Sami

IT’S BEEN A FEW WEEKS and I haven’t been able to see my cousin Keegan. I’ve been talking to my mom about going to meet her and I think that today is finally the day that she’s taking me there. All that I’ve been told up to this point is that Keegan hasn’t been up to meeting me yet. She wants to, she just isn’t ready. I know that something is going on and that she had the crap beat out of her. Yes, I’ve heard things here and there about the shape she was in when Rage took her out of my grandparent’s car.

“Sami, are you about ready to head to the clubhouse?” I hear my mom call from the living room.

“Yeah. I’m coming now,” I holler back to her.

“We’ll be in the car waiting on you.”

I make sure I have my phone before I make my way outside. Goose is waiting for me in the living room and he makes sure the door is locked up tight. Irish is on his bike, Cassidy is in her car seat, and Goose is heading over to his bike. So, I take my seat in the front of mom’s car and we head out.

We talk about me being nervous to meet Keegan on the way over there. I know mom has been a few times a week to visit with her and she tells me that there’s nothing to worry about. Keegan is just like us and they’re actually getting ready to move her into her own house. The house that Irish told Grim to use for victims wanting to get away and start their life over again. My mom also tells me that Keegan is looking much better than when she first got here, but I will still see some bruises here and there. She also tells me not to hug her too tight or anything because her ribs do still bother her. It’s going to be a while before they’re done healing.

When we finally pull into the clubhouse, I can see everyone is here and I wonder what’s going on. No one told us anything about a party or anything like that. Most of the other times we’ve been here, you really only see a few people milling about. Maybe it’s just because it’s the weekend. Or maybe they’re here to help Keegan like they helped us.

“I’ll take you up and introduce you to Keegan. Then, Irish and I are going to see how the house is coming,” my mom tells me, finding a parking spot.

“Are you going to let me see the house before we move in?” I ask, knowing that I’m going to get the same answer as usual.

“No. It’s too covered in equipment and not safe for a lot of us to be in there at one time,” Irish tells me, having opened the door and heard my question.

There’s definitely something else going on here. My mom typically doesn’t keep things from me, but she’s sticking with Irish on this. Eventually I’ll find out, but until then I’ll wait impatiently. It shouldn’t be too much longer until the house is done anyway. Rage doesn’t mess around when it comes to building houses for the members of the club. At least from what I’ve seen.

Mom and I walk in the clubhouse and are greeted by everyone in the main room. We say our hellos as we make our way to Rage’s room. I’m not sure how everything worked out since he has a daughter, but Keegan hasn’t wanted to leave his room here at the clubhouse. Hell, I don’t even know if Rage has his own house or anything like that. It’s not my business.

Knocking on the door, we hear a muffled response before pushing the door open. Just taking one look at Keegan is all I need to know that we’re related. She has the same chestnut colored hair as my mom and I along with eyes the color of chocolate. The only difference I can see at first glance is that she’s almost skin and bones still while mom and I are curvy.

“Sami, this is our cousin Keegan,” my mom says introducing us. “Keegan, this is my daughter Sami.”

Keegan wraps me in a hug and I remember my mom’s warning not to squeeze her back too tight. Keeping me at arm’s length, Keegan takes a good long look at me. I see her look at mom and I know that they’re sharing communication of some sort. Eventually I’ll know what they’re looks mean, but until then, I’ll let them have this.

“I’m so glad she didn’t get any of her looks from Carl,” Keegan says, leading me over to the bed to sit down.

“Me too. Sami here is all me.”

“Okay, now, we’re going to catch up and get to know one another. You guys go do your thing and I’ll see you all later on,” Keegan says, shooing my mom out of the room to Irish waiting in the hallway.

As soon as they’re gone, Keegan sits down and gets comfortable. For the first few minutes, we sit in silence just taking one another in. I’m not nervous or uncomfortable, I just typically don’t meet relatives I haven’t known about before. Pops, Joker, and Bailey made it easy because they didn’t let us hide. They made it known that they were going to be in our lives and put themselves there. I don’t think Keegan knows what she’s going to be doing just yet.

“So, Sami, how do you like living here?” she asks me.

“I love it! It’s a small town, but the people from the club are amazing. They’ll pull you in and make you feel wanted and loved. Are you thinking about staying here?”

“I don’t know yet. For the last sixteen years I’ve been in more places than I can count on both hands. It wasn’t safe for me to stay in one place for too long.”

