Chapter 22

Storm stopped his new Fat Bob Harley-Davidson on the top of the hill and looked at the cabin in the clearing. The chimney released a stream of smoke into the clear winter sky. No cars were parked in front of the two-car garage, but they probably parked inside. Someone was at home. He hoped his sister was alone with her child, Ryan. No. His name was Brian.

He shook his head. What a shitty uncle he turned out to be. He didn’t have a present for the kid or the baby. Uncles should always show up with several. Not that he had any examples of what a decent relative should act like, but it felt like the thing he should do.

With a light squeeze of the gas, his bike headed down the gravel road to the house. After he parked, with the help of a folding cane he’d stored in his saddlebags, he dismounted carefully and wobbled down the gravel sidewalk, hoping not to lose his balance. By the time he reached the front door, he’d expected his sister or her husband to open the door with a rifle pointed his way. He’d forgotten how loud Harley’s mufflers echoed inside the small valley.

He banged his fist on the wood.

The door stayed closed and no sound came from inside.

Hell! Were they hoping he would go away? Had he waited too long to apologize to his sister?

Then he heard a scrape, someone had turned the dead bolt, and the door slowly opened. Cassidy stood with eyebrows raised.

“What are you doing here?” Concern filling her voice tempered the question.

“I came to apologize for giving you a hard time.”

“Which time? When you were a teenager and only thought about the club? When you refused to let me visit you anymore at the prison? Or when you treated Thorn and me like trash in our own home? Or when you were bruised and—”

Despite her rundown of the mistakes he’d made, he caught the glint of humor in her eyes.

“I get the idea. I’m a big asshole,” he said.

“Yes, you are.”

That was his sister. She never pulled any punches.

“Can I come in for a little while? I have some things to say and ask you.”

She stepped to the side and swung the door open.

Relief lightened his shoulders; he hadn’t expected her to do that so quickly. He stepped inside to begin the mending of fences long overdue.

Mary Jane flicked her wrist and a few deep wrinkles in the newly washed shirt she held disappeared. Taking one clothespin from between her teeth and then another, she hung it on the line to dry. Usually, the early December weather was too chilly to hang laundry outside, but they were having a warm spell. Nothing smelled better than clean, air-dried clothes.

The southern breeze caused the sheets on the other full line to billow and slap. A perfect sound mixed with the usual tweets of birds, and her dad sawing wood. He planned to build a new smokehouse, using a few trees that had fallen during high winds a couple weeks ago.

She wouldn’t be there when he finished. By the end of the week, she’d start the move to Knoxville and put Jimmy’s place up for sale. Too many memories she needed to forget in Alabama. It was time for her to move on.

“Mary Jane?”

Her whole body stiffened.

Storm?

She looked around, seeing no one, and then a gust of wind lifted the sheets and there he stood. The bruises were gone. Leaning on a cane with a smaller cast than the one in the hospital wrapped around his leg, he appeared thinner. Something was missing. His hair still hung to his collar. Despite the loss of weight, his shoulders were wide in what looked to be a new shirt and jeans. Then it dawned on her. No leather vest or jacket. He wasn’t wearing his cut.

The sheet drifted down, cutting off her view.

A large hand pushed the sheet to the side, and he cautiously stepped around and up close.

She let out a long shaky inhale. She knew he was real. The scent of oil, smoke, and pure Storm filled her senses. She’d known she missed him, but not until that moment had she realized how much.

“Hey,” he said as his gaze searched hers as if he was afraid she had forgotten who he was. Silly man.

“Hey back. You visiting with your sister?” She wanted to reach out and touch his hair, caress his five o’clock shadow, ensure that she hadn’t lost her mind and was daydreaming.

“I stopped by this morning. It took a bit of kissing ass to get her to forgive me.” His familiar grin caused her chest to squeeze. “Thorn will forgive me when hell freezes over. If not for my nephew and niece, I wouldn’t give a shit.”

She had a feeling he cared more about Thorn’s opinion than he let on.

“Not meaning to be presumptuous, but are you here to ask for my forgiveness?” she asked.

Part of her wanted so desperately to tell him to go fuck himself, but it wasn’t in her. She loved him. Of course, she wouldn’t make it too easy. He needed to do a bit of groveling. Her heart had scars from his careless handling. How was he to know if she never told him how much she loved him? Maybe she was being a little unfair in expecting the groveling, but she would listen to what he had to say.

His face went blank, and he looked away.

So he hadn’t planned to ask.

She remained quiet.

After a few tense seconds, he looked back at her.

“No.”

Her heart cracked once more. Smothered by the need to cry, she closed her eyes. She refused to let him see how much he hurt her. Again.

“Fuck! Mary Jane, that’s not what I meant!” His arms gathered her against his chest. “No, as in, I wouldn’t ask. I knew you wouldn’t accept any excuse I gave you.”

Her body began to shake. She couldn’t stop the tears from letting go.

What a wuss!

She wasn’t sure if she was accusing herself or him.

He brought his hands to her face and lifted it.

“I’m making a mess of this. I fucked this up.” His hand waved around. “And I fucked up what we had. I want to start over. I want to show you how I’ve changed.” His thumbs wiped at her tears. “I pushed you away over and over again like a stupid asshole. Even at the hospital, I was wallowing in pity because I knew how I fucked up. I couldn’t stand you seeing me like that. But I’ve done a lot of thinking and I needed to see you and tell you that you helped me see so much. I want a better life. I want to be better person, and it’s because of you.”

