Page 9 of My Three S**y Bikers

“Why do you have to be so pigheaded?” my dad asked. “You get that from your mother.”

I looked up just as the steak was ready and the fries were good to be served. I was going to put a bit of my “picante” spice on them then decided against it. I knew Mel hated anything spicy. I didn’t have to act like a shit. I ignored Dad as he came up to me with a “Don’t be an Ass” look on his face.

“She is homeless, and I can tell by the way you went bright red as soon as she said that you knew each other, that you were more than friends in Ohio. Anyway, I’ve offered her a helping hand.”

I didn’t answer. I decided to be the shit he was accusing me off and give her the picante fries, salad, and steak.

I shoved the plate in his hand, and he looked at me.

“You’re not…”

I shook my head and blurted, “I’m going out for a smoke, and…”

Shit, I couldn’t even think about what I’d do because my mind was all over the place. He paused, trying to gauge what to say next, but I broke the silence as the other thing that was bugging me entered my mind.

“How old is that baby?”

“Around six months.”

I nodded as I reached for the door. Sure, I didn’t have to go out and smoke, but we weren’t fucking saints. Half the guys used the pool table area to smoke but the rest of the club was clean air as Erin loved to call it.

We were trying to be respectful, and we didn’t want the cops closing us down just for smoking in a public bar, so the pool area had a false roof, so even though the tables were inside, the space appeared to be outside, so they couldn’t get us for breaking the law on a little technicality.

I decided to reenter from the back and eavesdrop on their conversation. Fuck smoking.

“Damn, girl, it’s like you haven’t eaten all week!” Playboy chuckled. I was surprised he was still around. Usually, as soon as he saw a baby, he went in the opposite direction.

She shrugged. “This is the first proper meal I’ve had in nearly a month.”

“It looks like it has been a lot longer than that. Do you know where you’re going to stay?” Greyson, my uncle, asked.

She consumed her last bite and then sank back in her chair. Then she checked on the baby who was in the car seat which Dad had gone to get from her car, so she could feel more comfortable a she ate. She seemed more relaxed, seeing him entertain himself with a little toy.

“Is anyone looking for a waitress or something like that. Any job that I can take to get me back to Fairmont.”

Some things hadn’t changed. The Melinda I knew always avoided answering the question when things were bad.

I wanted to ask her, but then I couldn’t talk to her. Just seeing her hit me with a wave of guilt. I’d left town in to find Dad. I could imagine her father throwing a fit about a teen pregnancy.

“Bull!” Dad said. “We have work here that needs doing. You don’t need to look farther than where you are, lucky lady.”

“What? Here in the bar?”

I had to cover my mouth, as my insides were twisted in knots. Not only did she just happen to show up here, but now, she would be working here, too.

With some other guy’s kid?

Fuck that!

She didn’t wait to move on, and to think that I was feeling guilty about telling her I was leaving.

“Our house is at the back, far from the noise of the bar. Don’t worry, we have more than enough rooms. Besides, we rent them out whenever there’s a circuit. Next week, this place being lively some with all the guys from Devil's Legacy and other MCs being here. Maybe, you could work during that. I’m sure Erin won’t mind,” Dad said.

I wondered when he started taking care of stray cats. If he saw one on the street, he would use his bike to scare them off the road so they didn’t get hit. Yet here he was worrying about a complete stranger.

“I couldn’t…” she said.

“Bull!”

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