VAL, AKA SAD DADDY’S BIG BOY

With Lola spending her afternoon with the homestead girls, I find myself at home. I figure West, Ike, and I can ride around since our women are together.

Instead, I learn Ike’s gone riding with Uncle Donovan and Otto. As for West, he’s overseeing our mopey pa who wanders around the family room.

I realize my big-hearted father has begun to grieve his younger boy stepping away from the nest. Patting his shoulder, I offer a knowing smile.

“It’s okay,” I tell Pa-Emmett tenderly, wanting him to mourn openly rather than allowing his sadness to eat him alive. “Fess up what’s in your heart.”

“Your ego might destroy two clubs.”

Frowning, I mutter, “That’s not what I thought you were going to say.”

“Don’t cry, boy.”

“Why would I destroy anything?” I ask and pat his shoulder again. “Are you confusing me with West?”

My brother shakes his head. “Piss-ass.”

“You need to be smart,” Pa-Emmett tells me and grips my chin. “You’ve taken on more than you think.”

“Why are you panicking? Did something happen?”

“No, but I think your head is only geared to this girl.”

“I love her. She’s mine. It’s pretty great.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you’re ready to be out front running shit.”

“Dumbass,” West grumbles at me. “You belong in the background until you grow up.”

“Are you angry because I’ll be president before you?”

West snarls at me, but I also get the feeling he wants to laugh at our father’s hysteria.

“You aren’t ready to be in charge,” Pa Emmett insists. “If the Charleston club shows up, is anything different now than when you made this deal with the Blood-Red Suns?”

“Court made the deal. I’m simply reaping its benefits.”

My father scowls hard at me. “You aren’t ready.”

“I think you’re making me sad.”

“You think?”

I squeeze my eyes closed and try to work up a few tears. When that doesn’t work, I shrug. “I’m too happy to be sad, but you are making me wonder if you love me as much as you love West.”

My brother instantly asks, “Why would he?”

Pa-Emmett snaps his fingers at my brother and points at the back door.

“I don’t understand,” West taunts. “Besides, if Val’s going to be a club president one day, I should sit in on this.”

“What’s this really about?” I ask my pa. “I feel like you understand how nothing’s about to change leadership-wise. Court plans to wait until West has his family in order before he retires. Ike is talking about wanting the VP spot. Well, his dad won’t drop that workload on his son when Oana is still new to the homestead and preggo. Is Duke the issue here?”

Pa-Emmett steps back and shakes his head. “He doesn’t want you front and center, either.”

“So, what’s got you fussing, Pa?” I ask in a feathery soft voice.

My father rolls his eyes. “That tone only works on me when it’s your ma.”

“Well, then, fess up to what’s bothering you.”

Pa-Emmett sits in his recliner and cradles his head like he’s stroking out on us.

“Growing up in Charleston, I felt like joining the local club was a no-brainer. I don’t regret the years I rode with those guys. I was their friend. But something was always missing.”

West and I don’t dare interrupt Pa when he’s in a sharing mood.

“Prison wasn’t fun, but I met Court there. Then, I came here, and things changed for me. Not just meeting your ma and becoming part of the homestead. The Rawkfist club was about to change, and I was right there in the mix.”

Pa-Emmett studies West and then me. Shaking his head, he sighs deeply as if the world’s problems teeter on his shoulders.

“Rawkfist is my club. I helped restructure it after the old guys retired. Court is a great leader, but he didn’t always know that. Donovan was leaving the law side of things and joining the rebel side. I watched everything come together. Rawkfist feels like my fourth kid.”

West smiles slightly, enjoying our pa’s story. Like me, he also realizes why Emmett’s heart is troubled.

“The Rawkfist club is our family’s legacy,” Pa-Emmett says and meets my gaze. “And soon you’ll be wearing the patch of another club.”

“Doesn’t Court plan to patch them over?”

“Probably not. Florida is the sticking point. He doesn’t want to have to supervise that place if something happens to Duke.”

“Wouldn’t I be the one who supervises it?”

“You’ve never even met Dallas McGraw. He won’t listen to you.”

“If we’re talking about a time when Duke is no longer calling the shots, I’d say we ought to cut Florida loose. They’re a self-sufficient club, but they don’t make the kind of money that streams up toward Basin Rock.”

“And you know that how?”

“Lola is teaching me the ways of the Blood-Red Suns. I know shit about every member, good and bad. I know how the money flows. I know who starts shit for the club and who is loyal. She wants me to be ready to go if something happens to her dad.”

“Is he sick or something?” Pa-Emmett mutters. “I feel like they’re hiding shit from us.”

“No, he’s just at that point in his life when he can no longer pretend as if he’ll live forever. Oh, and having no sons fucked him mentally.”

“Having sons is no picnic,” Pa-Emmett mutters and scowls at West and me.

My brother and I stand straighter and smile big for our pa.

“You had it easy,” West insists. “With sons, anyway. I can’t imagine raising Tuesday was easy.”

“She got us a new member for the club. What did you give me, West?”

“Future ginger grandkids. Oh, and a clown for your birthday parties.”

Pa-Emmett smiles. “Alexis is a keeper.”

“Hey, Lola is great, too,” I blurt out. “She also throws a better punch than West’s wife.”

“Yeah, I heard about that,” Pa-Emmett says and then rubs the back of his neck. “I just feel strange about having one of my boys heading up a club that isn’t mine.”

“Well, if you still feel that way when I become president,” West explains, winning a scowl from me, “I’ll patch them over. That way, Val’s wearing our patch again.”

Pa-Emmett grins at that idea. “And we can do what Val suggested and cut Florida loose. Stick to our two towns and one club. It’s the easiest solution and my boys came up with it.”

I frown at a smirking West. I don’t like how he’s going to boss me around one day. I’ve endured that shit all my life.

“We’ll see,” I tell him.

“You will obey,” West snarls before laughing in my face. “I will never stop being your fricking boss.”

Pa-Emmett snaps at us. “Don’t start wrestling. Your ma fixed up the house before she left.”

“Where did she go?” West asks and walks away from me. He pauses to check his phone. “Oh, never mind, Alexis says Ma is starting trouble at the salon.”

“Should I race there to save Lola?” I ask Pa-Emmett. “Or save Ma? Or just to watch them bond and become best friends?”

My father shakes his head. “Leave Poppy alone. She’s got to get this shit out of her system before the wedding. I can’t have her pitching a fit during the ceremony.”

Nodding, I text Lola with a few sage words of support.

“My ma has weak ankles,” I explain and then add, “Please don’t hurt my mommy.”

When Lola doesn’t respond immediately, I assume she’s too busy keeping my ma from clawing her eyes out.

Or maybe they’re hugging and talking about how great I am.

Both scenarios seem completely feasible, making staying at the homestead impossible.

Before I can escape, Pa-Emmett grabs the back of my jeans and yanks me back into the house.

“Stay here with your old man and watch the game. I need to pretend nothing is changing.”

I glance at West who shrugs. We settle on various chairs and feign interest in the baseball game. Occasionally, my brother receives texts from Alexis, and I lean over to check if the police are involved.