VAL, AKA THE SAGE OF BASIN ROCK

Lola is off the walls excited when she returns from her lunch out with the homestead gals. Kissing her busted knuckles, I listen to the play-by-play of her fight with a woman who apparently went down on me while I was staggeringly drunk.

“I have no memory of that,” I promise Lola. “And I would never choose to put Earl near a woman like Elishia. She’s gross and mean.”

“She took advantage of you,” Lola replies, trusting my words. “I wish I had hit her.”

Our evening is relaxed with us deciding to see a movie in Rockwell and get dinner at a pizza place. I nearly ask if she wants to spend the night at my parents’ house. We could hang out in my room and have breakfast with the family.

Since I’m supposed to ride with Duke tomorrow, I keep my idea to myself and spend another night at Lola’s apartment.

The next day, Duke doesn’t say much before we ride around Basin Rock. Lola claims her dad spent the night somewhere with his stripper girlfriend.

“I’m afraid of a shitty stepmom,” Lola confessed before I left to meet Duke. “But I’m more afraid of being unsupportive when I know my dad is struggling.”

Duke does seem stressed when we first start riding around Basin Rock. He barely looks in my direction as we stop at several ranches to introduce me to the men in charge. I don’t goof around during the meetups. These older men show respect to Duke. Not because he’s a fellow businessman. They fear him and his wild club.

I want the locals to fear me, too. One of the men has already heard about the way I “stood up for Lola.” Duke reveals nothing while the men make tense chitchat.

Around noon, after riding under the hot sun for an hour, Duke and I stop at Cat’s Cones, located at the border of our two clubs’ territories. This place was always a family favorite. I’ve seen Duke out here with Clover before. That was back before I met Lola and realized her family would be mine one day.

Choosing a table with an umbrella, Duke orders a hearty burger full of onions and tomatoes. I like how he doesn’t feel the need to eat something with double meat and plenty of cheese. That’s the move of an insecure man wanting to prove himself.

I order a mushroom burger, sensing it’s messy enough to annoy Duke. He desperately needs to learn to increase his patience levels if he wants me at his side for the next few decades.

“Heard you hooked up with a stripper,” I announce while dipping my thick-cut fry in a pile of ketchup.

Duke sighs deeply and tries to ignore me before giving up and asking, “Yeah, so?”

“Lola thinks you’re having a midlife crisis.”

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

“Okay, fine. You remain silent while I talk,” I reply, and Duke’s upper lip lifts into a snarl. “Personally, I think Lola’s looking at this situation wrong.”

Duke’s snarl softens a bit. “How do you figure?”

“There’s no harm in a man having fun. I know I’m having a ball with Lola. People should look for ways to be happy. With me and Lola, that fun is the start of something big. But not every fun thing has to be meaningful.”

Duke studies me with a narrowed gaze before muttering, “Lola knows I’ve dated plenty since her mom left.”

“Lola told me about your panic attack,” I share, and Duke curses under his breath. “She said you thought you were dying. That experience jacked up her brain. Now, Lola views you as fragile, even though you’re still a guy capable of throwing punches and banging chicks.”

“I don’t need you to tell me this shit.”

“I think you do. Men on the top feel a lot of pressure. I think you don’t have anyone you can bullshit with.”

“Well, you’re wrong.”

“Your mom worries about you, so you have to edit yourself. Your daughters want to believe you’re Superman. Your brother drives you crazy and not in a fun way like mine does with me. Your men expect you to have all the answers. Who can you just bullshit with?”

“And you think you can be that guy?” Duke asks, looking ready to laugh.

“Before Court became president, he was a badass hiding in the shadows. My uncle dealt with a lot of pressure when he took over. But he had Donovan, Emmett, and Jared to blow off steam with. That’s why he can stand in front of the club and act bulletproof. I don’t see you having that.”

“Lola’s a good listener.”

“Yeah, and she is proud to be your daughter. I liked that about her immediately. The way she talked about her family was how I viewed mine. But when Lola sees you vulnerable, she gets the urge to baby you. That makes you feel like you have to be strong all the time.”

