MC: Callahan (8 page)

I laugh. “Let’s get in the wind, Little Brothers. If you were old enough I’d buy you a beer for a good fuckin’ job.” Peter and Larry laugh as we walk by.

“Buy mine beer I’ll kill you in your sleep,” VP says, making me laugh.

“Just a ride, Brother, plan on living through the night.”

As we’re walking out Ricky asks why I’m not staying. “I’m not High Security, they take care of threats to the Club and community. I’m head of Transport and Prospects and I’m Sgt. at Arms for the Club, means I train the Brothers that aren’t Security.”

“There’s a lot of Brothers. I wondered how they keep them all straight,” he says as we hit the lot.

I look at little Ben. “Going to Transport to pick up my bike then to the garage.”

He throws chin saying he’ll meet me there. When we get to Transport Ricky asks, “How come he can ride to school alone but not anywhere else?”

“He can ride the yard with his Brothers as long as Security is with them, from the compound to the school is monitored and they’re tracked. The Club kids are high security risks, anyone with a bitch against the Club won’t think twice about using them.” He just looks at me like he’s thinking it over, then he nods.

Dave gets Ricky set up; I had helmets painted to match the bikes. Little Ben is smiling the whole time. “He’s never gonna forget this day, Uncle Tiny.”

I smile right back and walk to my bike. “In the wind, Brothers.”

We ride the reservation and back roads for a good hour then head home. They’re both good riders. Little Ben peels toward his house, throwing respect. When we pull in the driveway I point for Ricky to park in the third bay. He’s happy as a pig in shit and still smiling. “I’ll show you how to take care of it after your next ride. I’ll see about your license tomorrow. You’re a good rider, you need a license to ride it to school. Once you have it, you can go to school and back with the Club kids, no passengers.” He hugs me. I’m surprised but put my arms around him and pat his back.

“You didn’t have to believe me, but you did, then you gave me a bike and took me for a ride. This is the best day of my life, Tiny, thanks.” Fuckin’ kids.

“Ricky, what you did today was a good thing. You protected our kids and town, you deserve a good turn for that and all the other shit you got in trouble for. CJ told me about all of it, this is just a way to give it back, Little Brother. Now let’s get in before I have to start throwing tampons at you for being a pussy.” He laughs and steps back.

“Doc’s picking Ricky up. Heather has Sheila and Joey. She’ll bring them home in the morning. The boys are with Patches, then to Cloud’s for a sleepover and Jess has Sandy,” she says, walking in the door all excited.

“Was hoping for some peace for a while. I need to catch up on my shows,” I say without smiling. I watch as her face falls.

“We’re alone for the first time in forever and you’re watching freakin’ Dr Phil?” I love that look on her face. “I was hoping for wild monkey sex!” she yells. Her arms go up in the air, making her point.

I bust out laughing. “What the fuck is wild monkey sex?”

“Rough, hard, fast, the kind of sex you can only remember how friggin’ good it feels and not what you did, it leaves you shaking and trying to breathe so you don’t die from it.” She’s got a serious look as if she’s making a case for it. Like I’d refuse fuckin’ her. My woman is daft if she thinks sex is just an option for the night.

“Monkey sex will have to wait until biker sex is done, maybe in the shower we can do monkey sex. When did you start thinking TV would have been an option? I’m doing something wrong, Tiny Dancer, if you’re not feeling me still chasing you.”

She steps back. “I didn’t know the kids would be so time consuming. I’m exhausted every damn night. We don’t get anything but a few minutes in the mornings.”

Fuck. Kids fuckin’ up the us. I knew it. “Babe, I’m happy with the mornings, you’re doing a good job with the kids. We need time to get the routines, that’s all.” She just looks at me. “Maybe you should ask Heather to stay one night, like every other week, and we’ll go to the Club, stay in the room, and have wild biker monkey sex.”

There’s my smile. She jumps on me. “Love you, big Tiny. I’ll ask her, thank you.”

“Is it safe yet?” Ricky yells from the kitchen. Fuckin’ kids.

“Yeah.” I hold Nancy to me.

