Chapter 19

There are consequences to everything

"Woof!"

"Woof, woof woof, woof woooooof!"

"Aruuuuuuuuuuu"

"Okay, okay, damn, fuck, I'm coming! Down! Owe dammit! Down boy! Back. Butch! Cassidy! Move you two and let me see who the fucks at the door! Bonnie, leave that be! All of you back up already!"

Standing on the doorstep, Maddox snickered at the cacophony of barking, cursing and crashing around that was taking place on the other side of the door. What he should have been doing was bracing himself, because when that door opened, it wasn't his stepfather's face that greeted him, but one of several German Shepherds the man had rescued. Maddox was knocked back a step as he was leapt on, licked, and shedded all over as fluff flew and tails wagged in greeting. Kneeling, he hugged and pet each one, then rubbed noses with Cassidy, who'd always preferred that to having his ears rubbed.

"I didn't hear you pull up, where's your bike."

"In the shop."

"What happened to her."

"Long story and part of the reason I'm here."

"Had to be a desperate reason if you showed up in a cage and without a text."

"Didn't know I needed a text to drop in on you."

"You don't, but it would be appreciated if you've got trouble on your heels."

"I don't. I'm trying to prevent trouble, which is why I'm coming to you," Maddox admitted. "I need advice and some help getting answers that people aren't being forthcoming with."

"And you couldn't shake the truth outta ‘em?" his stepfather said. "Don't tell me you're getting soft on me, boy."

"Not a chance, but some of this involves business and I'm trying to keep that part of my life legit."

"Fair enough. Come on in if they'll let you. Just watch out for the new one and don't let him out the door. I just got him in and he's skittish as hell. I'm getting too old to chase after the runners and this one led my ass all over the park. I had to have the guys circle the place on their bikes so we didn't lose him and it still took some coaxing and a whole steak before he'd let me get the harness on him. You should have seen the soccer moms staring and clutching their fuckin' pearls."

"What's his name?"

"Doesn't have one yet."

Chuckling, Maddox straightened up, gave a few more pats to fuzzy heads, then followed his stepfather inside. The place looked just as he remembered it. Overstuffed furniture with a light dusting of dog fur, toys scattered everywhere and two big water dispensers in each corner of the living room that were never allowed to run dry. The dogs his stepfather rescued stayed here until the right home could be found for them, though Butch, Cassidy and Bonnie had been his stepfather's longtime companions for years. He'd had a fourth dog too, but Clyde had passed on of old age two years back and his stepdad had mourned like it was one of his children he'd lost. Hell, sometimes the man even referred to the dogs as Maddox's siblings.

"Want a beer?"

"Please. You might want to grab a couple."

"Awe, fuck, kid what have you gotten yourself into now?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"If you plan on telling me that some hot piece of ass is involved, then I'm grabbing the hard stuff."

"Fair enough."

His stepfather just huffed at that and stomped to the kitchen with Butch and Bonny on his heels his muttered son of a bitch I'm getting too old for this shit, trailing behind him. Cassidy climbed up in one of the easy chairs and curled up, head on the plump arm, letting out a loud huff as he got comfortable.

The way his stepfather was with the dogs reminded Maddox of Haven, S.O.X. and what he'd learned about some of the other strays Haven had taken in over the years. Apparently there had even been a parrot with a cursing problem who'd like to shit on rude people's heads. Haven had kept her until he'd found someone who knew way more about birds to turn her over to. Apparently that girl had taught the crazy feathered menace to swear in a second language and later a third, meaning all kinds of chaos took place when people visited her house.

He'd been given a message to pass on too. Instructing Haven to get his ass over there and visit them both when he had a chance, that she missed her friend and couldn't wait to see him again.

While he waited for the man who'd finished raising him to come back with their drinks, he spotted a pair of wary brown eyes peering at him from around the couch. Judging from its face, and the way it hadn't fully grown into its ears, the dog hadn't finished growing yet. As it inched out, belly along the ground, he could see how skinny it was and the wariness in it's eyes as it approached. For his part, Cassidy didn't move as the other dog slunk past his chair. He was so used to the strays and rescues that were brought in that he never harassed them or invaded their space until they invited him to. Wise, that's what he was, much like his owner, which was precisely why he'd come to speak to the older man tonight. After tracking down Jeremy and his old man, and being told that Haven had contacted them earlier, he was at odds with himself over how he should proceed with everything he'd learned.