Duke exhales. “I’ve been on top for a good twenty years. That time flew by fast. One minute, I was a nineteen-year-old with a new wife and a baby. My club was a handful of guys. We were bankrolled by a rich fuck. I had a million ideas and the future seemed wide open. Then, one day, seemingly out of nowhere, my wife’s gone, my girls are grown up, and I realize my future has grown narrow.”

Duke opening up to me is a big deal. He thinks I’m a fool who inherited my good fortune. Right now, he’s testing me, and I can’t risk failing.

“I like to have fun and fuck about, but I’m not a lightweight,” I say and hold his gaze. “I will hurt people to keep my family safe. I will bleed for a club brother. Now your family and club are included in my circle. That means your problems are mine.”

“We’ll see.”

“No, don’t wait to figure things out. Just look me in the eyes and see who I am. Trust me now so you don’t waste time worrying. Like you said, your future got narrow. Why not widen it again by trusting in a man who worships your daughter?”

Duke reveals a little smile. “That first day, when you mouthed off, I was sure you’d treat Lola like shit. I was ready to call the entire thing off, but I didn’t read you right.”

“I was acting like an asshole because I was on my back foot. Lola rejecting me hurt like a sumbitch. But we’re past that now. You see me, and you’re not a guy who feigns blindness just to create drama.”

Duke studies me for a long time, taking a bite of his burger to drag out the moment. I feel him replaying the last few weeks. He’s a smart guy, but he doesn’t trust easily.

“Yeah, I see you,” Duke finally says. “But you’re my daughter’s man. I can’t say shit to you without worrying you’ll rat me out to her.”

“Lola doesn’t want to know all the dirty details. She’d rather see you as Superman again. That’s why I told her that you having a fun stripper hookup was a sign you weren’t stressing life.”

“I don’t want Lola to worry.”

“Neither do I, but I don’t want to lie to her. So, like, you aren’t serious about this stripper, are you? I mean, I get the fun factor, but she won’t be joining us for Thanksgiving, right?”

“What if I say yes?”

“I will prepare Lola for meeting her new stripper step-mommy.”

Duke rolls his eyes. “I don’t bring hookups home for the holidays.”

“The stripper probably doesn’t want the hassle, either. What’s her name? Maybe I know her.”

Duke’s gaze goes dark, and I assume he’s worried I might have banged his current hookup. I can understand why he wouldn’t think he’d stack up well compared to my fine ass.

“Back in the day, West, Ike, Otto, and I often hit up strip clubs all over West Virginia. We liked to jump on stage and have quarters thrown at us.”

“My club’s future president,” Duke mutters.

Grinning at his annoyance, I ask, “Didn’t you used to have stupid fun?”

“I got married when I was eighteen and became a father soon after. Being stupid wasn’t an option.”

“You never got to be a wild young man like me. That explains why you want to party with a stripper now.”

Duke’s expression is difficult to read. I think he’s relieved to have me understand. Maybe he wants to share more. Or perhaps, he’s still wondering if I’ve already plowed his stripper girlfriend. The holidays could be very awkward if he does bring this woman home.

“How come you don’t want to tell me this chick’s name?”

Duke wipes his mouth and takes a drag on his straw before sighing. “This thing we’re talking about is between us, right?”

“Sure.”

Duke glances around and shrugs. “This woman isn’t just a hookup. She ought to be. Nothing can really come out of us being together. But she’s gotten under my skin. With that said, I don’t want to get into any details or bring her around the house. I’m not ready to face how we might not work long term.”

“And you can’t work because of your family’s curse or because she’s a stripper?”

“Neither,” Duke says immediately. “She comes with a young woman’s dreams. I’ve had my kids. I’m not looking to start over, but I know that’s important to her.”

Duke’s expression is raw. He’s a man showing me his damn soul. I’d normally get uncomfortable in such a situation, but he feels like family now. Lola talks about Duke constantly. She’s crazy about her family like I am about mine. If she knew her dad was nursing a crush on a woman he couldn’t keep, her heart would break.

“I’ve dated hot women before,” I say, and he instantly frowns hard at me. “None of them lit me up like Lola. I’d give her anything. Maybe this woman isn’t your Lola. In that case, you should keep her away from your real life and enjoy this thing until it dies naturally. Then, you’ll lick your wounds while babysitting the grandkid I plan to give you.”

