Halligan To My Axe (The Heroes of The Dixie Wardens MC Book 2) (6 page)

She was really pretty with blonde perky hair, big, bouncy boobs, and a small, trim waist; exactly what I’d picture any man with. She was what every woman secretly strived to be.

“Shannon,” Kettle stood wrapping his hand around my waist. “I’d like you to meet my neighbor, Adeline and her sister, Viddy. Ladies, this is my sister, Shannon.”

I didn’t really know what to think of the fact that I was relieved. I wasn’t ready for a relationship with a man like Kettle.

I was tired of being understanding. I wanted a man that put me first for once, not someone that would always put his club before me, or his job.

The last man I’d been in a relationship with had done that to me, and I hadn’t realized it until he’d proposed to me.

Jaxton was a great man. He was honest, caring, and committed.

To his job.

He was an OB/GYN in Henderson, TX where I used to live with him.

He was a great doctor but a lousy boyfriend, and I realized that now, and knew that I had to have someone that would be willing to put me and our relationship first.

Which was why it was scary that I actually felt relieved that the beauty was his sister, and not his woman.

“Jesus, Shannon.” Silas spat. “I said a beer, not a Bud Light.”

Whatever internal battle I was struggling with dissipated at that comment, and conversation began to flow.

“What brings y’all to The Tug and Chug, Adeline?” Kettle asked me after telling Shannon their drink orders.

Viddy, who’d been busy speaking quietly with Trance at the end of the table perked up at Kettle’s question, and just had to tell everyone about my awful day.

“Addy got punched in the face by one of her students. He was a football player.” Viddy crowed. “So I brought her here for a sundae and a cheeseburger to cheer her up.”

Six pairs of eyes locked to my face, and only then did they realize that my face and right eye was swollen. I’d done a good job at hiding it with makeup, and then wearing my hair down to add to the camouflage, but Viddy didn’t know how to keep her trap shut.

“What happened?” Kettle barked, turning my head so he could examine my eye.

I shivered at the touch of his rough fingers on my chin, and looked into his piercing blue eyes, becoming lost.

“Addy?” He asked, worry evident in his deep baritone voice.

I blinked, and then told him what happened earlier that day.

“I’m a high school science teacher, Kettle. Most of the kids use my class to blow off steam since there’s a mandatory lab, but today was a little worse than normal since it was a pep rally day. One of the boys on the football team was picking on a young girl, calling her names, and another boy, one of the ones that has a crush on the girl, intervened. I’d just walked around the corner when the football player threw a punch at the kid, who incidentally moved out of the way just in time, causing the player to punch me in the face instead.”

Kettle’s teeth ground together, making an audible noise as he listened.

“What did they do to the kid?” Silas’ voice broke the connection causing me to turn and look at him.

I shrugged. “Suspension. Benton High has a zero tolerance policy for fighting. He’ll be gone for well over two weeks.”

“That’s it?” Trance asked from further down the table.

I shrugged again. “I don’t know. It was an accident. Or at least the hitting the teacher part. So I can’t really get too mad at him.”

“Fuck that,” Kettle growled. “You sure as fuck can get mad at him. Nobody should be throwing punches with people that close around them. They should be aware of their surroundings. That shouldn’t happen at all in a school. What did the school resource officer have to say about it all?”

I would’ve replied if a commotion coming from the opposite corner we were in didn’t capture everyone’s attention, including my own.

“Let me go!” Kettle’s sister shrieked at a young man that was wrapped around her from behind, groping her boobs.

Kettle’s chair scooted back loudly as he took in the altercation, and then he exploded.

Literally.

One second he was in his chair and scooting back, and the next second he was across the room, punching the guy across the mouth with his fist with the force of a sledge hammer.

“Oh, shit.” Sebastian groaned.

The sentiment was echoed by the other four men as they, too, got up and started heading over towards the altercation.

I didn’t know if it was to help Kettle, or restrain him.

I’d seen many fights in my tenure as a high school teacher.

I’d broken up many of them, too.

The sounds that always surround a fight are unique.

