Snake Charmer (Rawkfist MC Book 2) (2 page)

Donovan

A
s the bastard kid of the county
sheriff’s wild daughter and an outlaw biker, I’m a lawman with no love for the
law. I’d grown up only knowing the Mooney side of my family.

My grandfather is Sheriff Arnold
Mooney, a prominent name in this part of West Virginia. He casts a wide shadow
over the family, and most of us followed his footsteps into the sheriff’s
department. I wear the badge, but I don’t feel the pride I see in the eyes of
my cousins in uniform.

Still, I do the job without
complaining. Routine keeps me from thinking about why I should complain. I get
up, do what I’m told, and go to bed. Same every day for ten years except for
when I do a little dirty business on the side for my cousin and Rawkfist MC
enforcer, Court Bayer. We keep our relationship quiet, even if our family ties
are well known.

Everything around these parts is common
knowledge. Even though I can’t change my shampoo without someone noticing, I’ve
kept my friendship with Court on the down low. I doubt that’ll last much longer
now that I’ve finally pulled the trigger on my lust for Journey Sheerer. Her
sister is married to Court. Her father is in the Rawkfist MC. If I make things
public with Journey, people will piece together the puzzle of what I do with
myself when I’m not living a quiet life with my dog, Kitty.

Journey is worth the trouble, though.
I’d only met her in passing one time at a carnival in Tumbling Rock. She paid
me little attention, but I didn’t think she was much of a flirt. I hadn’t been
able to take my eyes off of her. Thankfully, I’d been wearing glasses so she
couldn’t catch me gawking.

That day, I took a few pictures of her,
and I still look at them on my phone. Before I left her today, I snapped a shot
of her snarling face. This photo joins the others that I use to keep myself
sane during the long, boring night shifts.

Pulling up the snarling pic, I show it
to my basset hound sitting next to me on the couch.

“Even though Journey was pissed when I
pulled her over, she agreed to a date. You didn’t think I’d have the nerve to
ask, did you?”

Kitty smells the phone before licking
it. He isn’t the most animated animal, and would be happy spending most of his
day on the couch watching the flashing box. Still, he humors me by
investigating the phone.

“Months of waiting but I finally got up
the nerve to force her to go on a date. Now, what?” Scratching my head, I
shrug. “I guess I should have thought further ahead.”

Kitty spends hours alone at the house
every day while I work, leaving him accustomed to the quiet. When I get home, I
rarely talk so much. Typically, we watch TV until bedtime. That’s our routine.
Now I’m talking off his floppy ears.

“She has the most beautiful eyes,” I
say, looking at the picture. “I’d forgotten that part since none of my pictures
show off her eyes. They were so bright today when she glared at me.”

Since meeting Journey at the fair, I’ve
been blinded to other women. I never dated much and mostly just hooked up for
sex with a few local girls. They wouldn’t do once I knew Journey existed. She’d
been tough that day, scaring off Court’s raging baby mama. I’d watched her keep
guard over her family while they relaxed. She was the protective mama bear.
That night, she’d scared off more than a few guys checking out her
sixteen-year-old sister, Poppy. It was funny to see, but I’d been more than
amused. I’d been fucking addicted.

Now I have a date planned with the
woman I’d gotten hooked on months earlier. Every night, I wondered about the
day I would make my move. I’d planned it over and over in my head. So focused
on getting her to agree to dinner, I hadn’t worried about the next part.
Tonight, it’s all I can think about.

Journey

I
’m still overheated when I arrive at
the house I share with my divorced mother, Christine, youngest sister, Poppy,
and Otto. We live on a six-acre piece of uneven land off a main road in
Tumbling Rock that Christine inherited from her grandfather. After Justice
married Court, they added their own prefab home not far behind Christine’s.

When I pull up to the property, I spot
Court playing with his son Felix along with Becca’s other kids, Otto and
Matilda. I’m relieved when they miss my arrival. Donovan’s request for a date
has left me mentally scattered and physically worked up. No way do I want the
kids to see me in this state.

Inside the main house, I discover
Justice lying on the couch with her feet in the air. I don’t know what she’s
doing, and I’m not dumb enough to ask. Poppy stands in the kitchen staring at
Justice. She barely blinks when I enter. Her trance only ends when Christine
appears from the back bedroom.

“How was your day?” Christine asks,
looking tired from a long day at her veterinarian office.

“I have a date with a guy,” I announce
since no one wants to hear about my actual job.

“Oh, wow,” Justice says, immediately
sitting up. “Can we meet him? Is he hogtied in your trunk right now? Should we
introduce ourselves?”

