With that he ducked out the window to ring the doorbell. I watched out the window as he hopped off my roof, mesmerized by the moment. Even though we hadn’t been together for very long, the feelings and emotions that wrapped us was more intense and palpable than anything else I had ever felt in myentirelike.
Ryder
There wasno way in hell I was going to be able to sit through an entire family dinner without wanting to grab Raine and drag her upstairs to show her how much I meant those three words that had just changed everything in ourrelationship.
We sat around Abel’s large dining room table with half of the club members and their old ladies. It was like a freaking scene out of a TV show. I hoped that with all of the dang people that were gathered around, I would be able to hide my nerves and the fact that my hands were shaking from the adrenaline of knowing that the woman I was madly in love with felt the same way. It was a feeling I had never felt before: beinglovedback.
“So Ryder, how is the new bike holding up?” Crickett passed the mashed potatoes over to me whileAbel stared at me, expecting an answer. I quickly snapped out of my love-soaked, Raine-filled daze of thinking about the ways I could try to show Abel I was worthy of being with hisdaughter.
“Fa-fine. Way better than that old piece of shit I’d had since I was seventeen.” I tried to keep calm but I knew that my president and his wife weren't dumb. They would be able to see through my bullshit and scared demeanor, it was only just a matteroftime.
My dad put his hand on my shoulder. “This kid is starting to really become a badass mechanic, Abel. We’ve taughthimwell.”
Holton Walsh was a good man. He tried to be a good father, but he was naturally an amazing club member. He helped Crickett run the bar and every spare minute he had was spent slaving away in the club’s shop. From cars to diesel trucks to motorcycles, Holt knew his shit, and I was lucky to be working under his wing. He’d never admit it, but he was even better at running thingsthanAbel.
Raine was sitting across from me, eyes glued to her plate. “Raine, honey? Everything all right?” Crickett put her hand on her stepdaughter’sforearm.
“Huh?” Raine’s doe eyes snapped up to Crickett. “Oh, yeah. It’s just been alongday.”
Between taking classes at the community college, helping out some nights at the bar, and working as a receptionist and parts runner for the shop, Raine barely had any alone time. I knew I wasn’t helping her stress level and that bothered me more thananything.
Abel cleared his throat. “Maybe we need to cut back on your hours at the bar. Between Holt, your mother, and me, I think we canhandleit.”
Finally, a moment to start to show how valuable I could be. “I’ll chip in some time too, Abel, if thatwouldhelp.”
My president smiled over at me. “Actually, I might take you up onthat,kid.”
Kid.What a fucking degrading word, but oh-the-fuck-well; I had to getoverit.
“Noproblem.”
Trent Laurence was a few seats away from me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the scumbag eyeing Raine. It was no secret that since the day he’d patched in, all he’d wanted was to get with her. Abel was the only thing stopping the creepy, womanizing bastard from trying to get his grubby hands all over my chick. I tightened the grip on my fork as I tried to not be obvious in myloathing.
Trent’s brittle voice pierced the air. “Abel, you know I could help some at the bar. Anything for sweetRaine.”
I wanted to grab him by his throat and rip out his vocal cords for even saying her name. I glared down at my food while I listened to Abelrespond.
“You’re needed elsewhere and you knowitTre.”
Crickett’s honey voice was next and I glanced up to see her smiling sweetly at me. “I think with Ryder’s help we’ll be good to go, Tre, but thank you for theoffer.”
Crickett put her hand on Abel’s forearm and I watched his stiff shoulder relax. Our body language was mirroring each other’s and in that moment, Abel started to catch on to my secret; I could see it in his eyes as he glanced from Trent to me for a fewseconds.
Raine’s little brother, Collin, was the saving grace for the evening, starting small talk at the other end of the table about his excitement about finally being a part of the football team again after a broken foot had benched him most of the seasonbefore.
The rest of the night dragged on as slow as molasses in the dead of winter while the giant elephant in the room loomed right behind me. I hated leaving Raine’s company but I needed to get the fuck out of that house as fast as humanly possible. The glances from Abel and having to listen to Tre’s snide comments about Raine nearly made meloseit.
“Well, we better go do the books, babe.” Abel grabbed Crickett’s hand before shoving up from the table. “Let me just grab my jacket and we’ll head tothebar.”
When I hugged Crickett goodbye, she kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for offering to help out at the bar. Come in tomorrow before you head to the shop and we can figure out a schedule while Raine issettingup.”
“Willdo.”
After shaking Abel’s hand, high-fiving Collin, and awkwardly hugging Raine, my dad and I road off down the winding dirt road that led to theWalshhome.
Finally.Liberation washed over me while the cool night air cleansed my overwrought mind. I needed to figure everything out. My entire life had just flipped over on its axis and I had no idea how to handle it. I was supposed to be this hardass biker that didn’t give a shit about anything, let alone love, but that was the farthest thing from the truth. Seeing Crickett and Abel was refreshing though; somehow Abel had been able to be a club president with the love of his life by his side and they made it work. The revelation sunk in deeply and finally my frenzied nerves started tosettle.
We made our way up the front steps to our tiny house. Before opening the door, my father turned to me. “Everything allright,son?”
