Chapter 45

Candice
Austin and Max's mother's house is absolutely beautiful. It is an older country style home that sits on at least an acre of land. It is by far the biggest house I had ever seen. There are large windows with white rusty shutters, the paint is peeling in some areas of the outside, a large chimney struck out atop the roof and as we walked further onto the porch, I could see a cedar ceiling that looked newly built under the roof of the porch.
As we walk up to the house I could see their mother sanding there by a long white pillar. Of what I could see she is absolutely stunning. She has long wavy brown hair and light green eyes. I know Austin told me that she was on the young side to have grown men for sons, but the woman doesn't look a day over forty. Austin gets out and opens me door. Swoon. Once he has my hand in his we walk up to his mother and he walks up to hug her. Their size difference is almost laughable. She has to be about five foot two inches while Austin is way over six foot.
"Mom, this is Candice. Candice, my mother Julia." Austin says introducing us.
I walk up to shake her hand, but she surprises me when she envelopes me in a bear hug. It's funny really. If you were to see this woman you wouldn't assume she was very strong. She is petite everywhere, but her grip is almost brutal. Guess you have to have some muscle to raise two boys that are as large as Austin and Max.
"It's so good to finally meet you Candice. The boys have told me a lot about you." She says as she holds my arms out to access me and squeezes. I look over to Austin, but he simply shrugs.
"Mom, glad to see you are taking our threat seriously by coming outside in the open to see us." Austin scrutinizes.
"Oh hush. Anybody that comes here to try and hurt me is going to face my collection of heavy artillery." Julia says as she pushes him out of the way to squeeze Max's cheeks and hug him.
Next comes Shane, whom she grabs his face and pushes it from side to side as if she were studying him. When she finally stops after a few seconds she lets out a small squeal and speaks.
"What's her name Matthew?" Julia asks. I hear Shane say something to her but can't make out what it is. Julia laughs at his response and ushers us into the house.
I thought outside the house was amazing, it's truly immaculate inside. The ceilings are high, there is a stair case to the right that looks newly updated. There is a stone fireplace in the middle of the living area, and has hardwood flooring running throughout the house. I feel Austin behind me and I look back at him in awe. I can't believe he grew up in such a beautiful home.
"So, I made lunch, but it's such a beautiful day, I thought we could eat it outside on the back deck." Julia says heading to the kitchen where it looks like someone has set out a feast for thirty people.
There is food of all kinds on the large granite island. Sandwiches, fruit salad, corn on the cobb, fried chicken, deviled eggs, and there are even some chocolate chip cookies with Hershey's kisses in the middle. I've never tried those, but I grab the platter and bring it outside along with everyone else. The backyard is amazing as well. It's long with flush green grass, a large greenhouse in the back corner and an old jungle gym in the corner. We place all the food on the table on the deck and sit down to begin serving ourselves. I am in the middle of my delicious cookie when Julia begins her questions.
"So, Candice, tell me about yourself."
"Um, well, I'm a nurse." Nice Candy, now try making a sentence this time.
"Oh wow, is that how you two met?" She asks turning to Austin who currently has his mouth completely full of several items all at once.
I laugh at his attempt to quickly swallow for her, and answer her myself.
"Yes, Austin came in about a week ago and I helped him."
"Oh, you told me about that Austin. Told me you thought you were a dick." She says smiling behind her glass of lemonade.
Austin stares at her still attempting to swallow the mound of food. He narrows his eyes which only makes Julia laugh. I adore his mother already. She reminds me of my grandmother.
The rest of the afternoon is taken up by small talk. I ask Julia about her greenhouse and she tells me that she owns her own floral shop. We talk about her passion for all things green, while the boys clear the table and clean the dishes inside.
"So, Candice, what are your intentions with my son?" She says with a smile on her face, causing me to nearly choke on yet another cookie. These things are officially my favorite.
"Well, I-I uh."
"Sweetheart, just say what's in your heart. Not what you think I want to hear."
I have always wanted my mother to talk to me like this. Julia is speaking to me in the way I have craved since I was old enough to ask where my daddy was. I take a deep breath and answer her question.
"I care about him, Julia. I want to be with him, but part of me is afraid that he will eventually hurt me. I know he wouldn't hurt me on purpose, but I don't want to give him all of me until I know he won't use anything against me. If you haven't noticed, your son can be kind of a dick." I say laughing.
