Page 23 of Two Weddings and a Shoot Out (Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC #9)

Chapter Twenty-Three

M eg walked to the podium and stood by Rascal. What a year it had been. So many changes, but she wouldn’t change her life for anything. She waited for Rascal to welcome everyone, then it was her turn.

“Welcome to the second annual Bluff Creek Commemoration of D-Day. It’s the 81 st anniversary of the Allied invasion of D-Day. After the ceremony, I invite you to visit our memorial. When Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the invasion, he said these words, which we think embody what we should commemorate about the invasion:

They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.

“And with that, I’d like to announce our speaker, Margaret Jamieson, my Ol’ Lady, but also an expert on American war history and specifically the D-Day invasion.”

Meg smiled and nodded.

“Thank you. Today, our commemoration ceremony is a little different. When I came last year and talked about the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, I focused on the numbers and the odds they faced, which were tremendous.

“And I don’t plan on minimizing that because it’s important, but today, I want to talk about courage. Courage is facing adversity, difficulty, or danger. At least in this old woman’s opinion. One dictionary I looked at said that courage was facing something without fear, and I greatly disagree. Courage is facing that trial despite the fear and pushing through.

“D-Day had to have the right conditions to have a chance at succeeding. It needed clear weather with a near full moon to guide the ships. D-Day was actually set for June 5 th but a weathercast showed the day didn’t have ideal conditions. General Eisenhower moved D-Day to the next day, June 6 th .

“Courage is doing what you know is right, even when you might not survive, and so many didn’t survive. US troops were in charge of taking Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. Thousands of US paratroopers died during their drop to Utah Beach. Some were shot out of the sky, and others died by missing landing spots or being dragged down in marshlands. Some seaborne forces also missed their landing spots due to strong currents.

“Despite all this, US troops were still able to advance and make headway. For some, this was the first time they’d ever seen combat, and still they pushed through.

“Some of them were pushing through while missing part of the men they’d deployed with. When they landed, they were in a foreign country, in unknown territory, not knowing what was ahead. All the training in the world can only prepare you so much.

“Sometimes I close my eyes and try to imagine the sights and sounds these heroes were experiencing live and in color. The smell of gunpowder in the air, the loud booms of mortar fire, and the engine sounds of tanks coming forward. The blood, death, and dismemberment that no one could have been prepared for. I don’t want to ever sanitize what had to be traumatizing to them. There was blood. There was loss. Yet they continued. Every trek across a field could end in their death, but… they continued because of love of country, love of family, and a courage to do their duty.

“As we enjoy our food and drink this weekend and our Poker Run and auctions to raise money for the Kansas Soldiers Home, please take a moment and think about the ones who made this weekend possible. The ones who gave all so that others might be liberated.

“We commemorate their sacrifice, whether it was the ultimate forfeit of their life or the surrender of their innocence to the atrocities of war. May we always remember these brave souls who fought for others.”

Meg stood to the side as Winnie and Jesse talked about the gifts they had for families of those who served in WWII and any veterans that registered for the event.

Rascal’s arm slid around her waist, and he dropped a kiss on her head. She leaned against him and waited for the end of the ceremony. She turned toward where the high school band and the choir, comprised of high school students, Bluff Creek members, and Nelson cousins, stood.

As the first quiet drum roll echoed in the quiet park, the hairs on her arms stood up. Then the trumpets echoed, and she swallowed because of the stirring sound.

As the lyrics resonated in the park, she thought about all those who gave so much for her to be standing here today.

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea.

With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.

As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.

While God is marching on.

The lyrics had her reaching for a tissue. As she wiped her eyes, Rascal wiped his face with his hand, sniffing loudly. Rascal had mentioned last night that he looked forward to honoring the sacrifice, but it always stirred up a lot of emotions.

As the choir finished, she gave Rascal a kiss. She wanted to say hi to some of the girls from Jesse’s mechanics class. Tamara, Renae, Stacey, Gabi, and Jody were standing together.

“You all sounded awesome. I didn’t know you all sang,” Meg said.

“Oh, we don’t, but they wanted a large amount of people, so a couple of us promised to act like we were singing for moral support,” Jody said.

“I was hoping I’d see you here, Stacey. I know you graduated, but I didn’t see an official announcement. Rascal and I wanted to get you something,” Meg said, reaching into her purse. She’d tried to contact Stacey’s foster parents for a while but hadn’t had any luck. She’d tucked the card in her purse just in case she could see Stacey this weekend.

“I didn’t have a party. I’ll be staying with them until I turn eighteen on August 1 st . Then I’ll have to move out until I go to college in Emporia,” Stacey said.

“It sounds like that might concern you,” Meg questioned.

“I’m just not sure what I’ll do yet until then.”

“You’ll stay with Rascal and me. There is plenty of room. Or, if you don’t want to stay in our house, there are plenty of other places that we could put you up on the compound. I also know that sometimes they need part-time help in the daycare. If any of you ladies ever need anything, we’re happy to help. I know that almost all our businesses need part-time help this summer if any of you are wanting a job,” Meg said.

“That is really nice. I could just hug you,” Tamara said.

“Oh, you give the best hugs, Tamara, so of course,” Meg said, throwing her arms around Tamara, then hugging each of the girls.

“I might want a summer job. Who would I talk to?” Renae asked.

“Oh, me too,” Gabi said.

“You can call me or Regina after this weekend. We’ll put together a list of open positions and what each entails,” Meg said, hugging the girls one last time before walking back toward Rascal.

It was hard to believe it had been a year since everything had changed for her, but it truly had been the best year of her life. With all the kids joining Bluff Creek and how everyone took care of everyone else, she had plenty of grandkids.

Before she could get to Rascal, Phoebe, Blake, Benji, and Ezra ran up to her.

