Chapter 2

Rocky

"Hey, brother. Why did you want to meet here for lunch?" I took a seat in the diner booth with a frown as I looked around. The place was filled with truckers and nine-to-fivers scarfing down a daily special before they had to get back to the office.

Diesel flashed a grin as he shoved back his dusky blond hair, which hit his shoulders. "Ellie is addicted to the pecan pie here and they're making a fresh one. Should be ready by the time we finish up."

My lips twitched in an effort to hold back a smile, but I failed and burst out laughing. "I want to give you shit for being so whipped, but Ellie deserves it." She was a little scrap of a thing, but goddamn she was strong and feisty. And it was clear to us all that she loved my president, which is all any of us could ask for in a missus.

"Okay, so we're eating here and talking MC business?"

Diesel nodded. "Some of Carter's properties are up for sale. His family wants nothing to do with the so-called legacy and we might be able to get them for a good deal."

I nodded. "Demon Ink is still just an idea, but I'll bet one of those buildings would be perfect."

"Gio could oversee it when he's finally patched. He's earned it," Diesel said, and looked away, no doubt thinking that had my brother not been there for Ellie and the son she shared with Diesel when shit went down not too long ago, they might both be dead.

"God, the little shit will be insufferable then," I muttered with a fake groan, and Diesel laughed.

"Must be a family trait."

I flipped him off just as the cute waitress with the big tits came to take our order.

"Mornin', sweetheart." I rubbed a finger over my stubble before leaning back in the booth and flashing her a smile, noting her blush and the way her eyes kept bouncing back to me instead of Diesel. Where my prez and close friend had dirty blonde hair and eyes blue enough to make many girls swoon, this one apparently had good taste and preferred her men more tanned, with a darker and more ruggedly handsome look. Aka me.

"I'll have the breakfast omelet burrito with extra salsa." I sent her a wink for good measure, and she blushed furiously and turned to Diesel.

"I'll take the bacon and egg bowl, thanks."

I gave her another winning smile as she hurried off. "Never gets old."

We shared another laugh, which felt damn good. Things had been bleak for a while there, with Robert Carter and his son kidnapping Ellie. But that shit was done, now. Carter and his pathetic excuse for a son were dead, Ellie and her boy were safe with Diesel, and the bunch of them made one big, stupidly happily family now. I'd never been happier for them, they deserved peace.

A shadow crossed the table as I was reminiscing, and Diesel and I both looked up.

"Nolo." I blinked in confusion as I looked at my son. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

My son would always be my little boy, but with his black hair, olive skin, and those shoulders of his that he was finally starting to fill out from his previously lanky and tall frame, he looked every inch the pissed off man he was.

"I'm here because you didn't respond to my graduation invitation." He glared at me with eyes as green as his mother's, the only thing he'd gotten from her in terms of looks, instead of my own hazel.

"Invitation? Of course, I'll be there. What the fuck kind of question is that?" We had a few tough years when my ex-wife moved away, and it took us some time to figure out what our relationship would be, but we were in a good place now. At least I'd thought so. "Is there a reason I wouldn't want to go?"

"No," he muttered, dropping into the booth seat beside me like he was exhausted. "But you didn't respond, and I wasn't sure if something was wrong."

I sighed and scruffed my palm over the back of his head briefly. Nolo had nothing to do with the Steel Demons MC other than being my kid, but he worried constantly about the things I got up to. "I didn't realize it needed answering, I thought you were just telling me when and where to go. Obviously I'm gonna fucking be there. Hell, I'll be the loudest fucker in that auditorium."

My son flashed a half smile. "Good. I want you there, Dad."

"I'll be there. What's next once you get the diploma?" My kid was a brainiac. He could just see the most intricate shit and turn it into something fantastic.

Nolo shrugged. "I'm thinking about getting a master's degree in cybersecurity. I've already been accepted to a graduate program locally."

"Holy shit, Nolo, that's great!" Diesel smiled, celebrating by flicking a scrunched napkin across the table to hit my son on the nose. "That's boss shit and big money, isn't it?"

