“It is a pleasure to meet you, Rick. I’m Dallas.” I said, giving him that smile that earned me one in return.
“Yes you are,” he said, kissing my hand then tucking it into his arm to lead me inside. “The ladies are helping to prepare dinner. I hope you all don’t mind, but I have been a little under the weather.” When he said ladies, somehow I assumed he was talking about women other than the ones I saw. Rick was the Hugh Hefner of the Devil’s Renegades, and beautiful bunnies littered his playboy mansion. The house we were in seemed small with all of the people inside it, but I knew it had to be pretty big to accommodate all of us. Old pictures of the club’s past and newest members hung on the wall. Leather furniture covered the living room, and the biggest fucking T.V. I had ever seen in my life sat mounted above a massive fireplace. I watched in awe at the half dozen women who made their way around the house wearing rabbit ears, high heels and tails on top of their tiny, pink thongs. Their large, perfect breasts stood to attention as they scurried around, making sure everyone was comfortable and seated at the huge dining room table that sat twelve. The entire first floor of the house was open for viewing, and I looked up to find the upstairs open as well, with a balcony that overlooked the bottom floor. The place was a dream home for house parties. Rick led me to the table, seating me to his left then turning to greet Chris. Brooklyn sat across from me to his right, and I leaned up to look down the table to find everyone at ease as if they had been here a million times. Even Katelyn didn’t seem to feel out of place. “Ladies, tonight I am treating you to a Devil’s Renegades special. Pops and I created the perfect gumbo back when we were room-mates before this all started.” I smiled at the man beside me. His voice was low and strained, his raspy tone something I was falling in love with. I was sure it was a result of years of living the good life of booze, women, and smoke. Now that I had met him, I couldn’t imagine ever having a different image of him in my mind. When a beautiful, blonde bunny appeared and refilled his glass, he thanked her with a kiss and a promising smile, leaving her gushing as she scurried off, but not before he smacked her ass. His eyes followed her, until he seemed to remember he had company. “We were living in a small apartment, both of us working as mechanics in an old shop. Back in those days, everyone rode a Harley. You didn’t have these rice burners and mopeds and shit. You had an American bike or nothing at all. So, work was always plentiful. But we spent our nights at strip-clubs and parties, spending all our hard-earned money on booze and ass when we should have been investing in our own business.” He paused as we were served bowls of steaming gumbo, with a side of French bread. I waited patiently until everyone had their meal before I placed my napkin in my lap, ready to dig in. I looked up to see everyone grabbing hands and I followed suit, placing mine in Rick’s, who sat to my right, and Mary’s, who sat to my left. I wasn’t shocked that we were saying grace, but I wasn’t expecting it either. I bowed my head as Rick blessed our food, his choice of words making me smile as they warmed my heart. “Father bless this food and the lovely, delicate hands that helped to prepare it. Thank you for blessing me with such beautiful company and may their time spent here be well served. I pray that you bless this beautiful creature whose hand I hold in mine with twenty-seven more wonderful years, and may the majority of them be spent in the fabulous life of our MC. Help us to keep the rubber down as we ride for our brothers who live, and honor the ones who have gone. Amen.” A chorus of “amen” was heard around the table as I gave Rick’s hand a squeeze, and I smiled in thanks at his mention of me in his prayer. I took my first bite of what would be many of the most delicious gumbo I had ever tasted.
“Shit this is good,” Chi Chi said, before taking another bite and closing her eyes with a moan. We all agreed and Rick smiled at our enjoyment.
“I’m glad y’all like it. So,” he said, continuing with his story. “Pops and I had been around MCs all our life. We decided to form one of our own, and we found the biggest, baddest motherfuckers around to form our posse. See, big, strong tough guys is what we envision when we think motorcycle club, but some of the best brothers come in a pint-size package. We finally got a crew together that had everything we desired in brothers; loyalty, honesty, and trust. He didn’t have to be big and bad, he just needed to be willing to give his all for his brothers. We found that in the first five; Pops, Gill, Tony, Carl, and myself. We were unstoppable. We turned this town upside down, and soon we had chapters in three different states. We ran the biggest illegal operation this state has ever seen. There were women everywhere, money grew on trees, and the highest respect was paid to anyone who wore our patch.” Rick paused, taking a sip of his drink. He took his time continuing, as if he was searching for just the right words to say. I continued to eat and drink, looking at him from time to time during his story, until he spoke again. This time, my gumbo was forgotten, and my attention was focused on nothing but him. “Then there was Luke.” My eyes found his as he smiled, a memory from far back held his attention as he laughed to himself. “Luke was the one I knew would either be the downfall or the success of this club. He was so passionate about it. He never once gave up, even though his Pops put him through hell trying to persuade him to take a different route in life. When a man does time for a crime he commits then in turn creates a life where crime is the sole benefit of his life, it’s one thing. But when he sees his grandson, a boy he loves and wants to succeed in life, following that same path of destruction it’s another. Pops never wanted that life for Luke. He didn’t want to live knowing his actions were ones that Luke would follow, creating a cesspool that would be passed down from generation to generation. But I,” he said, pointing his finger at himself as his eyes locked on mine, “I had faith in Luke. When shit got really bad, he realized he had to make some changes, and he did. He had business sense and smarts that the other guys and I only dreamed of. He found a way to make peace with our connections, and pulled the club out of its illegal ways and into the path of what was right. When the club realized the hit it was going to take, they voted against Luke’s efforts. They had got accustomed to the life of a constant heavy cash flow, and an easy ride. That’s when Luke used his own money to float the club. He drained every dollar he had from his savings and his father’s investments for his future. He took the risk of losing everything he had to save the one thing he loved from self-destruction. That’s when I learned that it’s not the cut who makes the man, but the man who makes the cut.” You could have heard a pin drop in the room, as Rick grabbed my hand across the table. “You got a good man, darlin’.” He looked around the table at the ladies who sat there, making eye contact with each one. “You all do. Gone is a time when MCs were outlaw bikers who broke the law, raised hell, and stepped on anyone they could to get up the ladder of success. All that remains from that time is this old man with a lot of good memories of the way things used to be. Those days were the good ones, and damn how I miss them, but the future of the Devil’s Renegades will now live on for generation after generation, and we have your good men to thank for that. Of course, they wouldn’t know shit if it wasn’t for an old-timer like myself.” We all laughed, tears rolling down our faces, and not one of us caring if it ruined our makeup. We finished our meal with light conversation, laughter, and good company. When it was time to go, we were all kissed on the lips as Rick bid us goodbye with a host of sexy women surrounding him. Once in the car, I waved my final goodbye to the man who had left me with a new outlook on Luke. If ever I had been blessed, it was with the gift of Devil’s Renegades President, LLC.