“I’d be okay with you not having kids for a decade.”

“No way. West is planning on having a kid, and I can’t have my brother stealing the spotlight,” I explain before returning to his problem. “But if this stripper is your Lola, the curse doesn’t matter and her age won’t either. You’ll give her a kid just like Bullet plans to do with my sister. For the right woman, you’ll do anything. For a great woman who isn’t the right one, you’ll simply enjoy the ride.”

“That’s a very mature response.”

“I grew up around happy couples. I might be a dipshit about a few things, but I know how love works.”

“What if this woman is the right woman and wants a kid? I’ll have a child and a grandchild who are the same age.”

“It’ll be cool for them to grow up together. You worry too much. Life’s been good for you, right? You’re a strong, smart guy. You run Basin Rock. Have a nice house and healthy kids. Your mom is alive and well. You’re hooking up with a woman that makes you crazy. Sure, she’s a stripper, and I might have banged her before. But otherwise, you’re living the dream, so turn that frown upside down.”

“There’s no way you’ve banged her.”

“How do you know?”

“She knows about you. If you banged her, she would have gotten weird when I mentioned you.”

“She might be worried you’ll feel insecure.”

Duke scowls hard at me before suddenly bursting into hard chuckles. I don’t know if he’s working out his stress or if he actually finds my comment hilarious. Either way, he takes a full minute to calm down.

“Let’s stop talking about this woman I’m dating.”

“Okay, but I’m a good listener. You and me are going to be tied up together for the rest of our lives. You might as well learn to lean on your VP.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Duke and I don’t say much else before riding to the family’s diner. He barely says goodbye before ditching me to go to the pub next door. I head into the diner to find Erin and Lola finishing up the lunch rush.

“I am here to save the day!” I announce.

Erin applauds, and I promise myself she isn’t do it sarcastically. Lola smiles at me from the kitchen where she works with another woman.

“I’m almost finished here,” Lola says after I plant a kiss on her lips. “Is your afternoon free?”

“Sure.”

“Want to go to my dad’s house and swim? No one will be around for hours. We could skinny dip.”

“I will never say no to you naked and wet, Lola McGraw.”

Lola and I hang out at her dad’s house through the evening and end up staying the night. Erin is out with friends while Duke doesn’t call to report where he will be. Clover shows up around six and watches “Predator” before crashing early.

After breaking in Lola’s bed, we enjoy a restful evening in the comfortable house. I think I hear her dad return home after two in the morning. Lola doesn’t react at all to the sound of a motorcycle. That’s a good sign for sleeping well at the homestead.

Lola and I are gone before Duke gets up the next day. I’m not sure he’ll show up at the tux shop today since he might feel outnumbered by my people.

Instead, Duke walks in solo. There’s something rather sad about him having no one to back him up.

I walk over and pat his shoulder. “Glad you came.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I worried you might be intimidated by our Rawkfist prowess.”

“I wish you talked less.”

“Your daughter likes when I flap my gums, sir. You know the saying ‘happy wife, happy life.’ Well, that’s my motto.”

Duke frowns at me like he does with his dumber guys. I don’t think he understands how other people’s brains might be wired differently but work perfectly fine. Or in Cubby’s case, they work well enough.

Duke glances around the shop before asking, “Are you wearing your vest during the ceremony?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter, losing my smile. “Should I be wearing your club’s vest?”

“Get married first. Then we’ll know you’re serious.”

“You keep saying that. What will it take to make you stop repeating yourself?”

“You marrying my daughter will do it.”

I frown back at my dad who is eavesdropping. Pa-Emmett strolls over and pats my shoulder.

“I’m sure it’s not personal,” Pa-Emmett says, offering an olive branch to his rival. “Can’t be easy to watch his daughter get married. It’s a dad thing, Val. Don’t stress it.”

“Didn’t Lola agree to marry whoever volunteered?” West asks, joining us. “Why is she complaining about slumming it with my brother when it could have been worse?”

“She isn’t complaining,” I growl and shove West.