"That makes sense Candice, I believe that the reason why people are so afraid to be in a committed relationship, is because they will fall in love. Love is hard, you have to really work at it, but if it's true love, then it's worth the risk. I thought I had my true love when I was your age.I was wrong, but that doesn't mean that man isn't out there somewhere. I will never give up my search because when he does find me, I will have already worked on myself. I know what I want, and more importantly I know what I won't stand for." She says with a wink while getting up off the bench.
Julia heads inside and I stay at the bench thinking over everything she said. I can briefly hear yelling at Shane about his inability to wash a dish from Max, I giggle a little at the fact that his real name is Matthew. The screen door opens again, and Austin walks out with a steaming mug. He places it down in front of me and I look down and smile. His mom is so damn cute, she got these big burly men drinking hot cocoa.
"You good babe?"
I nod my head at him and when he sits down next to me I lay my head on his shoulders. We sit here for several silent minutes just taking in the night sky. The stars are extremely visible here and I can see why they all meet here often. I clear my throat and feel Austin shift towards me more.
"Matthew huh?" I say and laugh when I feel Austin's body shaking in laughter.
"Don't tell anyone, he is trying to remain badass."
"How long have you known him?"
"All my life really. His father and our father were best friends. His father was my dad's VP. Shane was twelve when his dad was murdered. He was in the middle of doing a run, delivering guns, when someone set him up. Rumor is that it was a member of the Road Kings. Shane's mother took it really hard. Started messing around with a bunch of different men, started doing drugs, she had a couple more kids and didn't take care of them, so they went with their biological fathers. My mom sort of took Shane in, otherwise he would have been taken to foster care. Shane will always have respect for my mom but part of him got lost when his mother did all that shit. It was hard for him to trust women."
I think back on all the times Shane had given me the evil eyes. It makes sense why he maybe thought I was suspicious. I show up one night out of the blue after meeting them briefly, then all hell breaks loose on their club. I'm glad he is not so suspicious of me anymore. He needs to forgive his mother for everything, otherwise he may end up taking all hat frustration out on Lyla. I never did question his intentions when it came to her, but I hope he is going with an open mind, Lyla deserves nothing less.
Max and Shane come walking back out with gloom faces. I get off Austin and sit beside him.
"Got a problem Aus." Max says with a worried look.
"What the fuck happened now?" Austin asks pushing of the bench.
"Someone came by the hospital looking for Candice. Psych tried to catch one of them, but he got away." Shane's deep tone bellows from behind Max.
"Fuck." Austin takes a deep breath and continues. "He get back to the clubhouse yet?"
While they discuss what their plan needs to be and where we will go from here, my mind checks me out of the conversation. I sit down on the bench again and try not to have a panic attack. All I hear around me is the muffled sounds of distance words. Those guys came to my work? What if I had been there? Would they have waited for me and attacked me again, or worse this time? I know I told Austin that I was alright, but the truth is I'm frightened that those guys could hurt me again.
"Babe?" Austin pulls me from my dark thoughts.
"You good Candy?" Max asks from my right side.
I nod my head and smile but it doesn't reach my cheeks. I look at the ground again and startle when I hear Austin call for his mother. Julia comes outside again and once Austin tells her that shit is going down, we say our goodbyes and get in the SUV. We are a good twenty miles down the road when I feel a nudge from the side of me.
Max chose to sit next to me this time and when I look to him, he gives me the famous chin lift these guys all tend to use. I smile at him when he reaches for my hand and gives me a squeeze of reassurance. I just want this nightmare to be over, but I'm afraid people will get hurt before then.


"We're here red, wake up." I hadn't been asleep, but pretended to be after the thirteenth time of Austin asking me if I was good.
I stretch out my kinks and get of the car when Austin opens my door. The four of us head inside and there is chaos all around. Psych is in the middle of the group getting everybody riled up. I look to Austin and his face contorts from worried about me to downright pissed.
"The fuck is going on?" Austin shouts and all attention goes to him, quieting down the room to a murmur.
"Psych here is telling us that the guy he almost caught told him that he was from the Road Kings." Chance says from the side of the room He is standing there leaning against the frame of the kitchen with his arms crossed.
"We have already been through this in church, dumbass. Hell, you were with me when we saw Snake. It ain't them. Someone is trying to get our clubs against each other. What the hell were you doing at her work anyways?" Austin shouts at Psych, I can feel the tension pouring off of him in waves.
"Shock had relieved me, so I decided to head to the hospital just to check up on her friend Lyla. Thinking ahead for ya Pres." Psych explains pointing to his head.
