The Biker's Past: A Cold Steel Motorcycle Club Romance Novella (9 page)

BOOK: The Biker's Past: A Cold Steel Motorcycle Club Romance Novella
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Why is there a ladder hidden in the backyard?” Mom asked, glancing at Dad with concern.
Oh, shit,
I thought. We’d forgotten the stupid ladder. In all the drama and running around, Alicia, Becky, and I had all totally forgotten we’d hid the ladder at my house. Mom always played ref between Dad and I, and I knew she was trying to keep Dad from just blowing up before the whole story came out and I had a chance to defend myself.


I…I…we…”


And where the hell did this come from?” Dad said, picking up the matchbook and holding it in front of me, waving it in my face. I started to feel something else stirring inside me: anger.


Well, actually,
Dad,
it came from my
room
,” I said, realizing that the only way Mom and Dad could have found that is if they’d gone into my room. That would have been fine if I was still 12 and needed Mom to do my laundry and put my clothes away, but I’d been taking care of my own wardrobe for years, and there was, generally, no reason for them to ever go into my room when I wasn’t there.


Don’t get smart with me! I know where this came from, and I know who’s staying there,” Dad said, throwing it onto the table and leaning back in his chair, his eyes shaking with anger.


Maybe it came from the hotel
originally,
but
you
found it in my room, which means you went through my stuff, which you have no right to do! I’m 18 now, I’m going to college this fall, I don’t want to have to lock my door just to keep my parents from snooping!”


It’s my house, young lady, and as long as you’re living here, I have every right to do whatever the hell I want to your room or with your stuff,” Dad shot back.


Okay, okay, everyone calm down. Samantha, the only reason Dad went through your things is because we found the ladder. We weren’t born yesterday, Samantha, and we both thought you were being awfully quiet the other night. All this stuff just confirmed what we already suspected,” Mom said, trying to act as the voice of reason.


Well, so what? So, you’re right, I snuck out, so what? You can’t ground me anymore! I’m not your little girl that you can just tell what to do! I can make up my own mind about who I want to see,” I said, aware that my voice was louder than I meant it to be, my tone defensive.


We can do whatever we need to, if you’re making decisions that are going to hurt you!” Dad said, his tone and volume matching mine.


He’s not gonna hurt me! He’d never hurt me! He’s not who you think he is, Dad! He’s a good guy, he really is, and he wants out! He doesn’t want to be like his father, he wants to be better, he just needs a chance,” I shouted, tears coming to my eyes. They were angry tears, the sort of tears that you fight like hell to keep inside because you don’t want to show weakness.


Like hell! The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Samantha, and you’re neck-deep in trouble if you think….”


You don’t even
know
him! You never even gave him a
chance!
You just judged him based on what his dad did, you don’t know. He’s sweet, and he’s smart, and he came here to try and escape his life, try to make a new life for himself, and you just want to shove him back down, back to a life he doesn’t want, just because…because…because you’re…because you’re mean, and petty, and close-minded!”

My last words seemed to echo through the house, bouncing off the walls. I was breathing heavily, my father and I caught in a staring contest, tears falling down my face. Dad leaned back, studying me, anger still etched on his face. My mother was looking back and forth at us.


Everyone needs to stop screaming,” she finally said, breaking the silence. My mother’s calm voice made me ashamed of losing my temper; my father must have felt the same, because we both dropped our eyes to our laps at the same moment.


Dad, did you ever…did you know that he was there? Boon was there, in the room, when his mother died. And it
was
that cop who shot her. And he was crooked, he was helping Boon’s dad. That’s why he was there, Dad. He was there to get one last cut before the raid.

And Boon watched it all happen from the closet. He’s not bad, Daddy, he’s really not. He didn’t choose this life. His
dad
did. And he wants to get away from it all, put it all behind him, but he can’t do that if…if…if people are always going to be judging him based on his father.”


Who told you that? About Giordino being crooked? Did he tell you that? That’s a serious allegation about a cop who was nothing but loyal to…”


Does it matter? Does it really matter, Daddy, why Giordino was there, or why he was shot? Boon didn’t do it. Boon didn’t shoot him. He was
12.
He was just a kid.”

Dad leaned back in his chair, his face dark. Mom and I watched him as he sat there, turning over everything in his mind.


Was it Alicia? Did Alicia help you get out, with the ladder?” Mom suddenly asked, turning to me. I was a little taken aback by the question, only because it seemed so irrelevant to the rest of the conversation.


Becky, too. I think it was actually Becky’s idea,” I said, almost relieved to be able to provide a straight answer to a straight question. Mom looked at Dad pointedly, an “I told you so” look. Dad saw and threw his hands up.


Well, Becky Armstrong is not the goddam high priestess of good judgment!” Dad said, exasperated. It dawned on me what was going on, and it almost made me laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation: my parents had their doubts about Alicia’s ability to make good decisions, but they pretty much thought Becky could be President of the United States.