“You know they’ll protect you, right?” I ask her, needing her to know that they will have her back and not let anyone hurt her again.

“I know. It’s just that I’ve had to depend on myself for so long that I’m not used to anyone else having my back.”

“You’ll get used to it. If they decide they want you to stay here, you won’t have much of a choice but to stay here. And since Pops is mom’s uncle, I’m sure he’s going to take you under his wing just like us. You’re family and they’ll make sure you stay around if that’s what mom and I want. Our happiness means everything to them.”

Keegan sits there and absorbs what I’ve just told her. I can see the longing to stay in one place and be near my mom. From what I’ve been told, these two were close when they were younger and have missed one another so much. I’m glad that they’re getting a second chance to be that close again. Hopefully Keegan sticks around and doesn’t break mom’s heart by leaving.

“How are things going between you and Rage?” I ask, curious about him.

“He’s so sweet to me. Even though he really doesn’t stay at the clubhouse, he’s given up his room to me with no hesitation. The first week or so, he didn’t hardly leave my side. He spent time with his daughter, a cutie by the way, but then he nursed me back to health.”

“And all the guys that we’ve met are basically the same as that.”

“Yeah, but some of them are so scary looking,” she tells me, a shiver running through her body.

“I’m guessing you’re talking about Tank and Cage. They’re the biggest teddy bears. You should see them with their kids. Cage has three sets of twins. One of his daughters, Reagan, has medical issues. Tank has a daughter that’s not his biologically but don’t tell him that and a set of triplets. Those two men are so wrapped around the kids fingers it’s not funny. And you should see them with their women.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When Skylar and Maddie want something, their men bend over backwards to get it for them.”

I can see the wheels turning in Keegan’s mind about what she wants to do. My hope is that by letting her know how the guys are with their families that she’ll start to let them in and decide to stay here. From what I’ve seen and read between the lines, she hasn’t had a lot of love shown to her. Much like mom and I when we were still with my dad.

“Did they tell you that you can’t leave this room?” I suddenly ask.

“No. Rage has been trying to get me to go out with everyone, but I can’t seem to bring myself.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? I mean, aren’t you getting ready to move into the other house today?”

“Yeah,” she says hesitantly. “You’ll stay by my side the entire time?”

“I promise. We might have a shadow in the form of Goose, but I won’t leave you alone.”

Keegan sits there a few minutes and then starts to get up. She slips her sandals back on and heads for the door. I’m going to take this at her pace, but I’m not going to let her back out of it either. See, I’m a little bit more pushy than my mom and I’m not going to let her get away with hiding out in this room.

By the time I’m standing behind her, the door is open and she’s making her way into the hallway. I can see the hesitation in every step she takes, but thankfully, I see Skylar making her way down the hallway too. Holding my hands up, I let her know to take it easy on Keegan and Skylar instantly slows her steps.

“Hi Keegan,” she says, stopping where she is.

“Hi,” Keegan answers meekly.

“Are you going to come have something to eat with us?” she asks.

“Um, I don’t know. I mean I’m hungry, but Rage usually brings me food. I just don’t know how this all is supposed to work.”

“Oh honey, he only brought your food to you so that you didn’t have to leave the room. Now that our Sami got you out here, there’s nothing stopping you from getting your own food and whatever else you need. The only thing I can say is that there are only a few places you can’t go. One is the room the men have church in and the other rooms are the men’s personal rooms.”

“I-I wouldn’t dare go in someone else’s room,” Keegan replies.

“I know that honey. I’m just letting you know so that there’s no misunderstandings or anything else,” Skylar tells her, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

We enter the main room, and everyone stops doing what they’re doing immediately. I can tell that Keegan doesn’t like the attention, but I also know everyone in this room is happy as fuck that she finally feels safe enough to venture out with them. Hell, they aren’t looking at me and I feel uncomfortable as fuck right now.

“Alright everyone!” Skylar yells out. “Leave them alone and get back to what you were doing.”

I can see Keegan visibly relax as everyone goes back to what they were doing. Hell, I’m sure that she can feel me relax. My mom has been the only one to ever pay attention to me. Carl only did when he thought I was doing something wrong. It wasn’t often because mom made sure the negative attention was always on her. So, Carl basically left me alone and I never heard from him and I hardly saw him.

“Keegan, do you want to go to the kitchen and make a plate?” I ask.

“Um, is that allowed? I mean I spent a little time with a club before and it wasn’t like that unless we were getting the men food.”