“Now that the Brothers of Mayhem MC kicked you out, you’re ready for a relationship?” She sounded harsh. She just wanted answers. He better explain quickly. She wasn’t sure how long she could look at him without begging him to stay. To hell with her pride and his asking for forgiveness. Yes. She was a bona fide wuss.

“You don’t know the whole story,” he said softly. As he leaned down to kiss her, she moved away. He released her without a fight.

“Then tell me. Start with why you were kicked out of the club that you loved so much.”

“So when did my sister tell you?”

“The day we went to the hospital. Not that I didn’t need her to tell me once I heard your own Brothers beat the crap out of you. I’m not stupid.” No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold back the bitterness. She’d wanted him to come for her, not because he had nowhere else to go.

His barely there grin caused her to inhale hard.

“No. You’re certainly not that.” He swept back his hair and folded his hands at the back of his head. Such a familiar habit. “I made a treaty with the Thirty-Second.”

“That sounds smart. So why did the club get mad.”

“I did it without permission or a vote. It included moving the club out of Thirty-Second territory and over to Sand City.”

“Whoa. I would imagine the Skull wouldn’t be happy about that.” She knew how much Speed hated the gang, and with Easy urging on the hatred, peace wouldn’t be a popular move. “You were able to get Toro to agree without bloodshed. Personally, I think that’s an amazing feat.”

“You’re right. Speed was unholy pissed about the new clubhouse location, but when he learned about the peace treaty, he was shitting bricks.” Storm dropped his arms and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“You said Sand City. From what I know of the place, it’s a nice little town.”

“But it’s next to Marytown. The Whitfields run their operations from there.”

Mary Jane remembered a conversation with Jimmy not long after she moved to Alabama; he’d told her to stay away from the Savalas and Whitfield families. They controlled several towns, and getting mixed up with them would only mean trouble.

“I’ve heard of them. I can’t imagine Speed being afraid.”

“He’s not, but it appears they had an agreement to stay out of each other’s way. By moving into the next city that may complicate things.”

“What did you tell Speed?”

“That it was his problem. I wanted out.”

She jerked back, eyes wide. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“So they didn’t kick you out.” He left? All of the air vacated her lungs. It was his decision. That changed so much.

“Yes and no.” He moved his cane and rested both hands on the knob and lifted his foot a little.

“You shouldn’t be on that leg. I bet it hurts. Come inside and we can talk more.” She had her emotions under control.

“Yes. It hurts. But it’s best to say it all now.” He sucked in air as if he was preparing for a long speech. “I left because I realized I want you more than the club. I wanted to come up here and live with you on the commune and have you teach me how to milk a goat, cow, or whatever. That short time we spent here was one of the best times of my life. I never knew I could be happy. With you, I experienced that feeling over and over. I want it again. If you’ll let me.”

She stared at him, letting everything he said sink in.

“Where was Easy when you were being ousted from the Mayhem Brothers?”

The pain she associated with a young boy finding out his father didn’t care for him showed for a moment and then was gone.

“He was the one who jumped on my leg and then kicked me in the head,” he said in a stoic tone.

“Oh, Storm. I’m so sorry.” She placed a hand on his arm.

A bark of ironic laughter came from Storm. “Now you’re apologizing to me?”

“You know what I meant.”

“Yes. I understand. I’m coming to terms with the fact that my old man being a mean son of a bitch has nothing to do with me.”

“Did Speed kick him out?”

“Damn it, Mary Jane, club business is hard to explain to an outsider.” Something in her expression must have bothered him. He pulled her back into his arms. “He’s the president of the Sand County chapter. Give him a little time and he’ll have Speed’s office, if he doesn’t get everyone killed first.”

“Some people never learn.”

“Did you hear from Jameson?” he asked.

“Deputy Jameson from Sand County?”

“Yeah.”

She tilted her head to look into his eyes. “Actually, yes. A week after I visited you in the hospital. Jimmy’s killer’s body was found near the old clubhouse.”

Jameson had visited her and informed her that they’d found Jimmy’s watch on the murderer’s body. A snitch had reported that the Thirty-Second member had taken the watch as a trophy. The county sheriff’s department had closed Jimmy’s case and opened one to find the gang member’s killer.

“Good.”

“Did you have something to do with it?” She watched for Storm’s reaction. As usual, she couldn’t tell, but she felt he had a part in it. If he had not killed the man, then he’d arranged for it to be a part of the deal with the Thirty-Second gang.

“No one knows,” he said, avoiding her gaze.

“Well, I guess we’re back to where we started.” Being wrapped in his arms was like coming home to her. She loved it. She loved him. “So where do we go from here?”

Storm hugged her tight.

“Thank you for listening to me and for saying ‘we’ to me.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I love you, Mary Jane Parker, more than the club or my life. I only hope you’ll let me hang around and show you that I’m a better man. A man you can depend on. A man willing to take care of you when you let me.” She felt him grin against her hair.

“Wow! I had no idea you were such a sweet talker.” She looked up into his beautiful stormy eyes. “I love you too. I knew you were a good man, and yes, I’ll give you all the chances you need to prove it to yourself with me.” She grinned big, and he followed suit with the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his gorgeous face.

“You love me?”

“Of course, you nerd.” She giggled.

He closed his eyes for a second and sighed.

“So. How about you showing me where the bachelors stay?” he asked.

“Like I’d let you out of my sight. You’re staying with me.” When she caught his surprised look, she added, “I missed more than your pretty face.” She patted his groin and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Fuck, Mary Jane. I fucking love you.”

“You’d better.”

His heartfelt laughter could be heard all the way across the commune.