A Family Man (17 page)

TWENTY-SIX

Maria smiled as her five-year-old son checked outside yet again. He was almost beside himself with excitement at the prospect of seeing his big sister again. She, too, was looking forward to her daughter’s visit, although this was tempered with a degree of apprehension. Despite Joe’s reassurances that Amy was settling well into her new school and seemed to be calming down, she couldn’t help but worry that all those resentments would come bubbling to the surface when they saw each other. There could be no doubt that her past behavior had damaged the relationship she had with her daughter beyond repair. Amy loved her mom, but she would never fully trust her. Maria couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t been much of a mom, especially when Amy was small, and if it hadn’t been for Joe, his mom and Beth, the kid would have ended up in the system and lost to her forever.

She checked her reflection. She still had her looks and appeared much younger than her forty-one years. Maybe when Joe saw her he would fall in love with her all over again. His love for her was something else she'd managed to destroy. It was something she had taken for granted. Never once had it occurred to her that there would come a time that he wouldn’t be there to pick up the pieces.

“They’re here!” She smiled as Jack ran to the front door and out towards the big red truck that had pulled up outside. She may have let her daughter down, but when it came to her son, she was a perfect mommy. He was an easy kid, compliant and laid back and since sobering up, she had thrown herself into caring for him in a way she never had with Amy.

Watching as her daughter climbed out of the truck, sweeping the little boy up in her arms and, followed closely by Joe, walked towards the front door, she felt her breath catch in her throat. It was a glimpse of what could’ve been if she hadn’t have fucked it all up. She didn’t know what stung more. That she’d lost Joe or that he’d taken her daughter with him.

Joe followed Amy towards the house. He would really prefer not to have anything to do with Maria, but Amy was her kid and it seemed right that he gave her a progress report. He stood back as she greeted her daughter, then followed them into her house and stood, leaning on the kitchen counter, waiting, until they’d finished saying their hellos. Surreptitiously, he watched the woman he'd once loved as she fussed over her oldest child. Even after all these years, she was still stunning. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders in thick waves, framing that pixie-like face, with those deep brown eyes and full lips that just begged to be kissed. She wore a thin cotton sundress that clung to her svelte body that maybe now, as middle-age approached, was a little too bony. She looked up, and as her eyes met his, she smiled. “Like what you see, Joe?”

He shrugged. “You always were beautiful, M. That ain’t changed.”

She turned and stepped closer. So close that he could feel the heat from her body and smell the vanilla shampoo she always used. “You’re looking pretty good yourself.”

She looked at him though her thick, black lashes and ran her tongue along her top lip. Joe could feel his body starting to respond, the way it always had. He swallowed. “You need to back off, M.”

“
You sure that’s what you want?”

With his hands on her upper arms he pushed her firmly away from him. “Yeah. It’s what I want.”

Amy frowned as she watched their exchange. She couldn’t let her mom jeopardize Joe’s relationship with Beth. As she moved to intervene, she gave a sigh of relief as he pushed her mom away. She should have given him more credit, but monogamy had never been his strong point, and her mother always had some kind of hold over him.

She had always believed that Beth and Joe belonged together and that he loved the wrong sister, so when they had finally pulled their heads out of their asses and got together she couldn’t have been more pleased. But Beth wasn’t like her mom, wasn’t like the whores that pushed up on him on a Friday night. She deserved respect and commitment, and Amy worried he might let her down. His eyes met hers and he gave a tiny smile, a silent communication that he had this under control.

Maria still had no idea that Joe and her sister were together. She would find out eventually and when she did, the shit was going to really hit the fan. Of that Amy had no doubt. Her mom had never really believed things were done between her and Joe, despite the years they had spent apart. She had always thought that, given the right circumstance, she could win him back again, and Amy dreaded to think of the depths she would sink to achieve her aims.

Taking her brother’s hand, she led him into the living room and switched on the TV. She knew that Joe would want to talk to her mom about her, and the sooner he did that, the sooner he could get out of there. He would be staying at his mom’s. He hadn’t seen her for ages and was keen to spend some time with her. As far as Amy was concerned, though, the further away he was from her mom, the happier she would be.