As my brother and I try to get each other in a headlock, Pa-Emmett rolls his eyes and mutters to Duke, “These are the future leaders of our clubs.”

I shove aside West and fix my hair. “Stop hassling me, West. I was supportive of your marriage to the ginger raccoon clown.”

“Yeah, you were,” West says and reaches out to smack me upside the head. “I’m just riled up over you moving away. How can you support my woman if you’re never around?”

Forcing me into a hug, West torments me with affection now.

“Are they always like this?” Duke asks Pa-Emmett.

“No, sometimes, they’re asleep or their mouths are too full of food to talk. Occasionally, they’ll get quiet during sad movies.”

Uncle Court sizes up Duke and asks, “Is your brother coming?”

“No. He might not attend the wedding, either. I haven’t decided if I want the Florida chapter to ride up here.”

“Why?”

“There’s a reason I’m fine with them living a thousand miles away.”

“Tuesday claims the Florida chapter is full of ding dongs and dipshits,” I say while West tries to yank my head from my shoulders.

Pa-Emmett reaches over and flicks his oldest child’s head. “Stop trying to injure him. We’re in public for fuck’s sake.”

“Fine, I’ll wait to come at him when we’re home.”

“Why are you so antsy like a fricking kid?” Emmett demands of West.

“I told you. I’m going to miss Val.”

“So, you plan to, what, rip his head off and keep it with you so you won’t miss him?”

“You know me so well, Pa.”

“Is this how you are with your brother?” I ask Duke, wanting him to feel included.

“Sure, just without the silly banter and an older male to play referee.”

“But you have your ma,” I say, and he narrows his dark blue eyes at me. “She keeps you boys in line.”

“Did Lola tell you that?”

“No, Tuesday did,” I reply, winning a glare from Duke and a smirk from Pa-Emmett. “But Lola confirmed it. She said you allowed Dallas to survive without a severe ball injury because of your love for Erin.”

Duke looks around as all the men study him. I think maybe my attempt to make him feel included has led to him feeling on the spot.

“Everyone has a family member like Dallas,” I say and pretend to look at tuxes. “Like, there’s my loser cousin Otto and my other loser cousin Felix. Both of them aren’t here to defend themselves, so trust me that they’re terrible. But we love them anyway.”

Nearby, Court and Donovan scowl at how I throw their boys under the bus to make my future pa-in-law feel better.

“Will your sons be at the wedding?” Duke asks the men while rubbing roughly at the back of his neck. “I feel like both families should have come up with guest lists rather than simply asking randomly who is coming.”

Donovan nods. “We’ll get Otto a tux. Edith picked a bridesmaid dress for Betty.”

Duke gets a strange expression when Uncle Donovan mentions the Betty thing. I wonder if he has a negative impression of my cousin Otto. The guy sports a ZZ Top-worthy beard and scares people simply by breathing. Plus, Betty has her whole rockabilly style going.

They probably seem too cool to be approachable. People around town get out of their way when they show up somewhere. I once told Tuesday that Otto probably wanted to shave his beard, but it was too useful for scaring off the townie dorks.

“Normally, we have weddings on the homestead and no one wears this fancy shit,” I explain to Duke as I consider a ruffled shirt for my tux.

“No,” Duke and Emmett say in unison when I show them.

“You’ve become twins,” I taunt and admire the shirt. “Lola might think this is funny.”

“It’s your wedding, not a standup bit,” Duke grumbles and wins a nod from the men around him.

“Wait, so you’re all ganging up on me? I ought to call Lola for backup.”

Duke clenches his fists when he thinks I might use his daughter against him. I like how he knows I have that card up my sleeve. The fact is Lola’s smart about business. When I’m right and Duke’s wrong, she’s bound to take my side for reasons beyond my hot body.

Unlike his daughter, Duke can’t settle into this new situation he’s found himself in. He gets quiet and almost awkward around my people. The relaxed side he showed me at Cat’s Cones is gone. Now, he looks on the spot even when no one is talking to him.

Though my charms won over Duke yesterday, much work remains to be done. Once Lola is my wife, he’ll accept reality and embrace his bright future.