Page 63 of Gypsy's Lady
Fury cleared his throat quietly, the noise still enough to end all sound in the room. “Before we begin, is there past business that needs to be covered? Anything outstanding to talk about?” No one spoke. “Okay. This special church was called to hear the petition from Gypsy. Mason’ll chime in with some info from Tugboat after. Gunny, are we good to begin?”
“We are. All phones were securedbeforeclosing the door, and the room was swept after. We’re clear.” He angled his chin towards Gypsy, his eyes snapping in anger. “Not happy about why we’re here, but we’re good to start this bullshit.”
“Gypsy, you want to jump in, or need me to recap what sent you to San Diego, and the things that happened there? It’s not Rebel business, but due to the specialcircumstances, I want to be sure we’re not stepping on Blue Line’s toes.” Fury waited, elbows propped on the table.
“I’ll do my owntalking,if that’s okay.” He paused for Fury’s nod, echoed by Mason. “Some of you here know my background with the Rebels.” He scanned the faces, noting all the new ones. “But a lot of you won’t. Even before the Rebels, I had a place in a club out in Cali. It wasunder false pretenses, which kept me from making it my home, but the hunger for a brotherhood began there. I was acop,and a damn good one. I had apartin a lot of busts, some I know the Rebels would getbehind,because we don’t approve of child abusers or the kind of men who make money off sickness. But that hunger I had to belong to something bigger than myself didn’t go away. Years ago, whileI was still on the FWPD, I met Winger.” Several heads nodded their encouragement. “That man wasclubto the core. He seemed to know what wascoming,because he maneuvered things so when the force failed me, the club was there to catch me as I fell. I didn’t look West, because that door was closed, or so I thought. But more than that it was Winger who made the Rebels feel like home. We lost himjust as I joined, but his legacy carried onwards, meshing with what Mason wanted for the chapter. I found my place and worked at holding it, making myself into whatever the club needed. I found my place, and it was good. The Rebels were good to me.”
He took a deep breath. “There was one night a few months ago where Mason told me to pack my bags. Said I’d be crossing to Oz and partnering witha club there called the Hawks. We had a missionandthe members of the Hawks worked alongside me to achieve our goal.” This felt like a debriefing after a bust now, and he tried to soften his language. “We saved the girls, and in the process, I got my old lady. You’ve met her.” More nods. “Things she’s been through, she’s suffering still. It’s been hard on her, and that means it’s been hard onme. You men had my back through it all, and I thank you.” He reached forward to grip the back of an empty chair.
“Two weeks ago, Mason came to me again and told me to pack my bags. Pack her bag, too. We were headed to California, which for me was full circle, back to where that need began.” Gypsy flexed his fingers, tightening his hold on the wood. “Back to the side of themanI’d first calledbrother a long time ago.” He took a deep breath, looking around at the faces staring at him. “I’m here tonight to thank you for the honor of bearing the Rebel Wayfarers patches. Thank you for the privilege of riding alongside some of the best men I’ve ever known. But I’m also here tonight to tell you I’m handing them back to the club. They don’t belong to me. These things never do. I have treasuredthe loan, and how long you’ve allowed me to keep them, but tonight these patches come home.”
Moving slowly, he shrugged out of his vest and adjusted his grip, holding it by the neck. Gypsy reached into his pocket and brought out a knife. A flick of his wrist unfolded it. He stood still for a moment, hearing nothing but a profound silence in the room. Circled around by mute observers, he set thetip of the knife to the threads holding the patches in place and paused. “Jesus, this is hard, brothers.” He blew out a breath and began snipping the fibers.
“My brothers in loyalty.” He finished the top rocker, shifting his grip to hold it along with the vest before beginning on the bottom rocker. “My brothers in honor.” Swallowing hard, he paired the second freed patch with the first, workingstudiously for a moment to align the edges as perfectly as he could. “My brothers in respect.” Halfway through the center patch he paused and looked up, seeing an array of expressions on the faces surrounding him. “You men mean everything to me. You’re my brothers, and all you need do is callandI’ll answer. My oath to you.” It was silent in the room as chin down, he focused on the work leftto do, making his way through the rest of the threads quickly, surprised his hands had stopped shaking somewhere along the way. “I have no right to ask it—” He slipped his vest on, and shrugged irritably at the strange way it hung, unsettled by the odd weight pulling at his shoulders. “—but I’d like it if you could see your way clear to wish me luck.”
He held out the patches to Mason, straighteninghis spine at the look on the man’s face. Anger and disappointment warred with acceptance, and Gypsy waited to see which emotion would win out. “Here, Mason.”Not my president, not anymore. “Take ’em.” If the anger won, Gypsy knew he’d be facing abeat outfrom the club, not something he’d expected given Mason’s seeming acceptance while at the table with Blue Line. “Take ’em.”
