Black Sheep (Rawkfist MC Book 1) (16 page)

Justice

E
veryone at Kroger apparently attended high
school with Christine, and they all want to reunite with her at this very
moment. Eventually, Poppy, Journey, and I ditch her and do our grocery
shopping.

“Hi, Journey,”
a pregnant woman says, waving from the other side of the freezer section.

Journey waves
back before grabbing the cart when Poppy and I attempt to ditch her like we did
Christine.

“She came to
the clinic for an ultrasound.”

“Is she having
a boy or girl?” Poppy asks while I look at TV dinners for Court and Felix.

“Boy but don’t
tell her. She doesn’t want to know.”

Poppy looks
ready to yell at the woman. When Journey ignores her, the prank dies a quick
death.

“Sorry,”
Christine says, meeting us in the meat section. “People are really friendly.”

“We’ve been in
town for weeks. When do they stop being friendly?” Journey asks.

“Never. They’ll
know your every failure and success. The town owns everyone who lives in it. I
thought I mentioned that before we moved.”

“Yeah, but I
assumed you were being overly dramatic as usual.”

Journey and
Christine give each other the evil eye while Poppy looks for her preferred
brand of bacon.

Raised voices
draw my attention to where Jared strolls down our aisle. He’s talking to
someone who replies in a thunderous voice, likely warning my mother.

“Oh, no,”
Christine says.

“Isn’t it time
you two made nice?” Journey asks.

“I’m not ready
to talk to him.”

Journey frowns
at the already freaking Christine. “What will more time give you?”

“I don’t know.
I’m not sure what to expect.”

“Are you afraid
you two will still have sparks,” I ask.

Journey glances
at our father on his way toward us. “Or that you won’t. This is the time to
find out. Rip off the Band-Aid and face whatever ugly truth you find.”

Christine gnaws
at her lower lip and stares at Jared.

“Hello,” he
says to us, but his gaze is on his ex.

My parents
stare at one another for a long minute while my sisters and I gawk at them. If
they didn’t have an audience, things might go better, but I’m too curious to
look away.

Stepping back,
Christine reaches for the SUV keys hanging from Journey’s pocket.

“I’ll wait
outside.”

“Christine,”
Jared mutters before raising his voice as she bolts down the aisle, “This is
getting ridiculous!”

Journey sighs.
“A real man would chase her down.”

“A real man
would tackle her,” I add.

“A real man
would smack some sense into her,” Poppy says, causing us to frown at her.
“What? Too much?”

“If she doesn’t
want to talk to me, I’ll leave her alone.”

Jared says the
words while watching her go. Then he focuses on me until I frown.

“What?”

“Fuck it,” he
says and takes off running after Christine.

I look at my
sisters who examine me for whatever hidden message Jared saw. We hurry our cart
to the front of the store so we can find a good spot for the show unfolding in
the parking lot.

Jared takes
Christine by the arm and says something that causes her to yank free.

“Should we
sneak closer?” Poppy asks.

“No,” Journey
grunts. “Let them be.”

“Whatever,
queef.”

Journey ignores
Poppy and focuses on our parents arguing in front of the entire parking lot.
Christine waves her arms around wildly while Jared shakes his head and tries to
interrupt her tirade.

“Your dick let
me down when I needed it,” Poppy says, doing her impression of Christine. “Why
couldn’t you have left it at home while you were in prison?”

Jared begins
yelling at Christine outside, and I hear his voice even if his words aren’t
clear.

“You married a
fat man with extremely long nose hairs,” I mutter, rubbing my imaginary
mustache. “If you had waited for me, you’d have a better kid than that Poopy
chick.”

My sister gives
me a side-glare. “If you hadn’t been so hairy and given me a weird daughter
with freaky caterpillar eyebrows, I would have stayed.”

“I don’t have
bushy eyebrows,” I growl. “You’re thinking of this one here. See?”

Journey smacks
my hand away when I try to touch her furry eye-warmers.

“I think
they’re going to punch each other,” Poppy says as my parents get into each
other’s faces.

“Uh, I don’t
think that’s where this is headed.”

Journey
hasn’t finished spitting out the words
before Jared grabs Christine and kisses her hard. She wraps her arms around his
neck and suddenly they’re drying humping against our SUV.

“Barf,” I moan.
“I don’t want to see how I got in my mommy’s tummy.”

“What are you
whining about?” Journey asks. “They’re violating my car.”

“True. I stand
corrected. You’ve been wronged. Go out there and make them stop.”

“Why?” Poppy
asks, shoving her hip into mine. “I think their disgusting display is
beautiful. Long lost lovers reuniting in front of God, nature, and everyone at
Kroger. What’s more romantic than that?”

We walk outside
to where Jared carries Christine to his Harley. Their lips remained locked, and
their brains clearly shut off.

“Don’t forget
condoms!” Poppy yells. “Gonorrhea knows no age!”

The people
enjoying the show in the parking lot turn to gape at Poppy, who shrugs.

