she would’ve never been killed, Stone. That’s on me, and I have to live with that the rest of my life. You have a better head on your shoulders and do things differently than I did. That makes you a better president than me. You’re focused and are aware of your enemies and not afraid to examine things at every angle before striking.”
Dad has never been one to pat someone on the back. He was always hard on me and my brother, Blaze, growing up, but ever since he met Melissa and having his first grandkid, Annie, he’s started to show a softer side to him.
“I still wonder if she’d be better off with a guy who works nine to five. She was seeing a doctor.” The image of her and fucking Hastings makes me grind my teeth together.
“Oh, horseshit!” Dad exclaims then lights another smoke. “Did I ever tell you that I stole your mother away from another man?”
“What?”
He laughs and his eyes glaze over as he stares out at the backyard.
“Yeah, she was engaged to be married to a guy when I found her on the side of the road. He was going to be a preacher, and after they married, they were going to do mission work in some small country in Africa. They were getting married two months from the time I met her, but I knew from the moment I saw her that she was it for me. It was like my body lit up when I was around her. She tried to deny it at first, but I knew she felt the same. Once I had her on my bike that was it. We didn’t look back.”
“I never knew that.” I don’t mention how Raegan sets me on fire when she’s around. No woman has made me feel like this.
“We bumped into her old fiancé about a year before she was killed. As we walked away she expressed that she was so glad she’d found me that day. She couldn’t picture her life as anything other being my Ol’ Lady and was proud of it.”
I’m completely shocked that Mom was engaged before she met Dad and never said anything. I wonder if Blaze knows about this.
“Listen, it’s not like you’re marrying her tomorrow. Bring her by for dinner one night and let her meet the family. Let her meet the you that’s not president of Dead Road MC.”
I let out a breath of air. “She used to be with Havoc. They were together for a year and then broke it off.”
“Is this before or after that Debbie cunt?” Dad knows all about what happened with Havoc and Debbie. He was Havoc’s mentor and who sponsored him to prospect into the MC.
“Before. Raegan doesn’t think it’s a big deal that we’re seeing each other, but Havoc is my brother even if it was six years ago.”
“Holy fuck, Kane. Raegan! Boy, you sure do know how to pick them, don’t you?” I shrug my shoulders. “Geez, I remember everything about that girl, what was she, sixteen when they had a falling out?” He sits back in his chair contemplating something.
“Yeah, she’s finally back in town but doesn’t want anything but a friendship with Havoc.”