“My ff—freakin’ ears are bleeding from that sh..stuff.” I laugh. Nancy buries her face in my shirt. “Doc’s here in a couple of minutes. I wanted to talk to you before he gets here.” He looks nervous. I put Nancy down and we sit. I know where he’s going before he opens his mouth. “Doc and Sally are great, I love them for watching out for me, but they aren’t looking at adoption. I’ve been in care since I was four; this is the first house that’s been all in for
me
. Evelyn was great but she’s a woman, she doesn’t get what older boys need. Doc and Sally are willing to let me stay there, but you and the kids feel like home. Doc’s only agreeing to keep Sally happy, it shows when she’s not around he’s quiet and doesn’t do anything with me, not even talk.” He takes a breath. “I was going to talk to them tonight if you said I can stay here until my caseworker moves me again.” He’s looking right at us and is asking for someone to care about him, fuckin’ kids.

I look at Nancy; she has tears in her eyes but nods. “Ricky, you stay here as long as you want. I’ll keep your worker off your back.” He jumps on me and leans to kiss Nancy’s cheek.

Doc’s at the door. I yell for him to come in. When he steps in he looks at Ricky and waves to the door. What the hell? I lift Ricky off me. “Sit down, Ricky. Doc, can you sit for a minute?” I touch Nancy’s ass, nudging her.

“I need to change.” She jogs to the back stairs.

“Sally’s waiting for us, I can’t keep her waiting,” Doc says, looking at his watch.

“You might want to call her.” He watches my face and pulls his phone.

While we’re waiting for Sally, I tell him about Ricky’s bike and restricted license; he just nods. He doesn’t look at Ricky or say anything to him, not even a good job on the license. I talk to him about the clinic until Ricky goes to open the door for Sally.

I lean in and talk softly, “He knows you don’t want him, he feels it, and you’re showing it.”

His shoulders slump. Sally comes in with a fake smile. “Hi, Tiny, is everything okay?”

“Can you sit? Ricky has something to talk to you about.”

She does. We all look at Ricky. “You’ve been great, watching out for me, teaching me algebra and chemistry and all, but it doesn’t feel like you want me in your house anymore. I’m happy here; they’re all in for me every day, like a real family. They have my back and me theirs. I want to stay here as long as I can.”

I’m shocked seeing that Sally is relieved. “Tess told me you were staying here a couple of weeks ago. I’m sad that you are, but happy for you, Ricky. I want your life to be a happy one no matter where it is.”

Doc finally looks at him. “When Tess told Sally she was upset. I was pissed at you for hurting her; I’m sorry if you felt that. I also feel guilty. We were taking you to pick up and meet a little boy that’s staying for the weekend. It’s our second visit with him. I want you to be happy too, Ricky.”

“Just not with you, I’m glad I told you tonight!” He gets up pissed and slams the chair into the table. “You shouldn’t have told me about him. That’s fucked up!”

“Ricky, lower your voice and watch your mouth. I agree it’s fucked up, but Nancy’s upstairs and I’d rather she doesn’t hear this.” I look at Doc, he’s shocked. “You sat here and didn’t say a fuckin’ word to him; he got a bike, got his license but didn’t get anything from you, not even hello. Then you tell him you’re replacing him with a younger version that you’re willing to adopt when you were unwilling to adopt him. That’s what made this decision hard for him, you not being all in. That’s been happening since before you found his replacement. You can’t use Tess’s vision when you weren’t interested in Ricky for more than a year now. He’s a kid, but he’s not stupid and neither am I. This is fucked up, Doc.”

He wipes his face. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Ricky doesn’t need me, he doesn’t need anything from me, he’s got little Ben, Cloud, and all the Officers spend time with him.”

I can’t believe him. “Because you’re too busy, Brothers were helping you out. He needs a dad, someone to show him how to take care of his bike, make good decisions, be a good Brother. That was your job and everyone’s been filling in because you were too busy to do it. Now I get it, you just didn’t want the fuckin’ job. Go get your new son, I got this one.”

Sally is crying. Ricky hugs her and walks away. Doc doesn’t say a word. Asshole. I slam the door behind them. When I get to the stairs I yell up for Ricky and Nancy. Ricky comes down holding her hand. I hug them both. “Did you hear?”

“Yeah,” she says, sad, but she looks up at me. “Can we keep him?”

