Big Timber (Royal Bastards MC: Flagstaff Chapter #7)

Chapter 5

Talia

The smell of the meat simmering in the crock pot gets my stomach rumbling and I pick up the pace of washing the fire truck. All in all, this is one of the endless chores around here that I somewhat enjoy, especially in the summertime.

“No offense to your breakfast, Talia,” Greyson calls out from the other side of the engine. “But I always look forward to Donny’s meals.”

“Ditto,” I call back. “Now, in exchange for my silence, do you want to finish up washing this beast?”

“Fuck off! I told Melissa that if either Donny or I swung that way, I’d leave her for him and wouldn’t care if I gained two hundred pounds in a year,” he says, and I can hear the laughter in his voice, even though Melissa is not half the cook that Donny is.

Greyson and my cousin got married a few years back, which usually results in a lot of inside jokes between us when we’re on the same shifts. No matter which house I’d been assigned to, I probably would have been related to someone there—either by blood or marriage.

Gradually, I make it to the front of the engine about the same time he does, I but throw my sponge in the bucket when I feel my phone vibrate and smile to see a text waiting from Tarak.

Your brother is here. He’s bringing me to your aunt’s house??

“Um, Greyson?” I tentatively say his name, suddenly feeling a little sick. “Why is Tanner bringing Tarak to Aunt Sue’s?”

“Because it’s Sunday,” he responds, giving me a shrug.

“But why ?” I repeat, trying not to raise my voice.

This time he turns to look at me, quietly studying my face. “Does he have work or something today?”

“No. I want him to rest his ankle a bit more.”

“Okay, well, he can do that at Sue’s just as easily. Why are you freaking out?”

“We’ve only been together a week, Greyson!” This time I do raise my voice.

“The key word there is together , Talia. It’d be weird if they didn’t include him.”

“They’re going to scare him off,” I whisper, knowing that my family is a bit extra.

“If you having a big family that enjoys being around each other is a problem for him, I wouldn’t think he’s worth being with,” Greyson’s words aren’t unkind, but they don’t comfort me either. None of them know Tarak’s background like I do, and I’d much rather be around to stop any uncomfortable conversations. “He’s a big boy, Talia. I doubt he’d have gone with Tanner if he didn’t want to.”

I’m sorry. I didn’t think they’d expect you to be there. Is the text I send back to Tarak.

As the day wears on, I continue to check my phone. It’s almost a relief when we get a call to provide back up to an ambulance. Once we return to the fire station, I finally check my phone and smile in relief.

I’m home. Give me a call if you can talk.

Most of the guys are watching TV, so I wander out to sit on the bench in front of the station. I’ve been smiling since I saw the text. I never thought the simple sentence, I’m home , would mean so much to me.

“Hey, babe,” he greets me, answering on the first ring. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“No, I can talk. Unless there’s a loud bell in the background, my schedule’s pretty flexible. How was today?”

“It was fun,” he says, but I can hear the laughter in his voice and wonder what I missed. “Your mom and aunts want to get matching tattoos, but they can’t decide on the design or where to get them.”

“No!” I can’t contain the giggle at that comment and decide to fill in him on the family dynamic. “Fair warning: they’ll discuss it for a year, then Aunt Sue will get annoyed at waiting and go get one impulsively. After that, the others will rush to copy it.”

“And your grandma asked if I could tattoo eyebrows on her, so she wouldn’t have to pencil them in anymore.”

“Tell me you are kidding.”

“I wish. I mean, I know people do that but it’s not really my area of expertise,” he tells me before continuing. “Your Aunt Teri brought some photo albums with her. Four of them, actually. She said she didn’t want to overwhelm me by bringing more than that.”

“Excuse me while I go find a sinkhole and throw myself into it,” I reply, wanting to die of embarrassment. “I am so sorry.”

“You were a damn cute kid, but tell me the truth,” he draws out the words, giving me a moment to brace myself for the zinger I can hear coming. “Your senior prom date was a pity date, wasn’t it?”

“What? How? Oh, for the love of God!” I stutter out a meaningless series of words, not even sure why she has those pictures, let alone why she thought Tarak needed to see them. Taking a deep breath, I collect myself before continuing. “Excuse me while I go set her house on fire.”

“Business that slow? You need to drum it up,” he cracks back.

I’m saved from responding by the alarm sounding and just before I run to grab my gear, he says, “Let me know when you’re safe.”

“Love ya,” I respond without thinking.

Timber

I know she didn’t mean to say it, but I hope to God she means it.

Leaving her aunt’s house today, a dozen of them must have said it to me, along with their farewells. I’m nothing to them, but it’s how they talk. I’ve never met a family like theirs, one that genuinely looks forward to their weekly get-togethers; let alone makes time for each other every week.

