Page 1 of Rascal

Chapter One

Rascal stood staring at the small memorial he, War, Roam, Bear, Baron, Locks, and Speedy had worked on together. His MC brothers had gotten on board with the project from the moment he’d mentioned it, but then, they’d always had his back.

Had it really been over forty years since they’d come home from serving and formed the MC? Some days, he felt like it was yesterday. But then when he had to use a heating pad on his lower back or his knees creaked when he stepped out of bed in the morning, he felt every year. He envied Baron having a woman to come home to. Regina had been by his side for years. He hadn’t been quite so lucky. His adult son’s mother had been a piece of work. He regretted he hadn’t realized how evil she was until later. If he could go back and save his son the heartache he’d experienced, he would in a second. There were few things he regretted but not taking Bear away from her earlier was his biggest.

It had all worked out now and he was a granddad, three times over. They were the light of his life. He’d imagine his oldest would turn her eyes and beautiful face to him and he’d be buying whatever she wanted at the weekend commemoration festivities.

They’d finished the metal sculpture two days ago and then set it in the cement yesterday. A large metal plane was suspended from a metal frame with paratroopers and their parachutes coming out of the plane. A metal flag flew in the wind at the upper corner of the frame. The cement in front of the structure was etched with WWII June 6, 1944. At the side of the sculpture was a sign with the words etched into the wood and filled with resin from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address when he announced the invasion.

They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.

After serving himself, Rascal could understand the fear they faced, not knowing if they would come home. But they served because if Germany, Japan, and Italy weren’t stopped, he would be living in a different world today. Even at sixty-nine, almost seventy, and being out of the military since 1977, there were still times when some of the things he’d experienced invaded his dreams. The Army prepared him as best as they could. It didn’t adequately explain how the sights and smells of losing his brothers would affect him later.

“Are you here for the commemoration this weekend?” The sweet, husky voice had Rascal holding back a shiver. He’d never had this type of reaction to a woman’s voice. Turning to put a face with the voice, he was speechless at first glance.

Standing before him was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. At six foot three, Rascal usually towered over most women, but not this one. She was a tad under six feet because he only had to look down a little into her eyes, which were a dark color that reminded him of chocolate, deep, dark chocolate that he wanted to drown in. Her shoulder-length black hair was liberally sprinkled with gray and was blowing lightly in the wind. Her jeans hugged her curvy figure, and her collared shirt highlighted every bit of her impressive bustline. He adored all figures, but he enjoyed a woman with a little weight on her. He was a big guy and didn’t want to feel like he’d break the woman he was with.

“Yes. My club is organizing it.” Rascal worked to not trip over his tongue. He’d never had trouble talking with women, but this one seemed to tie him in knots.

She walked closer, holding out her hand and smiling. “I’m Dr. Margaret Jamison. I’m giving one of the speeches tomorrow afternoon.”

He took her hand to shake but found himself bringing it to his lips and placing a kiss on her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Rascal Carter.” The blush on her cheeks had him smiling despite feeling like an idiot.

It’s a pleasure to meet her. What the heck was he saying and who had invaded his body?

“I was supposed to arrive tomorrow. But when the college I used to work for decided they didn’t require a single, fifty-nine-year-old woman to be a professor, I couldn’t stay in town another minute.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I just blurted that out. I think I’m still in shock. I walked into a staff meeting and walked out with a letter saying my department would not be needed next year. I tossed stuff in a bag and got on the road. I hadn’t even planned on being away from the college overnight because there’s always something that someone needs the older, unmarried professor to cover there.”

Rascal found her talking without even taking a breath as she told him everything that had happened absolutely adorable. Normally, women who weren’t a part of the MC annoyed him with their talking about their Botox or their clothes. He couldn’t think of the last time a woman intrigued him where he wanted to hear more.

“It seems like you’ve had a spectacularly crappy day. How about we walk down the block and I’ll buy you lunch? I can guarantee the food there will make any day better.”

Her lips parted into a grin, and she nodded. “What is this place that will fix my day?”

“Regina’s Roadside Refuge. It’s run by my club and the food is fantastic with great portion size.”

He held out his arm and let Margaret slip her arm through his. He couldn’t say what they talked about on the short walk, but he did know that each step closer had him trying to figure out how to keep her around. He’d given Baron so much crap when he’d found Regina years ago and had immediately fallen in love. He was positive in the coming days he’d be eating his words because hell would freeze over before he let this woman go who had him fighting to not sport a hard-on in public.

He held open the door, letting Margaret brush against him as she walked in. He fought leaning over to sniff the sweet fragrance coming from her. He placed his hand along her back and then led her to one of the empty tables. He smiled and waved as people said hello but didn’t linger. He didn’t want to be a jerk, but he wasn’t sharing Margaret with anyone yet.

Even though the table was a little larger than they needed, he sat them at one of the tables reserved for his MC family. Since the MC owned the diner and store, there were always a couple tables reserved for them. He seated them close to the wall so they could have some privacy. He held Margaret’s chair for her, then helped her slide it closer before sitting himself.

“Everything is good here,” he said, handing her a menu.

“What’s your favorite?”

“Everything. There isn’t anything here I don’t love. The burgers are juicy. The French fries or beer battered onion rings are fantastic.”

“It’s so hard to decide.”

Rascal grinned at her being so excited for the food, especially after he’d seen the sadness in her eyes.

“Pick your two favorites. We’ll get them both and share if it’s okay with you. That way, you can try more than one thing.”

Her smile and the light that filled her eyes when he stared at her had him wondering what it would take to convince her to give him a chance. Sure, he was ten years older than her, but at their age, did it really matter?

After the fiasco with Bear’s mom, he’d vowed he wouldn’t get serious about anyone unless he loved them. His son had gone through so much that he hadn’t known about. He’d had club girls and a couple years ago he and a widow in Dodge City had filled a need for each other for a while, but he’d never loved a woman. Heck, he hadn’t even found one that he enjoyed being around. He’d given up hope on finding anyone because if he couldn’t have what his club brother Baron had with his wife Regina and what his MC brothers had been finding lately, then he didn’t want a relationship.

He was loyal to his MC. He spent his days tattooing and enjoying his grandkids, but the feelings he had for Margaret were unexpected.

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