Page 49 of Patchover Fright Night
“They’re both fine. Jesus fuck, Reacher, I’ve got a fucking kid now. And she’s the cutest little thing you could possibly imagine. I can’t believe this.”
I wished we were talking face to face, but I knew they were all still recovering from the hell of last night, probably even now in the early afternoon of aftermath day.
“How’s everyone there?”
He was silent for a moment, and again I wished we were face to face. “Reacher?”
“Yeah, everyone’s fine. Some drama here and there, what with unwanted tattoos, and broken noses and stuff, the usual. Thosewho took bullets are healing just fine. Everyone’s asking about you guys though.”
Warmth rippled through me at that fact. That I had a huge fucking family who actually gave a crap about me, and about my loved ones. I almost lost all of that before I even found her, and I was always going to be thankful for her appearance in my life, and the way she saved me.
“We could probably have a few visitors later this afternoon. Just not too many. Camille is exhausted, and the baby, well, she’s a baby, you know. She’ll probably cry or whatever. I don’t know. How the fuck am I supposed to be a father? I don’t know the first thing about anything!” Was that panic, all of a sudden? I didn’t know that was coming, but now all I could think about was all the stuff I had no idea how to do. And were we going to raise a fucking baby in the clubhouse? How the hell would that even work?
“Stitch, breathe for a second, dipshit. Anything you’re worrying about, you don’t have to deal with it alone, okay? We’re all here backing you, and any decisions you make about your family and living situation.” That fucker always knew what was in my head.
“Yeah, I was just thinking that a noisy clubhouse probably wasn’t going to help a baby sleep.”
He chuckled again. “Don’t knock it. We know kids get raised in them all the time. I’d say talk to Micro about that, but his childhood isn’t his favourite subject, and he didn’t have the one thing your kiddo will have.”
“Sanity?”
“Prick. I meant that his dad was a real shit, but you’re not, and you and Cammy will be great parents. Look, I’m going to fill a van with old ladies and bring them over later to see her. I know they’re all itching to hold the baby, and make those gooey noises women make.”
Ha. The funny thing though? A few hours later, when Reacher and the old ladies turned up? It wasReachermaking those ‘gooey noises’, as he held my daughter, and stroked her tiny, sweet face. My daughter. I never thought I’d fucking survive to see the day, but here it was. Here she was. Our future.
Epilogue
Igrimaced as Lissatried to help me sit down around the firepit with the others.
“Jesus, babe, I can sit down just fine. It’s my shoulder that’s hurt, not my ass.”
She rolled her eyes, hurrying off to bring me a coffee. She’d not been back all that long from seeing baby VP, so she still had that soft smile that had appeared right around the time she knew she’d get to see her. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before she was craving one of her own, and hell, maybe I wasn’t the greatest example of a son, or a man, but maybe being a dad could be something I’d do well. Who knows.
“So, now we have you all here,” Reacher began, standing among the assorted motley crew of bikers from both chapters, many of us patched up, bandaged, or hunched over with banging headaches.
“Before I hand over to your new President for the Hampshire Chapter, I wanted to say that last night wasn’t indicative of a usual Phoenix MC party.” A few chuckles and laughs followedhis comment, along with a few responses of ‘no shit’ and some ‘thank fuck for that’ grumbles.
“I have to commend you all for not dying last night, thank you. It’s hard to find fitting guys to wear the cuts, and I hate having to replace any. I know last night descended into a shitshow, but it was still an important night-”
“Especially for your dick, Pres,” someone else butted in, and I’m pretty sure that fucker was Torch, even though he sounded gruff as fuck too.
Reacher flipped him off. “As I was saying, welcoming a new chapter into Phoenix MC was a big deal for us, all of us, and I’m hoping our future get togethers will be a little less hellish, and more like they should be. Beer, fun, laughter, and a few less hallucinations and gunshots.”
“What about horses, are they allowed?” Someone asked, and Harley immediately turned and smacked the fucker’s head.
“What? Aren’t you still looking for Harley the horsey?”
“Shut it, prick.”
I guess I wasn’t the only one who saw him pretend riding himself.
“Micro?”
Micro stood up, leaning heavily on the back of his seat until he held his balance.
“Thanks, Reacher. Everything he just said, I want to repeat, but I don’t have the energy for that. Some cunt shot me again last night. Have I mentioned that’s getting really old?”
A few laughs and groans followed his comment, but he was already staring at his old lady, or future old lady, since they never got to the tattooing.
