Ryker by Jeneveir Evans
Chapter 40
Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.
~Johnny Depp~
Ryker
November 27th, 1999
I didn’t make it back to Arkansas as fast as I had wanted. The police had questioned us and told us not to leave until they verified our alibis. I wanted to slap the fucker when he told me that. He was standing in the Hell Hole where we were all sitting around drinking and playing pool. There were a shit load of witnesses that had seen all of us. But I was told it all had to be verified.
While we waited for that bullshit to be cleared up, I decided I might as well rent a U-Haul and take everything from the house and my garage with us. All of the guys helped me pack and load shit up. I had grumbled when I’d had to go back and rent a second U-Haul to finish loading everything. I never realized how much crap a house could hold.
T, Draven, Rage, and Crusher had loaded their belongings into the back of one of the U-Hauls too. When we were finally allowed onto the compound grounds, I’d been shocked as hell. There was literally nothing but fragments scattered around the area. While Brawn’s trailer wasn’t blown to pieces, it had been completely knocked off its block foundation and split it into two pieces.
Brawn went in and took out everything he wanted. He didn’t take any furniture. He said he wanted a fresh start. He didn’t want to take anything from HR with him. Other than his personal items, the rest had been shit that the club had purchased years ago. When he’d taken Little Bit to her aunt’s house, he’d removed all of her things then. We’d helped Taz get everything of Reggie’s loaded into a U-Haul and then all of us were good to go. We were just waiting on the police to tell us we were free to leave the vicinity.
The police had a forensics team that tried to gather evidence at the compound. But I think they finally realized how useless that would be, besides they really weren’t that concerned about a bunch of bikers that had been killed inside their clubhouse. As far as they were concerned it was good riddance. We did have to give them a list of all the members of the club. They determined that except for ten members, the rest had been killed.
There were the eight of us, Rivet, and one other old timer still alive. Rivet and Shovel met up with us at the compound. We all took off our cuts and threw them in a pile. T poured gas on them and I struck a match and lit those fuckers on fire. I was never so glad to take off my cut in my life. Years of being in hell were over.
I put up my house and garage for sale with a real estate agent. I told her to call me with any offers. I let her know that if one sold, then all paperwork would have to be done either through the mail or through faxes. I informed her that my ass wasn’t coming back to South Dakota anytime soon, if ever.
By Thursday, I was pissed as hell that the police still hadn’t released us to leave. I expressed my frustration to Vip. He took matters into his own hands. He had the ARMC attorney, Mr. Jerik, call the police department. He asked if we were being charged with anything and was told there were no pending charges against us. He let them know that they couldn’t legally require us to remain in the state any longer. He said if the department needed to get a hold of any of us, that they could contact him and he would make sure that we would get into contact with the department.
So having missed Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in my life, Friday found us on the road to Arkansas. We pulled up into the compound late in the evening. We parked similar to how we had done a month ago.
God, besides Tor, I hadn’t seen my kids in a month. That had been rough as hell on me. I’d texted them during the day and we’d talked on the phone but it had still been tough on me. At times, it was hard to believe that I depended on my kids being around me like I do.
As a parent, I knew kids grew up, left home, and spread their wings. But this fucking parent didn’t want his kids to spread their wings and fly too far. I didn’t want to clip their wings, I wanted them to live life and do the things they wanted. I just wanted them to do those things around me.
Yeah, I was a selfish bastard.
Saturday found each of us meeting individually before the members of ARMC in Church. Will admit, I sweated that some. I wasn’t worried about Tor or myself so much as the rest of the guys. I shouldn’t have been, they were all well received. I think Vip’s recommendation of us was deeply considered. Then again, all of my men were good guys.
It was Saturday evening and everyone was all at the Clubhouse for the club’s Thanksgiving dinner. The guys and I were learning quickly that things were a lot different here. A lot.
At ARMC, Brothers were tight. Their families were tight. Hell, everyone on the compound was tight. None of us had ever had that in an MC. My guys were eating it up.
