Page 24 of Brick

Fourteen

Present…

The Lair wasa bright beacon in the dusky twilight. Brick looked on with a sense of satisfaction as he drove the old truck into its designated spot. He cursed and slammed the sticky door one last time before pulling down the garage door. The vehicle wouldn’t move until next month when it was Taz’s turn to go see the old man they once knew as Walrus.

Brick took a deep breath of the heavy air. Rain comin’ was his thought from its taste. Somehow, it was appropriate. Water falling from the sky and washing away the taint of the last few months. As he approached his home, he heard the laughter of many voices spilling from the open doors. Inside the great room, he paused as he saw his Dragon Runners family, the people who had become so precious to him and who he would risk his life to protect. Kat sat deep in one couch with a big smile. Mute, her husband, stood over her. His perpetual scowl sat plastered on his face, but when he looked at his wife, there was only tenderness in his expression. Stud, the club’s former resident playboy, sat next to his feisty redheaded wife, Eva. He juggled their baby daughter in his lap. The love and adoration Stud had for his budding family was such that Brick wouldn’t be surprised if number two wasn’t already on the way. His longtime friend Taz waved as he leaned back in a recliner, Tambre perched on the arm. Molly’s absence meant she was probably working a later shift at the sheriff’s office, but her husband, Cutter, was there.

A laughing child flew past Brick and almost knocked him over. “Sorry, Grandpa!” A canine followed with a flash of brindle and slobber.

Brick’s grandson was running through the house playing with his dog, Sam. He tossed the soggy bundle of strings that used to be a rope chew toy to the animal. Sam pounced and threw the mass back at Cody’s feet.

“Take Sam outside if you’re gonna keep running,” Blue admonished the little boy. Under his arm was his wife, Psalm. Their story started a long time ago in high school. Brick was happy they finally finished it.

The only two people missing from this group were the reason he’d gone up the mountain. Table was still too weak to be moved, having been shot twice at point-blank range. He put himself between his woman and daughter and the dangerous man who threatened them both. Brick grimaced as he recalled the amount of blood that had poured from Table. For a while, he’d thought Table wouldn’t make it, but the strength and fierce devotion he had for Lori and his little Angel kept him fighting to stay alive. He was currently living at Doc Holbrook’s cabin retreat, and Lori was by his side. The man who had put them in harm’s way was gone. Obliterated from this earth with no chance of being found. The club was safe, and if all was right in the world, it would stay that way.

“Where the hell have you been, old man? I been tryin’ to call you for hours.” Betsey’s heeled boots clattered on the wood floors as she walked into the room. Her hair had just been freshly dyed to its bright red, and her long nails were painted to match. Brick smiled. This lodge, this home, the people here, this was her world, and she took care of everyone in it like a mother hen.

Brick huffed a laugh. Hen? More like a mama bear protecting her cubs.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, woman, I been out doin’ club business.”

She planted her feet in front of him and jammed her hands to her hips. “Club business? I texted you three times to stop off at the Ingles’ and pick up a couple bags of hamburger buns. Do I see any buns? No, I don’t.”

“Phone’s dead.”

“That don’t happen when you plug it in the charger at night.”

“I keep my phone charged up, mostly. Just not today.”

“Of course that only happens when I’m tryin’ to get a hold of you for some of my club business. Now I got barbecue cookin’ on the stove and no buns to put it on.”

Brick harrumphed at his irate wife. “We got sliced bread, don’t we? That works just as good as buns.”

Betsey’s mascaraed eyes flew open. “Sliced bread? Are you out of your mind? I can’t put my barbecue on sliced bread. The sauce will soak in an’ make the sandwich so soggy it’ll fall apart.”

“It’ll still taste the same.”

Betsey blew out a loud Pssssht through her red-tinted lips. “Lord have mercy, they named you right. Stubborn old brick-headed mule.”

Laughter rang out from the people watching the show. Brick took in the sight of the Dragon Runners, their women, and their children, all of them under his roof. Happy, Content. Safe. Betsey was no longer the shy, abused girl he’d met way back in middle school. She had thrived with him by her side and grown into the confident, strong woman she was always meant to be. He had thrived too with her love and commitment to him and his club. Without her, the Dragon Runners MC would not have become the powerhouse and tight-bonded family it was.

“Yeah, I’m old. And brick-headed. And can be a stubborn mule, but I did it, didn’t I?”

Betsey flounced her hair and crossed her arms. “Did what?”

Brick reached into his pocket. “I told you years back if you stuck with me, I’d build you a kingdom and a castle and make you a queen. I did it. The Lair is as fine a castle as anyone can ever get. Our people here? That’s your kingdom. You’ve stood by me through hard times, celebrated the good times, and forgave me the times I screwed up. You've been my queen from the first time I saw you in middle school, but we never sealed the deal. You been wearing my patch for quite a while now, darlin’, and I think it’s time I put a ring on your finger. I told someone a long time ago that if I ever got married, you’d be the one.”

The air grew still as Brick pulled out a black velvet box. He saw Tambre place a hand across her mouth as everyone in the room recognized what it meant. Betsey did too and froze in place, her ire leaking out and her eyes filling up.

“I’d get down on one knee if I could, baby, but I’m not sure I could get back up. Betsey Fullerton Hairston, will you marry me?”

Brick opened the box. A solitary diamond sparkled in a ring of tiny rubies. Betsey gave a wet hiccup. Her hand trembled as she extended it and Brick slid the ring on the third finger.

“I told you all I wanted was a home and a good man who loves me and I can love back. Seems you’re right, honey. You gave me everything. I’ve been proud to wear your patch, and I’ll wear your ring the same way.”

Applause shattered the silence as the people whooped and yelled their approval.

“Is there any champagne in the bar?”

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