Significance, Satan's Attitude MC (16 page)

He turned to stroke the horse’s nose. He was a bit choked up and Whiskey could sense that, so he gave him a few minutes to compose himself. Thorn finally turned and gave Whiskey a thoughtful look.

“I’ll help you convince Elena to go to Maryland,” he said. “I know Tears would love to watch Rhiannon. I’ll take some days off so I’m here on the farm the whole time. You gonna ask Jack and Dee to watch Shanna? It might be a good idea if we did it all together. I’d feel better with one of my own bros here, too. No offense meant,” he added. “I’d like you to leave Indigo if possible. That is one motherfucker I’d want on my side. He knows horses too and I’m betting he knows every single one that is here, whereas I might not.”

“Sure,” Whiskey grunted, listening and considering the idea of having Deidra and Mad Jack watch Shanna. He was seeing the sense in it.

“I can get someone over to the Lodge to stay in my place,” Thorn went on. “We used to have a part-time caretaker sometimes who probably could use the money.” Thorn had a level head and he usually thought things out thoroughly before he spoke.

Whiskey understood why Thorn wanted one of his own bros around, too. It was certain to piss Lacey-Jane off, but he wasn’t concerned about her feelings anymore. He wanted his family together and she could join it or stay miserable. The choice was hers to make either way.

“I think that’s a good idea and I planned to leave Indigo here. We’ll keep this quiet for now, son, if you don’t mind. I hope you don’t mind I called you son. Elena loves you so much that if you ever need to talk anything out, I’ll be here for you.”

The two men clasped hands and were walking toward the barn door when they heard Deidra and Mad Jack yelling.

Whiskey moved to go out the doors, but Thorn put a hand on his arm. “Wait and listen.” They stood behind the doors.

Deidra was laughing at Mad Jack and they could hear the amusement in her voice. “I heard you ate a lot of turkey dick over the years, Jack!”

“Get that fucking thing away from me! I never ate turkey dick, toss it to the cats. Dee, you get away from me with that, I’m warning you!” Mad Jack was not amused in the least.

They heard the house door slam and looked at each other. Thorn was grinning. “I never told Jack or Elena that’s the neck. I’ve killed enough turkeys to know. I figured Elena should have her fun.”

Whiskey agreed. “I think we’ll let it be part of our family’s traditions.”

“You know the turkeys get named after people Elena is mad at, don’t you? Could be the town mayor, president, or this year it might be Joy.” Thorn chuckled at Whiskey’s expression. “Yup, it’s been named Hunter. Never a turkey named Thorn though.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Whiskey replied dryly.

The house was filled with people, babies and the smell of good food cooking. Thorn looked around and caught Elena’s eye. She winked and her smile was one of the happiest he’d ever seen. He felt things were finally starting to fall in place and he was at peace with it.

Everyone was sitting around with full bellies, enjoying themselves. Even though they’d had to eat in shifts, it was a great Thanksgiving. Whiskey’s boys headed out to do their own thing, leaving the house much quieter. Elena was tired but happy as she looked around at the people who meant so much to her.
I need a bigger dining room table before Christmas comes
, she decided.

Whiskey watched her, waiting for the perfect time to bring up going to Maryland. He hoped she’d take a few days off and they could stay and he could decide what to do with his house. Selling it made the most sense since his life was now in New Jersey. He figured there were pieces of furniture Deidra might want, but outside of his personal belongings and his motorcycles, he didn’t give a fuck about the rest.

“Elena, we’re invited to Rebel and Violet’s son Brandon’s christening. I’ve got to be there and you’ll offend Violet if you don’t go. I know she is planning it still, so the date isn’t set yet. I hope you’ll go with me.”

“It’s hard for me to leave here, but if it’s just for the day, I’m sure Amy can handle the farm.” She ran her hands through her black hair, looking stressed.

Thorn spoke up. “Elena, why don’t you go for a few days? It would be good for you, and Tears can see if she’s ready to have a baby.” He looked at Tears meaningfully, who was already in on the plan.

“It would be fun,” Tears agreed, “and it would be even more fun if Dee and Jack watched Shanna and we all stayed here. Be very good practice for us, Elena.”

Tears looked at Deidra, who jumped in next. “Yes,” Dee picked up. “It would be great to see how Jack and Thorn deal with babies. Maybe if Mad Jack here had to deal with dirty diapers, he’d quit asking me to have a baby.” Dee shot a look at Mad Jack.

“Elena, go,” Jack chimed in, coaxing her. “You deserve a vacation and you can do some Christmas shopping. What is just a few days away from the farm, anyway?”

Looking around at all of them, Elena didn’t say much. Her mind was on Kima, and she had that to think about. It would be nice to get away for a few days with Whiskey. Maybe they’d finally get to make love.