"The fuck you checkin' up on Lyla for asshole?" Shane shouts walking up to Psych.
I hope to God these guys won't fight in front of me because they are both tall and muscular, although if I had to put money down on one of them, I would definitely pick Shane. He has about fifty pounds on Psych.
"She knows about our shit, Shane. Only makes sense to make sure she is good."
"You don't get to make decisions around here Psych. You definitely don't come in here and rile up my men about going after another MC." Austin shouts. Psych narrows his eyes at Austin but eventually nods his head.
Austin takes my hand still gaping at Psych, and moves us to his room. Once the door is closed we attack each other. I hadn't realized how hot Austin taking control of his brothers would make me. Before I can take a full breath of air, my shirt and bra are off, and he is throwing me on the bed. When I lift my head up, Austin's shirt is off and is straddling the bed. He admires my breasts for a while with his tongue, and once I let him know I can't take anymore the rest of my clothing comes off. I reach for Austin's belt and he helps me take his pants off. Don't know what it is about hot, steamy, quick sex but if it's with Austin, I plan on doing this again in the future.


"So what does this mean Austin?" I ask him as I lay my head on his chest afterwards.
He had just gotten rid of the condom and laid back in bed with me.
"Means we aren't safe yet. I've been trying to figure out what the point of getting rid of us would be and can't think of any, but in the meantime this fucker is still going after us and the things we care about." My heart flutters in my chest but I tone it down for now.
"Can I still go see my mother and grandmother tomorrow?" I whisper. I decided earlier to take him up on his offer to see my family alone. I need to repair this rift I have with my mother and I can't do that if she is staring daggers at Austin the whole time.
"Yeah babe, need to speak with Snake again anyway. I'll have one of the brothers take you, he'll stay there and join Shock and Gibson on watching you guys. Now that these fuckers are visiting your work, I'm going to have a few people on you at a time." Before I can speak my stomach decides to growl an embarrassing loud growl. I hear Austin chuckle and I look up at him.
"C'mon babe. Let's go feed you before you turn into some she creature." He jokes. Jackass.
He helps me up and I go and find my bra and panties. Once we are both dressed we head back out. Someone calls Austin's name and I let him know I'll be in the kitchen. I head in there and see three women standing there making what looks like a feast. I want to get to know the people that belong to this club, so I walk in and announce myself.
"Hi, is there anything I can maybe help with?"
All three women turn around and look in my direction. They all seem to be a bit older than my twenty-five years. One has blonde hair and bright green eyes. She is wearing jeans and a green turtle neck long sleeve shirt. The other two are both brunettes but one has brown eyes and the other has bright blue eyes. I walk a little further into the enormous kitchen and pat the island.
"I can make something or maybe bring the food to the living area or something." I babble on.
The blonde throws out a little raspy giggle, then walks over and cloaks me in a hug. Oh thank God. I was worried that they would think I'm some new girl that doesn't belong here.
"So, you're Candice. Slice has told me all about you. Heard Austin didn't know what hit him when he met you. I could see why honey, you're beautiful. You gotta let me do your hair one day." She says gently pulling my strands apart and staring at them.
"Mindy, we have told you over and over again. You can't just walk up to people and pull at their hair." The brunette with blue eyes says laughing.
"Oh sorry, honey. When I see good hair I gotta touch it. I'm Mindy, oh but Nori said that already. I'm Slice's old lady. Oh but I already said that huh?" she laughs at herself. Oh yeah, I'm going to like these ladies.
"It's nice to meet you Mindy. I've met your um, Slice." I say not knowing if they are married.
"My old man honey, if we're their old ladies, you best believe they are our old men." She says taking another handful of my hair again.
"Drop the hair Mindy. Hi, I'm Nori, I'm with Sal. Not sure if you've met him yet. He is the one with the long black beard. She says pointing to the living area's general direction.
"I think I've seen him. He's pretty quiet, right?"
"That's Sal." She says enthusiastically.
The girls all chuckle at that and I turn my head to the other brunette with brown eyes. She has a long navy blue Maxi dress on and her hair is wavy and curly. She is stunningly beautiful.
"Hi, I'm Irma. I'm Jazz's old lady." She reaches out to shake my hand and I reciprocate. Austin told me about Jazz being jumped in his home. This woman seems as strong as the rest, but I can tell she is still a bit shaken up by everything.
"I'm sorry about what happened." I give my sympathy.
"Don't worry sweetheart. Same thing happened to you and I don't see you being all skittish." She says then puts her head down.