Hearing bikes pulling onto Talia’s quiet street, I walk to the living room in time to see Wolfman and Throttle approaching the front door. Opening it, I don’t miss a couple of the neighbors from across the street watching us.

“How are y’all doing today?” I call out, throwing a wave at the neighbors. They suddenly get real busy inspecting the pavers they’re standing on.

“What’s the word?” I ask my brothers in a lower tone.

“That the welcoming committee?” Wolfman asks, tilting his head back toward our audience.

“Guess so.” I shrug.

Throttle holds up a finger, staying outside to take a call while Wolfman enters carrying a bottle of wine and a six pack.

“I noticed Talia was drinking red wine the other day,” he tells me, holding the bottle out to me. “My parents were just at this winery and sent us a case. I figure you might be easier to tolerate if she was drinking so I brought it for her. Not you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I grumble, accepting that and the beer he has before turning to head back to the kitchen. Just having learned about bringing host gifts today, I appreciate the gesture despite the shit he dishes out with it.

“Your limp is nearly gone,” he comments, following behind me.

“It’s not a hundred percent, but I’ll be good to ride,” I respond before indicating Throttle who’s pacing back and forth outside. “What’s going on with him?”

“Dylan went to stay with her parents for the time being. Without Light and Randy, Throttle’s practically working around the clock at The Office and he didn’t want her alone that much. Her flight must have just landed.”

“Flight?” I question, knowing they didn’t grow up that far from here.

Wolfman clenches his jaw, and it occurs to me that Me’ansome was picked up on the road, making flying a safer option.

“How are the Kings’ doing?” I ask next, being somewhat out of the loop on Me’ansome’s family and that’s when it hits me that Randy had an Ol’ Lady also. “Damn, and Connie?”

“His Ol’ Lady’s a mess. Her sister is staying with her and their kids. Ransom wants blood, so Tin has his hands full keeping him in line.” He stops there and I can see him weighing his words. “Gemma and Connie have been friends for a couple of decades, so she’s watching out for her and helping with arrangements.”

“And Joey?” I prod.

Finding it strange he doesn’t mention Axel’s wife, especially since she’s the only one who I’ve had more than passing conversations with.

“Axel’s keeping her close,” Wolfman slowly answers. “I think Dylan suggested Joey go home with her, but that was turned down.”

Joey’s an interesting one. Her mother raised her completely separate from Me’ansome’s world, but that didn’t stop her from looking for him the minute she turned eighteen. The girl didn’t even know she had a twin brother until that point.

Considering her stepfather's involvement in the human trafficking ring our chapter has been tracking, I would imagine the loss of the father she found a few years back has to hit her on many different levels.

“Is Talia home?” Throttle asks, pointing upstairs as he joins us.

“No, she’s at the station until tomorrow morning.” I let him know, nodding at the cold beer that I left on the counter.

“Damn. What’s that like knowing she’s sleeping in a room with a bunch of other guys?”

“She’s not, dumbass.” The comment would annoy me if it came from anyone else but Throttle. There are days I can’t help thinking that he and Justin have a similar problem: their mouths open and the unfiltered thoughts of a ten-year-old boy pop out. “Christ, tell me you play the strong silent type around Dylan?”

“How else do you think she can stand him?” Wolfman chuckles, opening a beer before looking around for the garbage can.

Instead of continuing in the same vein, Throttle shrugs, brushing off our ribbing. It’s the look in his eye that tells me he doesn’t give a damn what we say. He knows where he stands with his Ol’ Lady and looks pretty damn happy about it.

“How’s Diesel coming with finding the men who did this?” I ask, knowing this isn’t purely a social call. “And what did Declan mean the other day, when he mentioned someone could have been keeping tabs on us from the inside?”

“Diesel said he needs another day to find the men that were hired to burn down the clubhouse,” Throttle replies, taking a swig of beer. “Which means he’ll work for twenty-four straight hours.”

“Declan and Axel have an idea of who’s been talking out of turn. They’ll handle it once they confirm it. Don’t worry, you aren’t on the short list,” Wolfman adds before exchanging a look with Throttle. “You spent some time out in Roanoke before you came here, didn’t you?”

I nod, wondering where they’re heading. “Yeah, before that RBMC chapter patched over to the Imperial Knights MC.”

“We know the Northern Grizzlies up in Idaho, but neither Throttle nor I have ever met any of the ones back east.”

“They’re kind of known for sticking to themselves,” Throttle says. “I heard that Vector’s sister handles the books for all three chapters. That doesn’t happen every day in this world, so we were kind of curious about them.”

With that I grab a beer of my own and motion them to the well-worn couches, filling them in on my experiences with the Virginia-based Northern Grizzlies.