A few more feet and the new dog's snout was inches from his leg and giving an experimental sniff. Maddox knew better than to move, let alone try and reach down and pet him. As skittish as it was, the dog would probably flee right back behind the couch or further and undo the effort of making it across the floor. Maddox just watched him and let him sniff up his leg until that cold nose touched his fingers and the dog gave a little whine.

"Hi boy," Maddox said softly. "Or is it girl?"

"He's a he," his stepfather said as he reentered the room.

His gruff voice was pitched low in that soothing tone he reserved for wounded critters, and anytime Maddox had been hurt.

"He likes you. You're the first person he's gone to voluntarily since we freed him from the cramped cage he was being kept in. Neighborhood kid flagged us down, knew we looked into things like that. When we investigated, we found magots in his dish and an empty water bowl. Needless to say, his owner didn't balk at letting us take him when Reigns and Riffraff knocked on the door."

"No shit, if those two popped up on my doorstep I'd give them whatever the fuck they wanted."

"So you are going soft on me."

"If by going soft you mean not wanting to get tied in a knot and used as a kickball, then yeah, I'm soft."

The older man snorted at that, poured them each a double, then slid a glass Maddox's way.

"Alright, tell me about this shitshow."

For the next hour, Maddox spilled his guts, telling him everything he'd learned about Haven, Archer, Andy Robles, and Jeremy and Cade Green. Chaos had proved the most surprising factor of all. He'd already had an inkling of the trouble brewing and been working to keep Jeremy and Haven out of it. When Maddox had asked about Archer, Chaos had informed him in no uncertain terms that he was Maddox's problem and that neither Chaos nor his club intended to lift a finger to help him after the way he'd screwed over his brother. He hadn't gone into any details, that was one matter he kept close to the vest, so Maddox had done the same, thanked him for taking the time to talk to him, and immediately headed here in the truck he'd borrowed from Archer. His protégée probably wouldn't have given him the keys if he'd known what Maddox was poking his nose into, but that was neither here nor there. Every now and again, his stepfather would refill their glasses while Maddox continued telling the story, until he'd given the man every bit of information he had.

As always, his stepfather was silent. He never interrupted and he never said anything right away. He stroked his beard, kicked back another double, then patted the seat beside him when Bonny placed her paw on his leg. When she hopped up, the new stray got brave and cautiously climbed up beside Maddox, ears back, tail dropping as he lifted cautious paws and inched onto the cushion beside him.

"It's okay boy," Maddox encouraged, waiting to pet him until he was all the way up and had settled his head beside Maddox's thigh.

His eyes were still wary, so Maddox kept his motion slow as he moved to rub his ears, scratching lightly until the dog gave a few thumps of his tail.

"That's a good boy," Maddox murmured. "You're a real good puppy aren't you? You just need a little love. Yeah. You just need some lovin' and someone to talk nicely to you and play with you. I bet you'd love to go on walks too. Maybe out on a trail, get to run a little and have a big backyard to roam around in?"

"Sounds like you're offering."

The sound of his voice had chased the wariness from the puppy's eyes and replaced it with a hopeful expression that was accompanied by more tail thumping and the most persuasive expression he'd ever seen outside of Haven's. The moment he thought of the man an image popped into his head of Haven tossing a ball for the dog in the backyard of the house Maddox really needed to hurry up and purchase. He could just picture his boy with his arm draped over the dog and his head pressed to its back as they watched a movie together. Every boy should have a dog, and a yard, and a pool to play in and Maddox found himself flooded with the urge to give him that and more. And to give this sweat stray who was hesitantly licking his fingers, a perfect forever home.

Nodding, Maddox looked from the dog to his stepfather. "Yes sir, it does."

That earned him a smile and a nod as his stepdad glanced between him and the dog. "I'll put some things together for him that you can take with you when you go."

"Thanks."

"You still have all the recipes memorized?" his stepfather asked regarding the homemade dog food he made alongside his own meals.

He'd stopped giving kibble long before it had become trendy to move away from the pressed mix of flavors and grains and learned how to create meals for his pets that provided them with a balanced diet.

"Every one."

"Good deal. I know he'll be in good hands. Let me know when you name him so I can put it in the book and make sure you let folks know what we do and that we're always willing to come investigate a situation if they're worried about how an animal is being treated. Doesn't have to be a Shepherd either, but then you know that. I like seeing you kid, so I'll take any excuse to pop up, even if it means liberating a gaggle of ferrets along the way."