“Your
educational system right here,” she says, pointing at herself.

“I’m still
confused how things went so icky so fast,” I say as we watch Jared and
Christine ride away on his Harley.

“It’s been nearly
twenty years. That’s a lot of pent-up desire between the two of them,” Journey
says before walking to her SUV where Christine left the keys.

Before Journey
returns, Poppy stomps back into the store. Eventually, we find the grumpy teen
tapping her foot at our cart.

“What’s your
problem?”

“My dad is
miles away, and my mom just ran off with some shady fella. I’m basically an
orphan now.”

Journey wraps
an arm around Poppy’s shoulder. “I’ll adopt you, but we’ll need to set out a
few new rules. Number one is children are to be seen, not heard. Understand?”

Poppy gets into
Journey’s face and nods. For the rest of the grocery shopping, she says nothing
but goes eyeball-to-eyeball with her new mommy. Apparently satisfied by Poppy’s
display of angry obedience, Journey can’t stop smiling. I’m more interested in
how long my daddy will be defiling my mommy.

Court

B
ecca loves her Trans Am. I’m not sure how
she afforded to buy it. Hell, I don’t even know if she owns it legally, but she
dotes on her car in a way she never does with her family. The red terror races
down the roads of Tumbling Rock, scaring the shit out of anyone in its path.
Becca especially loves terrorizing adult bike riders.

Journey’s beat
down of Becca, Apryl, and Hilari left the bitches in a shit mood. The only way
to make their lives better is to drink themselves into a stupor at one of the
local bars. For the last few days, the girls have hit one place after another.
I track them, unsure if my actions will throw kerosene on Becca’s fiery temper.
Eventually, I decide I don’t give a shit.

As I prepare to
steal Becca’s Trans Am from a packed parking lot at The Beaver, Justice texts
me to say her parents’ horniness made her a sad face emoticon. I promise to
drive out to her place as soon as I finish an assignment. She texts a dozen
more sad faces, but I still tell her I can’t come over right then. She finally
sends a middle finger emoticon.

I love Justice’s
quirks and can usually tell when she’s messing with me. Face to face, anyhow,
but in texts, her sarcasm feels jarring. I send her a heart emoticon just in
case she’s pissed. She replies with a poem.

Roses are
red.

Violets are
blue.

I want to
ride your face.

And then
your big sexy pool cue.

That rhymed,
right?

Knowing Justice
is in a good mood, I return my focus to the task at hand.

My Harley is
parked a few businesses over, behind a dumpster where it shouldn’t be
noticeable to anyone not looking. The Beaver is at full occupancy, and I don’t
doubt Becca will be partying until closing time.

I casually
drive out of the parking lot without a soul in sight. The Trans Am should be a
decent ride, but it turns out Becca doesn’t take any better care of the car
than she does her kids. The shocks are shit, and her brakes keep slipping. The
thing isn’t safe for anyone to ride in, so I’m doing her a fucking favor by
driving the piece of shit into the Hunter’s Luck Lake.

Just outside
out Tumbling Rock, I take a turn down a long, dirt road that leads to a
drop-off over the lake. The Trans Am will soon join dozens of lost cars.
Everyone knows they’re down deep in the muddy waters, but no one wants to pay
to drag them out.

I don’t know if
Becca will figure out where her beloved car went. She might guess I took it. She
might even guess I dumped it in the lake.

Most likely,
she’ll have too many enemies to know who stole her ride. In Becca’s mind, the
Trans Am is worth a fortune so she’ll probably think a thief sold it. No matter
what she believes, I’ll have caused her a bit of the pain she daily hands out
to everyone else.

I open all of
the windows in the car, check for anything important in the glove compartment,
and leave behind her stash of pot. After placing a block between the seat and
accelerator, I adjust the gear from neutral to drive. The Trans Am races off
the cliff before crashing into the deep waters below. I stand at the drop-off
long after the final bubbles pop at the surface.

I wish I were
more satisfied by my revenge. Part of me wants the bitch to know I did it. Of
course, she’d take it out on Felix. Becca might even go to court to fuck with
my visitation again.

At the main
road, I stand in the foggy evening and wait for Donovan to show up. I don’t
think to ask any of my club brothers to help. They’d wonder about starting
trouble with a bitch like Becca. Joe always says to leave her well enough alone
before she starts shit we can’t fix. They’re so worried she’ll get the police
involved in Tumbling Rock that they allow her to run wild. If we get rid of
her, we’ll have to get rid of a lot of people in this town, Joe told me once. I
hadn’t even asked him to kill my ex, but he knew what would make everyone’s
life easier.

Donovan drives
me to a spot near where my Harley is parked.

“Did it feel
good?” he asks.

“I hated that
car nearly as much as I hate her, so, yeah, it felt pretty fucking perfect.”

Donovan smiles
in the dark car. “She’s going to be pissed.”

“I know,” I
say, nearly laughing. “I better pick up Felix for the night, so he isn’t around
when she gets home.”

