Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Like nothing has changed.
Like I’m right back where I was five years ago.
With my family together.
Now I’ve got Rupert.
And he’s one determined little tumor.
Time is running out.
“YOU STILL LIVE HERE, huh?” I say to Cohen as he opens the door to the one story, incredibly large house that he grew up in.
“Yeah, Mom passed, and she left it to me.”
“Oh,” I say softly as we walk up the front steps, Cohen holding my bag in his hand. “I’m sorry, Cohen. I loved your mom.”
“Yeah, I know. It was fucked but I’m here and we’re doin’ okay.”
“Have you still got ...?”
I can’t finish my sentence when a massive German shepherd comes skidding around the corner and bounding toward me, tongue hanging out, happy tail wagging. “Germy!” I cry, dropping down to my knees as the huge dog launches itself at me, and we both fall to the ground, my fingers tangling in his fur.
I love this dog.
Cohen’s family got him when I first met them and he was just a little puppy. They couldn’t figure out a name for him, and I kept calling him Germy which in my mind was short for German Shephard and it stuck. He’s been Germy ever since and I love him as much as I did the day I first met him.
“I swear you’re the only person he loves like that,” Cohen murmurs, staring down at me.
I laugh and standing, Germy pawing at my leg to get back on the ground with him. “Soon, buddy. Soon.”
I look to Cohen. “I can’t believe you still have him.”
“He’s not going anywhere, you should know that.”
I smile. “I’m glad. Which room should I put my stuff in?”
He points down the hall and I follow him as we walk to a room and he opens the door. It’s pretty plain, with just a double bed and a dresser but it’ll do. I’m not after anything fancy. After all, I’m not staying long.
“Thank you for this,” I say, turning to him.
He nods and puts my bag down. “Freshen up and then come out and talk to me, we’ve got a lot to cover.”
I exhale.
That doesn’t sound good.
Magnolia is in trouble, I just know it.
It’s not what I need to be dealing with right now, and yet I have to sort it out before my surgery.
One thing at a time.
Just one.
4
THEN – BRIELLA
I stare at the huge clubhouse and my eyes widen as I timidly follow King inside the big gates. We walk past a big group of bikes, and I’m in awe over their beautiful colors. Then we go inside the house, which is big and round, with lots and lots of windows. Mom told me it is three stories high. Three. I can’t believe it. I want to go all the way to the top so I can stare out the window.
We step inside, and I immediately stop as I see a big group of men playing a game of pool. I duck behind King, terrified. I didn’t know there would be so many men here. I don’t really know what the club is, if I’m being honest, but I thought maybe it was just a place they all hang out.
A big hairy man with a long beard and lots of tattoos walks over and says, “Prez. See you got the little one with you?”
“Just showin’ her the club.”
The big man leans down and peers around behind King’s legs where I’m hiding, hoping no one will see me. “How you doin’ there, little darlin’? I’m Dog, but you can call me Doggie, if you like.”
Dog.
That’s his name?
What a terrible name.
“Is that really your name?” I ask him, staring around just a little more to see him.
“No, honey, my name is Harley. That’s just what everyone calls me in here.”
I purse my lips. “I think I’ll call you Harley.”
He chuckles. “I like her.”
“Yeah,” King chuckles, too. “Me, too.”
We walk in farther, and King introduces me to so many people I just know I’ll never remember all their names. Then we go to a big area with lots of tables and a counter where a lady is serving drinks. King sits me on a stool and tells her to give me a lemonade and him a beer before sitting on the chair next to me.
“What is a club?” I ask him, staring around the big room.
“It’s just a group of men who stick by each other, who take care of each other. We’re like brothers. Does that make sense?”
I nod. “Yeah, I guess. But you have your own house and your own name and everything ...”
“That’s because we ride together and work together, darlin’.”
“What work do you do?”
His eyes flash, just a little, like he’s got a secret he can’t share with me. “Just keeping the town safe.”
“Like a police officer?” I ask, with wide eyes.