Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Serena

When I pull up at the clubhouse, I marvel at how nice everything looks. The place has had an upgrade since I visited last. All the trim has been painted a different color. There are two large urns filled with greenery on either side of the door. And even the parking lot has all the parking lines freshly painted.

I jump out of my car and fast walk to the entrance, eager to see if they’ve traded out all of my father’s old furniture for sleek new modern pieces. When I step through the door, I’m tickled pink with what I see. The whole place has been redecorated in a masculine gray and black theme. The bar and the pool tables have both been given a facelift, but I can tell they are the ones my father bought all those years ago. He would be so pleased if he could see the place now.

Someone comes through the side door carrying three boxes of liquor. I can’t see their face, but by the neatly painted fingernails wrapped around each side of the boxes I guess that it’s a woman. I rush over to help.

“Here, let me get one of those for you.”

“Oh my God, is that you Serena?”

I grab one of the boxes and pull it off the stack, to find Mel’s pretty face staring back at me.

“It’s me all right. You look like you haven’t aged a day in four years.”

Mel appears pleased with the compliment, but says, “Four years is not a long-time girl, unless you’re talking cat years.”

We carry the boxes over to the bar, tear the top open and start unloading bottle after bottle of vodka.

“I thought cat years were the same as people years, and it’s dog years that are shorter.”

Mel snorts a laugh, “It doesn’t matter, smart aleck. You know what I meant and that’s all that counts.”

Before I can answer, a woman stumbles sleepily into the bar and crawls onto another bar stool.

Mel tells her sharply, “We don’t start serving alcohol until noon. You know that, Lori.”

“You’ve only got fifteen more minutes to wait,” I point out helpfully.

The woman’s not paying attention to me. She’s glaring at Mel. “I didn’t ask for fucking alcohol,” she flings back, her voice thick with annoyance.

I point to the sign above the bar. “Rule number one is to respect the bartender or get the hell out.” That sign has been hanging there since I was a kid. My dad was an old school biker who didn’t mince words.

The woman’s unfocused eyes turn on me and she gives me the once over from head to toe before snorting a laugh. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but you’re not gonna last long around here dressed like that.”

She doesn’t have to explain, because I know exactly what she’s talking about. It’s not even noon and this woman is wearing a shirt this shows her midriff and a sequined skirt that barely covers her ass. My black dress pants, elegant ivory silk blouse and designer pumps definitely aren’t what club girls wear.

I frown at her and bring one hand up to tap my chest. “I’m your club princess, not a vixen.”

Mel stays suspiciously quiet during this interaction. Lori’s head spins around to the far wall. Sure enough, my picture is hanging there. I look younger in the photo but it’s clearly me.

She turns around, looking a little dispirited. “So, we have a club princess now and Siege has a queen?”

I nod, not terribly offended that she’s upset about having another female to answer to. “And whoever the lead girl is right now,” I remind her.

Lori’s eyes cut to Mel. Me? I can’t keep the smile off my face for anything. Mel was three years ahead of me all the way through school and we were always on friendly terms. I was absolutely thrilled when my father hired her to manage the Savage Legion’s bar in town. I say gleefully, “You are everywhere these days, Mel. You must be rolling in dough.”

A proud smile spreads over her face. “For once in my life, I’m doing really well.”

“I’ll say. You’re probably earning about what I was, as an entry level attorney in San Francisco.”

Mel nods, her smile bright. “I’m not wasting it either. I’m saving and investing every penny for my future, just like Claw lectured us about before you left.”

I roll my eyes, “My father was nothing if not financially savvy.” I gesture around the room with one hand. “He built all this from scratch.”

“Yes ma’am, he did,” A deep voice says from behind us.

I twirl around to see Rigs standing in the doorway with a lovely, heavily pregnant brunette at his side. I’m so excited that I monkey hop over to him and fling my arms around his neck. Hanging there for an instant, I let myself drop to the ground and grin up at him. “I’ve really missed you, Rigs.” Gesturing to the clearly amused woman standing beside him, I ask, “Is this the fabulous Mattie that I’ve heard so much about?”

“Yes. It’s me all right.” The woman responds. She has an easygoing, indulgent expression on her face. When she reaches out her hand for me to shake, I playfully shove it aside and give her a hug instead.

“Cleo told me all about you, and how you and Rigs have tracked down a bunch of missing kids. You two are practically hometown heroes.”

Rigs slips his arm around her and tugs her closer. I’ve never seen him this way around a woman before and it’s so sweet.

“Well, we would be hometown heroes,” she responds lightly. “If anyone knew what we were doing. We’re keeping it on the down low because drawing a bunch of attention to ourselves just makes our quest harder.”

I bring my finger and thumb up and pretend to zip my lips. “Mum’s the word.”

Mattie chuckles, “You are just like Cleo described. She and your brother are so happy you decided to come back to Las Salinas.”

“Where are they, anyway? I thought they would be here by now. They left almost an hour before I did.”

Mattie glances at the door that leads into the brother’s meeting room. “I think they’re in there. You should pop in and let them know you’re here.”

Eyeing the door, I respond happily, “I think I will.”

Although I’m eager to spend time with my brother and his family, I’m also curious to see if they’ve redecorated the rest of the building as well. I take my leave and head to the back of the bar area.

Just seeing the door leading to the room where they hold church brings back a ton of club-related memories. I can’t count how many times I sat at the table in my father’s old office, coloring or drawing while he ran the club he built from the ground up. I remember all the times he talked to Rigs, Dutch, and Tank about the importance of honesty, integrity, and doing something that improved the world around them. Those lessons resonated with me long before I fully understood the true meaning. He was trying to teach the young men who flocked to him for mentoring all those years ago, how to be decent human beings because it’s the linchpin that holds everything else in place.

