CHAPTER ONE
Diesel
“Deeezzzz.” The loud shriek of my favorite four-year-old caught my attention as I went to take a seat at the bar. I turned and open my arms just in time to catch the little, but very solid, boy as he jumped at me. Tossing him up in the air, he held out his arms like he was the happiest kid in the world.
“Hey buddy, what are you doing here?” I asked planting him back on his feet and squatting down to his level.
“Mom signed me up for one of those datin’ sites behind my back,” Tank said walking up, a look of annoyance on his face. “Said she won’t watch him until I go on a date with one of them.” He shook his head at his mom’s antics to try and set him up.
Tank’s world revolved around his son, Grass. He felt that he had failed the kid’s mother. And now he was doing everything to make up for it, by being the best father he thought he could be. None of what happened was his fault, but he would never see it that way. He was a damn good father and there was no question that he loved his son.
“So, what, you goin’ on a date then?” I asked smirking up at him.
“Fuck no! That’s why he’s here,” Tank jutted his thumb at Grass, who was now tracing the patches on my cut. “Have to go fix some stuff at the bakery and don’t have anyone to watch him. I figured if I stick it out long enough, Mom will go back on her word. You know how she can’t go three days without seein’ him.” I let out a low chuckle as I shook my head.
“Let’s go see if Reagan will make us some pancakes,” I said to Grass as I stood up. “With chocolate chips and whipped cream. Maybe some sprinkles on top too.” I smirked at Tank as he narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ll be back in a couple of hours, right? Should be right in time for all that sugar to kick in.”
“You’re an asshole, Diesel,” he grumbled.
“I got him. See you in a bit.” I slapped his shoulder.
Thirty minutes later we were sitting at one of the tables in the dining area with big stacks of pancakes in front of us. Reagan nixed the whipped cream and sprinkles, but made sure to put a few extra chocolate chips in Grass’. She wasn’t the greatest cook, but she was working on it. She had finally mastered pancakes and not overcooking pasta.
“Rea,” Loch, the clubs vice president, called out as he walked into the room. “Don’t forget we have dinner at Ethel’s in an hour.” He bent down and tenderly kissed the side of her head. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she looked up at him with that dreamy look in her eyes. The same one that she always got when she looked at him.
Six months back, the two of them finally pulled their heads out of their asses and told each other how they felt. It took way too long for them to do that shit. Everyone else knew it long before they admitted it and it was almost pure torture to watch it play out. Reagan came here running from something. She figured she could hide out here and stay with her very lively grandmother, Ethel. When it finally caught up with her, she was brutally beaten and taken by her roommate’s boyfriend. Turned out the guy was crazy and had an obsession with Reagan. Needless to say, we took care of him while she was recovering in the hospital. It took Reagan and Loch awhile to find one another again, but once they did they had been the perfect model couple. Well, as perfect as two lost souls could be, that was.
“Hey D,” Loch said, catching my attention, “Grady’s boy is openin’ a pizza place in the empty space next to the bookstore. Said we’d help with settin’ the equipment up and plumbing. You got two days to spare?”
“Yeah. Next two I’m free. Thinking of taking a day or two away over the weekend, though.”
“Sound’s good. See you over there in the mornin’.” He looked down at Reagan as he ran his finger down the side of her neck. Yep, I knew where that was going. Those two couldn’t keep their hands off of one another, not to mention other things.
“I need to, um, go get ready.” Reagan popped up and practically ran to their room with Loch hot on her trail. Those two had sex almost as much as I did.
Which was saying a lot.
“Whatcha want to do now, buddy?” I asked Grass as he shoved the last little bit of pancake in his mouth. His mouth and chin were covered in syrup to the point that it was starting to drip off. I sighed and got a rag to clean him off before it became a bigger mess.
Kids are so fuckin’ messy.
“Want to color,” he said reaching for my hand so I could help him off his chair.
We went out to the lounge and did exactly that. Yes, even I colored a few pictures of cartoon looking characters. He told me he was going to hang them on the wall at his dad’s house.
The sugar rush crashed not long after we were done and he passed out curled up on one of the couches. I covered him with a blanket, then settled down next to him and watched TV until Tank came back.
This was my life. I kept things simple and was there for my brothers as much as they were there for me. We worked hard and partied harder. We also kept the town going. This was our home and these people were our family.
The whole reason Cal’s dad started the Steel Paragons MC was to help the town in a time of need. Long before I was around, there was a drought. A horrible wildfire spread damaging a lot of homes, building, and surrounding farms. Big Al, Cal’s dad, started the club up with the idea of running guns to bring in money to rebuild the town. That eventually led to running drugs, too. We were carrying on that legacy, with Cal in charge now. But the drug runs stopped not long after Cal took over. Which was good, because I couldn’t stand that shit. Even if we were trying to go legit, we still had plans to pull in money for whenever it might be needed. And we also put in our time and expertise any chance we could for the people in town.
We may have been on the other side of the law, but I believed that the club intended to do some kind of good with every decision we made.