Chapter 16

Lug Nut
Noone says anything after she leaves. What is there to say? She is right about everything. Several of us take a seat at the bar getting ready to drink and think. I’m pretty sure I'll try to drown away the shitty feeling Merigold left us with. Before anyone can grab our first drink, phones start ringing. Tank grabs his first. Before he can even say a word I can hear Lilly tearing him a new one. “ But sweetheart.” More yelling “ Don’t do that please.” “ Lilly sweetheart. I” Tank looks down at his phone. Lilly must have hung up. I hear Thor say “ Come on honey.” then his phone hangs up. Brick is the last “ No Speed. I need to be there. We will fix it.” And his phone hangs up. “ Dog house?” I ask. All three answer “ Yes.” “ How the hell did the girls find out so fast?” Tank asks.

“ That would have been me. I recorded the whole thing and sent it to them.” Anne says. “ Anne why?” Viper asks. “ It’s rather simple Viper. I have been here since the start of this club. I have sat back and watched how you let the skanks walk over the old ladies. I have watched the prospects go down hill in regards to respect. The last good one’s being Goof and Lug. But I have never been in a position to say anything. Raider is rolling over in his grave over the state of this club. If he were alive he would be kicking everyone in your ass for the way you allowed these girls to be treated. It took an outsider to open Merigold’s eyes to the problems here. An outsider that shouldn’t even be an outsider. Ailee should be part of this family but your behavior or lack thereof turned her against us. I ask you this, where was Ailee’s open armed welcome Merigold, Lilly, and Kelly got?” Anna asked but was met with silence.


“ You can’t answer because she didn’t get one. I haven’t even gotten to meet her yet. And I was at the barbecue. And because of you boys there is a good chance I never will. And you know how I feel about my girls.You boys need to fix this and fast. Not just with your old ladies but with Ailee. Merigold says the skanks are off limits until you do. They aren’t allowed to leave their quarters. I;m going to be here to feed the skanks and you boys. All your old ladies said the kitchen and bedroom are closed until you fix this.” Anne says. A collective fuck goes around. “ And Lug. I saw the way you looked at Ailee when she was here. I’ve seen that same look on Rowdy, Axel, Tank and Brick. If you think you might want to claim Ailee you better start working fast. My advice is for you to show her what a good man you are. Then show her how good the club can be. Leave the skanks alone. Ailee won’t even look at you with them around. And you just wearing your patch isn’t going to help you like it has before. Maybe how you got the patch will help.” Anne says “ What the fuck. No way. Lug isn’t going to go anywhere near my daughter.” Ace yells.
“ Ace, you have no say in this. You lost that right. Lug is a good man. And if he wants to try to claim Ailee it will be better for you. If Ailee accepts his claim that means she will be around here for you all to get to know and for you Ace to make things right.But I’ll leave that up to you. It was just an idea.” Anne huffs. An idea I’m liking very much. I need to come up with something to help my club and win my girl. Right now I don’t have to prove to Ace I’m the right man for Ailee. I just need to prove it to Ailee first. Then after I win her heart I will prove to her grandfather I’m the best man for her. And I’m man enough to know I’m going to need some help in the form of Merigold. She is my in.
Ailee
I have had regular visits from Merigold for the past week while I recover from chemo. Sometimes she would bring all the kids. Sometimes just one set or the other. Lilly has stopped by twice. One time we just sat and talked another time she brought her acoustic guitar and played for me while I rested. That visit I greatly enjoyed. Even Kelly and Gretchen have stopped by a couple times. I think Finn enjoys Kelley’s visits because they can share their passion for cars. If Kelly wasn’t already married I feel like Finn would have asked her out.
Today I am well enough to sit in the living room instead of laying in bed. I’m expecting my granda at some point to discuss some business. Merigold is also coming by today with someone she says I just have to meet. I’m sitting on the couch when I smell Merigold’s chicken noodle before I see Merigold herself. She always brings soup for me since we figured out four days ago that it seems to be the only thing I can hold down if I eat it in small amounts. Not only does Merigold make it herself but with the list Callen gave her and the websites she has read from Merigold makes sure it is safe for me to eat. And oh my is it good.
Merigold flops down on the couch next to me. “ I brought you someone special I want to meet.” she points to an older woman standing at the end of the couch. The woman is in her late fifties early sixties maybe and gives off a grandma vibe. I like her already. “ Ailee meet Anna. A sort of den mother of the club.” I start to stand to greet her and she stops me “ Oh no sweetie. You sit. I’ll come to you.” Anna comes to me and wraps me in a tender hug. “ It is so nice to finally meet you, Ailee.” “ It’s nice to meet you as well.” I say.