Rage and Crusher had slid right into a group of men that sat together. There were several men at their table, all but one was single. The only one that wasn’t was Bane.
T and Draven had found their own group. Three of those men had Old Ladies, the rest didn’t. I think they were comfortable there because they knew Reb and Pred. Besides, all of those men but one, Slade, had been in the military.
Tor and Taz had settled in at the table that had several men they knew at it. Jace, Hatchet, and Screw just to name a few.
Brawn and I sat at Dog and Vip’s table. I felt comfortable around the men that sat here. While Vip was already a good friend, I could tell that the others would one day be too.
My gaze studied Vision. He was at the table as well. Vision was intensely watching his son. Jett was at a table with Taron, Raiden, and some of the other Prospects. I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking or feeling. To have been locked away for over twenty years had to be hard to adjust to now that he was on the outside. And he had done that without ever getting to see his son until he got out.
I would have gone crazy. Not being able to see my kids would have sent me off the deep end. I had been so damn lucky that I hadn’t gotten locked up while I was in HRMC.
I felt a slight squirm and looked down at my grandson and grinned. He was still asleep cuddled in my arm against my chest. I had confiscated him. I told everyone else that they’d had time with him the last month and I hadn’t, so until I had my fill, he was mine. Bane had laughed at me. Kenzie had smiled. But I think I might have made Eagle, Trina, and my four youngest kids mad. They’d been huffy at me all day because every time they came to get him, I wouldn’t let them. I think the only one besides me who didn’t get to see and hold him enough was Deb.
Like my eyes had done so many times today, they searched her out. She kept going back and forth between the table that held the men that I had heard coined the Originals and a table in the dining room. The majority of the kids were eating their dinner in there while the grown-ups ate in the Great Room.
Hearing her laughter, my gaze was drawn time and time again to her. God, how I had missed that sound. It still sounded joyous. When she wasn’t looking at me, she still gave off her spark of lightness. She still made the area she was in shine bright with her presence. My heart ached. I wanted her sitting beside me like Mia and Jenny were doing with Viper.
Thoughts of them had me glancing in their direction. After being together over twenty years, I could tell Vip was still as much in love with them as he ever had been and both of his Old Ladies returned the favor. They would glance at each other and talk with their eyes the way lovers do. I almost groaned with longing when I saw it. My eyes rose to find Deb again. I wanted that with her. Dammit, I wanted all of that with her.
I’d caught her looking at me a couple times during the evening. As soon as our gazes met, she’d quickly look away. Once I’d seen her looking at Trina then at me. Despite Trina telling me she had let Deb know there was nothing between us, I could tell she didn’t fully believe that. I know it didn’t help that Trina was sitting next to me. Trin still hadn’t found her place here yet. I wasn’t about to be an asshole and tell her she couldn’t sit beside me. Other than the kids and Deb, she didn’t really know anyone else.
“Ry, let me have him,” Trina’s voice drew me out of my rambling thoughts.
“Hell, no, Trina. You’ve had him for a solid month while I wasn’t here. I’ve already told you that your ass isn’t getting him until I’ve had my fill.”
“But, Ry. With you that could take months,” she whined.
“Get used to it. Besides, I’ll be going to work. You’ll have time to hold him during the day.”
I heard a chuckle come from my left as Trina crossed her arms and huffed. I looked over to see Boomer holding his grandson, Coop.
“Nothing like them, is there?” he murmured.
“No, there’s not,” I replied. “I miss the hell out of this. I loved holding my kids when they were little.”
“I missed most of that,” he responded.
I arched a brow at him.
“With my oldest two, I was in ‘Nam when they were born. I didn’t meet my youngest son Slade, Coop’s dad, until he was twenty-eight.”
“Damn, that had to be hard with your oldest two. I know what you mean by your youngest.”
“You have no idea how hard it was to come back home and they were already several months old. And you’re right, out of anyone here, you know how I feel about all the time I lost with Slade. But I have him in my life now, and he’s brought his Old Lady Brenna, who’s like a daughter to me, and Coop into my life so I can’t complain too much.”
