CHAPTER THREE
MASON
I’m physically and mentally exhausted by the time I pull up to the clubhouse. Even with my body sagging, a surge of energy encompasses me. I’m magnetically wired as men and women pour out from the entrance and begin making their way over to me.
“Welcome home, Mason,” Hydro says as he shakes my hand and follows that up with a pat on the back. His strength is nothing to sneeze at because my entire body vibrates from the impact.
As I stand to my full height and stretch my arms above my head, I respond, “It feels good to be out of the truck. My body still feels as if it’s on the road.”
A few of the others that I haven’t met yet come up and introduce themselves, as they go to help me grab my luggage, an SUV comes rolling down the dirt path that leads to the parking area. The chestnut hair on Mane’s head can be seen through the windshield and my smile broadens.
“Excuse me,” I tell the others as I step around them and jog over to her vehicle. Once she’s put it in park and turns off the engine, I rip her door open and lean over her. I plant a long, succulent kiss on her lips as I simultaneously release her seat belt so I can help her out of the car.
“Hey,” she sheepishly says as she places her hand in mine as I help lift her out of her seat.
“Hey back,” I reply with an ear-splitting smile. “It’s so damn good to put my eyes on you, beauty.”
A slight blush paints her cheeks as I draw her into me and wrap my arms around her shoulders. I don’t give a fuck about personal displays of affection as I bury my head in her neck and the feeling of home swamps me. All the time spent away from my family and when I had to go into hiding doesn’t measure to the loss I’ve felt every time she came for a visit and had to leave. Being left behind by the woman that has all but stolen your heart and soul is a feeling unlike any other. The helplessness a man feels watching his woman drive away or board a plane weighs him down.
But thankfully, that time has come to a close and I’ll no longer live my life looking over my shoulder or being wary of leaving my house. I can ride my bike and let the freedom of the open road soothe me and be my therapy. Even when I had a new identity I wasn’t comfortable being out in the open because that’s how she got me last time. I was minding my own business and the next thing I knew I was swerving around a car and ended up plunging into the creek to avoid an accident that could’ve and most likely would’ve killed me.
Pulling myself out of that dreadful mental path, I lean back and watch her eyes water. Lifting up my thumbs, I wipe the stray tear with the pads and kiss the trail left behind from her drops. “This is a good thing, beauty. Don’t cry.”
“It’s so damn good to have you home, Mason. I can’t help it,” she hiccups as she buries her face into my chest. My eyes meet Gunner’s for a moment and the grin on his face as he watches his daughter melt into me has me sending him a slight nod which he returns. He and I have an understanding—I don’t hurt his daughter, love her like she deserves, and I have a future that consists of me living on this side of the grass.
“I know, sweet girl, I know,” I murmur as I hold her close. While everyone continues to mill around, my focus is on her. I don’t care that I’ll be up against her uncles and cousins, as well as her father, because I’ve already gotten their seal of approval. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s mine, plain and simple. And if she needs to cry out her emotions into my T-shirt, so be it.
When she has herself under control, she leans back and smiles. “Come on, Mason, it’s time for you to meet my dad.”
“You’re late to the ballgame, girl,” Gunner says, joining us. “I’ve already had that pleasure.”
“Were you nice?” she asks, her words hissed through gritted teeth as she squints her eyes at her dad..
“Me?” he asks, appearing to be aghast. “I’m always nice.”
“You most certainly are not!” she argues. “Remember Crane?”
“Crane was a moron. And speaking of, who names their kid Crane anyway? His parents set him up for failure. No father alive would approve of their daughter dating a man with that name attached to him.”
“Dad! You pulled out a shotgun and told him you needed a crane to join your bird collection!” Mane yells.
“It was a good line,” Gunner excuses. “I thought it was fitting.”
“If you had a bird collection, which you don’t, it might have been slightly funny. But you inferred that you were going to stuff him and hang him on your wall! Who does that?” I burst out in laughter because during the time I’ve had to get to know Gunner, I don’t think he was inferring anything, he was dead serious. “Hey, it wasn’t funny, mister.” She turns her glare onto me before slapping my shoulder with the back of her hand.
“It is,” I demand. “If I had a daughter, he’d have had a buckeye in his ass without any forewarning. I have to agree with your dad here, Mane. Why would you even bring a boy home with a name like that?”
“Don’t take his side, Mason. He’s always looking for a new sidekick to get into trouble with and I’d rather you weren’t that person,” she warns, narrowing her eyes at me. “And Crane was the captain of the football team, he was popular, and he wanted to date me. Me!” she says, emphatically pointing her finger at herself.
Gunner leans over and whispers, “He was a pussy. His mannerisms were more girly than Mane’s. Plus, I think he pissed himself a little when I pulled out my shotgun.”