~ oOo ~

Sophia leaned back in her armchair, forcing herself to relax. Joe would be arriving soon, and she could hardly wait to see him. Since he had been helping with the cost of her meds and paying for someone to come round to help her with housework a couple of times a week, things had improved. Her back still hurt most of the time, but at least now that she was taking her meds regularly, she was more mobile and could climb the stairs to bed every night. She looked up as she heard the front door open and her son walked in and, bending over, kissed her on the cheek. “Joe. It’s so good to see you.”

“
Good to see you too, Ma.” He sat on the sofa opposite her. “How you been?”

“
Good. Better. The meds are helping a lot.” She smiled. “I’ve made a chili, I hope you’re hungry.”

“
Starving.” He grinned. “It’s been too long. I miss your cooking.”

As they sat at the table in her cozy little kitchen, Sophia couldn’t keep the smile from her face. She had long since gotten used to him being away for long periods, and there had been times when he drove her to distraction. But he was her life, and she loved times like this, when it was just the two of them. “How’s Amy?”

“She’s doing good.”

Sophia rolled her eyes. No one could ever accuse Joe of talking too much. “She still giving you a hard time?”

“Yeah. Kid’s got a temper. She is getting better. Sometimes we can go for whole days without her slamming doors and throwing stuff.” He chuckled. “Please tell me I wasn’t like that.”

“
Oh Joe, you were an absolute nightmare. If you weren’t getting suspended from school for fighting, you were getting picked up by the cops for god knows what.” She grinned. “The only reason I wasn’t on the receiving end of your temper was because you were never home.”

“
Then I would like to apologize. I’m sorry, Ma.”

“
Apology accepted.” She took his hand and laughed. “It wasn’t all bad, and you’ve made it up to me a hundred times over.”

“
When I’m not getting arrested for fighting or god knows what.”

“
Well, some things never change. But you’re doing right by Amy and me.”

He took a deep breath. “I got some news, Ma.” He grinned at her concerned expression. “Beth came to stay a while back, and, er, we kinda got together. As soon as she’s worked her notice, she will be moving to Seattle with me.”

“Oh Joe, that is wonderful news.” She frowned. “How did Maria take it?”

“
Well, that’s the thing. We haven’t told her.”

“
You can’t keep it a secret forever.”

“
I know. But we want some breathing space. You know what she’s like Ma, I don’t want her taking Amy away.”

“
You really think she’d do that?”

“
Oh, I know she would. Amy’s more settled than she’s been for a long time. But M won't care about that. She’ll trample all over that kid if it means she can hurt me.”

Sophia nodded; her son was right. Maria might be sober now and, to all intents and purposes, had turned her life around. But she’d always hung onto the hope that she and Joe would get back together. On the rare occasion she called, he was all she wanted to talk about, and there could be no doubt that finding out he was with her younger sister would bring out that vindictive streak she’d always possessed. “You’re going to have to tread carefully, son.”

“
I know.”

They ate in silence for a while until it was broken by Sophia. “Maria mentioned that her ex had died.” She looked carefully at the man sitting opposite. “You hear anything about that?”

“Yeah. Fucker killed himself.”

“
That’s what I heard. You were away then, if I remember rightly.”

“
I’m away a lot.”

“
Yes, you are.”

“
Something you wanna say, Ma?” 

“
No. I just remember that Beth was staying with me at the time, and how she didn’t seem that surprised when she heard the news. She mentioned that he’d been arrested for having pictures of kids on his computer.” Her eyes met his. “As I said before. Tread carefully, Joe. If Maria is pissed at you and puts two and two together….”

“
There ain’t nothing to worry about. It was suicide. Period.”

“
Well, if you’re sure.”

“
I’m sure.”

He stood and walked out to the back yard, where he leaned on the wall and lit a cigarette. He was sure that Maria had no idea of his whereabouts when Rob met his end, and even if she had suspicions, there was no proof that he had anything to do with his death. 