There is the jeering from the crowd, the scuffling sound from the two people grappling, and then the actual sound of flesh meeting flesh.

Kettle’s fight resembled none of those.

The bar became so silent that the only sound that was heard was the ice machine dropping ice into the dispenser. No talking, laughing, cheering, no nothing. It was as if everyone was anticipating the upcoming events about to go down. Like watching a tiny car stuck on a railroad track and a freight train barreling down the tracks toward it.

Then the sound of Kettle’s fist meeting the guy’s face tore through the silence like a clap of thunder.

That’s all it took. One single punch.

The sound of the impact was difficult to describe.

It resembled the sound of a large thick textbook dropping down on a table top from a foot above the table.

There was a low, dull thwack, and the guy holding his sister’s boobs went down like a tree falling; blood poured from his mouth and nose, and three of the man’s teeth laid on the floor beside him in a small puddle of blood.

Kettle stood over the man, chest billowing air before he bent down to grab the man again. Only his club was there to intercept him before he got too far.

Sebastian’s brawny arms went around Kettle’s chest, anchoring him to his upper body. Once Sebastian had his arms locked around, Trance and Loki each took an arm, while Silas stood in front of Kettle talking to him calmly.

Dixie used the opening to drag the trash out the back door and slam it closed before rushing back to the table and taking a sip of beer.

“Fuck, but that boy can throw a punch. We haven’t seen Kettle blow in a long time. It makes me damn thirsty!” Dixie jabbered giddily.

“What happened? Did Kettle hit someone?” Viddy asked into the silence.

“Kettle’s got a bit of a temper. We’re just lucky that he’s slowed down a bit in his old age or he’d have gotten quite a few more punches in before anybody could’ve stopped him.” Dixie replied.

My face moved from Santa to the place Kettle had been standing moments before, only to find him gone. The group had disappeared outside, leaving Shannon there shaking her head, cleaning up the spilled glasses on the table she’d been delivering a drink to.

“Where’d they go?” I asked Dixie.

His eyes flicked to the back door that he’d thrown the man out of, and the back to me. “To have a discussion, I’m sure.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Daddy used to have a lot of discussions, too. That really meant he was beating the shit out of someone. He used to be the enforcer before his hands got too arthritic, and then he just supervised the prospects and told them how to do the most damage. Is Kettle the enforcer of your club?” Viddy asked casually as she reached out carefully for her drink.

Dixie, who’d been taking a drink of beer, choked, and turned his eyes to mine.

I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. Although, I’d never been around another club besides my father’s club before, I was fairly sure Viddy didn’t just commit a huge social faux pas. I also wasn’t privy to very much information about the club, either, so I didn’t know if there was some sort of protocol we were supposed to abide by and didn’t.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Dixie worriedly. “Were we supposed to not say that?”

My mind was whirling. Was it a secret? Was there some sort of club code that Viddy had inadvertently trampled over? Was I going to have to take Viddy and make a run for it?

Before my mind came up with an answer, Kettle pulled the chair out from beside me and took a seat, looking no worse for wear.

“What’s wrong, Dixie?” Kettle asked. “I didn’t kill him.”

Kettle’s tone had been light, but when Dixie’s eyes turned to him, and then flicked back to me, he became tense. “What?”

“Viddy just asked me if you were the enforcer for our club like her pop was for theirs.”

The statement, although sounding innocuous, dropped like a bomb among the men surrounding our table, and all of their eyes turned to the two of us, pinning us like specimens under a microscope.

“What?” I asked nervously.

“Your pops belonged to a club?” Kettle asked me in neutral tone.

Unaware of the raptor-like attention we were receiving, Viddy continued to talk about our father’s club. “Yeah, daddy was a member of The Lone Star MC for thirty years. He joined after he got out of the Marines. He was their enforcer. Although that’s about all we really know. We weren’t allowed at the clubhouse; nor did we go to many parties. The only ones we went to were the ones that were had for the families.”

Viddy finished her announcement with a long sip of her iced tea, and set the empty glass down carefully.

At the mention of my father’s MC, every single one of the men took a breath, shoulders slumping.

