Charlie's Heart: MC Romance (Burning Bastards MC Book 3) (12 page)

“Lady, I think it’s time you left. You haven’t earned the right to speak or speculate about this club or its members. We all know the only reason you stepped in for Pressley was to keep Charlie from going ape shit on your fuckwad sheriff.

“Although it would be interesting to see you sitting on your throne judging him in court now, wouldn’t it. That’s something you will have to think about too. Cops love nothing better than to harass bikers, they will lie, trump up charges, and do their damndest to pin any crime on a biker. What’s gonna’ happen when one of us goes to jail and then we are brought in front of you? Charlie turned in his colors to keep you from having to worry about whether you would sentence one of us to prison or worse.”

He pointed his finger at her and his voice steadily rose until the last words were nothing less than a shout. “You’re the reason he quit, and for that, lady, I hope you rot in hell for taking his family and his freedom. Now, you selfish bitch, get out of here before I toss you out on your skinny ass.”

Selma was stunned, she’d never asked Charlie to give up the close knit family unit that he had with the Bastards. She never wanted him to have to choose between her and the group of men that were closer than brothers. She tossed her hands in the air, and let them flop into her lap. Standing up, she continued to face the man that Charlie spoke of with such affection.

“I never asked him to leave the Bastards, I never wanted to put him in the position that you are describing, and I never look down on people. For your information, and not that I consider it any of your business, but I was raised in juvie and foster homes. My parents were the lowlife dregs you are harping about and the last time I saw them, they were headed to prison and I was headed to juvenile detention. I act like a lady by choice, not because I want to lord it over other people. And Mr. Smartassed-Fucker, I do make a difference in people’s lives. So I’m not versed in biker regulations, I am human. You cut me I bleed, you piss me off and I get mad, you fuck with my man and I’ll be the one doing the cutting. Ignore his resignation, he will be back.”

She turned to walk to the door, but turned with her hand on the doorknob. “All you had to do was to pick up the phone and talk to me. We could have avoided this conversation and gotten everything taken care of in a friendly manner. I might be going to hell, but when you die, just remember, I’ll volunteer to drive the bus to pick you up and I guarantee it will be an interesting trip.”

She turned the knob and walked out of the door, quietly shutting it behind her. She looked up and saw the hallway was packed and had to shake her head. She shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile. “He’s still breathing, his face is red, and steam is blowing out of his ears, but he’s alive.”

The crowd backed out of the small area and she walked out of the building with her head held high. She’d be damned if she would let any of them see her break down and cry.

Charlie was headed home. He’d gone to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. and read every name on the wall. A bare handful were familiar to him, and he took the time to remember and at times speak to the person who had given his life for his country. By the time he walked out of the memorial, he finally felt the heaviness in his heart lighten. His name should have been on that wall. By the grace of God and the survival skills he used at the time, he’d been spared.

He hadn’t been the only veteran that held a one-sided conversation with the dead, and somehow it helped him understand that feeling of guilt for being alive when more deserving men had died. He talked with a few of the old guys, and wiped unashamed tears from his own face, seeing that some were in wheelchairs, some with missing limbs, and even one young man in an Army uniform was there to visit with his grandfather’s shadow. The kid was headed for Afghanistan the next day and Charlie sent up a prayer for God to carry this boy through until it was time for him to come home, and make a family that his grandfather could watch over and be proud to see his legacy carry on.

His stomach had been bothering him for a week before he stopped in at a clinic in Pennsylvania, and they gave him some chalky shit to coat his stomach, thinking that he must be developing an ulcer. It was a bitch pulling over every day to puke his guts up on the side of the road, but he always ate a hearty meal around two in the afternoon and something light for dinner.

Selma would have a fit if he came home with some serious illness, just thinking about her pampering him made him smile and groan at the same time. She had a way about her that gave him comfort and happiness. He missed the brothers, but after his month and a half trip down memory lane, he was ready to settle into a new life and maybe find something to keep himself occupied with in his free time.

The Indian broke down in southern Ohio, and it took a few days to find the parts to fix the old bike, but eventually he’d gotten it repaired and was back on the road that same hour. Now he was an hour out of town and he slowed his speed. He knew in his heart that he’d done the right thing, but even with the peace he’d achieved during his mental health ride, his only regret would be the loss of the Bastards.

Selma’s car was in the driveway when he turned onto their road. She must have had the day off. It didn’t happen often, but he knew he had to face her, needed to talk about his ride and hope she wasn’t too mad at him for being absent. He parked his sled next to her car and entered the house with his key.

She wasn’t there, the place was empty once he searched it looking for her.
Well so much for his dramatic entrance
. He dropped his kit on the bedroom floor by the closet and headed for the shower.