He turned as his mom came out to join him. She sat down with a wince on an old folding garden chair and he frowned. Despite her reassurances, she was still in a lot of pain, and she seemed to be shrinking before his eyes. Joe was a fixer. He put things right. But he couldn’t fix this. His mom was getting old, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Seeing his expression, she smiled. “I really am okay, son.”

“
Would you tell me if you wasn’t?”

“
Of course.”

“
You’re a lousy liar, Ma.”

She grinned and, closing her eyes, raised her face towards the sun, enjoying its warming rays. “So how’s Seattle?”

“Good. Cold, but good.” He looked out over the barren plot that was her back yard. “Amy got the chance to meet her father.”

“
Oh. Wow! I didn’t know you knew who he was.” She glanced at him as he shrugged. “How did it go?”

“
Okay, I guess. Amy has a lot of anger there, but Barney….”

“
Barney? Barney West? But he’s…”

“
My brother and my friend. Yeah I know.”

“
Oh, son. That must’ve hurt. How did you find out?”

“
Did the math. She looks like him, I dunno, Ma. I had my suspicions, so I confronted him and he confirmed it. He slept with my woman, so yeah. It hurt, betrayal always does. But me and Maria weren’t together at the time and Amy was the result.” He shrugged. “I stopped being angry a long time ago. And who her real dad is don’t change nothing. We might not have the same DNA, but Amy is my kid. Always has been, always will be.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

It would take fourteen hours to get from California to Seattle in his truck. If he had been alone, Joe would have done it in one hit, stopping only for food, coffee and gas. As he was traveling with Amy, however, it seemed prudent to split the journey over two days. While it was true it would be easier on her than if they were on his bike, there was still no way he could be persuaded to spend such a long period of time trapped with her in his truck. As it was, after only four hours, she was whining that she was bored and bitching about his choice of music, as if it was somehow his fault that she had lost her iPod.

She had been living with him for nine months now, and in that time Joe had discovered hidden reserves of patience that he had no idea he possessed. He loved the skinny teenager that was currently pouting in the passenger seat next to him, but there had been times when he had come dangerously close to losing his shit with her.

It didn’t help that in the last six months, he had only seen Beth once. Work commitments had meant that she couldn’t move to Seattle as quickly as they would have liked and, although they spoke practically every day, Joe was struggling with the concept of monogamy in a long distance relationship. He was doing pretty well, even if the muscles in his right arm were now twice as big as in his left, but if he didn’t get laid soon, he swore he would explode.

“C’mon, Joe. Please can we stop? I need to pee.”

“
You should’ve gone when I stopped for gas.”

“
I didn’t need to go then. I’m hungry too.”

Joe rolled his eyes. Despite her appearance, Amy ate like a horse. He had no idea where she put it all, but ever since she was tiny, she’d always had a healthy appetite. “Okay, there’s a truck stop up the road, we can stop there.”

“I ain't peeing in a truck stop.”

“
Well it’s there or nowhere, sugar.”

“
It’s alright for you. You don’t have to sit down. Those places are disgusting.”

“
You’ll have to go in the bushes, then. This is the only stop for miles.”

“
We’re only five miles from Sacramento. Why can’t we get something to eat there?”

“
If we do, will you shut the fuck up?”

“
I promise.”

“
Fine, but it’s gonna put at least another half hour on our journey.”

Something else Joe was learning was compromise. They would butt heads on a regular basis, and nine times out of ten, he wouldn’t budge. But every so often, like when he was trapped in a truck with her, it made sense to let her have her own way.

The diner was small and the food was delicious. Amy watched as the man she considered to be her dad tore into his chicken. She may have told him that she hated him on an almost daily basis, and wasn’t above throwing the occasional ‘you’re not my dad’ barb in his direction, but the truth was, even when he was driving her nuts, she adored him. She grinned. “Thanks Joe. You’re the best.”

“I know, sugar.”

