“Yeah, I remember it well.”
“I used to think Dad was right. I never questioned why he believes the shit he does, not after the story he told about Grandpa, but now I’m not sure the end justifies the means.”
“What’s changing your mind?” I ask, careful to keep my voice interested, but not overly intense.
“I see you with Dixie Rose. You love her and she loves you. How can anything so wrong bring such happiness? And I see how others are starting to look at us. It makes me wonder if this is how she’s always felt. Damn, the thought of doing that to her for so long…” Charm trails off shaking his head. “It doesn’t sit well with me.”
“You can always change your mind, Charm. No one says you have to take this shit to the grave, brother. Growing up means making your own decisions about things.”
“Not so easy—”
“Wasn’t easy for me either. I just found something I wanted more than the old man’s respect and approval.”
“Dixie Rose?” Charm asks.
“Mmm-hmm.” I want to do the typical big brother thing, rush in and save him from whatever sticky situation he’s gotten into, but I can’t. There’s more than him at stake, and my loyalty is to the club and Dixie Rose first and foremost. Priorities shift, and consequences can be a bitch. It’s a tough lesson to learn. I need to make sure it’s not a deadly lesson for Charm.
“You always were braver than me, Echo.”
“No, I just stopped drinking the Kool-Aid a lot younger than you. I was sure once he knew how I felt about Dixie Rose, he would at least give her a chance to prove she was different, maybe even apologize. But just in case, we planned on telling him after we were married.”
Charm gasped. “You’re married?” he asked.
“Oh no, Dad made sure we never got that far. I was all set to leave and meet her down in Vegas. She’d gone before me. It was the weekend she left for college. We were going to tie the knot, and I’d deliver her to college. Dad found me, threatened her, my patch, and everything else under the sun. I took one look into his eyes and knew he was capable of everything he claimed, so I stood her up.
“That’s why you prospected for so long,” Charm whispered.
“Yeah, the bastard wouldn’t vote for me. After all he’d done. He made sure I stayed away from D’Rose for at least a year. The damage was done after that. I didn’t want to screw her up worse than I already had, so I let her go for the moment. She had my ink by then though, so I knew one day, we’d come back around. I spent my time building myself and my standing up in this club because I knew the stubborn bastard wouldn’t go down without a fight.”
“That’s fucked up, Joel.”
“Yeah, Shayne, it is. I never said anything, because I didn’t want to ruin Dad’s image for you. You were still so young, and there was no guaranteeing your journey would be the same with him. I didn’t want to sway you one way or another.”
“You’re a good brother, Joel,” Charm says quietly.
“I tried. No matter how old we get, you’re always going to be my baby brother, and I just want the best for you.”
Charm nods his head, a pensive look on his face. “I believe that.”
“You should, punk. I’m the one who fought your battles until you could fight your own,” I say, ruffling his hair.
He moves his head away from like he always did and I laugh. He’s still in there buried under bullshit. “You know I always got your back.”
He opens his mouth. The back door opens. His features harden and he gives me a nod, back on guard.
I hold back a curse. I’ll get him to crack. But will it be in time to save him?
Chapter Eleven
Dixie Rose
Preparation for the wedding has me thinking about my own engagement. I take in my appearance in the mirror and I’m transported back through the years.
~~
Past
“Are you sure it’s okay for us to be here?” I ask, nervously glancing around the garden I knew should technically be closed.