If I wasn’t sure if Mom and Dad would let me go to a party or show, all I needed to do was tell them Becky was driving, or would be there, and they immediately relaxed a little bit. Obviously, if they thought Becky had met Boon and supported my decision to see him, it gave me a little more credibility. I thanked God, not for the first time, for my best friends.


I’m just saying, Bill,” Mom replied. She turned back to me.


Samantha, we are very, very disappointed that you would sneak out without telling us anything. That’s dangerous, no matter what the situation. But I, for one, think I understand. And I’m not going to speak for your father, but I think you have a valid point,” Mom said, speaking slowly and clearly. I could have tackled her for a hug at that moment. For the first time, she was looking at me
almost
as an equal, instead of as her daughter.


Jillian…” Dad said, his face clouding over again.


No, Bill, that is my opinion, and Samantha deserves to know that. She’s right. She’s not a little girl anymore, and she needs to make her own decisions. I know you want me to just agree with you on everything, honey, but that ain’t the woman you married, and I know that you don’t want to raise a daughter who’ll just agree to anything
her
husband says. Now you can say your piece, if you want. I’ve said mine.”

With that, my mother leaned back into her chair, folded her hands over her lap, and pursed her lips together. She was actually going to let Dad and I hash this out on our own, a first in my household. I guess one of the things that comes with the territory of growing up is being your
own
referee.


Dad, will you please, just, please, give him a chance? Just meet with him, once. I promise, you’ll see, he’s not like his father. He’s got a chance to make a better life for himself here, and he wants to try,” I pleaded, leaning forward, feeling more tears come to my eyes. This time they were desperate tears. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little happy about these tears; after all, there was nothing like me bawling my eyes out to soften my father’s heart. It’s biological, I swear.


Samantha, I only want the best for you. All the best. Forever. It scares me that you’re getting involved in this…man. He’s older than you, and he has a past, whether or not he wants to escape from that past…well, it’s hard. It’s harder than you could possibly imagine to just leave your whole life behind, start new. There are all these things you learn growing up and…they just become second nature,” Dad said, obviously trying to remain calm.


My only job on this whole wide earth, Samantha, is keeping you safe. Everything I do, from going to work in the morning to going to bed at night, that’s all just…it’s all just to help me do that one job. Keep you safe. From physical harm, from emotional harm…I don’t ever want you to look like that poor woman did on the floor of the hotel. I don’t want to see my baby girl, pumped full of drugs, dead on a floor because she got involved with the wrong man. Can you see that?”

I nodded.


But, Daddy, the wrong man could be
any
man. A football player, a doctor, a senator. You can’t judge people like that. You have to…you have to try and give people a chance. Boon is strong. He can do it. He wants it. I can see it in his eyes, how badly he wants it…”

Dad’s eyes dropped back to his lap, where he was twiddling his thumbs.


I can’t stop you, Samantha, if this is what you want. I can’t tell you to never see him again. Soon, you’ll be your own woman, moving out, having your own life. I can’t always be there to pick you up. I…I just hope I’ve raised you well enough to when to back away, when to protect yourself, because you can’t trust anyone else to protect you. Not always. Not everywhere.”


I promise, Dad, you did good. I’m not…I didn’t invite him here. I didn’t know he was coming. I liked him, and I like him even more now, but I’m taking it slow, I promise. I’m getting to know him, too. I just…I want you to get to know him. I want you to see that he can be someone good. And…and I think he wants that, too. Maybe, Daddy, if you just gave him this chance, he’d be even better. If he knew that someone like you believed in him…”


Jesus, Samantha, you’re asking a lot now. I mean, it’s one thing for me to say you can see him. But what do you expect me to do? Find him an apartment and get him a job on the force?”


No, no, nothing like that, just…just meet him. Please, just look him in the eye and shake his hand and say hello. Can’t we just start with that?”

The room fell silent as Dad considered. The only sound was a ticking clock.


Have him come over tomorrow,” Dad finally said with a sigh. “He can have dinner with us.”

I squealed, ran to him from my chair, wrapped my arms around him and squeezed tightly.


Thank you, Daddy, thank you,” I said, my eyes squeezed tight, a few final tears rolling down my cheeks.

And those were happy tears.

 

 

The next day, I was in a rare state, frantic for no real reason. I mean, obviously, I was nervous about what was certainly going to be a tense meeting. I mean, after the explosive welcome to Missoula that my father had given Boon, I knew things couldn’t really be worse this time around. But I worried about them both: I worried about Boon acting like the gentleman I knew he could be, and I worried about my father raking him over hot coals.

Getting Boon to agree to come over hadn’t been as easy as I’d hoped it would be. He was willing, but reluctant, worried. I think he was worried about the same things I was: his own ability to put his hard-riding attitude to the side for one night, his ability to charm my father at least half as much as he’d charmed me.

BOOK: The Biker's Past: A Cold Steel Motorcycle Club Romance Novella
7.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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