Page 1 of Raven (Sinners Revenge MC- Rapid City, SD #6)
Sydney
I looked at the truck and tiny trailer hooked together in my Uncle Billy’s driveway and sighed. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asked, and I turned to look at him.
“What choice do I have? If I stay here, I’m going to end up like her, and that’s the last thing I want,” I replied, and he cast his eyes down with a nod.
My mother, Uncle Billy’s sister, had royally screwed up my life, and even from the grave, she was still fucking with me. When I was six, she dropped me off with her brother and took off for a ‘life on the road’, not looking back once.
Last year, we received word she had passed away from liver failure, and I knew her hard life had finally caught up with her. I thought she was finally at peace, and maybe I could be too, but my luck was shit and my mother was a bitch, so I knew her bad luck was going to land on me one day.
It took ten months before it did, and now, I’m looking over my shoulder everywhere I go. I can’t live like this, and Uncle Billy suggested a fresh start in a new place might be the answer to all my problems.
“Are you sure he’ll give me a job?” I asked, and Uncle Billy stepped closer. “I can’t go all the way there and not be able to work.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder and tried to reassure me.
“Trust me. Rapid City is where you want to be. The Sinners are a good group of guys, and as soon as Raven knows you’re my niece, he’ll jump at the chance to hire you.
” He paused and added, “You’re the best mechanic I’ve ever seen, Sydney.
You have to give yourself a little grace. ”
I wasn’t sure about his suggestion, but at this stage, it was the only option I had.
He said that Raven, the Sinners Revenge MC’s Road Captain, was looking for someone to work in his shop, and they were busy all year round.
Uncle Billy had suggested it might be a way to get this anchor untied from around me.
I hadn’t told Uncle Billy the exact reason I was in so much debt, but I suspected he knew it revolved around my mother.
Even when he offered to pay, I still couldn’t accept his help.
It was my mother’s debt, after all, and it fell to me to take care of it.
He’d bailed her out her entire life, so the last of her problems were mine to solve.
When he offered to use most of the money he’d saved, which was for his retirement, I refused.
“I need to take care of this on my own, and I can’t let you spend all your money on me.” I tried to reason.
“You’re my niece, and if I can help . . .”
I held up my hand and stopped him before he started on his normal rant about men taking care of women. He was old school, and while I appreciated everything he’d ever done for me, I had to finish this on my own.
“I’ll be okay, Uncle Billy. You’ve given me more than anyone could ever ask of another person, and this time, I need to be able to stand on my own two feet.”
“I can call Raven and tell him you’re coming,” he suggested, and I shook my head as I gave him a hug.
“I’ll get the job on my own, and after everything is taken care of, then maybe I’ll come back and be the one to take care of you.”
He stepped out of the hug and offered me a tight smile.
“I know this is somehow connected to your mother, and I hate that you won’t let me help, but I understand why, even if I don’t agree.
” He shrugged and added, “We both know you won’t come back once you pull away, and I don’t blame you.
This isn’t the place for you, and I just wish I could see the masterpieces you’re going to create. ”
I turned my head, not wanting him to see the tears building in my eyes, then I fixed a smile on my face and turned back to him. “I’ll make sure to send you pictures of every new bike I create.”
He and I were never big on mushy, sentimental goodbyes, so he stepped back and simply said, “Be safe, Sydney. I love you.”
“I love you,” I replied and turned to get inside the small truck.
Turning over the engine, I fixed the mirror and threw my hand out the open window as I pulled out of the driveway and turned the truck east. From Oregon, it would take three to four days to get to South Dakota, and as I left the only family I had left, knowing it would be the last time I would see him, I couldn’t help but let a tear fall.
Uncle Billy was retired, and he had devoted his entire life to taking care of me and fixing my mother’s problems. He deserved to have a life, and I couldn’t ask any more of him.
So, he was sending me to a place where he had friends.
Friends I hoped could help me crawl out from under the debt my mother incurred before she died.
A debt that could cost me everything if it wasn’t paid back.
I hated her for putting me in the situation to leave my only family and having to pay back something that wasn’t mine to pay, even if she was already dead.