“Why would a man want you?” Poppy asks,
playing with my hair now that I’ve taken down the ponytail. “Is he defective?”

“Nice attitude,” I mutter, poking her
between the eyes.

“What’s his story?” Poppy asks, now
wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “You’re too special to waste time with a
punk ass loser.”

“It’s Court’s cousin,” I say before
adding, “The cop from the fair.”

“Well, it’s about time he made a move,”
Justice mutters. “He was eyeballing your ass that night, and I’ve been
wondering if he’d ever get around to claiming those sweet cheeks.”

“We’re having dinner on Thursday.”

Christine smiles approvingly. “How did
you run into him?”

“He pulled me over on the way home.”

“And you offered sex to get out of a
ticket, huh?” Poppy says, shaking her head. “Have a little self-respect,
Journey.”

“Bad day at the stink factory?” I ask
the moody teenager.

“High school is a wonderful experience
for everyone involved. I never feel more valued than when I’m there.”

We collectively roll our eyes while
Poppy walks out of the kitchen to the living room where she curls up on the
ground like one of our cats.

“Are you excited?” Christine asks me.

“Not really. He’s weird.”

“All men are weird,” Justice says.

“Even Court?”

Justice dramatically sighs. “Especially
Court. Lots of mommy and daddy issues. Oh, and he’s been hinting at butt
action. It’s real subtle, but I know he’s asking for it all the time.”

“I didn’t need that visual,” I tell
Justice just as Court enters the house.

Based on his expression, Court has no
idea what his cousin’s been up to. I prefer my personal business remain
private, but in Tumbling Rock, every fart is town business. I don’t need my dad
knowing my love life until I’m certain the guy can stick around for more than
three dates - my current romantic record.

“Your cousin is in love with Journey,”
Justice announces to her husband.

Nodding, Court reaches for a pretzel in
the bowl Christine’s picking at. “Sounds about right.”

“Soon, we can double date.”

Court looks as thrilled about this idea
as I am, but Justice’s got everything worked out in her fat head.

“Men don’t stick with Journey,” Poppy
says from the floor. “They can’t compete with her testosterone and their balls
shrivel up.”

“She isn’t wrong,” I tell Court.

“Date him. Hate him. What do I care?
I’m not a gossipy bitch or matchmaker.”

“Stop cussing, baby,” Justice says,
yanking at his shirt. “The kids are coming inside, and I want them to grow up
to be little angels.”

“A little late for that, doncha think?”

Justice and Court suck a little face
while I walk down a hall to my room. The one next to mine used to be the fat
head’s, but now Otto calls it home. The boy snores something fierce, and we
have an ENT appointment coming up to see if surgery is necessary. Parenthood
hasn’t been fun so far. The eight-year-old spent most of his life with a psycho
mother and a pushover grandmother. Now he’s learning boundaries and
self-control. He’s also learning how family in-fighting doesn’t mean they hate
you or need to be beaten up. Yeah, he’s gonna need a lot of help if I don’t
want him turning out like his shitty mother.

After a quick shower, I return to the
living room wearing gray sweat shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. Otto makes a
beeline to where I stand.

“You’re going on a date?” he asks,
sporting a cranky sneer.

“I like to think of it as getting a
free meal.”

Otto isn’t sure how to feel. He wants
me to be his mom and likely craves a father along with a normal family. Another
part of him, the sneering part, wants me all to himself. He gets agitated when
I play with the other kids or go on errands without him. Otto aches to be the
center of my universe. More than anything he wants to be special in a way he
really isn’t.

With his floppy blond hair and blue
eyes, Otto’s a cute kid, but not as cute as Matilda. He’s smart enough, but not
like Felix is smart. Otto’s average in the big scheme of things.

“Can I come?” he asks.

“No. That’d be weird. I told you how
only a special few get to see my weird side.”

Knowing he’s special for having seen my
weird side, Otto drops the questions and joins me in front of the TV

At some point, Justice leaves with
Court and the kids. I miss having her around, but she has a new family now.

After we fill up on twice-baked
lasagna, I wash dishes with Christine in the kitchen. Poppy reads a school book
while Otto plays a game on my phone. I shoo away our cat, Louise, from the
counter before spotting my mom’s smirk.

“What?”

“First Justice finds a guy. Now you. I
figured moving back here would allow us to get in touch with our roots. I
didn’t think you girls would find romance.”

“Don’t call it romance, Mom.”

Hugging me, she whispers, “You’re so
cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed.”

“I remember Donovan from the fair. He’s
handsome and has a respectable job.”

“He’s a cop. Do I have to remind you
how my father and Court are on the opposite side of the law?”

