I shook my head and looked out the window. The cars we passed seemed to be sitting still. I looked over at the speedometer and my eyes bugged out of my head. Luke drove my Mercedes like he drove a Harley.
“You in a hurry or something?” I almost shouted at him.
“I like this car. I might get one,” he said, raising his left arm that he had thrown over the top of the steering wheel to glance at the needle on the speedometer-the speedometer that was hitting the one hundred mile per hour mark. I rolled my eyes at his unconcerned expression.
“You’re gonna get a ticket,” I chastised.
“I know people, babe,” he said with a wink and of course, I melted. He could speed. I didn’t mind.
When we turned off the highway and onto the long gravel road that would lead us to the clubhouse, Luke entered into full blown LLC mode.
“Remember what I said, Dallas, and remember your promise.”
“What promise?” I asked, my heart beginning to beat heavy in my chest and my bitch meter slowly climbing. Luke gave me that don’t-be-a-bitch look. Maybe it was the tone of his voice or the “don’t embarrass me comment” but I immediately punched the bitch in me in the face and sent her back to her dark cell.
“To be cordial.” Oh yeah, that.
“I promise to be good and I’ll try to not be a bitch,” I said, holding up the scouts honor symbol in hopes of lightening the mood. Surprisingly, it worked.
“That’s all I ask, beautiful.”
Ahh, the “beautiful” word. It got me every time-along with the wink and the smirk and the “babe” and the white t-shirts and the lips. My thoughts of Luke were interrupted when I saw all of the motorcycles lined up in front of the club house.
“Holy shit,” I mumbled. There had to be fifty bikes there, along with several SUV’s-all black and all Cadillac. Luke laughed at my expression and his happiness was contagious. Instead of being nervous, I was now practically elated to meet them all.
Luke pulled the car into the garage next to his truck, which I last saw at the hospital. How had it got here? I reached for the handle to get out, anxious to meet everyone, when he tightened his grip on my hand and pulled slightly so that I turned to look at him. He smiled when he saw my face.
“I love that excited look in your eyes. I love how you are willing to embrace this and all of the chaos that comes with it. I love you.” My body sagged with his words and tears burned the back of my eyes.
“I love you too, baby,” I whispered, so overcome with the emotion on his face that the tears that were burning my eyes only moments before were now threatening to spill over.
“This is your family, Dallas. The ones you have met, love you. The ones who are anticipating your arrival, love you. I know you will make me proud.”
“I will,” I managed to choke out. I took a deep breath to stifle the sob that was building in my chest. I was so lost in the depth of Luke’s blue eyes that I had not seen anyone approaching the car. My door was swung open and I nearly jumped out of my seat as I was greeted with the sexiest, raspy voice I had ever heard.
“I’ve been waiting all day to meet this sexy bitch.” Without anyone telling me, I knew instantly, that this was Brooklyn.
She was everything I imagined her to be. Her long, dark dirty blonde hair was braided to the side and an orange bandana covered her head. She wore the brightest red lipstick that I had ever seen and it worked perfectly with her light blue eyes. Her black tank was tucked into blue jeans, and God must have known that I would need a discussion topic, because her rhinestone belt buckle was identical to mine. Faded tattoos covered the tops of her breasts and her arms, and I could tell that this woman had lived this life for quite some time.
I didn’t have time to process much more, because she was pulling me out of the car by my arm before I could even look to see if our boots had the same rhinestone studded heal.
“Ooh Luke! She is a sexy bitch, and she has style! I’m Mama Brooklyn and I told Ronnie that if he didn’t get me over here to meet this woman that had stolen Luke’s heart, I was going to cut his balls off.” I was in love. I had never had feelings for a woman, but I could easily see myself living the rest of my life with her.
“Hi,” I managed to squeak out. She had me fully engulfed in a hug and was squeezing me as if I were her long lost son back from a tour in Afghanistan.
“Brooklyn,” I heard Luke say from somewhere behind me. “Meet my girl, Dallas Knox.”
Brooklyn held me at arm’s length so she could take in a full view. She said my name again, mostly to herself, then looked me in the eye.