party at the compound Friday night, a cookout, and the old ladies and kids’ll be there. It’s a family thing until everyone leaves, then it gets a little rowdier, but even then, it’s just a bunch of drunk bikers telling stories and talking shit. Y’all should come with me. Maiz’ll be there with Scratch, Gypsy’ll be there with Jinx, and they’ll have the baby, and Nome and Mitchey are supposed to be back in town. It’s been a long time since the whole crew was together.”
Nate came back into the room, out of his school clothes, and clean from his shower in time to chime in on the conversation. “We went to the compound today. That place is super cool; they bought a warehouse or something and made it a home with a bunch of bedrooms and stuff. And there’s a foosball table and a pool table. It was pretty cool!”
He snagged a bottle of water from the fridge and sat on the other side of Alex. “And one of the ladies there had this huge, mean looking pit bull, but he was super chill. I think we need one just like him. We should go to this party. It’ll be fun!”
I held up my hands in surrender, “Alright, alright. I’m down. What does one wear to something like this?”
Nate’s lips perked up in a way that I just knew whatever he said next would be sarcastic, and he didn’t let me down. “Probably . . . leather. Lots and lots of leather.”
Alex barked out a laugh but let me off the hook. “Wear whatever you want, Sunshine. There’s no dress code. Jeans, a tee, and your coat, and you’re solid. We’re bikers; we don’t give a shit.”
I crumpled up my trash and tossed it into the bag, then took a swig of my beer when his cell rang.
He pulled it from his pocket, glanced at the screen, and put it to his ear. His greeting was abrupt when he said, “Yeah?” A pause, then, “Alright, I’m on my way.”
He stood and met first my eyes, then Nate’s before saying, “I gotta go, guys. Fucking sucks, but I’ll catch up with you later.”
Then, just like he’d been saying goodbye to us for years, he fist-bumped Nathaniel and bent low, tipping my head up and laying a quick friendly kiss on my lips, and then he was gone.
I was still looking at the door he’d just slipped through when Nate cleared his throat and said, “I think he needs us.”
Confused, I said, “I don’t think so, bud. He said he had to go.”
Nate, perceptive as only children tended to be, shook his head and clarified, “I don’t mean right this second. I mean, I think he needs us in his life. Like, permanently.”
“Nate, is this about your dad?” I asked the question as delicately as I could manage.
“Dad?” he asked, confused. “Why would it be about Dad?”
Still treading carefully, I answered, “Well, you and Alex have gotten close, and I—”
“God, Mom. No. I hate Dad. This isn’t about him. It’s about Alex. Don’t you see? He’s sad and being around us seems to make him feel better. I think something bad happened to him. Just—just don’t push him away, okay?”
I’d always been as honest with him as I could, so I gave him the truth, “I like him too, Nate. I’ll have a mind to your concerns, but I did just agree to us joining him, so I’m not sure where the panic is coming from, but we both need to know that this could go nowhere.” I held up a hand to cut him off. “I’m not saying no, I’m saying, please don’t get your hopes up. Alex seems nice, and I like spending time with him, but things happen, and I don’t want you to get your heart broken if whatever this is with him fizzles out.”
His response was pure teen swagger when he smirked and informed me, “Mom, I don’t get my heartbroken; I do the heartbreaking.”
Chapter Five
Chops
We had a custom job that kept me tied up at the shop for most of the week, so it was Thursday before I was home at a decent hour. I took a shower, halfway expecting Nate to knock on the door and come over again, and when he didn’t, I decided that I’d go over and check in on them when Reagan got home; besides, I needed her number and to make sure they were still coming with me to