A Family Man (21 page)

~ oOo ~

Amy couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face at the sight of the big black Dyna parked outside the school gates. She could feel the eyes of her fellow students boring into her back as she climbed onto the back of his bike. The Freaks were cool; most of the boys wanted to be one and most of the girls wanted to be with one, so them thinking that Joe was her dad didn’t do her street cred any harm at all. As soon as she was settled, he turned and squeezed her left knee. “Ready, Squirt?”

She tucked her thumbs into the loops on the waistband of his jeans. “Ready.”

She loved to ride with him. Ever since she was tiny and would sit in front of him, she had loved it. She had tried to explain what it was like to her friends, but could never fully verbalize how it felt. Sometimes it was impossible to distinguish where Joe ended and the bike started. It was as if they were a single organism as they hugged the road, and when she sat behind him she became a part of it. There was nothing passive about being on his bike, she had to move with him, be as aware of everything around them as he was. As a passenger in a car she was a spectator, watching the scenery go by. On a bike, she was the scenery.

She knew this little run was his way of saying sorry. Although he had been riding again for a week now, he still tired easily and could only manage short distances. Working, too, was proving challenging. Sometimes he would go in for an hour or so, but until he was fully healed, he had to avoid lifting or anything too strenuous and he was getting seriously impatient. For the last couple of weeks he’d been snappy and irritable, and this morning it had been Amy on the receiving end of his bad temper. Yes, she’d been slow getting ready for school, and hadn't turned down the radio when he asked. But there had been no need to rip into her like that, actually making her cry. She guessed Beth had said something to him after she’d left for school, although even her aunt was tiptoeing around him. She’d been in the firing line more than Amy.

Joe pulled up outside an ice cream parlor. He’d been way out of line with her. Every time he thought about the look on his kid’s face as the tore into her, he was wracked with guilt. Beth had been pissed and pointed out, in no uncertain terms, that he had to make it right with her. Just because he wasn’t fit to work or go on runs didn’t mean he could take it out on them. He allowed himself a small smile as they walked to the parlor, and she slipped her hand into his. His kid had forgiven him already.

They sat at the counter, Amy with a huge sundae and Joe a coffee. He grinned as she dipped her spoon in. “I’ll never understand how you can eat that shit.”

“It’s heavenly. Thanks for this, Joe.”

“
Least I could do.” He ruffled her hair, chuckling as she scowled. “I’m sorry I was such a douche, sugar.”

“
S’ok, I know how frustrated you’re getting.”

“
Ain't no excuse.”

“
No, Joe, it’s not. It’s not my fault and it’s not Beth's.” She nudged him with her elbow. “You’re lucky we love you.”

“
Oh yes, I am.”

She took a huge spoonful of ice cream. “Joe?”

“Yes, sugar.”

“
I was thinking. Maybe I’d like to meet my…Barney, again. Would that be okay?”

“
Sure, baby. You don’t need my permission. Any particular reason why?”

“
I just want to know if he’d…If any thing happened…. You know.”

“
You want to know if he’d take care of you if anything happened to me?”

“
Yeah. It’s stupid, I know.”

“
No it ain't, Amy. It’s never stupid to have a contingency plan.” He took her hand. “It scared you, didn’t it? Me getting hurt?”

“
Yeah.” Her voice was tiny. “I never thought about you dying before.”

“
I’m pretty hard to kill, sugar.”

“
I know.”

“
Amy, I promise you that if anything happens to me, Barney will take care of you.”

“
Okay.”

“
But you wanna hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, right?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Okay. I’ll tell him you want to see him. You want me there?”

“
Please.”

They fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Amy swirled her spoon around the last of her sundae. “Joe?”

“Yes, sugar.”

“
What about Beth? Who would take care of her?”

“
Beth don’t need looking after. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”

“
I know, but…”

“
The club would help her, if she needed anything.”

“
How could they? You don’t want her to have anything to do with the club. They don’t even know she exists”

“
I take it by that little statement you think I’m making a mistake.”

“
I know you don’t want what you do to hurt me and Beth, and you think that by not involving us in that side of your life, you protect us in some way. But we are involved, Joe. You have to make Beth your old lady. Introduce her to the club. That way she gets the protection and support she needs from the club as well as you.”

“
Wow, you’ve really thought about this.”

“
She was really worried. She didn’t hear from you for days. If the club had known about her, they would have kept her in the loop. As it was she didn’t know where to turn. That isn’t fair, Joe. You can’t just shove us in a box and get us out when it suits you. The club is a massive part of your life and it should be part of ours too.”

“
Shit, you are one smart kid.”

“
I ain't a kid.”

“
No, I guess you’re not.”

~ oOo ~

Later, as he lay in bed, admiring Beth’s naked form as she sashayed across the room to join him. He pondered on Amy’s words. In the past, whether it was with his ma or Beth, the sticking point had always been the club and how much time he dedicated to it. He didn’t want it to come between him and Beth or it to be the thing that finally drove his kid away. Maybe she was right. The way to prevent that from happening was to involve them in that part of his life.

She slid between the sheets and he pulled her into his arms. “Amy thinks I should make you my old lady, properly, y’know. Introduce you to the club.”