I reach out to the blackened bronze doorknob and turn it to the right. Unless someone has fixed it, it only turns right. My father had said it was a bad initialization, one he always planned to get around to fixing it. When the door swings open a multitude of voices ring out in unison. I stop dead in my tracks to see all the brothers standing shoulder to shoulder under a banner that says Welcome Home Club Princess.

Siege doesn’t panic like he used to, when I begin to tear up. He shoots Cleo a quick glance and then walks over to give me a big brotherly hug. I bury my face in his shoulder and whisper, “You’re not losing your mind. You always used to panic when got tearful.”

When we pull apart, he states quietly, “I learned about happy tears from Cleo.”

My head whips around to look for her and I see that she’s beaming at us. I whisper to my brother, “You two are so stinking sweet. I’m happy you found each other.”

Gazing at Cleo, we watch Tommy and Louisa reach up and slip their hands in each of hers. He murmurs, “There ain’t nobody like my Cleo. No one in the entire world.”

“I have to agree with that assessment, bro.” Cleo is the best possible wife I could have dreamed of for my brother.

He takes me by the hand and leads me into the throng of brothers. “I brought you a surprise, sis.”

When the men part to let us through, I see my mom sitting at the long table with three other women. I rush forward and kneel to give her a careful hug. “Hello, Mama. Siege said you weren’t feeling up to having company or I would have come out to visit you the moment I got back.”

“I’m feeling better today, sweetie. I wanted to come to your welcome home party so badly that Jason and Rostein volunteered to pick me up.”

No matter how many times she was asked, my mom refuses to call any of the MC members by their club names. So like my brother Siege, was always Dean to her. Rider was Jason, and Tank, the ever-cumbersome Rostein.

One of the women speaks up. “Took some time to get her balanced on the back of Rider’s bike.”

My mouth falls open, but the woman quickly presses her lips together as if to stop a laugh from spilling out and shakes her head slightly.

“You’re kidding, right?”

Rider steps forward and puts an arm around her. “Serena, this is my Fran. She’s been working on the timing of her jokes.”

The woman looks up at him adoringly.

I’m so tickled for Rider. He’s been a part of my life since I was about six years old. He lived with us for years after his parents passed away. “Well, that was a cute joke, and her timing was impeccable.”

Another of the women stretches her hand out. My name is Ivy. I’m Tank’s wife. It’s really nice to meet you.” I shake her hand and she immediately introduces me to the third woman. “This is Joy. She’s Dutch’s wife and a paralegal advisor, so you two might have a lot in common.”

The woman extends her hand out for me to shake. “It’s nice to meet you,” she says. “I’m actually thinking about going back to college once the kids are in school, I’ve been thinking about becoming a lawyer, so I might have to pick your brains sometime.”

“Feel free to ask any questions you have. I’d definitely recommend it as a career, we’ll have to have a chat.”

She flashes me a quick grin. “That sounds like a plan.”

I give my mom a kiss on the top of the head, “I’ll be right back. I have to make my rounds and tell everyone hello.”

“You go right ahead. I will be fine here with the old ladies.”

I freeze for a second because I’ve never once in my life heard my mother use that term. She always hated my father spending so much time at the clubhouse. I remember her saying more than once that motorcycle clubs were a bunch of nonsense and she refused to be referred to as anyone’s ‘old lady’.

When Fran’s hand slides over to give my mother’s hand a squeeze, I realize this club my father spent his lifetime building has become a source of support for my mom in her old age. I turn around, blinking back tears. Seeing her participating finally is so bittersweet. I can’t help but wonder if this had always been part of my father’s plan.

I move from one brother to another with Siege at my side, introducing me to the newest members of our club. Unlike when my father ran the club, these men seem happy and content with their lot in life—I guess a lot of the original members were veterans like my father and were still adjusting to civilian life.

The last brother I greet is the one I most want to see. Smoke steps forward with a tight smile on his face. “You look nice today, Serena. Did our carefully planned surprise party actually surprise you, or are we not half as clever as we think?”

“Oh, I was surprised. There’s no doubt about that. To be quite honest, a welcome home party wasn’t on my radar at all. Which is strange because I’m usually pretty good about snooping out surprises.”

Siege interjects, “My sister is not kidding about that. I don’t think she ever opened a present without already knowing what was inside.”

Smoke’s eyebrows shoot up. “Now that takes some genuine dedication to snooping.”

I smile up at him with my hands on my hips. “In my own defense, a lot of times you can tell what’s in a package just by shaking it.”

“That sounds like a pretty useful skill to have,” Smoke says.

Cleo calls Siege away. When I glance over, one of my nephews is throwing a fit in her arms. He’s a dramatic one, arching his back to the point that she’s about to lose her grip on him. Siege deftly lifts the child from her arms and cuddles the little one on his shoulder.

I turn back to Smoke to find that he’s looking at me, rather than Siege’s family drama.

“I was hoping to meet up with you later on today,” I tell him.

He looks at me curiously. “Why is that? Did you want to talk shop?”

“Of course. Doesn’t every attorney want to talk shop?”

“Not this one. All he wants to do is have a bourbon on the rocks from the bar and chill out for a few hours.”

Miffed, I say, “We wouldn’t want all work and no play to make Smoke a dull boy, so I’ll catch you later.”

“Well, Serena, you get extra bonus points for quoting a vintage horror flick.”

I flash him a quick smile and walk away disappointed. It’s just my luck that talking business is the last thing on his wish list for today, but I’m pleased he caught my reference to The Shining, it was him and my brother who got me into those movies.

I stroll back over to visit with my mom. It’s been ages since I spent any time with her, and I don’t want to waste the opportunity.