“Does my dad know what happened to that guy?” Cheyenne asks. I stay still in my spot several feet behind them and try to go unnoticed. Thankfully, I’ve had a lot of practice and neither of them turn around. Considering the fact that Grady never bothered to tell me that Jeremy is prospecting for Forsaken, even after I’d asked all those questions in order to help him get Jeremy’s permit, I’m willing to bet that if I ask Grady the same question that Cheyenne just asked Jeremy, he’d ever tell me the truth. I could have a stack of evidence against him, but he’d still lie about it—or worse—he’d tell me that it’s club business. That means that it’s none of my business.
“No,” Jeremy says in all seriousness. Only, I can tell that he’s lying. Cheyenne seems to pick up on it as well. She chooses not to say anything, and instead opts for turning her attention back to the television, but she doesn't lean in as close towards him as she did before.
I wonder if it's always like this, with club members, that the only people can truly be close to them are the ones who share their patch. So much of what Grady has told me about club life is shrouded in secrecy. That's the trade-off I suppose of being with a man like him. Never before in my life have I ever felt so free to be myself. It's not like my parents are so awful, even though I tend to think that they are, as much as it is that they are the kind of people who are only searching to make themselves better. They do community service because they don't want to be selfish, they go to church because they don't want to forget that they are not the center of the world, and they would rather let go the wrong done to them than to retaliate in any way and possibly regret it later.
So much of my insecurities about where I am in life what I've done and the choices I've made are tied up in the fact that I don't think I'll ever get their approval – at least not the way Theo does. My older brother makes both Mindy and I look like a couple of lame ducks. He never did go to university like my parents wanted, but he did complete the two-year water treatment program at Redwoods College here in town, and he now has a good paying job with the city. Theo is not as straight-laced as my parents are, but he's definitely one of those people who feels bad if he misses church on Sunday.
“Hey,” I say as I approach the pair. They both turn around and give me a smile. Jeremy gives me a head nod and his eyes fix on the piece of paper in my hands. “So, here’s the deal. Mr. Beck made an exception to issue this work permit to you.” In a second, Jeremy’s on his feet and in front of me. For being just a teenager, he is awfully tall and broad shouldered. I can see what Cheyenne finds appealing about him. If I were his age, my heart would be in serious trouble because he’s all smiles when he likes you, scowls when he doesn’t, and the body mass to match his temper. The more I look at him, the more incredibly stupid I think I am for not assuming he wanted to be a part of the club to begin with. He even fills out his leather vest nicely
“Are you serious?” he asks, eyeing the permit in my hands.
“Yeah,” I say. He reaches out to grab it but I pull my hand back and shake my head. “Sit down. We need to talk before I hand this sucker over.” Ever the obedient one, he makes me wait a minute before he decides not to argue, and then reclaims his seat on the couch.
“I had to promise Mr. Beck that in exchange for issuing this that you both would be better behaved from now until graduation.”
“Why me?” Cheyenne says. She hooks her thumb in Jeremy’s direction. “He’s the one who needs the permit.” I rub my temples and take a few deep breaths before I figure out how to respond to that. What the hell does she mean by that? We’ve been at this for months. For the most part she’s compliant and at least pretends interest in staying out of trouble and bringing her grades up, but every once in a while something like this comes up.
“You’re trying to give me gray hairs, aren’t you?” I say. A devious smile appears on her face and she gives Jeremy a sly look before returning her attention back to me.
“Hey, then you and Dad would match. You’d be such a cute couple,” she says. “At least then people wouldn’t think my dad’s girlfriend is my sister.” The compliment isn’t lost on me. I give her a smile but shake my head.
“Blatant sucking up aside—both of you need to make a better effort to behave. Please. I promised my boss that I’d take a personal interest in seeing that you make it to graduation without incident.”
“But, Holly, you’re amazing. You’ve taken such a personal interest in my welfare that you’re even sleeping with my dad,” Cheyenne can barely get through the end of the sentence without giggling. Both of them manage to keep a straight face despite the intimate nature of the conversation, whereas I end up with red cheeks and hot ears from embarrassment.
“Okay, I’m done with you two,” I say and hand Cheyenne the permit to pass on to Jeremy. “Speaking of your dad, where is he?”
“Club business,” Jeremy says and turns back to the television. I bite back the comment that almost comes flying out of my mouth. I really hate the dismissal, especially from a kid, but fighting with him isn’t going to do me any good right now. Cheyenne, however, sees no problem with starting an argument.