"I'm pretty sure gaggle is geese and busyness is ferrets."

"And I'm absolutely certain that you're too much of a smartass for your own good sometimes," his stepfather said. "Which is why I'm going to advise you to take a step back from this situation and make sure that the people you care about steer clear of it too."

"But…"

"Hang on, I ain't finished. Do you remember when you came to me about leaving the club and you said that you could no longer live with one foot in the club and one foot in the business world?"

"Because it wasn't feasible with everything that was coming at me from both sides."

"Exactly. And I agreed with you because I didn't want to see you fall into the trap some of our other club brothers did. I know how tempting it can be to let a buddy use a spare space for a little side hustle or sell something under the table to make sure the lights stay on. You told me that you wanted your business to be legit. The only way that I could see that happening was if you got out of the life. And you have. Now you need to stay out of it and let those of us who love getting our hands dirty take care of the cleanup. I'll make sure your boy and his family are protected from our end too. Can never have too many guardian angels. I know Chaos, his son is more precious to him than anything in the world and he'd burn the world to the ground to keep him safe. Trust him to handle things out there and me and the boys will handle things from here. We'll make sure your business partner is protected too. It sounds like the kid got himself into some shit he couldn't get out of, doubled down on his mistakes and is trying to make good. Something tells me you've had a lot to do with that last part."

"Guess I saw something in him the way you saw in me."

His stepfather nodded at that. "You were a little shit, always giving me the stink-eye, but I understood the reason behind it. You came around when you saw that I wasn't a piece of shit out to take advantage of your mother. It's like with the dogs we rescue. They want to trust, but they have to see that you're not a shit person first. Something tells me your boy is the same way."

"Haven is special. He writes poetry and takes in stray cats. He's not afraid to give me shit either. His snarkiness rivels my own and I find myself conceding often because he'll say something completely off the wall and floor me with his wit and ingenuity. I can tell he knows how to handle himself, just from the way his stands and how watchful he is of everything, but there's more softness to him then badass and I'd love it if he never had to let that harder side out again."

"Then do what I'm telling you and keep your hands clean for a change," his stepfather told him. "Worry about Haven and Archer. The truth needs to come out, whatever it turns out to be. They've gotta purge themselves of that shit so they can get on with their lives. Your job is to help that happen.

"I hear ya," Maddox said.

"But are you gonna do what I say?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now, tell me some more about these salad dressings you've got. Docs been after me to eat more greens and the only way that is gonna happen if I have something to drown them in. You said on the phone that the whole line is cannabis infused but you never told me what flavors you carried, so what you got for me kid?"

That's how it had always been between them. Get the serious out the way and don't dwell on it, then move along to the everyday shit like the rest had never happened.

"Chili-Lime Vinaigrette, Honey Mustard, Thousand Island, French, Raspberry Balsamic, Cucumber Ranch, and Avocado Ranch."

"You can keep your damned Avocados to yourself."

"It's a superfood, you might want to look into it before Doc starts passing out pills."

"He knows how I feel about that shit."

"And you know how he feels about you getting your blood pressure and cholesterol down."

"Yeah, yeah, send me one of the damned Avocado ones heavy on the ranch and one each of the rest of them."

"I'll get them sent out in the morning."

"Thanks, kid, now let me put together a care package for you and your new friend so I can get some sleep. We're riding up out to the coast in the morning and I've got to have the dogs ready to get in the truck."

Nodding, Maddox turned his attention back to the pup he'd never stopped petting through the whole conversation. He was sleep now, but every now and again he'd give a little thump of his tail and sigh like it was the best feeling in the world to have Maddox's hand on him. He wondered if Haven would be the same, and found that he was slightly in awe of the way his life had changed in a few short weeks.

"I hope your brother will refrain from kicking his ass again before he's got my baby back together."

"You really love that bike."

"Yeah, I do. I don't have a pet, what little family I have left is clear on the other side of the country, and I've been alone for a long time without a partner until your brother took pity on me and my somewhat in your face approach and decided he wanted to be mine."

That conversation with River echoed through his head and all he could do was smile and be happy at the sudden fullness he felt in his heart as he looked forward to seeing his boy and his pup playing together after a long afternoon out on the back of his Harley, soaking up some wind therapy.