She slowly smiled. “Let me know the date. If we can work it out, I’ll go for a few days. I wouldn’t want to offend Violet Rose after all.”

“I’m staying here and I don’t give a fuck who is offended,” Zero growled to nobody in particular.

Elena wrapped up to-go plates for everyone and there was still plenty of food left over. It irked her that Zero made a better stuffing than she did, but her turkey was still the biggest. It had been a great holiday though, and she hoped it would be the first of many more to come.

I
t had been an awful day and the evening had been no better.

Elena picked up Josie’s and Rhiannon’s dirty bottles and ran water into them. Kima had been through the wringer and miscarried another baby. She scrubbed the bottles and put them into the dish drainer upside-down. Amy was passed out in a corner of the couch. Elena was going to give her a bonus for using her head as soon as she saw the state police. Zero must have cleaned the bathroom because there was no trace of blood and it was sparkling clean. She tidied the kitchen and turned off the light. She hated not sleeping in her own house, but it was easier to stay tonight at Kima’s. Amy had the babies asleep, so that made less work for her.

The phone rang and she hurried to pick it up. “Hello?”

“Elena, I had to call and thank you,” came Kima’s groggy voice.

“I’m just glad I was here, and now it’s all over with. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that bastard anymore. Now, how are you feeling honey? Is Veiko taking care of you?”

Kima yawned. “Yeah, I’m coming home tomorrow and we’re going to take it day by day. He says he’s going to take care of me and we’ll see. I feel badly about the baby, but I don’t know what happened. I was standing there and got a cramp. I don’t really remember anything else. I can have more babies at least.”

“Should you stay longer at the hospital, just to be on the safe side?” Elena was worried that V would find a reason to run out and leave Kima and Rhiannon alone.

“You know I hate hospitals. I’m sure Doctor Allan wouldn’t let me go if I needed to stay. I had just found out about the baby too, and I guess it pretty much blows Christmas for us. Veiko wants me to rest. I’ll see you tomorrow when I come home. Thanks again, Elena. Love you always.”

Whiskey had come up behind Elena and watched as she hung the phone up. “Kima?” He asked softly.

“Yes. She wanted to thank everyone and says she’s coming home tomorrow. I wish she’d stay longer, but she says Veiko is going to take care of her and I hope he does. His track record sucks, but Kima has to figure that out for herself.” She sounded tired and sad.

Whiskey steered her to the dining room table where Zero was rolling a joint. He gave her a sort of half smile and Whiskey poured her a shot.

“Elena, you need it to relax and the babies are in the other room fast asleep. Smoke the joint so you can fall asleep. By the way, Brandon’s christening is this coming Sunday and I think we should leave Saturday. You need to get away and the timing is perfect.” He wasn’t going to let Elena wiggle out of going to Maryland. “I spoke to Rebel tonight and Violet will be hurt if you don’t go.”

Zero chimed in unexpectedly. “I feel bad for Violet on this. She’s doing the right thing, taking in Rebel’s son as her own, and it’s going to put an even bigger wall up between her daughters. Whiskey, are the girls even aware of the baby?”

“No. Rebel decided to let Violet have this day, says she’s calmed down and acting normal. I offered to talk to them, but he said he’d handle it. So I was thinking, darlin’, we’ll leave Saturday and stay maybe until Thursday.”

It was clear how mentally and physically exhausted Elena was. Whiskey wanted to put her to bed.

Elena didn’t answer. She was watching the greyish blue color of the smoke swirl in the air. Her eyes were ready to close, so Whiskey gently took the joint out of her fingers. She didn’t say anything when he picked her up and took her into the guest room. She was half asleep as he undressed her down to her shirt and panties. He wasn’t ready to sleep yet himself, so he headed back into the dining room. He found a crocheted blanket and placed it over Amy.

Zero was rolling another joint and he watched Whiskey pour himself another drink. “Whisk, what a fucked-up day. Not used to finding a girl bleeding out on the floor. Veiko pissed me off. Don’t like him or his jerk-off brother now.” He lit the joint and inhaled.

“I wasn’t too impressed with him when he gave me shit over Thrash. Tonight, I gotta agree he was an asshole. Rebel told us there were assholes in Bound for Hell. I like Kima, though. Since she’s Mad Jack’s sister, we’ll watch out for her. Guess she’s family.” He sipped his glass of whiskey and passed on the joint. “You’re sure you don’t wanna come down to the party? Not that Violet will miss your ass.”

Zero frowned. “I respect Rebel, and I’m glad his son will grow up with him, but I like where I’m at. If it was a mandatory thing, ya know I’d be there. I’ll give you a card with money and Violet will be happy not to have me there. Who’s gonna go down with ya? Not safe, just you and Elena driving alone.”

