Ryker by Jeneveir Evans
Chapter 9
Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.
~Lois Wyse~
Ryker
September 27th, 1999
South Dakota
A buzzing noise woke me up. I was sleeping so soundly that it took me a minute to figure out what the hell it was. I glanced at my alarm clock as I reached for my phone. Hell, it was almost two a.m. Getting a phone call in the middle of the night is every parent’s or VP’s worst fear. Yet I knew for a fact that all my kids were home tonight. I was fairly sure all the brothers who were loyal to me were okay. I’d checked in with them earlier and all of them were already at their places. That only left one person, Bane.
I sat up quickly, switched on my lamp and opened my text.
Bane: Dad, Kenzie’s in labor. We’re at the hospital. Sometime in the next several hours you will become a grandpa.
I smiled as I read the news. I knew he was beyond thrilled to welcome his son into the world. I was happy for him. The meds he was taking now were helping to settle down the demon’s voice and, for that, I was thankful.
Me: Congrats, Bane. I know you’re excited. But I’m telling ya, I’m not old enough to be a grandpa.
I chuckled as I wrote that. It was true, most of the time I didn’t feel old enough to be a grandfather, yet the last few months I felt as old as Methuselah. Stress and nerves were getting the best of me.
Bane: Lol. What do you want him to call you?
I’d thought about this long and hard. I wasn’t ready to be called grandpa. Hell, I wasn’t the type to be a grandpa.
Me: Think I want him to call me Pop-pop.
Bane: I like that. Pop-pop it is.
Me: Son, keep me updated.
Bane: I will, Dad.
Me: I love you, Bane.
Bane: Love you too, Dad.
Damn, my oldest was welcoming my grandson into the world and I wasn’t there to support him. An ache settled in my chest. I needed to be closer to him. Yet, like I’d told the kids yesterday when we talked about possibly moving, I wouldn’t go unless they did. I wasn’t leaving my kids. Still I felt it down deep in my soul that Bane needed me to be a constant presence in his life.
We texted several times a day. We talked nearly every day. I could hear it in his voice at times the underlying fear that I would forget him. There was no way in hell that was ever happening. He was a part of Deb and me. I groaned when I thought about her. I’ll always regret not standing up for her that day, but if I had, I wouldn’t have Tor, Bronte, Taron or Raiden.
I don’t regret my children one bit. If I could go back and change things but know that I would lose my kids even if I had Deb, Bane and Leigh in my life, I couldn’t do it.
My children are my life. They keep me sane in an insane world. They are the light that keeps me from sinking into the darkness. They are the air I breathe. They inspire me to live, to be a better man. I’ve loved my kids from the moment they were conceived.
I’m fucking ecstatic that I have two more children. If she won’t let me into her life, I might not ever get the chance to know Leigh. But Bane, god how I want to get to know him better. I want to be there for him. To be the dad he’s always yearned for. I want to spend time with him, to encourage and support him. I need to be close to him. I also want to see my grandson with a burning passion.
God dammit. I need to figure out a way to get us out of here.
I laid back down and threw my right arm across my eyes while with my left hand I rubbed the pain in my chest. I deliberately ignored the moisture that seeped down my face as I replayed every second of my time with Bane. It hadn’t been near enough time, dammit. Nowhere near enough time.
~*~
Finally at four a.m., I couldn’t lay here any longer. I got up, took a shower and brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn’t like what I was seeing. Damn, I looked rough. My eyes were bloodshot and slightly swollen. The expression on my face was one of unhappiness. I hated looking like this. I was happy with my family. My situation in life, not so much.
An idea was percolating in the back of my mind. I knew part of my family wasn’t going to be happy about my decision. Yet it was one that needed to happen. It would allow me to concentrate on what needed to be done concerning the MC. If I had to worry about my kids, then my concentration would be splintered and I needed to be able to put my entire focus on my plans for the club.
I headed downstairs and into the kitchen. I started the coffee maker and leaned against the counter until it was ready. I poured a mug of the rich beverage and headed outside. After settling into my chair, I breathed in the scent as I took a sip of the chicory-flavored brew.
As the sun started rising, the storm door opened and Trina walked out of the house. She set a fresh cup of coffee down beside my old one then took the chair beside mine. She didn’t say anything at first, just quietly drank her cup of joe as we watched the sun make its appearance.