Something in my stomach released at the sight, allowing me to breathe again.

“Your pop was Tenor? He was a good man.” Silas said; there was no tension to this question, as if the threat that was on their threshold vanished, no longer needing him to be on guard.

I smiled wistfully. “Yeah, Daddy died, gosh, seven years ago now.”

Viddy’s arm went around my shoulders and pulled me in tight.

We loved our Dad like crazy, and still thought about him every day; if Dad were still there, we wouldn’t have had to worry about what our crazy brother would do next, because he’d have had his shit straightened out at the first sign of a misstep.

“We had a pretty good relationship with them when Tenor was still there. Then the old President died, followed by your Dad that next month, and the new leadership came on and we haven’t spoken much to them since.” Silas explained.

I was nodding my head in agreement and trying my hardest not to shutter. “Yeah, we moved away after my father died. It was really hard for us to be there after both of our parents were gone. When Viddy found a school to work for here that taught the blind, and I found a high school job with Benton High, we figured that was a really good opportunity to spread our wings. It’s been six years now, and we haven’t been back to Lone Star since.”

“Here you go, gentlemen; ladies, yours will be another few minutes.” Shannon said airily as she set down the food.

I eyed Kettle’s steak that had onions and mushrooms smothered over the top and wondered why I’d ordered chicken when I could’ve gotten that.

The corn on his plate wasn’t as appealing, but when he lifted the cob to his mouth and took a bite, I could see the merit of the butter. Especially melted butter when he licked his lips, and then his fingers free of the melted goodness.

“Here y’all go. I took the liberty of giving you the low-fat cheese and sour cream since you didn’t specify what you wanted. For you, I got the low fat ranch dressing.” Shannon said as she placed Viddy’s baked potato, and my hot wings down in front of us.

That dig was directed towards Viddy more than me, since Viddy was busy carrying on a conversation with Trance, whom it was more than obvious Shannon had a thing for with the lingering touches and the shy glances, but I still took offense.

“Uhh, in fact, I would like it if you brought us both out the real kind. The other stuff doesn’t taste as good.” I all but growled, causing the table to chuckle.

I was pretty particular about food.

I liked it to taste good, and I liked to eat a lot of it.

Silas handed over his ranch that he wasn’t using. I thanked him readily.

“Are you hungry?” Trance asked me while eyeing my plate of chicken wings.

“A little,” I said picking up a hot wing and devouring the meat from the bone.

At one point, I’d had to stop due to no more ranch, and had to resort to the low fat shit that Shannon had brought earlier.

“Ick,” I said after my first taste. “I need some more real stuff.”

Deciding to risk it, I started to scarf down my wings like a man. Only after I’d finished nearly half of the hot wings did I realize that I really should’ve waited for the ranch. My mouth was on fire, and I started panting. It wasn’t surprising that I had no drink, either.

I wasn’t sure who gave it to me, but a cup of half-eaten ranch was set on the table beside the shitty ranch, allowing me to finish my meal without having to wait twenty minutes for Shannon to get back.

After finishing the very last wing, I fell back into my seat with a groan, brought my fingers up to my mouth, and was in the process of licking them clean when I realized the entire table was staring at me as if I’d grown horns.

“What?” I asked as I finally settled on Kettle to look at.

He only shook his head and went back to his half eaten steak.

“Did I eat too fast or something?” I asked warily.

Viddy, the cruel bitch, chimed in at that point. “No, you just did your Hoover Vacuum impression in front of a bunch of hot guys that make a living being bad ass. You also ate the hottest wing on the menu without even batting an eyelash. They’re just impressed.”

“I didn’t eat that fast.” I grumbled, tearing open my wipe package and cleaning my fingers of the stickiness.

“Actually, you did. You’ve got sucking the meat off a hot wing down to a fine art.” Dixie said, waving his hand in front of my face wildly.

Then I saw Kettle shift, move his hand down to his crotch, and adjust himself before he cut into his steak again, causing my face to flame.

Thirty minutes, a slice of cheesecake, and another glass of sweet tea later, Kettle was standing beside my rental car as I leaned against it.