“
Modest, too.”

“
Yep. You done?”

“
Yeah, ready when you are.” As they left the building, she slipped her arm through his. “Joe?”

“
Yes, sugar.”

“
Can I change the station on the radio?”

“
Absolutely not.”

“
But it’s old man music.”

“
That’s cuz I’m an old man, sugar.”

“
True.” She grinned and nudged him. “Don’t worry, Joe. I’ll take care of you in your old age.”

“
God help me.” He climbed into the truck. “C’mon, sugar, shake that skinny ass.”

The relief as Joe opened the door of his apartment was palpable. For three hours they hadn’t spoken after their latest argument had run out of steam. Amy pushed past him and, storming into her room, collapsed on the bed with a sigh. The term argument implied a two-way thing. But of course, arguments with Joe were different.

He had caught her using his pre-pay. That phone was for club shit only, not long conversations with her friends about their latest object of desire. As he had confiscated her own phone again after she’d run up massive bills on it, she felt what she had done wasn’t unreasonable. He, of course felt differently. As she had used up all the credit on the phone, he wouldn’t be giving her any cash to go bowling with her friends at the weekend. She had tried everything, yelling, crying and sulking. Deep down she knew she was wasting her time. She’d been caught out and was going to have to suck it up. Didn’t stop her trying though. Shit. She’d really wanted to go bowling. She sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe all was not lost; she had three days till the weekend. If she really, really groveled, he might cave.

She opened her eyes as he knocked and walked in. “I’m going to the clubhouse. I won't be long. I’ll pick up take-out on my way home.”

“
Okay. Can we have Chinese?”

“
Sure.” He smiled and turned to leave. “I’d appreciate it if you could load the washing machine.”

“
Okay.” Amy got the distinct impression she was going to be doing a lot of chores over the next few days.

~ oOo ~

Everywhere she looked were cardboard boxes. Shit, how was it possible to have so much stuff? Beth slumped on her sofa and ran her fingers through her hair. At least that was all of them packed and ready to go into storage. Friday would be her last day at work, and on Sunday she would be living in Seattle.

They had agreed that they would need to find a bigger place. Joe’s apartment was really only designed for one, and as it was, Amy’s room was tiny. In the short term, though, his place would suffice. Beth grinned. She would be happy to live in one of those boxes, if it meant they could all be together.

Joe checked the ID on his cell and grinned. “Hey, darling. You all packed?”

“Yeah. I have so much stuff, Joe.”

“
You planning on cluttering my place up with all your crap?”

“
No. I’m planning on cluttering OUR place up with all my crap.”

Joe’s grin got wider. He had always believed that he wasn’t cut out to be a family man, but now he couldn’t wait. For all those years he had only ever seen that astonishing woman as a kid sister. How could he ever have been so blind? Not only was she beautiful, she was smarter than anyone he knew and more compassionate. He had lost count of how many times she had dropped everything to take care of her family. Despite this, and her less than auspicious start in life, she managed to get herself a real education and a career. All without the help of anyone.

“So what time does your flight get in?”

“
About four. I can’t wait to see you.”

“
I can’t wait to see you, either. I’ve got a serious case of blue balls.”

“
Too much information, Joe. Don’t worry as soon as I get to Seattle it’s something you’ll never experience again.”

“
Good to hear. I’m sorry, darling I’m gonna have to go. Gotta talk to Bugs. I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“
Sure baby. Take care.”

Beth hung up with a smile. Joe had told her time and time again that she was too good for him, that she deserved better, but he couldn’t be more wrong. Their backgrounds were similar, although his mom wasn’t a junkie. Neither had a father, and money was always tight. They had taken different paths, of course, but even if she hadn’t got together with Joe, she would have probably quit her job. She had been restless for a while and wanted something more meaningful than putting together legal documents and running around after the senior partners. Her friends and colleagues had laughed and shaken their heads when she’d tried to explain to them that all she really wanted was a family.

