Page 16 of Marx

I give her a look. “Be nice. He’s the Pres. And it was just a crush I had. I mean, I get it, he’s thePres. He has all of us looking for guidance and he’s running businesses and keeping us all safe. It’s a huge job. He doesn’t need me mooning over him. Besides, it’s not like he’s the only man in the world.”

“Exactly!” Vi says, pointing at me. “He’s probably the first hot guy you saw when you left that cult place. There are plenty more fish in the sea.”

I nod, a grin tugging at my lips. “Plenty more pebbles on the beach,”

“Plenty more links in the chain,” Vi snorts.

“Tons of hotdogs at the barbecue,” I chortle as Vi bursts into giggles.

Bee starts to wriggle in my lap, obviously hearing the party of two and wanting to join in, but it’s her nap time so I quietly shush her and bounce her in my lap, gently settling her.

“Here, let me take Bee and put her to bed, then I’ll be in to help get you out of the chair, OK?” Vi gently shifts Bee’s weight from me to her, and I can hear her whispering in Spanish to my little girl as she settles her in her room.

I’m not too sure how I’m going to maneuver myself into my room, but I’ll give it a go. If the Keep taught me anything, it’s to be hardy. I grip the rims of my wheels and try to propel myself forward, but it tugs something fierce in my shoulder, causing white hot pain to glance through me.Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the heck are you doing crazy lady? Sheesh,” Vi slaps my hands off the wheels and then shoves me in the direction of my bedroom. I really hope she’s better at steering a stroller than she is a wheelchair. The woman is not only a speed demon, but is also terrible at judging little things like furniture and doorways.

She moves me into my bedroom, flicks on the brakes and moves to flip up my foot rests, guiding my feet to the floor. She readies herself to help me stand, but instead of awkwardly standing behind me, she moves to my side, slips one arm under my arm, twines her forearm through mine until our hands are clasped tightly. With a nod I push myself to stand, Vi offering not only stability, but taking some of my weight. With a flick of her foot the wheelchair brakes are off and she kicks it out of the way, so she can move with me until we’ve turned half a circle, and my butt rests on the edge of the bed.

“Down you go,” she says cheerily, guiding me down until I’m lying against no less than six pillows.

“Thanks Vi. How did you know how to do all that?” I ask on a yawn, my eyelids growing heavy.

She gives me a sad smile. “Jazz has Rheumatoid Arthritis. I know she doesn’t look it, but it’s something that plagues her. She has flares where things get bad, her mobility is affected, and then other times she’s fine. She’s in a good space at the moment, but there have been times that haven’t been easy for her.”

I grip Vi’s hand and give it a squeeze. “She’s lucky to have you,”

“I’m lucky to have her. And you crazy girl gang biatches.” She tucks a throw blanket around me, beams and then puts on a stern face. “Now go to sleep.”

I huff out a breath and weakly wave at her as she quietly leaves the room. Vi and I may be new in terms of my friendships with the Ol Ladies, but as with everyone in the MC I’ve grown to love her dearly. I love everyone dearly, and now it’s time to love myself a little more. I’ve been given a pretty big second chance to live a full life, even more so than I have been doing. So, starting from tomorrow I’m going to do things that bring me joy. Drawing, reading, time with family, and maybe, if I’m really lucky, I may even start dating. A smile plays on my lips and my eyelids grow heavy. Watch out world, Lovely Landry is coming.

Chapter 7

Marx

After catching up with some of the brothers I head for the back porch, thinking about all the roads that led us to this place. I knew each time we patched in a brother, they were loyal to a fault. All the single brothers I’ve spoken with this afternoon have all echoed the same sentiment. They want revenge, but they won’t make a move until the brothers with Ol Ladies and families decide what they want to do. At the end of the day the safety of the DRMC is paramount, whether we want revenge or not.

I make my way to a large swing seat that overlooks the backyard, the mobile homes all parked neatly in a row.

“Mind if I take a seat, sweetheart?” I quietly ask, Sage’s dark eyes staring at me from the other end of the porch swing.

“Yeah, of course, Uncle Marx.” She tucks her feet beneath her, leaving me space to settle my bulk into the soft cushions.

I raise a brow and she gives me a small smile. Pushing off with one foot, I let the sway soothe the thoughts bouncing around in my mind. I’m sure it’s doing the same for Sage as well.

“I just want to say thank you, Sage, for what you did for Fox. I know it was scary, but you did the right thing.”

Her bottom lip trembles and a lone tear runs down her cheek as she nods, quickly swiping at it. “I’ve been doing classes at the community college, you know? I want to be a nurse, to help people, but -” she blows out a breath, “that was a lot scarier than I thought it would be.” She finishes in a small voice.

“Hey, hey, look at me, Sage. What happened that day is not something that would or should ever happen to you. That day, shit, it was more like being in combat.” I run a hand down my face, ignoring where my mind went that day. I can still feel the cold sweat down my back when my mind took me back to deployment. “Your life, Sagey-girl, your future, will be within the walls of whatever hospital you wish it to be. Although if you wanted, I know damn well that after seeing you with my own eyes, you could handle being out in the field, working on the wounded. Shit, what are you? 19 years old?” she nods at me, eyes wide, “At 19 you handled shit a lot better than well-trained, fully grown men. Whatever you wish to do, sweetheart, you’ll fucking do it and do it well.”

She stares up at me, eyes identical to her aunt’s, then she launches at me, arms around my bulk as she bursts into tears. I pat her back and wait it out.

“Thank you, Uncle Marx.”

“Anytime, sweetheart, anytime.”

A rustling sound catches my attention, and Blanche stands leaning against the corner of the porch, a sheen to her eyes. It’s not often I catch that woman looking so emotional, so I must have done something right. She mouths the words “thank you” at me and I give her a simple nod. It’s my role as Pres to look after everyone in the club.

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