“What’s going on, Ry? I know it’s bad. I’ve been watching you for weeks now. Is it your son Bane?”
“That’s a small part of it, Trina.”
“Then tell me the rest.”
“Wanna ask you something first.”
“Okay.”
“You set on living here permanently?”
Out of my peripheral vision, I saw her turn her head toward me. I swear I could physically feel her eyes examining my face. I heaved out a deep sigh and turned to catch her gaze.
“Trina, I’ve heard rumors that King’s planning on getting the club into human trafficking. Not gonna do that. Not now, not ever. I’ve thought long and hard about this and before I can tackle the battle coming my way, I need my family safe.
“Bane’s woman is in labor. The baby should be here today. I thought I’d give it two weeks and take everyone for a visit. I plan on leaving Bronte, Taron and Raiden there. Trin, I need to know they are safe if I’m going to have a chance of getting Tor, my men, and myself out of this alive. I can’t have my focus fractured on too many things.”
“You want to live there, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Anyway you can get a box truck out here without anyone knowing that we can pack before then? We can park it on the other side of the camper. That way no one would be able to see it. Then we can have the boys take it to Ma’s place in Sioux Falls.”
I thought about what she asked. It was a damn good plan. “I can do that. I’ll find one later today. Hell, I’ll just buy one if I have to.”
“Bronte and I will start packing the things we want to take with us. The rest of it can be donated later.”
“Trin, you know there’s a chance that Tor and I might not come out of this alive.”
“Don’t you dare say that, Ryker Chadwick,” she snapped. “Your family needs you. You go into this knowing you are going to win. There can be no other outcome. You hear me?”
I grinned at her. “Damn, woman. Sheath your claws before you maul me to death.”
She huffed out a breath of air. “Then don’t piss me off.”
I sobered up fast. “Trin, I don’t plan on kicking the bucket, but I can’t promise anything either. This shit is going to get real bad before it gets better.”
We sat in silence for a couple minutes then I asked, “What about Owen?”
She shrugged. “I actually called it quits a couple weeks back.”
“Hell, I guess I’ve been way too self-involved, I didn’t notice that you weren’t going on dates. Sorry, Trin, what happened?”
“The asshole was busy eyeing some blonde the last time he took me out to dinner. I told him since he seemed more interested in her than me that he should go for it and I got up and left. I haven’t talked to him since.”
I winced. All those years ago when Trina became my house mouse, she had been fairly quiet and unassuming. Needless to say that she came into her own. She’s a strong and fearless woman. She’ll put a person in their place faster than lightning can strike. She’s a good friend and I couldn’t have picked a better woman to be a mother to my four youngest kids.
“You’re absolutely certain you’re okay with this? Because, Trin, I need to know if something happens to me, the kids will stay in Arkansas with Bane. Viper is there and I know he can take care of all of you. I have no clue how vindictive King might be if Tor and I don’t succeed. I would hope he wouldn’t try to go after my family, but this is King we’re talking about. Who the fuck knows what kind of revenge he would seek? The one saving grace is that he doesn’t know where Bane is from.”
“I wish you’d quit saying that. And to answer your question, I’m perfectly fine with it. Hell, I need some new men to entertain me anyway.”
I laughed at her remark. Leave it to Trina to ease my concerns. There have been times in the past that I wished I felt something for her other than as the mother to my sons, but I didn’t. She’s a beautiful woman, yet past the few times we fucked in order for her to conceive, I had no desire to be with her again.
She got up and carried all three cups inside with her. I knew she was going in to make breakfast. She was now forty and she still played the role of my house mouse even though it was more evolved than that. She had never worked outside the home. She’d always taken care of the kids and the house. It hadn’t bothered me at all. I’d actually been thankful to know that she was always here when I had to be gone.
I’d once asked her if she didn’t want to find a man, get married and have more kids. She’d responded that if the right man came along she would. I had then made sure she did understand that if she was waiting on me, then she needed to move on. She’d laughed and said that, no, she wasn’t waiting on me. She just hadn’t found the right man yet. I hadn’t thought she’d pined for me because she’d had plenty of boyfriends over the years. Yet who the fuck knew how women’s minds worked? I didn’t, that was for damn sure.
