Page 8 of When You Stayed
He let me go for two seconds, and Wesslid his arm over my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “We miss seeing you up at the house. We see Taryn tons, but we never see you.”
My eyes flicked across the garage, landing on the primary reason that I had stopped going to family events at the Ryan house. Ford, the eldest and only son of the Ryan family, never left, and because he didn’t, our dads assumed we’d stick together. Perhaps we would have if Ford hadn’t been a colossal dick while growing up. Even once all our friends had left, he continued to regard me coldly and always with a glare.
Ford didn’t even live with his parents anymore, not now that he was twenty-five. Which meant there really wasn’t a reason to stay away from family dinners up at the Ryan house. Jealousy wormed through me at the idea of Ford living on his own, in that little cottage style house my mother had driven me past once. He probably had a girlfriend or a roommate too. Even if I wanted a cute apartment or house of my own, I couldn’t live in it alone. I had once asked Dad if both Taryn and I could live together as roommates in Rose Ridge. His answer was the same as it was six years ago when I had asked: If I chose to stay in Rose Ridge, I would live under his roof and accept his protection. The only exception to this would be if I wanted to move into the old cabin, which would never happen in a million years. I hated that creepy place.
“I miss you guys too. I’ll have to swing by for dinner or something,” I said into Wes’s side. Once he released me, I moved to the edge of the hood, getting my dad’s attention again.
“Can I talk to you?”
He glanced over his shoulder, then dipped his head. “Of course.”
I followed him as we moved toward the back of the garage where a few old couches were set up. Dad wore his leather cut over a long-sleeved shirt, jeans that had been worn so much, they were barely hanging on, and a pair of brown boots. His hair was mostly gray now, but it was longer and he kept it slicked back nicely. Dad’s nickname in the club wasthe Wolf, and while I didn’t fully understand when that started, I knew everyone referred to him as that. Even all these years later.
“What’s wrong, honey?” His gaze tapered as he stared at me. Isometimes wished I had inherited his green eyes, but it was only his nose and jawline that I’d seemed to get. Taryn looked more like Mom with the shape of her face and mouth. We both got Mom’s blue eyes, and her golden hair, but Taryn’s was a closer match than mine. I had Dad’s smile though, and it was something I always loved being reminded of.
“This is going to seem like a weird question, but did you by chance step down as president?”
He let out a small laugh. “What?”
I focused on the howling wolf sewn into the patch on his shoulder and the one that designated him as president of this club. My gut seemed to flutter with nerves as I wet my lips and tried again. “Did you?”
“Even if I did, Royce…you know I couldn’t tell you. Club business is?—”
I shook my head, interrupting him. “I know, but for something as big as this, I know you would have told me.”
He shrugged as if that were the end of it. “See, there’s your answer. Why are you asking, anyway?” The Wolf of Rose Ridge glared back at me, calculating and assessing if I were a threat. I’d be annoyed if I weren’t completely used to it. Dad had to inspect every angle, check every box even if it came from within his own house.
I tugged at a loose piece of fabric from the couch, unsure how to explain this part. It felt pathetic, but very few people understood my obsession with the Hollow, thankfully my dad happened to be one of the few who cared.
“Rodney is retiring, so I applied for the manager position. He’d consider giving me a shot, but only if I could prove that you hadn’t handed things over. He told me if there wasn’t any town drama started because of our club, he’d give me the promotion.”
Dad tilted his head. “Did he give you a gap of time to avoid said drama?”
“Three months.”
Another flick of his gaze to the back wall where I knew Ford sat. My stomach tightened with worry. Why did he keep looking back at him?
Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on my knees and continued, “Rodney said that the club controls too much in town. That he was one of the few people stopping you guys from having control of one more place in town.”
“That’s a whole lotta shit to spew to the daughter of one of the most dangerous motorcycle clubs in the state.” Dad’s jaw tightened.
Rodney and I had worked closely for years, so it didn’t seem strange for him to speak freely in front of me, but maybe Dad was right.
“Yeah, I suppose. But you’re not stepping down or anything, so there’d be no issues to even worry about, right?”
My father’s gaze fell to the floor. “I’m getting older, Royce. If we do have trouble that comes knocking, then I’m not sure I’m in the best position to protect everyone.”
“Yes, you are,” I replied automatically, without thinking, because my dad was the foundation my entire life rested on. He was a rock, completely unmovable.
His smile was warm and encouraging, but his eyes did that dance where they moved to the one person I didn’t want to inherit this club from him.
“We’ve been talking about handing things down…Wes is ready too.”
No.
His gaze returned to the far wall where a leather cut hung. It was Ford’s grandpa’s, Simon Stone—the original leader of the Stone Riders. “It hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t know how Rodney knows anything about it, but it will happen eventually.”
“You and Wes have been a part of this club for like thirty years or something crazy like that. Please, you can’t seriously be considering this.”
