Page 24 of Demo

Jasmine had taken the necessary lessons and classes to get her motorcycle driver’s permit. It meant she couldn’t drive a motorcycle without a licensed driver accompanying her, either riding behind her or separately next to her. Pirate, Jumper’s brother and Jasmine’s soon-to-be brother-in-law, had been helping Jasmine get some of her needed driving hours in prior to them having to put the sleds away for the winter. Once Jumper’s license was reinstated, the two of them could take turns driving during their honeymoon. While Jumper appreciated his brother’s help, there was also a strict rule in place that Jasmine and Pirate were to practice onseparatebikes unless there was an emergency. Jumper trusted his brother implicitly, or he wouldn’t allow Pirate to be in charge of Jazz’s lessons, but that didn’t mean Jumper wanted Pirate holding onto Jazz while riding a motorcycle.

Demo certainly wouldn’t want Paige riding with any other brother unless absolutely necessary.

Fuck!

Talk about a full circle train of thought. How the hell had he gone from thinking about the dealership’s work schedule and inventory to Paige and not liking the idea of her riding as someone else’s backpack? Others might call it ‘riding bitch’ but many in the VDMC had gotten out of that habit due to Scotty and the other club kids. For a long time, Scotty, Jenna, and Sissy had been the only passengers on their club runs. It had seemed so disrespectful to say ‘riding bitch’ when referring to a child, an ol’ lady, and a young lady. The members said it when referring to each other having to double up on a bike for whatever reason, but not in deference to the women and kids.

Plus, Scotty used to run up to random members before club runs and hop onto their back, yelling, “I’m a backpack!” Then he would proceed to be carried around on his uncle’s back while everyone was still getting ready for the club run. He’d been a lot smaller back then and there had been less club kids going for rides with them. He’d had his pick of drivers because, per Scotty, Lucky drove like an old granny.

Neither Demo nor any of the other brothers felt right about saying Scotty was ‘riding bitch’. In that regard, as well as many others, the VDMC was a tame motorcycle club. They did not traffic guns, drugs, or people. They ran legitimate businesses that were neither a strip club nor a porn company, and they were looked at respectfully by the town they called home. Demo knew that if Steel had propositioned him for a one-percenter club, he would have turned him down. That just wasn’t how Demo lived or wanted to live.

He loved that family meant everything to his club and it wasn’t just talk. Every decision their club made revolved around protecting the women and the club kids.

The number of club kids had exploded recently. Steel’s kids had never really been into the motorcycle life or lifestyle. When they attended functions, they wore their cuts, if only out of respect for their father. Melanie, Steel’s daughter, had never even ridden on a motorcycle and would instead drive a cage with a prospect if she was attending a club run. So while Carter, Jordan, and Melanie were ‘club kids’, they weren’t counted on for club run numbers. Sissy had been sixteen when the club had been formed and had gone on most club runs with her dad and brother.

Now there were Bree, Aaron, Ollie, and Lila who rode with them regularly too. Bree was Angel and Cage’s paraplegic adopted daughter, Aaron was Cage’s biological son, and Ollie was a foster child Steel and Jenna were looking to adopt. All three were teenagers at fifteen, sixteen, and sixteen, respectively. While Bree had a special harness that could allow her to ride on the back of anyone’s sled with them, Angel preferred Bree ride on herHarley-DavidsonTrike. The three-wheeled motorcycle provided Bree with more balance and also meant Bree could remain on the hog while parked without risking falling off or over.

With the number of ol’ ladies also increasing, the club members would soon be outnumbered. Only a few of them even rode solo anymore. Sophia wasn’t a club kid or an ol’ lady and she also had a tendency to join them for club runs.

Demo wondered if Paige would allow Mikey and Nelly Bean to ride with them. Currently, when the boys joined the guys on their outings while the ol’ ladies had their get-together, they rode in one of the cages with a prospect and the other kids too small to ride. Hell, pretty soon Demo was going to need to look into purchasing another SUV or two for the club because they were running out of room with only three eight-seaters.

In Demo’s opinion almost four and five were too young to be on a motorcycle. Bulldog allowed Lila to ride. She was almost seven and had gone through a lot of practice runs around the club property before going on her first club run last April. Bulldog also placed her specifically with Ghost, his Enforcer, and made Ranger ride tandem to keep an eye on her. Despite her mischievous nature, Lila had not caused any problems or done anything dangerous while on a motorcycle. It would seem she took Bulldog’s warning of “one mistake and you’ll be riding in cages for a year!” very seriously.

Tessa and Harper would be out for most of the upcoming season. Neither of their men would allow them to ride while pregnant and neither of them would be in any condition to ride after giving birth. That meant Bear and Lucky were able to take a club kid riding with them. Sophia was almost always riding with Pirate.

Sissy usually rode with Demo. But with her girlfriend, Sara, about to be patched over, it would make sense for Sissy to start riding with her. Which would free Demo up to have Paige?—

“Hey, man.”

Demo looked up from his desk to see Keys and Pumpkin standing in the doorway. Pumpkin had some cloth wrapping around him that strapped SJ to his front. Though not without some learning curves, the man was thriving as a single dad. Demo knew how freaked out Pumpkin had been about the idea of having a son but was exceedingly proud of his friend for stepping up as he had.

“Hey,” Demo responded automatically.

“What’re you up to?” Keys asked as they walked into the office. Keys took the chair opposite Demo’s while Pumpkin started doing some weird bouncing-walk back and forth across the office parallel to Demo’s desk.

Demo’s eyes glanced down at his laptop, only to see it had gone dark. How long had he been sitting there lost in his head and not working? “Not much,” he said nonchalantly. “Just catching up on some invoices.”

Keys glanced at the back of Demo’s laptop and then back up at Demo, clearly not believing the line of bullshit Demo had just tried to feed him.

“How did your treatment go this morning?” Pumpkin asked, his big hands rubbing up and down the back of SJ’s covered back. He wore a skullcap with the VDMC logo on the rim.

“Better than expected,” Demo answered honestly. “I can’t remember the last time my shoulder didn’t feel like there wasn’t a twenty pound weight sitting on it.”

Neither Keys nor Pumpkin responded right away. Both were just staring at him. Pumpkin had even stopped pacing.

“What?” Demo demanded.

“Dude, you’re smiling.” Keys said it like Demo had just walked on water.

Demo felt his cheeks fall and knew that Keys had not been lying. He tried to school his features better. “It’s just a relief to not have a stabbing pain every time I move my arm.”

Pumpkin’s eyes narrowed on him. Even from across the room, Demo felt like his friend was looking at him through a magnifying glass. “No, it’s not that. There’s something different about you.”

“No, there’s not,” Demo insisted. He was not sure if that was a lie or not.

“Is it Paige? Did you find something out about her parents?” Keys asked.

“No—” Demo started but Pumpkin cut him off with a loud exclamation. “It’s Paige! Holy fuck!”

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