Renegade Reject (6 page)

I ignore his explanation and ask him a question, one that I probably know the answer to.  “How did you get home?”

“Same way I always do, on my bike.”

“You shouldn’t be riding your bike when you’re drunk.  You’re gonna get hurt or hurt someone else.”

“Don’t start that shit, girl.”

I just shake my head and start to walk from the room, but before I can make it past her, Mom grabs my arm.  As her fingernails cut into my skin, she starts to whisper in my ear.  “If I catch you with one of the members again, your dad won’t be able to stop me from giving you the beating you deserve.”

I jerk my arm away and continue to my room.  Once inside, I throw myself on the bed.  Memories of the night flicker through my head like scenes from a movie.  The thought of his lips on my mine lingers in my mind.  Thinking aloud, I say, “She can do whatever she wants, but she’s not gonna keep me away from Preach.”

Chapter Four

DAISY

“Are you sure you’re okay with us going on this ride?” Grams asks as she fills Uncle Holt’s saddlebags with the last of their clothing. 

I look around the driveway and see Gramps climbing on his bike.  Uncle Holt is locking up the house, preparing to go on a charity run.  The club is riding to earn money for Gram’s sister’s cancer treatment, and the event just happens to be taking place the same weekend as my graduation.  “I’ll be fine.  Mom and Dad will be there.”

Grams narrows her eyes at my lie.  She knows, just like I do, that there is no way Mom is going to take the time to come to my graduation ceremony. Why would she?  Dad’s a crapshoot.  If he’s sober, he won’t miss it, but that’s unlikely.  He hasn’t been truly sober in years. “I just hate the idea of you being up on stage and no one there to see you. You deserve to have your family there cheering you on.”

Sneaking up behind me, Uncle Holt wraps his arms around me.  “I can stay behind if you want, Daisy girl.  Your Grams can ride with Wayne, and I’ll be here for you. One less bike isn’t going to make that much of a difference.”

Laying the back of my head on his chest, I smile.  “No way. Go raise some money for Aunt Marylyn.”

“Are you sure?” he asks, tightening his hold on me.

Nodding, I reply, “Yes, I want you all to do this for Aunt Marylyn.”

After saying our goodbyes, I watch them ride away, and then make my way home. It only takes a few minutes to get to my house. When I walk in, I see Mom and some strange guy sitting on the couch.  He’s nuzzling the side of her neck as she rubs her hand up and down his leg. 

When I shut the door, he pulls away from her and looks toward me.  “I didn’t know this was going to be a party, but the more the merrier.”

I cringe, as he looks me up and down.  The leer on his face causes bile to rise up in my throat.  “I’m not part of any party.  I’ll be leaving soon.”

“No need to rush off.  We could have lots of fun.”

My mom laughs his remark off as her hand continues its journey to his crouch.  “Forget about her.  She’s never any fun.”

Fun?  I’m thinking a threesome with my mother would be anything but fun.  “Mom, did you forget that today’s my graduation?  It starts in two hours.”

She shrugs, obviously not caring that her only child has reached a milestone.  “As you can see, I have company.  I can’t be rude and leave him to go to your little thing.”

I want to argue, to beg her to be there for me, but I don’t.  Instead, I walk straight to my bedroom.  As soon as I step inside, I pull out my phone.  After a few rings, it goes to voicemail.  I know it’s no use, but I leave a message anyway.  “Dad, you need to call me.  Graduation starts soon, and I really want you to be there.”

When I hang up, I walk toward my closet and start getting ready for the biggest day of my life.

PREACH

“It’s quiet in here today,” Reese says, looking around the clubhouse.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so empty.”

“I know, man.  It’s like a damn ghost town.” Holding up my empty beer, I lift my chin to the prospect tending bar. “Bring me another.”

Before I get my refill, Maker sits down beside Reese and me.  “I can’t believe my little baby is all grown up,” he slurs out before motioning for another drink. 

He and Reese start to talk, but I ignore them and look around the room.  Only a few of the old timers are hanging around today.  The rest of the brothers are out on a charity run.  Kidd asked Reese and me to stay behind to watch over the club.  We haven’t had any trouble in a while, but it’s never a good idea to leave the place unguarded. 