Mason pushed backfrom the table and walked to where Gypsy stood, crowding close, his chest pushing the hand that held the patches back against Gypsy’s body. “You think to leave my club like this?” Mason’s eyes were dark, the grey ring nearly disappeared by the dilated pupils. “You think to leave us behind like this?”
Lifting his chin, Gypsy nodded once. “I’m leaving, Mason.”
Without looking away from Gypsy’sface, Mason called out, “Who’s in the clubhouse tonight that can wield a needle and thread?”
Brute spoke up. “I can, Prez. I will, that’s what you want.”
Gypsy didn’t turn, but kept his gaze on Mason’s face, reading the first hint of something there. “Mason, I’m not staying.”
“Didn’t ask you to stay, motherfucker. You cut your own center and dropped it in church. Ain’t no comin’ back from thatkind of shit, and you know it.” Mason stepped closerandGypsy shuffled to the side, stopping when he pressed up against a body there. Gunny, who was holding out something to Mason.
“Mason.” Gypsy didn’t know if he was asking or warning, but the expression on Mason’s face fractured, the look of anger fleeing and acceptance finally breaking through.
Mason took what Gunny offeredandGypsy finallybroke the stare, looking down to seean RWMCsupport patch in Mason’s hand. “Brute, take the man’s vest.” Pressure gripped at the collar and front of his vestandGypsy rolled his shoulders to shrug it off, letting it fall into Brute’s hands. “Sew on this patch for me, would ya?” He handed over the square patchandGypsy watched the transfer, seeing Brute head towards the table where a sewingkit had already been laid out. “You ain’t gettin’ away from me that easy, Gypsy. I’ve got a vested interest in you still.” Mason leaned close, mouth next to Gypsy’s ear and said, “I’ll be leveraging you soon enough. Stay smart as you always are, and keep Blue Line close. You fuckin’ watch Tugboat’s back, you hear me? You fuckin’ hear me?” Gypsy lifted his chin and Mason grunted in response. “I’llbe calling on you before long. Be safe, brother.” Pulling back, Mason slung his armoverGypsy’s shoulders and looked around the room. “He’s our brother, even if he’s leaving the fold for a time. Rebels forever…”
The room shook with the force of the answering shout, the words as familiar to each of them as breathing. “Forever Rebels.”
***
Kelsey
Tablet propped on the kitchen counter, Kelseydragged a stool over to sit in front of it, chin leanedon one hand. The women were chatting with Alan in the living room, their voices growing softer as they moved away. He had offered to escort them out, gracefully prompting an exit after he noticed how tired Kelsey had become. It was good to see the Rebels’ women, reconnecting with them. Especially DeeDee and Ruby, who had been the first toshow, and now were the last to leave. Quiet descended on the apartment,andshe twisted to watch him come through the doorway into the kitchen.
After studying her for a moment, he tipped his head to the side. “Want me to go, too?” She shook her head. “I’ll be in there.” He thumbed over his shoulder towards the living room. “Come find me when you’re done talking to your girl back home?”
Kelseyjumped off the stool and ran across the room, colliding with him hard enough to rock him backon a foot. His arms closed around her and immediately Kelsey was immersed in a sensation of being safe and loved.Home, she thought,he feels more like home than home ever did. “I love you, Alan.”
“I love you more, baby girl.” He kissed the side of her head, lips buzzing noisily in something she recognizedas sweet, brotherly affection, then placed his hands on her shoulders. He pushed back, setting her aside. “Now ring your girl and then come sit with me.”
Nary answered the call on the first buzzingring,and led off with the first of a barrage of questions that strained Kelsey’s efforts to keep up with. “Do you love him?”
Of course Nary had seen the difference in how Gypsy and she were. Thatwould have been the first thing she’d seen, other than the fact of Alan standing in the same room. “So much, Nary. More than anything.” That was true, and the weighty words felt right rolling off her tongue.
“Does he make you happy?” Kelsey sighed and smiled, and then frowned when Nary made fake gagging sounds. “Hurk,hurk. Stop it. Never mind, I can see it on your face. Your terribly happy facethat I want to squish and kiss.”
“So happy. Happier than I have any right being.”
“Stop it right there. You have just as much right—” Nary interrupted herself, palm slapping her leg in frustration. “No, more right. You have more right than anyone else I know to deserve happiness. Take it for what it is, honey. Take it and run. Take that happy and run with it.”
“I will.” She swallowed. “I am.”Shaking her head, Kelsey said, “Everything feels like a dream, Nary. A good dream. But it’s all so fairy-tale perfect. Who knew I’d find the man of my dreams in being rescued like we were. And who knew he’d know my brother. And who knew I’d be happier than I ever expected. It’s a fairy tale, but this isn’t a bad story. This is a good one.”
“It is a good story, ain’t it?” Nary’s smile was broadand happy. “A really good one.”
Kelsey sighed, propping her chin on her hand again. “The best.”