Whiskey took his time answering. “Rebel’s sending Amen and Copper up here. They’re going to be coming back with us and do some digging.”

Zero’s eyes glazed over and he looked angrily at Whiskey. “Those two crazy fuckers? What da fuck kinda man tells people to say Amen before he shoots them? Copper, tossing pennies on dead people. Rebel doesn’t need to send them up here. I’ll go to the damn christening.”

“I need you
here
,” he said to Zero firmly, “until we get everything together. We’re lucky to have them. You wanna tell Reb you disagree with him?” Whiskey rubbed his forehead as if he was in pain. “I’m gonna go to bed. Don’t hit on Amy. She’s too young for you.”

“I see Indigo looking at her. You think I’m nuts? Rev and Roper are eyeing her up, too. I don’t want an ol’ lady, and she’s way too young for me. I’ll take the other end of the couch. Night, Whiskey.”

“Night, bro. Wake me up if you hear anything.”

Whiskey stopped to take a piss and found the guest room. Elena was out cold. He pulled off his clothes and got into bed with her. He was naked and pulled her against him. The longing to make love to her was strong, but he wasn’t going to wake her. He had a plan in mind once they got to Maryland, he hoped she’d agree to it.

* * *

Seeing how pale and tired Kima looked the next day made Elena worry that V couldn’t take care of her. She knew they were leaving shortly for Maryland and wouldn’t need Amy.

“Whiskey, I was thinking maybe I should suggest Amy stay here. I’ll gladly pay her extra. I hate to say I don’t trust V, but I don’t.” Elena wrung her hands. “Look at how weak Kima looks. What if he leaves her and she falls or something?”

“If Amy will stay, I’ll suggest it to Veiko. And he can fucking pay her. I know you planned to pay Amy anyway and that’s fine, but V can afford her helping his ol’ lady. Go ask Amy. I’ll handle V.” 

Whiskey took a good look at Kima. She didn’t look good at all, and he would have insisted she stay in the hospital if she was his ol’ lady.

He walked over to Veiko. “A word, V. Outside.” He didn’t wait for a response and headed to the porch.

“What’s up Whiskey? Oh, and thanks for taking care of everything here and getting Kima to the hospital. I owe you, man.” Veiko was his usual self, happy to be out of the hospital and home.

“Yeah, well, thank Zero for finding Kima. Look, you need help here. You can say you’ll take care of your kid and Kima, but if you get a call, you’re leaving. I know how that shit happens. Elena is willing to let you have Amy for a week. You’ll pay her and everyone stays happy. Kima doesn’t look well, and she is part of my family now. She isn’t going to let her mother come over to help her and you need somebody here. Elena has her farm, so she can’t be here, and it’s the wise thing to do.”

“If Elena can spare her, that would be great,” V said after wondering about Whiskey’s words. “I do plan to take care of Kima, but like you said, if I get a call then I’m fucked. I was going to see if Tears would spend some time here, but having Amy here all the time makes sense. Should I ask her, or is Elena handling it?”

Whiskey looked at Veiko and saw himself years ago. “I’m gonna give you some advice. I look at you and I see myself with my first wife. She was too good for me, and I lost her. She stuck with me when she should have run far way. Cancer took her in the end, but she never saw a flaw in me. Kima reminds me of Shannon. Don’t lose her or fuck shit up so bad she walks. Kima has more spirit than Shannon did. I saw her with that gun; she wasn’t kidding. If she hadn’t miscarried, you might not be on this porch. I hope you get that.”

Veiko looked miserable. “I know, I’ve put her through shit I never should have. I love Kima and I told her this wasn’t the life for her. I promised I’d balance it out, but shit always comes up. All I can do is try harder to be here for her.”

The door opened and Elena stepped onto the porch. She looked at the two men and hoped she wasn’t interrupting anything important.

“Amy will be glad to stay for a week,” she told them. “Zero’s taking her to get clothes and her car. I told her you’ll be doing most of the work since you told Kima you wanted to care for Josie and her. I’d appreciate it if you made sure JJ wasn’t around her. He dumped her for living out at my place and picked up with her sister. If it gets to be too much for you, take a nap with Kima and Amy will handle the baby and cooking. Veiko, I’m telling you this as a friend, Kima was ready to leave you. Straighten up your house. You may be in Bound for Hell, but the Regans stick together. Jack isn’t going to forget the threat you made about the horses. You’d better fix that when you can. Now I’m going to go in and say good bye to Kima. I’ve got stuff to do at home.”

With that, she left them standing on the porch.

Veiko looked more miserable than before. “Elena sure speaks her mind. She’s right, though. I better get shit straight with Jack and Thorn.”

Whiskey just nodded at him and headed into the house.