Page 9 of Patched

“He’s gonna be okay, baby. Just got some shit weighin’ on him. Wade will figure out how to get this shit off his shoulders and help the person without losin’ more of himself. It’s just gonna take him a little bit to find a good balance between stayin’ true to this person and not losin’ himself the way he has been,” I assure my woman, pulling her into my arms and holding her tight as Boy Scout comes up to her back and crowds her in while pressing a kiss against Jennifer’s neck.

“Okay, Wood. He’ll tell us if things change?” she asks me, her voice wavering with the emotions she’s trying to hold back.

“He’ll come to us when he needs to. I promise you of that,” I state as Wade makes his way back out of the clubhouse to help everyone.

The rest of the day flies by as we surround ourselves with our extended family and enjoy having everyone together for one of the last times before leaving here tomorrow. We don’t ever need a reason to party or have a cookout, but today is bittersweet because it does remind us all that our kids are moving away and won’t be here much longer. That’s why we spend as much time together as possible before everyone starts to head to each of their homes to spend some time with their kids. Honestly, it’s one of the best days I’ve had in a long time and I hope that this doesn’t end just because our kids are gone. It’s still important for the rest of us to spend time together and bring in the new additions to the club as they come for their own reasons. If I’ve learned one thing over the years in this club, it’s that we accept everyone flaws and all. As long as they don’t fuck us over, a person will join and be part of our family. Even if they aren’t blood and have no relation to any of us here.

Chapter Seven

Boy Scout

EVERYONE IS UPSET because we’ve had to push back them leaving for Pine View. Horrible storms are coming through and we all made the decision together to stay in Benton Falls for a few extra days in order to let the storms roll through so we’re not caught in them along the way. The boys are taking this opportunity to spend more time with their families and we’re enjoying having them here. We’re not passing up the opportunity to be together and spend most of our days in the clubhouse with everyone else. Vault and Valor have been in constant contact with the guys back in Pine View because they want to make sure everything is okay back home. They’re currently getting hit with horrendous storms and have lost power, trees are down all over the city, and they’re talking about calling a state of emergency. Vault is upset because he’s not there, but he’s happy as fuck his family is here with him and the kids aren’t stuck in the mess everything is becoming in Pine View. Valor essentially feels the same exact way.

Personally, I’m happy as fuck that I get to spend a few more days with Wade and Colton. I’m not ready for them to leave and I don’t have a problem letting the adults know. As far as my sons are concerned, I’m happy for them to move to Pine View and start their lives. I’ve gotten good at putting on a brave face and smiling when I really don’t want to. However, when I’m with my ol’ lady and Wood, they know the truth of the situation. None of us are ready to let our children go and there’s nothing we can do to stop it from happening. They’re over the age of eighteen now and don’t need our permission. Wade is older than most of the other kids by at least a year or two and he chose to start Prospecting with them and move to Pine View. He didn’t want to be on his own or move before everyone else was ready. He made the decision on his own and we all supported him.

I know Fox is happy as hell we get a few extra days with the boys because he has something planned for Kingston. He’s still dealing with the aftermath of his accident and it took Killer and Fox to get him back on a bike riding. Now, he wants to get his son back even more by reminding him of why he loves to ride and that his everyday bike isn’t the only thing he used to love. Kingston has a love for speed and sport bikes. He raced every single week and was so damn good. One second and we almost lost him. Since then, Kingston has lost a major part of himself and no one had a clue. Including his best friend. So, Fox and Killer pushed him because we all know Kingston is stronger than he believes he is and needs a push every now and then like the rest of us.

Killer is also another happy parent. He doesn’t want to let Hope go, but he is. This time means he gets to be the overprotective dad for a while longer before she goes out in the world on her own and finds out who she’s meant to be. Faith is already staying home to go to a local college and remain with her parents. They at least have one kid who will be left home. Playboy and Sam are losing both of their boys and Caleb is in the military so they’ll be all alone as well. I think that might be why it’s hitting the five of us harder than everyone else. We’re the two families losing all the kids remaining home with us.

Today, I want to spend some time with Colton. He’s been so focused on moving and getting everything packed for the move that I’ve hardly had the chance to spend any time with him. I want to change that today because before I know it, we’ll be loading up and heading for Pine View. Yeah, we’ll visit and I’m sure they’ll make the trip home when they can. I just know that those times will be few and far between. We’ve already seen it happen with the Wild Kings. Reagan and Jameson were the first to leave the nest and move to Clinton with the Fallen Brethren MC. Then the rest of the kids moved to Cedar Bay. Since they’ve all left, they haven’t been home too much. Honestly, it took years for Vault and Valor to make the trip home and there were extenuating circumstances in both instances.

“Colton, where you at?” I ask, walking in the house knowing he’s more than likely either in his room or out with Kaden somewhere.

“In my room, Dad,” he calls out, his voice muffled more than it would be from being in his room.

