Page 29 of Property of Mongrel

“Dude, you’re constantly busy these days,” he says. “If you’re not doing the books for the club, you’re watching over one of the old ladies, or helping Gretchen make her stuff.”

I shrug and notice that while there’s a slight ache in my shoulder, it’s far better than it was before surgery and after the muscle strain. “Speaking of, I need to go see if there’s anything I can go get for her because she’s doubling everything for this weekend’s farmer’s market. But first, we need to go take care of something else.”

“What’s that?” he asks.

“We’re getting you a fucking Harley,” I retort.

“I can’t afford one of those right now, Cam. I’m trying to pay off my student loans and shit.”

“I can and as your big brother, with Dad being gone, I’m gonna buy it,” I emphatically state. Since neither of us are old enough to get our inheritance from our parents’ life insurance policies, I’m sure he’s somewhat strapped. But he’ll get paid a portion of the club’s monthly profits. It’s not as much as when you’re a full-patch member, but it’s also nothing to sneeze at.

“You gonna push the issue?” he asks.

“Absofuckinlutely,” I reply, grinning at him. “Now, let’s go get you a real bike.”

Okay, so I bought two bikes; one for Jonah and another one for me. Living at the clubhouse, my expenses are negligible, so I have quite a bit of money in the bank. Add to it the fact that I have my inheritance from my grandma, that I’ve hardly touched except to purchase my first bike and my truck, and I know I made the salesperson ecstatic.

We’re at dinner when he asks, “Did you know about the salon in town? Uncle Leroy called me earlier while you were shopping for stuff for Gretchen and told me that Rio let him know that the club was buying the shop. He then explained that the Kings would be silent partners and all he’d have to do is pay twenty percent of his profits into the club’s pot y’all have.”

I chuckle while nodding. “Rio mentioned it and I called him that day. The salon itself does a decent business, which I checked into as the club’s treasurer, and from what I saw on his business profile, he’s got some serious talent.”

“Well, he’s beyond excited, Cam, trust me on that fact. He’s going up there to talk to the current owner so he can get an idea about the pricing in this area. He may have to lower his prices somewhat, but if he adds new extension clients, it’ll all come out in the wash. He has women who drive for hours to have him reset them or whatever he does.”

“Maintenance, Jonah, it’s called maintenance once they get the initial set installed,” I tease.

“I don’t even wanna know how you’re aware of that fact,” he teases.

“One of the women I dated used to get them, so while I might not be able to put them in myself, I know it’s a process and it’s expensive as fuck,” I reply.

“The only thing that would make all of this beyond perfect would be if we could find Josie, Anna, and Christie,” he murmurs.

“We’ll find them, but we also need to be realistic, JoJo,” I say, using his childhood nickname. The girls couldn’t say Jonah, so he became JoJo, while I was Cammy because Cameron was even harder for them to say.

“Well, I’ve got search parameters set on my computer, and you said that Nerd took over from the other guy who died, so I feel a lot better now. I just hate that the prejudice of an old, bigoted bastard like our grandfather split us apart,” he grumbles.

“Me too, brother, me too. I think overhearing that conversation, plus all the shit I took at school fucked with my head.”

“How so?”

“I’ve felt like I was less than my whole fucking life,” I confess. “I mean, I dated around but have always kept it casual because I was positive that no woman would want anything long term with me.”

“But you think you and Addy have a shot at something like that?” he pushes.

“Do you remember how Mom and Dad would be after dinner?” I ask. At his nod, I say, “I’ve had that memory branded in my brain at this point, and what I remember most is thinking that I wanted something like that. A woman who was my partner, best friend, lover, and eventually the mother of my kids. I can see that with Addy.”

“Then stay the course, Cam.”

“You know if you’re going to be part of this world, you’re going to have to call me by my club name. It’s a sign of disrespect if you don’t,” I caution.

“It has shitty connotations,” he sneers.

“So, every chapter calls their prospect something different. Some may just yell out ‘Prospect’, some use their given name, and others do what this chapter did, which is have three names, Mongrel, Monkey, and Mutt. They gave me a choice of whether or not to get a new road name, but I decided that instead of thinking about the derogatory way it was used toward us while growing up, I’d embrace the fact that I’m a unique blend of our parents.”

“Damn, look at you, all grown up and using your critical thinking skills for good,” he teases. I can see the relief on his face and know he was merely worried that I hadn’t risen above the past.

I mean, I have my moments, but never when I’m with my brothers. They’ve shown me that they truly espouse the belief that it’s a person’s character that matters most.

“Listen, College Boy,” I reply, “I may be a biker but I’m far from dumb.”