"Hey Irma, we told you before, you can't keep that shit bottled up, you're going to lose your mind. Let that man know that you're afraid so he can be there for you." Mindy says walking over to comfort her.
I thought that when I met the women of the club they would be these hardcore ladies that wouldn't except me. I did the same thing I'm sure everyone does when they meet the people of this club. I judged before I could get to know them. Now that I've met them, I see a lot of myself in them.
"I don't know too much bout Jazz but if he is anything like the rest of these guys, he is fiercely loyal and compassionate. I think if you told him how you feel, he would be there for you. You don't have to fit the mold of what you think an old lady is. Just be the person that is there for him through thick and thin. The rest will work out in the end." I tell Irma.
The irony hits me like a ton of bricks. I hate that I'm keeping something from Austin that could very well end our relationship. I know I need to come clean, I just don't want to lose him when I've only just gotten him.
"So, what, you've been here for like eight minutes and you think you know our men? You're nothing but an outsider." A catty voice says from behind me.
I turn and see a girl that is wearing way too much make up. She has platinum blonde hair with red streaks. She has bright blue eyes, but I can immediately tell they are contacts, her outfit consists of a tight short jean skirt and a black mini tube top. Her lips are a crimson red and she completes her whore look with ton of black eye shadow on. Doesn't take two guesses to know this girl is what Abby warned me about as a club whore.
"Don't fucking talk to an old lady like that Jesse. That's the pres' old lady and you'll show some fucking respect." Mindy says loudly.
"I didn't know Austin had claimed her, seems like yesterday his dick was inside me." She says then turns and walks out of the kitchen.
Her words are meant to be cruel, but I try not to show how much they have affected me. I know Austin is no virgin but if he's been with a skank like her, I surely hope he used protection. I shrug my shoulders when Nori asks if I'm alright then we get started on supper.
The girls and I work on a later dinner for the guys and once it's ready we bring it all to the island. We served pulled pork sandwiches, homemade coleslaw, mac n' cheese, bread, and a fresh salad. I walk over to Austin who is talking with Psych. Once I reach him, Psych's eyes narrow at me. I don't understand this guy; his name really does fit the mold of his personality.
"Hey babe, the girls and I made some dinner for you guys. It's ready. Want me to get you a plate?"
Austin simply smiles at me and takes my hand. Once Psych leaves to the kitchen with all the other men Austin addresses me.
"Heard Jesse talking shit in there, I want you to let me know if she starts shit with you again. I'll kick her ass out of here." God, I really am falling for this man.
"I don't want her on the streets just because she is jealous. But I do have one question for you, did you sleep with her?"
"Fuck no. I don't put my dick in club whores. I get that shit where I know half my brothers haven't been." He takes a deep breath. "Candice, I have a past, I may not have had sex with Jesse, but we have fooled around. I hate that she was before you and I hate that you have to look at the bitch but please don't worry about her. She is just here for one reason and one reason only, and that is not my problem anymore."
I give him a small head nod. I hate that they have messed around with each other, but I know I can't be upset with him for having a past. He was pretty honest with me and has been so far, even though I'm not doing the same.
"Get the fuck out of here Jesse. You're fucking done." Chance yells from the kitchen.
Austin and I head there and see Abby in tears walking out of the room and Chance looking torn between going after her and throwing Jesse out.
"I'm done with this bitch Austin. Get her the fuck out of here." Chance shouts once he sees Austin and I walk up.
"What the fuck is going on now?" Austin yells. I look around and most of the men are simply filling their plate like this is an everyday occurrence.
"That bitch was talking about one day having Chance, so I thought I would take it upon myself to show the little girl, that she could never tame a man like him." Jesse sneers from the side of the fridge.
"Don't you ever fucking put your nasty ass lips on me again." Chance yells then walks out of the room.
Max grabs a giant bottle of tequila, pours two shots, hands me one, and takes the other. With nothing else to do because I ate while I cooked, I take the damn shot. Clearly this is an everyday occurrence.
"Get the fuck out Jesse, we are all sick of your shit." Bone says while putting a sandwich in his mouth.
"Fuck you all." Jesse screams then begins to walk out of the kitchen to the front door but stops at me. "Just wait, they'll do the same thing to you one day."
I roll my eyes at her immature taunts then see her head to the front door of the clubhouse. I walk over to the large window and see her get into her Jeep and take off. A ripple of goosebumps rolled through my spine as I see her peel off. That jeep is the same one from that night. She's the girl that pretended to be broken down on the side of the road.