Page 26 of Tyrant

I make it my mission to lead the fray, stepping through the hedge first and into the yard.

“Gray?” Lark rushes through the front door, dark hair a messy pile on her head secured with a bright purple headband, no makeup, a pair of overalls and a white t-shirt underneath.

She’s so effortlessly gorgeous that my stomach bottoms out. She still has the power to reduce me to a young punk again with just a single smile. My chub is going to be a noticeable problem because apparently, I have no self-control when I’maround her. My mind flashes through a few variations of picking Lark up, tucking her into my arms, thrusting her against the porch wall, and fucking her damn near through it.

“What are you… what’s going on?”

“You said you wanted help turning these dirt beds back into flower gardens. We’ve all got you.” I gesture to the crowd at my back. Some of the youngest kids are already breaking away, laughing and wrestling each other through the hedges, running full tilt over the very gardens we’re here to plant.

My leather and denim clad club brothers clear their throats and shuffle their feet, ready and anxious to be at work. The old ladies wait with much more patience and grace.

Lark’s throat works as she takes in the huge assembly again. “I- I meant that- I thought…”

“You thought that I was going to lend you just a few people? No way, Birdie. You need this done and you need it done fast and right. We might not look it, but we know our way around a shovel and what we don’t know about prettying up a garden, our old ladies can hopefully show us. We’re yours to command.” I sweep my hands, holding them up like I have an entire nation at my back. In reality, I have something so much better. Good men I’d trust with anything, including a job this important and the women who stand at our sides.

Lark smashes her hands over her face, rubbing hard like she might want us to disappear. She’s overwhelmed. I tense up. If she tells us to leave, a few of my brothers might never forgive her.

She moves past me and grasps the porch railing just like she did a few nights ago when I came to pick her up for that ride.“Thank you all so much for coming.” She sounds so uncertain, but her voice stops wavering with every new word. “I’ve never been much for organizing a big gathering and any flowers I’ve ever tried to plant have straight up died. I’m at your mercy here, and I just want you to all know that I’m forever grateful to each and every one of you for coming out.”

I’m so proud of her that I could fucking burst.

The door creaks and Raiden appears, my daughterin his tattooed arms, clutching his black t-shirt, but peeking around his shoulder too, like she’s scared, but also so curious that she just can’t help herself.

Henry follows, half Raiden’s size, shrunk with age, time, and grief. He blinks at the sea of people on his lawn. His face falls. I think we all brace for it, Lark and Raiden and myself, but instead of shouting at us to get the hell off his property and to stop disturbing his sick wife, he brushes at his eyes with the back of his hand and leans against the screen door like he needs the support.

For a few seconds up here, I’m useless. While Lark and Henry are trying to get over their surprise and get mobilized, I take in every detail of my four-year-old child. Not that I can see much of her face past Raiden, but she has a wild head of fine brown hair, slightly curly at the ends, but that might just be the humidity. It’s early morning, but it’s sizzling out here. We’re all going to be burnt bacon in a few hours, even those of us who are tanned and leathery already.

She turns her face slightly to peep at the people on the grass. Have to hand it to the kid, she’s brave. When she spots the kids roughhousing and carousing all over the place, she lets that beautiful little face whip around fully. She’s all smiles andeagerness. She’s got my blood flowing in her and it called out to me from the first second I laid eyes on her. Obviously, there’s not enough resemblance for Raiden to see, or he’s just got too much going on right now to pay close attention. Thank fuck for that.

“Who are you?” Penny asks when she catches me staring.

“That’s our President” Raiden states proudly. “My best friend in all the world.”

Penny screws up her nose. She further proves her courage by giggling. “You don’t look like you do on TV.”

I’m pretty sure the whole yard heard that, because there’s not a brother who doesn’t crack up.

“The president of our club, where we ride motorcycles,” Raiden clarifies. Not the president of the country.”

“Oh.” Penny has to think about that for a second. “Why are you here?”

I finally find my voice. I can’t just stare my daughter down like this, like a real creep, or it’s going to be obvious that something is up. Maybe not to anyone else, but Raiden will catch on fast. “To help plant a whole bunch of flowers for your grandma.”

“I like flowers.”

“What’s your favorite?” Fuck me if I know any.

“Pansies.”

“Pansies. Those are the big red ones with the thorns?”

She giggles. “Those are roses, but they’re okay too.”

Raiden shifts Penny to his other hip so she can look the crowd over. I can’t imagine what she must be seeing. All those great big bears of men full of tattoos, chains and leather, shitkicker boots galore, beards and long hair or no hair at all. Shiny bald heads decorated with ancient ink. There is every age and shape of man here and they come from just as varied backgrounds.

If I was Penny, I’d want to run straight back into the house, but she surprises everyone by wriggling against Raiden until he sets her down. She skips down the steps, barefoot in a yellow sundress, and races up to the first group of boys she sees. She’s her mother’s child because she’s not worried in the least that they’re a good few years older than her.

I shoot them warning glares.Play nice, or else.

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