“Hey, brother. How are you?” Zane immediately questions me, though he sounds a bit concerned based on his tone.
“I’m alright, but I won’t be back to the club for a while. Jada talked mom into coming home and asked me to stay with her so she’s not alone. She’s been so focused on dad and is barely taking care of herself.
“Shit, do what you need to do. Things are settled here, so don’t worry about a thing. How’s your dad doing?”
I inhale deeply through my nose, “The triple bypass has been hard on him. He keeps getting secondary infections. One after another. It makes me wonder . . . fuck, just makes me wonder if he’s going to make it through this man.”
“Don’t talk like that. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re not the big dude upstairs, so breathe. Take it one day at a time.” I’ve known Zane for a long time now and he’s never been the type for motivational moments. He’s the blunt type, the guy who’s gonna shoot it to you straight. But for right now, I’m glad he isn’t, ‘cause I don’t know how the fuck I’m gonna keep my ma together if dad takes another turn for the worse.
“Thanks, brother. I’ll text you and let you know what’s going on soon, but I’m gonna get some stuff done around the house for ma. I saw one of her light bulbs needs changing, so it’s the least I can do.”
Zane and I say our goodbyes and I head into the bathroom and change the light that I saw was out earlier when I arrived. After I fix the light, I check her clocks and make sure none of them need to have their batteries changed. My mother, god love her, is super old-fashioned. She has one of those old lady telephones that flip and doesn’t like any of this new fancy technology around. I end up finding a clock that needs its batteries changed, so I replace those and as soon as I’m hanging it back up, she comes through the door.
“My goodness, what’re you doing here?” My ma comes rushing over to me, narrowing her eyes like she didn’t expect me to be here. She should know better, though. Jada is the resident worry wart of the family.
“Nothin’, Ma. Just fixing a few things around the house. I replaced a lightbulb and some batteries in that one white clock down the hallway, and I tightened the pipe in your sink in the kitchen island. A plumber will be here tomorrow, but I’ll make sure I’m here or one of the prospects from the club.”
She puffs out her bottom lip. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re surely a good one, always watchin’ out for your Ma.”
“Damn straight. I’m gonna keep goin’ around the property and house. I want to see if there’s anything else that needs my attention.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do when you leave,” her words come out of nowhere and my eyes go wide as the reality of what she’s just said hits me.
“I’m not leavin’ to go to Los Angeles for a bit, Ma. We still have time.”
“Not enough time. You’re not a mother. You don’t understand. It’s your worst fear when your child leaves. I thought the NFL was going to take you far away from me, but it’s the Reapers Rejects.” My mom glances down at the ground and starts to get a bit upset.
“I’ll only be a phone call or a plane ride away. There’s no reason to be getting upset. I’m always going to be here. No matter what.”
My mom smiles and nods before making her way to her master bedroom. I know she isn’t happy I’m leaving to go to Los Angeles, but Inc is our regent here at the club, and now I’ll be going down to their club to be the regent for the Reapers Rejects MC. The most important thing other than our safety is ensuring our alliances are flourishing, even if it means sacrificing some of what we want to do.
The club gave me a new life, and I’m happy to help in whatever way I can.
Chapter Two
You have a place in my heart no one else could ever have
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
Shiloh
“Shiloh, are you busy today by chance?” Ashley’s voice comes up from behind me and I turn to see the blonde-haired woman with a hand supporting her back as she cranes her big belly around. She’s five days overdue and this kid is really giving her hell. She says it’s her last, but knowing her and Blackjack, I seriously doubt it.
I pull the black hair tie off my wrist and pull my sandy blonde hair into a high ponytail. “Not anything specific. What’s up?”
“If you have time, I’d really appreciate it if you could go over to Tart. I was supposed to, but I’m exhausted and this baby is revolting against me.” Ashley grimaces and her uncomfortableness can be seen very easily. She shouldn’t even be going out right now and doing this sort of stuff. The woman is literally ready to pop at any given moment.
“Oh my gosh, of course. What were you going to do today?” Whatever she needs doing, I’ll do, but I’d be lying if I said I’m hoping it isn’t something too strenuous.
“A bit of painting to freshen up the place and then we’re giving it another good clean today before we put out the new décor,” Ashley tells me. I’m a bit surprised we’re updating the décor at all. It wasn’t awful before and it’s not like the place is new either. It had some renovations a few years back that really put it in this era, but I get the club wants to put their own flare on everything.
“Okay, no problem. Is there anything else you need?” The woman is so worn down and I’ve known Ashley for