“Brenna is the girl Vip and his Old Ladies adopted?”
“She is.”
“Damn, the world gets small at times, doesn’t it?”
“That it does, Ry.”
Coop started getting a little fussy and he placed him on his chest with the baby’s head on his shoulder and started patting his back.
“Well, you look like an old pro at it,” I stated.
“My sons, Brenna and Coop, and Cas’s Old Lady Sophie all live with me. Well, I should say we all live together. We built one giant house where we share the living room, kitchen and dining area but we all have our own living quarters with extra bedrooms beside them.”
“Holy fuck, that’s your house? I saw it the last time I was here when I was walking around. You sure that thing’s not a hotel?”
He laughed.
“Nah, it’s really not that big. Before my wife passed away,” I saw a pained look cross his face as he said that. “She gave us the idea to all live in the same house. We already were at the time but the house was crowded. I liked the idea and so did my sons and their Old Ladies. My middle son Zane is the only one of my boys who doesn’t have a woman. He keeps a room here in the Clubhouse too.
“He’s now the club’s main computer guy since Doom was killed. There are a lot of nights he works late plus it’s easier for him to be with the club girls.
“If you’re like me and want to keep your kids close, you should consider that when you build a house.”
“I doubt we’ll be building a house,” I told him.
He looked at me puzzled. “Why not?”
“We’re only patching over tonight. I’m sure they aren’t going to want to spend that kind of money on a new member.”
“Ry, I’d only been here a little over three months when the guys who work for the club’s construction company started building mine. I had to fight with Dog about it. I wanted to pay at least half of the cost myself, Dog wouldn’t hear of it. He said that is what they do for Brothers. Gotta admit to you, things like that took some getting used to.”
“I can imagine.” I was already mentally thinking about his suggestion. I could see how that could work out well for my family.
His laughter drew my attention.
“You’re already thinking of designs in your head, aren’t you?”
I smiled sheepishly at him.
“Hard not to, now that you brought it up.”
“Just make sure you get the women in your life’s input when you start designing it. If not, you get it built and it doesn’t have everything in it that they want, you’ll never hear the end of it.”
“That happen to you?”
“No, I made sure of that. Brenna and Sophie went over those plans meticulously before it was started. Slade and Cas told them that once construction started that there wouldn’t be any changes made and they didn’t want to hear one single complaint if, after completion, it didn’t have everything they wanted in it.”
“I only have my daughter Bronte and the boy’s mom Trina that would need to give input.”
“You sure about that, Brother?”
I tilted my head and looked at him questioningly.
“I see how you look at her, Ry.”
I followed his gaze where Deb sat. I sighed.
“Not gonna deny that. I fell in love with that woman the day I saw her dancing in a bar, holding her hands in the air and laughing joyously.”
“I can understand that, Ry. Been in your place. Hard to get a woman like that out of your mind much less your heart. Drey’s been gone eleven months and I still miss the hell out of her not being here.”
“Sorry to hear that, Boomer.”
“It is what it is, Brother. Word of advice. If you still love her, fight for her with everything you got inside you. If she loves you as much as you love her, no matter how long you have with her, in the long run, it will all be worth it.”
“I hear ya, Boom,” I uttered quietly.
I sat and thought about what he said as I stared at Deb. Hell, yes, I still loved her. From the very first moment she planted her ass on the back of my bike, she’s been my ride or die. I’ve only had two other females ride behind me and they were Trina and Bronte. And Trina had only ridden behind me once when she was fleeing that fucker Slasher. I never let another woman ride in the spot that I considered Sunshine’s place.
Boomer was right. I needed to fight for her. I didn’t need to just accept that I would never have her in my life, in my arms, or in my bed again. She’d never left my heart or thoughts, it was time I showed her that I wasn’t about to give up on her. Whether she knew it or not, she was mine. She always had been and always would be.
~***~