“No, you don’t have to remind me. I’m
very aware of that, but I’m also aware Donovan and Court are friendly. If they
can make things work, why would any of that affect you?”

“I don’t want anyone messing with Dad.
He did his time.”

“Donovan won’t hurt Jared. If he wanted
to mess with the Rawkfist Motorcycle Club, he’d use Court, not you.”

I wonder about Donovan suddenly showing
such keen interest in me. Either he was pulling a cop con, or he was a weirdo
stalker. I’m okay with the latter, but no one messes with my family without
suffering the consequences.

“If you’re concerned, talk to Court
about his cousin. He’ll know if Donovan is pulling a scummy trick. I don’t
think he is, though. I saw how he looked at you at the fair.”

“How come I didn’t notice?”

“Because you’re always looking for
trouble and miss out on the other stuff.”

“Too much of Dad in me, I guess.”

“Probably. People always say you remind
them of Jared. I always took that as a compliment.”

I smile at Christine’s warm words for
Jared. My parents have a complicated relationship, and they’re still figuring
out how to live in the same town without fighting or fucking. So far, they
haven’t managed to be in the same room for long without one of the two breaking
out.

Despite their often eye-rolling
behavior, my parents have known passion I can’t even comprehend. I’ve never
craved that kind of love.

Journey

T
hursday arrives too quickly. After
work, I spend a half hour punching the bag in my home gym located in our
detached garage.

My mind races with questions about
Donovan. Who is he? What does he want? Will I embarrass myself by liking him
when he’s playing me? Will he embarrass himself by crying when I punch him
after things go badly?

Once I shower, I make turkey sandwiches
for the kids arriving home with Court. They act as if they’re overworked, even
Matilda who spent the day with her grandma. Exhausted from their little lives,
they crash in front of the TV.

Poppy arrives home next and instantly
retreats to her bedroom. I peek inside to find her doing her homework in a
hurry. No doubt, she wants to play video games online with her loser friends.

Leaving the kids with Court, I return
to my room where I search for something to wear. I’ve been thinking about the
date non-stop since I drove away, yet I can’t find a single outfit that looks
right. Part of me wants to cancel and save myself the stress of the entire
evening.

“Ugh, it’s like dudes raised you,”
Poppy says from the bedroom doorway.

I frown at her, but she only walks to
me and shakes her head.

“You’re not wearing makeup.”

“Yes, I am.”

“You’re wearing work makeup. You need
to spice things up for a date.”

“How would you know?”

“I’m very wise.”

“I don’t want to look like a
streetwalker, and I have a bad feeling that’s where you’ll go if I let you put
crap on my face.”

“Cool your tits, big sis. I’m here to
help.”

“Why?”

“Because I care.”

I swipe the blush from her grip, and
Poppy sighs dramatically.

“Fine, my friends are busy, and I’m
bored. This will entertain me until they can get online.”

Relenting, I look in the mirror and
notice dark circles under my eyes. “Otto snores like a freight train.”

“I don’t know anything about trains, so
I’m choosing to nod and tell you to shut up now.”

Poppy gestures for me to sit on the bed
while she searches my makeup on the dresser. A moment later, the Fratellis
begins playing on her phone.

“Let’s make a party out of this freak
show.”

“Why do you seem especially bitchy
today?” I ask.

“I’m hormonal or something. I blame you
since you’re the alpha woman in the house and our periods follow yours.”

“You beta women sure are whiny.”

Poppy doesn’t react to my comment. Her
mind is on covering my face in a thick layer of makeup.

“You’re making me look like a hooker.”

“The key to a natural look is to apply
the makeup heavily and then wipe half of it off. That way, you don’t look newly
made up but more natural.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“From the Herpes Girls at school. I was
in the bathroom stall while they were yakking. Even though I wouldn’t want to
use a toilet seat after them, there’s no denying their makeup always looks
brilliant.”

“Ooh, makeover time!” Justice cries,
rushing into the room. “I’m so happy you’re giving up your dude appearance.”

“Don’t make me kick your ass.”

“Settle down,” Poppy murmurs, caking on
the lipstick. “Though you have enormous caterpillar eyebrows, you’re otherwise
a fine looking woman. I wouldn’t be against humping your leg if I was a guy.”

I love my sisters more than myself. I
would die and kill for them. No doubt, I’d even consider giving up control of
the remote for the two idiots. With that said, I’m nearly ready to beat the
ever loving poop out of them right now.

Poppy sends Justice to retrieve
Christine’s curling iron.

