Blade (Silver Shadows MC #1)

Chapter Four

Beck

I waited until we were outside, out of hearing range for Grams, before I let him know how I felt about this whole situation.

“Blade, I can go to the store on my own. I can drop everything off at the clubhouse when I’m done.”

He walked around the side of the truck and opened my door.

“You heard Grams, the club pays.”

“Well, you clearly don’t want to go—”

He turned, interrupting me before I got the chance to finish.

“It isn’t about what I fucking want. This is my job for the club, and I do what I’m told.”

“So, you don’t have a choice?”

“I made my choice when I joined the club. Let’s just get this shit over and done with.”

He stared at me, and I realized he was holding the truck door for me. I climbed inside, trying to understand the man. He acted like I killed his dog one minute, and a gentleman the next.

After sliding behind the wheel, he backed out of the driveway.

We rode to the store without a sound between us. It would have been awkward if not for the low volume of the radio.

I watched out the window as the small town I grew up in passed by in a blur.

It seemed everything in my life was a blur lately.

I didn’t sleep well at night. The days just trudged on until they all meshed together and I didn’t know one day from the next. I wasn’t living my life. I simply existed, with no significant moments to one day look back on. Those moments stopped when I lost him.

Nothing had mattered since that day.

We pulled up to the market, and Blade and I headed for the front.

Manny’s Supermarket was the epitome of a small-town grocer. I felt as though I was walking into the past once again when I stepped through the doors.

I grabbed a shopping cart and noticed that Blade grabbed one too.

Looking at him, he must have read the question on my face and said, “Get everything you need. I have a few things to pick up for the club.”

“Blade, we can get done faster if we stick together. We’ll waste time looking for each other when we’re done.”

He stopped for a minute and looked at me. “When you’re done, I’ll meet you at the front of the store. No need to look for anyone.”

I watched him walk off without another word.

Never have I enjoyed watching a man walk away from me more. I shook my head and tried to rid myself of my ridiculous thoughts.

As I walked through the store, adding things to my cart, my mind wandered through time. How often did he and I walk through this same store, picking up groceries for Grams?

She always enjoyed cooking for a crowd.

My heart broke all over again with the memories.

“Micah, go grab the eggs and the juice and the milk while I get the chips and the snacks.”

“Becca, we should stick together. We can get done faster if we aren’t looking for each other through the store once we have our lists finished.”

I looked up from my list.

“How big do you think Manny’s is? I can see the other side of the store from here.”

Micah put his hands on the handle of the cart, boxing me in with his arms.

“But this way, we can give all the church ladies something to gossip about. You know, the good girl and bad boy misbehaving in the grocery store.”

He laid his chin on my shoulder, and I laughed.

“Pretty sure the whole town knows there is nothing gossip worthy going on with us. Everyone knows my mother well enough to know that I am the good girl, not because I choose to be, but because she has everyone watching me to make sure I don’t step even a millimeter over that line.”

I elbowed his stomach to move him back.

“Now go get the things on your list before you get me in trouble.”

“Fine. When you’re done, I’ll meet you at the front of the store.”

That was such an odd memory.

I looked back in the direction Blade went. It must be the combination of Blade’s words and being back in Manny’s shopping for Grams.

I expected that the longer I stayed in town, the more the memories would return.

Turning to start my shopping, I ran right into another cart.

“I am so sorry.”

Looking up, I saw a familiar handsome man in a suit just staring at me and gasped. “Grant? Grant Nicholson? Is that you?”

Grant Nicholson moved to town in my senior year of high school. He was always nice, attentive, if not a little smothering. We dated a few times, but that was me once again going through the motions expected of me.

“Beck Washington!” He closed the space between us, wrapping me in a hug.

See? Smothering.

“When did you get back?”

“Less than a week ago. I came back to help Grams.”

He leaned back, holding on to my arms. “I am so happy to see you. Have dinner with me.”

It was more of a command than a question, but that was Grant.

“I can’t tonight. I actually need to get my shopping done and get back. Grams has plans for us tonight.”

“Ah yes, her dinner with the bikers.”

“You know about that?”

“Beck, the whole town knows. Willow makes dinner every Saturday night for that club.”

I noticed Grant didn’t call my grandmother Grams.

Everyone in town called her Grams.

“I didn’t think that would be something you would be interested in.”

“Interested, no, but I need to monitor Grams. I’m sure you could tag along if you like.”

Grant looked over my shoulder when he answered, “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

I jumped when I heard Blade’s angry retort.

“He’s right. It would be a bad fucking idea.”

I looked back at Blade and narrowed my eyes at his mirrored sunglasses, but before I could communicate how rude he was being, Grant touched my arm.

“Beck, we can have dinner another night.” He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, producing a card. “Call me tomorrow and we can make plans.”

He leaned over to kiss my cheek, and I swear I heard Blade growl again. Grant looked up at him and smiled. He turned and headed to the front of the store to make his purchase, and I stood there watching him go.