Selma was at the hospital planning to visit Pressley after the tech finished sucking the blood from her arm through a huge needle. She watched the little tube fill with her blood and absently thought it was interesting that her blood was actually a dark purple. She had been lightheaded for a few days and ended up at the doctor’s office this morning. He sent her over to the hospital for tests. The blood and urine samples would tell him what he needed to know and he always called in a day or two with the results.

She walked into Pressley’s room and discovered Big Dog and Tiny were already visiting. Big Dog was reading a book out loud to the man in the bed, and Tiny frowned at her when she walked into the space interrupting the story. Since their little bitch session at the clubhouse, things had progressed to almost a friendly kind of truce. Thankfully, three days after she’d walked out, the huge man had come knocking on her door and they sat down and talked about her program.

She had made a few changes in her life in the past weeks, and she felt good about them. She had tendered her resignation to the County Board of Commissioners, and would be replaced as soon as the special election was put together to replace the sheriff, district attorney, and her position as a circuit court judge. She cited family needs as her reason for her resignation and although she caught flack from some people, she stayed firm.

Big Dog had been right. She was being a selfish bitch and her new plan of action would benefit the community and the MC. Charlie could keep his place in the family of bikers, and she would be fulfilled in her law career as well. Reopening a law practice would take some time to become self-sufficient, but she had time. The Bastards had a building that would work for her purposes. So far her plans were falling into place.

All that was left for her to do was to talk to Charlie, and if things set well with him, they could start planning that wedding he’d mentioned in his note. She hoped that his journey came to an end soon, she missed being held in his strong arms every night and waking up to his kisses each morning. Just thinking about his absence made her eyes water, and she had to switch her thoughts or she’d end up crying for no good reason.

“Hi, guys, how’s Pressley doing today? I had to have some tests taken and thought I would stop in to see if there was any improvement before calling a cab to take me home. My car is at the garage and they just texted me that it is now in my driveway. So a lot of good it does me there, but at least it won’t make me seasick to drive down the road with a broken shock in the rear end.”

Tiny grinned at her. “Today is your lucky day then, we drove the van to town to pick up supplies and drop off a few things, so we can give you a ride.” He looked to Big Dog to confirm, and got the nod. “See?”

She stood by Pressley’s bed and noticed how slender the young man had become and reached for his hand to hold between her own hands. As she looked at his face, she saw his eyelids flutter, but no matter how close she looked they didn’t open. “What do the doctors say? He looks so skinny lying here.” She was talking more to him than the others in the room “Boy, when you wake up from your nap, you will be at the mercy of every female in the county trying to feed you. Charlie will drag you home with him and I’ll fix pasta like you enjoy so much. If you eat your dinner I might even find some of my triple treat cookies, the last time I made them you and Charlie ate the entire batch, do you remember?”

Big Dog cleared his throat and Tiny acted like he didn’t notice the tears sliding down her cheeks. So she laid the young biker’s hand down next to his hip and leaned over him to give him a quick kiss on the forehead. “You rest and heal. I’ll check back with you in a day or two.” She walked around the bed and remembered her purse was on the nightstand. Turning to reach for it was a mistake. The room spun around her and she collapsed to the floor in a faint.

She woke up in the emergency room, with two smiling men and a female doctor that was issuing instructions to them for her care for the night. “Make certain she sees her doctor as soon as possible. When she wakes up,” they noticed that she was awake and the doctor smiled at her as if she hadn’t been interrupted just moments before.

“As I told your brothers, you need to stay off your feet, and you need to make an appointment to see your gynecologist as soon as possible. Pregnancy at your age is risky, and you will need to be monitored closely.” She shook her head and smiled. “You must really want a baby to risk getting pregnant at this stage in your life. Good luck.” The woman patted her shoulder and left the curtained cubicle, leaving her with the two grinning bikers staring at her.

“Did she just say baby?” Selma felt bewildered. She hadn’t given a thought to birth control and had been having amazing sex with Charlie for… “Oh no, what will Charlie say about this?”

Her question went unanswered as the two laughed out loud and Tiny had to sit down in the lone chair to get his breath back.

Big Dog kept smiling as they waited for Tiny to bring the van to the door to pick them up. He said, “Don’t worry, Charlie will be thrilled after he gets over the heart attack you are going to give him when you tell him. Look at me, Future is due in July, and after the idea sunk in, I am thrilled to pieces. Steven needs a sibling to boss around, and I always wanted a little girl to spoil, so if I can like the idea, Charlie can get used to it too.”

He heard the vehicle outside and walked into the living room to see who had pulled up. He was surprised to see the Bastard’s van parked at the curb, but what shocked him into moving was seeing Big Dog get out of the passenger side and open the back side door to reach in and carry Selma out of the vehicle. As they approached the door, Charlie flung it open and stood aside in concern while he waited for the big man to set her down.

Selma was telling him that she was fine and could walk, and Big Dog told her to button it. “The doctor said off your feet or didn’t you hear that?” He turned to Charlie and handed her over into his arms.