Prodigal Son (8 page)

He actually looked disappointed. “I understand. We’re still on for Friday, though, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I answered. I was sure I could come up with some way to get out for one night without making Bug too suspicious.

Luke finished the rest of his beer while I wrapped up my side work, making sure that the bar was in better shape than it had been when I’d come in the day before. We chatted a bit, but he seemed a little subdued after I refused his offer to take me out for dinner. He asked for the check, and I printed it and put it on the bar in front of him.

“Luke, I’m glad you came in to tell me about finding your parents. I’m so happy for you that it went well.”

“You’re very sweet, Krystal. I hope that your boyfriend — or whatever you call him — appreciates you.”

I smiled. “Thanks again for the invitation for tonight. You have no idea how much I wish I could go.”

“That makes two of us, but I’ll just look forward to Friday.”

“Me, too.”

Luke put some cash down on the check, and he waved as he walked away. I noticed that I wasn’t the only woman watching the tall, blond man cross the room, and I hoped that he wouldn’t meet some gorgeous woman who actually had her shit together before Friday. I just knew that if Luke realized how screwed up my head was, that he’d run and never look back.

Without thinking, I automatically picked up the cash and took it to the register to close out the check.

“Holy shit,” I said when I looked at the denomination of the bill Luke had set down. He’d left me a hundred dollar bill on a six-dollar tab. Adding up the tips I’d already made, I realized that I had enough to pay some bills and probably even have enough to set a little aside for the summer class I wanted to take. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Luke’s leaving so much money, though. I might be desperate, but I didn’t want a man to think he could buy me.

I picked up my phone.

You left $100 on the bar. I’ll give you ur change on Friday.

I got back to work and was about to leave when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Left it on purpose, but if you want, you can buy a round of beers at the game.

Deal :-)

Luke didn’t seem pissed, and I’d made my point, I hoped.

After my shift was over, I got a sandwich to go since I figured that Bug wouldn’t be taking me out to dinner and I knew that I didn’t have anything to eat at home. It could be a long night if Bug planned to drink all night, and there was no way he’d let me leave early. He liked to show me off to his brothers.

After I wolfed down my dinner, I looked in the mirror and decided that I could use another shower. After having had Luke ask me out, I was feeling pretty good about myself, and I decided that I was gonna wow Bug. If he was an asshole, I’d just walk out of the clubhouse. He could either chase me or let me go, but I was starting to think that his bullshit wasn’t really worth it at the end of the day. Even without Luke’s crazy tip, I’d had a good day, and if I could up my tips a little, I thought I could pay for school and manage to pay my bills.

I felt fierce, and I was gonna find an outfit to match my attitude.

I’
d felt so elated when I walked into Krystal’s bar and saw that she seemed genuinely happy to see me, and now I just felt like an idiot for having asked her out for dinner. She obviously had a boyfriend, even if she insisted that the situation was complicated. I knew better than to get drawn in by a pretty face — and a fantastic ass, in her case —but there was something about Krystal that called to me. Sexual attraction aside, she seemed sweet and a little sad all at the same time, and I felt compelled to try to make her happy, give her something to smile about.

I needed to grow up.

“If she’s interested in me, she knows how to get hold of me,” I said to myself, unaware that the person standing at the bus stop was watching me walk and talk to myself.

No sooner had I spoken than my phone chimed.

You left $100 on the bar. I’ll give you ur change on Friday.

I hadn’t really thought it through when I dropped the big bill for the beer, but I realized that Krystal might take my gesture the wrong way. She’d mentioned that her school was expensive, and I had more money than I knew what to do with at the moment. I’d meant to be nice, but I was afraid that I’d come off like an asshole. I agreed to let her buy a round of beers at the ballpark and let it go.

My phone chimed again, and I assumed that it was Krystal calling me to talk, but when I looked, it was a number I didn’t recognize.

“Luke Callaway,” I answered.

“Luke, It’s Sable Hall.”

My heart jumped into my throat. “Yes?” I hadn’t expected to hear from her so quickly. It hadn’t been more than a few hours since I’d left her house.