She told me once that she had the best of both worlds. She had her kids and knew they would never lack for anything. She could be a stay-at-home mom with them. Plus, she could sleep with as many men as she wanted to without having to deal with a jealous ex.
I guess she was right, we’d both had the best of both worlds. But in the long run, if not for my kids, I’d rather have had Deb.
~*~
I finally called it a day at three p.m. Tor and Taron were almost finished with the last car of the day, the owner was picking it up at four. Since Bronte ran the office, I asked the boys to stay with her and close up the shop. I knew they would agree, which they did. There was no way they would leave Bronte here alone. We’d decided that no one would go out without someone going with them. I didn’t trust King. I’d seen him look at Bronte with lust in his eyes.
It didn’t matter that the old bastard was in his early seventies, somehow he had managed to escape the majority of the ravages of time. His body was still vigorous and he had as many women in his bed as men half his age did.
He’d already proven that his brothers’ women folk weren’t off limits. What he didn’t know was that soon that was going to bite him in the ass and hard. For now, I had to keep Bronte out of his clutches. If he ever put his hands on her, I’ll kill the fucker immediately and damn the consequences.
I hadn’t heard anything else from Bane. I felt like I was on pins and needles waiting to hear from him. I knew that first babies were notorious for taking their own sweet time entering the world. That still didn’t stop me from wanting to know how things were going, yet I was reluctant to call. I didn’t want to interrupt this intimate time with his woman.
I was sweaty, greasy and grimy when I walked into the house. I hit the stairs and headed toward my room. After I stripped, I stepped into the shower and proceeded to scrub part of my skin raw trying to get the grease off. It had been a good day. I’d made significant progress on the bike I was restoring. Two or three more days and I’d be done with it. I had been trying to decide all day if I should take on another project or not. Although it wasn’t his right to ask, especially since I owned the garage and it wasn’t a club business, if I didn’t start another rebuild, King would hear about it and ask questions.
I got out of the shower, dried off, ran a comb through my hair and left it down to dry. I looked at it and thought about cutting it, yet I knew I’d be lost without it. I’d worn my hair long my entire life. I did keep it cut to where it was only about three inches below my shoulder blades. I’d been lucky with it so far, I didn’t have any strands of gray running through it. Yet if I kept being as stressed as I had been lately, I was going to turn silver overnight.
I heard my phone ring and strolled over to the nightstand and picked it up. A smile stole across my face when I saw it was Bane calling.
“Bane? Everything okay? Is my grandson here?” I asked anxiously as I answered my cell. I prayed everything had gone okay with his girl’s labor.
“Yeah, Dad. Paxton Dane James is here. He weighs eight pounds and one ounce and he’s twenty-one and a half inches long and he has a head full of hair just like ours.”
Christ. It hit me like a sledgehammer and it hit me fast. I started breathing hard as what he said echoed over and over in my head. He’d named my grandson after me. Oh fucking god, I wanted to be with my son right now.
My voice came out low and gruff as I uttered, “You named him after me?”
“Yeah, Dad. We did. We’ll be calling him Dane.”
I knew that Dane was his friend Eagle’s name. He’d joined the two men’s names who he cared about to name his son, my grandson. I had to clear my throat several times before I managed to respond.
“I think that’s a fine name, Bane. A damn fine name.”
Then I lost it. I couldn’t hold it back any longer. Tears ran down my face as choked sobs ripped from my body. This was my firstborn son. A man I’d only spend two days with but loved unconditionally. A son who needed and wanted his dad in his life. A son who had just bestowed a great honor on me by naming his son after his grandpa. Me.
Through my sobbing, I heard Bane say quietly, “Dad, I’m gonna let you go.”
“Alright, Bane. I’ll talk to you in a little while,” I managed to get out, my voice still rough with emotion.
“Okay, Dad,” he replied before he hung up.
I dropped down on the bed trying to get myself under control. Ever since Bane had shown up, I’d been struggling with my emotions. Hell, maybe I needed my meds adjusted. But I knew it wasn’t that.
I needed to get this shit taken care of with the club so I could move to Arkansas. Then I’d have all my kids in the same state. I wasn’t sure what the future held in respect to the men that would be coming with me. Damn, I needed to talk to them. I wasn’t even sure if they would want to come. That was something I needed to find out.
~***~