She didn't blame her mom though. Raising a child alone was difficult, and she didn't have an extended family to help out. They'd had family time in other ways. Mostly the sort that involves hard work and chores. Every Sunday after church they spent a few hours cutting coupons. It was fun. Well, kind of.
Kaylie’s mother wasn't the sort to kick up her heels or laugh at something just for the fun of it. That had been Kaylie's dad. The joker, the prankster, the life of the party. She missed him each and every day. Her mom did too. It was obvious what she was thinking about when Kaylie caught her gazing out the window or just staring into space. She did that a lot.
Dad had been the one who came up with the fun things to do. He always had a plan or a game to play. But he could be serious too, like about making sure Kaylie knew that she had self worth. He'd instilled that in her early.
'Don't be a pushover Kaylie. Stand up for yourself.'
She'd listened to him when he said that. She'd heard.
She was still thinking about her father when they pulled up to the camp grounds next to the fair. Devlin parked the bike near a row of Harley Davidsons. A bunch of people waved at him but he just nodded and helped her with her helmet.
"Are you hungry?"
She shook her head.
"Thirsty?"
She shook her head again.
"Do you need to use the facilities?"
"No, thank you."
He grinned as if that were the cutest thing he had ever heard. For some reason, it annoyed her that this big tough man was treating her like a puppy. A desirable puppy, but a pet all the same. She frowned at him.
"What’s so funny?"
"So polite. It's adorable."
Her cheeks got warm as he leaned down to kiss her. It was only their second kiss and this time it was in broad daylight. She sighed as his lips pressed into hers. His arms slid around her waist to her lower back. His hands were warm and-
"Dev! I hope you're hungry! We're grilling already man!"
Devlin lifted his head with an exaggerated sigh. Kaylie giggled at the look on his face. He threw his arm over her shoulder and walked toward the group of bikers. One of them, a biker with flaming red hair, let out a low whistle at the sight of Kaylie.
"Is she new? Man, put me on the list for some of that."
One of the other bikers, the other one with spiky black hair who often trailed her, elbowed him in the side. Hard. It looked like it hurt. Devlin walked past them, ignoring them completely.
"Ow man, what the fuck? I was just saying I'd be down for sloppy seconds."
"Not this one. Just shut up."
Kaylie wasn't sure what she'd just overheard. Devlin didn't seem too concerned as they walked down a short slope to a flat barbecue area near the lake with about twenty picnic tables. It was meant for families most likely but the entire area was completely over run with bikers. Then again, Kaylie saw a few kids running around here and there. Bikers had families too.
She grinned a little bit at the incongruous sight of a huge tattooed man in leather lifting a little girl in a ballerina costume onto his shoulders. As soon as the man saw Devlin and her, he walked over. In fact, it seemed like everyone started to come over. They were swarmed in minutes as people approached to give Devlin their respects.
"This must be Kaylie. I'm Bob and this is Sally. Congrats on graduating, honey."
The big man held out a beefy hand. Kaylie shook it shyly before reaching up and shaking the adorable little girls hand, making her giggle.
He'd told them about her. When?
People waited politely to meet her and to bring Devlin and her drinks and food. She sipped a cold beer as she watched the bikers pull glass beer bottles from a row of stocked coolers. Coolers that sat right underneath a sign that said 'no glass containers.'
She had to laugh. The MC certainly did not follow the rules. But they did come up and introduce themselves, one by one. She finally met the big biker with long curly hair, Jack. He was Devlin's second in command. Then there was Donahue with merry blue eyes and black spiky hair, always hovering somewhere near Jack or Dav. She met Mike, also known as Whisky beard, one of the young prospects who she recognized from high school who had an angry red splotch on his cheek. There were too many other names to remember them all. She hoped she'd get the hang of it eventually.
Eventually. Everything about this felt like he was interested in being her boyfriend. Did bikers even date? She decided not to worry about it. Not yet.
In the midst of the introductions Kaylie noticed that at least a few people were less than enthusiastic about Devlin's arrival with her. The red haired biker seemed to be annoyed about the scenario. But it wasn’t him that set off alarm bells in Kaylie’s head.
Two women stood off to the side. Both were blond and attractive. One of the women was in her 30's but the other one looked only a couple of years older than Kaylie. Long blond hair, peachy skin, and a body that looked like she could moonlight as a swimsuit model. She would have been stunning if not for the pinched look on her face. For a moment Kaylie wondered what was wrong with her. Until she realized what is was. A heavy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.