“Oh. And what do you think?”

“
I think she could be right.” He grinned and started nibbling at her neck, concentrating at the place, just below her earlobe, that made her squirm. “I’m guessing a property patch is out of the question." She nodded, and he continued. “A lot of old ladies have their man's name inked on them. I like the sound of that?”

“
Mmm.” Beth wriggled as he squeezed her nipple. “Where would you put it?”

His hand slowly moved down her body, stopping at her hip. “Maybe here.” It carried on its slow journey, stopping again at the top of her inner thigh. “No. Here.”

“But no one would see it.”

“
I would.”

He worked his way down her body, kissing, biting and licking, until his tongue touched the spot he’d suggested. “I’d see it every time I was here.”

Beth moaned and grabbed at his head. “Mmm, while you’re there.”

As soon as his tongue touched her clit, she convulsed like she’d been shocked. He growled, and pushed her legs further apart and continued his merciless assault, sucking, licking and gently nipping as she became more and more frantic, her body arching and her fingers grabbing his hair as her orgasm built. He pulled away and she whimpered, wanting more.

“Dirty bitch.” He growled as he roughly turned her over, pulled her onto her knees and pushed himself inside her. “This what you want?” Slowly, he pulled out and slammed back inside her, harder this time, causing her to moan.

“
Again Joe. Please.” Laughing, he slapped her ass and started to pick up the pace, faster and faster, until he could hold back no longer. He came hard and fast and collapsed onto the mattress, breathing heavily.

“
Shit Beth, you’re gonna kill me. I’m still a sick man, you know.” Rolling over, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. “So what do you say? We gonna make this official?”

“
Yeah, we are.” She kissed him. “I love you, Joe Taylor.“

THIRTY-ONE

The house was rundown and would cost half the purchase price to renovate. The location, however, was perfect. It was set back from the road and away from prying eyes but close enough for Amy to still be able to walk to school or visit with her friends.

“So what do you think?”

“
It needs a lot of work.”

Joe smiled as Beth slipped her arm through his. “Yeah. It does.”

“Going to cost a lot to put right.”

“
Yeah it will.”

“
Do you like it?”

“
I love it.”

“
Okay, then.”

“
Joe, we have to think about this.”

“
What’s to think about? I like it, you like it. We can afford it. So we’ll have it.”

“
We can afford to buy it. But this looks like a money pit to me.”

Joe put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Beth, it will be perfect. Trust me.”

~ oOo ~

Six months later and Beth was still having trouble seeing how this was ever going to be perfect. Most of the interior had been reduced to rubble as walls were knocked down and floors ripped up. Joe had called in favors from far and wide to get the work done. Many of the patches worked in construction, which meant they could keep labor costs low. But it did mean that a lot of the work was being done in the evenings and weekends, and every so often the workforce would disappear on runs for a few days. This, combined with the fact that payment was in food, beer and weed, also meant that, although they were sticking to their budget, the project was already weeks behind schedule.

They were due to move out of Joe’s apartment in six days' time and had nowhere to live. Joe had suggested they stay at the clubhouse, which was met with a resounding ‘no’ from both Amy and herself. Beth was okay with going to the occasional party, and got on well with his brothers and their old ladies, but she’d never be comfortable with the fact that Joe had fucked practically every one of the whores that hung around the patches. Something that more than one of them had, not too subtly, made her aware of.

Amy had only there been once or twice to see Barney, and she hated it. The girls intimidated her, and she had no idea how she was supposed to behave around the patches. As a result, a compromise had to be found. Renting somewhere would be expensive and
money was tight, despite Beth working full time in a local accountant’s. Joe had acquired an RV for them to stay in until the house was habitable. Amy had not been impressed and had announced that it was time for Barney to step up and let her stay in his guest room. This, of course, had caused more arguments. There was no way Joe was going to let Amy stay there; she was his kid and would be living with them. Finally, Beth had stepped in and pointed out that it made sense for Amy to stay with Barney. The three of them in such a confined space would probably result in murder, and whether Joe liked it or not Barney was Amy’s father, and over the last few months, they had developed a relationship of sorts. Reluctantly, Joe had agreed, on the condition that she called every day, and she spent at least some of the time with him and Beth.

“Hey, sweetheart. You looking for Tiny?”

She started at the voice behind her. “Shit, Samson. For a big man, you sure do walk soft. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”  She shook her head. “No, Joe will be here later. I just wanted to see how things were going and check how many mouths need feeding.”

“Things are going great. At this rate, you should be in by Christmas.” He chuckled at the skeptical expression on her face. “Not necessarily this Christmas, though.”

“
Funny.” She patted him on the chest. “So who’s here?”

“
Barney is making a start on the wiring. Wolf is re-laying the floor upstairs and you got a couple of nomads, Fox and Spider, installing the bathroom.”

“
And you?”

“
Oh, I’m here to entertain you with my wit and good looks.”

“
Samson, you can entertain me any time you like. If you’re not doing anything here, how about you come back with me?” Samson arched his eyebrows, and she laughed. “I’ve got a shit load of packing to do, and every time I mention it, Joe and Amy disappear.”