Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
After a second to make sure there’s no encore, Stiff looks at us. “Burnout, then?”
Jackal nods. “Fuck yeah.”
41
DAKOTA
After everything that led up to it, Georgia’s funeral was almost anticlimactic, but in a good way. Quiet, understated, and sweet, but also a beautiful tribute to the little sister that I grew up with, the flawed but determined woman she was, and to the wonderful woman she might’ve become if Dillard hadn’t torn her away from us.
It took every ounce of bravery I had to stand up and give a eulogy, and if it hadn’t been for Stiff, Lash and Jackal giving me a pep talk before the ceremony and their encouraging nods through all of it, I might have broken down and never finished.
Dad came, which was nice, and he said a few words, but he wasn’t interested in following me back to the club or meeting my new family. He didn’t straight up insult me, but the disappointed look on his face was more than enough. So I wasn’t going to bring him back to the club afterwards, for a kind of ceremony he’d never understand.
The highlight was seeing my men in suits. I wasn’t lying when I told Lash that he’d look ravishing in it, and I don’t think there was a woman, and maybe even a couple of the men, at the ceremony who didn’t do at least a double take at the sight of them poured into their black suits, with piercings, tattoos and all. And yet, they’re all mine. Even on a dark day like this, it makes me smile.
Much as I’d have loved to have all my relatives watch me ride off into the sunset on the back of a motorcycle ridden by one of the drop dead gorgeous bikers in suits, practicality won out and we used a car to get there. The club has some of those, luckily, since mine is too small to bring all of us along with Logan in his car seat.
It’s been a weird day for him. He’s old enough to understand that something big and sad is happening, but he’s still at the age where as long as I’m okay, he trusts that I’ll take care of him. When he realized that Auntie Georgia would never be able to visit again, there were tears shed, but at the same time it’s too big for him to fully grasp. I had a long talk with a therapist so I’d know what to look for if he was having problems after everything we went through, but so far he’s handling everything well.
My throat chokes up as we walk up the stairs and into the church. For once it’s quiet, other than some mellow rock music on a low volume over the speakers. But most of the club is there, dressed in leathers and jeans, chatting quietly until they notice we’ve arrived. They pull back to open an aisle for me and Logan that leads all the way up to the honor wall behind the altar. Hellfire waits under General’s cut, and my boys follow us up. Crossing the space between is one of the longest walks I’ve ever taken, holding Logan’s hand for comfort.
By now he knows all the people who are letting us pass as fun motorcycle men who love to entertain him, so he’s not scared, but he clutches Mr. Larson and Helmet close.
When I get up past the altar, Hellfire takes a step to the side to give me space in front of where Ice’s cut normally hangs. I’m carrying it in my hands, slightly modified. When I aired my idea, at first the guys were unsure, but it was actually Hellfire who decided that it felt right, both for the kind of guy Ice had been, but also for Logan, who is likely to grow up here, and even if he doesn’t, will always have a part of him that is part of the Outlaw Sons MC.
“This is a new thing,” Hellfire begins, looking out over the gathered bikers. After having experienced the wild parties here a few times by now, it’s so strange to see all the grim faces. “But it’s the right thing to do. We already had a ceremony for Ice when we hung his cut on the wall, so I won’t repeat the whole speech, but I’ll say again that he was a good man, a loyal and caring man, and someone you could always count on in a fight. But in addition to that, he fathered Logan.”
Logan looks up curiously, hearing his name but not quite getting the context.
“A new generation of Outlaw Sons, tied to us through Ice, and now through Dakota, Lash, Stiff and Jackal. This is a small gesture, but a poignant reminder for Logan of where he came from. Usually, I wouldn’t approve making changes to a man’s cut after he’s gone, but I’ve talked to the brothers he was closest to, and when I think back on the kind of man Ice was, I think he woulda liked this.” He gestures for me to go ahead.