Matthew looked up from his crouched position to see Landon biting into an apple as he climbed onto the wall.
“What are you doing here?” Matthew asked.
“Waiting to go and pick up Anna and my son.” The moment Landon saidmy son, there was a massive smile on his lips.
“And until then, you’re watching me clean bikes?” Matthew asked.
“Yep, it’s kind of fun, seeing Duke’s kid having to go through all the crap to earn his patch.” Landon took another bite of an apple.
He rolled his eyes. “Seriously, did you have to do all of this shit?”
Landon laughed. “Of course, dude. We all have to go through shit. It takes time. We’ve all got to learn to count on each other, and if we can’t stick around cleaning each other’s shit, and you know, filth and stuff, then how can you rely on someone to have your back?”
He got it and completely understood why this washappening. Most of his life, Duke had been the Prez of Trojans MC, and all of his life, Duke had been part of the MC. Matthew knew the reasons for prospecting, and why it was so important, but even still, all he’d done for the past month was clean bikes. Clean bikes, clean bedrooms, do laundry, wash toilets. That was it. Nothing else.
Even though he knew something was going down. He didn’t exactly know what it was, or the full extent of it, but something was going down. Something big.
Yet his dad wouldn’t tell him about it. At home, they didn’t discuss club stuff. Not anymore. Duke had put a limit on it. Matthew didn’t even know if he discussed club stuff with Holly. Either way, it didn’t matter, because he had no intention of complaining.
Landon had gotten through all of this shit. He would as well.
Rick and Kid could have their important errands and shadowing. He was going to clean the bikes. They were going to be so squeaky clean, the fuckers would skid right off them.
Just as he was about to clean Pie’s bike, he heard the rumble of engines, and sure enough, his dad and Preach arrived at the clubhouse. They looked pissed off.
Matthew grabbed his cloth and was about to touch Pie’s bike when his dad called him. “Matthew, my office, now.”
Landon gave a low whistle, but Matthew didn’t have a clue what he’d done. Unlike when he was a kid, he was actually keeping his nose clean these days. He wasn’t a fucking idiot. Being a prick when he was younger had taught him a big lesson. He’d lost the only good thing in his life, or potentially one of the best things in his life. Not that Luna was athing. When it came to her, he always had a way of fucking up. Now, he didn’t have a clue about how to win her back. He was clueless.
Leaving his cleaning stuff near Pie’s bike, he got to hisfeet and headed inside. A couple of women were hanging around several of the men. It was a slow day. Not a whole lot of shit was happening.
Entering his father’s office, he saw his dad as he gathered up a few pieces of paperwork and shoved them in his desk before taking a seat.
Matthew sat opposite him. And waited.
Duke stared at him.
He’d done nothing wrong. No parties. No knocking girls up. He’d been clean for a while. He wasn’t even chasing any of the free pussy at the club.
The only woman he wanted was Luna. The one that got away. The one he couldn’t have.
“Are you my dad right now or my Prez?” Matthew asked.
“Did you know Luna’s in town?”
Matthew frowned. “She was here a while back, but I haven’t seen her. Why?”
“She’s working at the diner for Mac again. She’s house-sitting,” Duke said.
“Oh.”
She had returned to Vale Valley and she hadn’t said anything.
“What if it’s beyond repair?”
“I’ll fix it, because this between us can never truly be broken.”
That was the last thing he said to her, or something like that. The next day, Luna was gone, and he figured he had in some way messed up again. It was a habit he’d gotten into with her. One he needed to fix.