“Glad to help
out, but I better get out of town before someone spots me and thinks the cops
are scoping out the place.”

After Donovan
speeds away, I return to where my Harley remains safe and sound. Crime in
Tumbling Rock is a part of life, and everyone expects they’ll be robbed once or
twice. However, no one wants to endure the club’s wrath, and nothing pisses off
the Rawkfist boys like a stolen Harley.

Justice

F
irst, Christine runs off to do sticky
activities with Jared. Then Court says he won’t be able to stop by until late
in the evening. I’m absolutely shocked to learn the world doesn’t revolve
around me. My day has sucked so far. First, I had a long day at work, and then
the wild time at the store, and finally a bitchy dinner with my bitchy sisters.

“You’re a
hog-faced weenie machine,” Poppy says when I tell her to do the dishes.

“Your bad
attitude is exactly why your parents abandoned you.”

Poppy throws a
dish towel at me. “I am not the problem! The world is the problem! You are the
problem! You can’t handle the truth!”

“Just wash the
damn dishes,” I mutter.

“Okay, but I
will spit in your mouth while you sleep tonight.”

Rolling my
eyes, I look to Journey for help. “I thought you adopted her.”

“The imaginary
paperwork hasn’t gone through yet. Until it does, you’re on your own.”

“Just great.”

Journey lets
out a roaring sigh, startling Hal from the front window where he waits for
Christine.

“I’ll do the
dishes. You two need to shut the fuck up and go to your separate corners of the
house. I’m not above getting out the belt.”

Poppy stomps to
her room while I mosey to mine. We both fume until Journey finishes with the
dishes and we’re in the clear. Returning to her side, we stare at our big
sister.

“I’m lonely,” I
say, rubbing my head cat-like against Journey’s shoulder.

“She’s lonely,”
Poppy adds, rubbing her head against Journey’s other shoulder.

“We’ll watch a
movie until Christine returns reeking of shame and regret.”

A few minutes
later, Poppy is sprawled on the floor with Hal while I sit on the couch and
rest my head on Journey’s lap.
Zombeavers
is half over before we hear a
Harley’s engine outside.

“Is that Mom
returning or Justice’s hot dog?” Poppy asks without turning away from the TV.
“My money is on the second one.”

Standing, I
hurry to the door and hope Court’s here. I miss him and need his reassurance
that the world is still beautiful even while my parents knock boots. Besides,
if Christine returns too early, she’ll no doubt be sexually unsatisfied. I
suspect Jared and she need at least a solid six hours to satisfy so many years
of horny longing.

Court walks to
the porch with Felix in tow. I manage to say hi to the kid even while attaching
my lips to his father’s. Having Court’s strong arms around me soothes my long
day.

“My parents got
it on in a parking lot,” I say, looking up at him.

“I know. Hell,
the entire town knows. Today will likely be celebrated for generations to
come.”

Rolling my
eyes, I lean around him enough to see Felix. “Are you bunking on the sofa bed
tonight?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.
Consider this your second home. Well third after your dad’s, but you get the
point. Now let’s get inside before the mosquitoes start biting.”

Inside, Poppy
peels her eyes from the movie long enough to say hi to Felix. We end up on the
couch with me wrapped against Court. Felix slides onto the floor so he can pet
Hal.

“Texted Mom,” Journey
says, sitting in a nearby chair, “and told her to come home decent since we
have an impressionable child in the house.”

“Jared and
Christine went on a date, huh?” Court says, smirking at the date part. “Love is
in the air.”

Felix focuses
on Journey and asks, “Do you want a boyfriend?”

“I don’t like
men.”

“Oh, you’re a
lesbian?”

“No, I don’t
like women either.”

“Are you into
bestiality?”

Poppy laughs
while I look at a shocked Court.

“Felix, where
did you even learn that word?” he asks.

“I was reading
a news thing online, and I saw that word. If you highlight a word, you can look
up the meaning.”

“Ah, he’s
smart,” I say, patting Court’s chest as he remains horrified at knowing his
sweet child has the bestiality definition rolling around in his head.

Journey shrugs
when Felix keeps watching. “I’m not into animals. My life is fine without
dating. People are too obsessed with finding someone to make them complete. I’m
complete all by my lonesome.”

Poppy stares at
Journey, fighting the urge to say something bitchy. I watch my sisters and wait
to see if Poppy’s brain will win over her mouth.

“Shut up so I
can watch my movie,” she finally says and then exhales hard as if she’s injured
herself by not mocking Journey.

Smiling at
their truce, I nuzzle Court jaw. “Did you have a nice day?”

“It was okay,”
he says, giving me a little smirk.

Studying his
smiling face, I know he’s hiding something. I love how I can read him. I’m less
in love with how he won’t share certain parts of his life. Sure, I logically
get the secrecy around the club. Emotionally, I don’t know what it’s like to
have secrets.

I tell my
family everything, even things they don’t want to hear. Court’s not me, though.
I guess I’ll need to learn to deal with his secrets, just like he’ll deal with
my inability to keep anything private.