Page 84 of Plum

Holy shit.Gusis Ryan Morrison. Now I see it, and I can’t unsee it. Gus is a guy who’s rode his body hard, and he’s got the yellowed skin, paunch, and missing teeth to show for it, but if you squint, you can tell. He’s got Adam’s dark hair, his height, and his square jaw.

My stomach coils in a knot. Gus has known me since I showed up at the clubhouse, desperate with a ratty backpack filled with a few shirts, a pair of jeans, and nothing else. Adam must have met him. Heard stories. I guess that’s what happened, why Adam changed his mind about me.

Something akin to grief rolls over me in a wave, and my face heats. Not with shame. I’ve never been able to afford that. Humiliation, though. I’m not too hard for that.

I hug myself and edge backwards. I’ve almost turned to duck out the back when piercing blue eyes find me and nail me in place.

“Jo-Beth.” Adam steps forward. A handful of brothers move to grab him.

Heavy raises his hand. “Stand down. He’s Gus’ kid. Somebody get him a beer.”

Heavy’s rumbling voice breaks the spell. Everyone talks at once, the old timers slapping the young brothers on the back, cackling and chortling and rehashing the whole shitshow like it was some epic battle. Deb emerges from her back office to call Pig Iron an old fool and bark at Angel and Starla to pick up the mess. Everyone but Gus wanders off, but they’re watching us. We’re primetime TV right now.

We stand there, the three of us, staring at each other.

“Gus?” Adam speaks first. He’s still in fighting stance, his chest heaving from the melee. His hair’s mussed, and he’s never looked so much like a movie star from a superhero flick. My heart surges with longing.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s, uh, my road name.” Gus shoves his hands in his pockets and shifts on his feet.

“How come?” Adam seems to be playing for time as he collects himself.

“Uh, Heavy’s dad. Slip. He was the president when I prospected. He forgot my name once. Called me Gus. That was it.” I’ve heard the story, but I never knew his real name.

“Thank you. For that.” Adam raises his eyes to the hole in the roof.

Gus chuckles uneasily. “Don’t guess you came for the bike, did you?”

Adam looks past Gus and sears me with those electric eyes. “No. I came for her.”

“Yeah? Guess she’s a beauty, too.” Gus sniffs and offers me a wry, gap-toothed grin. I curve my lips into as much of a smile as I can manage. Gus and I run in different circles, but he’s good people.

“She is.” Adam takes a step toward me.

I tighten my arms around my belly. He’s making me twitchy. There’s too much swirling inside of me. I’m pissed and hurt and confused, and I can’t tell if I have to pee, or if I’m nervous as hell.

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but nothing comes out. Only tears. I start leaking, and I’m too freaked out to raise my hands to wipe them away. It’s like I need my arms to hold myself together.

Adam covers the distance between us in one step. Every woman in the place inhales sharply at the same time.

“I’m so fucking sorry.”

“You bailed on me.” Tears are tickling my nose and dripping into the corner of my lips. I can’t show weakness, but I don’t cry, so I don’t know how to stop.

“I got my head twisted, and I hurt you, and I’m so sorry.”

“You acted like you hardly knew me.”

“I was fucked up. I couldn’t handle…I couldn’t handle what you’ve had to handle for most of your life. I’m a weak man, Jo-Beth, and I can’t make a decision for shit, and as of today, I guess I’m unemployed and disinherited, but if you give me another chance—” His voice breaks. His eyes glitter with unshed tears, the blue sparkling, and he seems lost for words.

“Oh, take him back, honey. He’s hot as fuck!” That was Ernestine from over at the bar.

“Jewelry! Hold out for diamonds!” I think that was Danielle.

“You need to shut up brother, and give her the dick. Just haul her ass upstairs.” This is advice from Grinder, which may go towards explaining why his wife put him out.

“Well?” I prompt. “You gonna finish what you’re sayin?”

I want to know what he’s gonna promise. Mama’s men promised the world when they’d done wrong. They swore they’d never do it again, go back to meetings, delete their social media, marry her. What kind of bullshit does a rich man peddle when he’s sorry?

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