“I talked to your …um … Daniel, and not only is he thrilled that he has a son, but he wants to meet you.”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say. Guess he wasn’t too mad at you, huh?”

Sable hesitated. “Well, he isn’t exactly happy with me, but he’s seriously excited about meeting you.”

“I can’t wait.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course. I drove all the way from Arizona, you bet I want to meet him.”

“You busy tonight?” Sable asked.

“Nope. Free as a bird.”

“Well, if you’re interested, you could stop by the house around seven and meet your father. He is dying to take you to his club and introduce you to all of his friends, but I’ve convinced him to take baby steps and meet you here first and see how things go. I figure it’s kinda like a first date, and it’s been a long time since he’s had one of those.”

I laughed. “You’re a smart lady, Sable. I’ll be there at seven.”

I could hear her sigh with relief. “Good.”

“And thank you,” I said before I hung up.

“No, Luke. Thank you,” she said quietly before she hung up.

I stood in my hotel suite and tried to decide what I should wear to go meet my old man. I knew he was a blue collar sort of guy, so I figured that I shouldn’t get too dressed up. I didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, but I didn’t want him to be insulted either. I stood naked in front of the window that looked out over the city and the mountains, and I decided on clean jeans and a collared shirt. I’d leave it untucked so it didn’t look too stuffy.

As I buttoned my jeans, I was glad I’d made myself go to the fitness center in the hotel. The workout had helped me clear my head and given me a chance to sweat out all of the beer and scotch from the night before. I felt good — nervous, but good. I checked the time on my phone. Time to leave.

The drive to the Hall’s house felt like it was over in an instant, probably because I was a little anxious. When I pulled into the driveway, my mouth was dry and my heart was racing. What if Daniel didn’t like me? Or what if we had absolutely nothing in common? After all, I knew he was a biker, and I didn’t know the first thing about motorcycles. Taking a deep breath, I climbed out of the Jeep and headed for the front door.

I didn’t even make it to the door before it opened and Daniel stepped outside, clearly eager to see me. I stood still and waited for him to speak.

“Oh, my God,” he said, shaking his head. “You remind me so much of your uncle when he was your age. Come here and let me get a look at you.”

I walked toward him and held out my hand. “Luke Callaway, sir,” I said.

“Fuck shaking hands,” Daniel roared, holding out his arms. “Come here.”

I stepped into his embrace, and I thought he was going to squeeze me to death. He held on like his life depended on it.

“Nice to meet you, Daniel,” I said when he finally let me go.

“Call me Joker,” he said, coughing as he tried to calm down. “That’s what my brothers call me.”

I assumed that he meant the other members of the MC, and I nodded. “Okay. Joker, it is.”

“Come on inside,” he said, gesturing toward the doorway, in which I could see Sable watching the two of us.

“Hello, again,” I said as I walked inside.

“Want a beer?” Joker asked.

“Sure,” I answered. “That would be great.”

I was surprised to see Joker nod to Sable and sit down in the living room. He waved me toward a love seat and Sable brought me my beer. Clearly, the gender politics in the household were old-fashioned.

“So your mother’s told me a little about you, but I want to hear it straight from you. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

I felt strange about the situation. With Sable, I’d felt her wary nature, recognized her attempts to make sense of what was a very strange and unexpected set of circumstances. But Joker was acting like nothing was wrong. He was treating me like a son who he hadn’t seen for a month or two, rather than a guy who he’d just met for the first time in his life. It felt really strange, but I figured that I was fortunate that he wanted to talk to me at all. I’d just have to play along and see where the evening took me.

“So Sable filled you in on what happened to my parents and how I found out about the two of you?” I asked, figuring I had to start somewhere.

“Yeah. Sounds like you had some nice folks. Wish I could thank ‘em for taking such good care of you for us.”

“Yeah. I miss them a lot.”

“But you have a new family now, Luke. Your mom and I are so happy to have you here, I can’t even tell you.”

Wow. Joker’s enthusiasm was a little overwhelming. I caught Sable’s eye as she sat down at the dining room table, and she shrugged her shoulders, as if she knew that Joker was acting strangely, but she knew she was powerless to stop him.