“Dad!” Mane says, stomping her foot. “What’s wrong with you! Weren’t you the one always preaching to me about judging people?”
I hang my head to hide my amusement from the duo because Mane is the furthest from being a girly-girl than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s down-to-earth and dresses for comfort, not to impress. It sounds like this douche canoe was the kind of guy who put product in his hair. He probably even pressed his jeans.
“People, yes. Boys with the name Crane, no.” I glance up at Gunner and have to choke down the second round of laughter that tried to escape because he looks disgusted, as if he swallowed a lemon. His face is that sour looking.
“It wasn’t his fault that his parents had no tact when picking out his name. He was a good person and he made me happy,” Mane defends this boy, which has my shoulders squaring in response. Jealousy isn’t an attribute I have normally, but for some damn reason when she sticks up for this fucker, my hackles rise.
“Mane, he wanted to date you for one reason only,” Gunner retorts. “He wanted an in with the club. How do I know this? Because he was talking to Bruiser about what it took to become a member. He figured if he was dating you, he’d have an easy in. Except… he didn’t ride and he had a pussy name, so no, you’re worth more than being used, daughter of mine.”
I have to agree with him. What kind of asshole does that to a girl? While I’m not happy that she’s been so defensive of him, and of course, I’m not a female, I know that when the captain of the football team shows an interest, girls usually go gaga for them. She is worth more than a stepping stone into the club, in my opinion.
With the way Mane has tightened up, I decide there and then that this topic needs to have a swift change before father and daughter come to blows in the parking lot. But first, Gunner needs to understand that he should’ve been more tactful or should’ve kept that information to himself. “Gunner, do you really think telling her that earned you any points in your favor? That should’ve been a private conversation between the two of you when there wasn’t an audience in attendance.” Gunner sighs before he hangs his head. I doubt that he’s put in his place often, and never in front of his brothers.
“You’re embarrassing our daughter again?” Cameron asks, having come up while I was speaking. “Gunner, if you keep that shit up, she’s going to leave, head to another country, and I’ll never see my girl again. She’s an adult, try treating her like one!”
“She’s my baby girl,” he mutters. “It’s my responsibility to keep her safe and protected.”
“Be that as it may, she’s grown now, she’s no longer that starry-eyed teenager who will fall for any slick line some poser throws out.”
“She could be fifty and I’ll still be taking names and kicking ass if it keeps her safe,” Gunner says, his volume growing louder the more he talks.
One of her uncles, Kruger I believe, steps forward, saying, “You can’t kick anyone’s anything when you’re geriatric needing a wheelchair to move your old ass around.”
“Wheelchair or not I’ll still kick your ass, motherfucker.” Gunner is steaming mad now, just the thought of not being mobile offending him more than anything else anybody has said throughout this entire confrontation.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Cameron, Mane’s mom and Gunner’s old lady interjects, stepping between the duo who are now at a standoff. “This is supposed to be a welcome home party for Mason, not a showdown between officers who are old enough to know better.”
I bite back my laughter because while both men are obviously older than me, neither one is ready to be put out to pasture. They’re still in great shape and honestly, I wouldn’t want to meet either one in a dark alley.
Wanting to get my woman away from this madness, I ask, “Wanna show me where I’ll be staying, beautiful?”
“Yeah,” she whispers, her eyes never leaving her dad and uncle. “Might be for the best if I get the hell out of here before I forget I’m a lady.”
“Don’t let them get to you, baby girl,” I suggest. “I’m not sure why they are trying to get under your skin, but it’ll be for the better if we don’t give them what they want.”
“You’re right.” She sighs, shaking her head in disappointment. “I don’t know why he always gets to me, but he has a way of digging his way under my skin like a splinter that I can’t pluck out. There are times when he’s like a small child, and others, he’s that overprotective daddy bear. There is no in-between.”
“He runs either hot or cold, huh?” I ask, wanting to understand the dynamics between her and Gunner. He’s told me a few things in confidence about their past and the lengths he went to in order to keep his family safe. I can understand why he’s as overbearing as he is, but he needs to find a happy medium that works for both of them. If he keeps going down the road he’s on, all he’s going to accomplish is pushing his daughter away.
“That about sums it up,” she conveys. “Once we go back down, he’ll act as if nothing ever happened. He’ll sweep this under the rug, and we’ll never discuss it again, which is what drives me crazy. Because it’ll occur in the future at some point since that’s just how he is.”
I’m not sure what to say in response, what is there that can be said? So staying in the safe zone and not taking sides or explaining how a man thinks in regard to his family, I keep my lips sealed and simply squeeze her hand that’s tucked with mine.