Anger in Reese’s voice grabs my attention as he growls out, “I’m telling you, today is Saturday.  You’re so trashed that you don’t even know what damn day it is.”

I shake my head at them.  Maker is always drunk.  I don’t know why the fact that it’s Saturday matters.  “What are you talking about?”

Reese’s eyes cut to me.  “This fucker was just telling me that Daisy’s graduation is on Saturday.  He can’t wait to see her get her diploma, but he’s so damn drunk, he doesn’t realize that it is Saturday.  He’s here drinking instead of watching her graduate.”

It takes a second for his words to click in my brain.  Daisy’s graduating, and she didn’t even tell me.  I knew that she was still in school, but I just never thought about her graduating.  I was homeschooled. There’s no way in hell my father would have let me go to public school, so I never had a graduation ceremony. Even so, I still realize that it’s a big fuckin’ deal.  There’s no damn way her mom would take the time to go to shit for Daisy, and with her grandparents and Holt gone on a run, she’s doing it alone. 

I don’t even think; I just stand up and start walking toward the door.  Just before I step outside, I look back toward Reese.  “You call me if you need me, but I’m not letting her walk the line without anyone there.”

A smile spreads across his face.  “I got this.  You go be with your woman.”

DAISY

“Daisy Mae Anderson,” the principle calls out with a smile. 

I step onto the stage, not looking into the audience.  There’s no one there for me, so there’s no use in looking.  I’m all alone, just like I knew I would be. The selfish part of me wishes I had taken Uncle Holt up on his offer to stay with me, but that wouldn’t have been right. 

As I take my diploma from her hand, my principle leans forward.  “I’m so proud of you, Daisy.  I know that getting here hasn’t been easy, but you never gave up.  Congratulations.”

I walk off the stage, replaying her words in my head.  She has no idea how true they are.  Working all the time and taking care of all the stuff at home has made studying nearly impossible, but I did it.  I’m a high school graduate. 

As soon as I step down, a pair of arms circles my waist.  I know its Preach before I even turn my head. “Congratulations, Little Flower.”

I immediately melt into his arms, letting the delicious scent of him surround me.  “Thank you.”

Without waiting for the ceremony to end, he leads me outside.  We walk to his bike, neither of us saying a word.  I climb onto his bike not knowing where we are headed.  I don’t really care.  As long as I’m with Preach, I know everything will be fine. 

He drives us across town to a deserted park.  As soon as he gets off, he pulls me with him.  Leading me to an old picnic table, he picks me up and places me on top of it.  He steps between my legs and places his hands on my face.  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?  Why would you go there alone, when I could have been with you?”

Hesitating, not wanting to tell him the truth, I finally mumble out, “I didn’t think about telling you.”

“You didn’t think?”

I shrug.  “It was just graduation; not a big deal.”

His hands tighten on my cheeks.  “Not a big deal?  Baby, you just crossed a milestone, one that only happens once.  It was a really fuckin’ big deal.”

I shrug again.  “You showed up.  That’s all that matters.”

“Tell me why you didn’t say anything.  I pick you up from work every night, and you didn’t say a word.  Why the fuck not?”

Shit! I don’t want to tell him the truth, but I know he’s gonna keep on until I do.  I might as well just go ahead and get it over with.  “I was embarrassed.”

He looks shocked at my answer.  “What the hell are you talking about?  What would you have to be embarrassed by?”

“My mom couldn’t care less if I graduated or not, and my dad is too drunk to notice.  I really didn’t want everyone to know that I had to go to my own graduation alone.”

He blows out a frustrated breath before moving closer to me.  His chest is pressed against mine, and I can feel his heart beating a fast rhythm.  “Dammit, Daisy.  If you had told me, you wouldn’t have had to be alone.”

“Yeah, you would have come because you felt sorry for me.  That’s why you showed up, isn’t it?”

He jerks away, as if my words are a slap.  “What the fuck?  Why the hell would you think that?”

“My parents don’t give a shit about me, Preach.  My grandparents and Uncle Holt love me, but it’s not the same.” I know I sound like a whining baby, but I don’t care.  This day has been hard; beyond hard.  “If my own parents don’t care, why would you?”

“Fuck, sometimes I forget how young you are.”