Anne sits on the other side of Merigold when Merigold says “ So I followed your advice.” “ What advice would that be?” I ask. Then Merigold begins to explain all the changes she has been in place where the bunnies are concerned including a name change to skanks. I had to laugh at that. “ I would have liked to have seen the look on their faces.” I say laughing. “ Actually you can.” Anna says and hands me her phone. I played the video Anne wanted me to see. I must say first I’m shocked at what I see. Merigold is what I can only describe as a possessed woman on a mission. My brain can’t comprehend the woman sitting next to me and the woman on the screen. She goes after the skanks first then her club brothers and her own husbands. Noone is safe.
My emotions are all over the place as I watch. I’m scared, impressed, and a bit sad. But I also feel pride, love and acceptance for Merigold. Some of this was done for me. I know my granda and my irish family would go to great lengths to defend and protect me. But to see it from a virtual stranger is more than I could have ever imagined. One figure in the video pulls my attention from what's going on. Lug Nut. I’m not sure why my eyes go to him or why I back the video up to look at him again. Maybe it is the way he is standing with Merigold as a solid wall of support. Or maybe it is the look of regret and shame on his face when Merigold tells off the brothers. Almost like he can physically feel all Merigold’s words right in his heart. Or it just could be so fecking good looking.

When the video ends I’m in tears. “ Oh sweetie, I didn’t mean to cry.” Anna says coming to wrap her arms around me. I laugh “ Happy tears. I assure you. Merigold I don’t know what to say other than thank ye for standing up for me. And you can be down right scary when you want to be.” “ What can I say? There is a lot of awesomeness in a small package.” I lost it holding my sides laughing. Which had Anne and Merigold cracking up. I even hear Finn and Callen chuckle.
“ That’s a sound I like to hear when I visit my granddaughter.” Granda says. “ Merigold, it's always good to see you.” He kisses Merigold’s hand and she replies “ Cormac, it is good to see you again.” Granda looks at Anne “ And who is this lovely lass?” I have to catch my breath to introduce them “ Granda this is Anna. A mother figure to the MC” to Anne I say “ Anna this is my granda Cormac O’Sullivan.” “ It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. O’ Sullivan” Anne says, holding out her hand. Granda takes Anne’s hand bows and kisses her hand. Bows what the hell? “ It is Cormac please. And the pleasure is all mine to meet a beauty such as yourself.”
Is granda flirting? I look at Merigold to see her jaw has dropped. Finn has his mouth covered like he is trying hard not to laugh and is looking anywhere but granda. “ You're not so bad on the eyes either.” Anna says. Anna is flirting? Callen excuses himself. Finn says something about checking if the car is ready. Merigold has tears in her eyes from holding in her laughter. I don’t know what to think about this but I haven’t seen my granda smile like that in a long time. So for now I’m just going to let it go.
I clear my throat to get granda’s attention. He pulls away from Anne “ Aye, So what are you lasses up to today?” Merigold says “ I was filling Ailee in on the changes I have made at the club.” Then she proceeded to tell granda everything she had done so far and other changes she was considering. “ I’m impressed, lass. It sounds like it has been a long time coming.” granda says. “ Yea it has I guess. I just feel bad it took what happened to Ailee for me to finally do something about it. None of us should have to put up with that kind of treatment.” Merigold replies. “ That is true. But it should have never been up to you to fix things. At the risk of sounding like a caveman it is a man's job to protect. The men in your club should have stepped in before things got out of hand” granda says. Anna smiles “ There is nothing wrong with being a little caveman. There is a time when a woman should stand up for herself. But there are times when a woman shouldn’t have to.” Yea Anna is definitely flirting.
“ And you my Ailee. What are your plans for the day?“” Callen is taking me to a dispensary to buy some stuff for nausea.” I say.” Dispensary?” granda asks. I shrug my shoulders “ I’m not sure. The doctor gave us a prescription and told us to check it out.” “ I can help with that.” Merigold explains “ Short version. It is a legal marijuana store. They have several kinds to meet each person's needs.” “ And how do you know this?” I ask. “ The club owns it. Don’t worry the guys will take good care of you.” Merigold says.