Chapter Four
As Addy gets up and walks away, I let out a relieved breath. One down, a million more to go. There’s no doubt in my mind that every person in the clubhouse will come over to me tonight. I just hope that not every conversation is as intense as that one.
Hopefully, soon, they will just leave me alone. I know that sounds terrible. It’s not that I don’t love all of them and love what they are trying to do for me, but I can’t take much more. Talking about Round does make me feel better, but it also makes the pain worse at times. Hearing everyone agree about what a great man he was just makes me miss him even more.
Pru walks over with a glass of wine in each hand and sits beside me. “I didn’t figure you were in the mood for soda, but not really wanting beer either.”
I take the glass from her and nod to the half empty bottle of beer on the table. “Already had my fill of beer for the night.”
I take a sip of my wine, not wanting to be rude. I quickly set it on the table and hope she doesn’t notice when it isn’t picked up again. I just can’t drink it right now. Nothing tastes good to me, not even a cold beer.
“Do you remember the first time we brought a bottle of wine in this place? I thought sparks were gonna fly from Round’s eyes. He said that old ladies were supposed to drink beer or whiskey, not wine,” she says, swirling the purple liquid in her glass.
I smile at Pru, remembering the night she is talking about. “Yeah, and you stood up and told him you weren’t like other old ladies and you could drink whatever you wanted.”
“He said he couldn’t argue with that and never mentioned anything about me drinking wine again,” she says, smiling at the memory.
“Oh, he mentioned it, just not when you were around,” I say, shooting her a wink.
Her laughter fills the room. “Well, I need wine tonight for sure. I actually need wine any time Parker and Scarlett are in the same room together.”
Looking around, I see Parker sitting by the bar. He has a beer in one hand and another wrapped around a club whore, but his eyes are trained on Pru’s daughter. Scarlett is sitting at a table with Addy’s daughter. They’re talking to each other, but as always, Scarlett’s eyes are locked on my grandson.
“She’ll be eighteen soon,” I say, looking back at Pru. “There’s nothing you can do to stop it from happening. My advice would be just to sit back and wait. There are only two possible outcomes. They could end up happy, finding the one they were meant for when they were so young, or it could also turn into a shit storm and they’ll move on to someone else.”
“I don’t want her getting hurt,” she states, her voice hard. “I love Parker, but he’s got a lot of notches on his bedpost. I don’t want my daughter to get lost in the mix.”
Anger fills me, causing my heart to skip a beat or two. “Parker is like his dad. He met the love of his life when he was just a kid. He can’t have her just yet, so he is living his life the only way he knows how. But when he finally gets her in his arms, he’ll be every bit as faithful as Smoke is to Gidget.”
“I don’t understand that,” she says, anger flashing in her eyes. “If he loves her, why the hell does he fuck everything with a slit between its legs?”
I have to stop myself from getting pissed that she is talking about Parker in such a way. “My grandson is a Grim Bastard.”
This time, her eyes flash with shame, realizing who she is talking to and who she is talking about. “I know that.”
“Round always said it took a special kind of man to wear a Grim Bastards cut. He said they had to be strong but also had to have a soft heart. I’m thinking it’s that soft heart of Parker’s that loves Scarlett, but it’s that hard edge that has him turning to the club whores.” I give her hand a squeeze. “He’s trying to make himself let her go, trying to give her a chance at something better than just being someone’s old lady.”
She starts to say something, but I cut her off with another squeeze of her hand. “It won’t take Scarlett long to prove to him that being his old lady is better than anything else life has to offer her. When she does, he’s gonna love her in a way that makes her head spin and her heart race. Believe me, I know because that was the way his grandpa loved me.”
Taking another sip of her wine, she looks at me with a sheen of tears in her eyes. “You had an amazing old man, Lisa.”
Her words put an end to our conversation, so I nod. “Yes, I did.”
“What Round has done for Hack and I,” she starts but stumbles over her words. “There are just no words to express how grateful we both feel. I don’t think there are enough words in the English language to say thank you for helping us add another child to our family.”
When one of the prospects got some girl knocked up, the kid came to Round for advice. Neither the prospect nor the girl wanted the baby, but neither was too hype on the idea of having an abortion. He came to me, letting me know what was going on, and asked how it should be handled. In return, I told him about Hack and Pru.
Due to complications when Scarlett was born, Pru can’t have any more children. They also can’t adopt through regular channels because Hack spent a little time in prison. She doesn’t talk about it much, but the few times she has opened up were enough to let me know that having another child was her deepest desire.
My old man went to Hack first, not wanting to mention it to the kid before he knew for sure he had found an answer to the problem. Hack talked to Pru that very same day. Within twenty-four hours, they were all sitting down talking to the club’s lawyers. Four months from now, there will be another baby around the clubhouse, and its last name will be Chambers.
“It’s a boy,” she whispers, another wave of tears filling her eyes. “We found out two days ago.”
“Just what we need, another male in the mix,” I say with a smile, taking my hand from hers and pulling her into a quick hug. “Congratulations.”
“His name is going to be Carter Roundtree Chambers. We want to name him after the man who brought him into our lives,” she says, reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye.
Feeling tears fill my eyes, I choke out a response. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in days.”