Bugs was already in church when he walked into the clubhouse. Barely acknowledging his brothers, he stalked through the building and took his usual seat next to his VP. “You wanted to see me?”

“
Yeah. Got a job for ya.” He grinned. “It’s got your name written all over it. Need you to weed out a rat.”

“
Where?”

“
Salt Lake. How well do you know that chapter?”

“
Not well. I met the prez a couple of times on runs.”

“
Well you must have made an impression, cos he asked for you personally.”

“
Okay. Do you have any details?”

“
Only the basics. The chapter is usually pretty quiet, tends to fly under the radar. They run a junkyard on the edge of town and have been dealing in stolen auto parts for years, usually top end stuff for the luxury car market. Just recently, though, they’ve been taking a few hits. Couple of trucks got hijacked, then last week they got a visit from the local PD. Obviously that’s not so unusual and nothing was found, but normally they’d get a heads-up from their tame pig. This time though, he had no clue a bust was going down.”

“
So where do I come in?”

“
There’s been a lot of internal shit going on for a few months. To start with, King, the prez, put it down to a bit of posturing. The VP and Sergeant at Arms have had beefs in the past, but managed to get past it. But now it’s looking like the VP might be looking to break away. King isn’t a young man, but he does have the backing of his chapter. The only way he’d lose their support would be if they thought he no longer had control of his shit.”

“
He thinks his VP is trying to undermine him? That’s a dangerous game, and a big accusation to make.”

“
Yeah. You’re right on both counts. King wants someone with no links to the chapter to sniff around. He needs evidence before he acts.”

“
Shit, that needs someone with a more subtle approach than mine.”

“
Which is why Barney is going with you.” Joe nodded. Barney was a good choice. He had an open and friendly demeanor that belied a ruthless streak. People often underestimated him, despite his recent SAA patch. Between the two of them they should be able to get any information they needed.

“
Okay. When do we leave?”

“
Monday.” Bugs grinned. “I know you got the kid, but my old lady will keep an eye on her.” 

“
Nah it’s okay, Yaz has got enough on her plate with your brood, I got it covered.”

Monday. Shit! Beth was arriving on Sunday, and he was taking off the next day. Despite the fact that he felt like a complete asshole for dumping her like that, it never once occurred to Joe to refuse. He just hoped she would understand that his club needed him and he wasn’t prepared to let it down.

Walking outside, he pulled out his cell and dialed her number. “Hey, darling.”

“
Joe. Wow, two calls in less than an hour, I’m honored.”

“
You won't think that when you’ve heard what I’m gonna tell you.”

Beth hung up with a sigh. She knew that this was his life. Shit, she’d listened to Maria and his mom bitch about it enough, but she hadn’t expected him to take off as soon as she arrived. She had reassured him that she would be fine, and that it wasn’t a problem. And, truthfully it wasn’t. In the last six months, they’d done a lot of talking and she knew exactly what being with him entailed. They’d discussed everything from whether she should be involved in club life, (maybe in the future) to how she wouldn’t accept him cheating on her under any circumstances.

At least they got to spend one night together before he went away. She grinned. They’d just have to make that one night count.

~ oOo ~

Joe had never been big on public displays of affection. The only exception to this rule was Amy. And now it seemed her aunt was joining this very exclusive club. Standing in the airport surrounded by families with screaming kids, business types in suits and the usual flotsam and jetsam that passed through airports every day, all he was aware of was the woman in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent and shifting uncomfortably as her body pressed against his. "Shit, girl. I'm gonna have to get you home. If I we stay like this any longer, I'll come in my pants."

Reluctantly, they pulled apart and he led her, by the hand, to his truck.

"Shit." Joe's jaw clenched as he stopped at yet another red light. It was beginning to feel like the whole world was conspiring to keep them apart. He'd got it all planned. Amy was staying at her friends and they had a whole night, just the two of them, before they were separated again. He was going to fuck her until neither of them could stand. That was, of course, if they ever got home.

Beth grinned as he cursed the driver in front for driving too slow. "Relax, Joe. I'd really like to get home in one piece."