Annabelle
After breakfast, we drove to Devil Springs to spend the day with Phoenix’s extended family, at a motorcycle club compound. I didn’t know much about motorcycle clubs, but the things I had heard about motorcycle gangs made me incredibly nervous. The closer we got, the antsier I became.
“You okay, doll face?”
“Yeah,” I swallowed and nodded. “I’m just a little nervous about meeting the rest of your family.”
Phoenix snorted. “You’re going to lie to me on Christmas?”
“What?” I asked, trying to sound surprised.
“You’re lying to me. What is it? Are you worried about the bikers?”
I focused on my clasped hands in my lap. “Maybe a little.”
“Doll face, do you really think Gram or Pop would knowingly take me or you anywhere that wasn’t safe?”
“I suppose not,” I mumbled.
Phoenix reached over and placed his hand on my thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll stay by your side the whole time if you want me to.”
“Okay, Phoenix.”
He seemed satisfied with my response, but I remained a ball of nerves for the rest of the journey.
When we pulled through the gates to the compound, Gram and Pop were already out of their car and hugging or shaking hands with various leather-clad men.
Phoenix took my hand and approached the sea of leather as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and I guess he didn’t.
“Phoenix, good to see you, boy,” a man who looked very similar to Pop said as he pulled Phoenix into a hug. “And who do we have here?”
“Uncle Talon, this is my girlfriend, Annabelle. Annabelle, this is Pop’s brother and president of the Blackwings Motorcycle Club, Talon Black.”
I carefully extended my hand and squeaked in surprise when he engulfed me in a hug. “Pleasure to meet you, Annabelle. Merry Christmas.”
“Uh, Merry Christmas to you, too, sir.”
“A pretty girl with manners. You better hang on to her, Phoenix,” Talon said.
“I plan to,” Phoenix replied instantly.
“Follow me. I need to get back inside before Hawk’s two hellions destroy the clubhouse.”
We followed him inside to find two little boys who were undoubtedly up to something. They stood side by side with their hands behind their backs grinning at their grandfather.
“Boys, say hello to your cousin and his girlfriend, Annabelle.”
Both boys said in unison, “Hey, Phoenix,” but never glanced his way. They kept their eyes fixed on me.
“Hello, Annabelle,” one of them said, stepping closer to me and reaching for my hand. He placed a kiss on top of my hand and continued, “A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. I’m Copper Black and I must say it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Not to be outdone, the other boy took my hand and placed two kisses to the top of it. “Hello, Annabelle. I’m Bronze Black. Welcome to the clubhouse. May I offer you something to drink? Perhaps a snack? Somewhere to sit?”
“Good gravy,” Talon muttered while shaking his head. “Hawk!” he yelled. “Come get your spawn before I let Phoenix crack their skulls together for hitting on his girl in front of him!”
A man looking just like the rest of the Black men appeared and put a hand on each boy’s head. “You two go play outside and for fuck’s sake, stay out of trouble!”
Both boys winked at me before they ran off as instructed. “Sorry about those two. They’re a handful. You must be Annabelle. I’m Hawk Black, Talon’s son,” he said and extended his hand.
I shook his hand and asked, “How old are your boys?”
“They’re nine years old. I don’t know what we’re going to do when they’re teenagers.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize they were twins.”
Hawk laughed. “They’re Irish twins, not traditional twins.”
“Irish twins?”
“Yeah, Bronze was born early, so they’re only eight months apart,” he explained.
Our conversation was interrupted by a woman’s piercing scream. “Goldie!” Hawk yelled and took off down the hall followed by Talon.
Talon stormed past us moments later and straight out the front door. He came back inside with Copper’s upper arm in one hand and Bronze’s upper arm in the other.
Phoenix wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Just watch, baby,” he whispered.
Hawk returned to the common room carrying two snakes. I tried to turn and make a dash for the front door, but Phoenix held me tightly to him.
“Boys! I told you to make sure their cage was latched. I promised your mother this very thing wouldn’t happen. If Slither and Squeeze get out again, they’re gone. Go put them up and for the love of all that is holy, make sure the top is latched!” Hawk ordered before handing the snakes to Copper and Bronze.
The boys disappeared down the hall and Hawk turned to the room to explain. “Goldie was going to take a short nap before lunch. Found the new pets curled up under the heating blanket on our bed.”
Talon chuckled. “I told you not to get them those snakes. You knew something like this would happen. Though, I am surprised it happened so fast. They’ve had them, what? Two? Three hours?”
Hawk rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored his father.
I turned to Phoenix and quietly asked, “Those snakes are going to be here, inside the clubhouse?”
“Yeah, doll face, they are, but there’s no reason to be scared. One, I highly doubt those snakes will get out again today. Two, even if they did escape again, they’re ball pythons and won’t hurt you.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“I am. A lot of people have them as pets. They’re non-venomous and they aren’t big enough to kill humans by constriction. Well, they might be able to kill a baby, but we don’t have any of those around so it’s not an issue.”
“I’m not sure I believe you,” I said hesitantly.
He grinned and reached into his pocket. “Here,” he said and handed me his pocket knife. “Keep that with you. If one of the snakes gets out and wraps around your neck, use my knife to cut it.”
My eyes widened in surprise. Phoenix just laughed and said, “Trust me, doll face. We won’t see those snakes again during our visit. Copper and Bronze have been begging for pet pythons for the last two Christmases and they know their mom will make them get rid of them if they escape again.”
I believed him, but I still jumped and flinched with every unexpected touch, from an actual person or when my clothes wrinkled against my skin for the next few hours.
When we sat down for dinner, I felt much more comfortable with the bikers surrounding me. I was amazed at how easily these men of no blood relation formed a family. And that’s what it was, a family. A family I looked forward to being a part of.
I joined Phoenix’s family for New Year’s as well. I don’t know if my mother didn’t realize I wasn’t home for any of the major holidays or if she was too out of it to realize it was the holidays. Either way, I enjoyed the holiday season for the first time in my life.
After the holidays, my life at home was marginally better. My father continued to drop in unannounced every two weeks or so and my mother continued to drink herself into a coma on a daily basis. I often wondered where she got the money since she wasn’t working that I knew of, but ultimately figured I was better off not knowing.
As the months passed, I fell more and more in love with Phoenix. We spent many evenings and nights with just the two of us making our plans for the future. He would join the Marines after graduation while I would stay in Croftridge and continue to work at the shop with Gram. I was hoping to get a scholarship and take some classes at the local community college while he was away. When he returned home after his first deployment, we would get married and I would either move to the base with him, move in with Gram and Pop, or maybe even share an apartment with Macy—anything to get me away from my parents until Phoenix and I could be together all the time.
Little did either of us know, we didn’t have the luxury of waiting for him to return to Croftridge. No, after his plane took off, our plans crumbled in the wind.