“Nana Meg, we have a dilemma,” Blake stated.

“Okay, shall we sit down over here and talk about it?” Meg suggested.

Phoebe, Blake, Benji, and Ezra nodded, and she had to wonder what the dilemma was. Once they’d all sat down, she kept quiet and waited.

Blake scrunched her nose up and opened her mouth, then paused and closed it again, shaking her head no.

“You said you’d talk. You and Benji are the ones that it happened to. Ezra and I are moral support,” Phoebe muttered.

“Happened to? Do I need to get Rascal to listen too?” Meg questioned.

Blake and Benji shook their heads.

“Well, if not, then tell me what happened. So, it’s easiest to tell me if you hit all the points a newspaper story does. Tell me who, why, where, what, when, and sometimes how. You may not know the why, so tell me who was involved, where did it happen, when did it happen, and what happened,” Meg said.

“Who is me and Benji and a man we didn’t recognize. Well, I didn’t. Benji thought he looked familiar but wasn’t sure,” Blake said.

“Where is we were over near the edge of the park, close to the pickleball courts. The man was over near the bathrooms for the courts,” Benji said.

“That’s very good. Now, can you tell me what happened?” Meg asked.

“We were tossing a ball back and forth, and it went into the street between the park and pickleball courts. It’s blocked off, so everybody said we could go in the street,” Blake said.

Benji nodded. “When I grabbed the ball, a guy called my name and said, ‘Come here.’”

“I didn’t know the guy, so I ran to Benji and grabbed his hand and told him he should come back to the park,” Blake said.

“I wasn’t going to go to him. He was by the restrooms but standing where it was darker. I got that bad feeling in my tummy,” Benji said.

“That bad feeling in your tummy, or sometimes I get a little weird feeling on the back of my neck is instinct. It’s the same type of thing that helps soldiers on the battlefield. You were smart to listen to that bad feeling. Then what happened?” Meg asked.

“We ran back to the park with the guy yelling, ‘Benji, come here.’ I turned around to show Phoebe and Ezra who it was when we told them the story, but he was gone,” Blake said.

“How come nobody heard him yelling at Benji?” Meg asked.

“It was while the band was playing. At least that’s why Ezra and I think we didn’t hear it because we were close by,” Phoebe said.

“So now that I know all the particulars, I’m going to say not only do we need to tell Rascal, but we need to tell Locks, Hope, and a couple others. You guys are getting bigger, so I’m going to treat you like older kids. My neck gave me that funny tingle when you were telling me because he knew your name and wanted you to come to him. So we need a couple other people to help us,” Meg said.

“See, I said it was a Code Ross,” Phoebe said, patting Benji’s shoulder.

“Yes, I’m sending a Code Ross but also stating who I need since we don’t need everyone quite yet. Okay, sent. Let’s just sit here, waiting,” Meg said.

Locks’ watch and Hope’s phone went off with a Code Ross text saying it involved Benji and listing the other kids. He grabbed Hope’s hand, and they ran to where Meg directed them.

His heart pounded in his chest when he saw Benji’s name, along with the other kids and Code Ross, in the same sentence. He and Hope converged on the group at the same time the others did.

Locks listened, holding onto Hope’s shoulders while the kids and Meg recounted what had happened. He let go of Hope and bent down to Benji, pulling him into his arms.

“I’m so proud of you and Blake. You kept yourself safe and told an adult right away. We’ll try to figure this out, but I think the kids need to have an adult with them or be in an area where we can keep an eye on whoever is close to the kids.”

Locks could feel Benji trembling in his arms.

“Benji, you mentioned he looked familiar. I thought I saw one of your dad’s friends earlier but then told myself I was imagining it. If I showed you a picture of him, do you think you’d recognize him?” Hope asked.

Benji nodded and looked at the picture Hope showed him.

“Hey, he was in the tattoo studio earlier asking about what time the presentation was tomorrow,” Sprite said, her arm around Blake.

“I think we need to send out a notification to everyone with his information and what happened. I think it wouldn’t hurt to include a couple of the clubs that are here who are allies,” Winnie suggested, her arms around Phoebe.

“I’ll walk over and tell War in person, and Winnie can get Sarah and Scoop on sending that out. I agree that the kids need to be in groups and have an adult who is in charge of at least keeping them in sight within an area,” Bear said.

Locks agreed with everything, but he was still worried. Their weekend had exceeded their expectations. They didn’t have just hundreds of attendees. The attendance was in the thousands. There were campers and RVs, along with tents in multiple areas that had been loaned to Bluff Creek from area farmers and property owners. The property owners were receiving compensation from the attendees, but Locks knew it would be impossible to find this guy if he didn’t want to be found. Although the compound was wired with cameras and some motion detectors, the whole town wasn’t. Their businesses in town were. It was a mistake Locks would be suggesting they correct.

“I could use some help until lunch carrying merchandise down from upstairs and restocking the diner. Do you kids want to help with that?” Hope asked.

“Yeah, I want to be inside for a little while,” Benji said.

“I’ll walk them down to the diner and then go take care of my list. I’ll come back for lunch with you all,” Locks said.

Locks held Blake’s hand along with Phoebe’s. Ezra and Benji were both holding Hope’s hands. Blake’s hand was shaking a little in his. He hated that the kids had been scared at what should have been a fun event.

At least they’d been smart and contacted an adult. The kids were young, but his girls learned early to defend themselves. Maybe along with building motorbikes, the kids needed to be in self-defense classes at Winnie’s gym.

Younger kids were taken or disappeared every day, and it wasn’t happening to his kids or grandkids. Maybe the protection of the kids needed to fall to the Originals and some helpers. It wasn’t like he, Baron, and Rascal couldn’t make time. Locks might be in his seventies, but he’d take down anyone who threatened or hurt his family.