Page 9 of Rags's Awakening
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Rags sat onthe front porch holding a bottle of Dos Equis in his hand and staring out at the darkness. Every now and then a spark of fireflies lit up the branches from the oak tree. The clang of dishes, the low murmur of television sets, and the occasional voices of children playing in their front yards punctuated the night. Megan, Keith, and their kids had left an hour after dinner. Rags’ mother must’ve told his dad about Julie being back in town, because they left him alone with his thoughts on the porch. The truth was he didn’t know how he felt. Julie had been out of his life for the past several years, and he’d pushed all the memories and feelings of her in the dark recesses of his mind.She had been the one he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but she betrayed him. After he’d gotten past the anger, he told himself it was better he found out she was a two-timer sooner rather than later.
It was Julie who had insisted on a full-blown citizens wedding. In his mind, they were already hitched when she agreed to wear his property patch, but he wanted her to be happy, so he agreed to it. And what he could never understand was why she wanted the whole shebang if she was fucking another dude behind his back. Rags never could make sense of it, but after he left her sorry ass, a barbed wire had gone around his heart, and he spent the last several years partying and screwing sweet butts, club girls, and the occasional one-night stand with a citizen. But one thing he made sure of was that he never hooked up with a citizen more than one time. It was a rule he made a long time ago, and he still stuck to it.
Damn, I was crazy about that skank. I gave her everything. She better not think she’s gonna come back into my life because I’m not having it. She’s dead to me. Fuckin’ dead.
“Nice night.” Rags’s father’s voice broke in on Rags’s thoughts as the screen door shuttered open. “Summer-like nights bring back all kinds of memories and feelings.” His dad sat down on one of the cushioned wicker chairs.
“Yep,” Rags said.
“It makes me think of times when I was a kid with your grandparents, or when you were young and your mom and I would watch you play softball at McKinney Park. Or when I first saw your mom and knew she was the one for me, even though she didn’t know it at the time.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, it makes you think about memories like that.”
“Even the hard times in life.”
“I’m okay, Dad. Julie was a long time ago. I’ve moved on.”
“Your mom doesn’t think so. She wishes you’d find a nice girl to settle down with. Your friend Throttle has a wife and so does Animal and Diesel.” He laughed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the names you and your friends use.”
“They’re my brothers, and when I want an ol’ lady, I’ll get one. Right now I’m fine.”
“I know. We just don’t want you to let what happened with Julie ruin the rest of your life.”
“It hasn’t. It was a long time ago. I’m good.” Rags took a long pull on his beer. “You know, you have a kickass grill.”
His father chuckled. “I do. It was expensive but worth every penny. I want to grill every night. I plan to do it in the winter too, even if it’s twenty below.”
Rags laughed. “I know you will, and Mom will be fretting about you getting pneumonia.”
“Yeah, but at least I’ll have a perfectly grilled steak. The trade-off will be worth it.”
Father and son laughed, and Rags was glad for his dad’s company. For too long after he’d joined the Insurgents, their talks were stilted and tense, but in time his dad and mom accepted that the club wasn’t just a passing fancy: it was his life, his blood, his strength. It didn’t mean that they liked him being in the MC, or that they didn’t worry about it, but they reached an understanding that made their relationship with him and even his club brothers good.
“I’m gonna be heading out to meet up with Clara.”
“Your mother told me. I’m glad; I worry about her. The murder of that young woman has me and your mom on pins and needles each time Clara goes out. It doesn’t seem like there was a connection between the young lady and the man who killed her. Do you know anything more about it?”
“No. Women always have to watch their back; it’s just the way it is. The asshole who did it is a wimp, probably a mama’s boy. He picks on women when they’re the most vulnerable.”
“Maybe it’s just a one-time thing. He may have been her neighbor or something.”
“Maybe.” Rags’s jaw clenched. “Chances are pretty high he’ll do it again.”
“We live in a crazy, violent world. I don’t understand it.”
“The world has been violent ever since the beginning of mankind. There are good people and bad ones. It’s just the way it is. The good gotta be extra vigilant to either stay out of harm’s way or to eliminate the bad. That’s the way life is.” He glanced at his phone. “I’m gonna head over to the theater. I’ll go in and say bye to Mom.” Rags pushed up from the chair and sauntered into the house.
Thirty minutes later he was parked on the sidewalk in front of the theater. Clara’s car was parked in the side lot and, from his position, he had a perfect view of it. A smile skittered across his face when he pictured how she’d pout and sass because he came to escort her home. He didn’t care. She was the youngest of the four of them, and his job was to make sure she was safe.
As he settled back to wait until Clara got off work, the smart-ass clerk at Owen’s nursery popped into his mind. She acted like such a know-it-all, but he had to admit she was a looker with her dark curls tumbling down her back in a thick, soft wave. And those dark brown eyes were deep, luminous, and flat-out beautiful. Rags shifted in his seat as he remembered her small waist, soft hips, and a pair of tits he could get lost in. He’d spotted a tat on her left bicep; it was a phrase or something, but he couldn’t make it out.
A smug smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he recalled catching her checking him out more than a couple of times.Shewas interested that’s for damn sure.If she hadn’t been acting so bitchy, he may have hit on her.
He shook his head, scattering the image of her from his mind. He exhaled a long breath. After Clara was safely back home, he’d hightail it to the clubhouse and have some fun. Melanie would give him what he needed; the club girl with brown hair and brown eyes just like…Fuck!He took out a joint, lit it, and inhaled deeply. Tilting his head back, he exhaled, the smoke hanging lazy in the air.
“Rags?”