“You were around another club?” Skylar asks.

“For a little bit. They said they’d offer me protection, but they never told me what I’d have to do to get it. I didn’t like their terms, so I snuck away. I’m not sure if they’re looking for me or not,” Keegan tells us, embarrassment clearly marring her face.

“What club was that?” Joker asks, suddenly appearing at Skylar’s side.

“Um….” Keegan starts, nervous and scared of Joker. “It was the Soulless Bastards.”

“Honey, you don’t ever have to worry about that club again,” Joker tells her. “I can’t, and won’t, go into detail. But, please believe me when I say they won’t ever be lookin’ for you. We have your back the same way that we have Whitney and Sami’s.”

Keegan relaxes further seeing the affection between Joker and Skylar. Like I said, these men can be scary looking to someone that’s never been around them before. For the longest time, I was scared to death of certain members, but that’s done and over with.

After getting our plates, Keegan and I make our way to a table on the far side of the room. That way we can still have some sort of privacy but be with everyone at the same time. I know that she’s noticed Goose following us around, but not too close. I’m just waiting for her to ask what’s going on with him. I don’t have to wait that long.

“So, what’s up with the guy following us around?” she asks, putting a forkful of Skylar’s spaghetti and meatballs in her mouth.

“That’s Goose. He’s been one of the ones protecting us. We might be waiting until I turn eighteen to be together.”

“Oh yeah? He’s very hot!” Keegan tells me, a blush creeping up her skin.

“He is very hot. And he’s incredibly sweet too.”

“So, what are you doing until you can be together?” she asks, genuinely wanting to know.

“We’re hanging out, getting to know one another. I tried seeing other guys, but they just didn’t do it for me.”

“Whose idea was that?” she asks.

“His. He didn’t want me to regret being with him without experiencing anyone else. Goose said once I turn eighteen, I’m his. There won’t ever be anyone else.”

“Sounds a little controlling if you ask me.”

“Not controlling. We just know what we want and we both want to be together. See, when they claim a woman here, it’s like being married in the club’s eyes. There’s just no wedding unless the couple choose to also go that route.”

“I see. Well, I won’t have to know any of that. It’s not like I’ll be with any of the guys here,” Keegan says this like she actually believes it. Too bad most everyone here is betting on her and Rage getting together sooner or later.

I sit there, eating, and give her a knowing look. Understandably I know she may not want to be with anyone right now. But, I don’t give it too long before Rage starts making his play for her. Especially once he realizes that a few of the other men here wouldn’t mind being with her. My cousin is truly a beautiful woman. She’ll be even better looking once she puts some meat on her bones.

I’ve spent the day with Keegan. We’ve laughed and cried as she’s told me some of the stuff she’s encountered trying to live and stay away from everyone looking for her. I’m sure I got the kid-friendly version of the story, but it’s enough to make my heart break for her. Keegan has lived more in the twenty-eight years she’s been alive then most people I know. I’m glad she’s with us now and she can start healing.

“Sami, are you about ready to head to the house?” my mom asks me, walking over to where we’re sitting.

“Yeah. We’re gonna make sure she gets settled in, right?” I ask, wanting to make sure that Keegan’s going to be comfortable.

“Yes, we are.”

The three of us make our way out to mom’s car. Irish is standing there after having put Cassidy in her car seat waiting for us. All the guys are going to follow us over to the house Keegan is going to be staying in. I know that the women are going to be there too. Right now, they’re getting the kids to the clubhouse with Summer and then they’ll meet us there. I know we spent two days going shopping to make sure that she had everything she would need to feel comfortable living there. And it turns out not to be that far from where mom and I currently stay. At least until our house gets finished. Hell, they even put a small shop with an apartment for Goose out behind the house they’re building. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, but it makes me happy as hell they did it.

Goose

I’ve barely spent any time with Sami today. She needed to get to know her cousin and I’m glad they had that time together. I was in the room as much as I could be with them when they finally emerged from Rage’s room. But, I made sure to sit on the other side of the main room. Sami will always be in my line of sight if I can help it.

Now, we’re all loading up to head over to the new house for Keegan. It’s big, but I know that Rage has already volunteered to stand guard, much the same way as Irish and I did with our women. I’m not saying that Rage and Kasey are going to move into the house with her, but I’m sure they’ll be staying there more often than not. Just like I’m sure that pretty soon he’ll be adding a house not that far from Irish and Whitney’s new house.

“You good Goose?” Irish asks me.