Nolo smirked. "Yeah, it's both, and it's a chance to flex my muscles as a cybersecurity expert."

"Literally, it looks like it," Diesel said. "Seems like you've been hitting the gym lately. You'll be as big as your father in no time."

Nolo sniffed and flexed his bicep. "Already am."

I sniffed and flexed back. "Not yet, you're not."

Diesel snorted, scrunched two clean napkins, and lobbed them both at our heads. "Dumbasses."

I grinned and grabbed Nolo around the neck, squeezing with a chuckle until he shoved at me to let go. "Nah, kid, I'm proud of you. You're going places in this world." I would be forever grateful to Meredith for moving back to town so that I could get to know my son, and watch him grow into the man he was becoming.

"Relax, Dad, Jesus Christ…" He shook his head, but he couldn't hide the proud blush that crossed his cheeks.

"So, what about that girl you told me about?" I ask. "Will she be at the ceremony, too?"

Nolan's shoulders sank and his head fell forward. "We're not together anymore. She broke up with me, said I was a good guy, but she thinks we're better as friends." He sat a little taller. "I haven't given up, though."

Diesel's gaze met mine and we shared a glance. "It's too bad, but that just means you're free to find the right woman when she comes along."

"Yeah, maybe." He pushed away from the table with a sigh. "I'll see you guys around." He took off.

"That was weird, right?"

Diesel shrugged. "Nothing strange about a kid not wanting to share his heartbreak with his old man, especially a tough son of a bitch like you."

I grinned. "I guess."

The waitress arrived with our food and more coffee, which we dug into like neither of us had eaten for an eternity. We ate in a comfortable silence until our plates were half empty before Diesel said, "Now that the Carter family is no longer a problem for us and the Foundation is in a free fall, it's time for us to think about what comes next. With Ellie getting ready to have our babies any day now, I'm counting on you to step up."

"Of course. But I have some specific ideas in mind," I told him honestly.

"I'll bet you do," he laughed. "But hold that thought, that sounds like business that should be discussed during church with the others."

I nodded. Diesel was a fair leader, and I had no doubt he'd listen to me before he made up his mind. "All right."

"You know, Rocky, you're not getting any younger, brother."

I laughed. "Are you callin' me old? Because I look a damn sight younger than you."

His lips tugged into a crooked grin. "No, all I'm saying is that you're next."

"Oh, great," I groaned, pretending to be horrified. "Now that the prez is all hitched up, it's the VP's turn, is it?"

Diesel smirked. "Need someone to put you in your place when I'm not there, don't we?"

"Just like Ellie does for you, eh?"

"Yeah." A dumb smile crossed his face, and I was almost jealous. "Little pixie of a girl, but she damn right knocked me on my ass when I wasn't expecting her. I was as cynical and unwilling to settle down as you, until I saw her." He shook his head and smiled as if he could see his and Ellie's story playing out in his mind.

"Yeah, but there's one difference between us, brother. I already have a bad marriage under my belt and no interest in getting myself involved in another. Been there, done that and have years of alimony to show for it."

Diesel rolled his eyes. "Meredith got remarried years ago."

"True, but there was still years of alimony I had to pay until she met that fucker." Her current husband wasn't a bad guy, hell, he stood by her after her cancer diagnosis…but he was still a fucker. "You don't forget that shit easily."

"We'll see," Diesel said confidently. "Everyone thinks that until they get smacked in the face with the one person they can't live without."

I sighed and pushed my plate away, crossing my arms over the table. "All jokes aside, I get it, Prez. You're all giddy in love and getting laid every day and night. You want that for everybody, but that's not my path, brother. I can get laid every night easily, and with a new chick each time."

"Easy isn't always best." Diesel smirked. "Pussy that loves you back is ten thousand times better."

"I'm happily single," I said firmly. "Thanks for the roses and rainbows and fluffy bunnies, but I'll skip on that shit. I'll stay single for a good, long while."

Annoyingly, he just shrugged and looked like he didn't believe me. "We'll see."

"Fucker." I grinned and leaned back in my seat again, wondering if the perky waitress would be back to refill my coffee again soon. "We will see."