Page 1 of Mail Order Bride for the Scrooge

CHAPTER 1

LAKE

I haven’t let myself think about what I’m doing while I’ve been on the road for the last few days. Because I knew if I did, I would turn my car right back around and go back to Seattle. I don’t want to go back though.

I want something new, something fresh. I want a life that is all mine.

Going to Jasper Ridge is my chance, even if I’m going to marry a stranger. People have done wilder things, right? I never have before, but everyone should rebel a little in their lives at some point.

At least that’s what I keep telling myself as the last few miles tick by before I get to Jasper Ridge. My GPS is only taking me into town and then I have written directions to get me to the cabin where Gannon lives.

Gannon Parsons.

That’s pretty much all I know about the man, other than he’s former military, he has a dog, and he lives out in the woods.

Honestly, this sounds like the beginning of a true crime podcast the more I think about it. The one time I try to be impulsive in my life and I’m going to be murdered because of it.

My brother will find a way to raise me from the dead just to kill me if this all goes badly. He’s the reason I’ve never given into the little voice in my head, the one spurring me on to make bad decisions and live life to the fullest. He’s always been overprotective, but when I turned 18, I learned I had no idea what the word really meant. Not when it comes to Nico at least.

Nico, or ‘Crucify’, as his Devil’s Saints MC brothers call him, was pissed on the day I turned 18. It was the day after my high school graduation and the same day our parents packed up their RV with all their stuff and put our house up for sale. I’m pretty sure they didn’t look back as they drove way either.

Honestly, I was surprised they stuck around that long. They were only around physically. Barely. Mentally and emotionally was a whole other thing. I’m still not sure, six years later, why they had kids. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out we were both accidents, with me being an even bigger one than Nico, considering he was eight when I was born.

Nico was my protector and the only steady person I had in my life right from the start. Should an eight-year-old boy have been changing my diapers and making sure I had something to eat? No, it was never his responsibility, but he took it on anyway.

When he moved out of the house to live in the DSMC clubhouse, I was heartbroken. He didn’t let more than a few days go by without seeing me and bringing by groceries or anything else I needed.

I remember one day when I had a really hard day at school, and I was angry, sad, frustrated, and lonely all at the same time. When Nico came by in the afternoon, I scowled at him with all the ferocity my little twelve-year-old self could muster.

When he asked me what was wrong, I huffed, “As if you care. Just go back to your little clubhouse. I’m fine here on my own.”

The part about being fine was true. Nico taught me how to be self-sufficient from an early age and gave me the skills he had to learn on his own. Looking back on our childhoods, it could have been worse—our parents could have been abusive or hateful. But it’s not like being neglected makes you feel all warm and cozy.

I could almost taste how much hurt I was radiating that day, but Nico didn’t get mad. He didn’t yell at me or tell me I was being ungrateful. And he didn’t turn around and leave, even though I told him to. He sat on the couch and pulled me into his arms, giving me a hug full of reassurance.

“I’m not leaving you behind, Lake,” he assured me. I wasn’t even aware how scared I was of being left behind until he said those words. “I needed to move out so I could work. Being part of the club means I have people at my back, and because of that, you do too. I had to move out so I could take better care of you. I’m sorry that it means I’m not here for you all the time.”

Even though it made me feel like a weak baby, I cried into his chest. He soothed me and listened to me tell him all about my twelve-year-old woes. Were they big ones? It certainly felt like it at the time, but now I don’t even remember what exactly had me in a tizzy. I do remember how Nico made it all better.

He always made things better until I got old enough to feel like I was being smothered instead of protected. He tried his best to keep his life with the DSMC separate from me. When I turned 18 and our parents hit the road, he didn’t have much of a choice but to let me into that world, at least a little bit.

By then, Nico wasn’t living in the DSMC clubhouse anymore. He had his own place and he moved me in right away. I was grateful, but it was clear he didn’t like me hanging out with his brothers. I loved it because I was surrounded by guys who were respectful of me, probably because they were afraid Crucify would kill them. By then he had worked up to the position as an enforcer for the club.

I was just glad to feel like I had some freedom. But that freedom only went so far. Nico still looked at me like a little girl. He still didn’t want me to date or have my own life. I started to feel like I had to balance on a tightrope constantly.

I started working in retail to save some money and ended up getting my own place. Nico was not happy about it, but he didn’t fight too hard either.

Even without continuing school, which was a huge sticking point between me and my brother, I was able to work up into management. I’m proud of that, but there was nothing about my job I found fulfilling. It was a paycheck and I put in effort because I of my own worth ethic.

I’ve felt lost and unhappy for a long time.

Something clicked inside of me when Nico called me last week. There was regret in his gruff voice, “I have to go out of town on club business. I can’t tell you more than that.” I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me, because I knew he couldn’t talk to me about club business. “I don’t think I’ll be back in time for Christmas.”

My heart sank because we’ve been the only family we have had for so long. We always spent Christmas together, even after he moved out and I was still a kid. He always made the time around the holidays because he knew our parents never would. I always felt bad for the little boy he used to be because he didn’t have anyone around to make the holidays special, not like he tried to do for me.

“Christmas won’t be the same without you,” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice, even as a thought was bubbling up inside of me.

When we hung up, I sat for a long time thinking about my life. Nico had a whole life which involved his club, and I wasn’t a part of it. I didn’t have many friends and my job had become something which wore down my soul. The holiday season was the hardest in retail and I was in the thick of things.

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