“Yeah. They needed today and I’m glad they got it.”

“You just seem distracted lately,” Irish tells me.

“I don’t know what’s goin’ on. I just know that this waitin’ shit sucks!”

“Goose, it will be over with before you know it. Now, what’s really goin’ on?”

“I can’t help but think she’s makin’ a big mistake by decidin’ not to experience things with other guys. Is she really goin’ to be happy with me if she doesn’t?”

“I think she will. I mean, she seems to know what she wants. Even though she’s only sixteen, that girl has lived a lot in her sixteen years. If she’s tellin’ you that she already knows she wants to be with you, then go with it.”

I nod my head to him. I get what he’s saying. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I can’t help but think that she’s going to regret something about being with me. It may not be shortly after we get together, but somewhere down the road it could happen. Sami’s already so important to me and I don’t know what I’d do if she were to leave me. I mean, if she goes away to college, that’s one thing. I know she’ll be back, but to leave me for good is another thing entirely. That’s something I won’t be able to handle.

Pulling up to the house, I see that Grim is waiting on Keegan to show her around. It’s a mystery to me why she doesn’t stay with Whitney and Sami until they move and then she takes over that house, but Grim knows what he’s doing. I plan on being there when Sami gets more of Keegan’s story then what she’s already heard. So, I follow everyone in and wait to see where she’s going to sit before I make a decision as to where I’m going to be standing.

As Keegan fills us all in on her story, I can feel the sadness, tension, and pain going through Sami’s body. The only thing I want is to be there for her, but I don’t know how much she’s going to let me in right now. This is a lot to take in and I know she’s going to need time to process it and then we’ll talk about it. That’s usually what happens when she learns something major like this.

The first time it happened was when she found out Whitney was pregnant. Well, when they got back from Darcy’s. Even though we weren’t really talking, she still came to me and told me her concerns. She felt like once the baby gets here, Whitney and Irish are going to forget all about her. I tried to tell her that wouldn’t happen because Cassidy is around all the time and they haven’t forgotten her. Then she said they’d probably ask her to babysit all the time, so they can do whatever. Not like she has a social life, but she doesn’t want to be a live-in babysitter either. I don’t think Irish and Whitney would ever do that to her, and that’s what I tried telling her. They haven’t done it with Cassidy and I don’t see them doing it with the new baby. We’ll see what happens. Sami hasn’t brought it up again since that day. She’s working it out on her own. Or, she did what I suggested and talked to her mom about it.

Sami shocks the shit out of me as everyone starts to leave. She turns to me and wraps her arms around me. I can feel her tears soaking through my shirt and I don’t care. The only thing I care about is Whitney’s reaction to this. Looking at her, she offers me a small smile and nods her head. This is the only thing I need to see. I wrap my arms around her and pull her in closer to me. I’m going to offer Sami all the comfort she needs right now. Especially with Whitney’s go ahead.

“Wanna go back to your house and watch a movie?” I ask her.

“Yeah. I just need to forget everything Keegan has been through. I thought we had it bad and it’s nothing like what we’ve been through,” she tells me, starting to cry yet again.

“Let’s go sit down with some popcorn, cold drinks, and watch a comedy tonight.”

“That sounds good. Can we stop and get some cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes?” she asks, giving me her puppy dog eyes.

“You’re still hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Anythin’ you want Sami,” I answer her.

I lead Sami outside and realize that I only have my bike with me. For me, Sami is going to be the only one that’s ever going to sit on my bike. I’m just not sure that it should be right at this second. I’ve never talked about giving Sami a ride with Whitney either. Telling Sami to stay where she is, I head back in to find Whitney and Irish.

“Um, Sami wants to go back to the house,” I begin. “I only have my bike with me and you guys need the car for Cassidy. What am I supposed to do here?”

Whitney thinks for a minute before answering me. “If you hurt my baby girl, I will maim you. Please, be extremely careful with my daughter on the back of your bike.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. Now go before I change my mind,” Whitney tells me, hugging me close before letting me go back to her daughter. To my girl.

I take her hand and lead her to my bike. Sami is looking at me with a mixture of excitement and trepidation in her eyes. She’s never been on a bike, but she’s wanted to go for a ride for so long. Today is the day that I make that happen for her. I have excitement coursing through me at the fact that this is something I get to share with her. She’ll finally know what I’ve been talking about when I tell her what it’s like to ride a bike, the feeling of freedom and everything that goes with it.