Page 26 of Patching Over

“This is an interesting turn of events,” Grim says, before downing a shot of whiskey.

“You tell me,” Voodoo replies, grabbing a chair and pulling it over to our table. “We were halfway here when she called to tell me she’d meet me at the next exit. How she knew we were enroute is beyond me, but she was there waiting when we pulled in to gas up and stretch.”

I remain quiet as the others continue talking, trying to guess why she wanted to be here. I remember how familiar Rayleigh is to me, despite being positive I’ve never met her before and briefly wonder if Madame Laveaux knows something about it. I wouldn’t be surprised seeing as she seems to know stuff before anyone else does. Angel calling my name interrupts my musings.

“How’s she doing, Brother?” he asks.

“She seems to be settling into her new life quite well,” I reply.

“She’s not here as your ol’ lady?” Voodoo questions, his brows raised.

“Not yet,” Banshee retorts. “Brick felt she needed to feel what it was like to be free before he claimed her.”

I glare at my brother before stating, “She’s been virtually a prisoner her whole fucking life. What kind of man would I be if I immediately claimed her without giving her the chance to see who she is as a person?” I may be rubbing one out multiple times a day to thoughts of her, but I still stand by my original conviction; she needs to come to her decision on her own, without any prompting by me. However, if she ever comes back to the clubhouse, she’s mine. Plain and simple.

Voodoo nods his head in understanding. “I get it now. You’ve probably told her what’s going to happen, but are letting her figure shit out on her own for the time being. Bet you’ve either got brothers watching over her or you’re doing it yourself.”

I shrug. “She lives in the apartment above our bar and works for both the bar and tattoo shop. Brew and Phantom are keeping watch over her.”

Voodoo belts out a laugh even as he’s nodding. “And what do they report?”

I grin. “She’s coming into her own, apparently. Just today she stood up to Brew about something. He said he could tell she immediately felt bad for speaking out, but despite a shaky voice, she stood her ground. I’m sure she’s going to have good and bad days. I just want her to realize by my side is where she belongs. And… now that we’ve apparently all grown pussies or some shit, I think it’s about time to head to Church.”

It’s a bit unusual to have brothers from another chapter in Church with us, but given the circumstances, plus their verbalized desire to be here when we dealt with her parents, I don’t have an issue with it. We’re not discussing any other club business while they’re here, just the situation with Laura and Dave Matthews. As everyone makes their way into the room, I settle into my seat, the gavel in my hand. Once everyone finds a seat, a few of the brothers leaning against the walls, I lift the gavel then say, “Shut the fuck up, we got shit to discuss!”

As silence pervades the room, I glance at Scythe and ask, “How’s Enoch faring?”

“He’s looking quite a bit worse for the wear, Pres,” he replies. “Now that Tonopah Valley is here, it might be time to let him fly south, so to speak.”

“Fly south, I kinda like it,” Rael retorts. “Makes it sound like he’s going on a long vacation in a warm place.”

“Oh, it’s warm alright,” Grim replies, smirking. “I’m positive Lucifer’s got just the right place for that fucking bastard to spend eternity in while he endures unremitting torture.”

“We’ll take care of it today, then. Now, about her parents. Voodoo, you have no clue why your grandmother decided she had to be here?” That part puzzles me the most, to be honest. I know she’s in tune with the other side; did she get another message pertaining to Rayleigh? Is she still in danger of some sort? The questions invade my mind, nearly driving me crazy.

“Not a fucking thing. She tends to do what she wants, though, so be prepared, Brother.”

“Will do. Now, Laura and Dave Matthews have a bit of an alcohol and drug problem. Their addictions caused them to neglect and also abuse Rayleigh in nearly every way possible. I’m of the mind to give them a taste of their own medicine, but I know y’all can’t be gone from your own chapters that long, and I realize Banshee and Rooster need to get to Texas to deal withRooster’s shit. So, y’all hit me with some of your ideas because I’m sure you’ve got some. Especially you two,” I state, looking at Brew and Phantom, who have been working with her for several weeks now.

Brew’s face darkens as he opens his mouth to speak. It takes him several minutes before he growls out, “That little girl is so fucking brave, she makes all of us look like pussies.”

“What do you mean?” Grim asks before I can speak.

“Every fucking day, she comes downstairs ready to tackle the mess our customers leave. She rolls up her sleeves and never complains, no matter how bad it is and y’all know there are nights when it looks like a tornado blew through the place. A week ago, when the mop broke, she researched on her laptop you gave her, Hawg, then came to me to show me how the system she found would benefit us. She shook the whole time but stood her ground with me when I peppered her with questions about the cost, upkeep, supplies. Even when a loud noise startles her and I see her nearly drop to the ground in fear, she squares her shoulders then goes back to what she’s doing.”

“Today, she flat out asked me why we tell her to keep the change,” Phantom adds. When I look at him with one brow raised, he says, “She always asks each of us if she can grab us lunch, so both of us tell her to get the special at the diner, get one for herself, and keep the change out of the money we both give her. It’s because she wants to do things on her own, y’know? When she first moved in, Brew and I both tried to leave stuff for her to help her get settled into her place, but she returned it, thanked us profusely, then said she had to learn to do things on her own. Fucking sweetheart, that one.”

Pride swells in my chest when I hear how she’s doing. “She also has a friend now, too,” Jingles advises. “The chick who works at the thrift store. It’s why she’s turned all of us down when we try to arrange to take her shopping on Sundays. Shesays her friend, Cassie, doesn’t mind taking her and she doesn’t want any of us to go out of our way, we’ve done more than enough to help her already.”

“Better get that claim on her soon, Brother. Sounds like she’s winning over your brothers,” Rael says, smirking at me. I can see his Reaper peeking out, both of them laughing at my current predicament.

“Working on it, Rael,” I retort. “Glad she’s healing.”

“When I guard her door, I sometimes hear her crying out,” Rooster admits. “But she seems to settle right back down, so I don’t knock or anything. I know you said you didn’t want her to know we were watching her like that.”

“Shoulda said something, Brother,” I growl out, upset she’s having nightmares and no one’s there to soothe her.

“I’ll be sure to do so the next time it happens, Pres,” Rooster says, dropping his head.

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