Curious, I make my way to his door to find him leaning over the edge of his bed looking for something underneath it. I don’t move closer to him or make my way over to him, interested in learning more about what is so important that our son is ready to bust his head open in anticipation of reaching. Leaning against the door frame, I continue watching my son as he digs, grunts, and almost slips several times. Not being able to stand it any longer, I enter his room and get closer to the bed in case he slips once again. For as tall and strong as Colton is, he’s almost as bad as Carson when it comes to the shit he gets himself into. I thought he had grown out of that shit, but apparently I was wrong.

“Yes!” Colton suddenly calls out, his voice still muffled as he wiggles and works his way back up on the mattress the best he can.

I reach out for him when Colton starts to fall forward once again. I’m not sure how he manages to do it, but my son does end up falling off the bed and rolling instead of slamming directly on the top of his head like I was imagining happening to him. Colton starts laughing his ass off as he rolls over and stands from the floor while looking up at me with a picture frame in his hands.

“What the fuck was so important you almost broke your damn neck for, Colton?” I ask him, wanting to laugh and yell at him simultaneously.

“This,” he answers with a large smile on his face as he turns the picture around for me to see.

Colton’s holding a picture that’s sat next to his bed for as long as I can remember. There are actually two pictures in the frame. One of them is the five of us when the boys were little. I’m holding Colton with Jennifer holding Wade and Wood protecting all of us as he’s done the entire time we’ve been with Jennifer. The second half of the frame holds a picture of Colton and Kaden from last year when they were at one of Kingston’s races. The two of them are having the best time and it’s written all over their faces. I smile at the picture because I remember the day I first saw what he’d done and asked him why he chose to put the pictures the way he had.

Walking into Colton’s room to get him for dinner, I find him setting a picture frame next to his bed. I walk over and take a closer look to see two different pictures in one frame.

“What made you do this, Colton?” I ask him, picking it up in my hand and looking down at a family picture with the five of us next to one of Colton and Kaden.

“Well, I don’t like my stands cluttered by a ton of stuff, but both of these pictures mean somethin’ to me. So, I figured the best way to display them both close to me was this. Kaden is my best friend. He has been for as long as I can remember. You’re all my family and I love you more than anythin’ in the world. Why wouldn’t I display the people who mean the most to me together?” he returns, completely logical in his response as I set the picture back down where he had it.

“I think it’s a great idea, Son. Now you’ve got everyone close no matter what and you can look over and see everyone important to you,” I say, a smile on my face as I look down at him. “Now, we best get our asses out to the dinin’ room before your mom comes in to get us. She’s puttin’ dinner on the table.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna piss off Mom,” he says, laughter filling his voice because Colton and Wade tower over their mom and have put on muscle over the years from training, sports, and everything else they do. Still, if there’s one person in this world who can scare the shit out of our boys, it’s Jennifer.

“How the hell did it get under your bed?” I question Colton, handing the picture back to him as he sets it on his stand and takes a seat on the bed as I join him.

“I think it fell off my bed when I was packin’ everythin’ up. I’ve been lookin’ all over for anythin’ I might have forgotten when I saw somethin’ under my bed. Instead of slidin’ on my stomach and reachin’ under the bed, I just leaned over the edge of my bed and tried the way you caught me. I almost didn’t reach it at all,” he says, laughter bursting from him as I shake my head. “I almost had it without fallin’, Dad. Though, that fall was pretty fuckin’ epic if you ask me. Wasn’t expectin’ to just roll out of it that way.”

“I wasn’t either. And you were too fast for me to catch. Ya know, I always said when you were a toddler that you were a daredevil and no one believed me. Why am I always the one to catch you doin’ this stupid shit?” I question him, a smirk replacing my smile because I already know the answer.

“Well, if Mom were to catch me doin’ half the shit I do, she’d have a heart attack. We’re her baby boys and that’s how she’ll see us no matter how old we get. Dada will more than likely join in the shenanigans and end up just as hurt as I am. So, I try to behave myself around him. When it comes to you, I know you’ll always catch me. Not that Dada wouldn’t catch me, but you’re just ready to always catch us and not join in the shenanigans the way he does. It’s like you’ve all got your roles as our parents and we know who to go to for whatever is goin’ on with us,” he answers me honestly as I look at him in shock.

I never really thought of us parenting the way he just described to me. Now that he’s pointed it out, I can see where he’s coming from. We do all handle the boys the way we feel is best and it works for every situation we’ve found ourselves in over the years. I think we’re so used to letting them grow into the people they’re meant to be that we kept a close eye on them, but gave them just enough freedom to ensure they were able to grow, learn, and know they could always count on us no matter what was going on in their lives. That’s why Wade is struggling so much right now. He’s trying to be a good friend and keep the secret he’s been entrusted with but it's hurting him and he doesn’t know what to do about the situation. I just hope it works out for him and things don’t escalate until he loses himself by trying to be a good friend.

“I’m proud of you, Colton. You know that, yeah?” I ask him, needing him to know that I am proud of the man he’s becoming and I can’t wait to see what this move does for him.

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