His words cut me to the core.  I don’t want him to think of me as a kid. With Preach, I want to be a woman.  “I’m not a child.”

He shakes his head.  “I know that, but you’re still young.  If you weren’t, you’d know that feeling sorry for you has nothing to do with why I showed up today.”

“Then why did you?”

He stares at me for a moment before stepping closer.  “I came because you’re mine.”

“What?” I whisper out, not believing what I’m hearing.

“I told you when we were at the Lords’ compound that you were going to be claimed by a brother. I just didn’t tell you that the brother would be me.” The words barely leave his mouth before his lips crash down on mine. 

Chapter Five

DAISY

Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I smile into the mirror.  I haven’t been able to keep the smile off of my face for at least a month now.  Even though Mom doesn’t like it, I’ve spent nearly every day with Preach since my graduation.  I’m his, even though I don’t wear his brand. He picks me up after work, and sometimes he takes me for rides.  There’s nothing better than being on the back of his bike with my arms wrapped around him.  He ends every night with a kiss, each one more heated than the last.  I swear if my birthday doesn’t hurry up and get here, I’m gonna spontaneously combust. 

“We need to hurry.  Preach is waiting for me,” I rasp out as I take one last look in the mirror.

“With all of the club pussy at the party, I doubt he’s just sitting around waiting for you to show up,” Leah says with a sarcastic laugh.

“Preach isn’t like that.  He’s a great guy.”

She steps in front of the mirror, pushing me out of her way.  She fluffs her hair before pulling lipstick out of her purse.  “He can’t be any better than Timber. That man is a sex God.”

Leah and I have been friends since we were both in diapers.  Her father was a member of the Renegade Sons before he died.  No one is sure what happened to him, but I’ve heard that he turned on the club, and they took him out.  The Renegade Sons didn’t hold his actions against Leah and her mom though. They’ve continued to care for them since his death. 

While growing up, Leah and I were really close; best friends forever, I thought.  But since she turned eighteen last winter, she’s become a completely different person.  She started stripping the day after her birthday and turned into a club girl a few days later.  Since then, she has made her way through most of the brothers, including my dad. 

“Timber’s a great guy,” I reply, not sure of what else to say.  Yeah, Timber is hot, but I’ve never really thought of him in that way. Then again, I’d never really thought of anyone that way, until I met Preach.

“He sure is, and he’s got a monster dick.” She laughs, knowing that she’s making me feel uncomfortable.  “You should see his piercing.  He has bolts running from the head of his cock all the way to his balls.  They feel fuckin’ amazing.”

“His thing is pierced?” I ask, shocked. 

“Yes, his dick is pierced,” she answers, rolling her eyes.  “You sound like such a baby.”

“I’m only a couple of months younger than you.”

Sticking her lipstick back in her purse, she turns around to look at me.  “Yeah, but you act like you’re a twelve year old, instead of nearly eighteen.”

Deciding its best just to ignore her attitude, I start walking toward the door.  “Come on, let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later, we pull up in front of the clubhouse.  There are people everywhere not just brothers, but their families too.  Everyone is here and beyond ready for the annual Fourth of July cookout. 

“I don’t know why they let kids come.” Leah says, staring toward a group of kids playing around back. 

I smile and wave at Reese’s daughter, Pebbles, as she leads the other kids in a game of tag. She has her red hair pulled back in a lopsided ponytail and is wearing the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. Everyone knows that Reese is not her biological father, but she’s his daughter, even if they don’t share the same blood.

“You used to love coming to the cookouts when you were a kid.” She told me about every one of the cookouts and family parties, since my mom never let me come.  I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Preach asking my dad if I could come.

She narrows her eyes at me.  “That’s before I realized how much more fun could be had when all the minors were gone.”

Her words are meant to remind me of my age and make me feel like a kid.  Instead, they just piss me off. She has been saying shit like that for months, ever since she started sleeping with the members.  It’s like she thinks spreading her legs makes her more important than me.  “When did you become such a bitch?”

She stares at me for a second, trying to decide how to respond.  I can tell that she wants to lay into me, but something behind me draws her attention away.  By the way she’s pushing out her tits, I would bet that something is one of the brothers.  I look over my shoulder just in time for Preach to lean down and place a soft kiss on my lips.  “Hey, Little Flower.”