“Stop eye-fucking Nicholson so we can do what we came here for and get shit back to the clubhouse?”

And he was back to being a jerk.

“It shouldn’t take me long. This isn’t a big list.”

“I figured you would have been done by the time I was. Instead, I come back and find you fucking flirting and making dates. We haven’t got all day to hang around while you get some.”

I stood there speechless as he grabbed my list and walked away.

I didn’t even want to be here with him in the first place, and now he just acted as if I wasn’t. Well, if that was how he wanted to act, then he could do it himself. I turned toward the front doors and headed back to the truck to wait.

Leaning against the truck scrolling through my phone, I sighed. Moments later, I looked up and saw Blade walking toward me, irritation clear on his face.

The truck beeped beneath me, signaling the doors were now unlocked. I stood up away from the truck, intending to help load the groceries, when Blade snapped, “Just get in the fucking truck.”

“I can help you load the bags.”

He stopped me with a look in my direction, and I could see the muscle in his jaw tick.

“Fine. I’ll get in the truck.”

The gentleman stayed in the store, I guess.

I didn’t understand why he was so mad. Ok, yes, I was supposed to be shopping and instead I was talking with Grant, but Blade lived in this small town. He should have known how it was when you ran into someone at the store. It would have been rude to ignore Grant and just do the shopping.

When he climbed into the truck himself, I decided to be the bigger person. “Blade, look. I’m sorry I delayed the shopping, but—”

He cut me off. “Anything that starts out with ‘I’m sorry, but’ isn’t an apology. It’s a fucking excuse, and I don’t need to hear your excuses.”

I blinked at him slowly.

“Wow, I try to be the bigger person and apologize, and you just can’t show any grace. I was catching up with a friend from school. You know how small towns are.”

“A friend from school?” Blade scoffed, turning to look at me. “Grant Nicholson is no one’s friend. The guy’s a fucking douche.”

He turned back and started the truck, signaling the conversation was over as far as he was concerned.

I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

I didn’t know why I even tried.

Once we made it back to the clubhouse, we silently got out of the truck as Blade headed inside a large brick three-story building.

“Aren’t we going to bring in the bags?”

“That’s what prospects are for.” He walked toward the doors, and I had no choice but to follow.

I didn’t know what to expect when I stepped inside, but what I saw was certainly not it. To the left of a very large open room was a long wooden bar along the wall. There was a huge mirror behind the bar with various bottles of alcohol lined up on shelves in front of it. To the right was a large L-shaped sectional sofa angled toward a large flat-screen TV. Two pool tables and a half dozen large round tables, each surrounded by eight to ten chairs, filled the middle of the room. There were motorcycle parts mounted on the walls, and bikers spread out in the room.

“Prospects! Go get the groceries out of the truck. Come on, I’ll show you where the kitchen is.”

I followed Blade through a doorway on the far side of the room beyond the bar. One that led to a hallway with multiple doors and a stairway at the end with double doors I assumed led to the outside. On the right side of the hall were two doors labeled MEN and WOMEN. Bathrooms, I believed.

To the left, I followed Blade through a set of swinging double doors into the largest kitchen I had ever seen. Opposite the swinging doors we just entered were two refrigerators, two stoves, and a double oven on the wall. To the left was a large, over-sized double sink, set in a wooden countertop that ran the entire length of the wall, and two dishwashers set beneath it. A long wooden table sat in the middle of the room, perpendicular to the counter with the sink.

Around that table were Grams, Rachel, and five scantily clad women. Five women that were looking at me with something between curiosity and animosity.

“Ladies, the prospects are bringing in the groceries. Grams, I will leave the introductions to you.”

Blade walked out of the room without a word to me.

“Beck, come in and meet the girls. You know Rachel, of course. This is Brandy, Crystal, Tiffany, Jade, and Amber.”

The women were a mix of blondes and brunettes, a redhead and even one with jet black hair.

I barely squeaked out a “Hello” when four men walked through the door carrying two bags of groceries each. They placed them on the table and Grams thanked them.

“Ok, ladies, let’s get to work.” Grams and Rachel started emptying the bags and the ‘club girls’ started gathering cutting boards, knives, and pots and pans.

“So, Beck,” one girl with dark brown hair said, not sure which one it was because Grams just gave me their names but didn’t specify which was which. “Are you and Blade together?”

Rachel looked up and with a warning in her voice murmured, “Brandy.”

“What?” Brandy shrugged. “I’m just wondering if Blade is now off-limits.”

“No, I am not with Blade. I am not with any of the guys. In fact, I am only here to help Grams. I’m not looking to land me a biker.”

“Girls, you know Blade isn’t interested, so it doesn’t matter if Beck is with him or not. He has made himself off-limits.”

I looked over at Rachel, curious about Blade being off-limits to the club girls. She looked back at me and winked, and I wondered what that meant.