Preacher set his beer bottle on the table beside Justin and put a hand on his shoulder, his eyes moving around the table. “How are our boys doing?”
Tank smirked and looked at Blaine as he said, “This one’s thinking about getting a sex change and becoming a chick.”
“Did you say getting into a chick?” Blaine cocked a grin. “How’d you know I have a date later?”
Tank held his gaze and said, “I didn’t. Is Gunner lending you his pussy?”
“A’right, boys,” Conroy said as he sat down between Tank and Blaine.
Preacher sat beside Justin and said, “Hey, son. Are you still okay to check on Grandpa tomorrow?”
A few months ago, Preacher’s father, Mike, had suffered a fall and had moved in with Preacher and Reba. He’d fallen again a few weeks ago. Since Reba ran the offices of Cape Renovations and wasn’t always able to get away, Justin and his siblings took turns checking on their grandfather during the day. Mike was a jokester, like Zander, although he definitely had the grumpy-old-man thing down pat. Mike had grown up with a father who believed in fists as a form of punishment and he had run away at sixteen. He’d met his late wife, Hilda, at seventeen. They’d married at eighteen, had kids a few years later, and together they’d built a life free from abuse. Their new family hadn’t had much, but they’d had a safe, loving world in which to thrive. Although Mike wasn’t a biker, he respected the hell out of the club and supported their endeavors. After all, he’d raised his sons to be worthy of the Dark Knights’ patches.
“Of course. Whatever you need,” Justin said. Mike had opened his heart to Justin early on, becoming the grandfather he’d never had. Like Preacher and Conroy, Mike had taken every opportunity to teach Justin right from wrong. He’d once told Justin that the best thing he could do for himself was to be a good man. Because once you do that, everything else will fall into place. Justin had taken that advice seriously, and it had yet to fail him.
“Do me a favor,” Preacher said. “Lay off bringing him cookies and candy bars, okay? He doesn’t need all that sugar.”
Justin feigned innocence, pointing at himself and mouthing, Who me?
Preacher took a swig of his drink and said, “Seriously, Maverick. He gets all hyped up.”
“Is he still giving you and Mom trouble?” Blaine asked.
“If you mean sneaking out and going to Common Grounds, where he flirts shamelessly with Gabe and any other woman who crosses his path, then yes.” Preacher chuckled and took another drink.
Gabe Appleton was a voluptuous redhead who owned the coffeehouse where they held the suicide-awareness rally each year. Her brother Rod, a guitarist, and Elliott, who had Down syndrome, also worked there. Gabe employed several people with disabilities and fostered an environment where everyone was welcome, which was why, when it had become too emotionally draining for the family to host the rally at the Salty Hog while running the business, they’d chosen to hold it at Common Grounds.
“Your grandfather is worse than you four were,” Preacher said.
“I was a prince among thieves.” Blaine sat back in his chair, eyeing his brothers as he said, “Always catching shit for what my brothers did.”
Justin knew Blaine was only teasing, but he still felt a pang of guilt at that comment. Blaine was only one year older than him, and when Justin had first moved in with the Wickeds, Blaine had rightfully wanted to establish himself as the alpha among the pack. After having a father who rarely remembered to feed him and who used fear as a means for obedience, Justin didn’t trust anyone. He and Blaine had gone head-to-head often, and Justin had run off dozens of times. But no matter how many times he ran away, Blaine and the rest of his family, along with the Dark Knights, had come after him and brought him home. Justin wasn’t ever punished for taking flight. He was told how much he was loved and that the family was there for him even when he didn’t want them to be. Eventually Justin had learned to trust the strangers who had not only taken him in but had also made him part of a much bigger family.
Though Justin and Blaine had started out on rough ground, often battling at home, Blaine had always had his back in public. Justin would never forget the day in