“Freak, you already said you’re going. You know how important this is to the club.”
I swing around. “I fuckin’ know that.” Shaking my head, there’s no option but to capitulate. Then I think aloud, “I’ll take Ace out of school early, drive him up there, then come straight back. I’ll be here by midnight.”
His tension visibly seeping away, he chuckles softly. “Someone else will have to drive the truck. You’ll be in no fit state after a ten-hour drive.” He thinks for a moment. “I was thinking of assigning Woody to go with you and Tempest anyway.” I raise my chin. Woody’s our road captain, so that fits. “Freak, I’m sorry. But it’s already been agreed that this run is important to us. I need my best officers on it.”
My back straightens. “I can do it,” I tell him. If Ace leaves at lunch break, I can be back in time as long as there’s a fair wind behind me. It’s cutting it tight, I’ll just have to drop him and run. Talking as much to myself as to him, I add, “I can return to Flagstaff after the run on Saturday.” I break off as I notice the way he’s looking at me.
He shakes his head. “I’ll have to move church because you won’t be here on Friday. It makes sense to have it on Saturday. I want you there for it, Freak. This is the first time we’ll have made this run. The brothers will want to unpick the details.”
“Tempest can do that,” I snap.
His eyes narrow at my tone. “I want you there,” he repeats. “I don’t want to have to explain to the brothers that you’re out chasing tail.”
Godfuckingdamnit!My expression must speak a multitude of words.
“Look, Freak, school’s out after next week, isn’t it?” Without waiting for my nod, he continues, “When you go to pick Ace up,why don’t the two of you stay on? It won’t hurt to take him out of his classes for the last few days.” He blinks slowly. “Before Saint, I didn’t consider the club picking up ol’ ladies, but he’s shown it can work. I don’t mean to get in the way of you and your woman, but the club’s got to come first. We can cover you at the strip club, but I won’t stand for you missing church, not unless you’re physically incapacitated, or on club business elsewhere. It doesn’t set a good example.”
Fuck it. My dick will have to wait a couple more days. Toni had said she was heading off on the training course the following weekend. It might work. Even though she’d probably be at the library during the daytime, we’ll have the nights together. Ace and I can explore Flagstaff on our own. Again, I raise my chin. “That would work, Prez. I’ll make some excuse to get Ace out of school. His attendance has been good, and five days is well under the permitted absence. I’ll also be sure to return by Friday so I can be at church.” Just like that, I start looking forward to a few days off.
He raises his chin at my capitulation. “And for what it’s worth, I hope things work out between you and Ace’s aunt.” He chuckles. “Though you’ll get your chain yanked about you keeping it in the family.” I glare at him, but he continues, “She’d settle you, like Pippa’s done Saint. You must have noticed how his rougher edges have been rounded.”
“And that’s a good thing?” I frown. Is he suggesting that by making Toni mine, it would mean I’d grow soft?
But he doesn’t answer, as his phone rings. “Get out of here, Freak. And spread the word about the rescheduled church, will you?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FREAK
Friday
“Thanks, Dad,” Ace is already amped up with excitement as he gets into the truck. “You got me out of math.”
“You like math.”
Glancing sideways, I’m in time to see him rolling his eyes at me. “It’s boring. The other kids don’t get it, so Mr. Hartnoll is always going back over to explain everything.”
While my son gets it the first time. It’s how his brain works – numbers, equations, algorithms, he understands it. History? Geography? Those subjects barely go in.
Changing the topic, I ask, “You sure you’re going to be okay staying on your own with Toni?”
He rolls his eyes. “You bet. She’s cool. She texted me a list of places we could go. I’d like to go back to the observatory again. Do you think she’d take me?”
I suspect his loving aunt would give him the world if she could. It’s one of the reasons I like her so much. Maybe having to put Ace first is why I haven’t wanted to pursue a relationship before. The women I’ve previously met tend to be turned offrather than on when they find out I’ve got a kid – especially in the early days when I hadn’t yet learned to deal with his peculiarities. It had become an excuse to get me out of sticky situations. Turns out a big bad biker loses his allure when he starts talking about parental responsibilities and therapist appointments.
Or perhaps it’s simply that I hadn’t yet met Toni, a woman who’s got reason to try to adapt to him as I’ve learned to do. Over the years, Ace’s idiosyncrasies have just become part of our lives, and if something unforeseen comes up, we’ve built a strong foundation for navigating around it. I’m sure Toni will learn fast how to adjust just as I’ve had. It’s not hard. Not when you love him.
Wanting to get the journey underway, I try to hold back my curse when Ace asks if we can stop by the club before we hit the road. I’m not entirely successful.
“What the fuck for?” I’ve left myself a cushion to get there and back, but don’t want to eat into the little time I’ve got to spare.
“My jacket. I left it with Trixie.”
“Son, you don’t need a fuckin’ jacket. It’s near on June. And why the fuck did you leave it with a… Trixie?”
“It’s cooler in Flagstaff, so I will need it. And it’s the one Aunt Toni bought me when we went downtown. There was a tear on the seam. Trixie said she’d mend it for me.”
I can’t argue with his logic about the relative temperature, and can kind of understand why he’d want to wear the gift his aunt had bought. But I’m annoyed that it’s Trixie who’s been helping him. At the moment, she’s hardly number one on my list of favourite people. “You just run in and get it, okay? We’ve no time for you to hang around and talk.”