“So tell me about what you do for a living, son.”

“Well, I’m a business analyst. I look at my computer screens all day and help my company make more money.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound very exciting,” Joker said. “You any good at it?”

“Actually, I am,” I answered honestly. “I’m the head of my division, and I have about twenty people who report directly to me.”

“You must have gotten your mother’s smarts. I was never any good at school or computer stuff. I think those fuckin’ machines hate me.” Joker fished a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket and lit one. “Your mama went to college, though.”

“Just for a couple of semesters. I didn’t finish,” Sable said from the other room.

“What do you do for fun?” Joker asked me.

“Well, I work out a lot to stay in shape, and I like to play some poker every now and then.”

“Ever ride a bike?”

I wasn’t sure what kind of bike he meant. “Do you mean a bicycle or a motorcycle?”

“So the answer’s no, then,” Joker laughed. “If you rode, you wouldn’t have to ask. How long you in town for?”

“I don’t really know, sir,” I answered. “I took a leave of absence from work, and I…”

“I’m gonna teach you how to ride a real bike,” Joker said definitively, as if there was no way he’d entertain an objection.

“Jesus, Joker,” Sable hollered from the dining room. “You’ve known the man for all of five minutes, and you’re already talking about your fuckin’ bikes.”

“Well, I figure it’ll give us some father-son bonding time. Isn’t that the sort of thing people on those fucking talk shows you always watch ramble on and on about?”

I couldn’t tell if the squabbling between Sable and Joker was typical or the result of tension because I’d showed up, but it made me uncomfortable. I’d had friends who seemed to thrive on arguments, but I’d never been that type.

“So tell me about you,” I said to Joker, hoping to change the subject.

“Not much to know. Ain’t really working right now, and your mom and I are having some money troubles, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to get through it. We always do.”

Sable spoke up again. “Maybe you could take this chance to get a real, legit job, rather than always looking for a way to make a fast buck.”

Clearly, this wasn’t the first time the topic of work had come up between them.

Joker stood up and emptied his beer. “I haven’t heard you complaining for all these years that you’ve lived in this big house. Like you could afford it with your ‘real job.’”

I wasn’t about to get in the middle of this argument. I stood up with Joker. “Can I take a look at your bike?”

“See,” Joker said to Sable with a bit of a sneer. “Like father, like son.”

I wasn’t sure about all of the father-son buddy-buddy bullshit, but I knew that I wanted to defuse the situation and end the argument. I followed Joker out to the garage and nodded and smiled as he pointed out the bazillion differences among the three bikes he kept there. He kept up a pretty steady drinking pace, emptying beer bottles within minutes after opening them, and I was glad when he opened the garage door, as the smoke in the garage was making my eyes water.

My general impression was that Joker and I had absolutely nothing in common. When he suggested that we go to his club so that I could meet his brothers, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go or not, but since it seemed so important to him, I agreed. He went back inside to get his cut, and as he put it on, he explained its significance to me.

“Luke, your cut is … well, it’s almost like a wedding ring, except it’s harder to leave an MC than your wife. You wear it to show the world that you’re part of a brotherhood and that you’d die, or kill, for your brothers. The Savage Sons are a way of life.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what to say. I’d never really been much of a joiner. I hadn’t been in a fraternity in college, and I just didn’t really get the point of grown men wearing matching clothes. I wasn’t about to say that to Joker, though.

“Sounds intense,” I said.

“You’ll understand when you meet the guys and when you get on a bike for the first time. Trust me.”

“Is Sable going to come to the club?” I asked.

“I’ll ask her, but she doesn’t hang out there much anymore.”

Joker went inside, and I realized that I should probably offer to drive, since Joker had consumed roughly half a dozen beers. I opened the door from the garage to the house and heard Sable yelling at Joker.

“You’re like an overgrown child, you stupid fuck. You think taking him to your stupid fuckin’ club is going to fast forward through thirty years of his life, and you’re gonna be best friends? I give up. You’re hopeless.”