I laugh, damn woman. “No wild biker monkey sex tonight if we do.” Ricky starts chanting, holding his ears and making me smile. “Yeah, Tiny Dancer, I want to keep him too.” I bend and kiss her.

He starts yelling, “Ears bleeding, need bleach for my eyes, you’re freakin’ too old for this sh..stuff!”

“Shut the hell up, she just agreed to adopt you!” I yell at his spinning around loud mouthed yelling ass.

He stops and looks at Nancy. “You want me?” Tears fall down his cheeks. He doesn’t take his eyes off her.

“Of course, you big doofus, it was killing me that you were leaving. I wouldn’t give up wild biker monkey sex for just anyone, you know.” I laugh, doubled over. Fuckin’ Nancy. She has her hand over her mouth like she just realizes what she said. “Shit, that wasn’t good. Give me a hug already.” He launches himself at us. I brace her and grab his shoulders so he doesn’t break her. “We’re keeping you, Ricky, no getting out of it,” she says in his ear.

“Enough of the water works; I don’t have enough fuckin’ tampons for this. Let’s go see if Cloud will keep you for the night so my old lady gets everything she wants today.”

He steps back, wiping his face. “You’re really keeping me?”

“For fuck’s sake, when the hell did we lie to you so you think everything out of our mouths is a lie?”

He looks at me so serious for an almost sixteen-year-old. “People say they want me then change their mind. I get it if you do, I can stay in care until I age out. I’m okay with that if I could stay here. The Club takes care of the kids, I could Prospect and live in the apartments. Little Ben said he’d help me.”

Nancy huffs at him. “You’re not leaving, you’re not living in the apartments and you are not aging out of care! You two go to Cloud’s, explain what’s going on. I’m calling Ben.” She’s throwing orders around, pissed.

I hide my smile and put my hand on his shoulder, walking him out the door. He grabs his bag, not saying a word, but wearing a smile. When we get to the walkway I look at him. “Pres will have this done in no time, Ricky Callahan. Okay with you?”

His smile gets bigger. “Yeah.”

Cloud opens the door with a smile. “Kids are in the back.” He takes Ricky’s bag and drops it on his way to the kitchen. “He staying with the boys?”

He pulls two beers out and walks to the garage. I follow him out. “Doc didn’t want him, didn’t hide it for a year now. I thought he was exaggerating, but I saw it myself. Tonight they were taking him to meet a little boy they’re in the process of adopting.”

He nods. “Christian saw it and said Doc wanted a younger boy without so many bad habits.” He holds his hand up. “Ricky’s a good kid, no one knows that better than me, I’m just telling you what Christian said.”

I nod. “Thanks, Brother.”

He smiles. “Saw him on his bike this morning with the Little Brothers.”

“Yeah, he got him a restricted license, first shot.” I’m proud of him.

“You’re good for him, Tiny.”

I throw him chin. “Thanks for keeping him. I need to get back to Nancy and her dream of wild biker monkey sex.”

He laughs, walking me out. “I don’t want to know, they ride tomorrow. I’ll send Ricky home and get the little guys to Security. Danny will bring them home.”

“Thanks, Brother.” He throws chin.

Nancy is still on with Pres when I walk in. I go behind her and kiss behind her ear then lick down her neck. She’s trying to swat me away, so I take the phone. “Hey, Pres. Can you do this next week?” He says he can. “Is there anything I need to know or prepare Ricky for?” He says no, the lawyer will take care of it and send the papers. “Talk to you Monday then.” I hang up.

“Wild biker monkey sex or food so you can sustain wild biker monkey sex?” I bite the soft skin at the base of her neck.

She moans. “Can we just bring a bag of chips to bed so we can grab them in our sated post wild biker monkey sex stupor?”

I laugh, stepping away from her. “Where the fuck did you get ‘wild monkey sex’ from? Come on, you can tell me while we eat.” I pull her into the kitchen.

“A book I was reading, it was funny and stuck in my head,” she says, looking in the fridge.

“Sounds like a good book.” I move her out of the way and get the eggs, ham, cheese, and tortillas, breakfast burritos are quick and easy. We eat, clean up and I lock the doors then carry her up to our room

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