“I don’t want my hair…”

“Hush, darling,” Poppy soothes before
following up with a thwack on my nose as if I’m a dog. “I’ll curl the front and
then brush it out. It’ll give your hair a little something extra without
looking overly made up.”

“Did you learn that from the Herpes
Girls?”

“No. That was from the butch chicks on
the volleyball team,” Poppy says, applying so much eye shadow that I feel my
slut meter skyrocketing. “I spend a lot of time between classes playing on my
phone in the bathroom stalls.”

“When I was in high school, I hid in
the bathroom to avoid talking to people too.”

“Ah, we’re like twins.”

The look I give her is just nasty
enough for the twerp to swallow hard.

“Let me finish making you beautiful
before you kill me. I insist you look hot for my funeral.”

“Got it!” Justice announces.

“What took so long?”

“The mini humans wanted hugs.”

“From you? I find that hard to
believe.”

“I give great hugs.”

Poppy and I share an eye roll, but
Justice doesn’t notice. She’s too busy giggling about all of the makeup on my
face.

“What was the name of that metal band
with the blond dude who wore lots of makeup?”

“I don’t know.”

“Twisted Sister,” Court says, standing
at the door. “I think that’s the one you mean.”

Justice sighs as if her man’s a
fricking genius for knowing useless facts. I like Court most days, but having
him see me like this puts a wrench in our perfectly indifferent relationship.

“I always wondered what Donovan’s type
was,” Court says, leaning against the doorjamb and crossing his arms. “Now I
know.”

“Are you looking for a beat down?” I
ask.

“She’s on the rag,” Justice says,
patting his arm before remembering he has muscles. I watch in the mirror as she
feels him up a little more. Court only smiles because he enjoys owning her
heart, soul, and vagina. Not her mouth, though. Even Justice doesn’t have much
control over that part of her.

“Do you have any pointers about your
cousin?” I ask while Poppy and Justice fight over the curling iron.

“No. I’ve never seen him with a woman.
I never heard of him having a woman. I don’t know what he does with his free
time.”

Sighing, I turn away and stare at
myself in the mirror. I look like a damn clown. When I reach up to wipe makeup
from my face, Poppy smacks my hand.

“If you hit me again, kid, there will
be nowhere in the world you can hide. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Poppy says, coming at me
with the curling iron. “I like how you threatened me while I have a weapon in
my hand.”

“It’s because I know my tolerance for
pain is a lot higher than yours. Burn me and I’ll walk it off. When I punch you
in the face, you’ll spend days in bed recovering.”

“Sounds about right. Now stay still.
I’m almost done.”

Court retreats to the living room where
the kids argue about whether Squidward from
SpongeBob SquarePants
is the
bad guy. Justice watches him leave and then opens my closet door.

“You need to wear a shirt that flatters
your small boobs.”

Overwhelmed with nerves about the date,
I decide to endure whatever my butt rash sisters throw at me. I can always wash
off the crap from my face and dress myself when they’re done.

“Don’t be nervous,” Justice says,
sprawled out on my bed. “You are very wonderful, and any man will be happy to
know you.”

“Stop talking.”

“And stop fake complimenting her,”
Poppy growls. “That’s my job.”

Behind us, Otto enters the room. I
watch in the reflection as he takes in the sight of me looking like a hussy.
Turning around, he walks away without saying a word.

I can’t help laughing at his reaction.
“Poor child can’t unsee that.”

“He needs to learn about lady problems
now, so he’ll be sensitive to his lady in the future,” Poppy says and blocks my
view of the mirror. “Close your eyes and stay still.”

Obeying, I need her to fricking finish
up before I lose the calm I’ve practiced since seeing Donovan. Poppy wipes my
eyes and cheeks before brushing my hair. After fussing over me for few more
minutes, she steps back.

“You look lovely.”

“Especially for a lumberjack,” Justice
says, sitting up. “Where did all your butch go?”

Poppy smiles at the comment. “I hid her
balls under the beauty tips I learned from school skanks.”

I lean toward the mirror and realize
she’s managed to de-clown me. The makeup looks natural, and I admit my hair’s
extra bounce is appealing.

“You did good,” I say, hugging her.

“Feel free to thank my nervous
bladder.”

“I’m not talking to your bladder, but I
will thank your face.”

I cup her cheeks and pat them. Poppy
acts like she’s too cool to care, but she enjoys praise as much as anyone.

“He has a dog,” Court says, back at the
doorway. “I remember him talking about having to pick up something for his dog.
He might have more than one. I figured that'll give you something to talk
about.”

Studying my sisters and Court, I admit
I have a pretty fantastic family. All of this effort for one little date with a
stalker guy that I’ll likely never see again. You can’t ask for more.