Page 74 of Elling & Jackie

On the other hand, her father always made her feel pressured to come home. He gave her every reason why she could have her pick of men out of the Brikken membership roster.

That wasn't enough for her. Every Brikken member would always be 'less than' for her. She had Rollo's blood inside her veins, as did Jett, Olin, Thorn. There would always be that line a Brikken member couldn't cross out of respect for the Stanton family.

She set her foot on the walking bridge and strolled across it with her mom and dad, finding irony in the path they all took toward the Brikken clubhouse. It always came back to coming home.

Maybe she was wrong, and the smartest thing would be to accept her fate in life. She looked down at the leaves floating in the creek. No, she would never be happy if she settled on doing what was expected of her. She needed to follow her heart.

"There's a new hotel being built in Tacoma." Chief never missed a step. "It's supposed to open up next year."

"Where at?" she asked.

"Over in University Place on the water."

That was one of the safer areas of Tacoma. Lovely waterfront property. Close enough to Seattle to gain some traction, and yet far enough away from the crowds.

"I thought you might like to know. Maybe there's someone you can contact early on in the construction process, see about getting a job," said Chief.

Her mom waved to someone in front of the clubhouse and left Chief's side, leaving her alone with her dad.

"I'll think about it." One hopeful look from her dad, and she added, "I am happy working in Portland."

"You were." Chief rubbed the back of her neck. "Something has happened. I can see it. Your mom can see it. If you're not ready to talk about it, then I trust that you'll know what you need to do. There are other opportunities around you, and they have nothing to do with your family wanting you closer. Keep your eyes open and think smart. Got it?"

"Yeah." She inhaled deeper. "This adulting is hard, Chief."

"So is getting old." He kissed her forehead. "Go on and visit with the others. I'm going to go talk to Keefe and see what his lazy ass has been up to lately. Make sure you spend some time with your mom before you leave to go back to Portland. She misses you."

She hugged him tightly, wishing she could go back in time when her dad could make everything okay. But his sense of fixing her problems wouldn't work for Elling.

Not when she was still in love with Elling, despite her head telling her to forget about him.

Inside the clubhouse, her nieces and nephews spotted her before she could make herself useful in the kitchen. Chee and Nikki reached her first, almost tackling her in their exuberance.

"Geez, guys, stop growing, okay?" She hugged them both. "What's it like to be eighteen years old?"

They giggled, falling into each other. Nikki held on to Jackie's hand and said, "We're ten."

"Sure, you are." She laughed, truly happy to hear Nikki. There was a time when she'd been mute, but she'd conquered her fears and had bloomed under Thorn's roof when he married Nikki's mom, Jessy. "So, is school out for the summer?"

Chee looped his arm around Nikki's shoulders. "We're going to make a tree fort over at Uncle Olin's house for Trik. Uncle has lumber and nails and ladders and rope and a whole bunch of neat stuff."

"That's cool." She held her hand out for Cora, wandering by and seeing her.

One by one, she connected with all the kids, making sure they knew she was still a part of their life. Gunnar even promised to call her sometime during his break on his new cell phone, and Lynea gave her two kisses telling her good luck. She wasn't sure what the sentiment was for, but the love filled a small part of her bruised heart.

Escaping to get a drink, she walked in the direction of the kitchen and found Stassi standing alone in the hallway. Her sister put her finger to her lips and motioned her over.

When she reached Stassi, her sister pulled her out the back door. The warmth of the day hit her after being in the air-conditioned clubhouse.

"What are you doing?" She jerked her arm out of her grasp.

"The men are talking about the Fed's sting." Stassi continued to whisper, though there was nobody around outside. "None of them were worried, because Jett received wind of what would happen weeks before the run. When law enforcement showed up, all they found was an empty semi-trailer and a whole bunch of bikers enjoying a ride."

"What?"

Stassi tilted her head. "They'd sent a decoy to make the delivery, while our brothers rode into the sting, knowing they were going to be arrested. Don't you get it?"

"No." She tried to grasp what she was learning.

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